Author: festreviews

New Film on the Platform: THE CALL, 14min., USA, Film Noir, Thriller

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Watch Film: https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/watch-the-call

1965. A small man in a big world works hard to close a deal, doing everything he can to please his boss. But the clock is ticking, and someone is out to get him.

https://www.instagram.com/oneiro_films/

Directed by Ryan Jafri

Cast: Tom Martin, Alex Hebert

Director Statement
I’ve always been intrigued by films that have compelling stories told within the confines of few settings. That is why directing The Call, as well as co-writing it, means a lot to me. Despite the film’s one setting and the protagonist’s seemingly trivial predicament, its story still takes a deep dive into the darkest corners of the human condition. The film stems from my fascination with dark and sinister tales that are grounded in reality. Thus, I saw The Call as an opportunity to create a metaphor for the anxious and paranoid times we live in.

This production was truly a labor of love. From the very beginning, I envisioned the film to be shot on 16mm black and white film with a 4:3 aspect ratio. This combination was very effective in terms of creating a sense of claustrophobia which speaks to the protagonist’s state of mind. The cinematographer, Armaan Virani, completely understood the look I was going for and implemented it perfectly. Casting the film was very exciting. As soon as I watched Tom’s audition I knew he was the right choice. His talent, dedication and attention to detail shine thru in his performance.

Unfortunately, production was delayed twice due to the challenges presented to us by the pandemic. But my collaborators and I didn’t let these setbacks stop us. We worked hard on getting all the details right knowing the film will get made no matter what. And that it did. I am proud of the film and look forward to screening it for festival audiences.

New Film on the Platform: ANTISEMITE, 13min., USA, Drama

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Watch Film: https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/watch-antisemite-film

Seth, a college senior, is home for winter break. He’s spending a day relaxing and shopping on Fairfax Avenue when he’s suddenly confronted by an Orthodox Jewish man asking Seth if he’s Jewish. Seth’s chance encounter leads to a profound spiritual experience with life-changing implications.

https://www.michellebossy.com/
https://www.instagram.com/michellebossydirects/

Directed by Michelle Bossy

Written by Etan Marciano

Cast: Sasha Feldman, Guri Weinberg

Director Statement
ANTISEMITE is a film about self-discovery in a time of fear and violence. Fear of one’s heritage, and fear of exploring and expressing one’s identity. For the past two thousand years, Jewish people have been the victims of antisemitism, being forced to live at the margins of whatever society they happened to call home at the time. Sure, assimilation provided some cover, but the fact remained and still remains to this day, Jews have always been Other. ANTISEMITE explores the themes around a unique component of being Jewish in today’s world, the capacity to be Jewish without actually being Jewish. It’s a paradox that many modern Jews face, and it’s a sense of inner conflict that many seek to avoid. Following the uptick in violence against Jewish people in North America last year, our writer Etan Marciano channeled his anger, fear, confusion, and sense of ambiguity into a narrative that sought nuance in the face of an increasingly binary conversation about what it means to be Jewish in today’s world.

Seth, our film’s lead, is a version of a growing Jewish American archetype. His Judaism is only as deep as his vague awareness that he’s Jewish. He’s a born and raised Angeleno. He’s the son of an immigrant Israeli father who rejects his religious past, and an American-born mother who never cared to embrace her Judaism. His parents have offered him no sense of what it means to be Jewish, and in that void of his identity, Seth has naturally sought a sense of self in the secular culture around him. Instead of his faith or spirituality, he defines himself by his taste in fashion, music, the content that he consumes and the multicultural friends he surrounds himself with. But however much of an echo chamber Seth has created for himself, he still yearns for deeper meaning, purpose and connection. Seth’s chance encounter with an Orthodox Jewish man– similar to the type of encounter Etan experienced all the time as a teenager growing up in New York City — acts as a catalyst that changes Seth’s life. But the question remains, does Seth have the courage to pursue his Jewish identity knowing that it could alienate him from his family and friends? And if so, does he have the resolve to cope with the specter of hate and violence that awaits?

ANTISEMITE is a film that I believe will resonate with everyone who sees it, as the themes are universal. It’s a film about finding your place in the world and the consequences of that. I too have a father from another culture, who overcorrected and assimilated into American culture, erasing his ties to his native land. I have had to discover that for myself, in a journey similar to Seth’s, and have faced the repercussions of living between being Other and an American upbringing. This is a film that audiences will surely identify with, and garner some deeper understanding of themselves.

New Film on Platform: YOU CAN’T BE HERE, 16min., USA, Sci-Fi/Drama

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Watch Film: https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/watch-you-cant-be-here

After humanity’s destruction, one man wanders the wasteland in search of a safe place to settle down, until one day he is confronted by a group of people who don’t belong.

https://www.instagram.com/zac_pope/

Directed by Zachary Pope

Cast: Tanner Thomason, Ketta Kachemov, Alvin Heng, Lauren Taylor Brooks

Today’s Podcast: Filmmaker Hamilton Young Ward (SMILE FOR THE DEAD)

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Smile for the Dead, 54min., USA
Directed by Hamilton Young Ward
True crime meets the paranormal as “Smile for the Dead” uncovers the eerie mystery of William H. Mumler’s spirit photography and his ghostly portraits that baffled the 1800s. This documentary investigates Mumler’s techniques and why society so needed him in the post Civil War era.

https://www.309filmsllc.com/
https://www.instagram.com/ham_on_vvry

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?
I love a good mystery and this one was particularly challenging to follow the threads of it. The more I learned about it, the more i wanted to share this story and mystery out to the world.

What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
I was extremely nervous about it but my producer said I really needed to see it and was extremely touched when I saw the reactions.

Subscribe to the podcast:

https://www.instagram.com/wildsoundpod/

https://www.facebook.com/wildsoundpod

Watch Today’s Festival: LGBTQ+ Shorts Festival. March 12/13 event

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Watch Film Festival: https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/lgbt-shorts-festival-march-2025

Go to the Daily Film Festival Platform http://www.wildsound.ca and sign up for the free 7 day trial to watch a new and original festival every single day.

Go to the festival page directly and watch dozens of films:
https://www.wildsound.ca/todays-film-festival/

See the full lineup of films:

longing/belonging, 3min,. Canada
Directed by Rachael Withers, Niamh Wilson
longing/belonging follows a queer femme struggling to break out of the mold of their straight relationship and their journey to discovering identity and community.

https://instagram.com/longingbelonging.film

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-longing-belonging-lgbt



Redundant – Official Music Video, 3min., UK
Directed by Roni Skaly
Redundant is a queer activism fan funded project raising awareness to abuse done on transgender and non-binary youth through conversion therapy. At the time this project was produced, the gay conversion therapy ban in the UK did not include a ban on conversion therapy done on transgender and non-binary youth, today the ban includes gender as well. ‘Redundant’ had also been reviewed by Pink News.

https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/02/skaly-redundant-music-video-trans/

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-redundant



Dead Girl, 9min., USA
Directed by Kenz Benmosbah
After her untimely death, Dani comes back from the dead on Halloween night and goes on a quest to win her fiancée back.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-dead-girl



20:15 MÉXICO DF
Directed by Alejandro Di Meglio
In the vibrant heart of Mexico City, two women meet and begin a tender, reflective journey together. Through intimate conversations, they explore themes of memory, love, and the passage of time. Their connection becomes a window through which they gaze not only at their present but also at the infinite possibilities of their past and future. A beautifully crafted short film that captures the delicate intricacies of love and the fleeting nature of time.

https://www.instagram.com/20.15mexicodf

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-20-15-mexico-df



PAGES IN THE WIND, 14min., USA
Directed by Lucas Haviland
As Bailey sits in the park, he starts to reminisce about his journal entries over the past month. Through flashes to these entries, Bailey and his boyfriend, Gavin, experience the various intricate elements of their relationship. All the while Bailey takes in the environment around him in the present day. When his best friend, Corrine, stops by to surprise him, they start to catch up on the past week. Bailey quickly remembers that his entries might be less realistic than he wants them to be. And that his roommate, Gavin, will probably never be the man he needs in his life.

https://www.instagram.com/havilandfilms/

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-pages-in-the-wind

Short Film Review: BUG EYE. Directed by Clint Green

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A marriage is tested by a man’s obsession with bugs.

https://www.instagram.com/clintjgreen

Review by Julie Sheppard:

Bug Eye, an entertaining short, can really make a viewer squirm — the film’s almost incessant buzzing effectively sets the tone for the lead’s obsession with bugs, and the intensity of his focus sells it. The performer playing the bug lover’s partner shows a patient acceptance of this seeming eccentricity. Even the local friend who comes over to help fix the water heater reveals a gentle kindness towards the bug lover, until he leaves in a tizzy after being harassed by flying insects. 

The comfortable cottage-style house works well to suggest an area surrounded by many airborne and crawling creatures. While much of the film is without a soundtrack save for the buzzing, the heavy drumming and symbols add to the hilarity of the bug lover’s winged run. 

The crunchy edible bug props also add to the potential for viewers to be squeamish. Although quite brief, this short does a convincing exploration of someone’s obsession, and manages to do it in an upbeat, amusing way. It may bug you, but it’s worth it!

Film New on the Platform: TEST DRIVE, 15min., USA, Sci-Fi/Action

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Watch Film: https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/watch-test-drive

In war-torn 2062, a grounded fighter pilot agrees to raise a genetically-modified child, only to discover his precocious daughter’s DNA is designed for nefarious purposes.

https://www.instagram.com/samtahhan

Directed by Sam Tahhan

Cast: Tasos Hernandez, Isabella Salazar, Steven Dudley, Jade Holman-Travis, Sami Martinez, Rhianna DeVries

Director Statement
TEST DRIVE is a film about the lows to which those in power will stoop in order to maintain control.

On a personal note, TEST DRIVE borrows heavily from a time in my life when I was a single dad: all the good intentions, bad mistakes, and ugly things I’d do to keep my daughter safe.

Poet Euphamia Mature (LIGHT POLLUTION)

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Get to know the poet:

1) What is the theme of your poem?

It’s about body dysmorphia, the Belgian slave trade, and the first time I ever went to Paris.

2) What motivated you to write this poem?

The boy who kissed me in Paris was real. I wrote this poem after the best date of my life (so far, I hope). His name was Gustave, he was an architecture student. On my last night in Paris he gave me a tour of all his favorite spots, explaining the architectural history, the designers and the materials they used and why, and so on. Our first kiss was in front of the Eiffel Tower, no joke. The next day I had to return to Luxembourg and he ran alongside my train as it left the platform. I wrote the very first draft of this poem sitting on that train, contemplating my own dysphoria alongside the way Gustave made me feel. About two years later, I wrote the final version of the poem and premiered it at a slam competition in Portland, where I placed 4th. Gustave and I still talk to this day.

3) How long have you been writing poetry?

I started writing when I was maybe 5 or 6 years old. I remember sitting in the hallway between my mom’s bedroom and mine in the middle of the night, writing when I couldn’t sleep. I had a deep fascination with Edgar Allen Poe as a kid and started submitting poetry to youth contests at local libraries and my school newspaper. I won some awards in middle school and published various pieces with my high school creative writing magazine. In college I minored in poetry and wrote for a literary magazine. So, in summary, I’ve been writing poetry for just about my entire life.

4) If you could have dinner with one person (dead or alive), who would that be?

Mitsuki Miyawaki. Artistic inspiration all around. Did my senior thesis on “Your Best American Girl”. I would love to talk to her about music and poetry both.

5) What influenced you to submit to have your poetry performed by a
professional actor?

As a slam performer myself, I was eager to hear how someone else might interpret this piece. Most of my poetry is meant to be performed and written as such, and I was excited for the opportunity to have a professional approach my work. I was just happy to have this piece published in any capacity. It’s one of my favorite poems I’ve ever written.

6) Do you write other works? scripts? Short Stories? Etc..?

Music! Although I haven’t written any in quite a while. I have a background in classical music starting with violin as a kid. I studied Music Composition in college and have written mostly for string instruments and electronics. In the realm of words, I don’t really do much other than poetry and academic writing.

7) What is your passion in life?

Queer liberation. I have a working theory on Queer Nationalism and how radical queer acceptance is how we will fight the global rise of fascism and anti-immigration policy. Gender is a form of colonization enforced by the police state to exert control over the population. Be gay and do crimes, but like, for real. Academic paper(s) about this and related topics coming soon…

Writer/Producer Katie Evans (THANK YOU FOR HER)

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THANK YOU FOR HER, 150min., USA
Directed by Peyton Savington
When aspiring fantasy novelist Anna Drake accidentally runs cyclist Lance off the road, she has no idea this chance encounter will change both their lives. As their romance blossoms, Anna finds herself falling for Lance’s free-spirited nature and determination, while keeping her brother Cam’s protective instincts at bay.

http://fourlightsfilms.com/
https://www.instagram.com/fourlightsfilms/

Get to know Writer/Producer Katie Evans:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

As a company, we knew we wanted to create a coming of age narrative centered around young adult women who identified as lesbian and bisexual. After that I as the screenwriter, Katie Evans ( pen name K.Evans), took inspiration to form the themes of family penance and healing/forgiveness from my own personal coming out journey. As the script developed I also began taking inspiration from the Knights of the Round table as the script progressed.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

The film began its filming in January 2024 and wrapped in late spring the same year. Editing took place in the months after and we had a final product by October 2024.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

Charming &

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

The length of the film and its fantasy sequences were a big challenge for us as a very new company full of young artist not having a film education.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

It was amazing. Hearing how the audiences appreciated the overall story and the performances of our actors was truly wonderful to hear as those are aspects we truly do pride ourselves on and view as some of our greatest strengths.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

It was at the end of our senior year of college that the four of us realized that we were drawn to theatre. 3 of us had done theatre before, 2 of us having a degree in theatre. We had decided to turn one of the final

Plays we did in college into a film once we had graduated despite not knowing initially how and taught ourselves and haven’t looked back since.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

The film I, Katie Evans, have seen the most in my life is The Greatest Showman.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

I feel the feedback and the posting of the feedback is a wonderful advancement tool and wish other festival had a similar option.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

Filmfreeway is a wonderful tool for filmmakers experienced and new filmmakers. It’s easy to use and has many festivals to chose from.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Steak 🙂

11. What is next for you? A new film.

Our next film is another feature, this one a thriller inspired by Edgar Allen Poe poems, in a modern technological setting titled “Left Down Raven Street” that follows 3 coding grad students as they work through betrayal, greed, and ambitions amongst themselves and others to come out on top.

Filmmaker Roni Skaly (Redundant – Official Music Video)

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Redundant – Official Music Video, 3min., UK
Directed by Roni Skaly
Redundant is a queer activism fan funded project raising awareness to abuse done on transgender and non-binary youth through conversion therapy. At the time this project was produced, the gay conversion therapy ban in the UK did not include a ban on conversion therapy done on transgender and non-binary youth, today the ban includes gender as well. ‘Redundant’ had also been reviewed by Pink News.

https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/02/skaly-redundant-music-video-trans/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film? I’ve seen content posted online about the conversion therapy bill in the UK (I was living in London at that time) only being passed on banning this abusive practice on gay youth, but not on trans and non-binary youth. That made me feel redundant, as clearly the government recognized this practice is abusive and harmful, but they didn’t bother to include us in the ban on it. Gladly, by now they do.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film? The idea was at least half a year before we could produce the project, and then it took about three more months to fundraise and produce, so approx. 9 months in total.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!? Hopeful pain.

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film? There were a few, it took very long to fund raise for it, to be able to produce it from fan funding was a huge achievement for us.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video? Feeling appreciated as a visual creator, feeling grateful, understood and seen.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films? Since childhood I’ve always wanted to produce music videos, I’m happy this dream can come true now with the help of fans and collaborators.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life? Probably Avatar, it inspired me a lot when I was a kid, the way it made possible visuals like I’ve never seen before, and the visual representation of connection with nature.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career? Your work is wonderful! It could be great if there was more ways to connect with other nominees and professionals through the festival.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site? Very easy and straight forward.

10. What is your favorite meal? Sushi.

11. What is next for you? A new film? Currently my focus is working with this project’s co producer, Zach Pettingill, on his super viral internet series the America Wizard (find it @madmanfenrir on TikTok) that reached over 86 million viewers over the past year. We hope to produce it fully some day, hopefully sooner rather than later. Producers – reach out if you’d like to take on a comedy action fantasy show that already has a mass fanbase and is currently entirely independent.