Today’s Podcast: Actor/Creators Marco Labate & Gica Pucca (PROJECT 405: LOST AT SEA)

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PROJECT 405: LOST AT SEA, 12min,. USA

Directed by Josie Hull

Aspiring artist Alexia, grieves the loss of a loved one and struggles to finish her painting. The-o, her personal AI assistant, who has little understanding of human emotions, tries everything in his power to feed her longing soul.

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Get to know actors & creators Marco Labate and Gica Pucca M:

Coming from pretty intense personal journeys, we wanted to work with the idea of fantasy vs. reality, and we chose to use grief as a vehicle. At the end of the day, you can always make the choice to either acknowledge or ignore what you feel, but the latter can lead to confusion, and reality always catches up to you. G: We liked exploring the concept of artificial intelligence and the modern world, conflicting with art and human emotion.

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Watch Today’s Festival:  DRAMA Feature Film: INFLUENCER. Sexual film from Poland

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INFLUENCER, 94min,. Poland
Directed by Josué Mastroianni
The version of events depicted in “Influencer” is not a reality for most women but is a means to an end for others. Sex sells. Influencers sell. Often, aspiring models are caught in the middle. What is the price that some are willing to pay? “Influencer” film explores the psychology behind those hard choices. Based on actual events.
l.krzymowska@gmail.com

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Turning 76 Today: Gérard Depardieu. Happy Birthday

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Born
December 27, 1948 · Châteauroux, Indre, France

Spouse
Elisabeth Depardieu (April 11, 1970 – November 2, 1996) (divorced, 2 children)

QUOTES:

I never really like the characters I play. I only come to love them afterwards.

The relationship between an actor and a director is like a love story between a man and a woman. I’m sure sometimes I’m the woman.

I’m happy with very little on this earth, but I do like to have a lot in my glass. [on his love for wine]

I want to get more involved with the vineyards I have all over the world and to spend more time with the people who work in them. You need to be there to make yourself understood; you can’t just tell people what to do from the end of a telephone line. My unrealized ambition is to tend my vines, produce wine and work like an artisan. I dream of rediscovering the old traditions and customs of wine growing, not necessarily to deny the technology which we have today, but to harness it and work in harmony with nature.

Turning 29 Today: Timothée Chalamet. Happy Birthday

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Born
December 27, 1995 · New York City, New York, USA

QUOTES:

[on working with Greta Gerwig] I would work with Greta on anything. I’m just totally in awe of her. I like working with filmmakers who are ten times smarter than me. Also I get to be the square to the circle of Saoirse Ronan’s affections again.

I think the most precious thing I get from my parents – and I try and give it back to them as much as I can – is their love and support. I hope that doesn’t sound cheesy, but it’s true. In your late teens, early 20s, you suddenly realize that your parents are human. That doesn’t mean I don’t get really great advice from them, because I do. But you reach a certain age and you take control of your own life.

[on method acting] I try to be super careful. The danger is you can end up focusing more on what’s going on off-camera than on-camera. You don’t want to be entertaining for the sake of being entertaining. The work should be the work. If it resonates, it’s going to resonate, and then people are naturally curious about how you got to that destination. It can’t be about how you’re getting to it.

I hear about celebrities who have stylists, and that blows my mind. It’s certainly not why I act, but I can wear cool clothes from some of the nicest designers in the world. So why am I going to pay someone to figure out what I should be wearing? That’s the fun part.

Turning 58 Today: Bill Goldberg. Happy Birthday

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Born
December 27, 1966 · Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

Spouse
Wanda Ferraton(April 10, 2005 – present) (1 child)

QUOTES:

Played college football with the Georgia Bulldogs. Played pro football with the Atlanta Falcons and the Los Angeles Rams, and then signed with the Carolina Panthers. Football career was ended by an abdominal injury when he tore all his abdominal muscles from his pelvis, and had them surgically reattatched.

Went 176-0 after his WCW debut. Many believe that WCW actually lost count of the exact number of wins he had at one point, and just decided to use an arbitrary number.

Has three cats named Moe, Larry and Curly

Returned to WWE in late 2016 through early 2017 because his young son had always wanted to see him wrestle.

Turning 43 Today: Emilie de Ravin. Happy Birthday

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Born
December 27, 1981 · Mount Eliza, Victoria, Australia

QUOTES:

I want to pursue as much of a serious acting career as I can, not just a flimsy overnight career. I take it very seriously and I really want to pursue it for the rest of my life.

It’s actually fun to not know anyone and go out and find friends, or let them find you.

(on Audrey Hepburn) I’ve always loved Audrey Hepburn. She’s such an icon and amazing lady. She’s so beautiful. Who wouldn’t want to be in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)?

I’m a big homebody. I just like hanging out, doing things at home. I like gardening.

Turning 31 Today: Olivia Cooke. Happy Birthday

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Born
December 27, 1993 · Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, UK

QUOTES:

My dad’s [a retired] policeman, and my mum is a sales representative, and they haven’t got the acting bug. Bless them.
If I love the character, then that’s all that matters to me. It doesn’t really matter what genre it is.

I did ballet and gymnastics, and then I started acting when I was eight–just doing amateur theater at a place called Oldham Theatre Workshop in my hometown.

My first big role was when I was 17 and I got the part playing Maria in “West Side Story” in my school production.

I used to care more about my appearance, but after being in The Quiet Ones (2014) and seeing how grotesque I can be, I don’t have any dignity anymore.

Short Film Review: AFTER COMA. Poetry film. Directed by Soo Hyun Kim

After Coma is the 2nd film of the trilogy that express about grief. This film is composed of 7 poems that take the viewers into the journey of spending the last moment with the loved one as a views of both people who leave and who is left. Each poems are represented with symbolic image and sound.

Review by Parker Jesse Chase:

The poetic film After Coma, directed by Soohyun Kim, encapsulates the raw and visceral emotions of grief, memory, and rebirth in a matter of a two minute time span. Through seven hauntingly poignant poems, it explores the final moments shared between a loved one departing and the one left behind. This dual perspective creates a deeply intimate and universal reflection on loss, memory, and the fragile boundaries of existence.


Visually, After Coma evokes a sense of nostalgia, deviating from the modern digital aesthetic to one that feels tactile, almost like flipping through weathered prints. This choice enhances the emotional weight of the poetry, making each moment linger. The film masterfully intertwines symbolic imagery with evocative sound design—a broken mirror not only shatters visually but resonates audibly, allowing the audience to feel the crunch of shards beneath a step. This meticulous attention to detail immerses the viewer in an almost sensory experience.


The words are delivered in an alluring voice, their impact amplified as the screen cuts to black, presenting the poetry in written form. This interplay between auditory and visual interpretations deepens the connection to the material. The imagery of counting scars and hearing wind chimes intertwines with poetic metaphors of despair and rebirth—drowning in water and tasting the salty ocean as symbols of grief. The poet’s words remind us that the act of swallowing tears can choke, a powerful metaphor for unprocessed emotions.


The narrative also delves into the profound transformation trauma brings. The daughter, played by Lea Boulch, confronts the reality that her father, portrayed by Jean-Henri Calvet, is no longer the man she once knew after his coma. He exists as a mere shadow of his former self, a concept many can resonate with when facing the altered state of loved ones post-trauma. The film poignantly captures the gut wrenching realization that even as breaths continue, the essence of a person can fade, leaving behind an aching void.


Flowers bloom as a recurring motif, symbolizing mourning and the human tendency to romanticize death. This juxtaposition of beauty and sorrow underscores the film’s thematic exploration of life’s impermanence.


With Sneha Tewari’s evocative cinematography bringing the poetic visuals to life, After Coma delivers an emotional gut punch in its brief runtime. It’s a testament to the power of poetry, sound, and image in storytelling. Beautifully crafted and profoundly moving, the film leaves an indelible impression—a reflection on love, loss, and the enduring scars they leave behind.

Short Film Review: VIATICUM. Directed by Derek Frey

A priest performing Last Rites is challenged by a hospice nurse who believes her patient should not be absolved of a deadly sin.

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Review by Victoria Angelique:

Religious values are complicated, especially when it comes to the confession of sins as is shown in the short film VIATICUM. When a Son, Priest, and Nurse come together to hear the last rites of a man on his deathbed, they must decide between doing what’s morally right or allowing God to be his final judge. It’s a predicament that causes tension to rise throughout the plot, only for it to be broken up by a select few moments of competitive humor between the Priest and Nurse over school sports. 

The artistic motive between shooting this film in black and white is nuanced. It shows that the world isn’t as simple as people typically think. The Old Man’s sins start out as things that are wrong, but not very serious, until he confesses to murder. The other 3 in the room see things in a very black and white viewpoint, not willing to see any other perspective. The Son only sees his dying father, wanting the older man to go to heaven and be absolved of all sin. The Nurse wants to call the police, horrified at theconfession as she argues with the Priest that is bound by the confidentiality rules that clergy must adhere to for their patrons. The Priest insists that it is only up for God to judge and not those on Earth. They are all holding to their narrow perspective, unwilling to budge. 

The biggest factor of this short film isn’t the moral conundrum, but the question that just because someone confesses of past sins on their deathbed, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve changed. They’re just afraid of eternal damnation. The Priest’s job is one where he is not allowed to judge, he just has to guide people to repentance and hope it’s genuine. The Nurse struggles with the notion of this elderly man being absolved of his sins & she learns the hard way that she should have left it up to God to be his judge.