“Stoned for Christmas” is a multimedia whirlwind and a love letter to weed. This short film follows the adventures of one cannabis courier delivering at Christmastime.
The short Stoned for Christmas is bursting with creative input — the story of a drug courier working on Christmas Day is a true celebration of multiple artists. It moves seamlessly from one style to another, sometimes using classic animation lines, and other times claymation, ink, paint, pencil and live action objects and performances.
The viewer can sense the courier’s desire to deliver the goods, but also the need for reprieve to celebrate the holiday. The film shrewdly touches on a wide variety of social issues such as misgendering, a loneliness epidemic in a big city, and the human need for relaxation and connection.
The film makes use of a wide variety of musical styles, notably upbeat rap and wacky refrains of Christmas music. This project is full of cheeky humour, such as the reduced number of fingers once the lead is a video game character, and when the old lady gives the courier many extra tasks around the house, beyond the basic delivery.
This memorable short entertains from beginning to end — the clever screenplay, the hip and talented voice artists, and the numerous storyboard and animation styles, takes this edgy, festive film far beyond the “bonus level”.
How is the world affected by a catastrophic event? Everyday people live through a government mandated quarantine during a global pandemic while desperate scientists race to find a cure before it’s too late.
Staycation is not your typical fast-paced, blood-splattered zombie flick. Instead, it roots itself in a world we’ve all just come out of — one marked by a global pandemic, isolation, media saturation, and the ever present tension between hope and paranoia. This film doesn’t imagine a future dystopia; it reflects the one we’ve already survived, making its slow-burn horror hit all the more deeply.
We’re first introduced to a seemingly ordinary Zoom call between a couple — familiar, casual, and deceptively mundane, but the tone shifts quickly. Before the story even begins to unfold, we receive a chilling message from the woman on the call: she’s been selected for experimental testing in a race towards a cure. Right before our eyes, and her boyfriend’s, she turns. It’s subtle, heartbreaking, and terrifying.
From there, the film pivots. The narrative reveals its true central characters — two young women navigating this strange, evolving world. Our supposed final girl receives an invitation to return home to her family, but the film resists this path, instead exploring the way society itself has morphed to accommodate this new strain of infection. In this version of reality, infected individuals can remain in their homes with the proper licenses and regulations — essentially treated as pets or human vegetables. The satire here is razor-sharp, filtering this absurd premise through news broadcasts, government permits, and media sensationalism.
Staycation leans into the social commentary with vignettes mirroring the pandemic experience: endless work Zoom calls, awkward online dating, political divides, and the growing influence of livestreams and podcasts. These glimpses build a complex emotional landscape reflecting the waves we all felt during lockdown, from eerie calm to deep fear, connection to collapse. Russ Emanuel directs with a careful eye toward satire, layering in commentary on political extremism, conspiracy theories, and the terrifying normalcy of a world falling apart in a sort of slow motion. As humanity inches toward a cure, suspicion and chaos swell. The film explores the idea the virus may have been released intentionally, a man made tool of control. This suspicion bleeds into interpersonal relationships and fuels a growing storm of rage and desperation.
Staycation imagines a new world order, not one born from explosive zombie warfare, but through the slow, creeping collapse of what we once considered to be normal. The horror lies in our familiarity with it. The tension isn’t in the transformation from human to zombie, but in watching the slow unraveling of trust, stability, and oneself.
It’s unsettling, darkly funny, and honest in ways most apocalyptic horror films aren’t.
In order to extort the property, Aron arranges a sexual relationship with John, and after achieving the goal, he gets rid of her. Aron escapes legal punishment, but he is tormented by visions. The crucified Aron, left outside the cemetery, searches for a way out in vain.
Review by Andie Kay:
Betrayal and toxic relationships. We’ve all experienced one in our lifetime. When a shady caregiver sees an opportunity to take advantage of his change and seduce him, he is haunted by the result of his own actions.
Directed by George Tkemaladze and written by Luka Mchedlishvili. This short film is intriguing and suspenseful. The beginning leads you to believe this is a happy, healthy relationship but then you see the ulterior motives of the caregiver/boyfriend and that’s when things really start getting sinister. I genuinely liked the premise of the story and felt it was a great plot to have this self-serving antagonist presenting this facade so he could take advantage of the protagonist and his wealth. There were areas where I feel things could have been conveyed more clearly, it was unclear why our protagonist needed a caregiver. It might have been more straightforward to just call him a boyfriend.
Working with a limited film budget is always challenging and I feel the filmmakers did a good job here. Luka Mchedlishvili assisted Joseph De Cross with the cinematography aspect and there were several creative camera angles used. The score for the film by Eddie Torres was absolutely perfect. He did such a wonderful job in finding the emotion through the music to help sell each of the scenes.
One thing that did surprise me was the end credits. Yes, I am that geeky that I watch the end credits. There were no cast credits and the two leading actors were never mentioned. The only actor mentioned was the lawyer at the very beginning. It remains a mystery as to who our leads were.
As a result of resource depletion, a virus outbreak stripping the afflicted of what makes them human and finally, war, humanity’s sovereignty has fallen. In dwindling numbers, the survivors have been driven out of their homes in the search for safety, while a former soldier travels through the toxic environment in search of a cure.
The short film CRISIS POINT is a sizzle reel that promises an exciting dystopian future that will leave audiences on their edge of their seats. The content has everything a futuristic film needs, great special effects and high technology, along with some stunt fighting thrown in to guarantee a breathtaking adventure through this world.
The world is set up from the first few seconds of a fallen civilization. People can no longer tolerate the sun, having to wear masks or travel by nightfall. It’s made clear that a virus caused this nightmarish universe and something unspoken caused people to no longer trust each other. The characters travel alone or in small groups, most appear untrustworthy except for the female protagonist that is speaking words of hope. She wants their old world back and believes it can be accomplished, but it won’t be without a fight.
The filmmaker thought of everything for this film. The difference between day and night has great color correction. The day isn’t bright, which works for the dystopian future and the night barely has any color. The military factions breaking into a high technology government facility leaves more questions than answers, while the protagonist fights with a lone man that is clearly not on the side of the good guys.
The trailer is put together in a very cinematic format. It feels like something that would come on before a film as a coming soon attraction. It leaves many questions unanswered, something that the feature film for CRISIS POINT would answer. This film does everything a trailer is supposed to do, it leaves the audience wanting more so that they will purchase a ticket to watch it on the big screen.
A young teenager decides to enjoy a day of fun with her crush only to return home to find her worst fears realized.
Review by Victoria Angelique:
Mental illness is never easy, especially when children are involved as is depicted in the short film ANOTHER SATURDAY. Joyce is forced to care for her mother, reversing the roles of parent and child. She has to make sure her mother gets out of bed, takes her medicine and eats her breakfast.
The actress that portrays Joyce, Scarlett Abinante, does a phenomenal job at showing the burden that caring for her mother has taken on her young body. She is withdrawn from the second she reads her father’s note only to get a moment of childhood joy when her neighbor, Tommy, invites her to play ball. Her remaining childhood innocence never questions why her mother would give permission or why it would be breaking her father’s request to care for Dawn by having fun.
The last of her childhood innocence is ripped from her when Dawn attempts suicide. The scene is shot and edited together beautifully to really throw a gut punch as Joyce is laughing while her mother prepares for death. The audience knows what awaits Joyce, making the scene the emotions that much more heightened.
The biggest theme comes crashing in during the end, after innocence has been stolen. It’s clear that Joyce is now headed down the same road as her mother with a lifetime of mental health battles as she sits down and picks up one of her mom’s cigarettes. Guilt replacing the burden, plunging her straight into her own depression. ANOTHER SATURDAY shows that for this particular family, mental health is a cycle that will continue to repeat until someone chooses to break free and seek help.
A mysterious girl is saved from drowning by a fragmented family living in a desolate beach house. Her strange relationship with them becomes intimate and complex until everything reaches to a point of no return.
Review by Andie Kay:
Mermaids have captured our imagination for decades. From the sirens in Greek mythology to Disney’s adaptation of Hans Christen Anderson’s tale.
This suspenseful drama-thriller is based on a story by Naghmeh Samini. Naghmeh co-wrote the script with Mary E. Fry and Director, Soudabeh Moradian. A mysterious girl is found unconscious on the shore and taken in by a family…but is she an innocent victim?
The cast of characters is delightfully specific and each one adds a certain je ne sais quoi to the plot. A very intriguing storyline that is reminiscent of one of Hitchcock’s classics, right down to the fact it was done in black and white. Alex Mendez Giner was the Director of Photography for this film and he did an exceptional job in balancing the grayscale tones and maintaining contrast. It was rich with depth and achieved a sinister foreshadowing.
The filmmakers knew how to build the suspense but I think there were a couple of places within the edit they could have tightened it up to keep the pace. All in all, this was such an enjoyable watch that will make you think differently about mermaids.
James and Rob are hiding out in isolation to fix their mutual issues. As time progresses, the two reveal facts regarding their disturbing past relationship. An acquaintance of James’, Jessica, finds herself in an uncomfortable position as she contemplates the best way to handle the situation.
Review by Julie Sheppard:
This gripping short, Bay for Blood, is a warning to those who bully the weak and socially awkward. The premise that cruelty is repaid by enduring suffering is truly compelling, a willingness to endure justice for one’s past evil deeds.
The performance of the captor, once harassed by the captive, is both venerable and believable, while at the same time frantic and edgy. The viewer can at least comprehend how a history of being ridiculed and picked on could cause someone to search for justice and revenge. This actor displays a wide range of emotions such as fear, edginess, anger and bitterness, as well as being able to put on a “good face” for drug customer Jessica, at least for a time, until paranoia starts to emerge.
The actor playing the captive is also quite convincing, giving a layered performance of both defiance and remorse for past wickedness. The rather sterile white lighting in the claustrophobic apartment works well for this tale of imprisonment. Other elements that give the film a purposely unstable quality, are the rapid fire, jerky shots, spinning around the bleeding freed captive on the ground. These shots produce a jittery and unstable sensation, to mirror what the nervous crowd standing around the shot man might be experiencing. This film has the essence of a morality play, where the captive has seemingly learned his lesson and will no longer victimize the weak, even though the victim may not have been liked and, in fact, was unpleasant and paranoid.
A new kind of coming-of-age crime drama series with horses, dance, a dysfunctional family, and an upstairs/downstairs romance with a reverse Cinderella story twist.
The pilot episode for a new teen drama series, RICH KID RULES, follows the clichéd forbidden love story of teenagers with the twist of the mafia added in to lead the suspension in what will be the continued storyline throughout the narrative. Typically love stories follow a wealthy boy meets a poor girl and they fall in love. This story twists it when Frankie begins working at the stables on Sandy’s property. They have an instant attraction, but neither of their mothers approves of this budding relationship.
Frankie and Sandy are complete opposites in personality. She’s a bit out of touch with the real world, clearly sheltered from the reality that soon comes crashing down on her when her mother is arrested by the FBI and she learns that her family is intertwined with what appears to be the mafia. Apparently their wealth didn’t come from raising horses as she was led to believe, but through organized crime. She speaks in a very formal manner, whereas Frankie speaks in a casual way. Frankie is protective of Sandy. He’s been raised to be the perfect gentleman, unaware of how to protect his friend from a world that he knows nothing about as he’s forced to make a choice to stand by their new relationship or disappoint his mother by quitting his job on the ranch as he leaves Sandy to fend for herself.
Many questions are left unanswered by the end of the first episode. Sandy isn’t sure who she can trust, because even her own mother and psychologist, Dr. Engel turned out to be involved with organized crime. Sandy and Frankie question if there is anyone left that hasn’t hidden their identities as they must make deals with the devil in order to save her mother from a lifetime in prison.
This series has potential through suspense with the added bonus of romance. It’s an innocent love that will have to stand the test of time to see if it can endure the hardships of a cruel world as Frankie and Sandy immerse themselves into the world of organized crime.
An elegant woman in her later years feels the relentless march of time as she mourns her lost youth and missed chances. Alone in a dimly lit room, her life seems to fade with each cigarette she smokes. She observes a vibrant young woman, envying her youth and vitality. Through her introspections, we explore her deep desires and regrets. The narrative, rich with poetry and flashbacks, takes a dramatic turn with a potential murder, leading to a surprising twist. Despite its dark beginnings as a Film Noir, the film transforms into a celebration of life, ending on a hopeful, life-affirming note.
The aging process. It’s something we are all faced with eventually. Men seem to age a bit more easily than women, they have less bodily changes and don’t have to struggle through Menopause. For a woman, getting older can be seriously daunting.
Seconds In Eternity is the brainchild of Marina Welsch. Marina starred in and co-wrote this film with Director Christian Schu. Not only is Marina talented ( she has a lovely singing voice and co-wrote the main song in the film ) but she is absolutely stunning – at any age. Seconds in Eternity is a poetic film about coming to accept and love your life at whatever age you are. Incredibly creative, the visuals of this film are a work of art. From a gorgeous time-lapse of flowers opening to the richness and depth of the black and white cinematography. Robert Wilkos outdid himself as the Director of Photography on this film. The beautiful tone that was achieved in the black and white was equally matched during the vibrant colored flashback sequences.
The viewer knew exactly what was present day compared to the past and visually it even felt like a memory. One of my absolute favorite things was as Marina became more and more comfortable in her own skin, the stark black and white gradually changed to a colored present day. Ingenious! It worked so beautifully with the storyline.
The addition of the different quotes were a really nice addition, however with how gorgeous this was, the quotes seemed to break the flow of the film and I’m not sure they were needed. The message is so clear and so well told. I have to commend the filmmakers on the areas that were dubbed in english, it was almost imperceptible. The score of the film by Hariz Danial was nothing short of perfection. It was so impactful having the piano and then the dissonance of (what sounded like) a violin at the beginning to elevate the emotion of discord, and then to resolve it within the fashbacks. Hariz followed the emotion of what was on screen just beautifully.
Seconds In Eternity is a timeless film with a message that is inspiring and uplifting.
“ECTROPY” follows the Artist, a member of the Timeless Presence species who struggles to see his potential. Aided by the young Gaia, the Artist faces existential challenges and immense pressures as they paint the fabric of nature.
The short, Ectropy, gives the viewer a chance to escape to a fantasy world influenced by the forces of nature, where an artist creates sculpture and paintings with abandon. The visuals are breathtaking, with a sci-fi feel. A hot flaring sun, massive smoking explosions and falling boulders contrast with gentle images of soft pliable clay, and lush plants in the process of blooming.
The actor playing the central figure radiates both awe and sombre intensity, as a strong foil to the gentleness and warmth of the adorable girl playing the role of the young Gaia. Underneath it all, the instrumentals match the grandeur of the imagery, notably the full-scale action film orchestral music, and prominent sound effects such as the ongoing undulation of water.
The editing is stellar — such dynamic movement of a variety of images on screen, the most intriguing being the artist’s rapid fingers on glass and the creation of the angelic human statue. This short is effective in its contemplation that, in the end, nature is in control as the artist eventually goes back into the earth from whence he came.
Festival Reviews 