Festival Reviews

Today’s Podcast: EP. 1418: Screenwriter Gerard O’Neill (Terran Tapes – The Annunaki)

February 5, 2025 festreviews PODCASTS EP. 1418: Screenwriter Gerard O’Neill (Terran Tapes – The Annunaki)

Watch the best scene script reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT_ztVSLtb0

Get to know the writer:

What is your screenplay about?

This is the tale of the immortal Vampire Goddess Lilitu of ancient lore and her near human lover Dougal, their three identical red haired daughters and an oblivious species known as humanity.

What genres does your screenplay fall under?

Science Fiction/Fantasy

Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?

Since I first took up the pen to write this story I have watched as rewrites of successful films and sequels and prequels have graced our screens, some enhanced by more seasoned writing and special effects while others show little imagination or creativity and relying on the name of it’s original. This story has no comparison.

How would you describe this script in two words?

Sensuous thriller

What movie have you seen the most times in your life?

Hard to answer. I had a mother, have a wife and daughter. Now grandchildren, so you’re looking at Sound of Music verses Willie Wonka (the original), or numerous episodes of Bluey.

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https://www.instagram.com/sing_me_to_sleep_film/

Actors Podcast #9: Ryan Carson (SING ME TO SLEEP)

February 4, 2025 festreviews PODCASTS Actors Podcast #9: Ryan Carson (SING ME TO SLEEP), Hannah Ehman

Hannah Ehman chats with actor Ryan Carson on the making of the short film SING ME TO SLEEP.

SING ME TO SLEEP, 25min,. USA

Directed by Mario Valdivieso

“Sing Me To Sleep” follows the story of a young couple by the name of Marc and Julia. Julia has been diagnosed with cancer and she is at the point where her disease has become terminal. Marc decides to take his dying wife home so they can make the most of their last days together.

https://www.instagram.com/_._comradecason/

Follow Interviewer Hannah Ehman on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ehmanhannah/

Watch Hannah’s commercial spots: https://www.ispot.tv/topic/actor-actress/bP8/hannah-ehman

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https://www.chainanimationofficial.com/

Filmmaker Podcast: Ling Han & Tzu-Ying Ho (CHAIN)

February 2, 2025 festreviews PODCASTS Ling Han & Tzu-Ying Ho (CHAIN)

CHAIN, 5min., USA

Directed by Ling Han

“Chain,” directed by Ling Han, is a 3D animated short film featuring charming characters and a sophisticated environment. It uniquely tells the story of the mantis catching the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559900085971

https://www.instagram.com/chain_animation_official/

Get to know filmmaker Ling Han:

What motivated you to make this film?On my journey to becoming a professional animator, I’m always seeking opportunities to grow and improve my artistic skills. In 2021, I started wondering how I could challenge myself further. Directing seemed like the perfect way to step outside my comfort zone and push my creative boundaries. That’s why I decided to make this film.

. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?Creating this film took us over two and a half years. We continuously faced numerous challenges, including a limited budget and technical issues. These challenges significantly influenced the schedule of the project.

How would you describe your film in two words!?I would describe my film as ‘challenging and rewarding.’ It was challenging because completing the entire project was difficult. It was rewarding because our teammates all grew as better artists throughout the process.

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https://www.instagram.com/classicvwbugs/

Today’s Podcast: Filmmaker Christopher Patrick Vallone (HELLBOUND FUGITIVE)

February 1, 2025February 1, 2025 festreviews PODCASTS Filmmaker Christopher Patrick Vallone (HELLBOUND FUGITIVE)

HELLBOUND FUGITIVE, 5min., USA
Directed by Christopher Patrick Vallone
In a desperate bid for freedom, a convict seeks refuge in a decaying fortress within the mountains. He inadvertently enters a nightmarish arena where ancient demons punish the wicked, and survival means fighting hell itself.

Home

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?
SO this film is just a piece of a feature length script I wrote 18 years ago when I was just getting out of indie filmmaking after 10 years. AI came into my life almost 2 years ago, and so I started to dabble in it. I started to make a film trailer to that feature I wrote, and then started to see some AI horror, thriller contests online, and decided to make a short “Hellbound Fugitive” as a piece off of the trailer I was producing. I figured I had some scenes made already from the trailer, why not make a short from some of the clips? So that’s what I did.

What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
Very cool, so glad everyone enjoyed it, and the constructive criticism was great too, great advice to help me improve next time.

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https://www.instagram.com/sirenstango/

Today’s Podcast: Lisa Le Lievre (CLOSER THAN YESTERDAY)

January 31, 2025July 2, 2025 festreviews PODCASTS Lisa Le Lievre (CLOSER THAN YESTERDAY)

CLOSER THAN YESTERDAY, documentary feature film

Two young San Francisco Ballet dancers compete on the world stage at the Helsinki International Ballet Competition.

http://closerthanyesterday.com/

Review of the film: https://festivalreviews.org/2025/01/27/feature-film-review-closer-than-yesterday-directed-by-lisa-le-lievre/

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Today’s Podcast: Guillermo Ronco (BAD BLOOD)

January 30, 2025 festreviews PODCASTS Guillermo Ronco (BAD BLOOD)

BAD BLOOD, 19min., Argentina
Directed by Guillermo Ronco
Abandoned by the state and with his daughter’s life at stake, police officer Rafael chooses to break his deepest convictions and commit a crime to resolve his situation. But when what was supposed to be a robbery turns into a kidnapping, he discovers that there are limits he cannot cross.

https://www.instagram.com/lucero_audiovisual/

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?
In 2018/19, I began developing my first feature film, “Saints of Buenaventura”, but it was canceled due to the COVID pandemic. So, my next move to push forward this project was to shoot a short film with similar characteristics in terms of tone and artistic style. So, I took the structure of the third act of the first draft of that script and turned it into a story with a beginning and end in less than 20 minutes.

What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
It was awesome! The way they got engaged and moved by the story, and their comments about the right pacing and the sound score building suspense and anticipation. I work so consciously on those topics that it makes me very proud that I got them right. Feedback is priceless for us filmmakers. Thanks so much for that!

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Screenplay Podcast: EP. 1410 Stephanie Neroes (Collateral Hearts)

January 27, 2025 festreviews PODCASTS

Watch the best scene reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6neBm5HFRE

After spending their tenth wedding anniversary at the Mackinac Island, Jackson and Rebecca are in a tragic car accident which leaves her in a coma for 6 months and Jackson dead. After she wakes up, she has to grieve the loss and this takes a toll on her. She meets Patrick when he comes to the school to unblock a toilet one of her students filled with sand. He feels familiar to her but she brushes it off until she goes to a church to attend grief counseling, the same church he is attending AA meetings at. They become close until she realises that Patrick was the reason for the accident.

Get to know the writer:

1.. What is your screenplay about?
Collateral Hearts is about how one navigates the complexities of grief, forgiveness, and healing after experiencing profound loss and trauma.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?
Drama, Romance, Family

3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
I feel like in a world seeking empathy, forgiveness, and resilience, Collateral Hearts offers a timely exploration of the power of second chances and healing after unimaginable loss. As audiences resonate with universal themes of grief, addiction, and hope, this story speaks to the struggles and redemption many face today, making it both poignant and relevant.

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EP. 1408: (Actors Podcast #7) Darlene Popovic & Cynthia Gatlin (GIN RUMMY)

January 24, 2025 festreviews PODCASTS

Hannah Ehman chats with actors Darlene Popovic & Cynthia Gatlin on the making of the short film GIN RUMMY.

“Three best friends have been playing Gin Rummy every week for over 50 years. On this Gin Rummy night they have made other plans as a final bonding of the trio.”

Follow Interviewer Hannah Ehman on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ehmanhannah/

Watch Hannah’s commercial spots: https://www.ispot.tv/topic/actor-actress/bP8/hannah-ehman

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https://www.instagram.com/megzeppelinn/

Today’s Podcast: Screenwriter Megan Breen (SERPENTINE PINK)

January 23, 2025 festreviews PODCASTS Screenwriter Megan Breen (SERPENTINE PINK)

SERPENTINE PINK, 78min., USA
Directed by Vivian Sorenson
A dark surreal experience. A first of its kind, vortex of a lesbian?? John Waters film meets Yellow Rose meets early Almodóvar on a Lynchian induced trip??in the Mojave desert.??Serious Lost Highway vibes!

https://hardknockprod.com/serpentine-pink/
https://www.facebook.com/serpentinepinkfilm
https://twitter.com/HardKnockProdCo
https://www.instagram.com/serpentinepinkfilm

Get to know the screenwriter:

Serpentine Pink started out as a play and was given a sublimely wild life as a visceral immersive festival production in Los Angeles in 2013. It was an incredibly special experience to put on such an emotional story about broken hearts trying to heal in the weirdness of the California desert, everybody involved in the production bonded through the uniquely rigorous catharsis that occurred after conjuring such rawness in every performance. I can’t remember who it was but it was either Kristin Condon, who co-leads the film as Henrietta and is a co-producer, or O-Lan Jones who plays Andra, who expressed that Serpentine Pink and the expansive possibilities within its surreal visual vocabulary, as well as the vibrational intimacy of the wounded characters, would make a rad indie movie. I was super moved and excited by the focus on the female-led filmmaking of an underheard LGBTQ+ story, as well as the idea of transforming the theatrical depiction of pain and the characters’ wayward navigational attempts towards healing into an ambitiously poetic cinematic experience – at once personal and epic, highly stylized and on location on the spiritual vortices of the Joshua Tree desert.

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