Three interconnected teams – firefighters, police officers, and 911 dispatchers – face relentless emergenies in Indianapolis, balancing personal struggles with the split-second decisions that determine life or death.

Get to know the writer:

1. What is your screenplay about?

Priority one is a one-hour network procedural in the style of 911 meets
Southland, where we follow three co-equal protagonist from police, fire,
and dispatch all with hearts for pursuing justice, but very different ideas
about what that means. The series follows their high-stakes professional
lives and messy personal lives as they work together to keep the city of
Indianapolis safe one episode at a time.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

Procedural Drama

3. Why should this screenplay be produced

Procedurals are having a resurgence, but the ones that hit hardest are
grounded in reality — not just in action, but in location, economics, and
character. Priority One brings that. It’s not trying to be prestige TV.
It’s a network-ready, franchise-capable series built for longevity. The
show reflects the reality of modern American cities: stretched
responders, escalating crises, and the human cost behind the call. If there’s ever a time for a
series like this to land — it’s now.

4. How would you describe this script in two words?

Human Resilience

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

A Promise (2013)

6. How long have you been working on this screenplay?

Four months now. It’s in its ninth and final draft.

7. How many stories have you written?

This is my fifth screenplay. I have two in development at any one time.

8. What motivated you to write this screenplay?

I’m active-duty military with three deployments under my belt. I’ve lived
the high-stress, high-stakes environment that Priority One captures — and I
know how people in these roles actually talk, think, and break. The
characters are built from real personalities I’ve worked with, mentored, or
clashed with. I’m not guessing how the job feels — I’ve lived it. This
isn’t a dramatization from the outside looking in. It’s built on real-world
intensity, sarcasm, burnout, and loyalty.

In truth, I watched a show and connected with a character in a way that I
never wanted to. His grief, guilt and his struggles, I at first could only
sympathize and then a year later was able to empathize. He was killed off
this year for realism but I disagreed creatively about how it was done. So
instead of just being angry, I wrote Priority One. I sat back and I
listened to the fans of that show that I watched, and I wrote Priority One
for myself and for them.

9. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?

The difficulty of taking in as much feedback as I possibly could from so
many different people and sitting down and taking those meetings. Then
having to go through all of that feedback at each draft and decide what
amplified the voice of this script and what was going to take it out
applying that information. These were all people who have been doing this a
whole lot longer than I have so it was a matter of absorbing everything
that they told me and then deciding for myself what was going to work and
what was not. What was going to service the script and what was going to
tear it down? Because in truth, we’re all biased and what one person is
telling me might not be what somebody else is telling me. I have to,
ultimately, decide for myself what is going to help the script to move
forward and what isn’t.

10. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?

My day job is working on weapon systems. Ultimately, the other thing that I
enjoy doing is teaching weapons safety, and ensuring that people know how
to safely handle them and properly handle them.

11. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on
the initial feedback you received?

I hadn’t seen any specifically female competitions before I ran across this
one, and so that is ultimately what influenced me to submit to the festival.

My initial feelings towards the feedback I received was fairly neutral just
because at that point, I was already two drafts of ahead of what I had
submitted. I was on draft five when I submitted to the festival and by the
time I received feedback back, I revise very quickly, I was already on
draft seven. Now I’m on draft nine, and that is the finished draft.

A young man attends the final session of his compensated work therapy program. The therapist remains ever oblivious as his lies begins to swallow the room whole.

Get to know the screenwriter;

1. What is your screenplay about?
– Shrink is an original story about a young man (Ashton) attending his
final therapy session through his employer’s Employee Assistance Program.
As the session progresses, his lies about his trauma to protect his abuser
begins to bleed into his own perception of reality. He can only sit and
watch as the space around him shifts before his very eyes, as his therapist
remains ever oblivious to the changes in the room, and the changes in
Ashton.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?
– Thriller / Drama

3. Why should this screenplay be produced?
– Shrink provides a distinct voice from the tragic perspective of an abused
victim who experienced having their gender fetishized. This voice also
sheds light on the inner fears and mindset of a victim who tries to protect
their abuser, and how those lies can consume a person whole. Shrink
provides an experience that many young, impressionable adults who fall into
abusive relationships can relate to, highlighting themes like over
empathy/rationalizing abuser behavior, brushing off their true problems,
and the pain of trying therapy and realizing the therapist isn’t really
connected to you. Logistically, producing Shrink would require minimal
location scouting, requires a max of only 3 characters, and very achievable
set designs.

Trace of Nowhere, 33min., Japan
Directed by Rel Stott
One performer. No words. A vision of absence and presence.

https://www.instagram.com/rei.stott

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

Through my personal practice of Butoh and its bodily methods, I often
experience a sense of the “unseen world”—what Japanese aesthetics call
yūgen. I wanted to share that sensation with more people. The film became
an attempt to preserve the traces of that invisible realm, which I see as a
contemporary form of ritual or prayer. My aim was to translate its purity
and quiet clarity into cinematic form.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take?

The whole process took about five months: one month for planning, one month
for shooting, and roughly three months of editing. It was a very compressed
schedule for a first-time director, but I worked full-time on it. I felt
that a concentrated timeline would allow me to seal the sense of stillness
we captured during the shoot directly into the film.

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

“Sacred Silence.”

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

As a first-time director, everything—from shaping a visual language to
managing a small production team—was a challenge. The hardest part was
finding a cinematic form that could convey the invisible, ritualistic
dimension without distorting it. Editing was especially demanding; I had to
balance the presence of the dance and the music so that each would enhance
the other.

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

I felt deeply grateful. Many viewers perceived the ritualistic and
spiritual qualities we intended, and that confirmed for me that non-verbal
expression really can cross borders and reach people directly.

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

There wasn’t a single turning point. Performing Noh roles as an actor and
assisting film directors on set gradually led me toward filmmaking. At the
same time, I had long been exploring how to express the world seen through
one’s “inner nature.” When I met the dancer Mizuki Gojo, I felt that
filming her could allow mythic images—stories older than language—to be
recreated through cinema.

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

The Star Wars series. It’s thrilling entertainment, yet it also weaves
together multiple cultural elements and even touches on Taoist philosophy.
That blend has always fascinated me.

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

Festivals that treat non-verbal, movement-based works with care are
significant to me. Opportunities for dialogue with fellow directors, and
guidance on distribution methods that preserve the integrity of the viewing
experience, would be extremely valuable.

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

Very smooth and easy to use. For independent filmmakers working with small
teams, the ability to connect with international festivals through a single
platform is a major advantage.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Sushi, sukiyaki, tonkatsu.

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

Yes. I’m currently preparing my first feature film. It will have a clearer
narrative while maintaining a ritualistic and refined sensibility—what I
call “ceremonial entertainment.” For the next project, I hope to expand the
team and elevate the level of cinematography, costume design, music, and
art direction to create a truly high-quality art film.

Prayer of the Sea, 6min., Germany
Directed by Martin Gerigk
A composer recounts a dream from his youth that inspired the slow movement of his first string quartet, Prayer of the Sea. The dream, depicting a peaceful dissolution into the sea and wind, symbolized his future death. Decades later, rediscovering a drawing from the quartet’s premiere – perfectly capturing the dream’s essence – revived its emotions. Now older, he reflects on the dream’s message: a serene acceptance of life’s inevitable end.

Project Links

 Facebook

 Website

1. What motivated you to make this film?

As a music composer, I occasionally dream of complete compositions. When I
wake up, I simply write them down. When I was about 20 years old, I dreamt
of such a piece for a string quartet. In the dream, I was standing in the
surf of a cold sea, facing north. Then, I dissolved into the wind and the
sea. It was clear that the dream symbolized my own death in the future.
Yet, there was nothing sad about it; it felt good and liberating. It was
like a vision, a gentle prophecy.

This led me to reflect: on one hand, I wanted to bring closure to the
dream’s experience and sensation for myself; on the other, I hoped to make
it emotionally tangible for others – a calm perspective on what lies ahead
for us all. The calmness of a gentle passing, something we can only hope to
experience one day.

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

About one year.

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

Audiovisual elegy.

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

The technical merging of the photos and their subsequent animation.

5. There are 5 stages of the filmmaking process: Development.
Pre-Production. Production. Post-Production. Distribution.

What is your favorite stage of the filmmaking process?

Development and post-production.

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

After that dream 30 years ago, I struggled repeatedly with making the film,
as the subject of one’s own death is not an easy one. But at some point, I
knew it was the right time and began to finish the film.

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

Star Wars…

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

You are already doing a great job in my opinion!

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

Always positive.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Shakshuka.

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

My current film project is called Spheres. This time an homage to life.
It’s a poetic essay that drifts through a series of expanding spheres, each
revealing a different layer of our shared reality, from the microscopic to
the mythical. To me the new film is a breathing meditation designed to
remind us of the wonders of our incomprehensibly beautiful world.

A rag tag trio of criminals are tasked by the devil, to hunt down an outlaw trying to outrun his debt.

Project Links

•  Website
•  Instagram

1. What motivated you to make this film?

This was my college thesis, and my passion project I have been working on for several years. What motivated me was the characters I crafted along the way, and ths wonderful preformances the Voice actors gave to the characters.

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

It took me around 10-11 months of work.

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

Questionable Protagonists

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

My biggest challenge was making time on top of other classes. As a transfer student my senior year I was doing 3-4 animation classes on top of my Thesis. So time management was super hard when you have to do over hundreds of frames for different projects.

5. There are 5 stages of the filmmaking process: Development. Pre-Production. Production. Post-Production. Distribution.

What is your favorite stage of the filmmaking process?

That’s difficult to say, as I love the whole process. But if I had to, I really enjoyed the pre-production, and the production. Once I get my idea I love to tweak and edit it. Polishing and getting all the assets and characters done. I want to say once I got the ok by my professor, I just ran off leash. Made tons of work for the pre-production book, as well as completing the backgrounds.

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

When I was 8 I knew I wanted to do animation. Ever since I saw what people could create and produce, the amount if creativity and imagination used for an animated movie or a kid show. It always blew me away, and I want to be able to share my love for the medium the only way I know how. But animation. 

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

Ohh.. That’s hard. I’d have to say “Sin City” or “Freeway”.

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

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

It has been a wonderful experience! I have been able to send my film and network with others. It was a great opportunity to connect with fellow artists.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Phò I can’t get enough! I could eat it for every meal.

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

More passion projects. I am currently working on a pilot of this series. “The Town Without Laws: What Comes Around” its about the trio coming back home after a massacre only to be treated to karmic justice. I’m hoping with this film I will be able to explore the world, and show the brutality during the wildwest.

Once More, Like Rain Man, 15min., USA
Directed by Sue Ann Pien
‘It’s up to you to make a future that has you in it…’ We follow Zoe (Martinez) and her dad, Gerry (Jones) in a ‘day in the life’ of an autistic actress running the gambit of stereotypes she has to deal with – and her dad’s battle in supporting her forging that path for herself – in a funny, frustrating, painful and sometimes triumphantly sarcastic kind of way.

https://www.instagram.com/omlrmovie

Interview with writer/star Bella Zoe Martinez:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

I was tired of not wising myself or girls like me in media and wanted to do something about that.

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

It was a little over 2 1/2 years. I had the idea near the end of lockdowns in CA, because I wasn’t allowed to go back to high school in person – and it was very hard. My parents encouraged me, and helped me flush it out into a script. From the time we shared the script with producers Suzann Ellis and Darren Dean to shooting – and met and had Sue Ann Pien come of board to direct, it was almost a year to the date. Part of the delay was because of the strikes – but it was also meant we got such an amazing cast. Everyone was unemployed. We signed the SAG and DGA contracts – so were one of the only approved productions at the time.

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

Ice cream. I don’t know

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

Casting Gerry. We went back and forth with Jason Segal’s people – who knows if he got to read it – and it was super cool to say that we were out to Jason Segal! – for like a month on whether he would be able to do it. Then word got out that the strike was ending. The best thing to happen was Matt Jones being available and willing to play Gerry. We didn’t get any rehearsal time before shooting – we met for the first time IRL 30 minutes before the first scene – so everyone was holding their breath on that first shot of day one – until Matt and I had the Batman scene. And we knew the suit fit.

5. There are 5 Stages of Filmmaking: 1) Development. 2) Pre-Production. 3) Production. 4) Post-Production. 5) Distribution.

What is your favorite stage of the process and why?

We haven’t done distribution yet, so not sure.

My favorite part was production. We had a very chill vibe on set – since about 40% of the cast and crew were autistic or living with a different disability, we had accommodations built in – which made it go much smoother than any set anyone had been on – even for the “normal’ people.

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

I kinda always wanted to. My siblings and I would make films together with our toys – and my sister would direct – and she was actually really good. Then I realized you get could get paid to do it – which was amazing.

One of the funniest things was when she made an homage to “Reservoir Dogs’ – just the song at the beginning since we weren’t allowed to watch the movie yet – she used Angry Birds plushies and our Girl Scout troop with the birds on sticks with a green screen. One time one of the birds feel out of the frame and she yelled CUT! That was fantastic just a little. Can we try it again with the bird in the frame?

But it was also my coping mechanism for being severely bullied in middle school for my autism.

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

Only one!? The Great Race. It’s a family tradition – especially the pie fight scene. The Nightmare Before Christmas – my sister memorized the entire movie before she could talk – and so did I. My siblings are also autistic, so my family ended up with a kind of code speak, in movie quotes for context. I didn’t realize that we did that until I was in like middle school.

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’m not sure. Every festival has been so unique.

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

Actually, really good. They made it a lot easier to find and submit to festivals. We’d have been totally lost without them.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Mac and cheese and chicken.

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

We are in pre-production for the feature version of this film. And incredibly, everyone on the cast and crew are excited to come back!

Also developing a supernatural western, a sci-fi, and a complete animated universe. And working on my new original song. (I wrote the song Distant Goodbyes” that I sing in the film.

After being kidnapped and forced into a brutal assimilation camp where the English language is used as control, two teenage girls from different countries must find a way to escape, before they are stripped of their identity.

1. What motivated you to make this film?

I think from my personal experience being an actress and having to deal with cultural differences, how Hollywood wants you to lose your accent. That was the main thing for me and Mary when we wrote it.

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

to make this film?

We started writing in February this year and by the time we finished the script by the end of March, we started to look for the crew and fundraiser parties. Post-production wrapped up at the end of July.

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

Harsh Reality

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

Definitely budget. This short was very independent. But I was extremely grateful that we found a team passionate about telling this story, and together we made it happen.

5. There are 5 stages of the filmmaking process: Development. 

Pre-Production. Production. Post-Production. Distribution.

What is your favorite stage of the filmmaking process?

As a writer, I love the development part because it’s when you get to be so creative and imagine how this world is going to be. As an actress, I love being on set and trying different things in the scene. I like being there ready to play with my scene partner.

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

I’ve always wanted to create and tell stories since I was little, but when I decided that I wanted to do this professionally, I was 13, and I tried every possible way to convince my family to let me pursue this career.

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

Amélie directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. I absolutely love that movie and I’ve probably seen it more than 100 times at this point.

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 am so happy Felipe (our director) recommended WildSound. I found you guys to be more than a festival, but a community ready to support artists.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your 

experiences working on the festival platform site?

It has been easy and helpful so far. I love the way it’s very organized.

10. What is your favorite meal?

I am so cheesy, but I have to say Brazilian food.

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

I’m co-writing this next short called Miss Porcelana, and it explores women in this beauty contest world. I’ll also gonna be starring in it.

After making a pact with Mephistopheles, Goethe’s Faust finds . . . redemption and transcendence in the ideal of the Eternal-Feminine.

Project Links

•  Website
•  Facebook
•  X
•  Instagram

Review by Julie C. Sheppard:

The short, The Redemption of Faust, is a glorious, multi-faceted production – – a modern re-telling of the famous tale, Faust. Every frame is a feast for the eyes and ears. It is unrelentingly beautiful. The cinematography moves at a rapid pace, recounting the experience of the central figure, in this case a gifted photographer. Shots quickly flick back and forth from night to day, to city vistas, to extreme close ups of faces, to wide drone shots. Text is masterfully narrated and sung, and sets the structure of the piece. 

Sound in the project is equally impressive, with stormy eruptions, stirring choral voices and soft orchestral strains. The atmosphere at the water’s edge is eerie, as whispers are layered with a fervent feminine voice.

There is a strong spiritual essence as the central figure is eventually redeemed, despite a checkered past. It is a clever convention to bring this classic tale of sin and eventual salvation into a more recent era.

Performed by Val Cole

—

Get to know the writer:

1. What is your short story about?

What if we could be programmed, our circuitry overwritten, erasing any trace of humanity, or attempts to, and if we stray into uncertainty, a threat to the system, we will be targeted and upgraded to fit nicely back into the societal mode. And if that doesn’t work, lobotomy because the system must remain operational, but you don’t.

2. What genres would you say this story is in?
Dystopian

3. How would you describe this story in two words?
Alternate Reality

4. What movie have you seen the most in your life?
I have seen a multitude of movies, and some I remember, some I don’t. And some will stay with me forever like the movie, The Listener with Tessa Thompson (2022). Do we really remember that we are human, and why does it hurt so damn much? Nobody seems to care about our pain, our suffering, our fears, loss, but someone does. And they are listening, letting us talk, connect, and solitude melts away, even if it is for a few minutes or so. And we remember that yes, we are human, and no, we are not alone.

5. What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the most times in your life?)
Again, I have found and listened to a multitude of songs, past and present. It takes a certain song to catch my ear, grip me tight, pull me into melody, vocals that drown out the noise, and one song in particular would be Mind over Matter (Acoustic) by PVRIS.

6. Do you have an all-time favorite novel?
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

7. What motivated you to write this story?
It’s routine. Get up. Go to work. Waste your time on mundane things. Go home. Eat dinner. Watch tv, or in my case, Apple TV. Sleep. Repeat. Again and again and again, almost as if I were a real cog in the machine. That doesn’t work for me, but I can’t seem to escape it. It’s almost like I’m programmed to be this way, but what if I want to pull away, tear out the circuitry, and make myself bleed and feel and remember that I am Human.

8. If you could have dinner with one person (dead or alive), who would that be?
Seth MacFarlane

9. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
Photography – People, Buildings, Dystopian/Abandoned Places

10. What influenced you to enter your story to get performed?
I saw that WILDsound was looking for dystopian stories, and this was one of my favorites that I had written. It needed a good home, so I submitted it to them.

11. Any advice or tips you’d like to pass on to other writers?
Don’t let the world shut you down. I realized that I have been in a rut myself, barely writing, thinking, waiting for the world to burn down in civil war and World War III, but I’m wasting myself in doing that. I should be doing something, even if it is small, even if it is only known to me, so at least in the end, I can say, I created that.

In the quirky desert town of Grand River, conspiracy theories, old grudges, and government secrets collide in Un-Cognito, a satirical action-comedy with heart.

Glenn Rancher, a straight-laced FBI forensic accountant facing a terminal diagnosis, returns home to reconnect with his estranged daughter Emma, a competitive college archer. His ex-wife Julia, an Air Force general, urges him to make peace while he still can. But reconnecting with family becomes complicated when Glenn stumbles into a chaotic conspiracy led by a ragtag crew of local misfits operating under the viral alias “Un-Cognito.”

Get to know the writer:

1. What is your screenplay about?

Un-Cognito follows a dad trying to make amends with his college aged daughter and ends up in a confusing, chaotic world of misguided militia and conspiracy kooks. It’s about found family, people connecting with people, whether blood ties or common need, we all need to find purpose and fulfilment in our relationships, although some relationship choices may be more flawed than others.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

Action/comedy

3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?

I think audiences need to meet these characters. I like to think the right group of actors will bring life and connection to their world. It’s funny, fast paced and gives us a little hope.

4. How would you describe this script in two words?

Charismatically conspiratorial.

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

Not the easiest question to answer, and while I haven’t watched it in a while, probably Repo-Man.

6. How long have you been working on this screenplay?

Entering year three and the umteenth iteration.

7. How many stories have you written?

Twenty or so in various stages and formats. Theater, audio, short film scripts and full length.

8. What motivated you to write this screenplay?

I wanted to take a shot at the action comedy genre and I recently had my own health challenge and can now call myself a cancer survivor. facing uncertainty, going through treatments made me realize that I can’t do everything alone and needed to let people, specifically family in. I love my kids and my wife and this story helped me broach the loner mentality. That coupled with exploring how to conspiracies and ridiculous rumors spread, Today its internet, but before that every kid in the 80s heard that “Bubble Yum had spider eggs” …. no internet but coast to coast we all knew the story. Today, those conspiracies can manifest in things like QAnon and I wanted to poke at that.

9. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?

The biggest obstacle has been of my own making – too many characters, too many story lines, needing to cull the narratives in to an accessible story.

10. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?

Collaborative creation! I love working with artists on theater projects, performance art, music and anything to showcase the brilliance inside us all.

11. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?

Feedback, learning and reading the responses from other entrants on their experience. You also provided some great ideas on how to market your own work as well as put fresh eyes on the projects.