CIAO, BELLA, 8min., USA
Directed by William Quinn Dover
In this modern film noir romance, a young stalker can’t seem to get over his ex lover, until finding out the double meaning of “Ciao Bella”.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4oPE1juDqh/?igsh=MXh4anVtMTFrMGM4dA%3D%3D

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
As much as it sucks to say, I caught somebody I was seeing on a date with another guy. I didn’t take it in a bad way though. Seeing that just sparked the idea, I’m glad it happened. I was also watching “A Boy Meets Girl”, a french noir movie that is absolutely stunning, and got directly inspired by that.

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

This film was a super long process. A total of 6 months, October 2023 to March 2024. For 8 minutes of film, that’s a long damn time.

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

Moving on.

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

I have a scroll worth of issues that happened during the process of this film. Having to take out most of my money for school on this film, to losing my first cinematographer two weeks before production, to then having covid on set…But all of that was relatively easy because I persisted. That was the hardest thing…Making the jump and actually deciding to create it. A lot of people can talk about an idea, but actually making it happen is the hardest part.

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

Simply put, a smile. As much as I thought it was gonna boost my ego, it didn’t, it just put a smile on my face. I’m very thankful for the people who take time out of their day to watch my film, it means the world to me, it’s priceless. Being able to talk about my ideas and elaborate on my creative process is so cool. People actually listen? Like come on, that’s all a creator and director wants at the end of the day, just having people interested enough in there idea to talk to them about it.

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

18. I wish I could say I knew I wanted to make films from a young age, but that’s not true. I wanted to be a musician for the longest time, which I still am, but after filming my first music video as a director, I really got into film. I was living in Milwaukee at the time in an old 70’s style house with a pink sunroom. I met with some film students at UWM. We would constantly have lunch in the sunroom and talk about ideas and then we started filming. Was the first music video in Milwaukee good? Hell no, but it made me realize I wanted to make films.

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

Harry Potter, All 8…Those were my childhood movies. I was a big geek, I used to come home, take out my wands and watch them the whole night. My mother wanted to kill me, and my father thought I would never get a girlfriend if I kept that up. I grew out of that but I still believe to this day that’s the best movie franchise in history.

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 would rather be honest. It was quite confusing figuring out the details of this festival. I would make it a real festival and have people come to a theatre, especially if they are winning an award. Nonetheless, it was still awesome!

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

Great, it’s easy to navigate through film festivals.

10. What is your favorite meal?
I love yellow curry, add some garlic Naan and you’ll be drooling. It’s the type of meal that would make you go to war for it if they said you couldn’t have anymore. Just try it, my friends at home know what’s up.

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

I wanna just keep creating. I have a couple albums in mind, and more music videos. I just wanna be great. I have so many films in mind too, but I have to be patient and let those ideas come to me rather than rush them. It’s so exciting though. It’s exciting to create in this time and age. Although it’s harder to be in the spotlight, I could go down the street and meet a random filmmaker. Or meet a random musician from Spain on instagram and chat with him. Sorry for dragging, in conclusion I’m just gonna keep swimming

Submit to the CHICAGO Feedback Film Festival:

THE LONELY PORTRAIT, 17min., USA
Directed by Marc Marashi
An AirBnB guest stumbles upon a hidden piece of art that, once hung up, has an unexpected and unsettling effect on the home.

https://instagram.com/thelonelyportraitfilm
https://instagram.com/mna_film_company

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film? This was prompted by a miserable one-two punch of Covid and turning 40. Just my mortality being crammed down my throat in every possible way and realizing I’d never actually pursued this thing I wanted to do my whole life. So instead of buying a Corvette for my midlife crisis, I bought a camera. My friend, Andrew, who is the lead in the movie, is an actor and we’d been workshopping ideas for years without actually following through. After I bought the camera, Andrew went out and bought a bunch of other equipment, and we just kind of hit the ground running.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film? This was a long one. I went to film school 20 year ago, but I basically had to relearn filmmaking while we made this. We initially shot the whole thing on iphone in a night, without a script, just plotting it out as we went along. The result was bad, but we could tell the story actually worked. So that’s when we bought a real camera and just shot it again. I spent a few months doing FX work, making all the different paintings, editing, color correcting, etc… During that period, Andrew and his wife had a baby, so we kind of pumped the brakes and had about a year of downtime. Then, as we were kind of gearing back up to start working on something again, we revisited the film and realized we still weren’t happy with it. So we reshot about 80% of it yet again, and that’s what the finished product ended up being. All told, I’m going to say it was probably about 18-20 months.

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

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film? We were a 2-man operation, so we were both just wearing a lot of hats. There was no specific detail that proved to be standout difficult, but it was just learning how to do color correction, After Effects, sound editing, cleaning up poorly exposed footage (of which there was more than I’d like to admit). It was a lot of months spent watching tutorials on YouTube.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video? It was great! The filmmaking process sort of exists in a vacuum, so it’s great to get the finished product out there and see how people respond to it. We’d gotten some reactions in person after screenings, but these were definitely the most thoughtful responses we’ve gotten so far. So thank you for that!

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films? When I was a teenager. It just me some 20 odd years to do.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life? Probably Evil Dead 2?

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career? Oh man, if you guys had like… seven million dollars laying around to finance a feature film, that would sure be helpful! But no, this whole process has been cool. I can’t think of anything off the top of my head I would add or change.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site? It’s actually made this all super easy. I wasn’t aware of FilmFreeway’s existence prior to making this movie, and I’m just surprised how streamlined the whole process of submitting to festivals is.

10. What is your favorite meal? Korean bar food with a tower of beer and a bottle of soju.

11. What is next for you? A new film? We just started submitting our second film to festivals, and we are in the process of wrapping up shooting on our third. On top of that, we have a completed script and some extensive preproduction done for a feature we want to make. So as these films continue to play the festival circuit for the next couple years, we are going to be shopping that around as well.

Submit to the CHICAGO Feedback Film Festival:

THE DOLPHIN DILEMMA, 18min., USA
Directed by Olivia Andrus-Drennan
Imagine, waking up being covered in third-degree burns, that’s what it’s like for the Burrunan dolphins in Australia. But why is this happening? That’s what Dr. Duignan, Director of Pathology at The Marine Mammal Center, Dr. Stephen’s from Murdoch University, and Dr. Robb from the Marine Mammal Foundation had to find out. This film explores this international collaboration that proves for the first time that these lesions being found on cetaceans around the world are only caused by climate change.

https://www.bigskygenesis.com/films
https://www.facebook.com/BigSkyGenesisProductions/
https://www.instagram.com/bigskygenesisproductions/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

After reading the paper that The Marine Mammal Center released, I just had to make this into a film. It needed to be seen, dolphins and whales are loved by so many including myself and if I could bring light to such important work I had to try, so this film was born.

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

The film took about a year to make do to COVID. I was working for The Marine Mammal Center when the paper was released. This allowed me to get the first interview with Dr. Duignan, but we then had to wait for Australia to open up, which took about 5 months. After filming there, it took another 6 months to edit it down and present it as my thesis film.

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

Burning dolphins

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

I would say the aftermath of all the freshwater within the Gippsland Lake system was the biggest challenge. The input of all that water caused an algae bloom while we were shooting with the dolphins. This made it very difficult to find them as well as filming underwater not possible. So we had to come up with other methods to shoot the dolphins underwater as well as work with the Marine Mammal Foundation to get more footage in order to complete the film.

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

I was deeply touched. It was the first time receiving audience feedback and to see that everyone’s positive reaction and motivated to help, as a filmmaker it was everything I hoped the audience would get out of the film.

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

I was in middle school when I was introduced to fiction filmmaking by my best friend Will Ilgen. I just fell in love with storytelling, but the draw to wildlife biology was also just as strong of a pull. So I decided, “Why not both?” So I got two degrees in filmmaking and wildlife biology and continued to get my masters in science and natural history filmmaking from Montana State University and it has been the best decision I ever made.

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

My dad constantly had Turner Classic Movies on in our household, so most of the films I have seen were created in the Golden Era of filmmaking. I grew up with Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Sir Alfred Hitchcock, Barbara Stanwyck, I could go on and on. To me this era had some of the best written films due to all the restrictions placed on content at that time. The writers had to be very creative and it shown through the performances of the actors. These are the films I aim for, even if my focus is documentary, great storytelling is universal no matter the type of film created.

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 think for me as an emerging filmmaker networking opportunities with other filmmakers, distributors, producers, etc. is absolutely needed. With festivals going online this element is now missing in many festivals. So I think this needs to be solved because as big as this industry seems, it’s actually quite small. People hire those they know or have met and if you don’t have those opportunities for new filmmakers who are most likely paying out of pocket just to apply to the festivals, it limits their likelihood of getting their films out there.

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

This was the first time I used FilmFreeway’s marketing tools and I have to say I could not be happier. For the first time festivals were coming to me to ask to see the film. I was getting discounted offers and it allowed me to find the festivals actually wanting to have my film versus the apply here or there and getting seen by only a few festivals. So for me, FilmFreeway was amazing to use and I highly recommend it for emerging filmmakers new to the festival space.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Beef stroganoff. My dad use to make this as a special meal for me growing up and now it’s just reminds me of home.

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

I’m pitching a series about the Farallon Islands, an island chain two hours outside of San Francisco known as a keystone space. Animals are typically known as keystone species, like otters. Take otters out of an ecosystem and the whole thing collapses. Well this is a rare keystone space that has very little human interference and has something giving birth on the island every season, very rare. I’m one of the few who have been on the island and I can’t wait to share with everyone the significance of such a space. If you’re interested in getting involved please feel free to reach out!

Submit to the WILDsound Feedback Film:

DIPPERS IN THE ALTAI IV; EMERGENCE OF THE CHICKS, 54min., UK
Directed by Andrew Laurie
In the course of his work as a wildlife conservation advisor to the Mongolian government, Andrew Laurie followed up on a childhood fascination with White-throated Dippers on the Teme near Ludlow, by finding out more about their lives in the Altai Mountains. Now resident in Cambridge, Andrew has made four films on Dippers in Mongolia – covering nest-building, incubation, feeding of the chicks in the nest, and this, the most recent one (2023) on the emergence of the chicks and their early lives on the river.

https://www.youtube.com/@andrewlaurie64/featured

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

Early experience and fascination with the White-throated Dipper in UK as a schoolboy led me to search for its breeding sites in the Mongolian Altai when there on an assignment much later in life – because although sigthings were common, particularly in winter on unfrozen streams, the local ornithologists did not know where it bred.

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

This is the fourth in a series. This particular film took one year from decision to do the fourth in the series, to completed film.

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

Just watching

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

Organizing the footage in a sensible and efficient way

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

Very pleased that the audience members found it so interesting and understood all key things I had been trying to portray – the patience required to learn about animals; the joy of watching without intervention; the potential to interest local people; the Dipper as an indicator of riverine health.

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

The first time I went to find a Dipper nest in the Altai in 2017. I had intended to take only photographs but experimented with the movie function on my new camera and was hooked from then on.

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

In the Heat of the Night (starring Sidney Poitier)

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

Feedback from professional film makers (perhaps some of the audience were, but in that case to be made clear that they are)

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

Very good. It is well designed, and avoids unnecessary repeat input of information.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Curry and rice

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

A fifth film in the Dippers of the Altai series. I need to find out if that strange behaviour of the adults landing on the backs of the chicks is more widespread and to see if I can gather any clues as to its function or origin.

Submit to the ENVIRONMENTAL Film Festival:

AKABEI, 12min., Poland
Directed by Marcin Kolodziejczak
A young woman dreaming of a stable relationship discovers that her current partner is just wasting her time, so she plans swift revenge.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

There were three main reasons why I wanted to create this movie:
First was the fact that I’ve experienced a lot of situations that became conflicts just because of a very different level of people’s sensitivity, empathy.

I felt that it’s so natural that it’s a good foundation for a conflict in a short thriller movie.

Second – the last film I directed premiered almost 3 years ago. I learnt a lot during this period of time.

I was sure that I know more about thrillers than ever before and I wanted to prove that.

Last reason?

Every time I’ve watched something from: A. Hitchcock, D. Fincher or D. Lynch I was so inspired that I felt – it’s high time to act.

And then I watched Vertigo (A. Hitchcock, 1958) and there wasn’t just anything that could stop me.

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

The first version of the scenario is from July 2023. I finished it after a break at the end of September 2023.

Then I had castings with almost 50 actors. We started filming it in the middle of November 2023 and finished by the end of February 2024 (we were able to film only during some weekends).

Then I’ve edited it and prepared first “test screenings” (beginning of March), gathered feedback and applied adjustments.

Film was 100% ready on the day of its premiere – 23 March 2024.

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

Suspense, symbolism.

But I’d add a third word: atmosphere.

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

I felt that a long break during the end of the year (Christmas holidays, New Year’s Eve) was very risky for the project, especially of the fact that we were ending the year with much less material that we wanted.

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

I was happy that so many things have been understood and felt the way I wanted.

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

Every time I have a longer break from making movies I just feel like something in my life is lacking.

It’s this type of feeling which is very hard to describe especially that the whole process is often overwhelming, time consuming and sometimes stressful.

But yes, it’s all about that feeling – it’s not rational and it’s really hard to say when it started.

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

Presumably R. Polański’s “Chinatown” (1978).

First couple of times because I’ve found it in different books about writing scenarios and also articles listing best film noir movies.

Then I was at screenwriting workshops and we were studying it there.
Then with some of my friends who had no idea about the existence of this film.

Then with my wife who wanted to watch some classics.

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

Seeing all the reactions after private screenings is great but seeing a recording from the cinema itself would be even better.

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

I like FilmFreeway – it’s easy to use, focused on one, well-developed feature.

Its user interface is legible and intuitive.

10. What is your favorite meal?

It’s the hardest question I can imagine.

I’m going with Spaghetti bolognese with basil leaf on top.

Not only because it’s tasty but also because of this combination of colors.

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

Definitely a new film. I’m thinking about mixing the thriller genre with film noir or sci-fi.

THE OLD LADY, 26min., Spain
Directed by Andres Romero
A lonely old lady is slowly dying in her old mansion when the arrival of the daughter of her caretaker mysteriously changes her future prospects.

Get to know writer/producer/star ANGELE MARTENS:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
The script and the opportunity to film in a castle which adds more mystery to the story.

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

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

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
The script is about an old woman who becomes younger and younger as time goes by. Filming in a non-linear sequence made it more complicated, especially in terms of makeup.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
It felt awesome. Seeing so much positive comment for a job that has taken us more than a year and a half of work just thinking about the audience, in delivering the best possible film for their enjoyment, is a real gift.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films? Since I can remember.
Since I can remember. My father had a camera that recorded in super 8mm, so from a very young age I was very used to recording with cameras and editing, even if it was analog, not like not, when everything is easier with the digital world.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
Star Wars….1977….I was 6 years old. It was the film with which I thought: I want to do that.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?
At the moment, you are doing everything magnificently, much better than other festivals, so I believe that, for the moment, other festivals would have to imitate you.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
Excellent. Film Freeway is one of the best platforms, if not the best, to present your projects, due to the attractiveness of its page when it comes to presenting yourself to festivals and all the opportunities that each of them offer you.

10. What is your favorite meal?
Scrambled eggs with ham and French fries.

11. What is next for you?
There are always several projects underway, circulating, but perhaps the most interesting is the second part of this short, since many people have already asked us about the future of the life of LAURA, the real protagonist.: How will it happen? incognito among people who are not immortal like her…

Submit to the CRIME/MYSTERY Film Festival:

MY ROCKSTAR, 13min,. USA
Directed by Stephanie Williams, Graham Nothrup
“My Rockstar” is a compelling and emotional short film that follows the journey of Amanda (aka “Eva” of the band Eva Under Fire”), a determined young Latina woman who dreams of becoming a rockstar while navigating the challenges of her father’s opiate addiction. The story delves into the complexities of familial relationships, self-discovery, and the power of resilience. The film aims to evoke strong emotional responses from the audience while conveying a powerful message about the profound impact of addiction on familial relationships. It explores themes of hope, resilience, and the pursuit of dreams, leaving viewers inspired and moved by Amanda’s journey.

Get to know director/writer Stephanie Williams:

What motivated you to make this film?

My brother died in 2016 from a heroin overdose. This was a devastating shock to me and my parents that we will never fully recover from. It took a few years after his death for me to cope with the grief well enough to consider creating something to honor his memory and to express my feelings about my loss. I am a licensed psychologist, and not long after my brother passed, five other therapists who worked at my clinic had someone close to them die from a heroin overdose. One of them is my friend, Amanda Lyberg, who is also the lead singer of the band “Eva Under Fire.” Our collective grief prompted me to write the script for MY ROCKSTAR. The songs she has written on their album “Love, Drugs, and Misery” speak to the pain of losing someone to addiction, so I thought bringing the story and the music together in a film would be a powerful way to reach people. I want the world to hear our stories and for them to know that everyone who dies from an overdose isn’t a bad person. A stigma continues to exist around drug addiction and that stigma oftentimes prevents people from getting help.

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

Approximately one and a half years.

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

Unconditional Love.

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

It was my first film so being new to the industry it was a challenge to build a crew for production. Raising the funds was equally as daunting.

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

I was very encouraged that each person said they got something from the film. My intent was to create a film that packed an emotional punch. I wanted to help people understand the impact of addiction on families and from the feedback I received it seems I accomplished my goal.

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

I realized that I wanted to make films about two years ago. Throughout my life, I had always dreamed of acting but never had the courage to pursue it until about three years ago when I decided to try acting classes.

My acting coach then encouraged me to write some scenes to improve my acting skills. Despite feeling intimidated as I had only written academic papers before, I took the challenge and was pleasantly surprised by the positive feedback I received. In 2021, I attended my first film festival, participated in workshops, and absorbed as much knowledge as I could. I delved into books on screenwriting, eventually crafting my first feature script a few months later, which garnered recognition in a screenwriting contest. This success motivated me to enroll in a film mentorship program at The Independent Film School in New York.

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

I don’t tend to watch movies more than once. However, one film I have watched quite a bit for a good laugh is NAPOLEON DYNAMITE. It’s unusual because I typically don’t gravitate towards comedies; instead, I prefer deeply psychological and suspenseful movies. Another film that truly resonated with me is THE HOURS.

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

For online festivals, having an online forum with other filmmakers in the festival would be great for networking. Hosting online events that allow us to meet each other would also be beneficial. Additionally, providing a platform to interface with potential investors and distributors would be valuable. The biggest hurdle I face in making films is finding ways to fund them, and I often feel overwhelmed by the concept of raising enough money to fund a feature.

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

Overall, it has been great. As a new filmmaker, I’ve encountered a learning curve in understanding how the festival awards work, as they vary between different festivals. Perhaps FilmFreeway could encourage festivals to provide more specific information on this matter. Initially, I believed that being labeled as an “Official Selection” indicated that the film is in competition and will be screened. However, each festival seems to have a unique process, which can be a bit confusing. I was hoping to attend in-person festivals to view my short on the screen, but even as an official selection, that is not always an option. Most festivals lack clarity on their process and when or if we can see our film screened if selected for the festival.”

10. What is your favorite meal?

I am vegetarian and I love Middle Eastern Food. Mijadra with hummus, falafel and tabbouleh! Oh and of course, ice cream!

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

I am currently working on the feature script for MY ROCKSTAR and also wrapping up a short script tentatively titled INVISIBLE. I believe these two projects will surpass the short film MY ROCKSTAR significantly due to the extensive learning experience I gained from writing, co-directing, co-producing, casting, and being heavily involved in every aspect of post-production, particularly the editing process. I am genuinely excited about both of these new projects as they resonate with meaningful aspects of my life that I am passionate about expressing through film

SAPERE AUDE, 6min., Australia
Directed by Chadai Chamoun
A man of science, trapped between the arcane and incomprehensible grief, resorts to unthinkable measures to try to prolong his beloved’s life. In all his heartache, he is devoured by his grief, unwilling to confront the reality of his wife’s condition until it is too late. There is no sense – no moral – in suffering. There is only pain. Hashir dares to discover the truth and faces the consequences.

https://chadai.pb.gallery/sapereaude
https://instagram.com/sapere.aude.film

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film? — The initial idea for ‘Sapere Aude’ came to me when I learned that my 6 year old niece’s cancer had become terminal. I was grieving and she wasn’t even gone yet. It was devastating for our whole family. As I was processing the news (or rather, not processing), I was reminded of how Lovecraft’s protagonists go insane when they are confronted with horrors beyond their comprehension. I was still at university, so at the end of the previous semester, my course director advised me to take the summer break to think about what film I wanted to pitch for our final year project, and to choose a topic I cared a lot about. I tried thinking of something else – something happier – but as I helped my brother and his wife through the next few months, there wasn’t anything I cared about more. So I pitched Sapere Aude (back then we just called it “Madness”), and I was lucky to have a group of incredibly talented artists come aboard. Everyone has a story about cancer, it seems – and my teammates cared about the story just as much as I did.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film? — I pitched the film in March 2023, and we immediately began pre-production. That lasted from March until June, and we initially wanted to get a head start on production during our winter break (June/July) – but my niece’s health took a sharp decline in June, and passed away in early July. So I took a step back, and the film was on hold until we came back for semester 2 in early August. I remember finishing editing the film on Halloween night, just before midnight. We submitted it for our university deadline a few days later.

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

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film? — For me, it was definitely the difficulty in balancing the circumstances that inspired the film, and my ongoing commitments to my family with my obligations as a director and animator. But aside from that, it would have to be the inherent difficulties that come with making a student film: absolutely no budget made it difficult to make sure my team members all had access to the tools they needed. It was also tiring to complete assignments and report to teachers so frequently, despite our teachers being fantastic – sometimes it felt like a “too many cooks” situation. But as I understand it, that feeling doesn’t go away in-industry either. Unless you’re totally independent, you’re always going to have to justify your creative decisions to someone, so it was good practice too. I also feel that if our deadline had been in January or February instead of November, we could have polished up some areas of the film too.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video? — I cried a little, honestly. It’s so unbelievably comforting to know that even on the other side of the planet, people get our film. I’m also sort of sorry that people get it – no one should ever have to lose a loved one to something like cancer. It was an exhausting process to try to make sure that our film’s message was intelligible, but it feels like it’s really paid off. And not only do people appreciate the themes and message of our film, but as a piece of artwork and animation as well – that makes me feel so proud of all the hard work I and my team put in – not to mention the many, many late nights spent in the animation labs at uni.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films? — I’ve been an artist since I could pick up a pencil, but filmmaking didn’t come to me until late into high school when I was doing a subject called “Interactive Digital Media”. Mostly the subject consisted of basic web design (html, css), editing photos in Photoshop, creating logos and assets in Illustrator, etc. But one of our final assignments was a fake road safety PSA ad with the prompt “How would you look after your mates?”. I loved this assignment, and I took the time to paint some watercolour scenery on paper and scan them in to use as backgrounds for my animation. I didn’t realise how much I enjoyed animation and storytelling until then. I’d dabbled in making comics, writing stories, that sort of thing but that was my first solid go at hand-drawn animation. When that was done, my teacher really encouraged me to study animation at university, and I couldn’t be more grateful for that little push. I think I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be now.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life? — If I had to guess, it’d be a tie between 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) since it’s my comfort movie, John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982), and High Noon (1952). I have no idea what that says about 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? — Hard to say, since a lot of the festivals I’ve been accepted into have been overseas, and I haven’t been able to attend. But I’ve volunteered with film festivals before, and honestly I can’t think of anything more that your festival could be doing. I do think more festivals should publish proper write-ups with comments from and about their winning films; it’s something that comes up when people Google a director’s name, and especially for emerging filmmakers, that extra reach can make a lot of difference in your career.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site? — So far it’s been really good, it exposes me to so many different festivals I wouldn’t even know existed! My main complaint is that a lot of festivals don’t remember to update the status of submissions (especially those that aren’t selected), or they continuously shift their notification date later and later without telling you. So I’ll check daily, and I’ll be left wondering whether I wasted money on a ghost festival or not. That’s the other issue too – the bulk of festivals charge quite a lot of money for submissions, and not enough include student discounts, etc. I’ve spent a lot of my own savings on trying to submit to festivals, and my own film was made with no funding whatsoever. And in fact, because I did it through university, I actually paid to make it. I’m not saying submission should always be free, but phew, some festivals out there are charging more than $100 AUD for me to submit a student film that’s less than 6 minutes long. Suffice to say, that greatly affects who gets to see the film.

10. What is your favorite meal? — Kousa mahshi, a Lebanese dish that my mum and I make every year for my birthday since it falls in the middle of winter, when white zucchinis are in season. It’s so comforting.

11. What is next for you? A new film? — Hopefully a new film, yes! I’m working on some personal projects at the moment, and I’ve done a little bit of work on some other people’s films (keep an eye out for Chris Paraskevas’ “Janus”, you’ll see some of my animation in that). But through Sapere Aude I’ve made some lifelong friends, and we’re all pretty much agreed that we’d like to keep working together to make our own films. We’re in early pre-production for something, but I’m stepping back from directing for this one, I’m onboard as producer and animator for that. We’re taking our time, so maybe we’ll be finished with that one by late 2025 – it’s hard to say right now.

Submit to the HORROR Underground Film Festival: