ANJA’S LONGING, 33min., Taiwan
Directed by Elen Ji
“If I could live my whole life on my own will, what would it be like?” Anja, a 22-year-old biracial film school undergraduate, imagines her ideal life from birth to death. The perfection of her fantasy starkly contrasts with the incompleteness of her reality, highlighting Anja’s deep longing and the story of her life.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
When I worked as a teaching assistant during my postgraduate studies in the Department of Motion Picture, I encountered a 5-minute doc by college student Anja about her original family. The film was short, but I was deeply touched by the unspoken emotions inside. I wanted to do a film about her, but didn’t yet know in what form.
Later, I attended a course called “Documentary Production”, which required finishing a short doc in one semester. I thought to myself, instead of recording something ongoing, what about recording someone’s inner world? Anja came to my mind. I wanted to record Anja’s longing. So I developed an idea to shoot Anja’s fantasy about her ideal life and invited Anja to play herself in this world.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
It takes about nine months. In the first three months, the crew developed the idea, shot the film, and made the rough cut. Then I put the materials aside and turn to prepare my graduation project. It was two years after my graduation that I came back to the materials and re-edited the film. It took another half year to finish the whole work.

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

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Since it was the first time I told a story about another person in a non-fiction way, I needed to tackle the subject more carefully. I tried my best to present Anja’s inner world and real life. Meanwhile, I bore in mind that I needed to avoid any possibility of exploiting someone’s pain. So, regarding what to tell, how to tell, and where to draw the line are challenges for me.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
The audience feedback is very sincere and insightful, extremely precious to me and the crew members. I was both impressed by their high levels of appreciation and deeply touched by their capacity for empathy. I appreciate that a lot!

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
When I was a child, like 5 or 6 years old, my favorite game with my pals was making up stories and acting them out. Now looking back, that “childhood pretend play” is the seed, and it naturally turns into making films.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
The classic films by world master directors, such as Ingmar Bergman, Andrei Tarkovsky, Krzysztof Kieslowski, David Lean, Ozu Yasujiro, and Abbas Kiarostami. Recently, I’ve become a fanatic about Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver”.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?
More physical screenings and more audience interaction.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
As always, it is handy and efficient. However, as the platform expands and thus includes more festivals, you need to make a more careful selection.

10. What is your favorite meal?
A daily meal cooked by my mum. She emphasizes the original flavor of the ingredients and knows how to make a nutrition-balanced one. Oh, I missed her cooking since we live in different cities right now.

11. What is next for you? A new film?
At the moment, I’m working on my first feature-length script, a story about four women’s friendship and their entangled destiny. Hope everything goes well, and it will be made into a film in the near future.

EXPIRATION DATE, 8min., USA
Directed by Deidre Belle
In a near-future society, a government emergency broadcast reveals every citizen’s expiration date—the exact day they will die. With no explanation and no appeals, ordinary people are forced to confront love, power, faith, and purpose as time becomes the most valuable currency on Earth.

https://instagram.com/bellevision2021

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
The motivation to make this film stems from personal life challenges and the current climate of our government and the state of the union.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
“Expiration Date” took a year to complete. I wrote the project in one day. I sat on it for a few months, shot it in a day, and had it edited once I found a good editor who understood the concept.

3. How would you describe your film in two words?
I would describe this film as a time matters.

4. What was the greatest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
The greatest obstacle I faced in completing this film was the editing.

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

What is your favorite stage of the filmmaking process?
My favorite stage of film making is Production.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
I realized I wanted to make movies my freshman year in college.

7. What film have you seen the most times in your life?
My most seen movie is “Grease.”

8. In a perfect world: Who would you like to work with/collaborate with on a film?
In a perfect world I would love to collaborate with Quentin Tarantino.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experience been working on the festival platform site?
My experience with FilmFreeway was an interesting yet surprising experience. Its one of the best platforms with every festival world wide in one place.

10. What is your favorite meal?
My favorite meal is spaghetti.

11. What is next for you? A new film?
Next, I plan to shoot an episodic in July. I plan to start shooting a catalog of short films before the summer ends.

A BREAK, 30min., USA
Directed by Jill Corvelli
A Break is a symbolistic narrative film. We all have multiple parts that make up who we are. It is so easy for all of our parts to be in disalignment, especially when we need then aligned the most. I have found that getting total alignment within yourself requires relentless effort, but that practice is a beautiful part of what it means to be human.

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?
I’ve always made films—mostly as family keepsakes—but this was the first time I felt compelled to tell a story for a broader audience. After decades as a therapist, I realized I was sitting with powerful, universal psychological patterns that don’t always translate through explanation alone. Film offered a way to show what inner experience feels like. This project was about bringing those internal dynamics to life in a way people could recognize themselves in.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
The initial idea came quite suddenly after a personal growth experience. The full process—from concept through writing, production, and post—took about five months, as it was part of a program facilitated by Open Signal Community Media with a defined timeline. The shoot itself was short and intensive, with a volunteer cast and a two-person, first-time crew.

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

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
We had no budget and were big in heart but short on experience. Many of my ideas about visual grammar were limited by my skill level in camera, lighting, and sound. That said, our intention was to have fun and learn—and I think we absolutely did. I’m proud of what we created together.

5. What is your favorite stage of the filmmaking process?
I’m most drawn to writing and conceiving—figuring out how to translate psychological ideas into visual language. I have a lot to learn in this area and am excited to keep growing. I also found directing actors especially meaningful, particularly the warm-up work that helped them access the internal space of the characters.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
I think I’ve always been making them in some form. But I realized I wanted to pursue filmmaking more seriously after a personal development experience that led me to shift how I spend my time—moving from being constantly “doing” toward more spirit-led work. That’s when the idea of extending my psychotherapy work into film really took hold.

7. What film have you seen the most times in your life?
Big Night with Stanley Tucci. That film feels like a hug—it centers me every time.

8. In a perfect world: Who would you like to work with/collaborate with on a film?
I’m drawn to filmmakers who trust the audience and explore psychological complexity through simple sets, metaphor, and visual architecture. Films like The Tango Lesson (Sally Potter) and Malcolm & Marie (Sam Levinson) come to mind. Collaborating with actors who can hold subtle internal tension is especially important to me.

9. How has your experience been using FilmFreeway?
FilmFreeway has been very accessible and straightforward, especially for someone newer to the festival process. It makes navigating submissions and tracking progress much easier. I also appreciate that it creates space for new filmmakers to participate.

10. What is your favorite meal?
Something simple, co-created, and shared. I’m less interested in the meal itself than the experience around it.

11. What is next for you? A new film?
Yes—my next project explores neurodiverse relationships and what happens when two people experience the world in fundamentally different ways. It builds directly on my clinical work, but again through story rather than explanation. I’m also continuing to integrate filmmaking with my broader work in psychology, writing, and teaching.

A group of Sicilian teenagers spend an evening discussing life and art.

Project Links

•  Instagram

Review by Julie C. Sheppard:

 In this short Higher, the choice of the title is multidimensional. The fact that the teen characters get high together is an obvious link. Another link is that, after an encounter with a glowing orb, they are sucked into a surreal universe, floating up in the air in an intoxicating, echoey, colourful chamber. The third more subtle link is that the characters, believably portrayed by the cast, are so intelligent and expand on ideas and questions that soar high above the comprehension of average young people, with lofty discussions about reality and art. 

The handheld camera work of the film’s “director” brings an immediacy and intensity to the piece, especially during the intimate nighttime interchanges. Sultry opening soundtrack refrains are gorgeous, as the central couple drives by picturesque Italian scenery. A brilliant narrative moves the action back and forth in time, as the inciteful teens are pulled into the vortex and return again to reality. The multi-faceted nature of this piece truly elucidates what it means to go higher and higher.

Gliding through snowy streets, a young girl’s errand transforms into a heartwarming journey of kindness and connection. This animated Christmas movie evokes compassion, generosity, and the spirit of the holidays. With visual storytelling that mirrors a musical suite, it invites families into a peaceful world where silent moments speak loudest. Voice actor Hannah Alyea lends her talent to this serene holiday tale.

Project Links

•  Website
•  Facebook
•  Instagram

Review by Julie C. Sheppard:

The short, Faith and the Christmas Star, warms the heart in the cold of a winter setting. The animation is delightful, from the design of bright festive decorations to the delicious looking treats in a local bakery, to the snow-covered winter wonderland throughout much of the piece. The Christmas star subtly appears at various moments in the film, especially representative of love for family and, of course, of the famous star of Bethlehem.

The score below the action accompanies the lead’s long journey to deliver a precious letter. Music is often joyful and rousing complete with peals of church bells and jingle bells while, at other points, it issues a sombre tone. In line with the season, favourite Christmas melodies often resound with expressive piano and a palate of other orchestral instruments.

The sweet narrative is segmented into several distinct scenes, each revealing the young girl’s trials and tribulations, including flashbacks of sadness and regret about her past treatment of her beloved grandmother, to a sense of joy and rebirth with her discovery of the adorable puppies. Another jubilant resolution is the fact that letters are finally both sent and received, of course with envelopes adorned with the thematic star. The Christmas story of the birth of Jesus is beautifully presented with the help of fine animation, and the talents of an expressive narrator. Overall, this magical tale banishes the cold with a nurturing, loving warmth.

Watch the Best of WILDsound Shorts Showcase (in case you missed it)

Watch the festival by signing up for the FREE 3-DAY trial using the link, or go to http://www.wildsound.ca

Watch today’s Festival: https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/best-of-wildsound-shorts-showcase-may-2026

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Deadline: UNDER 5 MINUTE Film Festival

https://filmfreeway.com/Under5minFilmFestival

Loved this festival! It was great to receive feedback on our short film 148: SNEEZE – something many festivals do not do. Also we were very happy to have won “Best Performances” too – thanks. Highly Recommend!
#filmfreeway

I was delighted to hear all the feedback. I found it very interesting to see what had caught the viewers’ attention in the film and how they understood it. I’m also very happy that my film has been seen by so many people.

Absolutely amazing festival, thank you for the selection and awarding my short ‘Auditory’ best Experimental Film.

So thrilled! The feedback video was amazing to receive. Communication was excellent. And then the other promotional opportunities provided… all much appreciated. Thank you!

#filmfestival #feedbackfestival

Today’s #FilmFreeway Testimonial: ROMANCE/RELATIONSHIP Festival (51 FIVE Star Reviews)

https://filmfreeway.com/RomanceFestival

Thank you for the amazing feedback and acceptance of my first rom-com script! The notes were invaluable and the first few pages being performed by actors was a great thing to see!

Deadline Today:
CHICAGO Feedback Film Festival

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50% off code: chicagofestival

It’s much more than just a film event — it’s a space built on empathy, creativity, and genuine human connection. The way they lead and encourage dialogue makes every filmmaker feel valued.

#chicagofestival #filmfestival #filmfreeway

In a post-apocalyptic wasteland where water is the last resource, a blind swordsman with heightened senses becomes the reluctant protector of a desperate young man, forcing them both to fight for survival and hope.

Project Links

•  Website
•  Instagram

Review by Parker Jesse Chase:

Before a single character speaks, Sense earns its place at the table. An animated title card rendered in
calligraphic strokes showcases the story by a hand-drawn, scrappy, alive with intention opener. This
action ultimately sets the mythology of a world that burned itself into oblivion. Humanity tore the sky apart.
What remained was ash. And from that ash, remarkably, an everlasting forest rose.

Sense is a story about human responsibility and what it means to protect something precious when the world has decided it is not worth protecting. A blind swordsman stands between the last living forest and the Ravagers who would strip it bare, leaving bodies where they go, not warnings. Into his orbit wanders David, a younger figure still learning the cost of defiance. Their pairing is not incidental: it is the film’s moral architecture. One man who cannot see, yet perceives everything. One who can see, yet understands so little.

A meditation on what we owe the earth and what it may yet ask of us in return.

The thematic resonance runs deeper than its post-apocalyptic genre trappings might suggest. The forest is not merely a setting…it is the last argument for life itself. The Ravagers are a mirror: a portrait of humanity’s most self-destructive impulse, the one that already scorched the sky. The blind swordsman, then, becomes an act of resistance, a figure of reckoning between what was lost and what might still be saved. Bishop carries a necklace close to his chest, pressing it to his lips in the quiet of the blue-lit night, suggesting this duty might not be abstract. The potential for this fight to be personal, exists. This grief could be made into purpose.

The interplay between Bishop and David unfolds with a patient elegance. Bishop sensing a hidden observer purely through the rhythm of breath and footfall is one of the film’s finest moments. It reframes what “sight” means entirely. His perception is not diminished; it is refined into something almost supernatural, a kind of empathy sharpened to a blade’s edge. David, by contrast, is raw material: frightened, reactive, but capable of something the film wisely leaves unnamed until the moment demands it. When he takes the final shot, it leads as a quiet rite of passage.

The soundtrack carries unmistakable Asian musical influences, threading the world-building through sound as much as image. As the tension builds toward the film’s closing shot, the score swells with a weight that lingers well past the final frame. The filmmaker understands restraint is its own form of power. The king observing from a distance in the film’s final beat where he is silent, still, and watching is a compositional choice that transforms a fight scene conclusion into an ominous new beginning.

Sense carries the weight of something much larger already fully formed inside it. What lingers is not the action, impressive as it is, but the quiet in between: a man kissing a necklace in the dark, a boy learning that survival sometimes means community. This is a world worth returning to, and a story that understands the most powerful things are often what we cannot see.