Irene Garces directed  the comedy web series  “THERE WAS A PLACE”, which was showcased at the FEMALE FEEDBACK Film Festival in December 2016. “THERE WAS A PLACE” was awarded “Best Film” at the festival.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Irene Garces: For a long time I have tried to find my own voice when I make movies. I’ve been experimenting with different genres, but one day I realized that what really motivates me to tell stories is to talk about my fears. In this short film I have tried to atone for my sins, my defects as a daughter, as a sister and as a future mother. A way to tell myself what kind of person I don’t want to be.

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

IG: It has been a long process, because…

Stephanie Jaclyn directed  the comedy web series  “FREEMALES”, which was showcased at the FEMALE FEEDBACK Film Festival in December 2016. “FREEMALES” was awarded “Best Overall Performances” at the festival. 

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Stephanie Jaclyn: I wanted to see content created by women for women and while the housemate comedy genre is nothing new I wanted to create a show that provided an honest, authentic and humorous insight into lives of young women in today’s ever shifting social landscape.

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

SJ: From the scriptwriting phase to our premiere it was 7 months.

MT: How would you describe your short film in two words!?

SJ: Funny and real (or just really funny)

MT: What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

SJ: The biggest obstacle was…

Miriam Dehne directed  the artistic mystery short film “FALLING STARS”, which was showcased at the FEMALE FEEDBACK Film Festival in December 2016. “FALLING STARS” was awarded “Best Cinematography” at the festival. 

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Miriam Dehne: That two young female writers – students from university in Babelsberg (Berlin) came to me (Lily Duchow and Kat Russ) and asked me to direct their script, because they liked my movies. I liked the script, even though it seemed difficult to pull off for a short film, because you don’t have enough time to develop the characters for the big drama – and that was the challenge. I tried to solve that, by using high visualization for storytelling. And: I like to do a film with a little mystery touch .

MT: From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this…

Emily Pietro directed  the experimental short film “COLOR”, which was showcased at the FEMALE FEEDBACK Film Festival in December 2016. “COLOR” will be known as the first ever film showcased at the Female Festival as it started off the night. 

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Emily Pietro: I was motivated to make this film after I my idea was rejected from one of my film classes. We got to pitch ideas to the class, and then an “anonymous jury” got to decide on 4 films that would be chosen to go into production through the class. After I pitched this idea, I got great feedback from my classmates and many friends were excited to be a part of my film. Four women pitched, and four men pitched. I don’t like to think my professor was sexist, but something inside of me got angry when not a single woman…

Vu Hoang directed  the short film Adventure/Western “MARTY: A WILD WEST NEVERLAND”, which was showcased at the Los Angeles FEEDBACK Film Festival in December 2016. The film was awarded “Best Film” at the festival is and easily one of the best short films made in the 2016. 

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Vu Hoang: I was first inspired to make a film about childhood after I saw the film The 400 Blows in one of my film classes. I then came across two music videos called Hoppípolla and Glósóli by Sigur Rós. It started to make me think about how fast we are all growing up. These videos really gave me such an amazing feeling of nostalgia and made me think a lot about life as a kid. I ultimately wanted to make a film that felt nostalgic while also being adventurous.  At the same time I…

Teddy Cecil directed  the short film Sci-Fi/Thriller “HELIO”, which was showcased at the Los Angeles FEEDBACK Film Festival in December 2016. The film received rave reviews from the audience and was awarded “Best Cinematography” at the festival.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Teddy Cecil: There are a lot of stories I’ve been wanting to tell, but I chose to make Helio my first sincere foray into directing because I felt it was the most challenging. I shot the film when I was 25, and was afraid that I wouldn’t have an opportunity to make a film like this again so it was important that I tried to make something that didn’t feel limited in scope or story because it was a short film. I was aiming to tell a full narrative that felt like something you could watch on the big screen and didn’t leave you at…

Daniel Greenwald directed  the short film Western/Comedy “A Few Rubber Bands More”, which was showcased at the Los Angeles FEEDBACK Film Festival in December 2016. The film received rave reviews from the audience and was awarded “Best Cinematography” at the festival.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Daniel Greenwald: Film making was a passion of mine since childhood and I can remember being most impressed by movies that feature dynamic cinematography on the backdrop of natural scenery. I was eager to challenge myself by shooting something that used the cinematography as a story telling element. What I like about A Few Rubber Bands More is that it uses the over the top shots and camera movements not just for the sake of trying to impress, but to create a discrepancy between the seriousness of the visuals and the ridiculousness of what is actually taking place. This film…

Samantha Neyland co-directed and starred in the short film “When Strangers Touch Your Hair”, which was showcased at the Los Angeles FEEDBACK Film Festival in December 2016. The film received rave reviews from the audience. It was an honor to chat with her about the film and what’s next for the beautiful and talented artist:

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Samantha Neyland: I made this film as a way to work through the insecurities I had always lived with but until 2016 was too afraid to talk about.

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

SN: From start to finish, it only took six weeks. The initial idea was scary and I knew if I didn’t march forward at full speed it would never get done.

MT: How would you describe your short film…

 Robert Vassie’s short film “BURNT” played at the October 2016 best of HORROR FEEDBACK Short Film Festival.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Robert Vassie: I’d recently moved to London and had been itching to make a new film for a while. London is such a cinematic city, especially at night, so I thought it would make the perfect backdrop. I asked a fellow writer to put together a thriller script for me, as I’ve always been a fan of that genre and wanted to make a film which would keep the audience on the edge of their seat from start to finish.

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

RV: About four years in total – but it was spread very thinly across that time. At one point there was a gap of almost…

Yama Rauf’s film from Afghanistan “NO WOMAN” played to rave reviews at the November 2016 Under 5 Minute FEEDBACK Film Festival.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Yama Rauf: There was a women’s day film festival in my home town Mazar-i-Sharif, where I made this film for competition and it won best film prize. I am from a country where patriarchy is dominated the society, but I strongly believe in man and woman equality and I am fighting for it.

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

YR: It took around 2 weeks from idea to finished product. The most exciting part is when you see the results every single moment in post production.

MT: How would you describe your short film in two words!?

YR: Equal unequally

MT: What was the biggest obstacle…