A showcase of the best LGBTQ+ films from around the world today.

AUDIENCE AWARDS:
Best Feature Film: SUGAR BEACH
Best Short Film: STEALING ASH
Best Direction: AT ARM’S LENGTH
Best Student Film: SILENT PULL
Best Documentary: CLOSE TO HOME
Best Story: HOUSEHOLD
Best Performances: REVENGE
Best Micro-Short: JIMBO: BIG TOP

SUGAR BEACH, 90min., USA
Directed by Noely Mendoza
Rosalyn, a wealthy and talented high school senior, grapples with immense grief after the loss of her brother in a surfing accident. The void left behind by his absence consumes her, and she begins a descent into addiction—alcohol becoming her solace as she numbs the pain and confusion. Amidst her downward spiral, she finds herself in a complex relationship with two other people, Isaac, and Emma. Drawn to the comfort and sweetness of their affection, the throuple provides a fleeting sense of escape, but Rosalyn’s internal struggle with grief and substance abuse complicates her search for self-love, growth, healing and identity.

https://www.instagram.com/NONE

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-sugar-beach

SILENT PULL, 11min., USA
Directed by Lamont Nathaniel Gibson
A Black queer man navigates unreciprocated intimacy and the emotional cost of longing, as systemic pressures push his vulnerabilities into transactional spaces.

https://www.instagram.com/direct_lng/
https://www.instagram.com/silent_pull

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-silent-pull

Close to Home, 32min., USA
Directed by Whitney Skauge
Through the exploration of their personal and shared experiences, four young advocates imagine a world where access to safe, affordable, and reliable housing is not a privilege but an undeniable human right.

https://www.instagram.com/whitneyskauge/

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-close-to-home

Household, 10min., Canada
Directed by Robbie Lemieux
A lonely young man struggles with his unusual living situation.

https://www.instagram.com/robbielemieux/

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-household

Revenge, 19min., Brazil
Directed by Mari Penteado, Eduardo Campos
Virginia is a 43-year-old transgender woman who works as a community health agent in Guarulhos, Brazil. The film follows a day in her life, marked by the exhaustion of work, but also by meaningful encounters, dreams, and, above all, the need to live – and resist.

https://www.instagram.com/vinganca_curta

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-revenge

JIMBO: BIG TOP, 3min., USA
Directed by Brad Hammer

https://www.instagram.com/jimbothedragclown

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-jimbo-big-top

AT ARM’S LENGTH, 5min. USA
Directed by August Broussard
When a neurotic teen asks his best friend to break his arm for prescription meds, what starts as a twisted favor spirals into an absurd test of loyalty — with consequences neither of them is quite prepared for.

https://instagram.com/augustvbroussard

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-at-arm-s-length

STEALING ASH, 13min., USA
Directed by Frances Capel
After their best friend dies, four best friends plan a heist to steal their ashes and take them on a final joyride for the send off they deserve.

https://instagram.com/campyatc

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feeedback-stealing-ash

Submit on the festival page: https://fantasyscififestival.com/paranormal-short-story-festival/

A paranormal story is a work of fiction that explores phenomena and beings that are beyond the scope of scientific understanding. They include elements like ghosts, vampires, werewolves, witches, and other entities that cannot be explained by the laws of nature. They can be set in the real world, but generally includes elements that defy scientific explanation.

Submit your Short Story to the Festival and we will automatically have it performed by a professional actor and turned into a promotional video for yourself.

UPCOMING SHORT STORY DEADLINES:

7th – LITERARY FICTION SHORT STORY

LITERARY FICTION Short Story Festival (everyone wins) – Deadline September 7th

8th – CRIME SHORT STORY

CRIME Short Story Contest (Automatic Acceptance): Deadline September 8th.

9th – HISTORY SHORT STORY

HISTORY Short Story Festival (everyone wins) – Deadline September 9th

10th – FAMILY SHORT STORY

FAMILY & KIDS Short Story Contest (everyone wins): August 10th

11th – TRAVEL SHORT STORY

TRAVEL Short Story Festival (everyone wins) – Deadline August 11th

12th – FEMALE WRITERS SHORT STORY

FEMALE WRITERS Short Story Festival (everyone wins) – Deadline August 12th

13th – BIOGRAPHY SHORT STORY

BIOGRAPHY Short Story Festival (everyone wins) – August 13th deadline

A showcase of the best of new films in the world today.

AUDIENCE AWARDS:
Feature Film: The Dark Following: Fragments of the Past
Short Film: Fare Share
Thriller Film: Dilemma
Direction: The Briefcase
Story: Emily’s Mountain
Sci-Fi Film: Justin T Nick of Time!

The Briefcase, 6min., USA
Directed by Valdis Pelenitsyn
What begins as a typical criminal job between old friends takes an unexpected twist, leading them into an unpredictable situation.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-the-briefcase

DILEMMA, 14min., USA
Directed by Trevan Jay Hiatt
Dilemma is a tense psychological thriller that delves into the consequences of a single, reckless decision. When high school friends find themselves trapped in a situation they can’t escape, panic sets in, and their once-close bond begins to fray. With each choice they make, the weight of their actions grows heavier, and the line between right and wrong blurs. Dilemma is a gripping exploration of guilt, fear, and where unexpected paths can lead us.

https://www.instagram.com/dilemma.film/

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-dilemma

FARE SHARE, 26min., USA
Directed by Carlos Leos
On the surface, it’s just another rideshare. But as a weary driver picks up a silent, blood-covered passenger, what begins as awkward small talk unravels into a quiet confrontation with his own doubts, fears, and faith. With no answers from the woman in his backseat, and none from the universe he keeps questioning, the ride grows increasingly tense. Some fares are routine. This one carries a price.

https://www.instagram.com/actorcarlosleos/

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-fare-share

Justin T Nick of Time!, 24min,. USA
Directed by Mike Reeping
Four heroes must stop the madman, Modeth, from completely taking over the world!

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-justin-t-the-knick-of-time

Emily’s Mountain, 22min., Israel
Directed by Tal Somech
Emily celebrates her 6th birthday on a magical trip with her family and is slowly exposed to the horrifying reality that her parents are trying to conceal from her using modern technology and entertainment systems.

https://www.costanza-films.com/emilys-mountain

The Dark Following: Fragments of the Past, 85min., UK
Directed by Toby Rawal
Imprisoned for possessing otherworldly abilities, the sole survivor of a mysterious disaster must face his past on a quest to stop the source of unlimited power falling into the wrong hands.’

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-the-dark-following

Watch the best of new films from around the world today by signing up for the FREE 3-DAY trial going to http://www.wildsound.ca (Also on Roku, FireStick, and your Itune (app))

Decided to change his name when he began acting because there was already a Michael Douglas in movies and a Mike Douglas in broadcasting. While he uses a stage name, he has never legally changed his name to Michael Keaton. —— [on his decision not to reprise his role as Batman in Batman Forever (1995)] I was waiting in line for another movie and just kind of poked my head in . . . watched about 10 minutes. I saw enough to know that I made the right decision.

Watch the best of new films from around the world today by signing up for the FREE 3-DAY trial going to http://www.wildsound.ca (Also on Roku, FireStick, and your Itune (app))

I don’t do method acting. If I play a farmer I’m not gonna spend 3 weeks on a chicken farm. That’s a bit too much for me. For Minoes (in which she played a cat in a woman’s body) I didn’t spend 3 weeks in a cat pound. —— To me, that’s not the most difficult thing. To transform. I don’t really see it happen. I don’t have the feeling I am transforming, really. I don’t believe you can get into somebody’s character but more that somebody comes in you. You just use yourself. In everything I play, I feel like it is me. I just say different things on different times and look different.

Watch the best of new films from around the world today by signing up for the FREE 3-DAY trial going to http://www.wildsound.ca (Also on Roku, FireStick, and your Itune (app))

I think there’s an intelligence behind her lack of obviousness. In a way, she has more power that way, and if she had survived [giving] birth, she would have gone to become quite an incredible queen. (on Jane Seymour)

Watch the festival NOW for the next 48 hours 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/events/thriller-suspense-shorts-festival-september

Tale & Bones – Dark Princess, 3min., USA
Directed by Daniella Meggoe, Benson Jackson
Dark Princess is a psychological short highlighting the unique relationship between a grandmother and her grandchild. The innocent yet menacing ques are overlooked as something mysteriously dark is brewing.

http://www.sistastalk.org/talebones
https://www.instagram.com/sistas_talk
https://www.instagram.com/dmfilminggroup/

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-tale-bones

Chak-316, 12min., Pakistan
Directed by Shaheer Iqbal
Zara Ahmed, a driven and ambitious petroleum executive in her mid-30s, is on the brink of sealing the biggest deal of her career.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-chak-316

Versipellis, 26min., UK
Directed by James Rigby
In this spine-chilling horror film, a young girl, Sophia, faces the dilemma of choosing whom to trust when an imposter infiltrates her home.

https://www.instagram.com/versipellis_film

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-versipellis

Watch the best of new films from around the world today by signing up for the FREE 3-DAY trial going to http://www.wildsound.ca (Also on Roku, FireStick, and your Itune (app))

[on what happened after American Beauty (1999)] – I wanted fame, but I thought it would be incremental, and I became afraid of the overnight-sensation thing. I started walking into rooms, and everyone would look at me, and I would freeze up. People kept saying, “You have to find your next movie” and that didn’t make life any better. (2012, on his former drug & alcohol addiction) I was risking everything to get drugs. I was driving around with homeless guys and people just out of prison, then I’d hit the streets and smoke all day. I’d already nodded off on set a couple times, and now I was being asked to leave auditions mid-reading because it was just so sad for them. I missed my brother’s wedding because I was so messed up… The shakes, hearing voices, paranoia – those were daily occurrences for me. I was nearly dead, and I didn’t care.

Watch the best of new films from around the world today by signing up for the FREE 3-DAY trial going to http://www.wildsound.ca (Also on Roku, FireStick, and your Itune (app))

[on comparisons to J-Lo] It doesn’t annoy me, no, because I respect J-Lo. I like her, I think she’s great. And I know that I’m over a decade younger than her, it’s so flattering that I’m so young and people are comparing me to someone who has accomplished so much. But I don’t think I’m like anyone else and really, I’d rather not be compared to anyone else. Who I am on stage is very, very different to who I am in real life. But I don’t see that having a sexy image when you are on stage means that you don’t love God. No one knows what I’m really like from that. I like to walk around with bare feet and I don’t like to comb my hair. I’m always so glammed up and so diva on stage and that’s what they see. People don’t understand that… No one knows my personal relationship with God and it’s not up to me to prove that to anyone. [When asked about the disbanding of Destiny’s Child] Not because one person wants to go solo. Or not because we don’t like each other. Or because we’re not selling records anymore. But because it has to end at a certain point. (June 2005)

Right Beside You, 3min., USA

Writer/Star: Lisa Maciel

The night before her cousin’s wedding—to her ex—Isabel hides away, desperate to escape. But Liam, her fiercely loyal best friend, follows her, and something shifts. Their laughter fades. A glance lingers. A touch lasts too long. Unspoken truths press between them—until reality slams back in.

www.instagram.com/lisamaciel13

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