Charlie and Lily are cousins, roomates, and best friends trying to embrace the spooky season with a horror movie marathon. Are they just high? Or is their paranoia legit?
When two besties get together to do a PJ party and horror movie marathon, things don’t quite go as planned. We can all relate to this story, you’re watching a scary movie and suddenly you start hearing EVERY weird sound in your house. It’s unnerving. You start wondering if it’s your imagination or if there really is a zombie in your friend’s antique trunk. True story, and no, I did NOT let her open the trunk to show me there was nothing inside. That’s horror movie no-no number 1.
Nicole Coulou and Caitlin Burdi portray the two lead characters, Charlie and Lily, and their on camera rapport is sensational. You can just tell these two are great friends. They are also really great writers. The screenplay was written by Nicole and Cailtin and I am so thrilled to see women writing in the horror genre. They knew how to craft a story and build suspense but also make it very funny by giving the audience a twist on the horror movie tropes. Skyler Pinkerton was the director, cinematographer and editor and his talents along with Nicole andCaitlin’s really make this film shine.
The unique short film, THE SLATE, is nothing that would be expected from the title. The setup is a woman, Molly Harris, in front of a camera as she’s about to record an audition for a potential role. The expectation is a film about how stressful it is to take the right take for the audition, the twist is that this film isn’t about the audition at all but the toxic relationship between Molly and Lucas as a fight begins to unfold.
The film, directed by Katherine Connor Duff, uses one long shot as Molly walks in and out of frame. Lucas is never seen, though he is definitely heard as the film continues throughout a stressful ride through the eyes of Molly. The subtext of the dialogue is what drives the story. This is not a happy couple. It begins with Molly turning off Lucas’s video game, causing her significant other to throw a temper tantrum as he is determined to bring her down and make her feel insecure in her acting. It’s also clear that the behavior was inherited from Lucas’s mother as he constantly brings her up and Molly quips she’s always having a “last birthday”.
This narrative short is an artful depiction of what emotional abuse sounds like behind closed doors, with a subtle notion that the behavior is inherited from a parent. Lucas is the stereotypical momma’s boy, using an isolated event and the threat of going to his mother in order to keep Molly in line. He belittles her to the point of tears and then orders her to apologize for simply wanting his support. Never seeing Lucas almost makes it seem like his words are directed at anyone that has ever been the victim of a narcissist. His abuse is so prevalent that it takes Molly a few seconds to even remember her name in order to slate her audition.
The lack of the score makes THE SLATE even more triggering as every word that Lucas utters feels like a personal stab. It’s clear he’s always been this way and Molly walks on glass around him, especially since something as simple as turning off a video game caused the emotional abuse to be inflicted. It makes the film almost a PSA for verbal abuse as the audience feels helpless to get Molly out of her venomous relationship, while also not wanting to cross Lucas.
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WOULD’VE, COULD’VE, SHOULD’VE, 10min., USA Directed by Nick Sansone A young woman returns to her hometown in order to testify against the former teacher that groomed her. Inspired by true events.
STORK, 31min., USA Directed by Khiray Tyrell Richards A woman must navigate an anti-abortion America after her surrogate family reneges on their agreement.
showcase of the best of black and white movies and screenplays in the modern era!
Festival will occur every single month.
BLACK & WHITE Film Festival VIRTUAL Events occurs once a month on the WILDsound Streaming Service.
All film submissions are FREE. Opportunity to have your film showcased on the popular streaming service for 48 hours.
(Other opportunities to garner a distribution deal with the company and have your film showcased always on the streaming service.)
This festival was created to celebrate the black and white aesthetics as a specific, peculiar and unique kind of artistic expression on film and video.
It also intends to showcase screenplays that the author visions is in B & W.
The image capture in the digital technology is born with colors but the artist’s intuition often urges for the black and white production. This proves the newness and interest in an aesthetic that can only be communicated through black and white.
A showcase of the best new movies and their respective trailers from around the world today.
AUDIENCE AWARD WINNERS:
MOVIE TRAILER: Red Dog & Bates
EDITED TRAILER: Wallie’s Gals
FEATURE FILM TRAILER: Dante
DOCUMENTARY TRAILER: Water
COMEDY TRAILER: Attack of the Killer Refridgerator 2
EXPERIMENTAL TRAILER: Q 1
ACTION TRAILER: Hard Ride
LGBTQ+ TRAILER: Skin Show / Live
SCI-FI TRAILER: Celeste
MOCK TRAILER: The End of Days
HORROR TRAILER: Goodbye God, I’ve Gone to Bodie
STUDENT FILM TRAILER: Wrong Girl
DRAMA TRAILER: Son-Of-A-Preacher-Man
ANIMATION TRAILER: The Scarlet Knight: Defender of the Block
See the Full Lineup of Films:
WATER TRAILER, 10min., USA
Directed by Gary Beeber
“WATER” is a feature documentary film by Gary Beeber that focuses on Ohio’s source of water and what’s being done to protect it for future generations.
DANTE, 1min.
Directed by Frank Reyes
This is the trailer of this middle lengh film. In here you will find a hint of the story and some of the awards and selections the movie has collected so far.
ATTACK OF THE KILLER REFRIGERATOR 2, 1min., USA
Directed by Michael Savino
During a high school house party, the refrigerator is plugged in and turns the students into sliced meats. A group of survivors battle to save their lives and stop the wrath of the Killer Refrigerator.
Q 1, 1min,. Croatia
Directed by Silvano Perozic
Moving mandala what I started with a simple circle .
HARD RIDE, 3min., Australia
Directed by Rod Power
Three ex-military men set off on a motorcycle Ride .. their journey gets caught up in a Biker Gangster War all over a sexy pole dancer and will see the bikers who want their girl back and gangsters their drugs however the three riders are unaware .. this leads to the final battle Bikers & Gangsters against trained WAR vets
SKIN SHOW / LIVE, 2min,. USA
Directed by Richard Daniels
This is a short trailer for the film SKIN SHOW / LIVE, the paintings of Dan Romer by Richard Daniels.
PSAs, 2min., USA
Directed by Lisa Spencer
Midle school students make two minute long PSAs against drinking alcohol.
CELESTE, 3min., China
Directed by ?? ?
In the fifth century of human interstellar colonization, an artist traversed across galaxies in exploration of the true colors of human civilization and emotions – the Celeste. Even though ultimately discovering the profound mystery of civilization’s essence, there was no power to save humanity.
INVADER FROM PLANET X, 1min.
Directed by Jonathan Christopher Martin-Ives
THE END OF DAYS, 1min., USA
Directed by Jonathan Christopher Martin-Ives
In this mock trailer, a British teenager, gifted with clairvoyancy seeks to warn anyone who will listen to her about an imbedding alien attack. She falls on deaf ears.
GOODBYE GOD, I’VE GONE TO BODIE, 30 seconds, USA
Directed by Kirby Wright
Teaser Trailer for Animated Series set in a Wild West ghost town in California. Here we have our Ghost Gurl narrator providing an overview of the concept.
LOVE DON’T BULLY, 1min., USA
Directed by Ilysa Spencer
SEE HOW THAT JIGGLES, 1min., USA
Directed by Ilysa Spencer
Just a lil ride around the farm on this old fashioned bike.
WRONG GIRL, 1min., USA
Directed by Caitlyn Melton
Steven, a human trafficker is looking for his next victim. He comes across Heather, your average waitress, but soon finds out she isn’t as innocent as she seems.
RED DOG & BATES, 3min., USA
Directed by Xochi Blymyer
In 1958, Red Dog & Bates decided to walk from Los Angeles to Mexico City. 2300 miles, 12 pairs of shoes, 7 months and 1 extraordinary adventure!
FULL THROTTLE, 6min., France
Directed by Gabriel Boyer
A young man gets into a gleaming Porsche and rushes at breakneck speed through the streets of Toulouse.
SON-OF-A-PREACHER MAN, 2min., USA
Directed by Brandon M Glover
A promising young executive involuntarily falls in love with a young gambler who ultimately ruins her career, and finds himself looking for redemption, while she has to start over.
THE SCARLET KNIGHT: DEFENDER OF THE BLOCK, 2min,. USA
Directed by Juaquan Herron
Scarlet Knight: Defender of the Block” unfolds a mesmerizing tale of two cousins, raised by their grandparents and aspiring to become emergency room doctors in their hometown. Their lives take an extraordinary turn when they stumble upon Merlin’s magical gem, thrusting them into the roles of modern-day knights. As the gem triggers medieval chaos, transforming others into creatures, the cousins find themselves in a heated family feud, torn between using force or alternative methods to save their community. This thrilling fantasy adventure explores the intersection of magic, family ties, and the struggle to protect what matters most.
WALLIE’S GALS, 3min., USA
Directed by Mary C. Ferrara
The official trailer for the upcoming feature comedy, “Wallie’s Gals.” About a group of women who worked at a clothing store back in the ’80s. 30 years later they reunite, wackier than ever.
WORDLOTTO, 2min., USA
Written by Tom Lop
As ‘alternative facts’ began to overrun every corner of free speech, Western Civilization found itself divided like never before. Shouting replaced listening. Each side was utterly convinced of its rightness. Spoken words gushed forth, regardless of law or propriety. Citizens saw a verbal Civil War on the horizon and demanded something be done. Welcome to the world of the WordMeter, where every utterance is not only counted but also granted at the discretion of the higher powers. Everyone agrees this is a generous system because allotments of words can be replenished simply by scratching a winning ticket in the WordLotto.
Trapped in a closed time-like curve, our duo is learning to cooperate by running through a paradox inside of an infinite hotel. By doing so, they seek an escape from the loop and meaning in a quantum multiverse.
Review by Parker Jesse Chase:
Created by Michele Reilly - Directed by Audrey Kezzyn
Stag Hunt, a sci-fi fantasy short film, takes its audience on a mind-bending journey through the intricacies of time travel and the mysteries that lie behind the quantum multiverse. At its core, Stag Hunt explores the dynamics of friendship and collaboration as the duo, reminiscent of an iconic pair such as Marty and Doc from Back to the Future, embarks on a quest to explore a closed time-like curve within an infinite hotel. The film presents the butterfly effect of their time-traveling endeavors, showcasing the myriad outcomes stemming from a single choice or action.
The narrative begins with an eclectic yet memorable opening shot, focusing on our lead character putting gum behind her ear, offering subtle insights into their daily lives. However, the film occasionally struggles with maintaining a balance between scripted dialogue and natural human expression, creating a sense of detachment from the immersive world it aims to build.
The tone, at times monotone, adds to this feeling of disbelief and disconnect.
The universe of Stag Hunt is intricately crafted through elements like rotary phones, a metal soldering gun, electrical cords across a desk, and vintage costumes, complemented by wire-framed glasses on our leading man. The characters, while distinctly created, delve into scientific jargon that might be overwhelming, yet intriguing, for viewers. The inclusion of the Netflix symbol and commentary on sirens adds a contemporary twist to the otherwise scientific narrative.
The film artfully navigates through the complexities of time travel, exploring hypotheses and theories within the realm of science. The montage of trial and error as the characters work on their time-traveling device is a beautifully executed build-up, leading to a captivating scene of silence where the rules of science and the universe take center stage.
Stag Hunt culminates in a visually stunning credit sequence, leaving a lasting impact as it pans out to reveal thousands of different outcomes. Michele Reilly and Seth Lloyd deliver commendable performances, despite occasional struggles with dialogue delivery. Vasili Ivanov’s cinematography captures the essence of the film’s unique universe.
Stag Hunt is a thought-provoking exploration of friendship, science, and the consequences of our choices, wrapped in the captivating cloak of time travel and the quantum multiverse. While the film faces challenges in maintaining a seamless blend of script and humanization, its visual appeal and thematic depth make it a compelling watch for fans of the sci-fi genre
First, we need to talk about HOW this film was made.
Directed by Karla Santa Anna, with the help of Midjourney (https://get.mid-journey.org/), an AI-powered program that uses state-of-the-art technology to generate images. In laymen’s terms — This is an A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) movie. And trust me, this is only the beginning. You’ll be seeing many more of these types of films in the future.
Karla Santa Anna chats about this process on the WILDsound podcast, and it’s fascinating. All you need to do is watch the film and see the amazing images that were captured with this program that fit the story and overall themes. It must be noted that Karla simply didn’t tell the A.I. to make this film, then lay back in her computer chair for a siesta. There is creative work involved. A lot of it is Karla’s specific communication with the program and then her figuring out what images created worked, didn’t work, and needed tinkering. With anything that succeeds in life there needs to be a plan in effect.
Plus, there is a terrific sound design that gives this film that extra touch of brilliance. Again, Karla uses 2023 materials and takes advantage of Moby’s music track program (https://mobygratis.com/) where he allows his music to be sampled for free to Independent, non-profit, and student filmmakers for their short films or videos. Moby’s music with a beautifully written voice over performed by Marlene Gordon takes “LIGHT” to the next level of short films.
So WHY was this film made?
In Karla Santa Anna’s words – “The world is upside down.”
And her summarization is that we all need to find the “LIGHT” in our hearts. To do the right things for the betterment of this world. Of course, that idea could sound a bit fluffy or idealistic to many. But watch this film and you will understand the message and reasoning.
“LIGHT” is a film that should be watched by everyone. Because spiritually it’s a message for the future. And creatively it’s a film of the future.
Marcelle Lean picked a real winner for her Cinefranco 2019 with this film about France’s adoption process.The adoption process is shown here in all its complications and complexity with a whole lot of people involved in finding an adopted baby a good home.PUPILLE unfolds non-chronologically as fiction though one can be sure that director Herry has done lots of research.The story follows Theo, abandoned by his biological mother (Leila Muse) as Social Service strives through many applicants to find him a suitable and loving home.
The film reveals the various emotional states of everyone involved in the process from the mother, to the accepted new adoptive mother (Elodie Bouchez), to the social workers (3 of them) to the man (Gilles Lellouche) who looks after Theo before delivered to his final home.Director has created both a heart warming and heart wrenching drama that will tug at ones emotions.So, bring lots of Kleenex.
A few of the film’s parts are out of place like the emotional drama between two of the workers.But given the film’s content, good intentions and research, PUPILLE deserves full marks.(It has also 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes at time of writing.) PUPILLE is the term given to the ward while under the care of France’s Social Services.The film returns ones faith in the human race.
From a script by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy READY OR NOT is a horror black comedy directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett that serves to amuse but ultimately disappoints.An example of a film that closest follows READY OR NOT is Jonathan Lynn’s 1985 CLUE based on the board game.
READY OR NOT (the phase conned from the game hide-and-seek) follows Grace (Aussie Samara Weaving), a young bride who joins her new husband Alex Le Domas (Canadian Mark O’Brien) and his rich, eccentric family led by the patriarch (Henry Czerbny) and the mother (Andie MacDowell) playing a game of deadly hide-and-seek, where her in-laws attempt to find her before dawn. Grace is ‘it’.The other members of the family are to find her.The family are armed with an assortment of weapons like pistols, rifles and crossbows, the latter who many are still experimenting its usage.When she realizes that the Le Domas family intends to hunt and kill her, she turns the one-sided hunt into a free-for-all, with everyone fighting for their survival.As Alex goes against his family to help her, Grace discovers that the night is part of a diabolical ritual.Why the ritual?The reason given is that if the new member of the family is not killed by dawn, then each member of the family will be killed or destroyed instead by some form or other.The ritual has worked in the past.But this time around, it might not owing to Grace’sresourcefulness.
The concept of READY OR NOT sounds solid but there is difficulty in translating it to film.One flaw is the script which is little too ambitious to be credible on screen.There are two twists in the story towards the end (which will not be revealed in this review) but both quite predictable. It also takes quite a bit to believe what s happening at the end, as the film has nothing supernatural about it except during the ending. The script is also limiting as it concerns family members playing hide-and-seek which means not many opportunity for many to be killed in a violent or gruesome way.The only means the family killers are killed off in the film are by the weapons accidentally going off.
READY OR NOT, a low budget film looks more expensive on screen.The film was shot mainly in Oshawa, a town close to Toronto with a cast of a number of Canadian actors including the roles of the groom and father.The film should easily cover its cost in box-office receipts.
READY OR NOT ends up a little amusing time-waster though aspiring but never achieving the giddy heights of deliciously wicked horror-camp like the Italian Gallo films popularized by Dario Argento (OPERA, SUSPIRIA, BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE).
READY OR NOT has a Wednesday opening like many horror films and should pull in a decent box-office sum.
Beneath Anna Poliatova’s striking beauty lies a secret that will unleash her indelible strength and skill to become one of the world’s most feared government assassins.
ANNA returns flashy French director Luc Besson (THE FIFTH ELEMENT, arguably his best movie) to his NIKITA (the film re-titled LA FEMME NIKITA in North America) roots with an ultra-violent slick spy/assassin action pic.ANNA is ridiculous, stylish, sexy and camp.Love it or hate it.Two of my film critic colleagues, TV personality critic Richard Crouse and NOW Magazine critic Norman Milner both hated it with a passion.I sort of loved it, so why the enormous difference in opinion?
One reason is how one wants to look at the film.ANNA is tacky.It would not be a surprise if the film would be re-titled LA FEMME ANNA.Besson has done this before and better.This might just be a vehicle for his new muse, super model Sasha Luss.
The plot can be summed up in one line.Quote Wikipedia: “Beneath a woman’s striking beauty lies a secret that will unleash her indelible strength and skill to become one of the most feared assassins on the planet.”Of course there is more.Anna (Luss) has a lesbian lover, Maud (Lera Abova) as well as two male lovers, Russian Alex Tchenkov (Luke Evans) and American Lenny Miller (Cillian Murphy).Overlooking Anna at all times is KGB chief Olga (Helen Mirren. looking sufficiently ‘awful’ for the part, glasses and all).The film is unveiled in non chronological order, where more than too often, an incident occurs before the story moves back 3 weeks or 3 months to explain what really happened causing the incident to occur.The tactic is laughable but this could be Besson’s intention to mock the spy/mystery genre.
The film lasts a little under 2 hours, which is quite the chore if you hate the film from the start.On the other hand, regardless the fact, there is enough going on in the background, exotic sets and locations, beautiful people, outrageous action set-ups (like the hot sexy closet scene).
Apart from the hours of action nonsense, there is one sad part that stands out – the subplot involving Anna’s lesbian girlfriend Maud.Maud is oblivious of Anna’s dubbed ice and just loves her regardless.Maud dances in happiness, often whispering sweet nothings to Anna who completely ignores her for other worries. One wishes better for this poor character which somehow stands out in this emotionless flick.Besides Abova, Helen Mirren as Olga and Cillian Murphy as Lenny deliver stand out performances that one wishes would save the movie.
The only thing consistent about the outrageous story is Anna’s desire to become free, which she obviously attains at the very last moment in the story.I am sure that there are quite the few in the audience who wish they could be free as well from Besson’s movie.
Besson has had a string of flops including VALERIAN which I absolutely adored.One has to give the man credit not for want of trying.ANNA cost $30 million to make but looks as if it cost more than double that.It is expected to have a soft opening at the box-office.
Festival Reviews 