Official Selections: 10th LA Student Film Festival
Congratulations to our accepted filmmakers!
Films are listed in alphabetical order, index to the left.
Scroll Down to learn more about each film
Make it stand out
Short
USA Premiere
Young Fiona lives a sheltered existence. Hidden inside a small shack with her vigilant brother, Emmett, the two do the best they can with what they have. On this day, when Emmett leaves for work, a "Bad Lady” tricks her way inside, invading the space. The woman, a disturbing creature with cloudy eyes and erratic movements, hunts Fiona through the small home. Fiona manages to escape through a window, and chooses to continue forward, leaving the pain in the past.
Director: Alyson Phillips
Producer: Lily Unkelbach
Writer: Ava Grace Amore
Cast: Evelyn (Evy) Phillips, Zoe Matney, Aidan Armstrong
Cinematographer: Ben Halfon
Editor: Ace Young
- Directors Statement: Fiona is an all encompassing, full sensory experience about a 10 year old girl's perspective of grieving her mothers absence due to mental illness. It is the story of two siblings trying to fill the missing piece of their family as best they can. Though, at its core, this is the story of acceptance. I believe that children tend to lead with two major emotions other than joy. When there is something they do not understand in front of them they’re typically either curious, or afraid. Mental illness, along with grieving someone that is alive like they have passed on, is a complex situation that requires a certain level of understanding. A child may view these two complex things as scary, like a monster in the closet. That’s not mom. That’s the Bad Lady.
- Logline: When 10 year old Fiona’s blue collar older brother and caretaker leaves for work, she is desperate to escape when faced with the “Bad Lady” who invades their mobile home.
Make it stand out
Short Documentary
Los Angeles Premiere
Farmersville, a small town within the Central Valley, was once the subject of the Farmersville Film Project, a series of films aimed at supporting social progress. This documentary returns to the town with open questions rather than expectations, exploring how the community’s present compares with the expectations of voices from its past.
Director, Savannah Gasca, was born and raised in Farmersville, with a family who have lived in the town for generations. Growing up, she often struggled with pride in where she’s from because of the town’s name and overall reputation; it was typically the subject of jokes and ridicule. At the same time, she’s always felt a sense of belonging and attachment to this community, and she wishes to explore both the pride and challenges that come with being from Farmersville. She’s motivated to give voice to the lived experiences of her community, with the hope that this film sparks local conversations of pride, change, and expands pride to other small communities that may feel forgotten.
Director: Savannah Gasca
Producer: Yaretzi Alvarez
Cinematographer: Levi Yin
Editor: Abby Kottke
Instagram: @evelyn_huie_
Guryong Village: The Last Shantytown of Gangnam
Documentary
Los Angeles Premiere
Only minutes from the luxury towers of Seoul’s Gangnam district lies Guryong Village, one of the city’s last remaining informal settlements. Through interviews with residents and experts, the documentary explores the community’s history and its continuing struggles with fires, flooding, redevelopment, displacement, and an uncertain future. The film asks audiences to look beyond Gangnam’s image of wealth and consider the people whose lives are often overlooked in the pursuit of urban development.
Director: Ethan Lee
Producer: Ethan Lee
Writer: Ethan Lee
Cast: Residents and community members of Guryong Village, Lee Myung Hun
Cinematographer: Ethan Lee
Editor: Ethan Lee
Guryong Village: The Last Shantytown of Gangnam received Third Place in the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Speak Truth to Power Video Contest and was screened at the Tribeca Festival. The film was also selected for the MYTH Social Impact Film Award, New York Monthly Film Festival, Jersey Shore Film Festival, and Screen Test Student Fest.
I grew up in Gangnam, approximately ten minutes from Guryong Village, but knew very little about the community for much of my childhood. I created this documentary to better understand and amplify the experiences of residents whose lives are often obscured by Gangnam’s global image of wealth and development. The project seeks to humanize those affected by redevelopment and encourage viewers to consider what equitable urban progress should look like.
Instagram: ethan._.slee