Official Selections: 1st-7th LA Student Film Festivals
Congratulations to our accepted filmmakers!
Films are listed in alphabetical order, index to the left.
Scroll Down to learn more about each film
Hair
World Premiere
'Hair' is a unique celebration of texture, movement and dance.
Director: Frances Wilkerson
Producer: Frances Wilkerson
Writer: Frances Wilkerson
Cinematographer: Frances Wilkerson
Editor: Frances Wilkerson
'Hair' has won the Central States Indie FanFilmFest 2020's Best Short Short Award and is an Official Selection in the Indie Film Wisconsin Film Festival 2020 and New Faces New Voices Festival 2020.
Home
USA Premiere
Short
On a spaceship three weeks from its destination; young colonials reach the final stages of conditioning, before they begin their new lives on planet Earth.
Director: Joseph Cocklin
Producer: Elliot Cutting
Writer: Joeseph Cocklin
Cast: Corey Montague-Sholay, Alice Harding, James Tarpey, Ben Mars, Jo Shirley
Cinematographer: Adam South
Editor: Ben Mickshik
Home had its UK premiere as part of the BAFTA Qualifying Encounters Film Festival 2020. It is the debut short film of Writer / Director Joe Cocklin. In an age where anxiety is on the rise, Home tries to offer up some questions as to where society may be failing in its treatment of the young. As an experienced teacher and mental health advocate, director Joe Cocklin made Home as a meditation on the current mental health crisis.
Website: www.Joecocklin.co.uk/Home
Instagram: @Home_Short
If Nothing is as it Seems
Anne Chris lies awake at night, doubting. He doesn't feel like he belongs in the body he was born with, but he's not sure if transitioning is the solution to his problem. He's afraid that after transitioning he still won't feel like himself. We follow his tornado-like thoughts and experience the rollercoaster of emotions that he goes through.
Director: Evan Hobers
Producer: Brandi van de Mortel
Cast: Anne Chris van Doesburg
Cinematographer: Rients Pieters
Editor: Emmanuel Nkayilu
Influencer
World Premiere
Short
A narrative film that mocks the relationship of a young Chinese lesbian KOL couple.
Director/Writer: Yongqing Zhong
Producer: Chen Wang
Cast: Lydia Li, Michelle Sweet
Cinematographer: Eric Honghui Luo
Editor: Sijie Leslie Liu
The film ‘Influencer’ is inspired by my best friend Kai back in China.
Iridescence
World Premiere
Description/storyline of your film: When a college-bound Chinese American artist has a confrontation with his traditional, first-generation father, which triggers his first panic attack, he has to use art to express himself so that he can better understand and connect to his family.
Director: Jeremy Hsing
Producer: Ken Rudnick, Tiffany Hue, Jeremy Hsing
Writer: Jeremy Hsing
Cast: Patrick Zhang, Nikki Soohoo, Howard Young, Rachel Kho
Cinematographer: Jacqueline Gerdne
Editor: Jeremy Hsing
Film Awards: Finalist at The Independent Shorts Awards; Official Selection at CineAsian Films; Semifinalist at Indie Shorts Fest, Semifinalist at IndieX Film Fest, Official Selection at LA Sun Film Fest; Semifinalist at Phoenix Short Film Festival
Script Awards: Semifinalist at WeScreenplay Shorts Contest 2021; Semifinalist at Los Angeles Chinese Film Festival; Semifinalist at Dallas Screenwriting Competition; Quarterfinalist at Filmmatic Short Screenplay Awards; Quarterfinalist at Atlanta Film Festival Screenwriting Competition.
Website: iridescencefilm.com
Instagram: @iridescenceshortfilm
Film BTS: vimeo.com/659208091
Izzy's Demons
Izzy is a person who struggles with the decision to reconnect with an old friend. As she gives into her jealousy for her friend’s success, she makes a decision that her subconscious does not let her get away with so easily.This award-winning film speaks to how an anxious person can lose sight of the definition of their real relationships with such a focus on technology.
Director: Gregory Garay
Producer: Jumai Yusuf, Alexa Velasquez
Writer: Gregory Garay
Cast: Chinwe Okona, Robin K. Johnson
Editor: Gregory Garay
Instagram: @izzysdemons
Jamila
West Coast Premiere
Short
While reluctantly preparing at a beauty salon for a wedding, a Palestinian American teenager clashes with her family members, challenging her assumptions about culture and femininity.
Director: Julia Freij
Producer: Peri Michael
Writer: Meg Dudley & Julia Freij
Cast: Yasmeen Fletcher, Zein Khleif, Farah Marwan, Ilham Malki, Lida Ranjbaran, Dina Elshinnawi
Cinematographer: Pascale R. Williams
Production Designer: Camila Rodríguez
Editor: Ivanka Lawrence
Website: frayedthefilm.com
Instagram: @jamilathefilm
Heart of Gold
World Premiere
A young woman cruelly rejected by her church seeks the assistance of an exiled necromancer to help her create the perfect offering to win her priest over.
Director: Amber Avara
Storyboard Artist: Amber Avara
Lead Designer: Vicky "Shunyi" Xie
Lead BG Painter: Vicky "Shunyi" Xie
Soundtrack Composer: Tony Hsueh
Sound Designer: Jose 'Chipi' Estrada
Animators: Amber Avara, Saira Vargas, Gaoge Ren, Tiffany Chen
Layout Artists: Alice Yang, William Meany
Producer: Art Center College of Design
Website: amberavara.com | 1998vickyxie.wixsite.com/vickyxie
Twitter: @ambattii | @vickyandbunny
Hinge
Los Angeles Premiere
Short
Upon arrival to her new apartment in Prague, following an acrimonious divorce, Jane Seymour's suitcase breaks and tragically tumbles down the stairs. An exhausted Jane momentarily abandons the bag but when she returns to collect it from the stairs, it has vanished. The suitcase begins reappearing to Jane––haunting both her reality and dreams.
Film: 16mm
Director: Clare Maleeny
Assistant Director: Lia Patentas
Writer: Clare Maleeny
Cast: Aicha Roubíčková, Lucas Schroeder, James Porter, Shanai Williams, Tomas Riederer
Editor: Lia Patentas, Clare Maleeny
Production Manager: Tomas Riederer
Lighting Designer: Christian Reidy
Sound Recordist: Dunja Ivezić
How To Be A Superhero
World Premiere
A young boy scout seeks out a retired superhero, Captain Awesome, to learn his ways. This film was created for my final project at CalStateLA. I've always loved Wes Anderson and superhero/action movies. So I thought it would be interesting to see them both combined. I had no intention of submitting this to festivals, but my professor encouraged me to do so. So, I'm very excited to share this with a larger audience than just my beginner film class.
Director: Brendan Calton
Producer: Brendan Calton
Writer: Brendan Calton
Cast: Brendan Calton, Anthony J. Potter, Katie Burton, Terika Jefferson
Cinematographer: Brendan Calton
Editor: Brendan Calton
Incursion
Los Angeles Premiere
Matthew finds himself stressed and frustrated with his day to day life. When he asks his intelligent AI "E.V.E." to get away from his daily work life, he finds that he may not get what he was expecting.
Director(s): Noah Lillywhite, Kai Willey
Producer: Noah Lillywhite
Writer(s): Noah Lillywhite, Kai Willey
Cast: Eric Cregor, Nick Netzley, Brenda Cregor, Lucia Jones, Landon Hulsey, Sonia Rios, Isaac Serrato
Cinematographer: Sam Zurek
Editor: Noah Lillywhite
The film was recently acknowledged by "Stan Winston School Of Character Arts"(ie. Jurassic Park, Predator, Terminator, Alien, Pumkinhead, etc), where our crew was interviewed by Mat Winston and Erich Grey Litoff. A blog post was later published with a well rounded description of our process in making the film. Stan Winston Studios Incursion Blog Post Link
Website: filmfreeway.com/Incursion594
I Was There
World Premiere
I Was There is about a pregnant woman, who eventually finds out that her fiancé is cheating on her. He ends up killing the love of his life and soon-to-be child and is faced with the consequences of his mind shutting down on him. I Was There was written and directed by award-winning filmmaker, Bella Rose Iannice, who won “Best Indie Short Film,” in the 10th Annual Feronies Film Festival for her short film, Night of Regrets.
Writer & Director: Bella Rose Iannice
Cast: Nick Mauldin, Colleen Munro, Haley Amann
Cinematographer: Harrison Kraft
Editor: Tyler Stampone
Instagram: @Stedifilms & @bella_iannice
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyLZr2vHGlwTzj8TyJVlC-Q
Website: https://filmfreeway.com/StediFilmsProductions
Just One Small Thing
West Coast Premiere
Short
When a call home prompts Marques to visit his father, he must push past his avoidance and urge to procrastinate in order to finally confront the truth behind his relationship with his father.
Director Statement: Just One Small Thing is a dramedy that explores how we internalize and process grief. The film is focused on how young black men handle loss, particularly in relationship to their father son dynamic.
Director: Sam Sanders IV
Producer: Keith Davies
Writer: Sam Sanders IV
Cast: Elias Ferguson, Dominic Oliver, Lili Bernard, Lena Cole Dennis, Alvern Stewart (in order of appearance)
Cinematographer: Wei Dai
Editor: Jonathan Jamell Thibeaux
- Hollywood Gold Award -Student Film, Drama Short Film / Independent Shorts Award - Best Student Short, Best First Time Director (Male)
Instagram: @samsandersstudios
Twitter: @samsandersstudios
Her and I
Short
After a mediocre hookup, college sophomore, Angela, discovers her vagina can talk! Angela’s vagina, by the name of Her, pushes Angela to let go of the toxic habits contributing to her sex life, and instead influence her to cultivate a relationship with herself.
Director: Stephanie Marin
Producer: Anisa Patel
Writer: Ana Chavez
Cast: Yadira Barreto, Anisa Patel
Cinematographer: Christine Mouton
Editor: Ana Chavez
Animator: Avery Noble
Composer: Maddi Chiodo
Best Directing & Best Writing for 10-10-10 at Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Student World Awards Quarterfinalist, Los Angeles Underground Film Forum: Best Student Short, Audience Choice, Independent Spirit
He Tries So Hard.
In the wake of his best friend's death, Lightning tries to break into an abandoned house that the pair always attempted getting into. He hopes to find a sign that he isn't really alone, a connection with his friend...maybe his best friend is in there?
Director: Charles Lindberg
Producer: Paris Sommerfeld
Writer: Elizabeth Wolfinger
Cast: Michael D. Aguilar, Winston Salk
Cinematographer: Ryan Urzi
Editor: Brendan Weissman
Hobros Train of Pain
West Coast Premiere
Two vagabond brothers get a new job as steam train conductors! Although, not everything goes as planned...
Director: Jack Gatto
Producer: Jack Gatto
Writer: Jack Gatto
Animation & Art: Jack Gatto
Cast: Joshua Tomar
Music: Tom Ryan
Additional Sound: Chris O'Neill
Scratch Dialogue: Geoff Roberts
Hobros Train of Pain was created by Jack Gatto in Daemen College's Animation BFA program.
Awards: Daemen Animation Sweatbox Award
Website: https://www.jackgatto.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PotatomanNg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/potatomanng/
Identity Crisis
Los Angeles Premiere
A cyborg named Scott is looking for the perfect gift for a loved one, but not all is well in this futuristic city when he finds his own picture on a wanted poster...
Director/Animator: Natalie Nichols
Cast: Andrew Mouet, Tyler Fitzpatrick
Composer: Nick Kendig
Sound Design: Colette Grob
Identity Crisis is a short 3D animated film created by Natalie Nichols. It has received "Best in Show" awards at the Supernova Digital Animation festival for student shorts and at the Anim8 Student Film Festival, as well as other semi-finalist awards and honorable mentions.
Website: IDENTITY CRISIS | Nat Nichols Art
Interdimensional Pizza Pushers
Los Angeles Premiere
A short animation that follows Honeybear and Fishlips as they deliver pizza throughout multiple dimensions. Made in 6 months for Parsons senior illustration thesis.
Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Editor: Lije Morgan
Cast: Andy Sun, Lale Westvind, Zack Dresher, Lije Morgan
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/415673777
Ivory
World Premiere
Sonya's world flipped upside-down the day her deeply-loved boyfriend committed suicide. She never saw the signs, if there even were any. Without answers, Sonya could only blame herself. But as the guilt grows inside of her, Sonya finds a potential answer to her suffering in an experimental drug designed to aid the grieving process. Yet, as a hallucinogen, the drug isn't meant to provide answers, only relief. So as Sonya desperately searches for closure, her increasingly dangerous intake of the drug quickly leads her down a nightmarish path in which she must confront her past and decide her future.
Director: Casey Gara
Producer: Casey Gara and Mallom Liggon
Writer: Mallom Liggon
Cast:
Sonya played by Aiesha Eser
Jared played by Bryce Lewis
Chris played by Phillip Dunn Jr.
Alex played by Stevie Phillips
Cinematographer: Thomas George
Editor: Casey Gara
Joints
Los Angeles Premiere
Short
Three high school teenage stoners find themselves entangled in unforeseen consequences.
Director: Hadrian Lynn
Producer: Hadrian Lynn, Li Zhang, Paddy Ma
Writer: Hadrian Lynn
Cast: Josh Rosenzweig, Joshua Hendricks, Desire Mia, Mike Yang, Maura Kozlowski
Cinematographer (if applicable): Li Zhang
Editor: Hadrian Lynn
"Joints" won the Best Picture award in the Student & Young Artists FEEDBACK Festival and was nominated in the Brightside Film Festival in multiple categories, including Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Lead Roles, and Best Screenplay. Additionally, "Joints" has been selected as an official entry in the All-American High School Film Festival.