2023 NOMINEES
The Clown Affair
Directed by Wesley Foster
A mute clown encounters a bizarre world of characters after he’s tasked with delivering flowers to a woman in town. His simple task unfolds into a journey of personal transformation as he navigates a traumatic relationship with his mother, a
growing flame for the waitress at the local
bar, and of course,
his inability to speak.
Cast: Holly Anne Frink, Joseph Martinsen,
Diana Breton, Kristyn Koczur
Writer: Joseph Martinsen, Wesley Foster
Producer: Jacob van Winkle
Three Grand Souls
Directed by Johny Greenlaw
A Post Traumatic Love story.
Chuck a former Special forces vet suffering from PTSD wastes away in a motel room drinking himself to death meets Melinda,a brazen but beautiful prostitute who tries tosave his broken soul,
But is her souldarker than his?
Cast: James Pravasilis, Bianca Jamotte Laroux,
Brook Hoover, Christian Keiber
Writer: James Pravasilis
Producer: James Pravailis, Christian Keiber,
Bill Sorvino
Immovable Objects
Directed by Manu Kurewa
Immovable Objects explores the plight of a small family who find themselves forced out of their home at the onset of the Covid pandemic. Following the fortunes of a young mother and children
across a single day, it charts the beauty
of the childhood world against the grim
reality of what the day brings.
Cast: Marlene Madenge, Noah Madenge,
Sean Kurewa Writer: Aileen Ritchie
Producer: Carol Brown
Everything Collaspes
Directed by Stefano Recchia
Freely inspired by the novel “Things fall apart” by Chinua Achebe, this short film is a modern and allegorical “Odyssey” of a migrant, Chinedu, who cross the Mediterranean sea in search of fortune...
Cast: Christel Akouala, Tullio Sorrentino,
Tezeta Abraham
Writer:Stefano Recchia
Producer: Stefano Recchia, Pierpaolo Cortesi
Beautiful
Directed by Karly Jo
Beautiful tells a story about a man who sees himself as hideous and repulsive and carries around unrelenting pain and suffering. He has a choice to become the one thing he has wanted all his life, to become beautiful.
But his choice comes with a price. A sacrifice must be made in order for him to feel beautiful.
He can continue to live his life in pain and suffering, or for an unknown price, he can change it all.
Cast: Steve Dawson, Manny Casimir, Tatum Price, Eddie Blackwell
Writer: Steve Dawson
Producer: Jamie Ohlsen
The Negative
Directed by Tommy Bentz
A struggling writer finds a fabled “Cabin of Success” in the woods, where anyone who stays there becomes everything they’ve ever wanted. But before his dream is realized, he comes face to face with the answer to the question: What would you sacrifice to be successful?
Cast: Tim Torre, Mark McClain Wilson
Writer: Tommy Bentz
Producer: Brooklyn Wilde
The Eyes
Directed by Mike Timm
Hope you enjoy this 80s-esque sci-fi horror “creature feature” as much as we did making it.
Cast: Ace Marrero
Writer: Mike Timm
Producer:Mark Pommett, Jason J Marchi,
Chris Le Kooreman
Imaginist
Directed by Bernadette L. Speakes
When two bystanders fail to rescue a homeless street mime from dying, both are terrorized by a vengeful “playful” entity who manipulates their fantasies into fatality - by way of “mime control”.
Writer: Mike Allen Lera
Producer: Khadijah Louis Fanaka
Zero Method
Directed by Ben Myers
It’s 2082, and a renegade chrono-refugee joins a cult of rogue time travelers, risking everything in a desperate attempt to break the prime rule of time travel that separates him from his old life; going
to the future is permanent, but travel to the
past is only temporary.
Cast: Ben Myers, Mu-Shaka Benson,
Imani Pearl Wilson Writer: Ben Myers
Producer: Nicholas Richter
Out and About
Directed by Peter Callahan
Inside the mind of a middle aged man as he tries to come to terms with his life
over the course of an afternoon walk
through his hometown.
Cast: Peter Callahan
Writer: Peter Callahan
Producer: Ivon Visalli,
Konstantin von Krusenstiern, Amy Sprock
On / Off
Directed by Nicolas P. Villarreal
Endless distractions threaten to destroy creativity.
Writer: Nicolas P. Villarreal
Producer: Nicolas P. Villarreal
"Most Awards Won by a Short Film"
Guinness World Records
LINK👉
Rent a Neighbor
Directed by Jim Morrison
Waylon, a stubborn local who resides in
a quaint seaside town, is confronted by
tourists searching for their short term
rental.
Cast: Bill Kitzerow, Amie Sponza
Writer: Jim Morrison
Producer: Stacey Schwitzer
I Mustache You
Directed by Shara Ashley Zeiger
“I Mustache You” is a whimsical magical realistic comedy, inspired by Buster Keaton, Looney Tunes, and NYC about Abby, a woman with social anxiety, OCD and agoraphobic tendencies
who receives an invitation to love,
self acceptance, and the outside world.
Director: Shara Ashley Zeiger
Cast: Shara Ashley Zeiger
Writer: Shara Ashley Zeiger
Producer:Shara Ashley Zeiger
Composer:Leeran Z. Raphaely
The Manager Position
Directed by Craig Trow
Months after losing his job, a man is still unable to tell his wife.
Cast: Curtiss Cook Jr., Jackie Hoffman,
Kerina Willis, Charlie McElveen
Writer: Craig Trow
Producer: Alexandera Boyd, Brandt Cook,
Addison Dent, Andrew Carlberg
Couple of Guys
Directed by Debra Markowitz
A newly divorced attorney on the verge of
coming out meets a flirtatious rocker in a record store.
Cast: Lukas Hassel, Sal Rendino,
Abigail Hawk, Deborah Twiss
Writer: Debra Markowitz
Producer: Debra Markowitz, John Marean
Midas
Directed by Ben Meyer, Mav Vitale, Lisa Qingyi Liu
A fresh and hilarious take on the old Greek tale of King Midas. The story follows the King, as his daughter, Marigold, desperately attempts to get him to see past his boundless greed — until Dionysus makes his godly entrance, bestowing upon the old king the ability to turn anything he touches to gold, and to chase his greedevermore.
Cast: Ben Meyer, Ian Worthington, Justin McElroy, Karenna Foley, Clayton Songv Writer: Ben Meyer
Producer: Mav Vitale, Lisa Qingyi Liu
RADIOACTIVE: The Women of Three Mile Island
Directed by Heidi Hutner (First Feature Film)
An award-winning feature documentary about the 1979 Three Mile Island meltdown--the worst commercial nuclear accident in U.S. history. RADIOACTIVE covers the never-before-told stories of four intrepid homemakers, two lawyers who took the local community’s case all the way to the Supreme Court, and a young female journalist who was caught in the radioactive crossfire.
RADIOACTIVE features activist and actor Jane Fonda--whose film, CHINA SYNDROME (a fictional account of a nuclear meltdown), opened 12 days before the real disaster in Pennsylvania.
RADIOACTIVE also breaks the story of a radical new health study (in process) that may finally expose the truth of the meltdown. For over forty years, the nuclear industry has done all in their power to cover up their criminal actions, claiming, as they always do, “No one was harmed and nothing significant happened.”
In this thrilling feminist documentary, indomitable women fight back against the nuclear industry Goliath to expose one of the worst cover-ups in U.S. history.
Cast: Beth Drazba, Paula Kinney, Joanne Doroshow, Michelle LeFever Quinn Writer: Heidi Hutner
Producer: Judith Helfand, Richard Saperstein, Heidi Hutner, Suzanne Kay
Screenplay Features
10 to 1
Written by Christopher Soucy
Ten international assassins are hired to kill one anther with a payday of $100 million to the last one standing.
Chris Soucy is a theater and film professional living in Savannah, Georgia.
Azalea
Written by Nate Raven
A gay couple struggles with the challenges of adoption, while a single woman who runs her own business navigates the complexities of an accidental pregnancy.
Nate Raven is a writer and actor currently living in Los Angeles. He spent the early part of his career in NYC pursuing musical theater and traveling the world performing in musicals and plays. As a writer, Nate has since written two award winning short films, an Off-Broadway immersive play, and has four different TV series ready to be picked up. Nate is Creative Director, and Lead Script Doctor at IFT Network.
The Bare Essentials
Written by Henry P. Gravelle
CINDY FROMME joins a small police department in Florida staffed by a laid-back, relaxed force as their new detective. She is quickly thrust into her first case; the murder of a guest at a Nudist Park, a hole plunged into his chest. Cindy must locate the weapon, and learn how it was carried unseen, by whom, and where it is?
Henry P. Gravelle is a published Author, Screenwriter, and Playwright whose catalog includes nearly fifty short stories, several novellas, and novels including a western and a paranormal detective series.
Bob’s Best Friends
Written by Bill Redding
A man finds comfort from his ability to connect with dogs as he strives to return to normalcy after surviving a life shattering stroke.
Defender of the Damned
Written by Brett Edwards
When an elderly man is murdered, and the accused is battered and coerced into
a confession, Maverick & Dailey are summoned to defend him. As they investigate the foggy events surrounding the crime, Maverick begins to question his morals along with those closest to him. Digging deeper, and dragging his friends into
the well of crime to uncover the truth—while being hunted by a past victim with
a score to settle—Maverick learns he’s involved as much as the psychopath he’s defending; and that unwavering loyalty to his friends will be tested against the will to exonerate himself.
Deviant
Written by Sabrina Seidner
When a quirky actress loses the lead role as a Holocaust survivor in an experimental new play by a celebrated playwright, she sinks deeper into a relationship with a manipulative man. His lies and her punishing diet catch up to her and she ends up in a psych ward where she finds deeper strengths and resolve she never knew she had.
Dying for Love
Written by Charles Egan and Patrick Egan
A group of high school friends -- gripped by the angst and awkwardness of young love - stumble into an ill-fated party at a remote funeral home. All but our teen hero and heroine are murdered by an ingenious villain -- who’s also the least suspected person at the party. In the end, it’s a question of who will die for love and who will kill for love. Terrifying, suspenseful, and at times even humorous, this coming of age roller coaster ride celebrates the teen psycho thriller genre.
Greyhound 1170
Written by Zach Jansen
An ambitious Hmong immigrant and a narcissistic American struggle to keep their respective lives from falling apart as they unknowingly move toward a fateful encounter on a Greyhound bus. Inspired by a true event.
GUMS
Written by Jason Scott Goldberg
A man with halitosis learns that he has the key to saving the world living inside his mouth...a parasitic alien named Hal.
Comps: “Venom” meets “The Dead Zone” with the absurdity of “Guns Akimbo.”
Mincemeat Manor
Written by Hedley Harlan
After accidentally waltzing his ravishing wife into a cattle pulverizer of his own creation, disgraced inventor, Hiram Sedgwick, and enemies hold a séance to set the record straight with the dearly departed spouse. Once again, plans do not go accordingly, and the house comes to life in this horror romp where the pets talk, the appliances attack, the blackboards write of their own accord, and the zombies sing and dance.
Muntor’s Last Stand
Written by Frank Freudberg
An ex-FBI agent who’s lost his moral compass must find himself before he can stop a cunning madman out to destroy Big Tobacco to avenge the deaths of his wife and daughter.
Push Me Pull You
Written by Carnell Staples
In a world where everyone, at the beginning of each day, can switch sexes randomly, two strangers struggling to find love in the big city embark on a romantic and sometimes hilarious journey to discover that beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder.
The Tale of the Daughter
Written by Taylor Hinds, Savannah Sivert, Jazlyn Yoder
When a stroke-ridden mother’s debt arrives for the reckoning, her estranged caretaker daughter must bear the cost in order to survive.
Screenplay Shorts
Companion
Written by Darren Bailey
In the near future, a grieving widow rents an A.I. companion created in the exact likeness of her deceased husband.
Do Unto Others
Written by Joseph Michael Leone
An elderly woman and a middle-aged business banker form a bond based on mutual respect and the “Golden Rule.”
One good deed leads to another in this feel-good drama about living the golden rule. A chance encounter of two kindred spirits leads to enlightenment and realization of purpose as they lean upon one another for strength and support in their hour of need.
KNOCK
Written by Andrew Riley
When his wife keeps waking in the middle of the night with an ominous knock knock joke, a concerned husband believes she’s been cheating on him, but when he enlists the help of his obnoxious friend, they find the truth is far more deadly than they could imagine.
The Delusional P.A.
Written by Frank P. Mancuso
A production assistant takes revenge on a cast in a movie who is mean to him on set.
On the Last Day
Written by Rachel S. Thomas
A deceitful actor faces reckoning at the hands of a zealous extra for betraying his director wife during a macabre stage production.
Paperplate Face
Written by Chad Trudgeon
An 80’s comedy-horror about a group of college students who take an excursion to a remote cabin for Spring Break and encounter a maniacal killer donning a paper plate mask.
“He chose the most convenient possible mask, so you KNOW he’s ready to kill!”
Postman
Written by Anthony Divastanzo
When the opportunity to move forward arrives at his doorstep, a mortician must decide whether to heal or hide.
The Great Rising
Written by Matthew Leo Charles Allen
English rebel Wat Tyler is pushed over the edge by plague, famine, taxes, and war - and forced into leading a revolt against a young king who never loses his trust.
Juvenile Svengalis
Written by Amy Axelson
A twelve year old boy from a wealthy family teams up with a seventeen year old boy, the son of a coachman to learn the art of hypnotism. Together, they discover their natural talents which cause a hypnotic craze in Eau Claire, WI and beyond. Based on the true crime podcast Juvenile Svengalis, a fictionalized version of the hypnotic craze during the Gilded Age of Eau Claire, WI.
Midge & Molly
Written by Jessica Schladebeck
Old Timers
Written by Cassie Greutman
Synopsis not provided.
TAIM
Written by Matt Peterson
A pair of best friends from Jersey, a stripper and a virgin, own an image management firm in LA; taking all incoming for new and established talent.
TV Pilot/Web Series
MUSIC SCORE
Alexander Cimini THE GOLDSMITH Alexander Cimini was born in Bielefeld, Germany, on July 11, 1975. Soon began studying the piano, winning numerous awards in piano competitions. From an early age showed great passion for cinema and music for films that already begins to grow vigorously to fifteen years. As a film composer, he composed the music of the following movies, Theater Piece and Video Performance Art
Dawn Young WHO I AM
This music video is of a song written for use in our documentary on the subject of Alzheimer's disease.
Victor Munoz JULIA is a little story about loss and loneliness, told only with images and music.
(Víctor Muñoz) is an independent and self-taught composer and sound designer from Spain. Profoundly inspired and influenced by films and videogames since the very early days in his infancy, delves into the world of music after beginning his Engineering studies. He learns how to play the bass by himself, taking part in several bands of different styles (ranging from alternative rock and pop to metal) as a bass player, second voice and composer. At the same time, he occasionally experiments producing simple works for orchestral instruments.
After graduating, he ends his stage as a band musician and begins to publish small instrumental pieces, which ultimately leads him to work as a composer and sound designer of promotional material, short films, plays and indie video games.
Nowadays, he balances his passion for music and composition of soundtracks with his activity as an engineer in the aerospace industry.
MOVIE PITCH
SUSAN SWEENEY ROOM 57
The year is 1899, the Gilded Age and the Christmas Season. Francis Alexander departs from his home in Summit Springs, Pennsylvania to New York City to represent a client at the Interstate Commerce Commission. This would be his last trip alive. On entering the NYC Warton Hotel Francis is surrounded by not only individuals from his past but also the present, who want him dead. Was it suicide as stated on his death certificate or was it murder?
ACTOR REEL NOMINEES
