Evie Ingle, trapped in her grief and abusive marriage, takes matters into her own hands to break that cycle. Through visual and sonic storytelling, the audience will experience the inner world of Evie’s struggle without the use of dialogue.
Screened as part of the Sarasota Filmmakers Narrative section.
Following the loss of his husband, a grief-stricken retiree (Sam Anderson) finds renewed connection with a mysterious young woman who’s attempting to terminate a pregnancy.
Screened as part of the Feel Good section.
Insecure New Jersey bodybuilder, Joey Rossi aka Joey Muscles, starts doing steroids in a last ditch effort to go pro.
Screened as part of the Sarasota Filmmakers Narrative section.
The short film, The Suit, inspired by a song of the same name written by the legendary songwriter Hugh Prestwood, follows a salt of the earth older woman and her granddaughter who go in search of the perfect suit for Grandpa, a man who has spent his life “scratchin’ the earth.” Together they travel the Nebraska countryside, making stops at a General Store, a fine haberdashery, and ultimately, a Thrift store where we ultimately learn it is the suit Grandpa will be buried in. The Suit is about how the simplest task can take on monumental importance. It’s about how to say goodbye when words are utterly inadequate. The many ways we express love. And how we manage to continue in its absence, finding our strength in those around us.
Screened as part of the Feel Good section.
France, 1936. Gerta, a young German photoreporter, lives in exile with her companion, the Hungarian photographer André Friedmann. Due to widespread xenophobia, no newspaper wants to publish them. When the Spanish civil war breaks out, they are determined to cover the events and thus to fight fascism. Faced with the newspapers’ reluctance to send them to Spain, Gerta decides to invent a new identity for them.
Screened as part of the Foreign 3 section.
When a prison guard is murdered on the job, his replacement and an inmate form an unlikely relationship with life-altering ramifications.
This film is based on the real life story of Philadelphia native Terrance Lewis who served 21 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.
Screened as part of the Deeply Poignant section.
Tampa Bay is one of the areas in our nation most vulnerable to climate change. Referred to as an area with high risk and low readiness, the region has large populations, including communities with high social vulnerability, and extensive development in flood-prone areas.
But Tampa Bay isn’t alone, communities across the Gulf coast face similar climate impacts. From sea-level rise, storm surge, extreme rainfall, and water quality and quantity, communities in coastal Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Florida share their lessons learned and solutions employed. Together we can build resilience to a changing climate.
Screened as part of the Sarasota Filmmakers Documentary section.
A grieving woman communicates with her dead husband through her car radio.
Screened as part of the Feel Good section.
Dante is an old gay activist who refuses to retire. Facing the inevitable end of his existence, he decides to fulfill his old plans of opening the first LGBTQIA+ retirement house in Brazil, ignoring the advice of his great friend, Francisca, who argues that they no longer need to care.
Screened as part of the Foreign 3 section.
During a teenage road trip to the west coast of Puerto Rico, 16-year-old Cristóbal begins to suspect that his crush, Yazmín, and cousin Marcos are secretly seeing each other.
Screened as part of the Foreign 3 section.
People from around the world gather on the Space Coast to witness the launch of Artemis-1, the ‘World’s most powerful rocket.’ But Mark, a veteran of the Space Shuttle Program, doubts this ‘moondoggle’ will ever fly.
Screened as part of the Sarasota Filmmakers Documentary section.
The film centers on the lives and experiences of these three mothers – and the ferocity with which they fight to protect their children and families. In doing so, the viewer gets a rare glimpse of how powerful the maternal spirit is during a time of war. Through valuing each other’s histories and current realities, Finding Fate reveals that when we find common ground, we can unite to help build a shared future.
Screened as part of the Documentary Shorts 2 section.
“Miss Brown” is a documentary-hybrid highlighting the enterprising spirit of Gina Fiore who uses her intellect and street smarts to become an elite player in the game of Blackjack. Over the course of her career she has led various teams, taking over 10 million dollars out of the casinos.
Screened as part of the Documentary Shorts 2 section.
This documentary follows the wild and wacky adventures of three teams in the infamous 24 Hours of LeMons endurance race for $500 cars.
Screened as part of the Documentary Shorts 1 section.
When an AI humanoid’s proprietor passes away, she is released on a journey where she discovers what it means to feel emotion after encountering and befriending a special child.
Screened as part of the Hitchcockian section.
An actor goes into an open call but misses an important detail in the character description.
Screened as part of the Narrative Shorts section.
Greetings is the story of Trish, a shy cubicle dweller in an office that’s big on birthdays. After struggling over what to write in a coworker’s birthday card, Trish discovers that whatever she writes comes true. At first this goes great, but when her coworkers accidentally forget her own birthday, things…take a turn. Fed up with middle managers who act like they’re in middle school, Trish takes her revenge. Armed with a stack of kitten cards and her ball point pen, Trish shifts the power of her toxic work environment, only to be consumed by her own long-simmering resentments.
Family ties are tested after a pre-teen boy reveals his face in a robbery gone wrong.
Screened as part of the Feel Good section.
Mina loves to skate. Today, her father, recently divorced from her mother, accompanies her to her first figure skating lesson. An ordinary day if something hadn’t happened to the skates.
Screened as part of the Foreign 2 section.
When Martin Scorsese threatens to kill the head of Columbia Studios in response to its cut of his masterpiece TAXI DRIVER, film buddies Steven Spielberg and George Lucas enlist the help of the only filmmaker hardcore enough to save him… WERNER HERZOG!
Screened as part of the Sarasota Filmmakers Narrative section.
A young girl learns of her mother’s survival of the Tokyo Firebombing on March 9-10, 1945 through the eyes of her brother’s spirit.
Screened as part of the Narrative Shorts section.
Rosi is a high school teacher who is loved by her students. When her battle to pay off her college loans prompts Rosi to seek a more lucrative source of income, she ends up getting hired as a porn actress. But the glow of her newfound stardom quickly fades when Rosi realizes her new career isn’t what she thought it might be. Still struggling financially, and grappling with the physical and emotional toll of working in the porn industry, Rosi contemplates how she ended up where she is, and how she might find the happiness and fulfillment she’s been looking for.
Screened as part of the Documentary Shorts 2 section.
Daisy, a young woman, lives at home balancing taking care of her ill and hyper-religious mom, Suzanne, and hiding a “sinful” life from being known. While working at a local video store, Daisy finds a best friend and secret crush, Meg. After an attempt to make a move on her goes horribly wrong, Daisy becomes obsessed and infatuated with Heather Brown, a VHS aerobics instructor, and begins compulsively masturbating to her tapes every night. As their connection gets stronger, Heather begins talking to Daisy through the TV, showcasing some unknown demonic quirks. Once Suzanne discovers Daisy’s “sinful” secret, she smashes the Heather tape, prompting Daisy to bludgeon her mom to near-death. In a desperate attempt, Daisy finds herself returning to the video store to find a new Heather tape which she has to confront Meg to get. With her newfound strength, Daisy returns home and reunites with Heather.
Screened as part of the Ringling section.
Heena, on the brink and desperate to get out of her soul-less, money driven job, goes on a midweek pub session with her co-workers where they all descend into animalistic chaos.
Screened as part of the Foreign 2 section.
Sleeping Alone is a short comedic thriller that follows Andy, a young woman from the city, as she attempts to enjoy a night of housesitting in the countryside. Over the course of the evening, her minor fears about sleeping in a house by herself begin to mount, forcing her to take increasingly extreme actions.
Screened as part of the Hitchcockian section.
