We Are Columbine

On April 20, 1999, Columbine High School in Jefferson County, Colorado experienced one of the most deadly school shootings in United States history. The incident shocked a country that could scarcely imagine the epidemic of teen violence it foreshadowed.

Filmmaker Laura Farber, a freelance producer with an impressive client roster that includes MSNBC, TLC, The Weather Channel, Discovery Channel, Discovery Health and History Channel, was one of the freshman students on that tragic day, and she has applied the full force of her experience in this jaw-dropping portrayal of what is was like to be one of those most unfortunate kids.

She tells her story through the voices of classmates and high school staff, and their collective trust is pivotal in making this such a staggering and insightful film. The former students are sometimes overwhelmed with emotion upon revisiting the school, as evidenced in the photo above, and you will be suitably moved.

You can watch the trailer here: We Are Columbine Trailer

Reconnected

A suburban professional devastates his family when he's caught cheating on his wife, but reconciliation will not be easy when his mother-in-law clearly sees the bad side of him. The elder lady Gloria, superbly played by Hollywood stalwart Barbara Bain, and troubled Bob, played by Robert Kerbeck, an award-winning author and actor who also happens to be a scion of Philadelphia's prominent Kerbeck family, square off in a high-stakes scene that leads to grave consequences.

And no clear answers. Now Mother is dead, Bob's wife Deb seems to accept his story, and a shadow of death looms over the family's future. A project of Tica Productions, this film was directed by S.J. Main and co-produced by Derek Classen.

You can watch the trailer here: Reconnected Teaser Trailer

At the End of the Day

After losing his wife and counseling practice, the only thing 32-year-old Dave Hopper has going for him is a part-time professorship at a conservative Christian college. His future looks bright for the first time in too long, but when the ambitious college dean asks him to infiltrate a gay support group to stop their plans for building an LGBTQ homeless shelter on land the college wants for expansion, Hopper finds himself torn between universal love and the more qualified love taught at the school. "Love the sinner, hate the sin" is the college's official attitude towards homosexuality, but when Hopper witnesses the wealth of love and compassion shared within the LGBTQ group, his belief system begins to crumble.

Filmmaker Kevin O'Brien knows a thing or two about this subject because he grew up in an evangelical family and attended a conservative Christian university, but like his protagonist Dave Hopper, O'Brien witnessed attitudes and behaviors towards the gay community that struck him as ugly, ignorant and just plain wrong, so he created this film to expose the many harms done and incite change.

This is a hard-hitting story told by a filmmaker whose righteous anger is manifest. You can watch the trailer here: At the End of the Day Trailer

Two Balloons

Two Balloons is a throughly enchanting and heartwarming animated short about two lemurs who sail dirigibles around the world to meet under a moonlit sky. The artistry behind this highly collaborative project will take your breath away, which helps to explain the film's sweeping success on the festival circuit.

Filmmaker Mark Smith knows something about traveling on wind currents because his wife and he are avid sailors. A journey to Grenada helped inspire this film when the Smith couple witnessed an unearthly funnel cloud that "looked a thousand feet high." Their shared husband and wife experience is evident in the embraces of the two lemurs, creatures who evoke oceans of depth on matters of love.

You can watch the trailer here: Two Balloons Trailer