The Problem of the Hero

This fascinating portrayal of 20th century writer Richard Wright delves into his complex relationship with playwright Paul Green. Despite mutual admiration and the writing profession they shared, the men spoke different dialects, as it were, about politics and race. Later in life, Wright penned a manuscript about his contentious words with Green concerning a stage adaptation of the African-American writer's social justice novel, Native Son. The novelist's recollections of the experience comprise the basis of The Problem of the Hero. 

Director Shaun Dozier clearly drew inspiration from the theatrical and literary origins of his material. Scenes are often emotionally intense and character driven, and the setting itself is a theater. Dialogue fires back and forth between Wright and Green, and later with Orson Welles, with a tension of reserve and projection, mitigating the need for physical action. Yet a murder scene from the novel takes on a dangerous edge during rehearsal. 

The theater is a realm where high stakes battles can be fought with words and actors instead of weapons. This film takes its audience back to a time when literature had greater power in American culture—when exposition and conversation went deeper than the pithy self-declarations often experienced today. You can watch the trailer here: The Problem of the Hero Trailer

The Blood Orange

A single mother of two girls can't seem to get it together. She's addicted to prescription medications, after all, and her therapist Dr. Claire doesn't have an easy answer for Mom's lifetime of struggle. Her precious daughters are stoic in the face of a chaotic home life, but it appears as if Sweetie will pass her problems on down the line. 

Director Anthony Figliano appropriately started this mental health-themed project during the Covid lockdown. Given his strong background in music, including stints as a music teacher and opera performer in Italy, New York and New Jersey, Figliano composed twelve songs while writing a feature-length screenplay. The result of this ambitious project is The Blood Orange, a four-piece carousel with Dr. Claire serving as the central narrative thread. This 10-minute runtime short is the opening scene of the work-in-progress feature. 

Anxiety, depression and addiction are at epidemic levels in the United States. The dark subtext and haunting, off-axis but strangely catchy musical score combine to make this film as hypnotizing as it is interesting. You can watch the trailer here: The Blood Orange Trailer

Dad Bod

In this short documentary from the State of Washington, a seemingly ordinary father of four harbors a difficult memory. Years ago, he fell on hard times. His state of depression became severe, and the only way out he could see was to end it all. He nearly succeeded. 

Dad Bod is the story of a man who endured long past his darkest hour to become the man he is today: a Superdad with an upbeat spirit and a zest for living. His story must have resonated with Director Daniel Flahiff, a West Coast endurance athlete who competes all the way up to the Ironman level. Both men needed to dig deep to achieve their goals, making this film an inspiration for anyone who finds life not worth living anymore.

You can watch the trailer here: Dad Bod Trailer

Lovie Dovie

In this student project from Pratt Institute School of Art, an eager pupil with a love for marine life finds herself mysteriously attracted to a new girl in class. Already a diligent worker, she delves into articles and quizzes to work through her feelings and determine what this all means. The topic of exploring her own sexuality is a new one for her. 

Lovie Dovie is both charming and edifying, a lovely but challenging combination that filmmaker/animator/video producer Frankie Brescia achieves with skill and intentionality. This is an expressive film telling a story through animation and music; there is no dialogue to get in the way. 

As Brescia demonstrates through her art, some thoughts in life are more meaningful when left unsaid. You can watch the trailer here: 

Launch at Paradise

In this probing sci-fi thriller, John is a human who wants to be invincible. To get there, he needs to endure a cutting-edge medical procedure that transforms his mortal self into something digital, but not android. He will keep his existing body and live in it again after death. It's a strange, even loopy idea, but forces more powerful than he is are fully behind the technology. After all, they need people like John who are willing to die for the interests of elites. Over. And over. Again.  

The procedure leaves John in an existential haze between living and dying, where even as an enhanced lifeform he remains incomplete. He now faces an endless journey ahead towards perfection. The thought is overwhelming. So he ponders questions. When life goals are infinitely out of reach, what is the point of even trying? Or living?

Director Carrie Ann Quinn combines superb production values with intricately woven, often literary dialogue to deliver a short film that dedicated science fiction fans will appreciate. Most of the production team is based in Los Angeles, but the film is set in New York, making Launch at Paradise a bicoastal vision of an uncertain future. 

You can watch the trailer here: Launch at Paradise Trailer

Millie's Care Free Day

Conceived and produced during the Covid pandemic, this short from southern New Jersey involves a woman who's trapped inside a prison of depression and isolation. As all of us felt during the annus horribilis of 2020, she yearns to break free. For the central character Millie, it should be as easy as stepping outside for a lakeside stroll, but an outside force in the form of her best friend stands menacingly in the way. 

Director Michael Licisyn is an Emmy Award-winning cinematographer, editor and writer. His experience in media gave him the creative outlet he needed for dealing with lockdown, so his motivation for making this film was quite personal. As the months wore on, Licisyn no doubt found refuge here, but for the audience the film might be more painful reminder than solace.  

Might. The story involves twists in plot and mood, keeping the audience in suspense. You can watch the trailer here: Millie's Care Free Day Trailer

2022 Awards

Film Jury Awards

Best Picture - Ferryman (Darren Bender, UK) 
Nominees: Sweet Disaster, Toprak, Love and Communication, Emily or Oscar?

Best Student Film - The Call of Water (Kaya Tone, USA)
Nominees: Call Now, Severance Bay, To the Wood, The Softest Blanket in All of Dingledorf, Fluffypunk, Reflections

Best Alternative Film - Break Any Spell (Anton Josef, Canada) 
Nominees: This Vast and Mysterious Ocean, Break Any Spell, Click!, Composure, Make Up Your Mind

Best Short Film - For I Am Dead (Patricia Delso Lucas, Belgium) 
Nominees: YuanYuan, Break Any Spell, Gregory, Paradisiac, Aion, American Dream

Best Short Short - The Little Drummer Boy (John Gray, USA) 
Nominees: Paradisiac, The Inside Outside, Yo Andrea, Biased, Tainan Fantage, Signing Off, Gregory

Best Documentary - Frank Bey: All My Dues Are Paid (Tom Dwyer, Lisa Palattella, USA) 
Nominees: Breaking the Silence, Frank Bey: All My Dues Are Paid, Local 1196: A Steelworkers Strike, Raised Up West Side, My Rembetika Blues

Best Horror Thriller - 7 Minutes in Hell (Shane Spiegel, Justin Reager, USA)
Nominees: Wake, This Vast and Mysterious Ocean

Best Action Thriller - Something in the Clouds (Josh Sikkema, Johnny Ray, USA) 
Nominees: BOXED, Utopia Planitia S1

Cultural Spirit - Local 1196: A Steelworkers Strike (Samuel George, USA)
Nominees: Love and Communication, Raised Up West Side, Breaking the Silence, My Rembetika Blues

Best Short Documentary - The Shaker Legacy (David Gibson, David J. Goodwin, USA)
Nominees: We Decided to Become Farmers, Identity: The Andrew Nemr Story, From Darkness to Light: The Peter Krueger Clinic, The Fantastic, Mountains We Climb, Hello to Julia

Best Foreign Film - Sweet Disaster (Laura Lehmus, Germany)
Nominees: YuanYuan, Toprak, Cocoon, Ferryman, For I Am Dead, Therapy

Best Biographical Film - Identity: The Andrew Nemr Story (Jonathan Cipiti, USA)
Nominees: Frank Bey: All My Dues Are Paid, Fluffypunk

Best Experimental Short - Wake (Brendan Kissane, USA)
Nominees: The Inside Outside, Paradisiac, Walking Around, Composure, This Vast and Mysterious Ocean, To the Wood

Indie Spirit - Love and Communication (James Christy, USA)
Nominees: Toprak, Ferryman, Something in the Clouds, Emily or Oscar?, Frank Bey: All My Dues Are Paid

Best Animation - Tainan Fantage (Jason M. Tseng, Taiwan)
Nominees:  The Softest Blanket in All of Dingledorf, You Knew Me, Sweet Disaster

Best Animated Film - The Softest Blanket in All of Dingledorf (Xan Rayne Poulsen, USA)
Nominees: Tainan Fantage, You Knew Me

Female Eye Filmmaking - YuanYuan (Shiyue Xu, China)
Nominees: Jaded, Severance Bay, Sweet Disaster, The Call of Water, The Sculptor, To the Wood, Toprak, YuanYuan, Make Up Your Mind

Best Sci-Fi Film - Utopia Planitia S1 (George Reese, USA)
Nominees: Utopia Planitia S1, Wake

Best TV Pilot - Tasteless (Amnon Carmi, Israel, USA)
Nominees: Saint of Lost Causes, Grafton

Best Comedy - I Mustache You (Shara Ashley Zeiger, USA)
Nominees: Biased, Aghast!, YuanYuan

Best Period Film - BOXED (Alyn Darnay, USA)
Nominees: For I Am Dead

Student Cultural Spirit - Reflections (J.W. Hill, USA)
Nominees: Fluffypunk

New Hope - Hello to Julia (Jenna A. Bush, USA)
Nominees: From Darkness to Light: The Peter Krueger Clinic, Hello to Julia, Mountains We Climb

Artistic Spirit - The Fantastic (Maija Blafield, Finland)
Nominees: Frank Bey: All My Dues Are Paid, Identity: The Andew Nemr Story, We Decided to Become Farmers, Raised Up West Side

GLBTQ Spirit - Flirting (With Possibilities) (Garrett Zuercher, USA)
Nominees: Cocoon Love, For I Am Dead, From Darkness to Light: The Peter Krueger Clinic

Best Supernatural Film - Sid Penrose (Drew Dull, USA)
Nominees: The Call of Water, Wake, The Inside Outside, 7 Minutes in Hell, Tainan Fantage, Gregory

Best Webisode - Utopia Planitia (George Reese, USA)

Best Music Video - Black City Nights (Nathan Castiel, USA)
Nominees: You Knew Me, Gravity, It Ain't Me, Money, Money, Money

Best Alternative Music Video - Money, Money, Money (Marvin Tablang Dumlao, Philippines)
Nominees: It Ain't Me, You Knew Me

Best Singer-Songwriter Video - Gravity (Danny S. Lynch, USA)
Nominees: It Ain't Me, You Knew Me

Best Inspirational Music Video - You Knew Me (Rodgers Dameron, USA)
Nominees: Money, Money, Money, Gravity, Black City Nights, It Ain't Me

Best Narrative Feature - Emily or Oscar? (Chris M. Allport, USA)
Nominees: Ferryman, Sweet Disaster, Toprak, Love and Communication

Best Director - Sevgi Hirschhauser (Toprak, Turkey)
Nominees: Laura Lehmus, Giulio Meliani, Sevgi Hirschhauser, Armando Valdes-Kennedy, Chris M. Allport, Darren Bender, Samuel George, Patricia Delso Lucas

Audience Choice Awards

Best Student Film - The Softest Blanket in All of Dingledorf (Xan Rayne Poulsen, USA)
Best Documentary - Breaking the Silence (Dara Sanandaji, Freddie Bell, USA)
Best Short Documentary - Mountains We Climb (Ryan Canney, USA)
Best Short Film - Aghast! (Andreas Quiroga, USA)
Best Narrative Feature - Love and Communication (James Christy, USA)
Best TV Pilot - Grafton (Bryan Santiago, USA)
Best Webisode - Utopia Planitia (George Reese, USA)

Script Jury Awards

Best Script - G.O.D. OS (David Christopher Loya, USA)
Nominees: Kent, Amy and Angel, Soulbreak, Family Embers, G.O.D. OS, Wake of the Quasimodo, Preacher's Daughter: Giant Slayer

Best Narrative Feature Script - Preacher's Daughter: Giant Slayer (Gregory Bonds, USA)
Nominees: Amy and Angel, Family Embers, G.O.D. OS, Kent, Soulbreak, Wake of the Quasimodo

Best Streaming/Premium TV Script - Transformed (Shannon TL Kearns, USA)

Best Period Script - Wake of the Quasimodo (Lorna Norrise, Lauren Rosson, USA)
Nominees: Family Embers, Kent

Best Short Screenplay - A Package of Dreams (Bradley M. Look, USA)