Moving On

In an era when communications technology alternately separates and brings people together, the age-old experience of getting dumped by your lover sure isn't what it used to be. In yesteryear, etiquette required a painful, face-to-face chat. Today, one might only get an equally heartbreaking, but also rude and insulting, text message.

Co-directed and co-written by LA-based helmers Marcia Fields and Mike Spear, Moving On escalates this phenomenon to yet another level: what if, instead of dumping a guy, a gal could simply outsource the job—while sipping Iced Caramel Macchiato with her girlfriends? That's the premise of this inventive, tongue-in-cheek and sharply barbed short film. 

You're (most cordially) invited to visit the film team's website and watch a preview: Moving On Trailer

Grandpa's Debtor

In this wry, Georgian comedy, a family of swindlers hunts down wealthy targets by combing newspaper obituaries. It's a good little business unless someone with equal cunning wises to their game. 

Filmmaker Beka Sikharulidze, in his directorial debut, demonstrates the explosive potential of subtlety in Grandpa's Debtor. When the family's patriarch confronts a deceased man's grandson over a modest sum of money allegedly owed, no questions or defenses arise. Instead, the would-be victim deftly shifts the focus—incredibly, to the deceased. But can a person who lies in his coffin actually expose a fraud, and through it, the pettiness of a swindler's existence?

You can watch the trailer here: 

Effloresce

When Amelia finds herself on the outside of a relationship with her live-in boyfriend, Lazlo, he suggests a tortuous pact: why don't they live next door to each other, remain best friends, and openly reveal their continued relationship to any new love interests who come along? What could possibly go wrong? Thirsty for love and feeling the pressure of a thirtysomething who's suddenly, unwillingly, unattached, she hesitantly agrees.

The elegant but odd agreement provokes deep introspection in Amelia as she escapes into reading, gardening, and reveries of what was and might have been. The result is a woman who is both next door to her ex-beau and worlds apart. Filmmaker Kathleen Davison, a certified female filmmaker who has apprenticed under such luminaries as Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Frank Darabont, Glen Morgan and James Wong, creates a sense of mystery, longing and strangeness in the world of Effloresce. In doing so, she reveals how modern arrangements, when draped over biology and expectations, can never quite cure the hurts they're meant to resolve, and why someone who yearns to love and be loved might need to continue her search.

You can watch the trailer here: Effloresce Trailer

Croissant Man

Croissant Man is the charming and whimsical story of a depressed croissant who's trying to find meaning in the superficial world of bourgeois pastries. Filmmaker Tulica Singh, a student at USC School of Cinematic Arts, marshals her prodigious talents as a producer, director, writer and lead actor to produce what is, in total, a remarkable work of fantasy and imagination. 

If you love something off the beaten track and appreciate an off-center but intimate take on life, then you must check out Croissant Man, a delicious little indie treat. 

You can watch the trailer here: Croissant Man Website

Powerful Medicine: Simply Magic

Almost anyone who's burdened by a disability will seek a way out—either a cure or a way to manage the affliction. In the modern world, many will find it, but some of the most amazing stories deal with those who find their own cure. This is the topic of a remarkable new documentary from Lynchburg, Virginia.

Powerful Medicine: Simply Magic profiles individuals who use magic as therapy—not magic on themselves, but magic for others. Newfound skill as magicians rewires their brains and connects them with people, all while doing something they profoundly enjoy.

Co-produced and written by Kevin Spencer and co-produced and directed by Mwita Chacha, this 22-minute film offers a new kind of hope and leaves an indelible impression.

You can watch the trailer here: Powerful Medicine: Simply Magic Trailer

A Man on the Edge

Standing alone, high on a clifftop, a man contemplates suicide. The spot where he stands is an important place to him; it's tied to his past.

Just as he begins to seal his fate, a ravishing woman appears from nowhere. She, too, is linked to this place, and so is their past. But who is she, and what does she want him to do?

Such is the wellspring of A Man on the Edge, a beautifully wrought, gothic romance by Australian director Edward Lyons. This tense, moving short film explores what is means to love in the deepest corners of your heart even after everything goes wrong.

You can watch the trailer here: A Man on the Edge Trailer

2014 Award Winners

Film Jury Awards

Danny Award, Best Picture - The Tailor's Apprentice (Jeff Lehman, USA)
   Nominees: Wallabout, Give & Take, Golem, The Resurrection of Tony Gitone, Rooftops

Best Alternative Feature - Golem (Adam Deutsch, Israel)
   Nominees: The Anarchist's Birthday, The Resurrection of Tony Gitone, Wallabout, The Lengths

Best Documentary - No Problem! Six Months with the Barefoot Grandmamas (Yasmin Kidwai,
   India)
   Nominees: The Silent Epidemic, Mona Lisa is Missing, Be With Me, Being George,
  
Best Short Film - Trip in a Summer Dress (Janine Turner, USA)
   Nominees: Love is All That Matters, Oblivion, Acceptance, The Fay, Lambing Season, Monsura
   is Waiting

Best Experimental Short - Recursion (Sam Buntrock, USA)
   Nominees: Tesla, The Ballad of Snake Oil Sam, Storytelling

Indie Spirit Award - The Lengths (Tim Driscoll, USA)
   Nominees: Give & Take, The Tailor's Apprentice, The Anarchist's Birthday, Golem, The Lengths

Best Animated Film - Light Me Up (Ryan Walton, USA)
   Nominees: Life of a Lego, How to Avoid Annoying People, Mechanical Cow

Best Biography - A Place of Truth (Barrett Rudich, USA)
   Nominee: The Sax Man

Best Mid-Atlantic Film - Being George (Nyler Abdou and Adya Beasley, USA)
   Nominees: Sky Blue Collar, Moving Mountains, The Tailor's Apprentice, Available)

Artistic Spirit Award - Recoil (Evan Matthews, USA)
   Nominees: A Place of Truth, Moving Mountains, Changes by Brushstroke

Best Student Film - Telleth of Those Who Dwell in the Water (Roy Ambriz, Mexico)
   Nominees: Sophie, Home, Unidentified Flying Reality, Recoil, Dry Rain, Night Shift, Derailed

Student Cultural Spirit Award - The Broken Mirror (Hannah Kilcoyne, UK)
   Nominees: Tears and Blood, Dither: The D.I.Y. Sound

New Hope Award - Spirit of the Sato (Ellen La Torre, USA)
   Nominees: No Problem! Six Months with the Barefoot Grandmamas, Tears and Blood, Be With Me

Cultural Spirit Award - Moving Mountains (Jeanie Clark, USA)
   Nominees: Nandan Mela, Kala-Bhavana and Santiniketan: A Collective Spirit, Sikhs Formaggia,
   Pursuit of Truth, The Silent Epidemic, No Problem! Six Months with the Barefoot Grandmamas,
   Moving Mountains

LGTB Spirit Award - Lambing Season (Jeannie Donohoe, USA)
   Nominees: Passing Ellenville, Talk It Up TV: Dwayne Wynne, Sky Blue Collar

Female Eye Filmmaking Award - Sophie (Liz Fisher, USA)
   Nominees: Trip in a Summer Dress, Moving Mountains, Acceptance, Storytelling, Antebellum,
   The Broken Mirror

Best Sci-Fi Film - Recoil (Evan Matthews, USA)
   Nominees: Citizen's Band, The Invaders, Recursion, Unidentified Flying Reality

Best Webisode - Talk It Up TV: Dwayne Wynne (Rick Walters, USA)
   Nominees: Investments: The Series, The Invaders, Lines & Asides

Best Web Series - Investments: The Series (Steven Strickland, USA)
   Nominees: The Invaders, Lines & Asides, Talk It Up TV

Best Comedy - Give & Take (Scott Andrew Kurchak, USA)
   Nominees: The Anarchist's Birthday, Available

Best Comedy Short - The S Word (Jesse Stewart, USA)
   Nominees: No, No, You First, Sky Blue Collar, New Year's Resolutions

Best Director - Jerry Ciccoritti (The Resurrection of Tony Gitone, USA)
   Nominees: Evan Matthews, Eric McGinty, Adam Deutsch, Maureen Quinn, Roy Ambriz,
   Guillem Gutierrez Saura, Jeff Lehman

Best Music Video - Yes is My Favorite Word (Mak Azubike, USA)
   Nominees: Ganesh is Fresh, Brakes, Tocondo El Sol, Milk, Any Other Way, Five Past Ten

Best Pop Music Video - Tocondo El Sol (Vadim Lasca, Venezuela)
   Nominees: Only Me

Best Alternative Music Video - Brakes (Jennifer Nicole Stang, USA)
   Nominees: Fallen Sun, Skeleton Army

Best Experimental Music Video - Fallen Sun (Ivan Andrijanic, USA)
   Nominees: Skeleton Army, Splish Splash, Mechanical Cow, Tesla

Cultural Spirit Music Video - Milk (Victoria Taylor, USA)
   Nominees: Ganesh is Fresh

Best Singer-Songwriter Music Video - Any Other Way (Dillon Garland, Canada)
   Nominee: Five Past Ten

Best Inspirational Music Video - Ganesh is Fresh (Deborah Harse, USA, India)
   Nominee: Five Past Ten, Tesla, Tocondo El Sol, Yes is My Favorite Word

Script Jury Awards

Best Script - Miami Feist (Debra Zarne, USA)
   Nominees: Holy Mackeral!, Mass Exodus, Murmansk Run, Lost Cause, Boonville Redemption,
   Nobody's Child, Naughty or Nice

Best Narrative Feature - Lost Cause (David Schroeder, USA)
   Nominees: Hollywood Gospel, Breed of Crows, D.T., Lean Not on Your Own Understanding,
   Slave in the House, The Earth Below

Best Teleplay - St. Anthony's (Matthew Feely, USA)
   Nominees: Brewski, Papercuts

Best Comedy - Naughty or Nice (JoAnn Hess, USA)
   Nominees: Miami Feist, Holy Mackeral! Amazon Con, Bonding in Brooklyn,

Best Sci-Fi Thriller - Falling Star (Dylan Brann, USA)
   Nominees: Messiah, A New Birth of Freedom, Time and Again, American Harvest

Best Action Thriller - The Trail (Yvonne Paulin, USA)
   Nominees: Lost Treasure of the Mayans, Vultures Run, Lost Cause, The Night Witches, Breed
   of Crows

Best Period Screenplay - Daniel and the Lady (Joy Gee, USA)
   Nominees: Gabriel's Bones, Grace, Aurora, Slave in the House, The Earth Below

Best Psycho Thriller - Sinner (Christopher Graves, USA)
   Nominees: American Harvest, The Trail, Boonville Redemption, Messiah)

Best Short Screenplay - Viva Radilla (Brian O'Neill, USA)

Audience Choice Awards

Best Art House Feature - The Lengths (Tim Driscoll, USA)
Best Documentary - Riot on the Dance Floor (Steve Tozzi, USA)
Best Short Film - Acceptance (Gene Gallagher, USA)
Best TV Pilot - Jersey Chasers (Margaret Anderson, USA)
Best Webisode - Talk It Up TV: Dwayne Wynne (Rick Walters, USA)
Best Music Video - Skeleton Army (Brandon Pro, USA)
Best Student Film - Sophie (Liz Fisher, USA)
Best Mid-Atlantic Film - The Tailor's Apprentice (Jeff Lehman, USA)