Category: Films in Competition

A graduating high school senior struggles to tell her sister she is moving far away for college away from her cake obsessed family.
Directed by Kate Saltel (USA)

An isolated girl obsessed with broccoli steps out of her comfort zone to make an unlikely friend.
Directed by Grace Conley (USA)

Ariana Feiner shares her story with her rare metabolic condition, Hypoparathyroidism. She spreads her message of hope through her work with her children’s book for kids with chronic health conditions, Ariana Rose: A Story of Courage. Ariana exemplifies that it is not our obstacles that define us; it’s the way we face them.
Directed by Ariana Feiner (USA)

Technological advancements have reunited Devin and Anji after a tragic accident. Now they must adapt to their new living circumstance as their two minds are forced to share one body.
Directed by Enrique Suarez (USA)

At death’s door and ready for his final voyage, old Ben is visited by Paco, the imaginary friend he grew out of long ago. Ben cannot see nor hear him anymore, but the boy won’t give up and will follow his old buddy till the end of the road – to mysterious islands or fantastic worlds? – where it leads matters not.
Directed by Thomas Bernos (USA)

In the dead of night, a young man returns home only to be tormented by a mysterious entity.
Directed by Diego Olivares (USA)

The humanitarian crisis in Venezuela is considered among the worst in Latin American history. While much of the media coverage has focused on the political turmoil in Venezuela, “School Crossing” focuses on an unseen crisis: the education of the next generation of Venezuelan children.
Directed by Karla Caraballo-Torres and Lorin Eleni Gill (USA)

Sheela, a 22-year-old Indian University student struggles to write her personal statement to Harvard Law University and gets immersed in flashbacks of her childhood, causing her to relive hurtful moments of always trying to please her mother.

As Sheela tries to think of when she first realized as a child that she wanted to be a lawyer, she remembers that it was really her mother’s dream that she be a lawyer one day.

As Sheela digs deeper into her memories, unresolved conflict with her mother comes up. With the help of a guide, Sheela goes back to her past and confronts her inner child. She tells an 8-year-old version of herself at the most hurtful moment in her life, exactly what she wished someone had told her then.

Sheela comes back into present reality transformed into a stronger version of herself with new found faith in creating her own path. 
Directed by Nimra Khan (USA)

Spunky teen Nova Dante has one job: caretaker to the Dante family cemetery and the ghosts that live within. With her parents away, Nova must balance her work and personal life as she and her inattentive Shinto priest boyfriend accidentally release evil ghosts that threaten to take over the world. 
Directed by Nancy Lin (USA)

Three university friends embark on an adventure they hope never to forget. They choose an exotic location in the Arctic to go polar bear seeing for their Spring Break. In the middle of their first tour, the engine of the rover breaks down. Now isolated and freezing in the dark, they wait for rescue. With their morale at a real low, their isolation ends with a chilling spring polar bear experience they did not plan for.
Directed by Dustin McGladrey (Canada)