Category: Films in Competition

Eve is a foster child who struggles to find a place to call home.
Directed by Robert McMahon (USA)

“Don’t believe everything you think.” 
“Doubts”, a poem by Julie Flanders with animation by Phoebe Cavise, is both a light and serious reminder to believe in something better than your uncertainties. Conveyed with love and whimsy this short film is meant to shift and elevate the spirit of the viewer. A seamless marriage of word and image, DOUBTS is a philosophical amuse-bouche designed to please the mind and delight the senses.
by Phoebe Cavise (USA)

The story takes place in “Neutropia” a portal world which connects the Solar System to another constellation of stars in our Galaxy called the “System of Elements” with what people from their world call white holes. “Neutropia” only houses one unorthodox planet “Neutropia”. Upon this piece of land resides “Zt Aeryies Castle” where an inauguration is underway as they welcome in their new princess and soon to be Queen “Zyriah”. Unlike their previous queens who come from royalty, Zyriah and her sister Azaria are orphans who come from nothing. Creatures of all assortments walk this planet. From the elves and swamp monsters of the Woodland Region to the mermaids and kraken of the Aquaterrian Region. All eyes are on the soon to be queen so the road toward establishing herself as the new leader of this world won’t be an easy one.
Directed by Malique Harris (USA)

Juniper, a middle-age father, severely injures himself playing his favorite Tuesday night pick-up basketball game. After surgery to repair his torn ACL, he goes through a tedious rehab to get back to his beloved pastime; only to injure himself again … and then again. Each surgery causes him to confront his love for the game and his wife’s hope that he’ll stop playing.
Directed by Cedar Daniels (USA)

Set in the desolate underbelly of Houston’s societal infrastructure, Emme (Melissa Ann Taylor) and her boyfriend Kyle (Stefan Scott) set out to sell their beloved car in an effort to relieve their financial struggles. When a mysterious buyer, who goes by J (Shaquille Mathurin), requests a test drive to an undisclosed location where he would dig up a box that he had buried in the ground as his form of payment, Emme begins to suspect that there is more going on between Kyle and J than she is aware of.
Directed by Toshiki Yashiro (USA)

In my life, I have had several major surgeries. One of them was in 2007 when I had a major spine surgery to correct a 100 degree scoliosis, the other was in 2012 when I had limb lengthing surgery on my legs to correct some deformities and increase my height from 3 ft. to 3 ft 4.5 inches. This animation goes deeper in the emotional psyche of how I felt during those surgeries, but how I ultimately became stronger because of those surgeries.
Directed by Carolina Robledo (USA)

Proyectos Tecnovo is a non-profit organization based in Bogota, Colombia, where they make handmade crafts for the home. What makes them special is they hire people with disabilities to make these crafts, but even better, they are paid above minimum wage. Claudia Gaitan de Caballero, breast cancer survivor and founder of Tecnovo, explains the importance of Tecnovo and paying her workers minimum wage and above in Colombia.
Directed by Carolina Robledo (USA)

Part of the importance of Proyectos Tecnovo, a non-profit that employs vulnerable people, was to ensure that workers with disabilities, who were in vulnerable states, had a voice and a platform to share their story with the world. Often times, the stories of people with disabilities are told by others without disability. It is important that people with disabilities get to tell their own authentic story with their voice and that they are represented in every possible way in the media. Here is a video that shows some of the faces of Tecnovo and their perspective of working at Tecnovo.
Directed by Carolina Robledo (USA)

Zulay Figuroa has a mountain home in Utuado, Puerto Rico, which is in the mountainous region of the island. Originally from Venezuela, Hurricane Maria was her first hurricane she has experienced. The day after the hurricane, it took her eight hours to travel back up the mountain to see her home. In her mind, because her house was made out of wood, she thought it was going to be completely destroyed. But miraculously, when she got to her plot of land, she was surprised to see her house still standing. Unfortunately, Utuado was not prioritized in delivering supplies, and many houses were destroyed by the winds and the floods. Zulay believes the hurricane opened up people’s eyes to how the government did not help, but rather the people who supported each other during this time.
Directed by Cuquis Robledo (USA)

On September 2017, Hurricane Maria hit the island of Puerto Rico, causing the whole island to blackout for several months. Because of the trifecta of Hurricanes that hit North America in 2017 – Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, and Hurricane Maria – the stories about the people of Puerto Rico affected by Maria were forgotten. It’s been over a year later and while most areas have recovered, there are still some areas outside of the capital of San Juan that still need help, and people’s stories need to be heard. This documentary tells different perspectives of people and tells the stories by the people from different parts of the island who were affected by the hurricane. The biggest takeaways are that Puerto Ricans are resilient people who came together to help each other and that Puerto Rico is ready for people to visit the island for tourism. The more tourism the island has, the greater the chance they have to recover from Hurricane Maria. This is the introduction video to the Maria Documentary Series.
Directed by Cuquis Robledo (USA)