Category: Films in Competition

“StarPeople” is a true story about contact and the transformation required to make positive contact and evolve.
Written by Kelly LaCombe (USA)

Married millenials Ryan and Jane enjoy their childless freedom, but when their jar of unconventional date ideas runs dry, their world falls apart and they start to question, “Is there such thing as too much free time?”
Directed by Danny Abrahms (USA)

“The Quickening” is a visual album spoken-word journey from the bottom of the sea all the way to the Pleiades Star Cluster. Featuring the poetry and performance of award-winning multi-hyphenate artist Rachel Kann, this is more than a film, it’s a ceremony.
Directed by Brad Cooper (USA)

Kurt Curtis, a depressed teen, befriends a sentient gelatinous blob whom he accidentally creates.
Directed by Julian Huss (USA)

Max Grillinger wakes up, hand cuffed to his car, in the middle of nowhere. When a stranger comes along, Max soon realizes that asking for help may have gotten him more than he bargained for.
Directed by Brian White (USA)

“Sylvia” is a story about a little girl who creates a world inside her bedroom with her eery but lovable ‘imaginary’ friends. She is determined to have a fun meaningful birthday but something goes terribly wrong and the house catches on fire. Years later she returns to her room to find a sense of closure and say one last goodbye to the friends who once existed there.
Directed by Meirav Haber (USA)

Ricardo and Omar are 18 year old kids living and getting by in the city of Caracas, Venezuela between 2016 and 2018, alongside their skateboarding friends. Intertwined with their passion for skating they show us their relationship with the environment around them and their coexistence with the rest of the population. “30 dias de patineta” is a glimpse into a in a city where the lines between reality and fiction are blurred, through the eyes of it’s youth.
Directed by Henry Solorzano (Venezuela)

Jail or Yale 
Young, Black and out of Options? 
Documentary 
This project focuses on examining the problem of structural racism in the educational system and its ramifications on black males as they progress through life.

Significant data reveals that Black students are being pushed into prison through our school systems, known as the School-to-Prison Pipeline:

40% of students expelled from U.S. schools each year are black 70% of students involved in “in-school” arrests or referred to law enforcement are Black or Latino Black students are 3.5x more likely to be suspended than whites Black and Latino students are 2x more likely to not graduate high school as whites 68% of all males in state and federal prison do not have a high school diploma. People of color make up 37% of the U.S. population but 67% of the prison population.

Their performance is inferior to every other comparable race and sex. “Many teachers begin to systemically look at Black males as troublemakers and as less intelligent than their peers, and this becomes the assumption rather than the exception. ”

Does the bias inflicted upon Black males affect them in such a manner that they begin to view themselves in an inferior way, thus compounding the issue at hand.

I believe the educational system has been consistently oppressive towards black boys for decades upon decades, and therefore the litmus test for an effective school system should be the success of black boys.

In my experience Black boys see no other option as they grow up, than to turn to side walk high, street culture and crime to survive. Once they fail academically and disengage in the school culture, they are pushed out of school and this affects them in all walks of life. Although this oppressiveness and educational bias towards black boys is not necessarily intentional, its effects still hurt black boys the same.

Jail or Yale is an expository documentary set to explore whether black boys are being trained and prepared to enter the prison system? 
Is there any correlation between the bias inflicted upon Black males as they progress through the educational system, and their over representation in the criminal justice system? 
This researched film aims to educate and explore through interviews, research, voiceovers and illustrative visuals.
Directed by Christopher Spence (USA)

A documentary about Elliot, a young transgender person who undergoes top surgery. He is supported by his girlfriend and Evangelical Christian Mother, who in the past has struggled with her son’s identity. It is a film about unconditional love and the family we choose.
Directed by Camille Liu Nock (UK)

Nikki and Jason are young and attractive. They met in rehab. She’s a heroin addict. He’s only dabbled in cocaine. Until Christmas eve.
Jason decides to experience smoking heroin to “see why it’s more important to Nikki than their relationship.” They are also dependent upon financial support from her wealthy parents, and must attend the parents9; holiday party, even though they’re still high. It’s a challenge…but they seem to be handling it. Until a cousin tells Nikki a family secret that “changes everything”.
Directed by Jeff Kanew (USA)