Category: Films in Competition

When their car breaks down, a couple is forced to address the growing distance between them.
Directed by Dylan Calder Stein (USA)

Late at night in the Oval Office of the White House, Obama falls asleep and begins to relive his undergraduate days in LA as a writer of poetry. To Obama’s horror, Charles Bukowski appears and claims to be his literary father. Bukowski also takes an interest in Michelle (the last of the three characters) and tricks Obama into thinking he is about to become sick on the presidential seal carpet. Obama wakes, the actual Michelle sends him off to bed, and that is the end of it. Or maybe not.
Written by James Fitzmaurice (UK)

Jane is a film that explores how warped perceptions of love manifest out of a traumatic childhood. The story centers on the unhealthy relationship between the two main characters Jane and Valerie and how their sense of self and dysfunctional love develops as they become close.
Directed by Wai Lam Cheung (USA)

Do the values that we got from our parents define who we are? 
This is the story of a hard-working family in an Israeli suburb in the seventies. 
The father cannot deal with problems at home and escapes to alcohol and sex. The mother tries to keep the family together at any price but does not acknowledge her kids’ feelings. Each parent uses their kids to their advantage while giving them responsibilities they cannot hold. The kids try to imitate their parent’s behavior in order to survive. 
We follow the family’s reality from the kids’ point of view, the lays and manipulation of the adults, the messages they deliver to their children, those that will make them how they are. 
Catching the mouse, isn’t always the same.
Directed by Liat Akta (Israel)

Tyree Evans is an uptight, judgmental attorney on his way to work. He gets held up at gun point by ex-con Andre Jefferson, who is just trying to stay out of jail for good. The two end up having a day they both will never forget. At the end, they learn a little more about each other and life in general.
Directed by Bryan Bostic (USA)

Saul Turteltaub has been writing comedy and producing shows for television for 50 years. He worked with Shari Lewis, wrote for That Was the Week That Was ( a show which pioneered news satire), as well as for Candid Camera, He produced (and wrote for) the television shows That Girl, The Carol Burnett Show, and Sanford and Son. In this documentary, Saul talks about his inspirations, how he broke into the world of television comedy, and offers his opinions on comedy writing.
Directed by Daniel W Smith (USA)

At Tempelhof Field in Berlin, Germany the Cabuwazi Children’s Circuse brings refugee and German children together to train for a performance for their parents. It the families learn about each other.
Directed by Gertrud Schulte Westenberg and Daniel Smith (Germany)

An office worker with little to live for discovers another dimension in the alley outside his office. Directed by Marlin

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After attending the Global Water Summit as an academic participant, I was inspired to make a documentary without having any experience in filmmaking.

This film was created to ask:

Is it possible to make a film for the average person, from an average person’s viewpoint and be able to reach others?

“We have the knowledge and the resources today to choose the future we want”

The effects of water shortages are being seen all over the world in our lifetime. Adapting to a changed reality takes precedent in a world of over 7 billion people. Hear what others have to say about water conservation, technological trends and sharing ideas with the next generation. Is it possible to ensure a future with clean water for everyone?
Directed by Zachary Thomson (USA)

A portrait of modern day relationships fractured by technology, miscommunication, and overwrought emotion.
Directed by Lindsay Roche (USA)