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KICK OFF NIGHT:
RED CARPET PARTY & FILMS
Thursday, September 20, 2018
6:00PM - 10:30PM
6:00pm-8:00pm: Kick-Off Red Carpet Party
8:00pm - 10:30pm: Film Screenings & Filmmaker Q&A
**Planning on attending multiple blocks? Save & buy a Saturday All-Access Day-Pass, Sunday All-Access Day-Pass, or VIP Weekend All-Access Pass! **Available for Advanced Sale only, will NOT be sold at the door.
All festival tickets include free admission to the Sunday Awards Ceremony. Come join the fun!
**For helpful information such as tickets, directions, parking, handicap access, and where to eat/stay, please visit our Attend page.
The festival weekend kicks off with an exciting red carpet party featuring local Westfield restaurants and food markets such as Vine Ripe Markets, Casa di Pizza, 1958 Cuban Cuisine and a popcorn bar sponsored by Savory and Spice Shop!
Join us for an evening of films, food and fun! Guests are free to tour our beautiful venue, The James Ward Mansion of Westfield. Come dressed to impress for photos and interviews on the red carpet! Cocktail attire is suggested.
KICK-OFF
RED CARPET PARTY
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 03:00
Country: United Kingdom
Synopsis: If you are a young person experiencing mental ill health and homelessness, life is far from a walk in the park. This film explores the connections between mental health and homelessness, challenging common misrepresentations in the media. Using the medium of the spoken word, the film questions whether we can ever view issues such as these in an objective way. Rolf has experienced mental health issues and homelessness. He wants to use film to challenge our understanding of both. Rolf is a first time film maker.
Director/Writer: Rolf Klein
Rolf has experienced mental health issues and homelessness. He wants to use film to challenge our understanding of both. Rolf is a first time filmmaker.
Lead Producer: Steve Gear
Steve is co-founder of the film production charity Calling the Shots. CTS is all about widening participation and helping people express themselves through creative media. He's worked with various community projects, organisations and young people for many years to make films.
MUMPSIMUS AND HALCYON DISCORD
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 18:00
Country: USA
Synopsis: "Every Other Weekend" is a day-in-the-life story about the volatile relationship between a strong willed 10 year old girl and her misguided alcoholic mother. The film stars actress Keala Settle (Tony nominated Broadway veteran who stars as the Bearded Lady in the movie musical, The Greatest Showman) and two highly talented child actors - Angelina Palma and Julian Lerner.
At the outset of the film, tensions run deep between Mom and daughter, Ruby, as the two attempt to navigate a relationship that has become strained as a result of Mom’s drinking habit. When Ruby tells her mother that she has given up music to instead pursue art, Mom takes this news as a personal rejection of everything she stands for and values. This small conflict sets into motion a day that quickly spirals out of control. As Mom fails to stay sober, Ruby is forced to make a decision that risks disaster for all.
Director/Co-Writer: Josh Victor Rothstein
Josh Rothstein is a multi-platform artist equally at home directing motion pictures or still photographs. Commercial clients include brands such as Puma, Samsung, HP, Disney, Square Space, Dell, Jack Daniels, Kenneth Cole and Mastercard.
His 2015 feature documentary, “Dukale’s Dream”, which won Best Documentary Feature Premiere at the Heartland Film Festival, is the inspirational story behind Hugh Jackman's coffee company, Laughing Man Worldwide. Josh's most recent project with Jackman was on “The Greatest Showman”, where Josh directed a series of documentary promos commissioned by 20th Century Fox and co-branded by iTunes. Josh also directed Jackman in the mini doc “The Host” covering Jackman’s preparation to host the 81st Academy Awards.
EVERY OTHER WEEKEND
Genre: Dark Comedy
Runtime: 10:18
Country: NY/NJ, USA
Synopsis: After finding out he is dead, Charlie has a chance to make good on a past regret.
Director/Writer/Producer: Dennis Cahlo
Dennis Cahlo is a writer, director, actor, and photographer from Brooklyn, NY. He has self funded and produced both "Death (And Disco Fries)" as well as his first short film "The Weekend" which was recently picked up by SHORTS TV for distribution. He loves French Bull Dogs and French New Wave.
DEATH (AND DISCO FRIES)
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 06:25
Country: Australia
Synopsis: Joe and his volatile girlfriend, Rose, are trying to make a quick escape from their latest heist. However Rose has parked their getaway car in a multi storey carpark and they find their way blocked by Fleur a confused, elderly woman who is struggling with the ticket machine. As the police sirens get louder and closer Joe comes up with a plan however, he has underestimated the old lady.
Director/Writer: John Frohlich
John is an experienced producer, writer and director. He produced the independent Australian feature film, ‘The Competition’ which had a theatrical release in Australia in 2014. He has also written and directed a number of award winning short films including; ‘Always the Son’, a Telstra Mobile runner up at Tropfest in 2010. His latest short film, ‘Carpark’, is screening in Stockholm this month.
John was Head of the Departments of Communication, Media and Music at Canberra Institute of Technology for over 15 years. He is currently Director of the Canberra Short Film Festival and a board member of Screen Canberra. Currently John is working on a documentary project and writing a feature film script.
Lead Producer: Janine Kaiser
A dual citizen of Australia and Germany, the founder of Kaiserin Films Janine Kaiser grew up in Germany and began her career as Production Assistant on film productions such as Männerherzen (Wiedemann & Berg Produktion). With a clear focus and strong interest in Production Management, Janine moved to Canberra in 2010 where she achieved her Advanced Diploma in Screen and Media at the Canberra Institute of Technology in 2013. Since then she has worked on productions such as New Zealand from Above (Wildbear Entertainment, Making Movies, Gebrueder Beetz Produktion) and the ABC mini-series The Boffin the Builder and the Bombardier (Wildbear Entertainment) as well as many of her own film projects. Her most recent success is highlighted by the short film Eaglehawk having been accepted into the short film competition at the Sydney Film Festival 2016 as well as Melbourne International Film Festival 2016.
CARPARK
Genre: Music Video
Runtime: 04:27
Country: New Jersey, USA
Synopsis: A music video for the song "Sober" by Mike Rossi; which is about not enabling an addict.
Director/Producer: Adrian Colón
Adrian Colón is an award-winning NJ based comic, writer, producer, and filmmaker. Apart from being a stand up comic, Adrian produced and starred in the award-winning short, "The Joke's On You". He recently directed a short documentary called "Centurion Ministries" which won best short documentary at Princeton's Nassau Film Festival 2018. He co-wrote a pilot that is currently being pitched to networks and will be relocating to Los Angeles in 2019.
SOBER - MIKE ROSSI
(Music Video)
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 07:00
Country: Iran
Synopsis: Someone in a quiet area asked help from the people who he sees till someone enters the house and suddenly...
Director: Javad Daraei
Javad Daraei studied filmmaking at the University of Tehran 2014. His first movie called I DONT LIKE HER in 2016 received 19 international awards. This film "Limit" has won 16 international awards from world wide.
LIMIT
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 15:00
Country: USA
Synopsis: 'Tyrannosaurus Death!' is a whimsical romp through suburban melancholy told through split timelines. We follow Russell, a traumatized loner who poetically narrates us through the past and present as he commits a life-altering faux pas and tries to bounce back from it. In the past we see Russell in the lead up to the decision that forever changes him and in the present we watch him try to right his wrong, but the psychological self-harm caused by this decision has left him unable to take off a Dinosaur costume or speak out loud. He is aided on his journey to redemption by his twin sister, Maggie, and their friends.
Director/Writer/Producer: Adam Volerich
Adam began making films as a stop motion animator, or as it is more commonly known, playing with LEGO. His work has been featured in festivals worldwide and published by clients including Disney, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Village Voice, Gothamist, Gizmodo, io9 and MTVu. Raised in the suburbs of London on a steady diet of fish n’ chips and Doctor Who he later relocated to the US where he discovered the wonders of Gogurt and independent cinema. When not watching or making movies he is searching for Sasquatch.
TYRANNOSAURUS DEATH!
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 03:40
Country: France
Synopsis: The life of a man through his hands and the ones around him...
Director/Writer/Producer: Michaël Barocas
Michaël Barocas is a thirty-nine years old film director. He’s been doing short films, commercials, music videos and documentaries for the past twelve years. Before that, he studied producing and directing in a movie school in Paris (ESRA) where he graduated in 2000. He’s currently developing his first feature film.
WITH MY OWN TWO HANDS
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 04:25
Country: NJ, USA
Synopsis: Jim thinks he knows who he is: he’s a man, he has a hot girlfriend, he’s on the basketball team… But when Cassie tells him about a male bodied friend who identifies as a girl, Jim’s concepts of gender and identity are challenged.
Director/Writer: K. Kypers
K. Kypers was raised in Vernon, NJ where they developed an appreciation for dreams, empathy, and crude drawings. Since earning a BFA in animation from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia in 2012, K. has been a storyboard artist for NBC/Sprout's Astroblast!, directed short videos for Post-it® Notes, and has had a number of collaborations with AMAZE.org. Visit kkypers.com to learn more.
Producer: David Grandison Jr.
David Grandison Jr. is an award-winning producer and documentary filmmaker with a focus on shorts. He produced the film Electric Roots (featuring world-renowned DJs Black Coffee and Richie Hawtin) and a series of thirty animated educational shorts for AMAZE.org. He is currently Director Of Instructional Design for Yellowbrick and his team just launched SneakerSchool.com.
JIM'S INTRODUCTION TO GENDER IDENTITY
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 15:30
Country: USA
Synopsis: After an unarmed black teen is killed, James & Maddie argue about whether they should warn their 9 year old son about police brutality.
Co-Director/Writer/Co-Producer/Actor: Marlon Perrier
Marlon Perrier is a Meisner trained actor writer and producer who has appeared in multiple tv shows and films. He studied Meisner technique at the prestigious Morehouse College in Atlanta Georgia as well as Esper Studios in NY. The Talk is the third film that Marlon has written, produced and starred in. It is also his first time directing.
Co-Director/Co-Producer/Actress: Keisha Richards Lafleur
Keisha Richards Lafleur is a Meisner trained actor, writer, director, producer and stuntwoman. She studied Meisner technique at Will Esper Studios and continues to study under Terry Knickerbocker at his studio in NY. She has also written, directed and starred in a string of short films under her Twelve 20 productions banner.
THE TALK
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 14:31
Country: NJ, USA
Synopsis: e.ro.sion follows the last days of a woman as she checks into the "Goodbye Clinic" to have her life deleted. We witness a person fade into a parallel reality where she observes the world she once felt connected to, continue on without her, and the physical being of her body and soul disappear before her very eyes.
Director/Co-Writer: Catriona Rubenis-Stevens
Catriona Rubenis-Stevens moved to the USA a decade ago from England to pursue a life in the arts. Catriona spend over a decade working as a director, producer and 1st AD and her films have been screened around the world, and have garnered numerous awards at festivals including; The New York International Film Festival, The Amsterdam Film Festival, BBC ALBA in Glasgow and the Berlin International Film Awards.
Producer/Actor: Jesse Tendler
Jesse Tendler became an actor by the age of four. Television and film credits include: The Ellen Burstyn Show (series regular); The Thorns (series regular); The Secret, Hallmark Television Special (co-starring w/Kirk Douglas) for which he earned a Youth in Film Awards nomination for Best Child Actor in a Television Movie; Are You Afraid of the Dark?; and Law & Order, among others. As a producer, his films have won Best Picture, Best Director, and Audience Choice awards at a multitude of festivals, including being selected for consideration by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the 2016 Oscars.
Co-Writer: Tammy McNeill
Tammy McNeill is New York based actor and writer. Her plays have been produced by the Aching Dogs Theatre Company (Rooftop), The Metropolitan Playhouse (Gimmee Life), and published on Indie Theater Now (The Life).