2015 Macon Film Festival Complete Lineup Revealed

This year's Macon Film Festival is bound to be the biggest event yet. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Macon announced last year that it would move the four-day event from February to July, coinciding with the city's annual Bragg-Jam Music Festival—creating a ten-day mega event in downtown Macon.

Kicking off our annual coverage of middle Georgia's premiere film event, we are pleased to showcase the entire lineup! Several great films are to be showcased this year, including many Georgia features and shorts, several films that also played the 2015 Atlanta Film Festival ("Divided Time," "Frame by Frame," "Old South," "Wildlike") and some very special presentations to be attended by #GAfilm icon Burt Reynolds.

OPENING NIGHT:

MAVIS!

USA (Director: Jessica Edwards) – Mavis Staples of the Staple Singers inspired millions and helped propel the civil rights movement with their music. After 60 years of performing, legendary singer Mavis Staples' message of love and equality is needed now more than ever.

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS:

Special Screening of DELIVERANCE (1972) 

USA (Director: John Boorman) – Burt Reynolds scheduled to attend a Q&A following the screening of this iconic Georgia film. 

HOW SWEET THE SOUND: BLIND BOYS FROM ALABAMA
USA (Director: Leslie McCleave) – Directed and Produced by Leslie McCleave Filmed over the course of ten years, How Sweet the Sound tells the story of The Blind Boys of Alabama. They met as children in the 1930’s at a state-run segregated vocational school and would become one of the last great gospel quartets, traversing the famed “gospel highway” and beyond. As the surviving band members recount their unlikely success story, we see a rare, frank view of life on and off the road with these renowned performers, now in their 70’s and 80’s.

LIVE FROM NEW YORK!
USA (Director: Bao Nguyen) – "Saturday Night Live" has been reflecting and influencing life in the United States for 40 years. Live From New York! goes deep inside this cultural phenomenon exploring the laughter that pulses through American politics, tragedy and popular culture.

Special Screening of SHARKY’S MACHINE (1981) 

USA (Director: Burt Reynolds) – Reynolds scheduled to attend a Q&A following this Closing Night screening. 

SLOW WEST

United Kingdom/New Zealand (Director: John Maclean) – "Slow West" follows a 16-year-old boy on a journey across 19th Century frontier America in search of the woman he loves, while accompanied by mysterious traveler Silas. The film stars Michael Fassbender and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

WESTERN
USA (Director: Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross) – For generations, all that distinguished Eagle Pass, TX, from Piedras Negras, MX, was the Rio Grande. But when darkness descends upon these harmonious border towns, a cowboy and lawman face a new reality that threatens their way of life.

NARRATIVE FEATURE:

Day Release

Spain (Director: Geoffrey Cowper) – On his first weekend parole after 5 years in prison, Mark Rodriguez witnesses the armed robbery of a security van. His brother’s critical situation and his own feelings of remorse will lead him to take desperate measures. His only help will be a young and sexy stripper he met the night before.

Our Life in Make Believe

USA (Director: Christopher James Lang) – Devon lives alone on the road, running from a past she wants to forget. When she gets pulled into Zander’s haphazard journey to Boston, the two form an unlikely friendship. But as they travel on together, reality starts to catch up.

Sidewalk Traffic

USA (Director: Anthony L. Fisher) – When Declan, a 30 year old husband and new father is squeezed out of a promotion, he finds himself wracked by internal crises, including career envy, bitterness over bad breaks and the still-lingering fallout from the suicide of his former creative partner. Searching for salvation, Declan surrenders to the role of stay-at-home dad, and is forced to face his demons while pushing strollers, changing diapers and heating up bottles all the while to resurrect his dreams.

Wildlike

USA (Director: Frank Hall Green) – Mackenzie, a troubled but daring teenage girl, is sent to live with her aunt in Juneau, Alaska. She longs for her struggling, absent mother, but as her mom’s phone calls become less frequent and her uncle’s care is not what it seems, she must flee. Her only thoughts art to escape her uncle’s grasp and contact her mother somewhere, but as she plunges deeper into the Alaskan interior she is suddenly helplessly alone. A chance connection with a loner backpacker, Rene Bartlett, proves to be her only lifeline. As Mackenzie shadows Barlett across the last frontier, she thwarts his efforts to cut her loose until Bart has no choice but to help her survive in the wilderness. Against the backdrop of a spectacular Alaska landscape, they discover the redemptive power of friendship. Mackenzie and Bartlett prove to be the unlikely salve for each other’s scars, until the damage Mackenzie carries with her threatens to destroy her newfound sanctuary. Returning to civilization, Mackenzie is once again at risk of capture by her uncle as he hounds with manipulative calls and messages. When Bartlett finally discovers her alarming secret, he must make a bold choice to take real responsibility for Mackenzie and help her escape her traumatic past and return home.

NARRATIVE SHORTS:

5 Ways 2 Die

Cyprus (Director: Daina Papadaki) – Makis explores different way of death, struggling to achieve the most ideal result.

Becca And Molly 

USA (Director: Fabienne Bouville) – It’s Mom’s birthday. Forget about the present. It’s all about the past.

Bingo Night

USA (Director: Jordan Liebowitz) – A financially-strapped senior citizen finds a creative (and legally dubious) means of getting some quick cash in this sly and high-spirited comic caper.

The Bravest The Boldest

USA (Director: Moon Molson) – A young mother in a Harlem housing project realizes the arrival of two uniformed soldiers brings news she can’t bring herself to accept.

Chance

United Kingdom (Director: Jake Graf) – Trevor’s life has become void, following the passing of his wife and long-term companion, Doris. Days run into weeks, as Trevor slowly finds himself isolated and alone, and unconcernedly slipping towards death. A chance encounter in the park with a mysterious stranger equally troubled by his own dark past jarringly reawakens him, and forces both men to once again start to live.

Dad in Mum

France (Director: Fabrice Bracq) – The middle of the night. Moans are heard behind the parent’s door. Two young sisters are asking questions.

Electric Indigo

Belgium (Director: Jean-Julien Collette) - It is sometimes complicated for a little girl to face peer pressure and becoming aware of her own identity, especially that she never knew her mother and that the only reference is the love of two heterosexual fathers united by the bonds on a “non-carnal” marriage.

The Future Perfect

Canada (Director: Nick Citton) – Somewhere between then and now, a time traveler defies his orders, and compromises a future he cannot un-learn.

Granny Smith

Australia (Director: Julian Lucas) – The grandmother of all excuses.

The Gunfighter

USA (Director: Eric Kissack) – A weary gunfighter walks into a bar, looking for a drink. What he finds instead is a building full of raunchy people, and an audible, bloodthirsty narrator.

I’ve Just Had A Dream

Spain (Director: Javi Navarro) – Irene is eight and she woke up from a horrible dream.

Rain

USA (Director: Kristen McGary) – The poetic path of a homeless man to the same field every year leads us to the devastating reason for his journey.

Roubado

France/USA (Director: Erica Watson) – A teen photographer in the south of France develops a tense relationship with his mother’s new boyfriend.

Schnitzel

Israel (Director: Asaf Epstein) – The story of a boy, a girl, a space alien and … fried chicken.

Shotgun

USA (Director: Maverick Moore) – Three girls burn rubber and leave no survivors on an inexplicably wild ride.

Spark

USA (Director: Stephen Stanley) – A robot from the future travels back in time to 1983 in order to kill the young boy who will grow up to reinvent the internet.

Til Then

Germany/USA (Director: Benjamin Wolf) – Albert and Marta, both in their late 70s, live across the street from one another in a bustling section of Berlin’s Mitte district. Every day at 9am, the two neighbors meet – each in their perspective windows – to watch the world unfold below them. One morning, the clock strikes nine but there is no sign of Albert. Set against the backdrop of a rapidly gentrifying Berlin, Bis Gleich tells the story of two people who share a daily ritual, but have never actually met. Their unspoken connection deepens when, one day, they are forced to face the inevitable…together.

Universal Language

France/USA (Director: Kirsten Russell) – When Dan wakes up after his night in Paris after a black-out one night stand, he comes to find out that the woman in bed next to him doesn’t speak any English while he speaks no French. But the two lost people who will stop at nothing to avoid involvement, the lack of communication is the perfect scenario for staying unattached. A risk-free liason that might stay anonymous as long as the events from the night before remain unremembered.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES:

Coming Back to the Hoop

USA (Director: Jane Pittman) – 43 years ago, Jane Pittman, a promising basketball star at her small town high school, ran off the court during a holiday tournament game never to return ... until now. When Jane stumbles across the NOVA United Senior Women's Basketball Association, old passions are reignited. Vowing to get into the best shape of her life, she is determined to play competitive ball again. What she never expected to find on that journey was a passionate group of senior adults who had decided to “wear out, before we rust out”. Choosing basketball over Canasta and Bingo, these women come together for much more than sports. "Coming Back To The Hoop" is a film about the transformative power of basketball and the healing it brings when you connect with something larger than yourself and then give yourself over to the team.

Divided Time
USA (Director: W. Feagins, Jr.) – "Divided Time" captures the lives of nine fathers who share their experiences in parenthood and their pursuit of success in the music industry while being accountable to their families.

Frame By Frame

USA/Afghanistan (Directors: Alexandria Bombach & Mo Scarpelli) – After the repeal of a devastating media blackout enforced by the Taliban, four local photojournalists face the realities of building Afghanistan's first free press.

Michael Des Barres: Who Do You Want Me To Be?

USA (Director: J. Elvis Weinstein) – The son of a junkie aristocrat and a schizophrenic showgirl becomes a master of reinvention on a 50+ year journey through rock and roll, TV, and movies.

Mimi & Donna

USA (Director: Sophie Sartain) – What happens when love runs out of time? For a 92-year-old mother, Mimi, who has cared 64 years for Dona, a daughter who has an intellectual disability, it means facing the inevitable – she will not outlive her daughter – and finding her daughter a home. This poignant, heartbreaking and, at times, humorous documentary traces this process through the story of a quirky and deeply connected mother-daughter duo. The film spotlights the challenges of aging caregivers of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities – some 4.6 million Americans, 75% of whom live at home with family – and details the ripple effects of Dona’s disability on three generations of a Texas family.

Urban Century

USA (Director: Ryan Jones & Shawn Willis) – After decades of decline due to suburban sprawl, downtown communities all across the country are once again becoming vibrant, desirable destinations to live, work, and play, Examining this current rebirth of Main Street through the lens of several towns, including Flint, MI and Joplin, MO, Urban Century takes a refreshingly hopeful look at how these places from our past are becoming the key to our country's future. This isn't a story about saving Main Street, but about how Main Street just might save us. Whether it's economic downturn, climate change, or a glowingly unhealthy population, could the solutions to our biggest problems be as simple as returning to our urban roots?

MUSIC DOCUMENTARIES:

Billy Mize And The Bakersfield Sound

USA (Director: William J. Saunders) – A uniquely talented collective of musicians emerged, quite unsuspectingly, from Bakersfield, California in the 1950s and 60s. They birthed a genre that lyrically and sonically indexed their particular life experience, challenged the established tastes of the Nashville scene, and permanently altered the landscape of Country music. They called it the Bakersfield Sound. Artists like Merle Haggard and Buck Owens rode the movement to national fame, but Billy Mize, a singer-songwriter and original founder of the Sound who gave Buck and Merle their starts, found touring to be incompatible with the only thing he loved more than music: his family. But the deaths of two children, divorce, and hard living tore that family apart, and when a stroke took Billy’s voice, he hit rock bottom. After relearning how to talk in an intensive brain rehabilitation, Billy’s birthday approaches, for which the city of Bakersfield has thrown a huge concert event, and at which Billy is determined to take back the mic and end his 20 years of silence.

Buskin’ Blues

USA (Director: Erin Derham) – Oral historian Erin Derham discovers a subculture of artists sharing select spaces in downtown Asheville, North Carolina to awaken passersby to musical traditions across space and time. On one corner, a stride pianist bangs a chord out with his elbow to deliver the sounds of Prohibition-Era jazz. On another, a lady runs a pair of antique spoons down her fingers in a centuries-old fashion kept alive almost exclusively by her, setting the rhythm for an Irish Folk Quartet. Across the street, the sounds of ancient India are heard from a man hypnotizing crowds with a didgeridoo, hang drum, and throat singing. Buskers come from as far as Europe and Asia to play, learn, and receive the famous hospitality of the American South. Staying true to that reputation, these exceptional talents whose music is never ignored but whose faces are often forgotten, allow Derham a rare and intimate glimpse into their lives which will confront everything you’ve ever thought about the people who bring music to our streets.

The Curse And The Symphony

USA (Director: David Schulte) – The Curse and the Symphony is a short documentary about former punk musician Nathan Felix’s eight-year effort to break into the elite world of classical music, in spite of having no formal training. Watch as director David Schulte chronicles Nathan’s attempt to get his symphony performed by a full orchestra for the first time.

Koentopp

USA (Directors: Paul Hamilton & Caleb Vinson) – When Dan meets someone, the first thing they typically say is, a “guitar maker? You make guitars? Wow. How’d you get into that?” Following suit, Paul Hamilton and Caleb Vinson asked the same questions. After three years, they’ve put the answer into this film: Koentopp. Follow Dan as he creates a masterpiece, through construction of a fine archtop guitar and the emotional telling of his life story that has brought him to the only place he could be.

Musickland

USA (Directors: Cameron Bargerstock & Jacob Rosdail) – Virginia hog farmer Adam Musick left behind a life as a rock and roll musician to revive his family's farmland. Six years of full-time farming has taken a toll and Adam now struggles to return to music and finish the album he left behind.

Take Me To The River

USA (Director: Martin Shore) – 'Take Me to the River' is a documentary about the soul of American music. The film follows the recording of a new album featuring legends from Stax records and Memphis mentoring and passing on their musical magic to stars and artists of today.

SOUTHERN DOCUMENTARIES:

The Disease

USA (Director: Nathaniel Maddux) – For the past 27 years, Dean Redbeard Mundhenke has returned to his sacred Georgia hunting ground in pursuit of a wild turkey. Over the year, his passion has become an obsession as he built a custom turkey call making business. For the first time ever, Redbeard lets a camera into his world as we venture to his remote hunting camp to pursue wild game, reflecting on many years of turkey hunting and cigar smoking. Not only has he become consumed with the chase, but he reflects on how his life has changed by continuing to return to his haven in the wild.

The Doll Dilemma

USA (Director: Jacob Rosdail) – Jo Maeder left a life and career in New York City to take care of her aging mother in rural North Carolina. Now, years after her mother has passed, Jo feels trapped by the enormous doll collection that was left behind.

I Will Not Pull Out Kelly’s Hair

USA (Director: Josef Lorenzo) – A road trip with a local artist/historian that photographs rural abandoned homes. Kelly follows the back roads around railroad tracks to photograph the forgotten homes and dig up their history.

Old South

USA (Director: Danielle Beverly) – Hope is 30 years old and fighting to save her historic African American neighborhood from encroachment by an elite white fraternity, one known to fly a Confederate flag and hold an annual antebellum parade. Since the post-racial glow of the election of Obama, and now in the aftermath of Ferguson, everyone’s talking about race. But is it really so easy to speak openly and honestly? Or to change? On one block in Athens GA two communities steeped in history - one black, one white - strive to keep their respective legacies relevant in a changing American South. "Old South" provides, through a 3+ year unfolding story, a window into the underlying dynamics of race relations that influence so many American communities.

Paradise Garden

USA (Director: Ava Leigh Stewart) – Paradise Garden is a documentary film starring Howard Finster, Johnny Carson, Chris Frantz (Talking Heads/Tom Tom Club), Mike Mills (REM), Amy Ray (Indigo Girls), Cindy Wilson (B52s), and many more. The film shows the world that art thrives outside of museums in ordinary places and everyday objects. Howard Finster, the grandfather of Southern Folk Art, is remembered for creating the largest art installation in the United States. It continues to serve as inspiration to generations of iconic musicians and artists, as we capture his legacy through their stories.

Raised In The South of Normal

USA (Director: Daniel Espeut) – Award-winning filmmaker Daniel Espeut interviews Lauretta Hannon about stories from her bestselling book, “The Cracker Queen – A Memoir of a Jagged, Joyful Life.” Even after writing her story about growing up on the wrong side of the tracks, Lauretta has yet to set food on the grounds of her youth, until now. Plagued with a family history of attempted abortion, abandonment, alcoholism and violence, Lauretta discovers a new affirmation to her life by returning to her childhood home. In “Raised in the South of Normal,” we find out how Lauretta is able to confront discord and deaths of her parents and realize her purpose as a writer.

Spearhunter

USA (Directors: Adam Roffman & Luke Poling) – Deep in the wilds of rural Alabama, a spear-hunter proclaims himself the world’s greatest and erects a museum dedicated to his own obsession. In this atmospheric and darkly funny documentary, an offbeat cast of lovers, acolytes, and critics of the megalomaniacal spear-hunter remember his distinctive tactics both for killing and for leaving a legacy.

You Belong To Me

USA (Director: John Cork) – The You Belong To Me Documentary tells the 1952 story of Ruby McCollum, an African American woman who killed a prominent white doctor in Live Oak, Florida and the remarkable secrets and terrible truths revealed during her trial and incarceration. Her case haunted jurors and prosecutors for decades. Ruby McCollum was the wealthiest black woman in Suwannee County, Florida. Her husband, Sam, ran the local Bolita numbers racket. Was Ruby insane or was the killing of Dr. Clifford Leroy Adams the last sane act of a woman whose wealth and status could not protect her from the blind indifference and humiliations of the Jim Crow South? The ghost of Ruby McCollum still roams the streets of Live Oak, Florida.

CENTRAL GEORGIA SHOWCASE:

Zombie Crush

USA (Director: Tendal Mann) – In this coming of age, PG Zomedy-romance, Bobby Green, a 13 year-old boy, gets his first case of puppy love when Sarah, an attractive 16 year old girl, wakes him from a coma. To make things worse he has awakened into a world where adults are nowhere in sight and kids are open-armed walking zombies. Bobby and Sarah are seemingly the only remaining humans and he tries to win her affection as they adapt to this new world; along the way, they learn how to divert the zombies and discover that these zombies aren’t what they seem. There are numerous twists and turns which have never been seen before: the half-hour short ends with something more sinister and more evil than they could ever have imagined.

The Legend of Seven Toe Maggie 

USA (Director: Joseph Lavender) – The spirit of a native American girl haunts a South Georgia haunted house. When a group of amateur paranormal investigators come to town to uncover its secrets, they get a lot more than they bargained for.

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS:

The Burden 

USA (Director: Roger Sorkin) – The Burden tells the story of fossil fuel dependence as our greatest long-term national security threat, and why the U.S. military is leading the fight for clean energy.

Everyone Has A Place

USA (Directors: Dennis Scholl & Marlon Johnson) – Everyone Has A Place is a short musical documentary featuring a ground-breaking collaboration of jazz, gospel and vocals. This body of work is entitled, Abyssinian: A Gospel Celebration. It was composed by the American musical treasure, Wynton Marsalis. This inspirational work of art was performed by a unique paring of the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and choir Chorale Le Chateau. The film features a series of in-depth interviews, moving concert footage and a candid peek backstage. Everyone Has A Place is a toe-tapping, hand-clapping, musical tapestry that will entertain, uplift and inspire.

Free Art 4 U

USA (Director: Nicole Powell) – Free Art Friday ATL is an ongoing city-wide social art scavenger hunt. Art pieces are hidden around the city and photos are posted on social media using #FAFATL. If you are first to find the art, you get to keep it and take it home with you absolutely free. This not only happens in Atlanta, but in many other cities as well. In my short documentary, I follow the stories of 5 free art makers and a piece of their art from its creation to the hands of its new owners.

Not Anymore: A Story Of A Revolution

USA/Syrian Arab Republic/Turkey (Director: Matthew VanDyke) – A short film about the conflict in Syria as experienced by a 32 year old rebel commander, Mowya, and a 24-year-old female journalist, Nour, in Aleppo, Syria. The film clearly and concisely shows why Syrians are fighting for their freedom, told through the emotional words of two powerful characters whose lives have been torn apart by war. Winner of over 80 awards and screened in more than 200 film festivals around the world.

Snow Wars

Canada (Director: Frank Mirbach) – Year after year, there’s war going on in the Canadian Rockies. The war against nature in one of the most snowy places in the world: British Columbia. On land and in the air, Canadians do battle against massive amounts of snow, threatening the infrastructure and the lives of their people. A handful of men and women risking their lives to protect the streets, railways and public against mother nature’s forces. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

ANIMATION SHORTS:

Better Than Equal

USA (Director:Alston Jones) – "Be Better Than Equal" is an orientation film for Anfarm International, the world's first animal owned and operated company. You'll be introduced to the company, what it does, and how it does it, along side the company's latest employee. Follow along as an ordinary pig is brought from the feed trough to the corporate cafeteria.

Between Times

USA (Directors: Max Porter & Ru Kuwahata) – From the wall of a small town bakery, a cuckoo clock recounts a day where bread was sliced one second thick, lovers fell in sync and time rarely flowed at an even

Dirty Laundry Day

USA (Director: Jamil Lahham) – After a sequence of unfortunate mishaps, an ordinary trip to the laundromat turns abnormal, especially when Ken tries to exchange some bills for coins to wash his clothes and the change machine displays a cryptic message: “Change is not free.” Suddenly, things begin to change.

The Fallen Phoenix

USA (Directors: Gwen Barriac & Heather Larkin) - 'The Fallen Phoenix' is the story of an established composer who struggles to write a masterpiece that pleases both himself and his sponsor. Ultimately, he realizes he has to choose between staying true to his art and pleasing those around him. The fable of the Phoenix is used as a framework for the story. Though the Phoenix may fall in flames, his music lives on triumphantly!

Jinxy Jenkins, Lucky Lou

USA (Directors: Michael Bidinger & Michelle Kwon) – When the chaotically misfortunate Jenkins and the monotonously lucky Lou run into each other one morning, they find a thrilling and fulfilling change of pace as they hurtle down the hills of San Francisco in an ice cream cart.

Mirror In Mind

South Korea (Director: SeungHee Kim) – A woman looks into her mind. Chasing her ideals on a tightrope. Every imperfect piece of her mind completes herself.

Proximity

USA (Director: Joshua Cox) – Proximity is a suspenseful romantic crime drama involving ceramic statues. Two of the figures a Victorian gentlemen and a sixties cowgirl explore the depths of love and betrayal.

September Sketch Book

USA (Director: Ronnie Cramer) – SEPTEMBER SKETCH BOOK is an experimental film created using old school animation; over 5,400 drawings made with pen and paper. The film is abstract in nature, with sequences based on flags from around the world.

Sumer

United Kingdom (Director: Alvaro Garcia) – For unknown reasons, the Earth's ionosphere has weakened dramatically during the course of the last century. All animal and plant species perished decades ago. All that remains is one small group of humans who attempt to resist the hostility and hardness of the external environment from SUMER, the last hive city in the world. A young boy, Hermes, lives alone close to the wall that delimits the city, an area that is highly guarded by the SSW (SUMER Security Watchers). While observing the desert from the roof of a building, Hermes suddenly sees something that looks a lot like a blue feather floating in the air...

Thundercluck: Chicken Of Thor

USA (Director: Paul Tillery) – Half mortal. Half god. All natural chicken.

MUSIC VIDEOS:

‘Crazy Lonesome’ – The Law Band

USA (Director: Cole Cassell) – “Crazy Lonesome” is the featured single and first music video by The Law Band from Atlanta, Georgia off their debut album “Dust and Aether.” “Crazy Lonesome” was filmed in Good Hope, Georgia.

‘Don’t Be Judging Me’ – Playground Hero

USA (Director: Daniel Espeut) – The music video for Playground Hero’s debut single, “Don’t Be Judgin’ Me” was filmed on Washington Street in Athens, Georgia. The video is an uninterrupted long take featuring lead vocalist, Estebon Watson, singing as he dances down the sidewalk. The video portrays Estebon in a drunken state telling the story of what happened to him that day, which led him to drinking at a bar.

‘Hallelujah’ The Soul Of A Sad Clown – Puddles The Sad Clown With The Golden Voice

USA (Director: Gary Yost) – A musical video teaching us that the soul and heart can come through despite any costume we wear. Performance by Puddles, the Sad Clown with the Golden Voice, filmed at the Regency Lodge Ballroom (built in 1909) – San Francisco, September 27, 2014.

‘Let Me In Again’ – Simone And The Spectrum

USA (Directors: David Fritzson & Daniel Fritzson) – Washington, DC based indie pop band Simone and the Spectrum releases their first single off their new EP “Let Me In Again.”

‘Look At The Sound’ – Death on Two Wheels

USA (Director: Bobby McCullough) – For more than 50 years thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies have flocked to the city of Daytona Beach, Florida aiming to get their fix at the annual Daytona Bike Week motorcycle rally. 2+ decades and 3 generations later the California Hell Riders have set up shop at the world famous Iron Horse Saloon to provide just that. Specializing in the craft of circling round and round in what is known as a motordome, they provide death defying acts thought not possible on motorcycles – what’s come to be known as The Wall Of Death. Daredevils in their own right, Death on Two Wheels rock and roll band from Atlanta, Georgia stepped into The Wall Of Death to perform their music as onlookers watched from above.

‘Point Of View’ – Chandler McGee

USA (Director: Cole Cassell) – A man searches for his lost brother.

‘Repetition’ – Trampled by Turtles

USA (Director: Matteo Crinelli – The surreal journey of a cowboy through open doors to the imagination.

‘Sunshine’s On The Way’ – The Solution

USA (Director: Justin Henny Henderson & Tony Reames) – What do you do when the days feel darker than the nights? Who helps you when your support system has it worse than you? Sometimes it feels like everything and everyone is against you. It's hard to keep your head up when the weight of the world is holding you down. Sunshine's on the way.

‘UP’ – Arrested Development

USA (Director: Tony Reames) – They won 2 Grammy Awards, 2 VMAs, the NAACP Award and countless other accolades. But then—they stopped making music... right? Wrong. America just stopped listening. Arrested Development has been making music for the last twenty years and performing live on almost every continent. And now - they are ready for America to open their ears to the music they are still, and have been, making. In the video for their newest single, "UP" Speech and the whole Arrested Development crew motivate you to keep looking "UP."

STUDENT SHORTS:

Boy Wonder

Cyprus (Director: Zack Brewer) – A young boy works to buy an action figure of his favorite superhero, but, after witnessing a classmate being bullied, he learns it doesn't take superpowers to be a hero.

Everything For The Movies

Belgium (Director: Lukas Buys) – Lize, a young actress, makes her suitcases. She re-reads the scenario. A driver from the film set picks her up, Olivier. During the long trip the two start getting along quit well. He talks about the set and how the previous days have been. She says she’s nervous for her first starring role. They arrive at the location, a secluded weekend cottage. The following days they’ll both do everything for the movies.

Lemonade Therapy

Australia (Director: Angus Bell Young) – Young Mother Sophia wakes up to what she expects is a normal day; only to have it quickly spiral out of normality. There is a strange man in the house with her, and no matter where she looks, Sophia can’t find her daughter.

Made To Penetrate 

USA (Director: Hila Perry) – Patty sees Dave at a bar, later that night she and her friends follow him to a remote location and mess him up.

My Girl Rose

USA (Director: Jordan Lewis) – Racial tension runs high in 1969 Lakeland, Florida -- a small, close-minded Southern town. Two high-school students, Rose and Jude, find themselves bonding over a common cause: having an integrated prom. As their interracial relationship grows closer, they soon discover that bringing the school together will be harder than they could have ever imagined. This story is inspired by the true events of integration in Lakeland, Florida's high school in the late 1960's. Separate is NEVER equal.

O Star

USA (Director: Dima Otvertchenko) – Rudy & Ava have 4 days to make sense of their broken relationship before the end of the world in this rock music video adventure told through 7 original songs.

Sin Frontera (Without Boundary)

USA (Director: Iz Gutierrez) – Inspired by true events, Monica and Gabriel are an engaged couple on the verge of a relationship breakdown when they are unexpectedly torn apart by an unjust law and controversial government practice. After Gabriel is deported to a dangerous city, they both remember how they fell in love and make a vow to rekindle their romance in order to prevail over a corrupted and complex government policy. They discover a way to reunite through an unconventional method. Love will transcend any boundary.

Tip Toe

USA (Director: Raquel Bordin) – Tip Toe is a drama composted by two parallel stories. Daniel, a little boy that dreams of becoming a ballerina, but his father refuses to except it. Veronica, a transsexual, that faces complications with her sex change along with the reality of the death of her childhood dream.

Two For Tea

USA (Director: Ben Joyner) – When the law shows up to take a retired school teacher’s grandson into custody, things take a turn for the worst. In this brooding tale about the darker side of unconditional love, an indomitable (and perhaps slightly unhinged) grandmother pits herself against the forces that could tear her family apart.

LGBT SHORTS:

All Kinds

USA (Director: Starina Johnson) – When Alex, a comic artist, finds out her wife, Sylvia, is unable to have a baby, the couple must figure out exactly how far they are willing to go in order to make one another happy.

Forced Contact

Italy (Director: Daniele Sartori) – World War II has just come to an end. At a center for the identification of prisoners of war, Lieutenant Antoinio Graziani is being falsely accused of having ordered the execution of ten civilians. German Detlef Hagermann, captured along with Graziani by partisans during the days of the massacre, is the only one able to clear him from the accusations, but a secret he promised to keep prevents him from telling the truth until the very last minute.

hopefulRomantic

USA (Director: Bejamin Pollack) – hopefulRomantic is an original musical film about one man’s emotional journey through love, heartbreak, and healing. It’s a universal story about loving, letting go, and holding onto faith that there’s somebody for everybody. It may sound like a somewhat familiar story…but what makes hopefulRomantic unique, is the way in which the story is told. The nearly dialogue-free narrative is articulated solely through Matt Zarley and Any Zulla’s soulful pop score…introducing a fresh new format in musical storytelling. A movie musical for a new generation. hopefulRomantic is best described simply as a love story…with music as its guide.

I Regret To Inform You

USA (Director: Philip St. Gelais) – Captain Jarred Cole knows a deep secret about a fellow Marine who is killed in action. When he is sent to inform the family of the death, he realizes the truth comes at a cost and must decide how much to tell.

Lady Of The Night

France (Director: Laurent Boileau) – The annual dinner commemorating the death of Cornelius, revives Samuel’s memories. He was 20 years old when he discovered is attraction to Cornelius. Tormented by regret and misunderstood by all, he never revealed his homosexuality to Cornelius’s family, whom he had invited that evening. After their departure, Samuel retires to his room, desperate, and seeks for refuge in his nightlife: he becomes a Queen of the Night, in tribute to his lost love.

Snowflake

Italy/USA (Director: Francesco Roder) – Aurore is dying. Her illness has confined her to a bed and Claire is at her side, waiting for the inevitable end to come. But Aurore has a final gift for her: a diary where she tells the story of their love. With the snowflakes falling outside the window, Claire will look at their love story through the eyes of her beloved; a love so unique it will only live in the pages of a book.

Tom In America

USA (Director: Flavio Alves) – For 50 years, Michael and Betty have been united by one guiding principle: no secrets. But when a provocative Tom of Finland doll triggers Michael's long-buried desires, Betty discovers that secrets have been part of their life all along. With long-held mysteries thrust into the open, the foundation of their marriage and the path of their golden years are suddenly rocked. Now, they must redefine their future, and decide if it is one their love can survive.