This program include six (6) short films! Please click through the films on the right to see details about each one. <a href="https://watch.eventive.org/bendfilm2020/play/5f9196e4e7604201106ce5c0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(102, 163, 224);">CLICK HERE</a> for our Q&amp;A with director Marisa Merkl (YOU CAN GO NOW), director Dani Wieder &amp; producer/actor Katherine Bourne Taylor (COOL FOR FIVE SECONDS), and director Nicole N. Nequinto (STILL TRYING)

COOL FOR FIVE SECONDS Colleen has arranged a friendly meeting with her long-estranged sister, Eleanor. But as their conversation goes on, old hurts and frustrations burst to the fore. As both sisters commit to finishing the conversation, the film offers an intimate portrait of a rocky reconciliation. Director's Bio:<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/0819d260a7e71adbdb6afc486d4f9cca.jpg" width="150" style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em;">Dani Wieder is a director of theater and film based in Chicago. Her work has been produced by theaters across Chicago and she has directed, assistant directed, produced, consulted on, and designed over 30 productions in the last four years.&nbsp;Dani became curious about filmmaking when she directed the theatrical version of COOL FOR FIVE SECONDS and knew the piece needed to be a film. The short has since screened at over 14 festivals so far. Dani is in pre-production for her next short, THE INDISSOLUBLES. She works with the Chicago rental house Camera Ambassador.&nbsp;

COOL FOR FIVE SECONDS

When Colleen reunites with her estranged sister, things don’t go exactly as she planned.

HONEY BEE When a young woman reflects back on her childhood with her sister, she finds joy and sorrow intertwined with nature and a bee sting. HONEY BEE is a short visual poem which reflects on memory, and moments in life that mark us and hold us back. For each of us, various moments leave their mark, but this one is inspired by today’s headlines. Director's Bio:<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/9db498fb16f486479c364deab932acaa.jpg" width="150" style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em;">Sandy is a NYC-based Writer/Director whose shorts have screened at festivals worldwide – notably the Edinburgh International Film Festival and Dances With&nbsp;Films – and won awards including a BAFTA Scotland New Talent Award for Sound Design. At present, Sandy is raising funds for UNFLUSHABLE, a feature indie comedy she wrote and will direct, and completing a full-length feature script based on her short film, HONEY BEE.

HONEY BEE

A short visual poem which reflects on memory, and moments in life that mark us and hold us back.

IF ANYTHING HAPPENS I LOVE YOU A man and woman struggle to come to terms with a devastating loss. An elegy on grief. Directors' Bio:<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/7b02e63b77c2f3b33a9bf626ceba125e.jpg" width="150" style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em;">Will McCormack &amp; Michael Govier are making their directorial debut with, IF ANYTHING HAPPENS I LOVE YOU.&nbsp;Will and Michael are producers, writers, actors and directors.&nbsp;Will wrote TOY STORY 4 and CELESTE AND JESSE FOREVER.&nbsp;Michael has written multiple short films, plays and performed on tv and commercials.

IF ANYTHING HAPPENS I LOVE YOU

YOU CAN GO NOW When a loved one isn’t expected to live much longer everything changes. We become hypersensitive to the world around us, yet simultaneously numb to things and dumbfounded by how mundane other’s lives may seem as we begin to move through the motions. It seems as though no one can see you. Explaining what that feels like is nearly impossible to put into words. Enter screen left YOU CAN GO NOW, a short film that takes this experience and provides it an artistic framing where words can fail, filled with symbolic strangers and visceral scenes to construct those initial moments of shock into an emotionally powerful path leading to the moment when one must face the tragedy in person. Director's Bio:<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/3b7186b5c2dc7819032a61ffe7a211d3.jpg" width="150" style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em;">Marisa Merkl is a first-time female director from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who has been writing scripts for the past four years. She has her second short coming out Halloween of 2020 and is pursuing the direction of her first feature by 2022. Her work is centered around themes of universal human existence, whether it be gutting, humorous or peculiar.

YOU CAN GO NOW

Sudden tragedies are uprooting—their experiences that are impossible for any of us to put into words.

KEEP IT QUIET Corey, a small-town veterinarian keeps her depression secret from family and friends. As her mind cracks, her cat Clyde becomes an unlikely foil to her suicide attempts. Director's Bio:<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/5901188c2c3ee5c524e183b83a0ce61b.jpg" width="150" style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em;">Yaya is a Russian-American filmmaker, based in Minneapolis and Berlin. KEEP IT QUIET, Yaya's directing debut, won Best Live Action Short at the Warsaw Film Festival and Performance Award at the USA Film Festival. Yaya writes and produces for other directors, and has a background in lighting and cinematography.

KEEP IT QUIET

A small-town veterinarian keeps her depression secret from family and friends. As her mind cracks, her cat Clyde becomes an unlikely foil to her suicide attempts.

STILL TRYING Alex is finally ready to move out of the house. That is, until her recently divorced mother breaks down after hearing her wedding song. Director's Bio:<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/7acc64f639304de2b79061bae09f9cb0.jpg" width="150" style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em;">Nicole N. Nequinto is a filmmaker based in Manila, Philippines. After growing up in Manila, she moved to Los Angeles to study screenwriting and producing at the UCLA Extension. While in school, she produced the short documentary BABA’S NEXT CHAPTER&nbsp;(2018) which showed at the 2019 Florida Film Festival. Her pilot was selected as a second rounder in the 2018 Austin Film Festival. A lover of comedy, she has produced a comedy podcast, web-sketch series and performed in UCB’s Filipino AF: A Fil-Am Comedy and Variety Show at the 2018 San Francisco Sketch Fest.

STILL TRYING

Alex is finally ready to move out of the house. That is, until her recently divorced mother breaks down after hearing her wedding song.

Q&A | Narrative Shorts #4

with director Marisa Merkl (YOU CAN GO NOW), director Dani Wieder & producer/actor Katherine Bourne Taylor (COOL FOR FIVE SECONDS), and director Nicole N. Nequinto (STILL TRYING)

Narrative Shorts #4

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