The story of an ordinary American dog struggling to find his place in the modern world, he points his beak toward the Old West in search of purpose and meaning. <a href="https://filmfreeway-production-storage-01-connector.filmfreeway.com/press_kits/headshots/003/615/732/original/82190c1ed5-headshot.jpg?1762838155" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://filmfreeway-production-storage-01-connector.filmfreeway.com/press_kits/headshots/003/615/732/thumb/82190c1ed5-headshot.jpg?1762838155" width="185" style="border: medium; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-size: 12.95px; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline; height: auto; max-width: 100%; position: relative; float: left;"></a>Director Biography Michelle Pozen is a Chicago-based Ukrainian-American artist. Onion Dog is her first festival submission as a director. She holds a BFA in Animation, Interactive Arts and Media from Columbia College Chicago. Director StatementOnion Dog is special to me because I grew up with the song. My stepfather, Josh Lanza, worked on it over many years as it became a local crowd favorite in Seattle. When Josh asked me about making a video, we knew we wanted colorful, varied scenery and visuals. I briefly tried using claymation, but soon realized it needed the flexibility of 2D animation.Josh and I discussed it at great length, agreeing on a story and tone, and planned each scene together. I built out the visuals and did the animation, collaborating with background artist Lilly Rocha, whose atmospheric Americana landscapes gave the film much of its character. I first met Lilly at CTN in Burbank, and I was fortunate to connect with her there and continue working together since. There was a moment when I showed Josh one of the test character sketches I’d done, and we both thought: that was him — Onion Dog. From that point on, we felt like we were on the right path. I grew up watching Soviet cartoons and had many global influences as an artist and animator. For this film, I drew on classic cartoons and 60s limited animation, as well as modern versions of that aesthetic like Clone High and my classmate Kevin Johnson’s Kenya’s Symphony (whose main character appears here as an easter egg). Visually, the film shifts between literal storytelling and abstraction. It follows the story of a misfit dog who keeps pushing himself along despite setbacks. I aimed for a world that nods to Disney grandeur while weaving in gags, Old West references, and cartoon nostalgia — a kind of pop-cultural folklore collage. This is my first film. It went through many revisions, and not every choice is one I’d repeat, but it marks the starting point of my work as a director.

English

Onion Dog

Tasked with hiding a rival gang’s stolen fortune, Cameron awakens from a vicious attack with no memory—forcing him to piece together a past that might be better left forgotten. <a href="https://filmfreeway-production-storage-01-connector.filmfreeway.com/press_kits/headshots/003/694/774/original/3e847707e4-headshot.jpg?1762491183" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://filmfreeway-production-storage-01-connector.filmfreeway.com/press_kits/headshots/003/694/774/thumb/3e847707e4-headshot.jpg?1762491183" width="185" style="border: medium; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-language-override: inherit; font-size: 12.95px; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline; height: auto; max-width: 100%; position: relative; float: right;"></a>Director Biography﻿Maurice W Jackson Is a Filmmaker from the south suburbs of Chicago. He enjoys telling stories that Illuminate the human experience. He loves using various genre's to present, unpack and discuss real life issues that provoke thought. Through his films he hopes to transport his audience to think critically on how they can be a better version of themselves today than they were yesterday . Director Statement"Illuminate the human experience"

Bury It

A famous Japanese American dance duo must choose between their passion or their lives as World War II concentration camps begin to rise in the U.S. <a href="https://filmfreeway-production-storage-01-connector.filmfreeway.com/press_kits/headshots/002/165/138/original/b4f0e14b54-headshot.jpg?1662068156" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://filmfreeway-production-storage-01-connector.filmfreeway.com/press_kits/headshots/002/165/138/thumb/b4f0e14b54-headshot.jpg?1662068156" width="235" style="border: medium; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-size: 12.95px; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline; height: auto; max-width: 100%; position: relative; float: left;"></a>Director BiographyBenjamin To is an award-winning writer, director, and founder of BAND WITH NO NAME Films. He hit the ground running right out of college when his AAPI profile documentary miniseries, Life Stories, was picked up and produced by NBC News. He has since continued to work in documentaries, scripted narratives, and even video games. Director StatementThe bones of this story came to me when I was taking an Asian American History course in college. I was enthralled by the real-life accounts of these WWII-era dancers who were passing for another ethnicity, when in actuality they were of Japanese descent. They ended up fleeing in order to avoid incarceration, and their dance careers were unjustly never the same since that fateful decision. I’ve always fantasized what their final performance would have looked like…Their entire lives represented in a singular, storybook-esque dance sequence: from the beginning of their love affair up until the very moment when they lost everything in the war.This is why I love art that holds a mirror up to society. I made this film because I believe in the social immediacy, emotionality, and timeliness of the story. I wanted to explore these characters’ internal turmoil and their external triumphs in a classically maximalist yet tenderly rendered way.Thus, INFINITY! was born.

INFINITY!

A young woman has a hard conversation the morning of her mother's funeral. <a href="https://filmfreeway-production-storage-01-connector.filmfreeway.com/press_kits/headshots/003/557/062/original/989c449dee-headshot.jpg?1754705734" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://filmfreeway-production-storage-01-connector.filmfreeway.com/press_kits/headshots/003/557/062/thumb/989c449dee-headshot.jpg?1754705734" width="200" style="border: medium; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-size: 12.95px; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline; height: auto; max-width: 100%; position: relative; float: right;"></a>Director BiographyNeil Bloom is a writer director from Rockford IL. Most of his work is commercial and event-related, but as often as he can, he fuels his passion with a piece of fiction. A theater kid at heart who hoarded the family video camera in the early 2000s, Neil is happy to spend as much time as possible telling stories and connecting with human emotions.&nbsp; Director StatementEvery project has to have a challenge to help me develop and grow, this one hit me in some unexpected ways.&nbsp;

Mourning

The film is seen through the eyes of Grace, age 6. The world as she sees and experiences it, innocent, carefree and mischievous. Grace is Black, living in Wood Green, London in 1977. The political climate is volatile with the rise of the National Front. The UK is dealing with the aftermath of Enoch Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech, calling for the repatriation of immigrants and appealing to racial hatred, skinhead subculture is prevalent.Will Grace’s innocents remain in tact? <a href="https://filmfreeway-production-storage-01-connector.filmfreeway.com/press_kits/headshots/002/101/807/original/48009c9498-headshot.jpg?1660061189" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://filmfreeway-production-storage-01-connector.filmfreeway.com/press_kits/headshots/002/101/807/thumb/48009c9498-headshot.jpg?1660061189" width="185" style="border: medium; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-size: 12.95px; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline; height: auto; position: relative; float: left;"></a>Director BiographyKaren Bryson MBE- Her multi-award winning career spans over 25 years, across various multi-media platforms, both in front of the camera and more recently behind it. Karen was awarded an MBE in 2017 for her Services to Drama.She is best known for playing Avril Powell, in the critically acclaimed drama Shameless. Her recent acting projects include series regular in award winning Nordic drama White Wall, Black Narcissus (BBC and FX US), independent feature film REAL directed by Aki Omoshaybi, Elinor Stone in Zack Snyder’s Justice League (HBO MAX/Warner Brothers), Unchartered (Sony Pictures), and Teacher (Channel 5) due out this year. She produced 'Family Reunion', winner of ‘Best of the Fest’ at the Triforce Short Film Festival, and for The Block, winner of ‘Best Pilot’ at theRamsgate International Film Festival.Karen founded a theatre company, writing and directing two short plays which toured fringe theatre around London. She has just finished writing her first feature film 'The Art of Falling' and is developing a TV series. Karen recently narrated the landmark documentary series '1000 Years a Slave' available now on Channel 5.She is a voting member of BAFTA, BIFA and the Raindance Film Festival. Director StatementWhat captivated me to write 'Monochromatic' was primarily to do with my reaction to the death of George Floyd. It saw a global acknowledgement regarding racism and racial inequality. I was floored. It unearthed years of racism I had personally suffered and had learnt to swallow. We follow Grace’s journey as she navigates and processes the fact that people aren’t different hues of one colour. She’s works out that she’s black and for her, blackness is coupled with hate.A naïveté to her thoughts are reflected in the tone of the piece. The surreal dreamlike quality gives a feeling of an older omnipresent Grace reflecting back at her childhood. Monochromatic plays out in a visceral, non-linear way. What is withheld is just as important as what is revealed. Bright vivid colours with sunny camera flare, reminiscent of colour photos from the seventies offering up a feeling of nostalgia... Until the definitive moment as the penny drops for Grace and she encounters the loss of a certain innocence, the world then loses a little of its shine, as does the palette in the conclusion of the story.My aim is for 'Monochromatic' to hold a mirror up, inviting an audience to ask questions of themselves. It touches on the concept ofnurture, what we see and hear, consciously or unconsciously shape who we are, how we view the world and subsequently our ownbiases.The news report of the BLM protests in 2020 and real found footage which appears in the film of the penultimate National Front March in Wood Green 1977 and the thousand strong opposers successfully disrupting it. Is this a mirror image of past events? We know what this moment means for Grace and her future… We’re living it. <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qb0i11xrm98p39beo8syw/MONOCHROMATIC_PK-Lorraine-Bhattachary.pdf?rlkey=xghgze59cf2d1apemfeel6ioa&amp;st=saqr1usd&amp;dl=0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Link to official press kit.</a>

Monochromatic

The inevitable moment a six year old girl realises the world operates with bias when it comes to the colour of her skin. We're all born equal... then life happens.

<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/be2812e52a41657dba9a36751b4fedcd.jpg" width="185" style="display: inline; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em; float: right;">A solemn loner listens in on a happy couple using a hacked hearing aid. Director BiographyO'Connor is a filmmaker from Fredericksburg, VA. He's currently attending DePaul University's School of Cinematic Arts with a concentration in Cinematography.&nbsp; Director StatementI have two sisters who spent most of their time growing up performing Ballet. Thus, I ended up seeing The Nutcracker every single year. For as long as I can remember, the final duet dance between the Cavalier and Sugar Plum Fairy always stuck in my brain. Tchaikovsky's "Pas De Deux" always had this grandiose sadness to it, despite being a love song. "Vicarious" is a reframing of that piece of music, in a more contemporary and tragic way. I hope you enjoy.

Vicarious

A beloved acting teacher rallies his favourite students one last time to stage his final play. <a href="https://filmfreeway-production-storage-01-connector.filmfreeway.com/press_kits/headshots/003/022/942/original/aeb9612da1-headshot.jpg?1759263074" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://filmfreeway-production-storage-01-connector.filmfreeway.com/press_kits/headshots/003/022/942/thumb/aeb9612da1-headshot.jpg?1759263074" width="185" style="border: medium; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-size: 12.95px; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline; height: auto; max-width: 100%; position: relative; float: left;"></a>Director BiographyCarling Ernstzen, a South African born, London based writer, and director and actor. An alumna of AFDA Cape Town Film School. I began my career in acting in Cape Town - TV series, feature films, and international commercials before moving to London a decade ago which has since become my second home. Director StatementI am a Cape Town–born, London-based actress, writer, and director. After training in acting and building a career in film, television, and commercials, The Last Rehearsal marks my writing and directorial debut. The Last Rehearsal is a meditation on mentorship, loss, and creative inheritance. The film is shaped around a simple question: who carries the work forward when a guiding voice disappears? Written in response to the loss of my acting teacher and mentor, the film resists explanation in favour of presence. It reflects on unfinished work, artistic lineage, and the quiet ways influence endures beyond physical absence. As a filmmaker, I was drawn to the rehearsal room as a contained and revealing space, one where process is visible, relationships are negotiated in real time, and the boundary between art and life remains porous. The formal approach is restrained and performance-led, favouring duration and stillness over exposition. Image and sound work in close dialogue, foregrounding texture, rhythm, and silence as carriers of memory. At its core, the film is concerned with connection, between artists, across generations, and through the work that remains. <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/x2n7jzi41p4z7nsdxgjoh/TheLastRehearsal_PK-Carling-Ernstzen.pdf?rlkey=0po6b8hbnfg7oopvjlwc76oog&amp;st=1a1k9dbf&amp;dl=0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Link to official press kit.</a>

The Last Rehearsal

Fresh off her promotion as a downsize officer at the bank, Ms. Rossi heads to her first assignment, oblivious to the twist of fate to unfold. Director Biography<a href="https://filmfreeway-production-storage-01-connector.filmfreeway.com/press_kits/headshots/002/897/110/original/1c98e7aa72-headshot.jpg?1727846905" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://filmfreeway-production-storage-01-connector.filmfreeway.com/press_kits/headshots/002/897/110/thumb/1c98e7aa72-headshot.jpg?1727846905" width="185" style="border: medium; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-size: 12.95px; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline; height: auto; max-width: 100%; position: relative; float: right;"></a>An award-winning writer, director, and producer who brings over thirty years of experience to the set, Pat started his career in Chicago working in front of the camera. Since taking over behind the camera duties, he takes pride in his on-set relationships and communication with actors. His actors have received stage and screen nominations and awards. With his writing, directing, and producing, Pat has earned a reputation for developing and creating unique and wonderful stories. His fourteen short films have garnered him awards across the board. Known as a team player, no job is too small for Pat to see through from start to finish. His creative eye for detail and positive, jovial personality has earned the trust of many producers, cast, and crew who continue to want to work with him.

Ms. Rossi 3: Ms. Rossi Meets the Mob

A Bank Employee with an incredibly common name experiences escalating cases of mistaken identity, leading to absurd misadventures.

Short Film Program 5

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