The simple yet powerful efforts it takes to bridge the gap of distances between us and the differences in our worldviews, cultures and personalities. We invite you to connect, against all odds.

Itamar, an overweight and depressed young man, unwillingly returns to his overprotective mother’s apartment in the suburbs after suffering a mental breakdown. Although she is happy to take care of him, old tensions arise when Itamar meets Ronen, a handsome lifeguard, who leads him to confront his body image issues. About the Director:<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/ae67c15bf52c705d4d930c27d58f0fdd.png" width="147" style="display: inline; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em; float: right;">Isak Kohaly was born in Padua, Italy from Israeli and Iranian parents - and moved to Tel Aviv, Israel to pursue his dream as a filmmaker. Right after enrolling at Steve Tisch School of Film and Television in Tel Aviv, he made his first short film Shots (2014), screened at a number of film festivals - and later on his autobiographical part Christmas special, part documentary short Isak’s Best Christmas Ever, which aired prime time on national Israeli television. His greatest sources of inspiration come from his identity as a gay man of multicultural background, and the topic of mental health, explored in his latest short film, Complicated. Isak is currently working on two narrative short films and a feature film version of Complicated.

Complicated

Itamar returns to his suburban childhood home following a mental breakdown and contends with his exercise-obsessed mother and the advances of a handsome lifeguard.

An Afro-Surrealist story about a giant woman and a tiny man who through the power of touch, experience an unexpected transformation. About The Director:<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/b5a1b8dc3715e0646a1d3719966f34c7.jpg" width="133" style="display: inline; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em; float: right;">Christopher Tenzis attended the London Film School and the American Film Institute, after which he was a finalist for the American Cinema Editors internship.&nbsp;&nbsp;He edited the animated series, The PJ's, starring Eddie Murphy.&nbsp;&nbsp;His first short film, A Man and His Pants, which premiered at SXSW in Austin, Texas and played at Sundance, won the Audience Award at the NW Film &amp; Video Festival.&nbsp;&nbsp;In 2020, two films he edited, Cactus Blossom and Elle, won a Director's Guild of America award and the Grand Prize Marlyn Mason Award at Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival, respectively.&nbsp;&nbsp;His short film, Big Touch, has been selected by over seventy film festivals, four of which have been BAFTA qualifying festivals and ten Oscar qualifying festivals, winning ten awards. He is currently employed by Sony Pictures. Film Contact:Instagram: @bigtouchfilm @tenziscinemaparty

Big Touch

An Afro-Surrealist story about a giant woman and a tiny man who through the power of touch, experience an unexpected transformation.

Kaizo is a short documentary that reveals how a niche video-gaming community single handedly raises millions of dollars for charities each year. The story is told from the perspectives of GrandPOObear, a professional gamer and world record holding speedrunner, and Andrew MacCalla the Director of Direct Relief’s emergency response team, a worldwide humanitarian aid organization whose mission is to improve the health and lives of people affected by natural disasters. About the Director:<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/41c1c9e4f7f8071b7a7a3d024f9d688f.png" width="150" style="display: inline; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em; float: right;">Jeremy Lethco graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2008 with a double major in film studies and media arts. In 2010 he and his business partner, Austin Grebenc, founded dustoftheground, a small production company based in Columbia, SC. Over the past decade they have produced award winning advertisements and branded content for clients of all shapes and sizes. Leading a small production company allows Jeremy to work in several aspects of each production but he primarily serves as the teams director and editor. Film Contact: Jeremy Lethco Director: jeremy@dustoftheground.comwww.dustoftheground.com

Kaizo

Kaizo is about leveraging a passion/hobby/job like video gaming in a philanthropic way like natural disaster relief.

A pet dog named Chocolate Cake and a friendly stray cat named Ice Cream form a sweet relationship from a distance. When the dog witnesses the cat get snatched away by animal control, its heartbreaks. Things turn happy however when the dog’s owner returns from the animal shelter with Ice Cream and the two friends get to live together. About the Director:<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/51814656279985380a618a9f1b89ccdc.jpg" width="190" style="display: inline; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em; float: right;">Steve grew up in northern California and attended Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo. Upon graduation, he took a position as a newspaper artist for the Orange County Register. Then in 1990 he moved to Oregon and worked for The Oregonian. In 2010 Steve began working as a designer for the Port of Portland and creating animated short films for the ports marketing needs using Adobe After Effects. He started producing other films on his own and in 2019 began work on Chocolate Cake and Ice Cream.

Chocolate Cake and Ice Cream

An unlikely friendship turns to love when a dog and cat go through tough times.

Steve Hardy is an abstract water-color artist who uses his craft as a means to meet new people. Having given out more than 5,000 paintings over the course of 15+ years, Steve has become something of a small town celebrity. About the Director:<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/53d50b710f66690d951554cc54ce6726.jpg" width="204" style="display: inline; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em; float: right;">From a young age, Matthew R. Green was drawn to filmmaking. Whether it be making backyard movies with his friends, finding excuses to do video projects for school, or just shooting/editing things for the hell of it, you could usually find Matthew behind a camera or in front of an editing software. From his humble beginnings of cutting AMVs" for YouTube on Windows Movie Maker, Matthew has been able to turn his silly, 4th-grade hobby into a legitimate editing career over the course of the last few years. Solidifying his skills in the craft of editing, Matthew is now taking a more serious stab at filmmaking as a whole by presenting, what he believes to be, his most fulfilling project to date: "Signed, Steve Hardy." Film Contact: Instagram: fanestreetproductionsEmail: mattgreenfilmmaker@gmail.com

Signed, Steve Hardy

Steve Hardy is an abstract water-color artist who uses his craft as a means to meet new people.

Isak Kohaly, (Director, Complicated), Christopher Tenzis (Director, Big Touch), Jeremy Lethco (Director, Kaizo), Steve Cowden (Director, Chocolate Cake &amp; Ice Cream) and Jefferson Stein (Director, Burros) discuss their short films with Rex Carter.

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