Audience Award Winners: Best Film: THE LAST PICTURE Best Direction: THE DEAD THAT LIVE Best Performances: PIT & PENDULUM
Watch the Audience Feedback Video for each film:
THE LAST PICTURE, 9min., Drama/Horror Directed by Ally May When two strangers come into her diner, a waitress suspects things are not as they appear and she learns to regret her inaction.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
THE DEAD THAT LIVE, 9min., USA, Drama/Horror Directed by Mark Oguschewitz A lonely zombie must fight for his life during the zombie apocalypse.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
PIT & PENDULUM, 27min., Canada, Drama/Horror Directed by J. Aldric Gaudet It is the terrorizing story of a person sentenced to death who becomes the plaything of their jailers. They are sent walking through a dark room in hopes they will fall into a pit. When that doesn’t happen they are tied down on a table to watch the painfully slow descent of a swinging pendulum with a sharp-edged blade aimed at their stomach. Escaping from the blade did not mean freedom. The walls of the dungeon grow blistering hot first, then squeeze together to push them to the brink of the pit, before being saved at the very last second.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
Audience Award Winners: Best Short Film: WHITE FEMALE Best Direction: NEIN FRIENDS Best Cinematography: MASK Best Performances: BEING X IN AMERICA Best Sound & Music: 50 ML Best Drama Documentary: 1 OUT OF 8
Best Animation: MY WOMEN SEE GHOSTS
Watch the Audience Feedback Video for each film:
MASK, 15min., USA, Drama
Directed by Peter Jang When a combat veteran tries to escape his PTSD by working out at a boxing gym, a confrontation with a mysterious man amplifies his worst fears.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
YELLOW STAR, 18min., Ukraine, Drama/History
Directed by Skobun Skobun 1941. A small Ukrainian town occupied by German troops, where the Nazis organized the Ghetto. Nearby lives the family of janitor Peter, who works in the Ghetto and has unlimited access there. Peter’s son, Mykolka, constantly takes food out of the house, which the family lacks so much. The father beats the son, but it does not affect the boy’s actions: he humbly accepts the frequent punishments and is silent about his motivation.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
THE WESTERWALD SECRET, 19min., Germany, Drama
Directed by Karl Bruchhäuser A father and son tale. The fifty year old, cranky Hajo lives with his grown-up, beloved son Hasso deep in the forrest of Westerwald, where he is ever since struggling to shield them from the temptations and distractions of the outside world. Their living is made by his incidental sellings of the deceased grandfather’s paintings. Underneath the strong bond between father and son, which seems to have shaped the boy Hasso into a living copy of himself, Hajo, however, has no idea how far advanced and consequent the escape plans of his only living relative already are.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
50 ML, 8min., USA, Drama
Directed by Vanessa Powers A young man struggles with his sobriety while he and his wife host a holiday dinner with her dysfunctional family.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
WHITE FEMALE, 10min., USA, Drama
Directed by Sarah Falkiner “Two childhood friends realize their lifelong connection was much more fragile than either imagined.”
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
NEIN FRIENDS, 14min., USA, Drama
Directed by Lily Micheline Kaplan A college junior’s patience, courage, and perception are challenged at a surprise birthday dinner, attended by an assortment of nine odd guests, but nein friends.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
FROZEN LOVE, 10min., Canada, Drama
Directed by Sebastien Begin A father is tormented by guilt, when he accidentally loses his only daughter to a car accident. He will reluctantly accept help from her daughter’s mother. But during their time together, the two will rediscover the love that once united them in life.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
BEING X IN AMERICA, 11min., USA, Drama
Directed by Malik J. Ali, Chozy Aiyub Ahmad (Arab American) tries to help Chris (African American) in solving a complex equation of being in America.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
1 OUT OF 8, 5min., USA, Documentary
Directed by Jacqueline Kennedy ‘1 Out of 8’ explores the challenges Sias faces while working in Construction. The short highlights a woman in construction, working extremely hard to break barriers and stereotypes in NYC and in the construction business. Over 20 years she has been working to challenge new heights.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
MY WOMEN SEE GHOSTS, 14min., USA
Directed by Delaney McCallum A young woman investigates her relationship to her female family’s disposition for the supernatural.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
Audience Award Winners: Best Short Film: REALITY CHECK Best Performances: TOGETHER Best Direction: BLOODLINE Best Cinematography: ANJELA Best Student Film: I’M A GIRL
Watch the Audience Feedback Video for each film:
I’M A GIRL, 15min., USA, Drama
Directed by Kelli Neal A young girl’s relationship with her father becomes tense when she begins to experience life as a woman.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
TOGETHER, 9min., USA, Drama
Directed by Sean L. Restivo After the recent death of her mother, Alex is left with the responsibility of taking care of her brother, Jakob. After Jakob starts a fight at school. Alex makes a potentially fatal decision, that puts her in a conflict with the Questioner, a manifestation of her guilt.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
REALITY CHECK, 24min., Spain, Fantasy/Drama
Directed by Sandro Hernández Ortiz Reality Check follows Salvador, a young patient suffering from delusional disorder, who during one of his therapy sessions starts experiencing dangerous levels of reality distortion that make him question everything in his life.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
ANJELA, 16min., Bulgaria, Documentary/Animation
Directed by Vilma Kartalska Anjela Pencheva has suffered from Cerebral Palsy since birth, but the difficult diagnosis has never broken her spirit and has turned her into a writer, an actress and a dancer. Through her work and with her computer generated voice, she participates in various initiatives for the rights of the people with disabilities and inspires everyone who has met her.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
BLOODLINE, 12min., Croatia, Crime/Drama
Directed by Silvio Jesenkovic An orphaned young man, Darko, seeks to avenge his parents murder. He is raised in the underworld and becomes an expert assassin, but over the years the moral weight of the work bears down upon him and he begins to question himself and the direction his life is taking. He is ultimately forced to make a violent choice between his family, his revenge and his identity.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
SANKOFA CHICAGO, 68min., USA, Documentary Directed by Vanessa Page Wright A documentary that reflects upon the importance of learning black history in order to shape a better future for our young black citizens, starting with Chicago.
Vanessa Page Wright, M.A. is a former Talent Agent turned Filmmaker with a lifelong vision to create documentaries that preserve Black legacies via multifaceted historical storytelling. Through an empathetic, candid lens, she also aims to critically analyze race, culture, and identity within the Black community. Currently, she serves as the Founding Director of Tellers Untold and an Adjunct Professor at Columbia College Chicago.
Vanessa’s most recent creative venture is the award-winning documentary SANKOFA CHICAGO, which was sponsored by the Illinois Arts Council. Since its debut, this film has already received numerous awards, including “Best Educational Film” from Cannes World Film Festival (June 2021), the “Outstanding Achievement Award” from the Black Swan International Film Festival, and “Best Educational Film” from Druk International Film Festival (October 2021). This quickly earned success inspired her to turn SANKOFA CHICAGO into a full-blown docuseries.
Presently in the pre-production stage, SANKOFA CHICAGO: THE UNTOLD sheds light on curriculum-based education for the Social Sciences and History in the Chicago Public School District as well as their integration of Black history and other ethnic group’s histories.
When it comes to giving back to the Black community and serving as role model for the youth (her two sons especially), Vanessa’s determination is boundless. That being said, she is also the behind-the-scenes Creator, Director, Writer, and Cinematographer of a web-series called Your Kid Professors that provides children with a fun and engaging way to learn more about Black history.
Prior to that, Vanessa Page Wright was the Director of a documentary thesis project called Big Ten Athletes. Another multi-award-winning film that also aired on an ABC affiliate station, it featured prominent former NFL and NBA athletes from The Ohio State University.
To pay for her dream internship, Dusty Douglas returns to the family business she spent the last decade running from… Professional Bass Fishing. Partnered with a cable access fishing show host, Dusty will have to dethrone her own father and perennial champion, Hank “Large Mouth” Douglas, at a sport that is dubbed, NASCAR with gills.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
Dack: Sean Ballatyne
Hank: Shawn Devlin
Dusty: Allison Kampf
Writer Biography – Andy Palmer, Ben Begley
Andy Palmer is a multi-award winning film director. His credits include, ‘Witness Infection’, ‘Camp Cold Brook’, ‘The Funhouse Massacre’, Justice For Vincent, ‘Badlands of Kain’ and ‘Find Me’. His current feature, ‘The Re-Education of Molly Singer’ is currently being represented by The Gersh Agency and stars, Britt Robertson, Nico Santos, Ty Simpkins, and Jaime Pressly.
‘Camp Cold Brook’, Executive Produced by legendary film director Joe Dante, won Best Feature at the 2018 Shriekfest and Horrorhound Film Festivals, and was released theatrically in February of 2020.
After winning Best Feature at the 2015 Horrorhound and RIP Film festivals as well as an Official Selection in the highly touted Telluride Horror Show, ‘The Funhouse Massacre’ was released theatrically and became a VOD and DVD hit Type to enter text for distributor, The Shout Factory.
Recently Andy directed ‘Justice for Vincent’ a short film centered around the tragic murder of engineer Vincent Chin in 1982. To date, ‘Justice for Vincent’ has been accepted in 25 international film festivals and has garnered over 17 awards, including, Best Short Film at the 2019 Philadelphia Independent Film Festival, Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival, The Los Angeles Film Awards and won the Audience Choice Award at the 2019 DisOrient Asian American Film Festival.
In Television Andy recently directed, and was Supervising Producer for the television pilot “Stay Alive” for CMT and 51 Minds Entertainment.
He recently directed the horror comedy feature ‘Witness Infection’, which has been selected to the 2020 HA Comedy Arts Festival, Horrorhound, and Die Laughing Film Festivals. And recently won “Best Director” and “Best Practical Effects” at the 2020 Frostbite Film Festival.
Writer Statement
I’ve been in love with movies since my parents first plunked me
down in front of the TV and Betamax player and hit play.
I approach directing films from the same place as I watch them,
as a fan. Films that I make are films that I would like to sit with
my best friends in a dark basement and watch over and over again.
Good stories, good characters, something to laugh at, someone to
cheer for. If there are interesting characters making interesting
choices, I want to shoot it. Being on set is a magical experience,
and if I can bottle up that magic and successfully project it to an
audience via the screen, I can’t think of any better job than that.
Audience Award Winners: Best Feature Film: THE LAST CHAMPION Best Film: A PERFECT STEP….. Best Performances: MOMENTUM Best Direction: THE LOCKER ROOM
Watch the Audience Feedback Video for each film:
THE LAST CHAMPION. 120min., USA, Drama
Directed by Glenn Withrow A former championship wrestler is forced to face his past when he returns to the hometown he left in disgrace twenty years earlier. Can he become the hero his town expected… or will he remain a prisoner of his past mistakes?
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
A PERFECT STEP…., 23min,. India, Documentary
Directed by Naumi Barua The film is a journey of India’s only 7th Dan Taekwondo woman instructor Kiran Upadhya, how and why Taekwondo became her mission in life. She emphasizes on Women empowerment through this art. When women are exposed to this skill, even for a brief time. It boosts their confidence to the highest.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
MOMENTUM, 23min., France, Drama
Directed by Alexandra Favard Sarah plays rugby at top level and is about to go up a division with her team. When her wife Emily finds out she cannot have children, she asks Sarah to do something the rugby player had never considered: putting her career on hold to carry their child.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
THE LOCKER ROOM, 10min., France, Drama
Directed by Noah Gaoua Sabrina is the coach of the soccer men’s team at Aubervilliers, Seine Saint-Denis, France. The club plays a decisive match and its star striker is not in good shape. Worse, the police burst into the middle of the match to arrest him. Sabrina ‘s nerves will be put to high stress-test.
WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!
Chicago FEEDBACK Film Festival 
