SHORT FILMS
The Chelsea Film Festival 9th annual edition in 2021 presented 141 Films from 21 countries. The Official line up included 24 Features (Narrative and Documentary), 94 Short Films, 17 TV Series/Pilots and 6 VR experiences showcased on Film Festival Plus from October 14-17, 2021.
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#LOLASJOURNEY By Ana Lidya Monaca
15 min | Drama, Social Issues | United States | 2020
Synopsis: Blamed for her ailing health due to her size, a life-threatening medical emergency pushes a young woman to advocate for her life.
The film is endorsed by the National Women’s Health Network (www.nwhn.org)
A MACHINE OF BOREDOM By Marc Cartwright
3 min | Experimental, Drama | United States | 2020
Synopsis: Isolation drives a man to rethink his position within a capitalistic society.
A WILL TO CHANGE By Malcom Wilkins
16 min | Drama | Canada | 2020
Synopsis: A brother and sister struggle to cope with the worsening instability of their pill addicted mother.
A WORLD FREE OF CRISIS (UN MONDE SANS CRISE) By Ted Hardy-Carnac
20 min | Sci-Fi, Romance, Comedy | France | 2021
Synopsis: UN MONDE SANS CRISE (original title) – Emilie is struggling in life. After numerous unsuccessful interviews, the lively but clumsy 30 year-old finds herself under a great deal of social pressure and fears to lose her home. Naturally she has high hopes when she is called in for a new interview, but in this future society that plays by slightly different rules, nothing goes as planned…
ABBY & EMILY GO TO PALM SPRINGS By Hellin Kay
14 min | Drama, LGBT | United States | 2020
Synopsis: Two women try not to kill each other on their first vacation together aka a modern queer love story.Abby is an artist, Emily is an army officer; they come from opposite worlds yet have fallen hard and fast for each other and must navigate their completely different love languages on the way to what could be forever or the end of the road.
In the tradition of John Cassavetes, Wong Kar Wai and Jane Campion, this short film takes a brief glimpse into the lives of two people in love trying to understand each other.
APRIL SHOWERS By Caytha Jentis
12 min | Drama, Romance | United States | 2021
Synopsis: It’s April 2020; a man and a woman meet on a bench in an unusually stark Central Park while the city and its residents are grappling with life at the epicenter of the pandemic. Sirens fill the air as a constant reminder that everything has suddenly changed.
ARGON By Shoresh Vakili
15 min | Drama | Iran | 2020
Synopsis: In the city where the zombie attacked, several people are hiding in the garage when a zombie enters the garage.
ASHES By Lewis Martin Soucy
20 min | Drama | Tunisia | 2021
Synopsis: CENDRES (original title) – With the help of a young Tunisian hunting guide, a retired French soldier sets out into the desert on a quest for redemption.
AXIS MUNDI 3 By Sharon Barr
5 min | Experimental | United States | 2021
Synopsis: In order to engage in the real world human beings often live between heaven and earth.
BALANCE By Patrick Coker
20 min | Drama | United States | 2020
Synopsis: Quentin, a part time food delivery driver uses his time on the road thinking of ways to solve the sexually frustrating problems in his marriage. During one of his deliveries he meets a curvaceous yet troubled beauty looking for some company. When propositioned Quentin must make a decision that can either solve his problems, drastically change his life forever or both.
BARZAKH By Karina Dandashi
12 min | Sci-Fi, Drama | United States | 2020
Synopsis: In Arabic, BARZAKH means a physical barrier that separates two things, or a spiritual state of in-between.
BEAUTIFUL VIOLENCE By Joey Medina
13 min | Drama, Social Issues | United States | 2021
Synopsis: A powerful and gripping story about a white terminally ill businessman who uses racism to force an African American man he never met before to kill him in order for his family receive his life insurance money.
BIFF & ME By Nicola Rose
14 min | Comedy | United States | 2021
Synopsis: Charlotte, 14, is a genius — hotheaded, nerdy, and brilliant, but what she secretly wants, deep down, is to be a beauty queen. Biff, 14, is the school bully — big, burly and (seemingly) brainless, but what he secretly wants, deep down, is to be a beauty queen.
When Charlotte is forced to tutor Biff in math, the pair discover their shared secret, and Biff eagerly helps Charlotte prepare for the upcoming Princess Teen Queen Pageant. There’s only one problem: they have to keep it all a secret from their parents. Charlotte’s folks want her to focus on math and school, not crowns and gowns; and Biff’s oafish dad would never accept a son in sequins. Can the kids’ friendship survive? Can Charlotte risk being who she really is? Can Biff?A comedy about growing up, being who you are, the power of friendship, and burping.
BLUE MOON By Emily Ruhl
12 min | Drama, Romance, LGBT | United States | 2021
Synopsis: BLUE MOON is a vibrant vignette of a love story that takes place in a
single night. It follows two young women through Los Angeles as they
explore the depths of themselves and one another. A beautiful portrait
of how nurturing mutual vulnerability can turn into pure magic.
BODY By Tommaso Ottomano
8 min | Documentary, Experimental | Italy | 2021
Synopsis: BODY is an exploration of the relationship between the mental and physical ego, through the stories of the subjects Elettra, Antonio, Sara, Lolita, Numa, Moussa and Mari, who are presented both dressed and naked.
CALL ME BACK: THE UNCOMMON WISDOM OF YVETTE SLOSCH By Aaron Weinstein
20 min | Comedy | United States | 2020
Synopsis: Infamous New York City talent agent, Yvette Slosch (LINDA LAVIN), is determined to make a star out of her newest client, jazz violinist, Aaron Weinstein (HIMSELF). She refuses to let Aaron’s lack of name recognition, jazz’s dwindling fan base, or the 2020 global pandemic get in her way. As the pandemic rages, Yvette’s schemes to keep Aaron’s career afloat become increasingly convoluted, testing her abilities as an agent and her friendship with Aaron.
CAN’T HELP BUT RUN By Pedro Tamames
11 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller | United States | 2021
Synopsis: She is a compulsive kleptomaniac with no attachments and a fistful of problems. He is a night-shift worker chained to a warehouse and his lover a plastic mannequin rescued from a garbage container. One night, their lives and their problems collide.
CHAMP 5 By Kathleen Strouse, Paul Gatto, David Jester
8 min | Documentary | United States | 2020
Synopsis: As a cannery worker for 38 years, Rita Willey weathered the boom and bust of the Maine sardine industry and earned national fame for her blazing speed as a fish packer. At the annual seafoods festival in Rockland, packers from the local canneries would compete for the title of World’s Fastest Sardine Packer. And no one was faster than Rita.
CHANGE OF PLANS By Cate Cammarata
16 min | Drama | United States | 2021
Synopsis: A young married woman under NYC quarantine lockdown gives a virtual tour of her spacious apartment in hopes of selling and getting away as another hidden danger of the pandemic becomes slowly revealed.
CHORES By Christina Tucker
6 min | Drama | United States | 2021
Synopsis: While Lily and Samantha, a long-term couple, are out doing routine errands, Samantha confesses her desire to move back home, inspiring an emotionally fraught conversation between the two.
COLLECTOR’S ITEM By Rebecca Ozer
12 min | Thriller, Drama | United States | 2021
Synopsis: When an inquisitive stranger arrives at a controlling financier’s apartment as a birthday surprise, the two struggle through a game of cat and mouse before their true intentions unravel at the hands of whiskey, rope and Vivaldi.COLLECTOR’S ITEM is a short thriller drama that explores themes of sexual assault, empowerment, misogyny, and kink.
COMING HOME By Bobby Daniel Rodriguez
3 min | Drama | United States | 2021
Synopsis: A nurse living with her elderly grandmother comes home from a graveyard shift during the peak of the COVID pandemic. ‘Coming Home’ follows the physical, mental and emotional burnout she endures, not only from work but from her efforts to protect her loved one, when she gets home.
DAHLIA WHITE By Alison Moir
19 min | Drama | United States | 2021
Synopsis: DAHLIA WHITE is a cautionary tale of a young girls obsession with a boy and the lengths she will go to fulfill her fantasy.
DANCE OR DIE By Nathalie de Lopez
6 min | Drama, Dance | France | 2020
Synopsis: Conceived as a portrait film, DANCE OR DIE tells the resilient story of French dancer Kevin Bago, who lost sight of his left eye because of an accident. DANCE OR DIE carries a message of Hope at a time when the world most needs it.
DANTE By Cristian Peña
9 min | Thriller, Horror | Colombia | 2021
Synopsis: Controlled by the ideas planted in his being since childhood, Dante meets Lucy, a young woman who will discover his most precious secret.
DINNER FOR TWO By Joe Lobianco
18 min | Drama | United States | 2021
Synopsis: A young server calms the nerves of a a diner as he prepares for a special occasion. Sensing the diner needs support, the server becomes a willing accomplice in his quest to create the perfect dinner for two
DREAM STATE By Sean Velasco-Dodge
5 min | Drama, Music | United States | 2021
Synopsis: Two siblings trying to cope with the recent death of their father.
DROWNING SILENCE By Marcel Simoneau, Xavi Ocean
3 min | Drama | United States | 2020
Synopsis: Exploring the fear that comes with slowing down the mind, to sit in silence and risk acknowledging our need for love.
ENOUGH. By Caleb Slain
13 min | Social Issues, Music, Documentary, Drama | United States | 2020
Synopsis: Using footage shot over a decade, “enough.” is a narrative hip hop film exploring Nathan Nzanga’s journey from quirky kid born to Congolese immigrants, to an idealistic teenage artist, to a frustrated young man. The film uses dream logic to sift through Nate’s most conflicted feelings about policing, love, and identity in a divided nation.
EGG PARTY By Kersti Bryan
10 min | Comedy | United States | 2020
Synopsis: EGG PARTY begins in a sun-soaked Brooklyn apartment in late spring. Six women in their late-thirties gather, with lots of wine and laughter, to dye Easter eggs. Through a series of whimsical portraits we discover each woman’s view on her respective egg, lost dreams, and new beginnings. As the afternoon light shifts around them, it is revealed they have gathered to support their friend Molly, who is desperate for motherhood and struggling through loss and infertility. After her world is cracked open, coming together becomes the greatest balm to heal a grieving spirit.
EXPOSURE By Alex Tomeo
16 min | Drama | United States | 2020
Synopsis: In 1969, a NASA darkroom photographer is assigned to develop photos from the Apollo 11 mission. As he begins his work, he notices a flaw in a distinct photo that causes him to investigate the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas.
FADE By Leonel A. Severino
20 min | Comedy, Horror | United States | 2021
Synopsis: A rookie that began to work in a barbershop has bad luck getting his first client. Once he gets his first customer a huge twist unravels.
FLIP THE SWITCH By Gretl Claggett
15 min | Comedy, Drama | United States | 2020
Synopsis: A door-to-door saleswoman caught up in the tornado of her boss’s cultish personality unleashes a storm of violence when she realizes that she and her customers have been duped — not only by him and his doctrine of “Flip the Switch!” but by the whole system of Disaster Capitalism.
GREAT AMERICA By Angelita Mendoza
15 min | Thriller, Drama | United States | 2020
Synopsis: Jay is the leader of a militia of citizens that detain immigrants crossing the U.S./Mexico border illegally. His world is turned upside down when an illegal immigrant and his young daughter break into his home.
HACKER FAIRIES By Larissa Kruesi
13 min | Drama | United States | 2020
Synopsis: A network of female white hat hackers work with women to recover their stolen photos. When two of the hackers are approached by one of their clients to teach her how to hack, they have to decide if they can trust her.
HELLO JULIE By Vincent Paquot
5 min | Drama | France | 2020
Synopsis: Vincent hasn’t heard from his best friend, Julie. His attempt to record a video message proves to be more difficult than expected as the truth about her absence begins to overwhelm him, leaving him unable to make the decision that could ultimately change the course of their friendship. Set in Paris, France, ‘Hello Julie’ reveals a frightening statistic among couples.
HEROIN(E) IN LOVE By Stefanie Black
14 min | Drama | United States | 2021
Synopsis: She loves him. He loves her… and heroin. With their cool truck, mixtapes, cute apartment, and inside jokes, Michaela and Daniel appear to be a fun and happy couple. And they are when Daniel is coherent and Michaela isn’t finding drug paraphernalia in the bedroom. Desperate to make the relationship work and convinced she can beat Daniel’s substance use, Michaela finds an addiction specialist in another state. Daniel agrees to go but gets high on the way. Michaela realizes the road to recovery is bumpier than she thought and she’s along for the ride.
HIS DEATH By Avishai Sivan
33 min | Drama | Israel | 2021
Synopsis: מותו של זה (Original Title) – For the first time in years, secular Noah meets his Hasidic siblings in the heart of the Mea Shearim neighborhood in Jerusalem. A tense gathering to disclose the recently deceased patriarch’s will.
HOLLYWOOD TRICK By Jamielyn Lippman
18 min | Drama | United States | 2020
Synopsis: Hollywood Trick is the story of Savannah J (Gigi Gustin) a young actress who upon arriving in Hollywood falls into stripping as a means to survive. She befriends Roxy (Victoria Baldesarra) the head stripper of Mo’s Gentlemans Club who is smart, sexy and streewise. She takes Savannah under her wing and lets her in on a side hustle with long time parton Eddie (Nick Nicholson). Desperate she is faced with a dangerous decsion which leads to drugs, human trafficking and her fight to make it out alive.
HOW MUCH WE FEEL By Tanya Nauvel, Alex Barnett-Howell
11 min | Drama, Romance | United States | 2020
Synopsis: Mia and Ryan navigate the tricky, funny, and surprising issues that arise in their new interracial relationship.
HUNGRY GHOSTS By Mark Borkowski
18 min | Drama | United States | 2020
Synopsis: Frank Duffy searches for his missing wife who has relapsed on heroin and disappeared. Day and night, he combs the crime-riddled streets, the crack houses. He even seeks advice from a voodoo lady who tells him his wife is being devoured by ‘hungry ghosts’, spirits who crave and eat away at the living. As Frank’s obsession drives him closer to the edge, he risks surrendering his own sobriety and leaving his young son abandoned. Set in the drug infested badlands of Philadelphia, “Hungry Ghosts” shines a light on the city’s opioid crisis while exploring a family torn apart by addiction.
I AM AMERICAN By Omid Mirzaei
15 min | Drama | Iran | 2020
Synopsis: ISIS captures an American reporter. He will soon experience the meaning of peace in a different way.
I AM LOVE By Guilherme Pedra
17 min | Drama, Romance, LGBT, Music | United States | 2021
Synopsis: I AM IN LOVE is a poetic short film that follows the story of Arthur (Dylan Soal), a lonely, New York musician, struggling to complete his composition. While searching for inspiration, Arthur exchanges intimate letters with a young artist named Luna (Ana Moioli, reprising her role from “Elsewhere-A Flor Azul”) and he soon finds himself falling for her. But after following the sound of a beautiful cello melody coming from a neighboring apartment, he meets Theo (Isaac Nevrla). As he dives deeper into himself and navigates the two relationships, Arthur is taken by an ambiguous feeling and questions: is it possible to love more than one person at the same time?
I AM NOT ALICE BUT HERE IS WONDERLAND By Mahdieh Sadat Ahmadi Soleimani
6 min | Animation | Iran | 2020
Synopsis: We cross galaxies, planets and end in Earth. Alice lives happily with her family there and is friends with a tree and some birds. She figures out that the people on the other side of her window are different and things may not be what they seem.
I AM YOUR SISTER By Claudia Priddy, Zoë Ellender
20 min | Drama, Social Issues | United Kingdom | 2020
Synopsis: A young, Irish woman making her way to an abortion appointment is hijacked into a clinic that reveals itself to be a decoy; a place to shame women into keeping their pregnancies by using an array of unethical and abhorrent practices.
I MUSTACHE YOU By Shara Ashley Zeiger
14 min | Comedy, Silent | United States | 2020
Synopsis: I MUSTACHE YOU is a whimsical magical realistic comedy, inspired by Buster Keaton, Looney Tunes, and NYC about Abby, a woman with social anxiety, OCD and agoraphobic tendencies who receives an invitation to love, self acceptance, and the outside world.
IT’S ALRIGHT, DAD By Lynn Dow
10 min | Drama, Family | United States | 2021
Synopsis: When a young boy befriends a skateboarder and coaxes him into a nearby Church to meet his father, the young man realizes his new found friend has a tragic story.
J-1 By Emmy Shockley
17 min | Drama | United States | 2020
Synopsis: It’s the end of summer in Ocean City, Maryland. A young crab house waitress, Olivia, has fallen for her Irish coworker and made plans to move to Dublin with him. On the eve of their departure, Olivia must decide between the intoxicating promise of a new life and the bonds that tie her to home.
KNOCK By Ricardo J. Varona
8 min | Drama, Horror | United States | 2020
Synopsis: Late at night, Kim hears a sound in her apartment. She asks her partner to investigate.
LA SCHEMA By Alex Bowling, Stephen Byrum
4 min | Drama, Film Noir, Mystery | United States | 2020
Synopsis: LA SCHEMA is inspired by a modernized, yet 1940s version of the Italian Opera Rigoletto. The character archetypes and themes of death, deception, mystery, and romance are embellished in this dramatic short that brings back black and white.
LIFE POSTPARTUM By Teagan Barnes
14 min | Drama | United States | 2020
Synopsis: A young mother grapples with becoming a mother as post partum psychosis bubbles underneath, with her husband and sister beginning to see the effects.
LUKE & IRA By Alan Barr
13 min | Drama, Comedy | United States | 2020
Synopsis: A young New Yorker who is losing his vision spends an afternoon being mentored by an elderly blind neighbor – a once famous comedian.
MASK ON By Kap Taylor
4 min | Drama | United States | 2020
Synopsis: Andy, a campus shuttle bus driver, attempts to enjoy her smoke break and her daydreams on a sunny day in mid-pandemic Los Angeles.
MAYA By Maren Lavelle
8 min | Drama, LGBT | United States | 2021
Synopsis: Maya, a Queer, Korean-American stage manager in New York City, struggles to run the rehearsal for a play about a gay couple falling in love as she pores over the details of her real-life break up from the night before. In a series of flashbacks, we watch Maya and her white partner, Phoebe, reenact their first date, in an attempt to rekindle their romance, which ultimately unravels into an argument about race, class, and privilege within their relationship. In the end, Maya must choose between letting go of her grievances or the woman she once loved.
MIDWIFE MAN (HOMME SAGE) By Juliette Denis
18 min | Drama, Comedy | France | 2021
Synopsis: Julien takes up his duties in a maternal child care center in a difficult neighborhood. He will very quickly be confronted with the difficulties that make the daily life of the center team. During his first consultation he finds himself face to face with Asma, who became pregnant following a rape.
MINOR CHORDS By Natalia Gomez
3 min | Drama | United States | 2021
Synopsis: Ballet dancer realizing a tough reality after an accident.
MOTIONS By Starr Nathan
13 min | Drama | United States | 2021
Synopsis: The energy exchange of three New Yorkers collide on the train in stories of anxiety, heartache and redemption. All are victims to their thoughts and daily life motions. They can rise above it but, it’s never that simple.
MY CASTLE, MY HOME By José Mira
15 min | Drama, Horror | Portugal | 2021
Synopsis: MEU CASTELO, MINHA CASAGUIHERME (original title) is tormented by his tennis coach and some creatures with racket hands. They chase him through the corridors of his house, which has metamorphosed into a labyrinth. On the run, Guilherme looks for his mother because she is the only one who can put an end to his torment.
NARCISSUS By Grace (Ge) Gao
12 min | Drama, Psychological Thriller | United States | 2021
Synopsis: Under the familial pressure and countless rejections in her career, an Asian American actress blames everything on her appearance and blindly takes action to better herself.
NICEVILLE By Bree Nieves
13 min | Drama, Coming of Age | United Kingdom | 2021
Synopsis: A short film about the consequences of trying to be honest
in the process of leaving your hometown. This film chronicles the formative summer of a 17-year old girl, Ofelía (Felí), living in a small North Florida town. Throughout the film Felí navigates accepting and defining herself as a Catholic Mixed-Race Woman of Color in a predominantly white community right in the heat of America’s Protestant Bible-Belt.
NO DOGS By Randal Kamradt
15 min | Drama | United States | 2021
Synopsis: On the night of January 29th 1930 in Watsonville, a Filipino clubhouse was bombed.This ignited a two-week race riot. Filipinos were subjected to violent attacks in Stockton, Watsonville, and throughout central California. Some of the attackers came from white nationalist hate groups called the “Night Riders”…
OUT OF TIME (A CONTRE TEMPS) By Delphine Montaigne
9 min | Drama, Dance, Family | France | 2021
Synopsis: A CONTRE TEMPS (Original Title) – This time, Felix is risking a lot. The director summoned his mother and threatened to deny him the access to the establishment. But what could Felix have done? And what kind of establishment is it exactly?
PARIS IS HERE (ICI C’EST PARIS) By Léa Magnien, Quentin Chantrel
17 min | New Age, Drama | French Guiana, France | 2020
Synopsis: The peaceful life of Georges, an introverted French Guyanese teenager, gets complicated when he falls in love with Gisele, a dreamy girl who hopes to see Paris more than anything.
POSTDEMIC By Benjamin Orifici
15 min | Drama, Social Issues, Environment | United States | 2021
Synopsis: Deep in the Adirondack forest, one man struggles with his past as he faces humanity’s upcoming extinction.
PROUD DAD By Roslyn Campbell
11 min | Drama, Documentary, LGBT | United States | 2020
Synopsis: A father’s relationship with his son becomes strained when he finds out his son his gay.
PUNCH ME IN By Addie Doyle, Megan Gorman
13 min | Comedy, Music | United States | 2020
Synopsis: Maeve, an unknown female music producer in Boston, struggles to earn the respect of a famous client with a big secret.
REST AREA By Rhythum
15 min | Drama | United States | 2021
Synopsis: A family of four on their way to a family reunion, stop at a rest area. An unfortunate event will change their lives forever.
ROUTINE By Russ Emanuel
5 min | Animation, Drama, Horror, Experimental | United States | 2020
Synopsis: During a mysterious pandemic, Cassie’s quarantine life has turned into a routine, day in and day out. Nothing new seems to happen, until she realizes she’s out of coffee. And she’s determined to get her cup of joe, even if she must face the horrors of the outside world. Because “she’d kill for a cup of coffee.” In this part-animated live action short, anything goes.
SCAR By Alison Hale
18 min | Drama, Comedy, Family, Coming of Age | United States | 2021
Synopsis: SCAR is a short film about what it’s like to be diagnosed with cancer as a teenager.
SHEVOLUTION By Seidy Lopez
17 min | Drama | United States | 2021
Synopsis: Millie, a recovering alcoholic-addict, falls in love and marries Cillian, another alcoholic-addict with bipolar disorder. When Cillian relapses and becomes abusive, Millie has to make a decision: Will she save the man she loves or herself? An intimate memoir, “Shevolution” is a candidly unfiltered look at the journey of a broken woman finding her own strength. It is written and produced by critically-acclaimed actress & filmmaker, Minerva Vier, and directed by Seidy Lopez, one of the stars of Netflix’ “Selena, The Series”.
SINS By Jeremiah Kipp
16 min | Thriller | United States | 2020
Synopsis: Set in the 60’s in the countryside of New York, the seemingly tranquil life of an Italian mother, NINA and her daughter ANNABEL, is disrupted when ANNABEL brings home her new boyfriend MARCO, an handsome young Italian man whose presence throws their lives into irreparable upheaval.
SLOW BURN & THE MUSE By Darah Golub
14 min | Music | United States | 2021
Synopsis: Two songs, many years and one fruitful night tell the story of a singer/songwriter’s road to success. Guided by her 2020-self performing “The Muse”, a song she co-wrote with her legendary bandmate David Crosby, this verite, lyrical look inside the career of singer/songwriter Becca Stevens finds the Brooklyn-based artist deep in songwriting mode. As she methodically takes us through her creative process, Becca’s wide range of talents and experiences come to life, and the slow burn of the work and of the artistic living is revealed. Ultimately, the muse leads her to the revelatory moment of literally finding a groove that scores her a 2021 GRAMMY nomination for the arrangement of her song “Slow Burn”.
THE AUDITION By Emma Bell
7 min | Comedy | United States | 2021
Synopsis: The Audition is a comedic look at the inner angst of an actor as she and all her inner voices prepare for a very short audition.
THE CAGE By Jose Roberto Pena
11 min | Drama | United States | 2020
Synopsis: After refusing a draft during wartime, Mordecai Washington is faced with an ultimatum that will determine his freedom and his sanity.
THE COMPOUND By Delilah Napier, Lucy Powers
20 min | Drama | United States | 2021
Synopsis: The Compound tells the story of 5 unassuming millennials who answer a Craigslist ad that offers each participant $20,000 to participate in a vaccine research trial. However, when they get to The Compound, things aren’t quite what they expected…
THE CORONATION By Dhruv Sud
13 min | Drama, LGBT | United States | 2020
Synopsis: In this rhinestone encrusted fable, a young boy sneaks out from his parents’ home in New Jersey to see his drag queen friends in New York City. While there, he is encouraged to try drag for the first time and he is crowned queen for a night.
THE DAY WHEN IRRESPONSIBILITY MAKES LIFE EASY By Myowook Kim
15 min | Drama | South Korea | 2021
Synopsis: Someone calls to voice-phish when a desperate woman was going to commit suicide in the heart of Seoul. She says, “OK then, you can get anything you want from me because I’m dying right here right now!”
THE DELLA MORTE SISTERS By Bill Sorvino
18 min | Drama | United States | 2020
Synopsis: A recent death in the family brings three sisters together where they discover a shared dark past that changes everything they thought they knew about each other and their family.
THE FUNNY THING By Andy Dispensa
15 min | Comedy, Romance | United States | 2021
Synopsis: A confused young man attempts to navigate the grey area after breaking up with his fashionable and many sided girlfriend.
THE GLASS By Rodrigo Ferreira
16 min | Drama, Mystery | Portugal | 2020
Synopsis: Miguel (17 years old) lives in the country side with his grandfather.
One day, while cleaning the bottles of beer that his grandfather had left, he notices a peculiar red string that goes towards the forest and seems to have no end. Attached to the string is a cup. After the young man wonders, he hears a voice coming from the object. The voice of a girl named Lidia.
THE MAIN EVENT By Max Sainvil
13 min | Drama | United States | 2021
Synopsis: A struggling fighter receives the opportunity of a lifetime as unexpected events arise.
THE MORNING AFTER By Jason A. Coombs
12 min | Drama, LGBT | United States | 2021
Synopsis: A young man from a conservative family, struggling with his sexuality, must decide if his latest affair is worth the risk to his clean cut lifestyle.
THE READING By Nora Jaenicke
12 min | Drama | United States | 2020
Synopsis: When on publicity tour for her best-selling memoir, a writer is forced to confront secrets from her past when an estranged childhood friend shows up unannounced.
THE SOUND OF WATER By J.B. Braud
11 min | Drama | France, Japan | 2021
Synopsis: One day in Osaka, Chisato evaporated without a word. Paul, who had crossed her path, sets off to Koyasan, a sacred mountain, in the hope of finding her.
THE STAIN By Shoresh Vakili
13 min | Drama | Iran | 2020
Synopsis: The old man of the Cinema salon cleaner after the release of the movie takes care of the stain on the screen…
THE WISH By Chase Yi
15 min | Drama | United States | 2021
Synopsis: An old man prepares to leave Little Tokyo in Los Angeles to reunite with his homeland in Japan.
THE WONDER GIRL By Vinay Pujara
10 min | Drama | United States | 2020
Synopsis: Aliyah has been molested by her uncle, unable to disclose it with her parents she suffers from depression. She fights back & emerges to become the wonder girl.
THIS CASE & MY LIFE By Ana A. Prickett Braunstein
12 min | Drama | United States | 2021
Synopsis: The protagonist is Chris Roberts played by Mark Karten. Chris is married to Mrs.Stacey Roberts played by Monica Phillips. He is a successful lawyer in a New York City law firm with complicated cases, and his relationships are starting to catch up with him. His long-time law partner Mark Harrison played by Alexander Carney, who he made a personal deal with, is closing in on him for resolution. And his long-time executive assistant Kathy Welch played by Ana P. Braunstein is caught in the middle trying to manage his professional and personal life. She is secretly considering quitting her job at the firm. Chris’s life is about to change when a detective enters the picture. And the day brings him other shocking news.
TOSHIE THE NIHILIST By Matthew Chozick
15 min | Comedy, Drama, Social Issues | Japan | 2021
Synopsis: Cryptocurrency exchange secretary Toshie (Rino Higa) ought to be celebrating the release of her boyfriend (Taro Yabe) from jail. Instead, a freak accident compels her to swim from Japan to Hawaii with the child of an American-Vietcong war hero.
TRANSFERENCE By Juan Cardenas
14 min | Drama | United States | 2021
Synopsis: Haunted by his past, a brilliant young therapist seeks redemption inside the mind of a damaged woman and will discover a secret that will change everything.
VAL By Ursula Monteiro, Bruno Sabongi
15 min | Drama | Brazil | 2021
Synopsis: VAL (written & co-directed by Brazilian-born actor Ursula Monteiro) tells the story of Valeria (Ursula Monteiro) who after a very troubling breakup has grown frustrated with her family. Just as the Coronavirus pandemic is beginning, Valeria’s life is doubly turned upside down when her convicted ex-boyfriend suddenly shows up, forcing her to face her life head-on and make big decisions for her future.
WEST OF CALICO By Luca Pizzoleo
10 min | Drama, Western | United States | 2021
Synopsis: In 1849, two brothers travel to California in hopes of finding gold. After an arduous search they’re now lost, low on food and the tension between them is starting to rise.
WHAT IS YOUR PRICE? By Monica Barbara Ekiert
15 min | Drama | United States | 2021
Synopsis: The film is about love that goes beyond cultural differences, the struggle, and the sacrifices. All actions, even those done in the name of love, always have consequences. The film tries to show the emotional tapestry of two immigrants trying to achieve THE American Dream and how far are they willing to go in this attempt.
WHEN THE RAIN SETS IN By James Hughes
17 min | Drama, Romance | United Kingdom | 2020
Synopsis: Kenzie and Treyden, a couple who’ve been swept up in a whirlwind six-month romance, find themselves confronting a painful question: Has their love story come to an end?
WITHOUT YOU By Parker Foster
18 min | Drama | United States | 2021
Synopsis: A young adult comes to terms with love and loss at the peak of his adolescence.
VR EXPERIENCES
EXHAUST 1.0 By Dionne Walker-Amponsah
5 min | Social Issues | United Kingdom, France | 2021
Synopsis: A refugee steers a narrowboat along the canal through a tunnel while local immigrants reflect on their experience. The story is about crossing borders and urban migration.
ILIOS By Mika Johnson, Marcel Karnapke
9 min | Environmental | Czech Republic, Germany | 2020
Synopsis: ILIOS is a meditation on the state of flux we are all living in today: a moment where patterns emerge only to change in such rapid succession that normality can only be assumed in short bursts. The project evolved as a correspondence between artists Marcel Karnapke and Mika Johnson during the COVID-19 shut down after a digital project they were working on was put on hold, due to Johnson being stranded all spring in North America. The two artists continued to communicate, discussing the meaning of the shutdown and COVID-19 in their personal lives. ILIOS is the result of that conversation.
MAYFLOWER REFLECTIONS By Paul Long
13 min | Art History | United Kingdom | 2020
Synopsis: MAYFLOWER REFLECTIONS takes you on a journey from the English churches of the 1600’s to the deck of the Mayflower Ship and the early settlements of the Plymouth Colony. With unifying themes that explore the world in which we live, it is a reminder of the struggles of the past, an overview of our present, and a chance to imagine a brighter future. It is a 12 minute VR immersive experience to inspire and educate audiences about this incredible story of the world we live in.
MEET MORTAZA By Joséphine Derube
13 min | Art History | United Kingdom | 2020
Synopsis: At the age of 24, Mortaza had to flee his own country, Afghanistan, because he was sentenced to death by the religious authorities. Forced into exile, through a dangerous and clandestine road, Mortaza will reach Europe to join the country he wished to ask for asylum: France.
Meet Mortaza VR tells the twelve-year-journey of a young man who wanted to live free. The experience plunges the audience into Mortaza’s recollections, sharing his intimacy, dreams, doubts and fights for freedom.For best experience, we recommend to watch MEET MORTAZA on a VR headset.
SPRINGS JOY By Oscar J. Corral
9 min | Environmental | United States | 2021
Synopsis: SPRINGS JOY is an immersive 360 short documentary about the joy and wonder of Florida’s unique but endangered fresh water springs. A section of north Florida contains the largest springs and the highest concentration of freshwater springs on earth. And people never forget their first experience with one. Springs Joy takes viewers into the middle of the action, where the only thing missing is the cool water splashing on their faces as they plunge into the world of these magnificent crystalline springs.
TEMPLE BURN 2020 By Simeone “Eno” Scaramozzino
25 min | Social Issues | Italy | 2020
Synopsis: The Burning Man Community gathers in the Metaverse for a ceremonial burning of the Temple, the spiritual heart of their ephemeral city in the desert. In an immersive, spiritually stimulating journey, primordial and sacred cathartic fires dance within their collective, transcendental heartspace, tuning them into a blissful synaesthesia and ushering in a metaphysical shift.Different truths live within us and are accessible through our inner technology: our ability to drift through states of consciousness, in which we reconnect with one another as imaginal “cells” in the impermanent body of humanity — with limiting beliefs shed from our perception-building “membranes” and with ever-expanding heartfelt awareness that we can be reborn as an ecosystemic, integrated, and thriving “energy organism” with a lighter and harmonious touch on one another and the planet. As we journey towards Love, human connection is — and will continue to be — the heart of the symbiotic Metaverse.