WINTER FILM AWARDS WIN- TER

P AGE 1 OF 30 V ISIT US AT 2016 I NDEPENDENT 2017 INDIE FILM FESTIVAL

V ISIT US ATWWWWWW .W INTER F ILM A WARDS . COM P AGE 2 OF 30 WINTER FILM AWARDS WIN- TER WELCOME TO THE 6TH ANNUAL WINTER FILM AWARDS INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL Winter Film Awards Is New York City. Like the city itself, we showcase the eclectic diversity and ex- citement of the independent arts world. Winter Film Awards is proudly one of the Top 10 Best Reviewed Festivals on FilmFreeway. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. We are a volunteer-run and operated celebration of the diversity of local and international film- making. The WFA Mission is to recognize excellence in cinema and to promote learning and artistic ex- pression for people at all stages of their artistic careers with a focus on nurturing emerging filmmakers from around the world. Emerging filmmakers with limited budgets W E L C OM E TO and no connections are so often ignored in favor of the standard big budget generic action films. Diverse, exciting low budget films # W FA 2 0 1 7 are created all over the world; it is critical for film festivals to show- case them. WFA is proud of its diverse collection of Festival selec- tions, allowing our audience to enjoy films they typically would not get a chance to see. Among the 88 Official Selections to be screened at Cinema Village in the heart of Greenwich Village (22 East 12th Street, New York, NY 10003), is a diverse mixture of 11 Animated films, 8 Documentaries, 11 Feature narratives, 10 Horror films, 12 Music Videos, 24 Narrative shorts and 7 Web series, including 12 student films and 33 first-time filmmakers. Filmmakers come from 30 countries; 42% of the films were created by women and 45% were created by people of color. Corporate and local support plays an critical role in the life of the Festival and underscores WFA’s commitment to quality, adventure and diversity in cinema. WFA is privileged to continue our collabo- ration with 230Fifth, AJA Video Systems, B&H Photo, Big Apple Con, Bliss, Cyberlink, Eventcombo, Ex Nihilo Paris Perfumes, FearsMag, Glidecam, Gotham Mini Storage, Gracelynn Collection, IndiePix Films, JT Talent Enterprises, Jungle Software, PS Print, Salesforce.com, Satin Fine Foods, School of Visual Arts, Snapple, Success with Teamwork, Women’s Film Critic Circle, Yelp and Zacuto. We are delighted to welcome new partners Aftab Committee for Iranian-American Artists, American Icon Screen Printing & Embroidery, Animation World Network, Art Payroll, Backstage, Bai Drinks, Boston Casting, Cinefemme, Cinematcher, GRS Systems, Ink Tip, Logs Leisure Entertainment, Lyft, Materials for the Arts, Peanut Butter & Co, Quindici19, Rhodywood, Room Mate Grace Hotel, Rushtera, Set Shop, Stolen Rum, Swiss Watch Gallery, Tag Heuer, The Headshot Truck and Variety 411. Winter Film Awards is led by George Isaacs (CEO & Founder), Steffanie Finn (Executive Director), Lesley Sigall (Treasurer), Joseph Mauceri and Vaughn Murphy. T HANK Y OU T H E W IN T E R F I L M Winter Film Awards is grateful for the AWARDS TEAM tireless support of our team: Mobasher Ahmed, Carly Bassen, Jennifer Bonaparte, Pete Bradt, Rachel Brammer, Fernando Camacho, Paul Marengo, Dawn Mecca, Chloe Miller, Rie Mukai, Isabel Negron, Fulden Kologlu Oner, Naja Pazant, Eric Vollweiler and Neal Williams. Special Thanks to our wonderful judges, bloggers and helpers: Bita Alahyan, Lianna Albrizio, Ken Anderson, Donnie Banks, Taylor Barry, Peter Bell, Sevell Benson, Shaniyah Bernabela, Urvi Bhandari, Pedro Branco, Heather Buckley, Donna Bulford, Natalie Costas, Steve De Castro, Jerry Del Priore, Maria Estevez, Brittany Fennell, Clinton Garwood, Geanice Gee, Amanda Godman, Gisele Góes, Meng Guo, Grady Hendrix, Madison Hetterly, Julie Hidalgo, Benjamin Holden, Walter Howard, Allison Jiang, Richard Jordan, Sue Kim, Beth Krakower, Eliza Lagonia, Salvatore Lagonia, Bob LaRue, Asher Lindo-Fondo, Lisa Magid, Christina Maldonado, Autumn McAlpin, Liv McConnell, Lisa Monaco, Emma Morgan, Claus Mueller, John Murphy, Jamee Natella, Edie Nugent, Rossy Olusala, Adam Payne, Louisa Percudani, Vashti Persaud, Raffi Roberts, Maria Rodriguez, Neil Rutty, Sheldon Sampson, Karl Schleider, Carolyn Schultz, Alyssa Schwartz, Meave Sheehan, Annette Smith, Wendy Sun, Troi Torain, Ilona Tuominen, Eric Vollweiler, Reggie Wade, Emma Zhang, Vashti Persaud, Walter Howard and Wendy Sun.

P AGE 3 OF 30 V ISIT US AT 2016 I NDEPENDENT 2017 INDIE FILM FESTIVAL

V ISIT US AT WWW .W INTER F ILM A WARDS . COM P AGE 4 OF 30 WINTER FILM AWARDS WIN- TER FILMMAKER, ACTRESS, FESTIVAL FOUNDER, CANCER SURVIVOR & NEW YORKER ELSIE MARTINEZ-GINSBERG 2017 WINTER FILM AWARDS PATRON OF THE CINEMA Native New Yorker Elsie Martinez-Ginsberg, founder of both TwitchTwitch Productions and the Maca- bre Faire Film Festival, will be honored with the 2017 Patron of the Cinema Award at the 6th annual Winter Film Awards Indie Film Festival. The WFA Board of Directors is pleased to honor Ms. Martinez- Ginsberg, who has and continues to demonstrate her unparalleled 2017 PATRON passion for the independent cinema and through a unique and var- ied career that has continually been tempered by life’s trials. OF THE CINEMA The Patron of the Cinema Award is presented annually to an indi- vidual whose career transcends their work in film by branching out into other artistic media, and who shares a passion for the craft by mentoring and nurturing up -and- coming filmmakers. Born in Coney Island NY and raised in Brooklyn, Elsie Martinez-Ginsberg at- tended Connecticut State University. She relocated to Venice Beach CA in 1992, where she ventured into screenplay writing. In 2002 she returned to her hometown of New York. In 2006, Ms. Martinez-Ginsberg fought her first bout with Stage II Breast Cancer. As the disease went into remission in 2007, she decided to celebrate by building her first haunted attraction in her backyard. Her love of the genre led to her becoming the CEO of TwitchTwitch Produc- tions in 2008. Ms. Martinez-Ginsberg began to write macabre tales for the stage, including Living Dead Mafia that was performed throughout Long Island NY, from 2009-2011, and she directed and co-produced the play The Dinner Party. Beginning in 2011, Martinez-Ginsberg produced, starred in, wrote and directed several shorts and features, including Being the Deadfather (2011), Worldly Possessions (2014), and 2017’s House of Afflictions, to name just a few. Her passion for the cinema, local filmmakers, and genre films lead her to found the Macabre Faire Film Festival (www.macabrefairefilmfest.com) in 2012. The Long Island Newsday called the Macabre Faire Film Festival “Sundance with Fangs.” As a result of the success of the festival Martinez-Ginsberg has been able to build other events around the festival, such as the NY Horror Show, Haunt Faire, Im- mortal Con, and several other genre-based events. In 2014 Martinez-Ginsberg’s cancer returned, and she continues her fight today as it has be- come Metastatic Stage IV Breast Cancer. She continues her chemotherapy every 2 weeks, but that does not stop her from pursuing her passion; she recently completed the 2017 Macabre Faire Film Festival, a three-day event with more than 70 films from around the world. 2017 OFFICIAL ARTWORK ARTIST VIKTOR KOEN Award-winning artist and School of Visual Arts Professor Viktor Koen has been a strong supporter of the Winter Film Awards Indie Film Festival since its inception, by working with his design and illustration students at NYC’s School of Visual Arts to develop posters from which one is picked and awarded to represent the festival. By request, this year, Mr. Koen honors the festival with an original piece specifically created to commemorate the festi- val’s six year anniversary. Mr. Koen serves on the faculty of the MFA Illustration program and the BFA Graphic Design Department at SVA. His images are regularly published in the NYTimes, Wall Street Journal and Nature. His client list includes Penguin Books, Random House, Doubleday, Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins, Rizzoli, Houghton Miflin, Time, Newsweek, Esquire, The Atlantic, National Geographic, Rolling Stone, Wired, Sports Illustrated and more.

P AGE 5 OF 30 V ISIT US AT 2016 I NDEPENDENT 2017 INDIE FILM FESTIVAL SELECTED FILMS

48Z ARTUN SHORT UNITED STATES ENGLISH 6 MINS SHORT ICELAND ICELANDIC 21 MINS SUNDAY FEB 26, 1PM 3:30PM SATURDAY FEB 25, 4PM 6:30PM Sal has been wanting to come to the Big Apple Young boy Arnar dreams about his rst kiss but since he was young and he nally makes his has no luck in the small village he lives in. His best way here! Sadly, its the same day as the Zombie friends try to convince him to go into the city, Apocalypse. Now with the help of a badass jogger where girls are supposed to be easier to talk into with an axe, Sal must survive the deadly hordes to kissing. He questions their story but still decides to live another day! Created for the 2016 Winter Film join them and nd out for himself. Awards 48-Hour Film Challenge. Gudmundur was born in Reykjavik, Iceland 1982. Nicholas Ortiz was born in the Lower East Side He graduated in ne art from the Icelandic Art and raised in the Bronx. Movies were of Nicholas’ Academy. Thereafter, he moved to Denmark and interest from a very young age, he found himself studied screenwriting. Gudmundur works as a drawn to strong archetypal heroes like Indiana lmmaker and a part-time teacher in lm and ne Jones and Luke Skywalker. By the time he reached art. His short lms have collected 50 international high school, Nicholas had decided to become a awards and over 200 nominations. ‘Whale Valley’ lmmaker, however it wouldn’t be until 2009 that he truly threw himself received among others; a Special Mention in the O cial Competition into the world of Cinema. Since then Nicholas has completed well over of the Cannes Film Festival and a nomination for Best Short lm to the 100 lm/video projects to date. European Film Awards.

Directed by Nicholas Tino Ortiz Directed by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson Produced by Peter Lawton, Orlando Cruz Produced by Anton Máni Svansson

BE AFRAID A PASSION OF GOLD AND FIRE HORROR UNITED STATES ENGLISH 96 MINS DOCUMENTARY BELGIUM FRENCH 6 MINS THURSDAY MAR 2, 8PM 11:30PM WEDNESDAY MAR 1, 7:45PM 11PM / TUESDAY FEB 28, 2PM 5PM Not long after John Chambers and his family A beekeeper shares his worries about the future arrive at their new home in a small country town of his apiary school. A passion of gold and re of Pennsylvania, John begins to experience sleep which de nitely helps our environment to keep paralysis. Lying there paralyzed, trapped within on living. his own nightmare, other-worldly beings visit Sébastien Pins was born in 1990 in Namur. Fasci- John. They are entities which exist in the darkest nated by the beauty of nature, he was attracted by shadows of the night and can only be seen out of photography from a young age. Once he turned the corner of one’s eye. These encounters begin to 19, he produced several documentaries that were haunt John, transforming to complete terror as he accepted and awarded at several festivals. discovers the entities’ sole purpose... the abduc- tion of his seven year old son. In the end, John will uncover the town’s horri c secret, a portal on his Directed by Sébastien Pins land, and make one last attempt to save his son Produced by Sébastien Pins before the shadow people permanently take him away to their world. Drew Gabreski brings a blend of Pennsylvania heartland and L.A. edge, delivering an uncommon worldview and bold perspective to creative marketing and visual storytelling. He is a graduate of the University of N SOLATED NCIDENT North Carolina, Wilmington, where he studied directing and screenwrit- A I I ing under award-winning documentarian, Dr. Lou Buttino, and Frank SHORT UK, ECUADOR ENGLISH, SPANISH 9 MINS Capra Jr. Drew spent the last sixteen years producing content for major brands, and much of his Sports documentary work has been featured on SATURDAY FEB 25, 4PM 6:30PM Network TV. Created for the Frugal Film Festival (FFF), ‘An Isolated Incident’ follows a couple as they make Directed by Drew Gabreski their way the back streets of Quito, Ecuador for a Produced by P. James Keitel, Sam Curphey mysterious purpose. The story is adapted from the script supplied to each entrant to the FFF. One of the challenges of the festival is to work with the written materials you are given, keep your costs as low as possible, and come up with an ending. The FFF had entrants from around the world, includ- ing Nigeria, Canada, and Thailand, but it was the team from Ecuador that pulled it all together to bring this story to life.

Directed by Jamaal Hepher Produced by Emily Lyhne-Gold

V ISIT US ATWWWWWW .W INTER F ILM A WARDS . COM P AGE 6 OF 30 WINTER FILM AWARDS WIN- BEYOND THE CURTAIN TER BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS SHORT US, CHINA CHINESE 27 MINS SHORT UNITED STATES ENGLISH 5 MINS SUNDAY FEB 26, 6:30PM 9PM / WEDNESDAY MAR 1, 2PM 5PM SATURDAY FEB 25, 4PM 6:30PM / WEDNESDAY MAR 1, 2PM 5PM During China’s cultural revolution, Hai receives an A black humor and fable about love and death in obscure comic book from an unknown homeless concrete jungle. man. Attracted by the magical world depicted in Meng Guo is a lm and web series developing the book, Hai is unaware there’s something else producer of iSunTV in New York. iSunTV is a new hidden in its story. subscription-based online streaming media Haixu Liu was born in China and moved to platform directed to the worldwide expat Chinese Upstate New York at the age of 15. He is currently community. She has an M.A. Degree in Cinema nishing his last semester at NYU Film. Haixu is Studies from Tisch School of the Arts of NYU and marked by his exceptional originality of his lms, a B.A. Degree in screenwriting from Beijing Film for which he writew the story, composew the Academy. Meng won Best Woman Filmmaker music and takes complete control of every visual (student) of IndieFEST and was nominated for aspect including production design, cinematogra- the Women’s Film Critic Circle award at the 2016 phy and post-production color grading. Winter Film Awards Indie Film Festival.

Directed by Haixu Liu Directed by Meng Guo Produced by Xin Xu Produced by Meng Guo

BRIDGE BLANK, THE BIRD FEATURE INDIA BENGALI 101 MINS ANIMATED UNITED STATES ENGLISH 2 MINS MONDAY FEB 27, 7:45PM 10:40PM SUNDAY FEB 26, 9:15PM 11:45PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM Two strangers, both su ering from immense There is a bird named Blank. He doesn’t know emotional distress arising out of life’s tragedies, who he is, what to do and where to go. So he  ies wanting to commit suicide, meet on a Bridge around to get some suggestions. He learns that over the Ganges. For both, the meeting initially identity is about appearance, habits and charac- brings great challenges but eventually ‘heal- ters but there’s always something more to explore. ing’ at physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels. Through powerful interactions and intense Cece (Yihui) Jiao studied psychology and studio psychological journeys, both search for a sense of arts at Indiana University Bloomington. She is in- belonging, trust hope and optimism. ‘Bridge’ es- terested in both science and art, and would like to sentially expresses a universal theme and a wider seek out a way to combine the two together. She worldview of creating bonds and connections continued her study in art and received a Post- between people through love, compassion and Baccalaureate Certi cate at the School of Museum sel ess service. of Fine Arts in 2016. During her studies at SMFA, she focused on animation and created ‘Blank, the Amit is a poet, playwright, public speaker and a lmmaker. He is also a Bird’. She is now continuing her animation studies in MFA Computer Art Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatrist and works in Cambridge. ‘Bridge’ at the School of Visual Arts. is Amit’s debut feature lm. He was born in Calcutta and has lived in London for nearly two decades.

Directed by Cece (Yihui) Jiao Produced by Cece (Yihui) Jiao Directed by Amit Ranjan Biswas Produced by Paramita Banerjee

CHEERLEADER BLINDING FEATURE UNITED STATES ENGLISH 70 MINS MUSIC VIDEO UNITED STATES ENGLISH 4 MINS SUNDAY FEB 26, 9:15PM 11:45PM THURSDAY MAR 2, 8PM 11:30PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM Reeling from her rst heartbreak, Mickey, a naive A Dance Concept video shot in a creepy aban- and promiscuous cheerleader, seeks calculated doned warehouse. The camera follows the revenge on her ex-boyfriend by turning her atten- young talent of Amber Golich (15) through the tion to an unlikely subject. warehouse where she performs in the haunted building. Born in Brooklyn in 1988, Irving Franco is a gradu- ate of both Brooklyn College and the New York Lonnie Lynn Iske has been working in the lm in- Film Academy. He made his feature debut as a dustry for 10+ years. She started her own produc- writer, director, producer, production designer, tion company straight out of lm school and has and composer in 2016 with ‘Cheerleader’, and continued to push herself and grow as much as he is currently living in Manhattan where he is in she can. Lonnie fell into production starting with development on his next feature. her love of music - creating music videos really inspired her to pursue this as a profession. Lonnie grew up traveling the states with her parents’ Directed by Irving Franco band which is where she credits the start of her passion. Produced by Nathan Marcus

Directed by Lonnie Lynn Iske Produced by Jenny Vause, Lonnie Iske

P AGE 7 OF 30 V ISIT US AT 2016 I NDEPENDENT 2017 INDIE FILM FESTIVAL COMMUNE DANCING IN WATER HORROR UNITED KINGDOM ENGLISH 17 MINS SHORT IRAN PERSION 15 MINS FRIDAY FEB 24, 9:45PM 12:15PM / THURSDAY MAR 2, 2PM 5:15PM FRIDAY FEB 24, 9:45PM 12:15PM A man takes a job as the guardian of a rundown A man has to go to work and leave his daughter London house. Charged with keeping the proper- with her seriously ill mother. The lm is about ty secure, he soon realises that it’s not the building what goes on between mother and daughter. that needs protecting, but himself. A malevolent Zahra Jafari was born in 1971 in Nagada in Azer- dark cult from the past, resides within the building bayjan Province. She started her career making and they are hunting for new members, stopping short lms in Iranian youth cinema society in 1993 at nothing to make you join them. by working as script supervisor professional cin- Thomas Perrett is a freelance editor with over ten ema industry. Meanwhile, she made several short years experience working in the British post pro- lms including ‘The Story of a Teacher’, which duction industry, cutting his teeth at some of the brought her the silver Unica medal in Poland. most successful UK post facilities including Crow TV, Molinare and Envy He has a huge interest in TV & Film production and strives to write and direct Directed by Zahra Jafari his own projects. ‘Commune’ is his directorial debut. Produced by Zahra Jafari, AliAsghar Hessari

Directed by Thomas Perrett DEAD AWAKE Produced by Thomas Perrett HORROR UNITED STATES ENGLISH 99 MINS THURSDAY MAR 2, 8PM 11:30PM CONCURRENCE When Beth Bowman describes her horri c sleep paralysis episodes, no one believes her. SHORT UNITED STATES ENGLISH 4 MINS Her twin sister Kate is the biggest skeptic, until SATURDAY FEB 25, 9:45PM 12:15PM / WEDNESDAY MAR 1, 2PM 5PM an unexplained death and Kate’s own ensuing paralysis quickly begin to convince her otherwise. In the nal moments before an apocalyptic Dr. Sykes explains it in typical rational-scienti c catastrophe, six people come to terms with their terms: an asthma attack brought on by severe impending doom. hallucinations. But a disgraced sleep specialist Tom Cassese is a New York-based lm director, named Hassan tells Kate about The Night Hag -- a writer, and producer. He is also a recent graduate terrifying entity that paralyzes and kills its sleeping of Hofstra University’s lm program. victims. Kate desperately searches for a solution as her friends and family all become targets. Will they gure out how to defeat The Hag before it Directed by Tom Cassese kills them all? Produced by Tom Cassese Austin-based director Phillip Guzman was born in south Texas, but spent his formative years growing up in Europe, giving him a unique perspec- tive on the world and cinema for an American. He most recently directed ‘Dead Awake’, the highly anticipated sleep paralysis thriller from writer Je rey Reddick (‘Final Destination’). His next feature ‘200 Hours’, a paranor- mal horror set in the 80s, is currently in post-production. CREEDMORIA Directed by Phillip Guzman FEATURE UNITED STATES ENGLISH 91 MINS Produced by James LaMarr FRIDAY FEB 24, 7PM 9:30PM Candy injects the ‘fun’ in her dysfunctional life. ENORA When your brother is found by a neighbor naked SHORT SWITZERLAND ENGLISH, ITALIAN 27 MINS and drunk, you’re stuck with a caveman of a boyfriend, you have a dickhead boss, and the SATURDAY FEB 25, 9:45PM 12:15PM madness of everyday life competes with your Enora, a young human-looking alien, crashes on mother’s need to appear normal, you have to earth in an Italian forest during WWII. Wounded, peek between the cracks to nd the warm rays she leaves the crash site and loses her ocarina, a of hope. But, maybe normalcy is just a construct precious object she desperately needs in order to for other people. And, maybe breaking out of the call for help and to get back home. Her encounter institution is more important than tting in. After with James, a Scottish war medic, will be decisive years of trying to save those she loves, it’s time for in her quest. Candy to save herself. Sami Khadraoui acts regularly in plays, short lms, Alicia Slimmer is an independent lmmaker advertising projects. In 2012, he co-directed his whose feature lm ‘Creedmoria’ has won numerous awards including the rst short lm ‘Melvin’ with Benoît Monney, then Jury Award for Best Feature Comedy at Cinequest, Audience Favorite at directed three other lms in a row. He is now writ- Brooklyn Film Festival and Industry Choice Award at Dances with Films, ing his rst feature lm. Benoît Monney nished to name a few. The Hollywood Reporter recently said ‘Creedmoria his Bachelor Degree in January 2012, then began boasts an exuberant comic vitality that keeps the viewer engaged to work as an Assistant Director and continues to learn about directing. and Dawson’s winning performance as the belea- He co-directed three lms with Sami Khadraoui and is now developing guered heroine makes you root for her at two new lms. every turn.’ Directed by Alicia Slimmer Produced by Alicia Slimmer, Clifton Directed by Sami Khadraoui, Benoît Monney Leaf Produced by Sonia Pfeuti

V ISIT US AT WWW .W INTER F ILM A WARDS . COM P AGE 8 OF 30 WINTER FILM AWARDS WIN- ENTROPIC TER FOUR DAY WEEKEND SHORT UNITED STATES ENGLISH 12 MINS SHORT UNITED STATES ENGLISH 20 MINS MONDAY FEB 27, 7:45PM 10:40PM / WEDNESDAY MAR 1, 2PM 5PM SATURDAY FEB 25, 1PM 3:30PM Universes collide when a scientist seeking to A middle-aged couple, married for twenty-three uncover the meaning of life accidentally disrupts years, takes a four-day break from each other and the robbery of a small town grocery store from the aftermath leaves their relationship shaken and another world. tested but not broken. Sebastian is a human being from the planet earth. Nicole Jones is a rst-time director with 25 years of After realizing he needed more than a magnifying industry experience, both in front of and behind glass and a trench coat to become a detective, the camera, working with many great directors Sebastian dedicated the rest of his life to directing including James Cameron and Phillip Noyce. Ni- movies. Since then he founded a production cole is also a writer who published a book called, company, directed and produced a bunch of ‘Twisted Broad: Tales from an Internet Dive Bar’, award winning short lms, and collaborated with based on a successful website she started in 2011. a variety of clients. Sebastian has directed content Directed by Nicole Jones for brands such as MasterCard, O ce Depot, and Produced by Nicole Jones, Dan Asma General Mills. He’s a graduate of NYU Tisch.

Directed by Sebastian Savino FREEMALES Produced by Sebastian Savino, Eric Perini WEB AUSTRALIA ENGLISH 19 MINS FRIDAY FEB 24, 7PM 9:30PM EYE FOR AN EYE Heather, a tie-dyed professional tourist has taken ANIMATED GERMANY ENGLISH 4 MINS a break from her worldly travels and moves in with unadventurous desk worker, Jamie. The new MONDAY FEB 27, 7:45PM 10:40PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM housemates struggle to overcome their clashing Frederick Baer spent over a decade on death row personalities, but when Jamie loses her job and in Indiana State Prison. He is still waiting for his Heather’s little sister surpasses her in milestones, death penalty to be executed. ‘Eye for an Eye’ is the two are drawn together and, with the help a a hand-drawn animated documentary about a few bottles of wine, support each other through murderer’s time on death row and the con icts the glorious highs and the terrible lows as they about his guilt and destiny. approach their mid-midlife crisis - single, unem- ployed and without a plan. The three directors of ‘Eye for an Eye’ met at Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg in Germany. Stephanie graduated with a degree in Screen Steve Bache is from Pirna and received vocational Production from Flinders University in 2015. Since training as a design assistant. Louise Peter is from then she has been involved in many areas of lm production including Berlin. She studied Philosophy and Theater, Film marketing, television, documentary, music videos and feature lms. In and Media Science in Vienna, nished her acting the past year, Stephanie has focused on writing and directing her own degree in Berlin and worked as a freelance actress projects starting with the rst season of ‘Freemales the Web Series’ and is for lm and theater. Mahyar Goudarzi is from Düs- currently in pre-production for her next project, a short lm entitled ‘The seldorf. He studied Applied Media Science in Cologne and does editorial Final Chapter’. work for various television formats. Directed by Stephanie Jaclyn Produced by Jodie Kirkbride Directed by Steve Bache, Mahyar Goudarzi Produced by Steve Bache, Mahyar Goudarzi FUCK YOU JESSICA BLAIR FEATURE ISRAEL ENGLISH, HEBREW 80 MINS EELING ANTED F W TUESDAY FEB 28, 7:45PM 11PM DOCUMENTARY UNITED STATES ENGLISH 14 MINS Karni feels detached. Detached from the world, SUNDAY FEB 26, 9:15PM 11:45PM / TUESDAY FEB 28, 2PM 5PM detached from her country, detached from her language and even her own body. That is, until Charell, age 6, woke up to nd herself alone. She she meets Jessica, who happens to be on a much made breakfast, dropped her baby sister o with needed break from her dreamlike American life. a neighbor, and walked to school. With her father While getting lost in the middle of nowhere, the incarcerated for murder, a mother on drugs and a pair meet two bewildered Israelis, and this band childhood in foster care, Charell knew it was time of mis ts wander their way through questions of to break the cycle. life, age, chewing gum, and themselves. Through Yasmin Mistry is an Emmy-nominated anima- this unique acquaintance, Karni will rediscover her tor and lmmaker. Her work has been displayed sexual identity and a whole di erent side to her worldwide including recent showings at the being - a place she nally belongs in. White House and United Nations as well as at lm Karni Haneman majored in lmmaking in high festivals such as Cannes, SXSW, and Tribeca. She school. She went on to get her BFA in Film and is the recipient of the Pu n Foundation grant, Television studies at Tel-Aviv University in Israel, where she majored in the Brooklyn Arts Council grants, and the Jessie Directing and Screenwriting. In 2012, Karni moved to London and got a Streich-Kest Memorial Grant. When not working as diploma from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), an artist, Yasmin dedicates her time to the foster youth of New York City as after completing the single semester Classical Acting course. She then a Court Appointed Special Advocate. went back to Israel to write and direct her rst independent feature lm, ‘Fuck You Jessica Blair’. Directed by Yasmin Mistry Directed by Karni Haneman Produced by Yasmin Mistry Produced by Karni Haneman

P AGE 9 OF 30 V ISIT US AT 2016 I NDEPENDENT 2017 INDIE FILM FESTIVAL HANDS OF LOVE HOW’S YOUR PROSTATE? MUSIC VIDEO DENMARK ENGLISH 4 MINS ANIMATED FRANCE FRENCH 4 MINS WEDNESDAY MAR 1, 7:45PM 11PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM TUESDAY FEB 28, 7:45PM 11PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM ‘Hands of Love’ is all about pure love between A discussion between 2 friends where one tells two people. The man receives a telegram telling the other about the very strange time when, him that his love has passed away. He travels long next to the swimming-pool, she learnt about her distance to her grave to deliver the scarf she gave father’s prostate, the state of his erectile function, him before he left, in the lm’s  ashbacks from then, with no warning, his night-time fantasies. their hours together, where they both show true Jeanne Paturle and Cécile Rousset bumped into love. each other in a dark corridor of the E.N.S.A.D Jimmie Weidemann has been taking pictures for in 2003. For 2 years, they worked in the same some years, and does it because he thinks it’s fun. school, in a di cult area, where they shared their The song ‘Hands of Love’ is made with his friend questions and di culties as teachers. Living this Ronni Garner. experienceas young teachers was the catalyst for Directed by Jimmie Weidemann, Ronni Garner their previous lm ‘The Predicate and the Poppy’. Produced by Jimmie Weidemann, Ronni Garner ‘How’s Your Prostate?’ is their third lm together. Directed by Jeanne Paturle, Cécile Rousset Produced by Luc Camilli, Pascale Faure IN THE DISTANCE HEAVY OBJECTS ANIMATED GERMANY ENGLISH 8 MINS FEATURE UNITED STATES ENGLISH 60 MINS SATURDAY FEB 25, 7PM 9:30PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM FRIDAY FEB 24, 9:45PM 12:15PM It’s calm and peaceful above the clouds. But chaos A wealthy Westchester family seem to have every- lurks in the distance and each night, it draws thing, and when we join them they are having a closer. celebratory meal as their son introduces his ‘friend’ to the rest of the family. It turns out that his friend Florian Grolig is an independent animation lm- is actually his lover, and this evening was going to maker and game designer. He graduated from be his big coming out party. However, an intruder the School of Arts and Design in Kassel, realized surprises the family, and in a knee-jerk reaction several award winning short lms and computer the father gets a gun and shoots the intruder in games as well as commissioned animation and cold blood. Realizing the scandal this could cause, co-founded the Black Pants Game Studio. Cur- the family weighs up the possibility of just getting rently he’s living and working in Berlin. rid of the body and not involving the authorities. Directed by Florian Grolig After all their talk of being upstanding people, the Produced by Florian Grolig family faces a very real moral crisis as they look into the abyss. Fletcher Crossman was a visual artist for many years, moving into experi- IN THE MOOG mentation with lm and then music videos. Crossman’s work has been published and exhibited at numerous galleries and colleges across the MUSIC VIDEO UNITED STATES ENGLISH 4 MINS States and in his native Britain. Crossman has also written columns for the SUNDAY FEB 26, 6:30PM 9PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM International Herald Tribune and other newspapers and journals. ‘In the Moog’ is a rotoscoped animation created Directed by Fletcher Crossman Produced by Victoria Guthrie by the students of Professor Lyon’s 2013 Object Animation class at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia PA. The source material was a 16mm print of a music video created by his father’s com- HOME pany ‘Record on Film’ in 1969. The original video was based on a medley of electronic music per- MUSIC VIDEO UNITED STATES ENGLISH 4 MINS formed by Richard Hyman on a Moog synthesizer. FRIDAY FEB 24, 9:45PM 12:15PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM Robert Lyons is an animation artist with a history Living in New York City is never easy. There’s just in photographic and optical special e ects who not enough hours in the day to maintain an active has worked with many of NYC’s most prominent social life and clean the bathroom! With encour- production houses. In 1992, he founded his agement from a little blue furry friend our hero own animation/e ects company, Interface Arts. ventures HOME to confront the mess and to try to Currently, he is working as a media arts professor at make a clean sweep of it. It isn’t a simple task. Our Pratt Institute and The University of the Arts teaching lm and animation hero quickly learns that he must look beneath his courses while also creating his own independent animation, documen- bed to nd his socks from last week. And those tary, and experimental lms. weren’t his! Directed by Robert Lyons, Meghan Loeb Produced by Robert Lyons, Shannon Brice Jeremiah Kipp is a New York City-based writer, producer & director with over 10 years experience creating narrative & commercial lms. He has di- rected several short lms including ‘The Minions’, ‘Painkiller’, ‘The Sadist’ (Tom Savini), ‘Mastermind’ (Chris Sarandon), ‘Edward Albee: A Transformative Moment’ produced by Bruce Cohen & Lauren Rayner, ‘The Days God Slept’ (Best Short- HorrorHound 2014). His short lm ‘The Christmas Party’ earned warm responses from over 50 international lm festivals. Directed by Jeremiah Kipp Produced by Natasha Straley

V ISIT US AT WWW .W INTER F ILM A WARDS . COM P AGE 10 OF 30 WINTER FILM AWARDS WIN- IT WANTS TO BE BORN TER LILA HORROR CANADA ENGLISH 7 MINS ANIMATED ARGENTINA, SPAIN ENGLISH 9 MINS SATURDAY FEB 25, 9:45PM 12:15PM / THURSDAY MAR 2, 2PM 5:15PM WEDNESDAY MAR 1, 7:45PM 11PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM A young woman wakes up in a pile of rubble after Armed with her sketchbook and imaginativeness, a violent sexual assault. Unable to come to terms Lila walks o to the world, convinced that she has with what happened to her, her mind fractures the power to make it a better place. Sitting at a and the victim becomes the victimizer. A stream bar, hanging out at a park or just walking down of male victims follow, and the woman begins to a street, Lila draws the lines that help ll up the realize things about herself not previously known magic lost by those around her. to her. Something is happening. Is she changing Director, illustrator, writer and animator, Carlos or slowly realizing her true self? During another Lascano has achieved international recognition impromptu encounter with a mysterious stranger, for his storytelling abilities: his most famous short she nds out that she is pregnant. Buoyed lms have collected altogether over 12 million with the new possibilities this may bring, her views on the Internet, and garnered hundreds newfound optimism is brutally cut short as the of selections and awards worldwide. Within his stranger in her bed violently turns on her. Faced extensive résumé, a Goya Awards nomination, with death, she must nd out who she really is. two pre-selection to the Academy Awards, as well Fil Santos is a Toronto-based lmmaker and editor. His rst short lm as a participation as a jury - presided by David Lynch - in the Animation ‘Missionary’ has played in lm festivals in Toronto, Montreal and NY State. Category of Vimeo’s First Festival in NYC. ‘It Wants to be Born’ is his second short lm, which will make its US debut at the Winter Film Awards in NYC. Fil Santos is also a freelance editor and has worked with companies such as Microsoft and Telus. Directed by Carlos Lascano Produced by Carlos Lascano

Directed by Fil Santos Produced by Fil Santos, Michael Makrimichalos LITTLE DUDE ANTHEM MUSIC VIDEO UNITED STATES ENGLISH 5 MINS LAID TO REST SUNDAY FEB 26, 9:15PM 11:45PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM HORROR UNITED STATES ENGLISH 8 MINS ‘Little Dude Anthem’ is a comedic thug rap and a rallying war cry for short guys everywhere. Being a FRIDAY FEB 24, 9:45PM 12:15PM / THURSDAY MAR 2, 2PM 5:15PM short guy can be tough - it’s easy to get over- The lm ‘Laid to Rest’, is a glimpse into the psyche looked personally and professionally .’Little Dude of a ghost trapped in purgatory. Jessie is a woman Anthem’ is a comedic middle nger to those expe- who is frozen in time and stuck in a moment. riences and an over-the-top project encouraging As she tries to escape this hellish cemetery, she people to embrace who they are. Save a horse, is slowly su ocating. She explores a shattered ride a jockey, baby. relationship gone horribly wrong, and the give Ben Giroux is a comedic actor, producer and direc- and take of this strange world of ours. ‘Laid to tor. He stars as Mikey Monroe on the Nickelodeon Rest’ is a deeply emotional story exploring twisted animated series ‘Bunsen is a Beast’. Giroux recurs psychological emotions and the horror that lies as The Toddler on ‘Henry Danger’ (NICK) , Little trapped in our own minds. Zach on ‘Hart of Dixie’ (CW), and Dark Warrior on Jennifer Valdes is an award-winning writer, direc- ‘Mighty Med’ (DISNEY XD). Other notable television: tor and producer. She is most well known for her ‘NCIS’ (CBS), ‘Anger Management’ (FX), ‘Best Friends Whenever’ (DISNEY), award-winning black and white modern lm noir ‘2 Broke Girls’ (CBS), ‘Bones’ (FOX), ‘House’ (FOX), ‘Psych’ (USA), ‘Family Tree’ short lm, ‘Isabelle’ (2014). She is also well-known in (HBO), ‘Sam & Cat’ (NICK), ‘Weird Loners’ (FOX), ‘Happyland’ (MTV), and the indie lm circuit for her horror/comedy feature lm,’ Jack ‘O’ Slashe’r more. (2012), which was distributed worldwide. She has recently written and directed a short lm called ‘Laid to Rest’ (2016), which is a psychological and deeply emotional story starring Jessica Felice and Taylor August. Directed by Ben Giroux Produced by Ben Giroux, Jensen Reed

Directed by Jennifer Valdes Produced by Jennifer Valdes LIVE WITH ME MUSIC VIDEO IRAN ENGLISH 5 MINS LET’S GO TUESDAY FEB 28, 7:45PM 11PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM MUSIC VIDEO MALAYSIA TAMIL 6 MINS Longing to see her lost lover, a girl decides to make his sculpture. MONDAY FEB 27, 7:45PM 10:40PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM Born in 1982, Amirhossein Kotobzadeh studied ‘Let’s Go’ music video portrays the travel of a man photography for his associate degree before from a busy and hectic city lifestyle to outskirt ran- joining a bachelor’s program in lm editing and dom locations that bring him joy and happiness. receiving a master’s degree in cinema at the Soore Jaya Easwar Ragavan is an independent music Art University of Tehran. His resume includes composer who has been doing music for the past photography assistance in a few feature-length 4 years, with some experience working with few movies including Asghar Farhadi’s ‘The Salesman’. international artists, instrumentalist and project. The music video for Massive Attack’s ‘Live with Me’ Founder of Alchemy Musical, based in Malaysia. is his directorial debut.

Directed by Jaya Easwar Ragavan, Karthikeyan Directed by Amirhossein Kotobzadeh Anandaselvam, Arvin Thaaran Vallithan Produced by Amirhossein Kotobzadeh Produced by Alchemy Musical Production

P AGE 11 OF 30 V ISIT US AT 2016 I NDEPENDENT 2017 INDIE FILM FESTIVAL LUCKY 13 MOON OF A SLEEPLESS NIGHT SHORT UNITED STATES ENGLISH 12 MINS ANIMATED JAPAN JAPANESE 25 MINS TUESDAY FEB 28, 7:45PM 11PM / WEDNESDAY MAR 1, 2PM 5PM FRIDAY FEB 24, 7PM 9:30PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM Goldie, a preteen ballet student, gets the chance When the moon gets stuck in a tree and leaves to audition for the lead role in the Nutcracker the town in eternal night, a Squirrel of the Moon ballet. However, being the only black girl in her and a young boy of the forest embark on a jour- ballet school comes with its own set of challenges, ney to help free the moon. and her father, although he tries, isn’t always there Originally from Akita prefecture in Japan. Takeshi for her. Despite supportive friends and teach- graduated from the Tokyo National University of ers, Goldie is determined and her love of dance Fine Arts and Music and currently works as a TV pushes her to work harder than anyone else. commercial director. On top of visual art produc- Louise is from Poughkeepsie, New York and is a tion and animation, he is especially talented with recent graduate of the SUNY Purchase lm pro- stop-motion animation. gram. Her documentary, ‘Plastics are Forever’, was Directed by Takeshi Yashiro featured in lm festivals all over the world includ- Produced by Masaaki Oikawa ing the Inka Mountain lm festival and the Beacon Independent Film Festival. She was awarded the Elyane R Rubino grant for the lm, which was used to create her rst narrative short, ‘Lucky 13’. MORAL COMPASS SHORT UNITED STATES ENGLISH 15 MINS Directed by Louise Bartolotta SATURDAY FEB 25, 7PM 9:30PM / WEDNESDAY MAR 1, 2PM 5PM Produced by Vincent Graziano A loving wife faces the unthinkable when her husband, su ering with Alzheimer’s, falls into a MEETING WITH THE LEAF steep mental decline. Kylie Garcelon is a screenwriter and emerging DOCUMENTARY IRAN PERSIAN 14 MINS director based in NYC. ‘Moral Compass’ (2015) is her second short lm as a writer-director. She re- TUESDAY FEB 28, 7:45PM 11PM / TUESDAY FEB 28, 2PM 5PM cently completed her rst documentary lm ‘The An elderly lady whose husband has passed away Culinary Professor’ which has won Best Woman long time ago believes that his soul has been Filmmaker and Best Documentary Short at HIIDA reincarnated in a mulberry tree that has grown up 2016. With her Gladiolus co-producers she is next to his grave. So she treats the tree just like her directing her rst feature ‘The Dog Walker’. Kylie is husband. a member of NYWIFT, IFP and the AWG (Australia). She has a big imagination and a penchant for the Fazlollah Tari has been working in cinema for 8 underdog. years. Undoubtedly he is one of the Iranian lm- makers that has a good view and perspective to Directed by Kylie Garcelon the world through the cinematic lenses. He was Produced by Robyn Babina, Orly Shemesh born in Iran in 1983 and studied mathematics in high school. In addition to lming, he is a good cartoonist and now works on both of lm and MY KINGDOM animation. Hi animation gives a Black humor to his lms. ANIMATED UNITED STATES ENGLISH 4 MINS SATURDAY FEB 25, 9:45PM 12:15PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM Directed by Fazlollah Tari My Kingdom has no castle, no rolling hills, no Produced by Fazlollah Tari moat. It’s my personal space - the 24 inches around me which i must defend to the death, without guns, barbed wire, or attack dogs, espe- MENSTRUATION cially on the subway. WEB UNITED STATES ENGLISH 4 MINS Debra Solomon has been making animated lms since 1995. She is a N.Y.F.A fellow and Jerome SATURDAY FEB 25, 4PM 6:30PM / WEDNESDAY MAR 1, 2PM 5PM recipient, her lms have won awards at festivals around the world, including a Silver Lion at the In this Busby Berkeley style extravaganza, The Venice Biennale, Best Soundtrack in Annecy, and Ladybugs help Mrs. Nudelpuddin teach the girls a Special Jury Award at the World Animation in her class about getting their rst period by Festival. In 2001, Debra helped create the Disney performing their song, ‘Menstruation’, with danc- Channel’s rst hit show, ‘Lizzie McGuire’. Her lm ing birth control and feminine products. A cross ‘Getting Over Him in 8 Songs or Less’, was featured between South Park and School House Rock, this on HBO. Debra’s latest animated short is ‘My Kingdom’. award-winning animated comedy created by singer/songwriter Dorothy Wallace uses comedy Directed by Debra Solomon and music to raise awareness about serious issues Produced by Debra Solomon a ecting kids and to help educate kids about di cult topics. Dorothy Wallace is a singer/songwriter from North Bergen New Jersey who learned animation and music production in order to create the web series “Meet The LadyBugs!” She has released her own music independently and enjoys performing in NJ Community Theatre.

Directed by Dorothy Wallace Produced by Dorothy Wallace

V ISIT US AT WWW .W INTER F ILM A WARDS . COM P AGE 12 OF 30 WINTER FILM AWARDS WIN- MY LIFE I DON’T WANT TER NOMA: FORGIVING APARTHEID ANIMATED MYANMAR ENGLISH, BURMESE 12 MINS DOCUMENTARY UK, SOUTH ENGLISH, SOUTH 37 MINS AFRICA AFRICAN SUNDAY FEB 26, 3:45PM 6:15PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM MONDAY FEB 27, 7:45PM 10:40PM / TUESDAY FEB 28, 2PM 5PM A short animated lm about the life of a Myanmar girl inspired by the true stories in Myanmar. At the height of the apartheid regime, seven year old Noma Dumezweni  ed Africa with her Nyan Kyal Say is a Burmese freelance animation mother. She had never known a permanent home artist as well as a house surgeon. In addition to his until she arrived as a refugee in a small town in medical career, he makes animations, draws car- England. Years later, an award-winning actress yet toons and illustrations for edutainment, especially still racked with confusion about her own identity, for the people of Myanmar. she is o ered a role in a play that goes right to the heart of the entire system that drove her family out. Despite her reluctance, the part will change Directed by Nyan Kyal Say Produced by Nyan Kyal Say her life and bring her face to face with her history, her homeland, and her father. Emmy nominated director Sarah Townsend follows Noma on her journey exploring identity, parenthood and the legacy of apartheid. Sarah Townsend is a British producer, director, composer, and screenwriter. NAMCAR NIGHT RACE OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO Townsend has worked across all genres, starting o in theatre and stage shows, moving into music production and then into feature and docu- MUSIC VIDEO UNITED STATES ENGLISH 3 MINS mentary lm-making. In 2010 she received an Emmy nomination for her work on ‘Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story’ for best Outstanding Non ction SATURDAY FEB 25, 4PM 6:30PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM Special. Townsend splits her time between the United Kingdom and Los A mock rock Journey-inspired music video teaser Angeles. for NAMCAR Night Race, a comedy depicting a Directed by Sarah Townsend model car racing league. The video features the Produced by John Gore original NAMCAR Night Race theme ‘Race to Live, Race to Not Die’. Drivers push the limits of their toy cars, friendships and bitter rivalries as they brave NE AY R NOTHER extremely fake conditions and the nal frontier O W O A in racing, a frontier of plastic, plaster and diecast MUSIC VIDEO UNITED STATES ENGLISH 4 MINS metal. THURSDAY MAR 2, 8PM 11:30PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM Lance Khazei is an Emmy nominated writer, award winning producer and a festival-festooned direc- A creepy take on ‘Until the Ribbon Breaks’ version tor with produced credits in television and feature of ‘One Way or Another’ choreographed for the lm. Lance has developed and written television camera. comedy for Fox, ABC, NBC, MTV, Disney, Dreamworks, Cartoon Network Lonnie Lynn Iske has been working in the lm and Comedy Central. He has written late night and sketch comedy for industry for 10+ years. She started her own pro- John Leguizamo, Chevy Chase and Bill Maher. He has sold to and written duction company straight out of lm school and feature lms for New Line, MGM, Columbia and Warner Brothers. Lance has continued to push herself and grow as much graduated from Harvard. as she can. Lonnie fell into production starting with her love of music - creating music videos Directed by Lance Khazei really inspired her to pursue this as a profession. Produced by Lance Khazei Lonnie grew up traveling the states with her parents’ band which is where she credits the start of her passion. ERDVANA HE EB ERIES Directed by Lonnie Iske, Jenny Vause N : T W S Produced by Lonnie Iske, Jenny Vause WEB CANADA ENGLISH 10 MINS PEACEFUL LIFE SATURDAY FEB 25, 7PM 9:30PM The sta of Nerdvana love their low-responsibility MUSIC VIDEO FRANCE ENGLISH 5 MINS jobs at a small town comic store. They get to talk SATURDAY FEB 25, 7PM 9:30PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM about ctional characters and made-up scenarios all day, but things get stranger than usual when A old homeless man lies in a street, ignored by an ancient object fueled by imagination is uncov- the passing crowd. He is robbed of one of his only ered. These nerds soon nd themselves ghting possessions: a football. Humiliated, the old man for the fate of all reality as they must stop a force loses his cool. He aggressively takes back his ball, powered by what they love. spinning around as if he was in a boxing ring. The passers-by don’t believe what they are seeing - his Tito Guillen is a lmmaker from Alberta Canada football juggling skills are exceptional. The tramp and has studied at the UofA. He’s had the privilege proves to be a freestyler that shows o ever more of directing and producing award-winning short amazing and daring tricks. lms for the last 10 years. His work has spanned genres from narrative drama, to documentary, Born in France, Sébastien Bellaval was rst meant comedy, web-series, horror and even fan lms. He to become a reman but he quickly gave up his has had the pleasure of championing lm within his community through previous job to start a career as a lmmaking in the Fort McMurray Filmmakers Association and programming of the Fort the french cinema industry. Settled in Paris, he McMurray International Film Festival. wrote a music video screenplay for a French band which won the « Best Script of the Week prize by Celtx. He also directed four short lms and several music videos for Guts. His last one ‘Peaceful Directed by Tito Guillen Life’ is currently running in many festivals and recently won eight awards Produced by Ashley Laurenson, Steve Reeve as Best Music Video. Directed by Sébastien Bellaval Produced by Boris Antona, Damien Poirot

P AGE 13 OF 30 V ISIT US AT 2016 I NDEPENDENT 2017 INDIE FILM FESTIVAL PERFECT QUARRIES DOCUMENTARY CANADA, ENGLISH, FRENCH 78 MINS HORROR UNITED STATES ENGLISH 83 MINS SATURDAY FEB 25, 4PM 6:30PM / TUESDAY FEB 28, 2PM 5PM SUNDAY FEB 26, 6:30PM 9PM / THURSDAY MAR 2, 2PM 5:15PM Strength. Stamina. Sequins. ‘Perfect’ follows the In an attempt to escape her abusive boyfriend, Canadian synchronized swimming team beyond Kat joins a wilderness expedition with a group the beauty, to the brawn it takes to be an Olympic of women, all of whom are struggling against athlete. With unprecedented access to the team the uncertainty of life. What was supposed be and their trainer, ‘Perfect’ highlights this deter- an opportunity for personal discovery, quickly mined, strong and hard working group of women becomes a ght for survival, forcing each person in their quest to make it to the Olympics through to uncover the strength even they didn’t know the most gruelling year of their lives. From Mon- they possessed. While being stalked and brazenly treal to Bratislava, Kazan and Puerto Rico, battling chased by a pack of predators, the strong quickly eating disorders, dislocated knees and crushing set themselves apart. In a battle of will, stamina losses, these girls never give up. And more impor- and heart, the very virtues these women are in tantly, they never stop smiling. search of, present themselves at the most crucial Trained as a cameraman, Jérémie Battaglia moment. With death looming, each woman is left worked for several years in France, primarily on ction movies and report- with the understanding of what is truly important - ages. Interested in new media and in the documentary possibilities they the strength within themselves. o er, he produced and directed by himself a rst web/documentary Nils Taylor is a director writer and graduate of Chapman University with project about the presidential elections in France in 2012. This project en- an MFA in lm production, where he was mentored by notable lm direc- abled him to work with Canada’s National Film Board on three interactive tor John Badham. Nils has traveled the lm festival circuit where his previ- documentary projects about social and political issues in Quebec. ous lms have attracted national and international acclaim, including his Directed by Jérémie Battaglia short- lm ‘The Fighting Kind’, which won the Hatchfest Groundbreaker Produced by Sylvie Van Brabant, Amélie Lambert Bouchard Award in 2010. His most recent short, ‘The Lost Girl’ begins its festival tour in the summer of 2016.

Directed by Nils Taylor PHAGE Produced by Nicole Marie Johnson, Laura Small SHORT UNITED STATES ENGLISH 6 MINS SATURDAY FEB 25, 7PM 9:30PM RABBIT BLOOD This doc-style short explores the experiences of ANIMATED TURKEY ENGLISH 5 MINS those who survived the plague in 2020. Created for the 2016 Winter Film Awards 48-Hour Film SATURDAY FEB 25, 1PM 3:30PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM Challenge. Just an ordinary day at an old mysterious Turk- Frisly Soberanis comes from Queens NY via ish country house where its residents have an Guatemala. He graduated from the Academy for extraordinary way of brewing tea. Careers in TV and Film specializing in directing. He Yagmur Altan is a 3D artist, born and raised in is currently the video content producer at Peloton Istanbul Turkey and currently working as a prin- Interactive. He has worked on many projects, cipal designer at AOL in NYC, focusing on digital including ‘American Promise’ (Shooter-Sundance, production on face and facial feature tracking. He Fullframe), ‘Alien Dawn’ (2nd Unit-Nickelodeon), wrote and directed his rst animated short lm and has shot content for Carmelo Anthony. He ‘Rabbit Blood’ during his MFA 3D Animation de- won the Lotus Foundation Achievement in the gree at SVA, shown in more than 100 lm festivals Arts Award and was a nalist in the Univision Radio Latino lm contest. in 30 countries in 2016. O cial selections include Directed by Frisly Soberanis Montreal World Film Festival, Morbido Film Fest Produced by Alicia Nieves and New Orleans Film Festival.

Directed by Yagmur Altan Produced by Yagmur Altan PULLING THE PLUG FEATURE TURKEY TURKISH 100 MINS SATURDAY FEB 25, 1PM 3:30PM The Circi Family’s adventure starts with the deci- sion to pull the plug on the family patriarch, Salih. Estranged family members from all over the world reunite to bid their nal farewells and are forced to spend time together. Personal problems and dreams clash when con icts of inheritance begin. In the end, they will realize a big heart is all they need to be a family again. Istanbuhl born Meltem Bozo u has directed the TV Series ‘Güldür Güldür Show’ and ‘5’er beser’. ‘Pulling The Plug’ is his feature- lm directing de- but, and has had over 2,015,665 viewers in Turkey since its release on January 22 2016. Directed by Meltem Bozo u Produced by Necati Akpinar

V ISIT US AT WWW .W INTER F ILM A WARDS . COM P AGE 14 OF 30 WINTER FILM AWARDS WIN- RAIN THE COLOR BLUE WITH A LITTLE RED INTER IT ROBOT DREAMS MADE FLESH FEATURE NIGER TAMASHEK 75 MINS MUSIC VIDEO UNITED STATES ENGLISH 5 MINS WEDNESDAY MAR 1, 7:45PM 11PM SATURDAY FEB 25, 9:45PM 12:15PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM Set against the backdrop of the raucous subcul- ‘Robot Dreams Made Flesh’ is an optical FX experi- ture of Tuareg guitar, ‘Akounak’ tells the universal ment combining time lapse photography with in- story of a musician trying to make it against all camera multiple exposures on 16mm lm using odds. Musician Mdou Moctar must battle com- Bolex cameras and an Oxberry animation stand. petition from jealous musicians, overcome family The subject is model maker/animator Michael con icts, endure the trials of love, and overcome Sullivan at work on his stop motion opus ‘The Sex his biggest rival - himself. Stylistically borrowing Life of Robots’. from the Western rock-u-drama and a homage to Robert Lyons is an animation artist with a history Prince’s 1984 ‘Purple Rain’, the story was written in photographic and optical special e ects who with and for a Tuareg audience, drawing from the has worked with many of NYC’s most prominent experiences of Mdou Moctar and fellow musi- production houses. In 1992, he founded his own cians. Carried by stunning musical performances animation/e ects company, Interface Arts. Cur- from Mdou, the lm is equally a window into rently, he is working as a media arts professor at modern day Tuareg guitar as it is an experiment in Pratt Institute and The University of the Arts teaching lm and animation modern ethnographic lmmaking. courses while also creating his own independent animation, documen- Christopher Kirkley is a music collector and archivist focused on the Sahel tary, and experimental lms. of West Africa. His work examines contemporary popular musics in the evolving technological landscape, the interplay of localized traditions with transglobal in uences, and new modes of cultural transmission. Directed by Robert Lyons, Michael Sullivan He releases records under the label Sahel Sounds and maintains a blog Produced by Robert Lyons exploring arts and music of the region. ROSARIO Directed by Christopher Kirkley Produced by Christopher Kirkley, Jerome Fino SHORT MEXICO SPANISH 10 MINS WEDNESDAY MAR 1, 7:45PM 11PM RAINBOW PARTY Rosario sees her days go by under the yoke of her responsibility as caregiver for her ill husband. SHORT ICELAND ICELANDIC 16 MINS Silently, she bears the burden of a marriage that has dried up. No one in her family knows how she SATURDAY FEB 25, 1PM 3:30PM feels; everyone keeps up appearances. A struggle Rainbow Party tells the story of 14-year-old So a, has begun between her duty and her own desires. who has been bullied and sidelined by the popu- Mexico City native Marlén Ríos-Farjat moved as lar group of girls at school for as long as she can a young girl to the northern city of Monterrey, remember. One day So a decides to ght back where she became a Public Accountant. Having and as a result the popular girls see So a in a new graduated from Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo light. She is invited to join the girls as they shoplift León, she felt the need to follow her true passion: and later to attend a party. Nervous, So a decides lm. With this in mind, she enrolled in as many to take her best friend Einar with her to the party. lm courses as she could nd and produced At the party, the girls challenge So a to join them several short lms in Monterrey. in completing the rainbow challenge – where each girl puts on a di erent shade of lipstick, and all girls then perform oral sex on one boy, leaving Directed by Marlén Ríos-Farjat him with a rainbow pattern on his penis. This is Produced by Centro de Capacitación Cinematográ ca the ultimate loyalty test. How far will So a go in order to gain acceptance? Eva Sigurdardottir is best known as a producer – her credits include the ROXY BAFTA-nominated short lm ‘Good Night’ and Festival de Cannes Prix Un Certain Regards winner ‘Rams’. ‘Rainbow Party’ is Eva’s directorial debut. SHORT LUXEMBOURG GERMAN, LUXEMBOURGISH 9 MINS Eva is from Iceland, but sh has lived all across Europe. She studied Televi- SUNDAY FEB 26, 3:45PM 6:15PM sion Production in London, and went on to work in children’s television. After a string of successful short lms, Eva decided to set up her own Roxy is an aging prostitute, working in a lovemo- production company, Askja Films. ‘Rainbow Party’ is a semi-biographical bile on the German-Luxembourgish border. After project. being rescued from a brutal rape, she meets Je , Directed by Eva Sigurdardottir a young man, whose intentions seem unclear to Produced by Eva Sigurdardottir her. Fabien Colas is the director of ‘Roxy’. Born and raised in Luxembourg, he discovered his passion for lmmaking early in his life. This eventually led to a degree in Film Studies at the University of Sussex before he moved to London to start shoot- ing commercials and short lms. Fabien currently lives in Los Angeles where he’s completing an MA in Film at the prestigious Art Center College of Design, trying to sharpen his skills in narrative storytelling for lms and commercials.

Directed by Fabien Colas Produced by Emile Schlesser

P AGE 15 OF 30 V ISIT US AT 2016 I NDEPENDENT 2017 INDIE FILM FESTIVAL SAMURAI TWO SHORT UNITED STATES ENGLISH, JAPANESE 7 MINS SISTA IN THE BROTHERHOOD SUNDAY FEB 26, 1PM 3:30PM SHORT UNITED STATES ENGLISH 21 MINS A newlywed immigrant couple try to cope with SUNDAY FEB 26, 1PM 3:30PM the loss of the man’s job. Created for the 2016 Winter Film Awards 48-Hour Film Challenge. ‘Sista in the Brotherhood’ is about a black trades- woman who faces discrimination on a new job Nori Mizukami is a Japanese lmmaker from site and who must choose between making a Kyoto who has worked on a number of news and stand or keeping her job. The story follows an documentary programs for broadcasters such as apprentice carpent who struggles to prove herself Fuji, TBS and NHK. Nori has been mastering his on her rst day at a new job site. An outlier in a craftsmanship as a Cinematographer, Director, white, male-dominated workforce, she’s forced Writer, and Producer. He freelances on commer- to navigate the crew’s reactions to her. When cials, music videos, narratives as well as documen- tensions arise, she receives inspiration from a sur- tary lms. prising source to help her decide to either make a stand or risk never being recognized as the skilled Directed by Norihiro Mizukami worker she has become. Produced by Morihiro Mizukami, Mao Hanada Dawn Jones Redstone is an award-winning gay Latina lmmaker living in Portland, Oregon. As an artist, she is fascinated by stories of personal transformation and commit- SHOOT ME NICELY ted to promoting women and people of color in lm. She’s also a journey- level carpenter. WEB UNITED STATES ENGLISH 20 MINS FRIDAY FEB 24, 9:45PM 12:15PM / WEDNESDAY MAR 1, 2PM 5PM Directed by Dawn Jones Redstone Produced by Roberta Hunte ‘Shoot Me Nicely’ explores the New York City art and fashion world through the eyes of pho- tographer Sean Wheeler. After losing his cushy magazine job and his superstar status, Sean is SOCIOPATHS forced to take odd jobs to pay the bills and his rent. Recently, his agent Layla, has been work- SHORT JAPAN JAPANESE 5 MINS ing overtime selling Sean’s paparazzi pics as she SUNDAY FEB 26, 9:15PM 11:45PM attempts to get him back into the spotlight of the fashion world. A girl encounters an android on the street. She nds something strange about the experience Elias Plagianos’ rst feature lm ‘The Crimson and decides to follow the android to give it a Mask’ was a surprise hit on the festival circuit, message. going on to win over 40 independent lm awards. ‘The Crimson Mask’ was able to attain worldwide A.T., or Asai Takeshi, was born in 1970. He has distribution and continues to be a cult symbol of been working mainly with television commercial true independent lmmaking, spinning o into an episodic mini-series production. on HULU and Amazon Prime . Elias has been in development on several new feature projects while promoting his episodic comedy pilot ‘Shoot Directed by Asai Takeshi Me Nicely’. Produced by Ryo Higuchi

Directed by Elias Plagianos Produced by Elias Plagianos, Craig Blair

SINGLE RULES SOLDIER BEE WEB UNITED STATES ENGLISH 11 MINS SHORT UNITED KINGDOM ENGLISH 20 MINS SUNDAY FEB 26, 6:30PM 9PM / WEDNESDAY MAR 1, 2PM 5PM SUNDAY FEB 26, 9:15PM 11:45PM Millie has been out of the dating scene for awhile Jodie Baxter is a British Captain returned home and is ready to jump back in head rst into a from Afghanistan after being injured in a rigged pool with no water. Her rookie mistakes keep booby trap that has left her scarred physically and her friends on their toes as they try to help Millie on a deep psychological accord. She struggles break her bad dating habits. Beginner’s luck might to reconnect with her husband on a sexual and just be on her side as we go on a journey where emotional level and begins to realise the distance she will grown and better herself....with or without between herself and her child as her daughter a man. hides pivotal moments of puberty from her that a mother should be there to support. In the middle Matthew Mahoney is a student at Pratt Insti- of moving out of their Service Family Accommo- tute in Brooklyn studying for his BA in Film. He dation, Jodie escapes to her one place of solace, attended Camden County Community College a hotel where she resides to be free and remem- and received an Associate Degree with Honors in ber the past. It is there she sees and becomes Film and Television. He has worked as an Intern at obsessed with a couple, an abusive older man and Collaborate Ideas & Images and Silvercup Studios a young prostitute who he controls. both in Queens, NY. Matthew is passionate about becoming a lm and television director; a director whose works are thoroughly enjoyed and Alex Hardy’s graduation lm ‘Initiation’ was selected from thousands of revered for many, many years. other entrants for the nals of the BAFTA Soho Short Film Festival and continued to nd success on the festival circuit, giving him excellent exposure. It was then acquired by Shorts International and is selling Directed by Matthew Mahoney worldwide. Produced by Millie Torchetti, Marisa Kennedy Directed by Alex Hardy Produced by Sam Mintz, Cameron Wauchope

V ISIT US ATWWWWWW .W INTER F ILM A WARDS . COM P AGE 16 OF 30 WINTER FILM AWARDS WIN- STITCHED TER THE CHALLENGER MISSION: SOUTH ATLANTIC SHORT UNITED STATES ENGLISH 4 MINS DOCUMENTARY US, SOUTH AFRICA ENGLISH 10 MINS SUNDAY FEB 26, 9:15PM 11:45PM / WEDNESDAY MAR 1, 2PM 5PM FRIDAY FEB 24, 9:45PM 12:15PM / TUESDAY FEB 28, 2PM 5PM Melinda and Wendy’s mother has died and now An international team are on a mission to they are left cleaning up the mess. Melinda has complete the rst circumnavigation of the South been sheltered most of her life and isn’t dealing Atlantic by an unmanned underwater robot. They well with her mother’s death. Wendy thinks she aim to make history by testing the limits of the can sweep in and sweep out without opposition robot’s technology, and replicating the routes of from Melinda. But Melinda nally stands up to her the rst global oceanographic expedition by the sister, showing her how far she will go to be heard. HMS Challenger. Heather Taylor is an award-winning writer, director Lizette Gesuden is a documentary lmmaker who and founder of Red on Black Productions. She has enjoys collaborating with people outside of the written short lms, web series and features, as well lmmaking world to tell true stories that inspire as directed and produced shorts, documentaries and communicate ideas with integrity. Her work and music videos. Of her many projects, Heather includes ‘PBS Nature: My Bionic Pet’ and ‘Blitzkrieg is most proud of her rst feature lm script, ‘The Sharks’ for NatGeo Wild. She aspires to continue Last Thakur’, which premiered at the London International Film Festival nding and telling true stories all over the world, and had a cinematic, television and DVD release in the UK. and hopes her work will continue to take her to the sea. Directed by Heather A Taylor Directed by Lizette Gesuden Produced by John C Young, Heather A Taylor Produced by Lizette Gesuden, RUCOOL and The Vetlesen Foundation STONE STORY DOCUMENTARY CANADA ENGLISH 89 MINS THE CORPSE SERIES SUNDAY FEB 26, 1PM 3:30PM HORROR UNITED KINGDOM ENGLISH 29 MINS Martin Stone chose freedom: in 1966, he took his SUNDAY FEB 26, 9:15PM 11:45PM / THURSDAY MAR 2, 2PM 5:15PM young daughters, Deborah and Jacqueline and hit Dan’s patience is tested when his idiotic house- the road on a six-year adventure with America’s mate James murders someone and the two must wildest hippy community, the Hog Farm. Five de- work together to get rid of the evidence. cades later, Martin and his girls live very separate lives. Martin remains true to his counterculture James Button has been making lms for fun since beliefs, living with young roommates who dig his the age of twelve. Since graduating from Newport alternative vibe in a run-down Mile-End apart- Film School in Wales, he has gone on to start a ment in Montreal that acts as a commune of sorts. small lm production company, State Of Flow For Martin, being a hippy wasn’t a phase; it’s a way Films, to continue creating crazy content and fol- of life. His daughters, both now living in Philadel- lowing his dreams. phia, settled on less eccentric existences. Martin Directed by James Button, Kristaps Kazaks and his daughters give honest accounts of their Produced by James Button, Kristaps Kazaks lives together and why their paths and dreams ran so far apart. Born in Bordeaux, Jean-André Fourestié moved to Montreal in 2004, where he pursues his passion for editing and directing documentaries. HE URIOUS IFE OF ITER USTAQUIO ENGIFO CULMANA Always interested in people’s journeys, life choices and yearnings for free- T C L P E R U dom, he codirected 2011’s ‘Gospel According to Vivienne’. He also works DOCUMENTARY PERU SPANISH 71 MINS as an editor. He’s currently a freelance editor for television projects and independent productions. ‘Stone Story’ is Fourestié’s rst feature-length WEDNESDAY MAR 1, 7:45PM 11PM documentary. The eventful life and tragic death of Eustaquio Directed by Jean-André Fourestié Piter Uculmana Rengifo, rebuilt as a puzzle that Produced by Ian Oliveri, Nathalie Barton includes acts, loves, crimes and sins of a man with no more merit than a name whose acronym bring SUICIDE up the word PERU. SHORT UNITED STATES ENGLISH 28 MINS Gianfranco Annichini was born in Novara Italy in 1939. He grew up in Switzerland where, at age SATURDAY FEB 25, 4PM 6:30PM 20, he graduated from the Ecole de Beaux Arts Carson Mcarthy, a suicide-planning hobbyist, in Lausanne. He worked in Stockholm until 1961 enlists her sympathetic best friend, Franny in when he traveled to Peru and settled down. Here, her nal suicide plan involving a daring journey his rst works were in drawing and advertising through the desert. As things go awry, tensions lm and then took over the camera, photography rise and Carson and Fanny have to face their or editing of countless lms. In 1981, he began to issues head-on. The journey encompasses two direct his own documentaries, including ‘Maria of newly 20 year olds navigating the new waters of the Desert’ (1981), ‘Radio Belén’ and ‘A Bride in New York’. the reality of adulthood and their appreciation for Directed by Gianfranco Annichini each other. Produced by Verónica Oliart For Molly Ratermann, directing was not her rst venture in the lm industry. She bounced back and forth throughout highschool doing college- level lmmaking classes and acting courses at Academy of Art SF and New York Film Academy. Although she is still an actor, she couldn’t help being pulled behind the camera again. ‘Suicide’ was one of her rst attempts at directing and she has since directed a web series and two other short lms. Directed by Molly Kinsale Ratermann Produced by Molly Kinsale Ratermann

P AGE 17 OF 30 V ISIT US AT 2016 I NDEPENDENT 2017 INDIE FILM FESTIVAL THE HEALER THE PERFUMIST SHORT UNITED STATES ENGLISH, FRENCH 15 MINS ANIMATED UNITED STATES ENGLISH 2 MINS FRIDAY FEB 24, 7PM 9:30PM / WEDNESDAY MAR 1, 2PM 5PM FRIDAY FEB 24, 9:45PM 12:15PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM Jacob, an immigrant from the Ivory Coast in his ‘The Perfumist’ is a dramatic story highlighting the early forties, is the manager of a trendy New York battle of Machine-Equipped Man against Cosmic bar. Having surrendered to the fast and easy life Nature. Seeking the perfect scent for his perfume, of the megalopolis, he womanizes freely using his Benedict Malville runs into the consequences of charm and a fantasized notion of his power as a trampling on sacred, natural ground. traditional African ‘healer’. When Stacy asks Jacob The Fabulous Four group came together to create to help Daniel, the tormented son of her friend their thesis lm at The New York Film Academy. Alima, also an immigrant from Ivory Coast, Jacob Having di erent interests and talents, the group reluctantly agrees. Jacob and Daniel embark on t together to make a strong, and well-rounded a journey through the streets of Manhattan. They team that inspired ambition and perseverance have di culty dealing with each other at rst. But in each other. ‘The Perfumist’ is an equal-parts as their urban adventure continues – evoking the collaboration where they all shared creative and odyssey of a father and son – Jacob and Daniel technical roles. Hailing from four di erent coun- manage to understand each other and exorcise tries, the Fab Four are: Yukari Akaba Rockmuller, Shannon S Lee, Daniela the most intimate pains of their pasts. Lobo Dias, and Sandra Rivero Ortiz. Jaime Mateus-Tique is a New York-based lm producer, writer and direc- tor working in independent world cinema. He has produced eight feature lms in France, Nepal and Argentina, including ‘Entre Les Bras’ (2012), Directed by The Fab Four ‘La Tercera Orilla’ (2014) and ‘Madame Bovary’ (2015) starring Mia Wa- Produced by The Fab Four sikowska. His most recent productions are Julia Solomono ’s’ Nobody’s Watching’ (2016) and Deepak Rauniyar’s ‘White Sun’ (2016). As a writer, he has credit on the French comedy ‘Theoreme de la Chieuse’. THE QUEEN BEE Directed by Jaime Mateus-Tique Produced by Luc Bossi SHORT NORWAY NORWEGIAN 5 MINS THE LIGHT THIEF SATURDAY FEB 25, 4PM 6:30PM At her rst school prom in eight grade Kristin HORROR SPAIN, BAHRAIN SPANISH 19 MINS shows up in a funny costume believing it is a costume ball. Her friends can’t stand the embar- SUNDAY FEB 26, 1PM 3:30PM / THURSDAY MAR 2, 2PM 5:15PM rassment and decide to leave Kristin alone at the When the essence of Love is snatched from some- parking space. When Kristin decides to walk all one and locked away in a vessel with no name , the way back home alone, her trip turns out to be what happens to those persons and how do they very interesting. For once she can be childish and change? How can the broken hearted souls break fun - at least for a couple of hours. that curse and recover from their pain? Can they Kristine Rande is a lmmaker and published regain their spark by overcoming dark supernatu- author from Norway. She nished her bachelor’s ral forces? degree in Motion picture in 2014, at AFDA - The Eva Daoud is an award-winning Bahraini lm South African School of Motion Picture Medium director and producer with over 100 International and Live Performance with a specialisation in Film Festival Screenings to date. Her rst short Directing and Writing. lm was a winner of the Black Pearl Jury Prize for Best Student Film at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival in 2010. Daoud is a graduate of the New York Film Directed by Kristine Rande Academy and holds a degree in Economics and Produced by Kristine Rande, Bjarte Haugen Management. She is experienced in Marketing, Education, Management, Journalism and Broadcasting, and is an avid purveyor of world ancient history and mythology. THE THIEF Directed by Eva Daoud Produced by Juan Aritio, Samer Aljishi SHORT NORWAY NORWEGIAN 5 MINS THE PARTITIONED FRIDAY FEB 24, 9:45PM 12:15PM Nikolai and Aurora are two heart broken children WEB UNITED STATES ENGLISH 7 MINS living in the same neighborhood. They have both lost something very precious, and they handle SATURDAY FEB 25, 7PM 9:30PM their grief in di erent ways. When they suddenly Sara Holden, a telepath who narrowly escaped meet they know nothing about each other, but the Turn, has lived out in seclusion, but now a in the end they realize they have something in group looks to her as their leader and it seems common. as if she may be their only hope of slowing their Kristine Rande is a lmmaker and published extinction. author from Norway. She nished her bachelor’s Schyler Tillett found his start as an actor after at- degree in Motion Picture in 2014, at AFDA - The tending AMDA: College and Conservatory for the South African School of Motion Picture Medium Performing Arts in L.A. He wrote ‘The Partitioned’ and Live Performance, with a specialisation in rst as a short lm in a college screenwriting class, Directing and Writing. but it soon blossomed into a whole new world and series which now serves as his directorial de- Directed by Kristine Rande but. He hopes to continue to unravel the stories of Produced by Øyvind Saugerud those wrongly oppressed, and to focus on telling honest stories of the human experience in future projects. Directed by Schyler Tillett Produced by Abanoub Andraous, Lizabet Sorkin

V ISIT US ATWWWWWW .W INTER F ILM A WARDS . COM P AGE 18 OF 30 WINTER FILM AWARDS WIN- THE VANITY TER TRAIN DRIVER’S DIARY HORROR UNITED STATES ENGLISH 13 MINS FEATURE SERBIA SERBIAN 85 MINS WEDNESDAY MAR 1, 7:45PM 11PM / THURSDAY MAR 2, 2PM 5:15PM SATURDAY FEB 25, 7PM 9:30PM When an artist receives an antique vanity from her Statistics say that during his professional career husband, she becomes obsessed with her appear- every train driver unintentionally kills 15 to 20 ance and possessed by the former owner. people. The victims are those who wanted to Ben Myers is a Manhattan-based artist and entre- commit suicide, the careless ones, drunken ones, preneur, focused on new media and independent or just absentminded ones. The fact that a train lm. Through his experience working in the televi- can’t stop for at least 700 meters automatically re- sion industry (Viacom, BoyWonder Productions, lieves the train drivers of any responsibility. Being YoutubeSpaceNY) he has developed a pantheon thus innocent of numerous deaths makes these of skills as a storyteller, businessman, and techni- mass murderers a group of people with a special cian. Recently he served as Director and DP on mental and psychological pro le. This is a story ‘The Anonymous Lives of John and Jane Season about the innocent murderers and their lives. Ilija 2’. A proud member of SAG-AFTRA and Equity, he is a 60-year-old train driver, close to retiring. He earned his B.S. in TV/ Video and Film from Hofstra holds the infamous record of 28 kills committed University. during his career. Ilija’s 19 years old adopted son Sima is preparing to take over the family... Milos Radovic is a Serbian scriptwriter and director. He has received Directed by Benjamin Myers around 60 international awards for his work (including the Jury Prize at Produced by Alexandra Rose, Rachel Pearl Cannes Film Festival for a short feature lm). He has written and directed three feature lms ‘A Small World’, ‘Falling Into Paradise’ and ‘Train Driver’s Diary’ plus four TV series and ve theatre plays (one of them was staged TO DREAM OFF Broadway). FEATURE UNITED KINGDOM ENGLISH 67 MINS Directed by Milos Radovic TUESDAY FEB 28, 7:45PM 11PM Produced by Lazar Ristovski, Petar Ristovski ‘To Dream’ is a story about friendship, full of hope and intimacy, set against a harsh inner city backdrop. Best friends, Luke and Tommy live in TWO GUYS an unforgiving part of London. Having dropped out of school and still living at home, they’re now WEB UNITED STATES ENGLISH 13 MINS dreaming about what’s next. Their big plan has al- ways been to escape London’s grime and head for SATURDAY FEB 25, 9:45PM 12:15PM / WEDNESDAY MAR 1, 2PM 5PM an American paradise. It’s a dream that’s helped On a hazy afternoon in Brooklyn, Todd and them escape the harsh realities of growing up Clayton hit a creative wall writing their webseries. in abusive homes and it’s a dream that cements Half-baked and totally clueless they search for a their friendship. But when dysfunctional family life muse to break their writer’s block; eventually they intensify’s and Luke’s new love interest threatens stumble upon Dixie. Back at their apartment with to come between them, loyalty leads Tommy to this stranger, things get out of control and Todd make a choice that will change their lives forever. and Clayton get more than they bargained for. Baltimore born, London dweller Nicole Albarelli’s work provides unique Writer, director and editor Mike Kohlbrenner is insight into imperfect worlds. Over the past 4 years, Nicole has directed from the Chicago suburbs. After working four several major label music videos; co-written the play ‘The Heap’, win- years in Los Angeles, he is now an editor and ning world praise at the International Theatre Festival in France; wrote, director based in NYC. He received a BA in Film directed and produced short lm, ‘Trash’, receiving several international studies from the University of Pittsburgh. festival nominations for Best Film and most recently completed her debut feature, ‘To Dream’ which she wrote, directed, produced & crowdfunded. Directed by Michael Kohlbrenner, Bart Cortright Produced by Michael Patrick Kane, Michael Kohlbrenner Directed by Nicole Albarelli Produced by Nicole Albarelli UP ON A CLOUD TOKYO COSMO MUSIC VIDEO UNITED STATES ENGLISH 3 MINS ANIMATED JAPAN ENGLISH 5 MINS SUNDAY FEB 26, 1PM 3:30PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM Two service workers wish to be together else- SUNDAY FEB 26, 6:30PM 9PM / MONDAY FEB 27, 2:40PM 5PM where. Animated music video for The Lark and Living alone in Tokyo, a woman struggles to the Loon’s original duet ‘Up On A Cloud’. ght the stress of her monotonous job and the Peter Steineck is a Motion Designer and Illustrator loneliness of the city each day. One day, her toy from Minnesota. pig awakens to send her into a magical world, and what awaits her there... Directed by Peter Steineck Produced by Je Rolfzen Miyauchi Takahiro is an artist in Tokyo at a CG production house. His student animation lm ‘Children’ earned critical acclaim in Japan and internationally, and his YouTube videos have over 2,500,000 views.

Directed by Takahiro Miyauchi Produced by Takahiro Miyauchi

P AGE 19 OF 30 V ISIT US AT 2016 I NDEPENDENT 2017 INDIE FILM FESTIVAL VIRAL BEAUTY WANNABE FEATURE UNITED STATES ENGLISH 89 MINS SHORT UNITED STATES ENGLISH 7 MINS SATURDAY FEB 25, 9:45PM 12:15PM SATURDAY FEB 25, 1PM 3:30PM Viral Beauty follows the journey of Marsha Day, An average guy named Roy has been living a a brash overweight millennial who posts a con- double life. By day he sleeps on his friends couch... troversial dating ad online in which she seeks a But by night he is a masked vigilante! Created rich, handsome, Ivy League-educated guy. Perez for the 2016 Winter Film Awards 48-Hour Film Hilton, playing himself, introduces her video to a Challenge. mass audience and Marsha skyrockets to online Jamaal Stone grew up in Richmond Virginia. He fame as a target of vicious cyber bullying over moved to New York City almost seven years ago her appearance. As she defends herself against and has been making movies ever since. He loves numerous haters, she gains a cult following and comic books so this was the perfect opportunity lucrative brand endorsement deals begin pouring for him. in, making her a viral hit. With her career soaring, Marsha begins an exciting but rocky relationship Directed by Jamaal Stone with a handsome tness entrepreneur, who is Produced by Jamaal Stone more than meets the eye. David Tyson Lam is a lm director and developer on Wall Street. Having WOMAN WITH VIOLIN received a full scholarship to the prestigious Graduate Acting program from NYU Tisch, and studied lm at The New School, and computer SHORT UNITED STATES RUSSIAN, ENGLISH 19 MINS science and mathematics at University of Waterloo, David migrated into lm, with a focus on developing new forms for cinema by mixing web SUNDAY FEB 26, 3:45PM 6:15PM / WEDNESDAY MAR 1, 2PM 5PM technology and traditional narrative storytelling. ‘Viral Beauty’ is David’s An immigrant woman rushes to a violin audition rst fully-realized feature lm in this style. con dent that she will pass it. Mariam Bakashvili was born and raised in Directed by David Tyson Lam Republic of Georgia. She graduated high school Produced by Casey Killoran, Elizabeth Lam in Ukraine. Soon after she moved to the United States with her family, where she pursued her passion in lm making. She graduated Fairleigh VIVE LA MORT Dickinson University with BA in lm. Her thesis lm ‘Woman With Violin’ is her rst lm. FEATURE GERMANY, AUSTRIA GERMAN 108 MINS Directed by Mariam Bakashvili SUNDAY FEB 26, 3:45PM 6:15PM Produced by Mariam Bakashvili, Adrieliz Lopez 1945. After an anonymous tip, Wehrmacht deserter Paul Gmeiner is questioned by the French occupation and accused of the murder of ZERO M2 a resistance ghter. Under interrogation, he must prove his own version of the events and refute the SHORT FRANCE FRENCH 19 MINS false accusations. SUNDAY FEB 26, 6:30PM 9PM Thomas A Welte is a writer and director. His debut was celebrated with the play ‘Chaos Panic Hyste- After a series of unsuccessful  athuntings in Paris, ria’. It was followed by several short lms and the Paul nds himself nally moving into a nice and full length documentary, ‘S’ Ländle - Ideal World’. a ordable studio. However, he soon notices that In 2012, Welte published his rst novel ‘The Glass something must be clearly going wrong consid- Diamond’. For the play ‘The Interrogation’, he re- ering his neighbours´strange behaviours and the ceived the Work Grant for literature by the BMUKK dubious noises during the night. Besides that, and the Studio Grant in Paliano from Vorarlberg. what if his apartment were shrinking? ‘The Interrogation’ premiered in 2013 at Theater Kosmos in Bregenz. Matthieu Landour is a French director who lives between Paris and London. He began his career in animation lms but now works on several Directed by Thomas A. Welte techniques, such as 2D and 3D, publicity and live Produced by Thomas A. Welte action. Throughout all of his projects, he seeks to develop a visual universe featuring richness of detail and a touch of absurdity. WANDERLUST Directed by Matthieu Landour Produced by PierreEmmanuel Fleurantin SHORT UNITED KINGDOM ENGLISH 10 MINS FRIDAY FEB 24, 9:45PM 12:15PM ZOMBIES A young naive traveller relies on her older brother HORROR ARGENTINA ENGLISH 9 MINS as a guide through endless woods and a wilder- ness with no end in sight, but when her guide SATURDAY FEB 25, 7PM 9:30PM / THURSDAY MAR 2, 2PM 5:15PM suddenly disappears she is forced to re-evaluate A couple is haunted by zombies. Locked and her position in life and dependancy on her unable to escape, they discover that the danger is brother. closer than they think. Barnaby Boulton is a third year Film Production Sebastian Dietsch was born in Mar del Plata, Ar- student at the University of Portsmouth, ‘Wander- gentina in 1979. He studied at the Film Institute of lust’ is his directoral debut. Argentina. He directed music videos, ctions and docurealities to air on TV and cable, and was Di- rector of Photography on documentaries for lm Directed by Barnaby Boulton and TV. His short lm ‘Lila’, was awarded nationally Produced by Joe McAreavey and internationally. Sebastian co-directed the feature ‘Mar del Plata’, which was released in 2013. Directed by Sebastian Dietsch

V ISIT US ATWWWWWW .W INTER F ILM A WARDS . COM P AGE 20 OF 30 WINTER FILM AWARDS WIN- TER

P AGE 21 OF 30 V ISIT US AT V ISIT US AT WINTER FILM AWARDS WIN- TER

P AGE 23 OF 30 V ISIT US AT 2016 I NDEPENDENT 2017 INDIE FILM FESTIVAL FILMMAKERS, LET’S TALK FILMMAKERS, LET’S TALK

V ISIT US AT WWW .W INTER F ILM A WARDS . COM P AGE 24 OF 30 WINTER FILM AWARDS WIN- TER

P AGE 25 OF 30 V ISIT US AT 2016 I NDEPENDENT 2017 INDIE FILM FESTIVAL

V ISIT US AT WWW .W INTER F ILM A WARDS . COM P AGE 26 OF 30 WINTER FILM AWARDS WIN- TER

P AGE 27 OF 30 V ISIT US AT 2016 I NDEPENDENT 2017 INDIE FILM FESTIVAL YOUR NATIONWIDE PRODUCTION DIRECTORY

VARIETY411.COM

V ISIT US AT WWW .W INTER F ILM A WARDS . COM P AGE 28 OF 30 WINTER FILM AWARDS WIN- TER

P AGE 29 OF 30 V ISIT US AT 2016 I NDEPENDENT 2017 INDIE FILM FESTIVAL FESTIVAL SCHEDULE Visit our website at www.WinterFilmAwards.com for details!

THURSDAY FEB 23 SATURDAY FEB 25 SUNDAY FEB 26 MONDAY FEB 27 FILMMAKER’S 1:00 PM-3:30 PM 1:00 PM-3:30 PM 2:40 PM-5:00 PM RECEPTION & . Rabbit Blood . Up On A Cloud ANIMATION + MUSIC VIDEOS OPENING PARTY . Wannabe . 48Z . Blank, the Bird 7:00 PM 11:00 PM . Four Day Weekend . Samurai Two . Blinding . Rainbow Party . The Light Thief . How’s Your Prostate? VISIT WEBSITE FOR DETAILS . Pulling the Plug . Sista in the Brotherhood . Hands of Love ~~~~ . Stone Story . Eye for an Eye ~~~~ 4:00 PM-6:30 PM . Home 3:45 PM-6:15 PM . In The Distance . NAMCAR Night Race Music Video . In the Moog . An Isolated Incident . My Life I Don’t Want . Lila . The Queen Bee . Roxy . Little Dude Anthem . Artun . Woman With Violin . My Kingdom . Suicide . Vive La Mort . Let’s Go . Boulevard of Broken Dreams ~~~~ - INTERMISSION - . Menstruation . Moon of a Sleepless Night FRIDAY FEB 24 . Perfect 6:30 PM-9:00 PM . Live with Me ~~~~ . 7:00 PM-9:30 PM . Tokyo Cosmo My Life I Don’t Want . Zero M2 . One Way Or Another 7:00 PM-9:30 PM . Moon of a Sleepless Night . Single Rules . The Perfumist . Freemales . In The Distance . Beyond the Curtain . Peaceful Life . The Healer . Moral Compass . In the Moog . Rabbit Blood . Creedmoria . The Partitioned . Quarries . Robot Dreams Made Flesh ~~~~ . Phage ~~~~ . Tokyo Cosmo . Nerdvana: The Web Series . Up On A Cloud 9:45 PM-12:15 PM . Zombies 9:15 PM-11:45 PM . NAMCAR Night Race Music Video . The Perfumist . Peaceful Life . Blank, the Bird ~~~~ . Commune . Train Driver’s Diary . The Corpse Series 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM . Dancing In Water ~~~~ . Sociopaths COCKTAILS W/CINEMATCHER . The Challenger Mission: S. Atlantic . Soldier Bee 9:45 PM-12:15 AM . Shoot Me Nicely . Stitched VISIT WEBSITE FOR DETAILS . The Thief . My Kingdom . Feeling Wanted ~~~~ . Laid to Rest . Enora . Little Dude Anthem . Wanderlust . It Wants to be Born . Cheerleader 7:45 PM-10:40 PM . Home . Concurrence . Eye for an Eye . Heavy Objects . Two Guys . Noma: Forgiving Apartheid . Robot Dreams Made Flesh . Entropic . Viral Beauty TUESDAY FEB 28 WEDNESDAY MAR 1 THURSDAY MAR 2 FRIDAY MAR 3 2:00 PM-5:00 PM 2:00 PM-5:00 PM 2:00 PM-5:15 PM 6:00 PM 9:00 PM DOCUMENTARY AFTERNOON NEW YORK CITY ON FILM BLOODY THURSDAY MATINEE DISCUSSION & . A Passion of Gold and Fire . Beyond the Curtain . Commune NETWORKING EVENT . Feeling Wanted . Boulevard of Broken Dreams . It Wants to be Born . Meeting with the Leaf . Concurrence . Laid to Rest THE CASTING PROCESS  . Noma: Forgiving Apartheid . Entropic . Quarries DISCUSSION PANEL - INTERMISSION - . Lucky 13 - INTERMISSION - COCKTAILS & . The Challenger Mission: South Atlantic . Menstruation . The Corpse Series NETWORKING . Perfect - INTERMISSION - . The Light Thief VISIT WEBSITE FOR DETAILS ~~~~ . Moral Compass . The Vanity . Shoot Me Nicely . Zombies 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM . Single Rules ~~~~ FILM, IDENTITY AND SPACE: . Stitched 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM INDIE IRANIAN FILMS . The Healer UNDERSTANDING LEGAL DISCUSSION PANEL . Two Guys SATURDAY MAR 4 ISSUES IN INDIE FILM VISIT WEBSITE FOR DETAILS . Woman With Violin ~~~~ DISCUSSION PANEL GALA RED CARPET ~~~~ 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM VISIT WEBSITE FOR DETAILS AWARDS CEREMONY AND AFTER-PARTY 7:45 PM-11:00 PM GETTING FINANCING ~~~~ DOUBLE FEATURE FOR YOUR INDIE FILM 8:00 PM-11:30 PM 8:00 - 9:00 PM Cocktails . How’s Your Prostate? DISCUSSION PANEL HORROR DOUBLE FEATURE 9:00 - 10:00 PM Ceremony . Meeting with the Leaf VISIT WEBSITE FOR DETAILS . To Dream . Blinding 10:00 PM After Party . Lucky 13 ~~~~ . Dead Awake - INTERMISSION - - INTERMISSION - Club 230 FIFTH . 7:45 PM-11:00 PM . Live with Me One Way Or Another 230 Fifth Avenue . Fuck You Jessica Blair DOUBLE FEATURE . Be Afraid New York NY . Lila . A Passion of Gold and Fire . Rosario . The Curious Life of Piter ER Uculmana - INTERMISSION - . Hands of Love . The Vanity . Rain the Color Blue with a Little Red in it

V ISIT US AT WWW .W INTER F ILM A WARDS . COM P AGE 30 OF 30