Team DWF Founders SCREENING COMMITTEE Leslee Scallon Ayesha Adamo Michael Trent Anisa Alamia Producing Partner Cindy Baer Jackie Tepper Todd Bartoo Dean Berdusis Senior Producers Kerri Borsuk Vince Duvall Caroline Bowling Ariana Farina Nick Casalini Marcella Casey TOGETHER WE ROAR Al Chan Red Carpet Producer Evan Cholfin Evan Choflin Kenny Christie We welcome you to an amazing 23rd year of introducing our CONTENTS: Tom Desch unique brand of truly independent films to the industry, and to Dpak Opening Night Film 3 Charles Disney audiences throughout the world. The Lobby Team Feature Competition 5-17 Tim Strader Leilani Downer Jose Ortega Tyler Drey Let’s face it: we all love watching movies at our local theatres. Feature Fusion Series 19 Juanita Duncan Unleashed Features 21 Lindsey Smith-Sands Kerim Duran But as we reach out to you virtually, warm up to this: nothing Closing Night Film 23 Technical Director Vince Duvall truly beats the comfort of your own couch with that cushion Markel Eatmon Midnight Series 25-31 Kerim Duran Ariana Farina groove made just by you. It goes so perfectly with your favor- Simon Fink Documentaries 32-39 Logistics Coordinator ite homemade beverage and an honest meal - or that bowl of Tamar Fortgang DownBeat 41-47 Kenny Christie Yo Frank popcorn seasoned just so. Reshaun Frear Shorts Competition 48-59 BTS Producer Nicole Goldstein Shorts Fusion Series 60-65 Bennie Woodell Shevanthie Goonesekera Now it’s not going to replace the awe of a 60 foot wide screen, Sylvia Guerra the aroma of theater popcorn, the sound of the bubbles pop- Unleashed Shorts 66-67 Press Relations Ben Guppie ping in your soda, or the crackle of the plastic wrapper as you Television 68-71 Samantha Waranch Jeremy Guy JAG Entertainment Melissa Hacker unwrap your favorite junk candy. Yet the content is still here Web 72-75 Dan Halperin to crackle, sizzle and illuminate. We have it all here: features, Dances With Kidz! 76-85 Office Guru Jasmine Holdsworth Timothy Strader Pam Jackson documentaries, short films, TV pilots, webisodes, music vid- Brian Kallies eos, films for kids, and films BY kids. Social Media Caroline Kamya Lindsey Smith-Sands Julia Kipnis Craig Kuehne How grateful we are for these storytellers who bring us togeth- Filmmaker Lounge Master Ally Lantz JT Seaton Lana Mason er. Even as we sit in our own homes, on those couches, we see Muriel Montgomery the world through their eyes, and for those moments - we feel Festival Trailer Shane Morton more connected in this world where everything has changed. Jeffrey Williams - Editor Jane Mote Claudia Murdoch Award Statue Artist Karolyn Nelson There may not be someone seated next to you, or in front or John Berry Chie Nomaki SPECIAL THANKS! Jose Ortega behind you, but there is still someone watchingwith you. Program Chairs: Marcus Ovnell Med Abrous Thomas Larsen Richard Parizer Tracey Adlai Frank Leon How grateful we are for all of you, out there like we are, trying FEATURES Rae Parsons Buster Akery Kenna Luguri Ariana Farina Tamra Paselk Louisa Alfaro Mike Lynn every day to exhalt what unites us instead of what divides us. Dale Peterson Gregg Allen Mike & Terry Mattis ADVISORY BOARD Tyree Reels SHORTS Mauro Almazan Betsy McColl Together we roar. Leslee Scallon Patricia Rigney Todd Bartels Lisa McIntyre Effie Brown Ashley Sands Effie Brown Angel Miramontes Cindy Cowan Lindsey Sands-Smith Shirani Sbartanam Wayne Chaplin Michael Nusinow Leslee Scallon Jonathan Dana Tierza Scaccia Jonathan Clough Colin McCormack Michael Trent DOCUMENTARY Marc Schmidt Steve Elzer Mayra Comelio Lisa McIntyre Founders Debbie Vandermeulen Tammy Simms Michael Conor Angel Miramontes Jane Fleming Brenda Sims Dyane Davenport Sergio Petrina Kevin Kasha DANCES WITH PILOTS Jed Smith Nicole Domanti Melissa Parker Robinson Srjdjan Stakic Eriq La Salle Anisa Alamia Mike Drake Brian Rowe Timothy Strader Brett Dunne Vane Russo Michael Lehmann Jennifer Taylor Lawrence Chad Elbert Carrie Scallon Mike Macari DOWNBEAT Jackie Tepper Randy Garza Jocelyn Scallon Valerie McCaffrey Evan J. Cholfin Tyler Traband Darrien Michelle Gipson Cory Scott Debbie Vandermeulen Stephanie Green Richard Scott Mark V. Olsen MIDNIGHT Kelly Lloyd Watson Lisa Ha Stephanie Sigel Joel Ordesky J.T. Seaton Jeff Williams Chris Halverson Syrinthia Studer Mark Ordesky Bennie Woodell Winkie WongR Peter Hansen Sweet! obert Woodcock Christian Heintze Adam Taylor Melissa Orlen DANCES WITH KIDZ Bennie Woodell Sharon Jennings Billy Bob Thompson Will Scheffer Leslee Scallon Jamie Zekofsky Donovan Koster Zoe, Dexter, Lucy, Hilton Smith Boo Boo & Lucky! David Spiegelman KIDZ! Steve Tisch SCREENING COMMITTEE Steve Wegner Jocelyn Scallon Jonah Twardosz Ethan Twardosz Bevin Walsh Opening Night! THE THURSDAY, AUGUST 27 @ 6:30PM DEFINITIVE MUSIC WORLD Premiere | USA, 2020, 110 min. WRITERS: Natalie Shampanier & Inon Shampanier DIR: Inon Shampanier PRODS: Anne Clements, Ash Christian CAST: Lili Taylor, Stefania LaVie Owen, Peyton List, Ian Nelson, David Rasche, LIBRARY Max Casella, Michael Cyril Creighton, Tom Papa Inspiring every production with the world’s Recently-widowed Dawn experiences growing anxiety as her daughter Melanie plans to move away for college. An altercation with a hostile new neighbor aggravates Dawn’s most robust and constantly refreshed music mental condition and she begins to show signs of paranoid delusions. Melanie attempts a series of interventions, but Dawn’s paranoia spirals out of control. Challenging Dawn’s collection, state-of-the-art technology, reality of persecution threatens to destroy their loving relationship. Melanie is forced to make the toughest of choices as she struggles to keep her mother afloat. A bittersweet and world-class customer service. story about coming of age in the shadow of mental illness. “BELOVED BY FILMMAKERS, MUSIC SUPERVISORS, AND EDITORS FOR OVER 30 YEARS!” “820,000 EASILY LICENSABLE TRACKS FOR YOUR FILM.” PRINT SOURCE: PAPER SPIDERS LLC apmmusic.com [email protected] Feature Competition WORLD5-CENT Premiere LIFE USA, 2020, 98 min. WRITERS/PRODS: Yueh Phoebe Liu, Emily Stouffer DIR: Yueh Phoebe Liu CAST: Hana Wu, Leann Lei, Allen Theosky Rowe, Alexandre Chen, Gavin Lee, Michelle Sun, Yohan Lee, Jimmy Tang The true story of Lin Zhao who lived through the Chinese Civil War and the rise of the Communists. She attended a Christian school, but rejected Christian dogma and threw herself into Communist activity. During Mao’s 100-Flowers Movement, Lin Zhao answered the party’s call for feedback, declaring that it should respect political freedom. After a swift reversal of policy, the authorities- ar rested her. In prison, Lin Zhao was tortured, and abused. During her 8-year incarceration, Lin Zhao defiantly wrote over 200,000 characters in her own blood on her sheets, uniforms, and cell walls refusing to back down. PRINT SOURCE: Emily Stouffer, Harmony Moon Pictures, Inc. | 214-714-4244 | [email protected] SOUTHERN12 DAYS CALIFORNIA OF Premiere CHRISTMAS USA, 2019, 87 min. WRITER/DIR: Michael Boyle PROD: Maggie Phillips CAST: Annie Newton, Drew Petriello, Katee Shean, Spencer Paez, Natasha Gualy, Geoffrey James Childhood friends Amy and Steve return home from their first college semester for what they hope will be a relaxed winter break. However, when a night of drinking blurs the boundaries of friend- ship, Amy and Steve find themselves with a holiday surprise: an unplanned pregnancy. Over the course of twelve days, these friends must deal with their unwanted Christmas miracle while navi- gating turbulent reunions, unspoken romances, and a New Year’s party gone off the rails. Featur- ing a soundtrack of reimagined Christmas classics, 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS shows for better or for worse, there’s no place like home for the holidays! PRINT SOURCE: Michael Boyle | 215-595-3054 | [email protected] Feature Competition WORLDDON’T Premiere READ THIS ON A PLANE AUSTRALIA/ROMANIA, 2020, 87 min. icaWe are honored judges to welcome the judges for the 2020 Industry Choice Award for Projects Under 40 Minutes Jon Silk currently serves as Executive Vice President of Production at Legendary Entertainment and has worked on films including Pacific Rim Uprising, Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Dwayne Johnson’s Skyscraper. Prior to joining Legendary, he worked at Studio 8 as Vice President of Cre- ative and worked on films White Boy Rick, starring Matthew McConaughey, among other projects. Prior to that, he spent six years at Lin Pictures and focused on identifying intellec- tual properties with franchise potential, and was instrumen- tal in bringing in Stephen King’s novel It. He has an executive producer credit on the movie that has made more than $650 million worldwide. WRITER/DIR: Stuart McBratney Ruth Vitale has been at the forefront of independent PRODS: Laszlo Kun, Stuart McBratney film production and distribution for more than three de- CAST: Sophie Desmarais, Allen C Gardner, Eugene Gilfedder, Dorotheea Petre cades, including as Founder and Co-President of Para- Novelist Jovana Fey’s first two books failed commercially. Her third, ‘Don’t Read This on a Plane’, mount Classics and as President of Fine Line Features. is an amusing, risqué chronicle of a married woman’s dalliances with a hundred women. Jovana During her tenure at these companies, she launched the hopes for acclaim. careers of many successful filmmakers such as Paul Green- Upon checking into the first hotel of her three-week European book tour, she discovers her pub- grass, Sofia Coppola, Scott Hicks, John Hillcoat, and Craig lisher has gone bankrupt. Penniless and stranded, she hitchhikes and sleeps rough to give readings Brewer. She has also worked with established talent such across Europe while attempting to project success. as Sam Raimi, Roger Michell, Jonathan Demme, Paul W.S. Her reluctance to deny or acknowledge her book’s autobiographical nature attracts reader and Anderson, Patrice Leconte, and Barbet Schroeder. Her films media interest. But with her resilience tested daily, she questions whether dreams are worth the have won three Oscars® and received 16 nominations as struggle.