Winners will be announced on June 30th.
Back in 2006, Caymanian filmmaker Frank E. Flowers released his first feature film Haven, a dramatic thriller filmed entirely in Cayman, and featuring an impressive ensemble cast. Ten years and a host of industry nominations and awards later, three of the film’s stars – Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Trek), Anthony Mackie (8-Mile, Captain America: Civil War, Triple 9) and Victor Rasuk (Godzilla, 50 Shades of Grey) – are returning to Cayman for CayFilm where Frank E. will be debuting a special cut of the movie never seen before.
“Out of Bounds” directed by Noube Rateau and William Medero goes into an in-depth discussion of how athletes deal with issues of the inner city and how sports could be the vehicle to escape in order to find success.
This documentary brings together for the first time some of the largest local and national names in sports. ESPN’s Stephen A Smith, Jackie Macmillan, and Robert “Scoop” Jackson give their perspectives on the importance of athletes and finding success after sports.
Basketball Division 1 standout Brian Rudolph (New Bedford), All American Matt King (Stoughton), All Conference Kharee Louis Jeune (Brockton), and others are chronicled about their life in the toughest parts of the city and how sports was their ticket out.
Filmmaker will be in attendance for a Q&A at screening.
James V. Hart (J.V.) was born in Shreveport, Louisiana and grew up in Ft. Worth Texas on Drive-In Movies and Saturday Matinees. His writing/producing credits include; HOOK, directed by Steven Spielberg based on an idea by Hart’s then 6 year old Son, Jake, BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND, directed by Brian Henson, and CONTACT, directed by Robert Zemeckis.
Other writing/producing credits include: MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENTSEIN, TUCK EVERLASTING, JACK AND THE BEANSTALK: THE REAL STORY. SAHARA, LARA CROFT: TOMBRAIDER – THE CRADLE OF LIFE, AUGUST RUSH, and EPIC.
Hart is Executive Producer and co-writer on the animated feature, EPIC, with children’s book illustrator and home town friend, SMU graduate, William Joyce, and director-animator Chris Wedge, who created ICE AGE and ROBOTS with Joyce released in 2013.
TV projects include THE REPUBLIC OF PIRATES, AKA CROSSBONES, for NBC with Texas born writing partner, Amanda Welles, and Kurt Vonnegut Jr. series projects, SIRENS OF TITAN, PLAYER PIANO, and 2BR02B, with his son, Jake Hart.
STEELSKIN is his new project in development at Fox for Actor/Director, Andy Serkis, and August Rush producer, Richard Lewis.
“Go with Gravity” is Hart’s primary mantra for the writing life. Never Grow Up! Never Give Up!
This is the story of Eric Murangwa, a soccer player who, since surviving the Rwandan genocide of 1994, has dedicated his life to promoting peace and reconciliation through the sport that saved his life. Eric recounts the special relationship he shared with his teammates, a bond that withstood the horrors of one of the worst atrocities in human history.
While life seems to go on almost normally on the streets of Freetown, Sierra Leone is facing a “Killa Dizez” – another name for Ebola.
This is not a character-driven documentary; rather it is a vision of the ordinary and cruel face of the epidemic. In the hospitals, we encounter different stories and destinies: patients who die, patients who survive, international Ebola workers frustrated by the strength of the virus, local workers who face stigma from their own communities.
To the extent of our knowledge, this documentary shows the only footage ever taken inside the so called “red zone”, the confinement area and ICU ward where highly contagious patients are treated. The author had exclusive access to these wards after undergoing special training for biohazard suits and the decontamination process.
Nico Piro is a special correspondent at Rai, the Italian Public Broadcast network. He independently produced this documentary on holiday, as Rai refused a similar proposal. He couldn’t accept the idea of watching the Ebola crisis through the mainstream media in the world, which was only covering the fate of western patients and not the fate of the millions of West Africans living through this deadly outbreak.
This is an almost-zero-budget, one-man production, made possible with the logistical support of Emergency NGO Milan.
One in three people will suffer from heart disease in their lifetime but only one in a million will thrive from it. HEART: Flatline to Finish Line is the raw, emotional journey of six individuals from hospital beds to the finish line of one of the world’s most grueling endurance events, the IRONMAN® triathlon.
Legendary, Oscar-winning sound designer Ben Burtt will be part of the Star Wars cast and crew reunion taking place at the second annual CayFilm Cayman International Film Festival.
Burtt was the sound designer on both the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film franchises, and is the man behind the creation of some of the most iconic sounds in film, including the hum of the light sabre, Darth Vader’s breathing and even R2-D2’s beeps and boops. His more than 40-year career span as arguably the best sound designer in the business has earned him eight Academy Award nominations and two wins for Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) and Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). Other films he has worked on include
In addition to sound design, Burtt is also an accomplished director and voice actor.
Well-educated Vishwa has a successful career in advertising and a beautiful wife, Samadi but he suffers from severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, which he painfully conceals from the world on a daily basis. Specifically, he fears his own urine—and that it’s contaminating everything around him. Unable to endure his eccentric and strange behavior, Samadi leaves him and moves in with her parents who strongly encourage her separation from Vishwa and angrily blame his parents, whom they believe conspired to hide his illness until his marriage.
Lonely Vishwa loses his job and descends into a life of prescription drug abuse. His illness and addiction escalate, leaving him with little choice—Vishwa reluctantly admits himself to a public mental hospital, knowing there will be heavy social consequences in a culture that greatly stigmatizes mental illness.
At the hospital, Vishwa's eye-opening—and often hilarious—encounters with the other patients gives him a new appreciation for life, helping him to realize all that he has neglected. His blissful memories of Samadi are reawakened and he insists on returning home after only two weeks with the hope of reuniting with his estranged wife. Against the wishes of her parents, Samadi returns to Vishwa but soon realizes he hasn’t changed, and leaves him once again.
Alarmed by Samadi’s resolve, Vishwa realizes he must take control of his illness or forever lose the woman he loves. Determined to win Samadi back, Vishwa has only one option left and must make the most difficult decision of his life.
"Georgian Dance" describes the journey of discovering the music, cultural context, and choreography in Georgian dance. Teeming with epic stage fencing and interviews with scholars, archaeologists, and dancers, "Georgian Dance" translates into film the passion and energy found in the dance.
I am the first-generation daughter of a Puerto Rican mother and half-Puerto Rican, half-Cuban American father. My name is Denise Soler Cox. Born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx, I shared a room with my two older brothers in a two-bedroom apartment. This was home but my parents craved a quieter life and moved us to Westchester County. We were the only Latino family in the entire school district.
Through elementary school, I felt like any other kid in Westchester County. I hardly noticed that there were only we Latinos, three African-Americans and three Asian students at my school. By seventh grade, though, fitting in was not an option. Bullies picked on me, called me a 'spic'. I became a walking target and my ethnicity was the bull’s-eye.
In 1993, I moved to Miami and it was there I had the epiphany that today is Project Enye (ñ). I was out at a restaurant with a group of friends, children of parents from Spanish-speaking countries. As we talked late into the night about our parents, experiences and life, I realized I wanted to make a documentary about the experiences of people who juggle two cultures - the culture at home and the American culture everywhere else.
I began public speaking to school-age kids about growing up Enye (ñ), and my desire to make an Enye (ñ) documentary was reignited. In 2013, after talking to a friend about Enye (ñ), she suggested I call her neighbor who made documentaries. I had no idea I would be sitting down with an Emmy-winning, Academy Award nominated producer. But I guess that was a good thing, because I don’t think I would have had the nerve to meet with him had I known! It wouldn’t be until this meeting, nearly 17 years later.
Henry Ansbacher is a four-time Emmy Award winner and Academy Award Nominee for producing films and television series that raise awareness and motivate change around a social or cultural issue. His films have been broadcast on HBO, the BBC, PBS and on leading networks around the world.
Two Down is the first theatrical feature from Fizz and Ginger Films, whom Screen International (UK), picked for their ‘Stars of Tomorrow’ edition in 2013.
Set in modern day London, Two Down is nevertheless inspired by films of the 1970’s, which gives this clever little thriller an interesting spin in the look, the dialogue and the sound.
After surviving an explosion in Iraq, Mr. Thomas leaves the infuriating desk job the army had created for him and enters the underground world of the contract killer. His brother, Sam, had been caught selling army secrets to the highest bidder and is now working for the illusive Harry Montagu. They use Mr. Thomas as a very effective way of eliminating problems they encounter in their business. That is until Mr. Thomas begins to question whom these problems are that he is removing, and why they deserve this fate. We start the film with Mr. Thomas following a target, a young woman. All is not as it seems as she manages to fight him off long enough for someone in the shadows to shoot him in the back. Thinking him dead they walk away, leaving him to die in the alleyway.
Mr. Thomas, surviving, but injured, manages to get to a safe house owned by a friend. When he arrives however his friend is no longer there but a young woman, Sophie. Through necessity he takes her, and the local take-away delivery boy, hostage and waits for his partner to pick him up. Hours later he is still waiting and over the course of the evening, with the help of a bottle of whiskey and a Chinese take-away, they slowly unravel the events of the evening to discover that Mr. Thomas was set up. Led by a very keen Sophie they try to work out by who and why.
But why is Sophie so eager to get to the bottom of the events of the evening? There is more than one mystery that Mr. Thomas has to solve, and he’s quickly running out of time.
The 70's inspired film features Conleth Hill (Game of Thrones, Suits), Felicity Montagu (Alan Partridge), Amy Manson (Atlantis), Alex Hassell (Anonymous, RSC), Graham Butler (Penny Dreadful), and a host of great British actors. Stephen Fry and Sir Derek Jacobi are Executive Producers and Gareth Jones is co-producer. Directed and written by Matthew Butler and written and produced by Tori Hart.
André Villers discovers photography at 21 at the sanatorium in Vallauris in the south of France where he had been hospitalised for several years, suffering from bone tuberculosis.
Two years later, in 1953, André meets Pablo Picasso who will buy the young photographer his first Rolleiflex camera. The two will later work together on a poetic cut-out album called ‘Diurnes’.
Through Picasso, André has met and photographed some of the greatest artists of the 20th century such as Chagall, Dalí, Miró, Buñuel, Fellini, Brassaï, Cocteau, Prévert, Gainsbourg, Le Corbusier, Léger and many others. However, André has never boasted about it. Throughout his life, he kept a low profile, even though his photographs are known worldwide.
One of the last true great photographers and visual artists waiting to be fully discovered.
Filmmaker will be in attendance for Q&A at screening.
Old anxieties surface on New Year's Eve.
To bring their beloved downtown back from the brink of extinction, a small group of community leaders in Asheville, NC create a museum without walls or admission fees. Ranging from somber classical sculpture to absurdist pop art, Asheville's Urban Trail is now a major tourist attraction that chronicles the history and values of a small mountain town. Even richer than its workmanship, however, are the tales of how it all came to be. Step into a world where people tell their story through art, where pigs can fly, public and private forces can collaborate, and other impossible thing are made real. Walk into history with Asheville's Urban Trail.
A black comedy in which Ella struggles to understand a friend's death, and finds meaning in a box of candy and a belligerent older woman.
Filmmaker will be in attendance for Q&A at screening.
Gary Lucchesi (Producer) serves as President of Lakeshore Entertainment, an independent film company based in Los Angeles. He also serves as the President of the Producer’s Guild of America. Lucchesi executive-produced MILLION DOLLAR BABY, which won the Oscar for Best picture of 2004. The first movie he produced was PRIMAL FEAR, and he has produced many other notable hits since, including THE LINCOLN LAWYER with Matthew McConaughey and Marisa Tomei, the UNDERWORLD franchise, THE UGLY TRUTH, and the CRANK franchise. In the past year he has produced THE AGE OF ADALINE and THE BOY.
Other credits include box office smash THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE, THE GIFT, starring Cate Blanchett, Katie Holmes, Greg Kinnear, Hilary Swank and Giovanni Ribisi, and three Philip Roth novels – THE HUMAN STAIN, ELEGY, and the forthcoming AMERICAN PASTORAL. In addition, Lucchesi was the Executive Producer on the box-office hit RUNAWAY BRIDE, starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.
Prior to becoming an independent producer, Lucchesi was President of Production at Paramount and oversaw such films as GHOST, INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE, FATAL ATTRACTION, THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, COMING TO AMERICA, THE NAKED GUN, THE GODFATHER: PART III, STAR TREK, BLACK RAIN and THE UNTOUCHABLES. He also worked at TriStar Pictures for four years as both Vice President and Senior Vice President of Production. Lucchesi began his career in Los Angeles as an agent for the William Morris Agency.
Filmed in Mozambique, a nation ravaged by deforestation and constant warfare, Ndzou Camp tells the story of a community determined to protect their elephant population and conserve their natural resources while pursuing tourism as a means of a more sustainable future.
In modern-day Africa, elephants are being squeezed into smaller and smaller areas, and, oftentimes, lured by foods they enjoy eating, they will raid and destroy local crops, causing farmers to lose their entire livelihoods due to one overnight raid. These animals inspire fear and anger in those who share their land and are often killed in retaliation.
Ndzou Camp (ndzou means elephant in the local language) has instituted an innovative solution to handling these problems: they set up wire fences with beehives every six meters. When elephants approach and shake the wire, the bees attack and the elephants leave. In addition to allowing for nonviolent means for man and wildlife to live in tandem, the community plans to make a business exporting honey.
The Mpunga community of Mozambique is hours away from an urban center and offers few opportunities for employment for men or women, aside from working in agriculture. Polygamy is a standard practice, with most women being forced into early marriages. Twenty-one-year-old Rute was able to secure a job as a waitress at the camp, the only opportunity she explains, that is available where she can save for her education.
As the residents explain, the benefits of Ndzou Camp, which opened in 2010, go well beyond the creation of 20 full- and part-time jobs. The revenue the camp provides has helped open a school and expand the horizons of women long kept down in this male-dominated, polygamous culture. “What I think will help the community is if we have more schools,” says 21-year-old Rute Fernando Ranguana, who works at the camp and now plans to finish high school and go to college. “Then things will change.”
Today, in Mpunga, the elephant population is thriving; tree nurseries are providing for the re-establishment of the natural forest; and there is a lodge, run on solar energy, which can accompany an influx of tourists. They all provide for economic opportunities that were nonexistent a few years earlier.
An apocalyptic world. A devastated city. One last survivor.
Edgar learned to survive on his own avoiding areas contaminated by the "incident" that destroyed any way of life as we knew it but Edgar's routine is suddenly disrupted by the discovery of a wall with a graffiti by his bed. Just one word reveals the presence of another survivor: "Anna".
In the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, all are welcome at The Slam Bar & Poetry Cafe. The Slam is run by Elaine, the tough proprietor who on any given night serves as MC, bartender, and when necessary - bouncer - all in an effort to make sure everyone feels welcome in her club.
William, a preppy uptown yuppie, is an unlikely regular to The Slam. He's a talented poet desperate to share his unique gift, although he tends to just sit in the back of the bar alone, quietly taking in the performances. Extreme familial pressures coupled with a severe stutter are holding William back from mustering the courage to share his poetry but as Elaine gets to know William, she challenges him to rise above his fears and to once and for all step up to the mic.
Filmed on location in the Lower Ninth Ward, WORDS is a soulful depiction of the city's artistic and cultural hospitality. It's a story of courage, friendship, and self-discovery.
Epiphany is the story of award winning and internationally renowned wildlife photographer Ellen Cuylaerts on her journey to conquer her fear of water and sharks. Witness how she takes every hurdle on her path while, as a mother, guiding her two children and her husband — them having high-functioning autism spectrum disorder — through the complicated social world in life.
Being determined to find the “key” to communicate through the barriers caused by autism, she discovers people affected by autism show a great likeness to animals in the wild. Epiphany will tell you what Ellen discovered and how she applies her knowledge towards animals too, allowing the beholder of her artwork to feel the inner soul of the animal.
Crew will be in attendance for Q&A at screening.
David is a young, struggling writer very alone in the world. Kat is a lost soul recently left homeless by her ex. Both survive on the fringe of life. So when Kat storms into David’s life and throws out the crazy idea that they become an instant couple, David impulsively agrees and moves her into his tiny apartment.
After some wild ups and downs, they make their home into a cave, a safe haven away from the world. But their retreat is fueled as much by drinking and escape as affection. When fantasies of children and a “normal” life compete with their bohemian ways, things turn ugly. Out of their cave, in the sober light of day, can David and Kat’s love survive?
After the death of his beloved wife in a devastating fire, Jonathon Soter's life is in ruins. Drinking to excess and barely holding down his job as a teacher, he's a man lost with nothing to live for but the sudden news that the boy who killed his wife, Scottish born Donald McKinley, has been released early from prison, brings monumental change for Soter. He begins a journey to a small coastal town, where he hopes to find his tormentor, to find an answer and perhaps to ultimately find redemption. Exploring themes of forgiveness, revenge and the tragedy of an existence locked in the past, Ashes is a complex character study and a dramatic modern fable.
What is the ocean saying if we could hear its voice? This is the question that brought me from Florida to live with the Bajau in Indonesia. As a filmmaker, I wanted to share the life of people who live intimately with the sea.
The Bajau are a sea nomadic group who have lived on the ocean for centuries. I wanted to see the ocean through their eyes and hear the ocean's voice.
"The Call from the Sea" addresses the future of our oceans and what we are leaving behind. It is a personal and poetic story about life as a Bajau and how our actions affect their world, ten thousand miles away.
Push Across America
In 2013, Ryan Chalmers pushed his racing chair from Los Angeles to New York City to build awareness for the potential of all persons with disabilities. Mr. Chalmers left Los Angeles on April 6th, and arrived in New York City 71 days later on June 15th, having covered 3,321 miles, crossing 18 states and the District of Columbia. He pushed with determination, passion, and commitment and inspired many persons with disabilities to pursue their dreams.
Mr. Chalmers, himself, born with spina bifida, had dreamed from the age of eight to one day be a Paralympic athlete, a dream he realized as a member of Team USA at the Paralympic Games in London in 2012. As Mr. Chalmers has stated: “Don’t let disabilities get in the way of doing something great.”
“Out of Bounds”, directed by Noube Rateau and William Medero, goes into an in-depth discussion of how athletes deal with issues of the inner city, and how sports could be the vehicle to escape in order to find success.
This documentary brings together for the first time some of the largest local and national names in sports. ESPN’s Stephen A Smith, Jackie Macmillan, and Robert “Scoop” Jackson give their perspectives on the importance of athletes and finding success after sports.
Basketball Division 1 standout Brian Rudolph (New Bedford), All American Matt King (Stoughton), All Conference Kharee Louis Jeune (Brockton), and others are chronicled about their life in the toughest parts of the city and how sports was their ticket out.
Filmmaker will be in attendance for Q&A at screening.
Gods in Shackles is a feature-length documentary film, an exposé revealing the dark side of the southern Indian state of Kerala's glamorous cultural festivals that exploit temple elephants for profit under the guise of culture and religion.
We call this film Gods in Shackles as it features the embodiment(s) of Lord Ganesha - a Hindu God with an elephant face – the endangered Asian elephants that are being tortured in religious rituals and cultural festivals. This film challenges cultural and religious practices that condone torture of elephants that have been created by the same God they worship.
By exposing the abhorrent torture suffered by India's heritage animal, Gods in Shackles offers hope to the thousands of endangered captive and wild elephants in India through heightened awareness that will inspire key stakeholders and policy makers to enhance the living conditions of these highly social animals.
The emotional story unfolds against a stunning backdrop in India. To amplify the beat of this film, we have gathered approximately 300 hours of powerful footage, including some shocking undercover footage. Gods in Shackles is a story that has never been told before; it is visually stunning, entertaining, edgy, and fast-paced magnified by cultural and classical musical score. It features leading edge motion graphics accompanied by animations.
Gods in Shackles will touch the hearts of people and empower them with knowledge, hope and confidence that will propel them to take positive actions and protect the endangered Asian elephants.
We followed the lives of four celebrity elephants for a year - three male festival elephants, and one female temple elephant. A fifth male elephant named “Sundar” made international headlines. He gives hope to thousands of temple elephants across Asia. We have filmed his story from capture to torture to neglect, and finally, his release into a wildlife sanctuary.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" - Edmund Burke
What is going through a man’s mind when his family is killed in front of his eyes? What is it like to be a prisoner of war and to undergo torture? Endless Corridor is the definitive account of the heart-rending human rights tragedy in1992 when hundreds of Azerbaijanis were massacred after Armenians stormed the city of Khojaly.
It happened in 1992, but the full story has not been told throughout the world until now. And its lessons are as relevant today as they were over 20 years ago.
The historical documentary is presented to the audience through the eyes and words of a brave Lithuanian journalist who went on a quest for truth and the on camera testimony of the victims and participants of the events. A musician who lost his wife in one night and spent two months in captivity where his musician hands became the object of torture. A mother who gave birth and almost lost her newborn daughter if it had not been for the help of a Russian journalist who was covering the war but became part of the story.
The filmmakers have brought together for the first time in 20 years the heroes and the victims and the witnesses to give testimony to this tragic event.
“They are not famous names – journalists Richard Lapaitis and Victoria Ivleva, mother and survivor Meribahn and musician/teacher Valeh. Their stories, and those of witnesses and activists must be told and hopefully some good will come from the truth,” said producer /director Aleksandras Brokas. “History is written differently, though truth must be told. Sometimes to realize it, a nation must overcome its fear and go through repentance.”
Endless Corridor was produced and directed by Aleksandras Brokas. Winner of Accolade Global Film Competition (The Best of Show)
Narrated by Academy Award Winner Jeremy Irons.
American Emmy Award winner (Joseph) Gerald Rafshoon is the Executive Producer.
Two Down is the first theatrical feature from Fizz and Ginger Films, whom Screen International (UK), picked for their ‘Stars of Tomorrow’ edition in 2013.
Set in modern day London, Two Down is nevertheless inspired by films of the 1970’s, which gives this clever little thriller an interesting spin in the look, the dialogue and the sound.
After surviving an explosion in Iraq, Mr. Thomas leaves the infuriating desk job the army had created for him and enters the underground world of the contract killer. His brother, Sam, had been caught selling army secrets to the highest bidder and is now working for the illusive Harry Montagu. They use Mr. Thomas as a very effective way of eliminating problems they encounter in their business. That is until Mr. Thomas begins to question whom these problems are that he is removing, and why they deserve this fate. We start the film with Mr. Thomas following a target, a young woman. All is not as it seems as she manages to fight him off long enough for someone in the shadows to shoot him in the back. Thinking him dead they walk away, leaving him to die in the alleyway.
Mr. Thomas, surviving, but injured, manages to get to a safe house owned by a friend. When he arrives however his friend is no longer there but a young woman, Sophie. Through necessity he takes her, and the local take-away delivery boy, hostage and waits for his partner to pick him up. Hours later he is still waiting and over the course of the evening, with the help of a bottle of whiskey and a Chinese take-away, they slowly unravel the events of the evening to discover that Mr. Thomas was set up. Led by a very keen Sophie they try to work out by who and why.
But why is Sophie so eager to get to the bottom of the events of the evening? There is more than one mystery that Mr. Thomas has to solve, and he’s quickly running out of time.
The 70's inspired film features Conleth Hill (Game of Thrones, Suits), Felicity Montagu (Alan Partridge), Amy Manson (Atlantis), Alex Hassell (Anonymous, RSC), Graham Butler (Penny Dreadful), and a host of great British actors. Stephen Fry and Sir Derek Jacobi are Executive Producers and Gareth Jones is co-producer. Directed and written by Matthew Butler and written and produced by Tori Hart.
Two shady guys in dark suits. A mysterious girl out of nowhere. A gloomy figure in a parking garage. All of them looking for the same thing, a black folder from New York. And all of them seem to think that it’s Tim who can lead them to it and help them understand its contents.
For a few days Tim thought his girlfriend leaving him would be the most drastic event in his life for a while but suddenly he discovers there is something very strange going on around him and he'd better figure out what it is. Does he maybe know more than he thinks?
While vacationing on a picture-postcard perfect Caribbean beach, a trio of friends is drawn into a dangerous con when they become involved with a charismatic stranger.
Sean Hodgkinson is a writer, director and producer. After finishing his first degree in Environmental Policy and Geography at Brock University in Canada, Sean returned to Trinidad where serendipity allowed him to attain his dream working as a production coordinator in the industry he wanted to be a part of.
Sean pursued a certificate in Filmmaking from the London Film Academy in 2009 and has enjoyed consistent success since. In 2010, he started writing his first screenplay and two years later, A Story About Wendy premiered at the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival (ttff) 2012. The film’s success inspired Sean to write A Story About Wendy 2, which premiered at the Zanzibar International Film Festival in June 2014 and also screened at the ttff/14 where it won the People’s Choice award for Best Narrative Feature.
Trafficked is Sean’s second feature film, copping the award for Best Trinidad and Tobago feature at the ttff/14, and has since screened in several international film festivals in Cannes, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.
Sean is presently working on the ensemble short film, “The Weekend,” which is slated for release in late 2016.
During the 1960s, Watts worked extensively as a production manager and location manager, including on Darling (1965) starring Julie Christie and Dirk Bogarde, the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice and Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).
Watts was employed by producer Gary Kurtz as production supervisor on Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, having met Kurtz several years earlier in Los Angeles. Watts then enjoyed a long collaboration with George Lucas and Lucasfilm, working as associate producer on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and co-producer on Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi; and as associate producer on Raiders of the Lost Ark and producer on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. He also worked on other Steven Spielberg-presented productions including as producer on Who Framed Roger Rabbit and An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, and with Spielberg’s long-term producer Frank Marshall on Marshall’s second feature as director, Alive.
Director & Lead Actors Bio
Jeff Tan (Director) was born and raised in Long Island, NY and studied Film and Television at Hofstra University. For the past 10 years, Jeff’s credit’s include being a cinematographer to some of the top rated non-scripted shows on television such as The Bachelor, Jersey Shore and Project Runway. Mother’s Day is Jeff’s film directorial debut and he considers himself very blessed to have such a talented cast and crew for it.
Gabriel Furman (Jay) of Queens, NY is an actor, dancer, comedian and writer. Gabriel has studied and performed comedy at UCB and The Pit. His recent acting credits include Netflix’s Daredevil, NBC’s Forever, Taxi Brooklyn, USA’s White Collar, Judas in The Actors Studio Production of Pulitzer Prize winning author Stephen Adly Guirgis' 'The Last Days of Judas Iscariot', directed by Academy Award Winner Estelle Parsons. He also starred opposite Ellen Burstyn as Yasha in The Actors Studio Production of The Cherry Orchard. Gabriel also wrote produce and starred opposite Academy Award Winner Melissa Leo in 'Mother's Day'. The Short Film was chosen as an Official Selection in over 40 Film Festivals including The Rhode Island International Film Festival, Cannes Short Film Corner, and HollyShorts, among others. He has previously worked as a special effects artist in TV and film, as well as a professional DJ and Break-dancer. Gabriel, a member of The Actor’s Studio, loves flea markets and is always searching for a story to capture.
Melissa Leo (Mary): Born & raised in New York City, Melissa Leo is an Emmy/Academy Award Winning actress & producer, known for The Fighter (2010), Prisoners (2013), Oblivion (2013), and Wayward Pines. Melissa is an active member and is on the board of The Actors Studio.
Lilly (47) is a divorced mother of two – Martin, who has recently come of age, and the little Alexandra (5). One cold winter evening Martin takes Alexandra from kindergarten. In the dark streets of the neighborhood they become a part of a tragic accident that hardly can be forgotten or erased. Lilly and her kids have to make tough decisions, the consequences of which will change their life for good.
Co-production Bulgaria - Italy
Filmmaker will be in attendance for Q&A at screening.
André Villers discovers photography at 21 at the sanatorium in Vallauris in the south of France where he had been hospitalised for several years, suffering from bone tuberculosis.
Two years later, in 1953, André meets Pablo Picasso who will buy the young photographer his first Rolleiflex camera. The two will later work together on a poetic cut-out album called ‘Diurnes’.
Through Picasso, André has met and photographed some of the greatest artists of the 20th century such as Chagall, Dalí, Miró, Buñuel, Fellini, Brassaï, Cocteau, Prévert, Gainsbourg, Le Corbusier, Léger and many others. However, André has never boasted about it.
Throughout his life, he kept a low profile, even though his photographs are known worldwide.
One of the last true great photographers and visual artists waiting to be fully discovered.
An apocalyptic world. A devastated city. One last survivor.
Edgar learned to survive on his own avoiding areas contaminated by the "incident" that destroyed any way of life as we knew it but Edgar's routine is suddenly disrupted by the discovery of a wall with a graffiti by his bed. Just one word reveals the presence of another survivor: "Anna".
Gods in Shackles is a feature-length documentary film, an exposé revealing the dark side of the southern Indian state of Kerala's glamorous cultural festivals that exploit temple elephants for profit under the guise of culture and religion.
We call this film Gods in Shackles, as it features the embodiment(s) of Lord Ganesha - a Hindu God with an elephant face – the endangered Asian elephants that are being tortured in religious rituals and cultural festivals. This film challenges cultural and religious practices that condone torture of elephants that have been created by the same God they worship.
By exposing the abhorrent torture suffered by India's heritage animal, Gods in Shackles offers hope to the thousands of endangered captive and wild elephants in India through heightened awareness that will inspire key stake holders and policy makers to enhance the living conditions of these highly social animals.
The emotional story unfolds against a stunning backdrop in India. To amplify the beat of this film, we have gathered approximately 300 hours of powerful footage, including some shocking undercover footage. Gods in Shackles is a story that has never been told before; it is visually stunning, entertaining, edgy, and fast-paced magnified by cultural and classical musical score. It features leading edge motion graphics accompanied by animations. Gods in Shackles will touch the hearts of people and empower them with knowledge, hope and confidence that will propel them to take positive actions and protect the endangered Asian elephants.
We followed the lives of four celebrity elephants for a year - three male festival elephants, and one female temple elephant. A fifth male elephant named “Sundar” made international headlines. He gives hope to thousands of temple elephants across Asia. We have filmed his story from capture to torture to neglect, and finally, his release into a wildlife sanctuary.
Avital Zeisler is a self-defense expert and motivational speaker. This once professional dancer, who trained at the National Ballet School of Canada, overcame the trauma of an assault, leading her to re-define self-defense for herself and other women. After studying self-defense in Israel, she began her career as a hand to hand combat instructor, specializing in Krav Maga, the self-defense system of the Israeli Defense Forces. In addition to her street self defense training, Avital also has a strong foundation in the martial arts. This includes: Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo. Avital has had the privilege of working with military personnel, law enforcement and security specialists around the world. Avital’s work and teaching experience covers a wide range of specialized topics including: Close Quarter Civilian Protection, Violence Prevention Tactics, Security Operational Planning & Consulting, and Military Style Athletic Conditioning. In addition to her self-defense instruction, Avital is a certified ACE (American Council of Exercise) personal fitness trainer.
Avital brings a unique and authentic approach to self-defense when taught to women. Avital strongly endorses the concept that all individuals should have the knowledge to protect themselves. In this regard, she has developed her signature self defense training system known as The Soteria Method.™ Her system brings women a unique and exclusive method of self-defense, fitness and empowerment - as a guide towards living life to it’s fullest, while being armed with the knowledge to defend themselves mentally and physically against a violent threat or attack. The Soteria Method™ offers several types of programs including: Corporate Seminars, Public Workshops and Community and School Programs. Avital travels globally to bring her program to women everywhere.
Avital also trains and works with several actors for their roles on popular television shows such as The Blacklist (NBC), The Americans (FX Network), and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.(ABC).
So whether teaching a corporate seminar to executives, introducing a group of high school girls to self defense or sharing her knowledge on The Huffington Post, Avital strongly endorses the concept that women take charge of their safety; thus affording women the ability to live and protect their best life. She lives her life as a testament to her belief that trauma can be overcome in a positive and meaningful way.
Epiphany is the story of award winning and internationally renowned wildlife photographer Ellen Cuylaerts on her journey to conquer her fear of water and sharks. Witness how she takes every hurdle on her path while, as a mother, guiding her two children and her husband — them having high-functioning autism spectrum disorder — through the complicated social world in life.
Being determined to find the “key” to communicate through the barriers caused by autism, she discovers people affected by autism show a great likeness to animals in the wild. Epiphany will tell you what Ellen discovered and how she applies her knowledge towards animals too, allowing the beholder of her artwork to feel the inner soul of the animal.
"Absolutely Everyone" - Music Video
While on Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Agent S fell in love with the bad guy. He escaped with her heart and millions in the crown jewels. Her mission seemed to be a failure. But now the one that got away is back, and the best way to ensnare him is with an evening full of the same romance from the night that was their last. Will he smell the trap? Can Agent S bring herself to spring it? You are cordially invited to the social event of the season to find out.
ABOUT POSH HAMMER:
In the wild mountains just outside music mecca Asheville, North Carolina, lives a trio of teenage siblings with old soul and retro hair. These teens play original pop-rock based music. Combining perfectly crafted hooks and catchy choruses with the energy of rock n’ roll. Start with The Beatles, layer in some David Bowie and Roxy Music, and then add The Cars or The Killers...voila! Posh Hammer’s influences.
Follow us on a journey from the West African pearl divers of the 1700s, through the 1800s US Jim Crow era, and the stratification of US swimming, to the indigenous athletic tradition of the Caribbean swimmers, to the epidemic drowning levels in African-American communities... and finishing with the mythical story of the championship run of Cullen Jones, three women named Simone, Lea and Natalie and a Young boy named Reece and everything in between. ONE LOVE. (This movie was co-executive produced by Cayman Olympic swimmer Shaune Fraser and features both Shaune and his brother Brett)
The filmmakers will be in attendance for Q&A at screening.
Elstree 1976 is a feature-length documentary looking at the lives of the people behind the masks and beneath the helmets in the original Star Wars. It focuses on the community of British character actors who were intimately involved with a pop culture phenomenon. The cast includes David Prowse (Darth Vader), Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett) and Paul Blake (Greedo).
Maxiumum 500 people.
Sean Hodgkinson is a writer, director and producer. After finishing his first degree in Environmental Policy and Geography at Brock University in Canada, Sean returned to Trinidad where serendipity allowed him to attain his dream working as a production coordinator in the industry he wanted to be a part of.
Sean pursued a certificate in Filmmaking from the London Film Academy in 2009 and has enjoyed consistent success since. In 2010, he started writing his first screenplay and two years later, A Story About Wendy premiered at the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival (ttff) 2012. The film’s success inspired Sean to write A Story About Wendy 2, which premiered at the Zanzibar International Film Festival in June 2014 and also screened at the ttff/14 where it won the People’s Choice award for Best Narrative Feature.
Trafficked is Sean’s second feature film, copping the award for Best Trinidad and Tobago feature at the ttff/14, and has since screened in several international film festivals in Cannes, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.
Sean is presently working on the ensemble short film, “The Weekend,” which is slated for release in late 2016.
I am the first-generation daughter of a Puerto Rican mother and half-Puerto Rican, half-Cuban American father. My name is Denise Soler Cox. Born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx, I shared a room with my two older brothers in a two-bedroom apartment. This was home but my parents craved a quieter life and moved us to Westchester County. We were the only Latino family in the entire school district.
Through elementary school, I felt like any other kid in Westchester County. I hardly noticed that there were only we Latinos, three African-Americans and three Asian students at my school. By seventh grade, though, fitting in was not an option. Bullies picked on me, called me a 'spic'. I became a walking target and my ethnicity was the bull’s-eye.
In 1993, I moved to Miami and it was there I had the epiphany that today is Project Enye (ñ). I was out at a restaurant with a group of friends, children of parents from Spanish-speaking countries. As we talked late into the night about our parents, experiences and life, I realized I wanted to make a documentary about the experiences of people who juggle two cultures - the culture at home and the American culture everywhere else.
I began public speaking to school-age kids about growing up Enye (ñ), and my desire to make an Enye (ñ) documentary was reignited. In 2013, after talking to a friend about Enye (ñ), she suggested I call her neighbor who made documentaries. I had no idea I would be sitting down with an Emmy-winning, Academy Award nominated producer. But I guess that was a good thing, because I don’t think I would have had the nerve to meet with him had I known! It wouldn’t be until this meeting, nearly 17 years later.
Henry Ansbacher is a four-time Emmy Award winner and Academy Award Nominee for producing films and television series that raise awareness and motivate change around a social or cultural issue. His films have been broadcast on HBO, the BBC, PBS and on leading networks around the world.
"Georgian Dance" describes the journey of discovering the music, cultural context, and choreography in Georgian dance. Teeming with epic stage fencing and interviews with scholars, archaeologists, and dancers, "Georgian Dance" translates into film the passion and energy found in the dance.
