So What
So What | 16 mins
An aspiring comedian looks to make her mark but finds only disillusionment.
Credits
Written and Directed By Joshua Akinwumi, Edited By Joshua Akinwumi, Associate Producers - Jeremy Coyle, Trence Wilson Gillem, Michael Patrick McCarthy, Director of Photography – Jeremy Coyle, Assistant Director – Trence Wilson Gillem, Line Producers - Joelle Ransom, Gillian Harrill, Sound Recordist – Mavis Ofori Brown, Lil Joyce, Sydney Relihan, Shannon O’Shea, Leo Makebish, Andie Kim, Shuqian Lyu, Lauren Thomas, Costume Designers - Sarah E. Bernstein, Lisa L. Boquist, Lighting Design – Steven Blasberg, Prop Master/Set Decorator/Scenic Artist – Tim Ostrander, Production and Scenic Designers – Jason Simms, Savannah Relos, Alfred J. Bernstein
Cast:
Julian – Michael Patrick McCarthy, Tobi – Sidney Malia Waite, Greg – Liam Butler Tad, Guest – Richard Beezley, Abraham – Chris Dawson, Bethany – Phoebe McKinley, Cristina – Carley Robinson, Audience Members – Taylor Bazos, Abigail Gora, Jack Kubinec, Shannon O’Shea, Sydney Relihan, Angela Yuan, Lindsey Forg, Adam Shulman, Gillian Harrill
Burn
Burn | 21 mins
Ignoring the threat of an oncoming blizzard, Cleo travels back to her childhood home and discovers how far she’ll go to move on from the past.
Credits
Director - Shannon O’Shea, Director of Photography - Jeremy Coyle, 1st Assistant Camera - Saif Leonardo Tariq Quraishi, 1st Assistant Director - Phan Anh Nguyen, Sound Recordists - Joshua Akinwumi, Sydney Relihan, Saif Leonardo Tariq Quraishi, Boom Operators - Joshua Akinwumi, Jean Hyun Kim, Jack Muench, Production Assistant - Andie Kim, Props & Scenic Design - Tim Ostrander, Scale Model Build - Savannah Relos, Fritz Bernstein, Original score composed by Will Swartzentruber
Cast:
Cleo - Fannie Massarsky, Maeve - Alina Chisti, The Stranger - Andrew Hertzberg, Young Cleo - Gwen Lloyd
Director's Statement
Burn tells the story of Cleo, a college student who travels back to her childhood home over the course of one long night. With this film, I wanted to explore ideas of memory, time, and physical space. I was motivated by my experience of the pandemic, during which I often found myself looking back on the past instead of living in the present. Burn aims to show one character’s attempt to leave the past behind and move on with her life.
Growing Pains
Growning Pains | 8 mins
As her college graduation approaches, Kayla must examine for the first time how her upbringing and family brought her to where she is today, for better and for worse.
Credits
Directed, Filmed, and Animated by Kayla Bouazouni
Sex Shop
Sex Shop | 40 mins
Left a sex store by her recently deceased uncle, asexual Zora teams up with her asexual aromantic best friend Ember. Problem is, it’s a front for the mob.
Credits
Directed by Sydney Relihan, Written by Sydney Relihan, Created by Sydney Relihan, Executive Producer - Sydney Relihan, Producer - Joelle Ramson, Assistant Producers - Jillian Parrino & Yoojin Jung, Director of Photography - Crystal Navellier, Edited by Sydney Relihan, Music by Sydney Relihan, First Assistant Director - Kenny Aune, Second Assistant Director - Andie Kim, First Assistant Camera - Saif Leonardo Tariq Quraishi, Associate Producers - Julie Relihan, R. James Relihan, Heather M. Relihan, Robert J.Relihan, Jordan Ferrell, Patrick Meehan, Mackenzie Relihan, Additional Support - Noah Alpers, Sofia Aguirre, Joey Armstrong, David Bascom, Sarah Bernstein, Lisa Boquist, Liam Butler, Michael Chen, Katherine Ellsworth, Lindsey Forg, Gillian Harrill, Evelyn Shihu Hu, Julia Isko, Arianna Louise Marie Josue, Kacey Kim, Jean Hyun Kim, Darian Lee, Julianna Lee, Noah Leety, Verna Li, Hank Lin, Andrew V. Lorenzen, Nicholas Lu, Fannie Massarsky, Michael McCarthy, Jack Muench, Isabelle McLeod Daphnis, Minhchan Nguyen, Shannon O’Shea, Tim Ostrander, Sabrina Pan, Savannah Relos, Jessica Richie, Max Ringer, Victoria Serafini, Arin Sheehan, Jason Simms, Lauren Thomas, Emily Vo, Charlie Wright
Cast:
Zora Alamosa - Arin Sheehan, Ember Duphaze - Sidney Malia Waite, Adam Duphaze - Adam Shulman, Joy Bozwell - Carolyn Goelzer, Sebasian Bozwell - Dane Cruz, Susan Midland - Paulina Simkin, Mrs. Seville - Barbara Geary, Xavier Galena - Trence Wilson-Gillem, Delphi - Jenny Jinjoo Park, Daniel Seville - Chris Dawson, Nate - Michael McCarthy
Director’s Statement
As someone who identifies as asexual and aromantic, I’m extremely passionate about diverse LGBTQIA+ representation. I rarely see myself on screen, and if ever, it’s even rarer to see myself represented well. I also care deeply about mental health representation, and I wanted to create a story that lets those groups shine while drawing from some of my own personal experiences. I realized recently that as much as I adore film and would love working on movies, TV tends to make more of an impact on me. I want to make accessible content that can do for others like me what the shows I’ve loved have done for me. SEX SHOP brings the representation I wish I saw to television as part of one of my favorite types of show: the character-driven dark comedy. Welcome to the Carnival!
Unreal
Unreal | 9 mins
A surrealist cinematic experience of a girls relationship with faith.
Credits
Director - Crystal Navellier, Assistant director - Sydney Relihan & Joelle Ramson, Producer - Joelle Ramson, Cinematographer - Crystal Navellier, Assistant Camera - Saif Leonardo Tariq Quraishi, Sound Mixer - Liam Butler, Music Composer - Sydney Relihan, Costuming - Sarah Bernstein & Lisa Boquist, Props - Tim Ostrander
Cast: Phoebe McKinley, Chris Dawson
Directors Statement
The vision of this film is to portray a disconnected surrealist experience for the audience and put them directly into the shoes of the main characters. My goal in creating this film was also the importance of having my character study be female focused. As a female director it was personally important for me to push for female representation, more specifically a character that has depth and deeper meaning. I wanted to show the power and talent a female can have on screen through their emotional acting but also highlight their physical acting in conveying meaning without dialogue.