Official Selections: 1st-7th LA Student Film Festivals
Congratulations to our accepted filmmakers!
Films are listed in alphabetical order, index to the left.
Scroll Down to learn more about each film
Saving Salvador
West Coast Premiere
Upon being denied a death certificate for their recently deceased father due to a country-wide shortage, sisters Eve, Bonnie and Aimee go forth with a less-than-common plan to get their father out of the hospital and avoid laying him to rest in a community grave.
Director: Luisa Maria González
Producer: Andre Joshua Fernández
Writer: Luisa Maria González
Cast: June Griffin Garcia, Elizabeth (Beth) Piña, Kim Carlson
Cinematographer: Benjamin Root
Editor: Case Conner, Hope Wager
2021 Equal Footing Film Festival / HA Comedy Festival, Official Selection / Nominated Best Picture
2021 Los Angeles Student Film Festival, Official Selection
2021 Katra Latinx Film Festival / New Faces New Voices, Official Selection
2021 Festival de Cine Latino Americano, Official Selection
2021 El Paso Film Festival, Official Selection
2021 Orlando Film Festival, Official Selection
2021 El Paso Plaza Classic Film Festival, Official Selection / 3rd Prize
2021 BronzeLens Film Festival, Official Selection
2021 NALIP Media Summit, Official Selection
2021 LA Shorts International Film Festival, Official Selection
2021 XincanIndie Film Fest, Official Selection
Instagram: @salvando_a_salvador/
Facebook: fb.com/salvando.a.salvador
Shelf Life
West Coast Premiere
Animation
A woman finds a mysterious video discussing the female eating habits of a dystopian society.
Director: Erin Zhang,
Producer: Tanisha Tekriwal, Sofia Veraza
Writer: Erin Zhang
Cast: Shai Bardin, Eitan Pessah
Cinematographers: Mia Mylvaganam, Haoshu Deng
Editors: Dia Walker, Hannah So
Received the Studio22 Bindley Grant
Website: erinzhang.wixsite.com/hiya/shelf-life
Instagram: @shelflifemovie
Shopworn
World Premiere
Short Short Film
An aging boxer refuses to give up the sport, which destroys him both physically and mentally. A high school student production.
Director: Athena Cheris
Writer: Athena Cheris
Cast: Denmark Ves, Imanol Echevarria, Javier Baluyut, Manuel Camacho
Cinematographer: Gabriel Perez
Editor: Athena Cheris
Additional Accolades: All American High School Film Festival Official Selection 2022
Somewhere
USA Premiere
This film is about two young people who have been through a rough patch and want to start over with a new life. But they are bound together by a bad luck. In the face of the choice between evil and good, their inner struggles and changes eventually lead them to different paths of end.
Director: Jiahe Li
Producer: Jiahe Li, Ming Wang
Writer: Jiahe, Li
Cast: (Kangjing Lin, Jian Ji, Lupeng Yang)
Cinematographer: Ming Wang, Jiahe Li
Editor: Jiahe Li
Standing For Love
World Premiere
One man finds love in an unexpected place...
Director: Ben Stout
Producer: Seth Woodhouse
Writer: Ben Stout
Cast: Ben Stout, Jack Mohr, Jamie Kichuk, Noah Herndon, Natalie Hurt, Milan Williams
Cinematographer: Seth Woodhouse
Editor: Seth Woodhouse
Instagram: @stoutlad
Twitter: @stoutladstout
Facebook: Ben Stout
Submit
Los Angeles Premiere
Submit is based on a true story and shows the emotional and psychological effects college pressure a high school student faces on a day-to-day basis while trying to maintain a competitive college application when applying to some of the top universities in the country. The film shows the journey that Linda experienced, having gone to extreme lengths, sacrificing her emotional and psychological health in order to keep her grades above a 4.0
Director/Producer/Writer: Daniel Antunez
Story inspired by: Linda Contreras
Cast: Sabrina Gorsage, Lydia Kelley, Michael Rolland, Christy Koenig, Eria Auroa Gorsage
Cinematographer: Heather Ebell & Daniel Antunez
Editors: Daniel Antunez, Jose Ortiz, Emil Manson, Stephen Brown
San Francisco State - Cinema Collective Film Festival 2020 ~ Best Director & Best Picture
Bright Ideas Film Festival 2020 ~ Official Selection
Website: https://spark.adobe.com/page/stDEetCQHnUHC/?fbclid=IwAR0cc28F8j5SqLj3s73cYscKsSo_jK_fuZyCsVA9MGYIU0W-DSezJStJLHk
Instagram:@Submit_ShortFilm
Facebook: @SubmitShortFilm
Score
West Coast Premiere
Short
Samuel is a high schooler who needs to win a large music grant at a competition in order to continue playing after high school. He journeys through conflicts with his parents and friends as he competes.
Director: Chris Zou
Producer: Peter DiProspero
Writer: Chris Zou
Cast: Chris Zou, Madeleine Wang, Qingze Zou, Jie Cheng, Lin Lin, Yan Hai Yuan
Cinematographer: Boone Briegs
Editor: Chris Zou
Website: basskeysmedia.com
Instagram: @flicksbychrisz
Sharing Destiny: The Forgotten Slaves of Mauritania
USA Premiere
Short Documentary
Mauritanian MP Biram Dah Abeid survived death row and won the 2013 United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights. Now, along with his colleagues at the Institute for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA), he is striving to eliminate slavery in Mauritania and West Africa more broadly.
Director: Sébastien Kraft
Producer: Sébastien Kraft
Writer: Sébastien Kraft
Cinematographer: Sébastien Kraft
Editor: Sébastien Kraft
Award of Excellence (Social Issues) –Docs Without Borders Film Festival
Semi-Finalist – Prague International Indie Film Festival
– Indie Short Fest
Official Selection – Golden Short Film Festival
– Amsterdam Short Film Festival
– Chicago Indie Film Awards
– Vesuvius International Film Fest
Twitter: @kraft_sebastien
Siblings
Animation
Stuck at home during a rainy day, the oldest of two siblings provokes an argument that makes her face the circumstances of her own upbringing.
Director: Kenet Garcia Rojas
Storyboard Artist: Kenet Garcia Rojas
Lead BG Painter: Ke Ma, Nicole Renski
Visual Development: Ke Ma, Nicole Renski, Miriam Presas, Rachel Kim, Kim Kobashigawa, Janet Y. Lin, Yuja Lee.
Animation: Kenet Garcia Rojas, Joey Quoc Tran, Kristen De Vera, Emil Lundmark, Lillian Zou, Melanie Kwon, Lydia Seo, Kellin Sproul.
Edition and Compositing: Kenet Garcia Rojas
Film Score: Shmuel Myers
Sound Engineer: Victoria Martinez
Producer: Art Center College of Design
Website: kenetgrm.com Instagram: @kenet.bear
Twitter: @KenetBear
Speed Date
Los Angeles Premiere
Animated Short
A young bachelorette discovers her love of life when her tries at the dating life fail miserably.
Director: Emil Lundmark, Qing Lan, Rachel Min
Producer: Emil Lundmark, Qing Lan, Rachel Min
Writer: Emil Lundmark, Qing Lan, Rachel Min
Cast: N/A
Editor: Emil Lundmark
Instagram: @littlelundmark23
Twitter: @littlelundmark
Facebook: Emil Lundmark’s Art
Stefan The Vampire
West Coast Premiere
Short
Stefan is a vampire that lives in a castle with his beloved, human fiancé, and opera singer - Elena. After her sudden and unfortunate death, Stefan falls into a depression and nearly fades away when suddenly meets Irene - a vampire that looks and sings just like Elena.
Stefan pursues Irene only to discover a shocking truth about Elena's death. This forces him to take immediate action and face down the deadly, vampire freak, Tiberius!
Director: Andrei Vasilevich
Producers: Drew Koupal, Benjamin S. George
Writers: Andrei Vasilevich, Benjamin S. George, Drew Koupal
Cinematographer: Abel B. Padilla
Cast: Andrew Villarreal, Defecio Stoglin, Kiara Kovach, Nik Oekerman
Indie Short Fest - Award Winner
IG: @stefan_the_vampire
Suono
A violinist struggles after losing his hearing in an accident, making him discover a new relationship with music and life.
Director: Laurd Milian
Producer: Laurd Milian
Writer: Laurd Milian
Cast: Laurd Milian, Grettel Perez, Miguel Ponce
Cinematographer: Laurd Milian
Editor: Laurd Milian
Best Inspirational Short Film - Imagine Rain Independent Film Awards 2021
Best Original Story - Imagine Rain Independent Film Awards 2021
Best Inspirational Short Film - Paris Film Festival 2021
Best Student Short - Dreamachine International Film Festival 2021
Best Sound & Music - LA FEEDBACK Film Festival 2021
Best International Student Short Film - FotoFilm International Short Film Festival 2021
Best Experimental Short Film - Fort Smith International Film Festival 2021
Sergeants Jacob and Olivia Barnes
World Premiere
"Sgts Jacob and Olivia Barnes" is a short fiction film about a dual active duty married couple in the U.S. Marine Corps confronting infidelity. They are forced to face their dysfunctional intimacy issues while being trapped in the behaviors ingrained in them as Marines. As a veteran of the USMC, and a woman who has been married and divorced while part of the military, the issues in this film are extremely personal to me. This story is fiction, but it is based on multiple stories and real struggles me and my fellow Marines faced in marriage. Though the film is fiction, I insisted on developing a strong sense of presence and authenticity through the use of cinema verite-style camera work, actual relics in the production design, and real uniform items in the wardrobe design. I love the military life and I love my Marines. As a filmmaker, I want to continue to serve that community by bringing a version of their stories to life on the big screen. With the unique challenges, they face physically and psychologically, it is imperative that through performance art we instigate a dialogue about the complex ways they deal with their personal lives.
Director: Jessica Siletzky
Producer: Kendall Barachy
Writer: Jessica Siletzky
Cast: Rebecca Haubrich, Brade Bradshaw, Dujuan Austin Jr
Cinematographer: Thomas Schroeder
Editor: Bethany Voshell
Facebook: fb.com/SgtsJacobandOliviaBarnesfilm/?modal=admin_todo_tour
Shirts
World Premiere
Short
A homebody lives vicariously through her traveling fiance, but when this lifestyle comes to an abrupt halt, she decides how to live moving forward.
Director: Milo Fontanez
Producer: Milo Fontanez
Writer: Milo Fontanez
Cast: Mckayla Fontanez
Cinematographer: Carlos Napoleoni
Editor: Milo Fontanez
Additionally: Shot in my hometown of Orlando, FL.
90% of it was filmed with a total cast/crew size of 3!
Website: milofontanez.com
Instagram: @milofontanez
Silent Confession
Short
A man once fell in love with a deaf girl when he was a student, and the girl became pregnant unexpectedly. After the girl told the man that she was pregnant, she saw his helplessness and cowardice and said that pregnancy was just a joke. The man knew it was not a joke, but he didn't disclose it. Finally, the girl alone took all the responsibility.
Director: Fangbo Li
Producer: Fangbo Li
Writer: Fangbo Li
Cast: Bakun Yu; Hanyu Dai
Cinematographer: Liang Zhou; Chen Zhang
Editor: Fangbo Li
Winner Best Short Competition and London International Monthly Film Festival
Facebook: Li Fangbo
Stay Don't Go
West Coast Premiere
As the search for a missing teenage girl goes cold - Martha, a devoted volunteer, stumbles across a possible lead. When her warnings are met with indifference and exhaustion, Martha is forced to take matters into her own hands.
Director: Brian Velsor
Producer: Scott Gerlomes
Writer: Brian Velsor
Cast: Quinn Jackson, Marcel Simoneau, Aaron McDaniel, Larry Mihlon, Carolyn Slesinski
Cinematographer: Gabe C. Elder
Editor: Brian Velsor
Columbia University Film Festival (winners of Audience Award 2021 & Richard Brick Award for Special Distinction in Line Producing (Scott Gerlomes))
Monmouth Film Festival
Indie Street Film Festival
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
KC FilmFest International
Dam Short Film Festival
Flicker’s Rhode Island International Film Festival Semi-Finalist
Superstitious
Los Angeles Premiere
Animated
A fairy tries her best to avoid bad luck when a black cat stumbles into her store. When chaos ensues, will she be able to face her fears head-on?
Director: Melany Di Pietro Cecere, Carolina Rapp
Producer:--
Writer: Melany Di Pietro Cecere, Estephany Padilla, Chi Pham, Carolina Rapp
Cast: Jacob Walker (Blobby), Donqing "Sunny" Zheng (Ailbhe)
Cinematographer (if applicable): Carolina Rapp
Editor:Melany Di Pietro Cecere, Linda Rosa
Honorable Mention at Various Artists Independent Film Festival
Website: superstitiousfilm.wixsite.com/website Instagram: @superstitiousfilm
Twitter: @superst_thefilm
Facebook: Superstitious Film
Swipe Left: The Age of Disposable Relationships
A Documentary Exploring How Technology Has Changed Courtship and Communication in Romantic Relationships Technology has transformed traditional courtship into textual conversations, hookups, and placeholder relationships. Are committed relationships and marriages a thing of the past?
Director: Amber Ostergaard
Writer: Amber Ostergaard
Producer: Nicholas Kho
Cast: Jeffery Allen, Jay Nettles
Cinematographer: Christopher Madero
Editor: Amber Ostergaard
International Independent Film Festival: Gold Winner 2020
Festigious Awards: Finalist and Honorable Mention
Garden Route International Film Festival: Official Selection
The Impact DOCS Awards: Official Selection
Trinity Detroit International Film Festival: Official Selection