Official Selections: LA Women Film Festival
Congratulations to our accepted filmmakers!
Films are listed in alphabetical order, index to the left.
Scroll Down to learn more about each film
Adeladia
Narrative Short
LA Premiere, West Coast Premiere
Based on a true story, a young Nicaraguan woman flees into the jungle, pursued by the ones who love her the most.
Director: Tamara Hernandez
Producer: Tamara Hernandez and Juan Batista Hernandez Jr.
Writer: Tamara Hernandez
Cast: Flavia Carbone, Alder Perez Cruz
Cinematographer: Robert Murphy
Editor: Robert Murphy
And Now I Lay Me Down
Short Film
Director: Rani DeMuth
Producer: Roger M. Mayer
Writer: Rani DeMuth
Cast: Jane Kaczmarek, David Guerra, Shi Ne Nielson, Alejandra Flores
Cinematographer: Ernesto Lomeli
Editor: Yvonne Valdez
Instagram: @and_now_i_lay_me_down_official
FROM THE WRITER / DIRECTOR
Stories find me. They tap me on the shoulder or bullet train through my chest. AND NOW I LAY ME DOWN came to me in a vision.
In 2022, I lost part of my nose to skin cancer. As a forty-something woman in Hollywood, isn't aging enough?
AND NOW I LAY ME DOWN was inspired by the existential dread of losing my looks and career in one fell swoop. I saw an aging woman in the film industry dealing with rejection and the challenges of being a mother. Amidst flashes of pink and gold, I saw my character—Celia Dalvi. She was a woman with bravado and entitlement. Celia shows how maintaining the appearance of perfection is doomed. My film asks how to be happy when life is filled with sorrow. Celia's reward ultimately is not the resurrection of her career but the reconnection with herself. Sometimes smelling the flowers isn’t enough. You have to eat them.
AND NOW I LAY ME DOWN had its world premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. It went on to screen at two more Oscar-qualifying film festivals, Hollyshorts and LA Shorts and is currently playing the festival circuit.
We are thrilled to be screening with the LA Women’s Film Festival.
Buried
Short Film
World Premiere
A woman emerges from a period of grief and slowly finds her way to the other side.
Director: Nicole Agostino
Producer: Catherine Greene
Writer: Nicole Agostino
Cast: Jillianne Brickman-Compton, John Castle, Kynder Bonilla
Cinematographer: Nathan Rigaud
Editor: Kaleigh Bauer Bish
Awards: Best Shorts Fest - Official Selection (September 2024) | Award of Excellence | Women Filmmakers; Independent Shorts Awards Official Selection (October 2024) - Bronze Award | Best Women Short
Venezia Shorts Italy praise for "Buried"- "...some of the elements from your film that overwhelmed and captivated us: Great script and story, powerful and touching."
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buried_shortfilm
Website: Nicole's website - www.nicoleagostino.com
Erase & Rewind
Short
Los Angeles Premiere
Director: Lauren Grant
Producer: Ashleigh Rains, Lauren Grant
Writer: Lauren Grant
Cast: Brynn Godenir, Jesse LaPointe, Moni Ogunsuyi, Adélaïde Schoofs, Dwight Ireland
Cinematographer: Gabriela Osio Vanden
Editor: Katie Chipperfield
Yorkton Film Festival Golden Sheafs - Mental Health Award
Website: https://www.clique-pictures.com/erase-and-rewind
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cliquepictures/
Goody
Feature
LA Premiere
Goody follows twenty-year old Guelia Pedat, raised Catholic by her overbearing mother and unknowingly suffering from OCD that manifests through an irrational adherence to religious rituals. After losing her faith and years after the death of her beloved older brother she still blames herself despite a lack of involvement. Throughout this Southern Gothic Coming of Age story, Goody connects to childhood friends and navigates new relationships as she spirals to new lows and must find a way to free herself from grief.
Director: Zoe Lubeck
Producer: Dustin Whitehead, Daniel Otero, Sadie Whitehead, Amanda Grupp
Writer: Piper Collins
Cast: Piper Collins, Cassidy Spencer, Dustin Whitehead
Cinematographer: Zaughn Greve
Editor: Gracie Straus
Website: localcinemastudios.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodymovie/
An Audience
Short
West Coast Premiere
An Audience is a short film that depicts a young woman navigating college and dating for the first time away from her family. What the young woman doesn’t know is that she’s being watched from afar…Metatheatrical and abstract, this film explores loss, family, and the lengths loved ones will go to care for their own.
Director: Sonya Cooke
Producer: Ethan Hood
Writer: Sonya Cooke
Cast: Sonya Cooke, Alex Arnold, Masen Keltner
Cinematographer: Vinicius Silva
Editor: Mads Mathis
Awards: "Best Short Short" from 2nd Houston Short Short Short Film Festival (HS3FF)
Instagram: @ethan.hood34 (Producer) @sonya.cooke (Director)
Bald
Short
West Coast Premier
After receiving life-altering news, a woman embarks on a transformative journey, daring to embrace life outside her comfort zone.
Director: Monique Straw
Producers: Jessica Irvine Drake, David Harrod Jr., Alexandra Chando, Charlene Fretz
Writer: Jessica Irvine Drake
Cast: Jessica Irvine Drake, David Harrod Jr., Devin Drake
Cinematographer: Andrew Laboy
Editor: Tyler Mann
Bald is loosely based on my childhood best friend's experiences after being diagnosed with triple-positive breast cancer. Luckily, she survived and was a part of this film, which has been the most amazing experience.
Instagram: @baldthemovie
Carmen & Bolude
Feature
World Premiere
Who would you choose: your Nigerian father, your Australian fiancé or your Latin-American BFF? This heart-warming film about life, love and international identity is a passionate response to the world's constant pressure to choose sides. Together, best friends Carmen and Bolude travel from NYC to Sydney, where they have ten days to collect 100 'welcomes' so that Bolude's traditional Nigerian father will agree to let her marry an Australian. Based on true events.
Director: Michela Carattini & Maria Isabel Delaossa
Producer: Yolandi Franken & Michela Carattini
Writer: Michela Carattini & Bolude Watson
Cast: Bolude Watson, Michela Carattini, Wale Ojo, Liam Greinke, Elliott Giarola, David Collins, Joey Vieira & Joe Avati
Cinematographer: Calum Stewart
Editor: Ramon Mazinga
Awards/Accolades: Carmen & Bolude has been 10 years in the making, and was one of the 20 international films in development selected for IFF @ TIFF 2021.
Website: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16985722/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carmenandbolude/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarmenAndBolude
Dreaming Souls
Short
Ani is suspended between life and death. She must fall asleep, so she can be reborn, however, dark visions of the past prevent her from doing it. Will a mysterious man, she is accompanied by, help her in completing the task?
Director: Ewa Narbutt
Producer: Warsaw Film School
Writer: Ewa Narbutt
Cast: Monika Pawlik, Piotr Baranski
Cinematographer: Artur Michalik
Editor: Lukasz Matysiak
Eva Haller: A Work in Progress
Short documentary film
LA premiere
This short film highlights the philosophy and impact of Eva Haller, a 94 holocaust survivor and activist.
Director: Jeanne Meyers
Producer: Skip Blumberg, Kitty Richardson, Annabel Vo, Xenia Shin, Jeanne Meyers
Cast: Eva Haller and friends
Cinematographer: Jeanne Meyers, Skip Blumberg, Marc Ostric, Dylan Saches
Editor: Kitty Richardson and Saint George Thompson, Anabelle Vo, and Xenia Shin
The film is produced by The MY HERO Project
Link to the Eva Haller Salon Series
Website: https://myhero.com/eva-haller-salon-series
Instagram: instagram.com/myheroproject
Twitter: twitter.com/myhero
Facebook: https://facebook.com/MyHeroProject
In Your Hands
Short
World Premiere
When Kaia returns from the hospital after an accident, her dad struggles to find the right way to care for her while she works to confront her own trauma.
Director: Anna Musky-Goldwyn
Producer: Anna Musky-Goldwyn & Kacie Lehner
Writer: Anna Musky-Goldwyn
Cast: Tess Goldwyn, Jeff Perry
Cinematographer: Kyle MacLennan
Editor: Billy Durden
This film is a love letter to my dad who took care of me, slept on my couch, bathed me, fed me and helped me recover from an almost-fatal ski accident in 2022. As a lifelong athlete, losing my physicality was completely dismantling and reliving the accident was constantly traumatic. This film is my attempt to analyze how 'strong' people deal with vulnerability, what parents do when they find themselves caretaking their adult children, and how love, honesty and self-awareness are key tools to moving through tough times.
Instagram: @amuskygoldwyn