2022 Official Selections
Short Films / Pilots
#PrincessProblems
Comedy / USA / 19 min.
In the strenuous world of children’s party entertainment, an overly positive and well-meaning “princess” must win over a practical writer who is doing a story on female role models.
Director: Maritza Gomez
Producers: Brittney Lee Hamilton, Kelly Remenik
Writer: Brittney Lee Hamilton
Cast: Brittney Lee Hamilton, Shyrley Rodriguez, Amy Russ
$TACK$
Dramedy / USA / 7.5 minutes
Synopsis: Unprecedented times force two fierce rivals to come face to face to close a deal for the most valuable substance on earth. $TACK$ sarcastically holds a mirror up for the audience to see the best and worst in themselves. Daring them to confront the judgments and assumptions deep in their own minds.
Director: Gerald Webb
Writer: Gerald Webb
Producers: Gerald Webb, Meredith Thomas, Mark Christopher Lawrence
Cast: Mark Christopher Lawrence, Diahnna Nicole Baxter, Calvin Winbush, Tarnue Massaquoi, Jamie Burton-Oare, Jadarrel Belser
A Bellevue Love Story
Drama / USA / 20 min.
When a manic and a depressive begin a hospital romance, it forces us to question everything we thought we knew about medicine…and everything we want to believe about the healing power of love.
Director: Michael Wolfe
Producers: Michael Wolfe, Randa Karambelas
Writer: Michael Wolfe
Cast: Chelsea Yakura-Kurtz, Colin Bates
A Best Man
Drama / USA / 12 min.
On his best friend’s wedding day, Josh proves a best man can only do so much to make sure everything goes smoothly for the bride and groom.
Director: Dylan Tuccillo
Producers: Lisa Schiller, Stephen Tucker, Adam Elliott
Writer: Adam Elliott
Cast: Kelly McCready, Nathaniel Levin, Adam Elliott
Breakfast at the Bodega
Comedy / USA / 14 min.
A talented young Brooklynite/Palestinian-American attempts to live out his dreams of becoming a French pastry chef despite his first-generation father's wishes. Struggling to fill his first big order for a gig, tensions arise when the father forbids him from using their family bodega to cook.
Director: Marina Barham
Producers: Cameron Danger Strittmatter, Jacob Wilson
Writer: Marina Barham, Cameron Danger Strittmatter
Cast: Troy Tripicchio, Steven Alonte, Yasmine Al-Bustami, Katherine Leidlein, Mika Wurf, Kareem Rahm,
Bygone
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Sci-Fi Thriller / Spain / 7 min.
A young woman wakes up in the middle of an apocalyptic, deserted world. As she
meanders through the abandoned remains, she encounters a looming presence.
Director: Mickey Tetrov
Producers: Dani Whitehead, Alejandro Salvat, Mickey Tetrov
Writer: Mickey Tetrov
Cast: Melanie Smith
Cabeceo
Dance / USA / 9 min.
A passionate Argentine Tango dance fantasy featuring a woman exploring the sensual and dangerous possibilities presented by a potential new lover.
Director: Brian James Crewe
Producers: Matt Keil, Brian James Crewe
Writer: Brian James Crewe
Cast: Jennifer Berry, Claudio Predieri, Ella, Rebecca Bartlett
Chatty
Horror Thriller / USA / 10 min.
Lexi, an overworked, shy young woman, is forced to work late one evening, where she is haunted by her innermost insecurities and demonic whispers.
Director: Kit Garchow
Producers: Mac Eldridge, Kit Garchow; Co-Producer: Alchemic Images
Writer: Kit Garchow
Cast: Carlena Britch, Emilie Soghomonian, David Dimitruk, Will Dowsett
Classified
Comedy / USA / 36 minutes
Classified is Veep meets the CIA in a filmic Coen Brothers like comedy about a team of intelligence agents - not the best nor the brightest.
Director: Aemilia Scott
Executive Producers: Chris Carvalho and Chris Plaushin
Writers: Chris Carvalho and Chris Plaushin
Cast: Eric Roberts, Mary Faber, Mitch Silpa, Tim Russ, Tony Rodriguez and Allison Dunbar.
Conspiracy
Pilot/Web Series/Short | USA | 29 min.
History’s greatest conspiracies. They can't all be true - But can they all be false? Ten years after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, a mysterious video surfaces that rattles the highest levels of the U.S. government. Only a select few know what the video contains, but for an elite team of FBI agents, only one thing is certain: Those responsible need to be found at all costs. It's a race against time as a conspiracy unravels, a government is threatened, and history is re-written. A decade after the terrorist attack that changed the world, it could all change again. Which side of history are you on?
Director: Danny Angotti
Producers: Johnny Small, Lucy Nazareno
Writer: Danny Angotti
Cast: Michael Antosy, Lisie Rosenberg, Josiah Polhemus, Wendell Wilson, Kaiso Hill, Adam Thayer.
Coyote Tears
The story of a young man that breaks away from his family in anger after they were torn apart by the recent disgusting political mayhem. But there are so many reasons this can happen- conflict over life choices, life styles, religious beliefs, etc. Not all young coyotes stay with the pack…many times there is too much conflict and they must leave and start a new life on their own.
Disconnected
Drama / USA / 15 min.
Janine forces her teenage daughter and her two besties to have an actual conversation by confiscating their cellphones for one hour. Meanwhile she texts her husband she wants a divorce.
Director: Jeannette Godoy
Producers: Jeannette Godoy, Jordan Brady, Meredith Thomas, Tom Jenkins
Writer: Jeannette Godoy
Cast: Meredith Thomas, Gabi Feingold, Sandy Esperanza, Ivy Schoffman , Tom Jenkins
Easter Eggs: An Non Parody
Comedy / USA / 8 min.
Four friends share stories about relationships, meatloaf and The Wizard of Oz over an innocent game of GoFish but as the night unfolds so does their secrets.
There are several Easter Eggs hidden in the film including 31 famous movie lines. How many can you find?
Director: Brian Shakti
Producers: Brian Shakti, Johnny Rey Diaz, Aaron Arnold, Austin Arnold
Writer: Brian Shakti
Cast: Brian Shakti, Johnny Rey Diaz, Aaron Arnold, Austin Arnold, Marilyn Ghigliotti
Empiricism
Science Fiction/Drama / USA / 12 min.
When similarities arise between two subjects' answers in a scientific study, further examination reveals more than either subject can comprehend.
Director: Nate Hapke
Producers: Rosie Grace, Julia Armine, Nate Hapke
Writer: Nate Hapke
Cast: Niya Wright, CB Mullen, Allie Leonard, Nate Hapke
Finding Keanu
Comedy/ USA/ 8 min.
Two clueless best friends are on a stakeout in the desert, searching for their guru - Keanu Reeves.
Directors Verity Butler & Rebecca Holopter
Producers Verity Butler & Rebecca Holopter
Writers: Verity Butler & Rebecca Holopter
Cast: Verity Butler, Rebecca Holopter, Sharmila Ray
Furca
Comedy / USA / 15 min.
After another morning of mundane interactions with her boyfriend, a woman reaches her breaking point and throws a fork across the room.
Director: Jonathan Kehoe
Producers: Maggie Rodriguez-McGovern, William Greenburg, Marisa Hood
Writer: Marisa Hood
Cast: David Witts, Marisa Hood
Gardenia
Dystopian Thriller / USA / 15 min.
A pandemic has abolished most of the world’s population and all that Woman has loved and lost. Fighting a haunted psyche in the midst of isolation and extremity, the lesson of Woman’s pilgrimage is clear: we must hold dear to what matters most- at any cost- till the very end.
DIRECTOR: Caleb King
PRODUCERS: Caleb King, Eva Swan
WRITER: Eva Swan
CAST: Eva Swan, Aiden Bristow, Kyle Shaw
Glass Darkly
Drama, Thriller / USA / 20 min.
In 1941 Holland, two Dutch sisters must deal with the turmoil of their Nazi-occupied town.
Directors: Dave Penner and Eli Chance
Producer: Viktorija Razevska
Writers: Dave Penner and Eli Chance
Cast: Heavenly Dunsheath-Reyna, Tori Griffith, Benjamin Schnau
In Her Eyes
An experiential look at the emotional toll of a breakup as told through the eyes of Laurel, a young woman who has just separated from her partner, Jason.
Writer / Director: Andrew Nisinson
Producers: Andrew Nisinson, Meilin Gray
Cast: Meilin Gray, Trevor Peterson, Lauren Switzer, Michael Micalizzi
Instant Gratification
Drama/Dark Comedy / USA / 13 min.
A lonely YouTube influencer seeking instant fame is offered the opportunity of a lifetime, but it might not be enough to satisfy his followers.
Director: Johnny Rey Diaz
Producers: Johnny Rey Diaz, Austin Arnold, Aaron Arnold
Writer: Aaron Arnold
Cast: Johnny Rey Diaz, Austin Arnold, Aaron Arnold
Just a Man and a Woman
Drama / USA / 15 min.
Meeting secretly at a hotel once a week, a man and a woman are soon forced to make a decision that will change their lives forever.
Director: Oscar Torre
Producers: Oscar Torre, Chuti Tiu, Roberto Sanchez, Dylan Dixon,
Erika Sabel Flores
Writer: Oscar Torre
Cast: Chuti Tiu, Roberto Sanchez
Killing Georgia Jones
Psychological Thriller / USA / 14:58
In this tense clash of wills between killer and captive, motives are questioned, secrets exposed, as both sides vie for power and uncover the truth.
Director: Andrew Gallerani
Producers: Andrew Gallerani, James Hutchison, Margot Ott
Writer: Andrew Gallerani
Cast: Lauren Akemi Bradley, Jeff Gladstone
Letter From God
Dark Comedy / USA / 14 min.
Twin brothers embark on a journey to fill the void of their father's passing while soliciting the help of an ex-youth pastor with ulterior motives.
Director: Johnny Rey Diaz
Producers: Johnny Rey Diaz, Austin Arnold, Aaron Arnold, Brian Shakti, Brynn Lucas, Shelby Lee, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Michael L. Popek
Writer: Aaron Arnold, Austin Arnold
Cast: Austin Arnold, Aaron Arnold, Brian Shakti
LMFT
Comedy / USA / 11 min.
When spouses Alice and Betsy get into a heated argument while on hold with their internet company; their customer service representative, a therapist in training, intervenes and helps them through their technical and psychological difficulties.
Director: AJ Young
Producers: AJ Young, Marisa Hood
Writer: Marisa Hood
Cast: Shiva Ayama, Marisa Hood
MIA
Animation/Japan/12 min. 35 sec.
Judy, who is now old and living in an institution, suddenly feels different when she sees her husband Nick, who visits to meet her every day. She tries to remember something. How do people remember what they have forgotten?
Director: FOREST Hunting One
Executive Producer: Ryoichi Mori
Producer: Mizuki Sameshima
Animator: Eiji Watabe, Soichiro Yodogawa, Ryusei Taguchi,
Taiyo Tsuruta, Hayato Nakano
New York I'm Breaking Up With You
Drama,Comedy / USA/ 4 min.
Dumped by his girlfriend, a broken-hearted Stephen blames New York City for his misfortunes. When he decides to dump the city and leave, the city finds a way to pull him back in.
Director : Pepi Kokab
Producer : Pepi Kokab
Writer : Pepi Kokab
Cast : Stephen Multari, Roger Casey, Ellen Bryan
Nostalgia
Fantasy / Portugal, Russian Federation / 5 min.
After many years away, Adele returns to her hometown and meets her childhood friend, Nina. Growing up together they shared all their most joyful, happy and crazy moments. But the meeting turns out to be just a figment of Adele's imagination as she passes by the familiar house filled with happy memories.
Director: Anastasia Raykova
Producers: David Royzengurt, Alina Nizova, Remi Tribillon
Writer: Anastasia Raykova, Angela Franklyn
Cast: Rina Grishina, Elizaveta Moryak, Alina Nizova
Peek-A-Boom
Drama, Animation / Lebanon / 5 min.
Surrounded by her loving family on her birthday, an event occurs that shapes Mira’s life forever.
Director: Maya Zankou, Toni Yammine
Producers: Maya Zankou, Toni Yammine
Writer: Maya Zankou, Toni Yammine
Cast: M Yammine, Serena Chami, Fouad Yammine
Removable
Drama / USA / 17 min.
An immigrant struggles with guilt after calling the police on her abusive husband, which results in his deportation.
Director: Shu-Ying Chung
Producer: James Rosenthal
Writers: Shu-Ying Chung, James Rosenthal
Cast: Yi Liu, WooJae Chung, Chun Cho, Borah Ahn, Carolina Đỗ, Kylie Kuioka, Vincent Leong, Jody Chang
Running Star
Experimental-Musical Thriller / USA / 14 min.
A cautionary tale of self and societal oppression and the cyclical/intergenerational trauma of our past and present. It's "Goldilocks and The Three Bears" meets "Get Out," by way of "Twelve Years A Slave."
The young free rising star (Goldie), afraid of repeating the same enslaved history of her ancestors, is on the run, in fear that her current reality of success and freedom may have all been an illusion and she’s actually been enslaved her entire life.
Director: Sakinah Iman
Producers: Sakinah Iman
Writer: Sakinah Iman
Cast: Sakinah Iman, Obiajulu Maha, Morrison Odili,
Domonique W., Mikaeel Puckerine, Kalim Smith, Azrael Encarnacion, Vance Brown, Keyri Soto
She
Drama / Portugal / 17 min.
Kate, a carefree young woman, is nervous about spending her first weekend away with her new lover and his kids. On their way to his beachside holiday home, he receives a text from his troubled ex-wife, threatening suicide. Thinking it's just another cry for attention, he ignores it. Later that night he receives the call he was dreading. Kate suddenly finds herself embroiled in a complex family situation that she's not ready for, trying to find a way to comfort a grieving family that she hasn't yet found her place in.
Director: Anastasia Raykova
Producers: David Royzengurt, Anastasia Everall
Writer: Gulnara Sapargalieva, Angela Franklyn, Anastasia Raykova
Cast: Anastasia Everall, Paulo Rocha, Luisinha Guanilho, João Maria Dias
Ships in the Night
Comedy & Drama / USA / 11 min.
To combat her growing isolation, a young woman turns to an online fandom community and starts writing fanfiction about the fictional characters she is fixated on.
Director: Katherine Bourne Taylor
Producers: Katherine Bourne Taylor, Jennifer Hoks
Writer: Katherine Bourne Taylor
Cast: Katherine Bourne Taylor, Cora Vander Broeke
SOMA
Drama / USA / 11 min.
A simple man's journey with grief is briefly placed in limbo when he experiments with psychedelics to see the one he loves.
Director: Dylan Zivitz
Producers: Dylan Zivitz, Susan Marinello
Writer: Jacob Kyle Loescher
Cast: Jacob Kyle Loescher, Dianne Garriga, William T. Thess,
Jan Downs Rutter
Spell It Out in Neon
Comedy, Romance / USA / 11 minutes 51 seconds
Stuck in the “friend zone” with her charming but ephemeral coworker, an aspiring young artist decides to take a leap of romantic faith at a Halloween party.
Director: Tammy Minoff
Producer: David Fickas
Writer: Samantha Lester
Cast: Samantha Lester, Daniel David Stewart, Sarah Sawyer
Spin
Romance/USA/17 min.
When the curtain descends on their final performance of Romeo and Juliet in drama club, high school seniors Abigail and Sky bid a fair adieu to the stage they loved while letting their most deepest desires for one another surface at the cast party.
Director: Lisa Marie Tedesco
Producer: R.A. Johnson
Writer: Lisa Marie Tedesco
Cast: Courtney St. Gelias, Sierra Berkeley Fisher, JahDey Oakley Wright
Survival job
Dark Comedy / USA / 12 min 48 sec.
When a struggling Method acting student is interrogated by an international Baddie who thinks she is a CIA agent, she must give the performance of her life… literally.
Director: Monica McCarthy
Producers: Nathalie Frederick, Erin Glass, Monica McCarthy,
Elizabeth Daniels
Writer: Monica McCarthy
Cast: Monica McCarthy, Lindy Rogers, Sergey Nagorny, Yaz Perez,
Ben Brown, Ben Stroman, Jude Severin, Nina Tarr
Switchback
Dance / Canada / 12 min, 49 sec.
In response to an emerging landscape for current artists, internationally renowned film director Lauren Finerman and choreographer Cathy Marston’s new choreographic work Switchback offers a physical narrative portraying a dancer’s quest to chase their dreams. Switchback is a coming of age story about a young adult who leaves their home in order to chase their dream. The film follows their story as they set out on a quest to leave what is comfortable and embark on the unknown. Their story is echoed through the stories of other characters on the same journey, taking risks, getting lost and facing challenges to reach their goal. By drawing from their personal experiences and that of collaborating artists, this dance film features site specific solos and duets, performed by six dancers from locations all over the world.
Directors: Lauren Finerman, Cathy Marston
Choreographer: Cathy Marston
Producers: Anaya Bobst, Lauren Finerman
Executive Producer: John Dalrymple
Cast: Inara Wheeler, David West, Annabelle Hustace, Marusya Madubuko, Tristan Toy, Michaela Marrable
The Pepper Project
Suspense-Thriller / USA / 22min.
Ex-CIA super spy Pepper and her boys Friday must solve a series of increasingly-dangerous puzzles in order to find her missing sister.
Directors: Eric Yellin & Caris Vujcec
Producers: Caris Vujcec, Nancy Wiser, Eric Yellin, Amy Fitzmaurice
Writer: Caris Vujcec
Cast: Caris Vujcec, Rob Breckenridge, Kate Levy, Scott Janes,
Sidney Williams
The Show Must Go On
Documentary / USA / 17 Minutes
At the height of the Covid-19 Pandemic and in the midst of a PPE crisis, Broadway’s resilient community comes together to create the infrastructure to supply frontline medical workers with desperately needed hospital gowns.
Director: Paul Grant
Producers: Nathan Crane Cohen, Paul Grant, Jeff Whiting
Writer: Nathan Crane Cohen, Paul Grant, Anthony Romaguera
Cast: Jeff Whiting, Robin McGee, Christian Duran
Unspoken
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Drama / USA / 22 min.
Synopsis: A couple engages a therapist in hopes of salvaging a problematic marriage, but things take an uncertain turn as the session unravels and past secrets emerge.
Director: Richard Zelniker
Producers: Richard Zelniker, Stephen Heleker
Writer: Stephen Alkus
Cast: Michael Beach, Jamie McShane, Jeante Godlock
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Waking Up
After being severely beaten to the brink of death in a street fight, Dorian embarks on a rage fueled retaliation mission to restore his reputation where he quickly discovers his internal battle may just be his biggest fight yet.
Director: Dion Costelloe
Producers: Laura Barbato, Pat Patterson
Writer: Dion Costelloe
Cast: Dion Costelloe, Jeph Cangè, Victoria Ratermanis, Leer Leary
We Die Alone
Thriller / Drama // USA // 24 min.
A chance encounter dangerously intertwines the lives of three people with differing perspectives on love.
Director: Marc Cartwright
Producers: Marc Cartwright & Baker Chase Powell
Writers: Marc Cartwright & Cassie Keet
Cast: Baker Chase Powell, Ashley Jones, Samantha Boscarino
Wrath
Drama/ UK / 20 mins.
When British Soldier Paul Smith returns home from the war in Afghanistan to his family and friends, he returns home a shadow of the man. Paul, suffering from Mental Health, PTSD, life turns to self-destruction upon his return.
Director: David Crowley
Producers: Kru Lundy & Kirsty Lund
Writer: Kru Lundy
Cast: Kru Lundy, Michaela Longden, Anthony Quinlan, Poppy Lund, Rob Lewis, Jack Willis, Jane Philpott, Kirsty Lund, Keira Lund, Sarah Jane Duncan, Dean Smith, Sophie Hawthorne, Darren Gee,
Jazmin Hudson Owen.
Celebrating great independent filmmaking of all genres in both feature and short lengths, the North Hollywood CineFest film festival is an event you won’t want to miss.
The North Hollywood CineFest film festival takes place every year in the NoHo Arts District in Los Angeles. The event has become known as the premiere event for global independent cinema. A state-of-the-art experience is combined with a vibrant local social scene to create a festival that everyone will enjoy.