G.VN - SICKO (USA) BY DEVAN SAKARIA, GAVIN YANG

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Synopsis: Music video for g.vn's single, SICKO. Running time: 00:03:49.

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About the directors: Devan Sakaria is currently a high school student in New Jersey. He has had a passion for film his entire life and is looking to pursue a career in the film industry. While mostly working on product and advertising content, he has recently ventured into the world of narrative filmmaking and hopes to hone his skills in this new genre of filmmaking. Gavin Yang is a musician and high school student starting to get his foot in the door of filmmaking. This music video was the first project he directed and produced.

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023_GRETA_S (GERMANY) BY ANNIKA BIRGEL

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Synopsis: A young actress' audition quickly spirals out of control, turning into an intimate and manipulative interrogation. As she fights to stand her ground, one pressing question will remain: how far will she go to get the role? 023_GRETA_S is a disquieting drama about the abuse of power in the film industry. Running time: 00:11:59.

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Selections/awards: Slamdance FF, FilmFest Dresden, Mammoth Lakes FF, Boston Short FF, Aesthetica Short FF, Female Eye FF, and more.

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About the director: Annika Birgel is a German producer and director, based in Berlin. Since graduating with a degree in film & theatre studies in 2011, she has worked in the directorial and casting departments of numerous award-winning shorts and features, both at home and internationally. In 2016, Birgel produced the short film ARANAY, as part of Abbas Kiarostami's 'Taller de Autores' workshop in San Antonio, Cuba. Her short film 023_GRETA_S is her directorial debut, inspired by her own experiences working within the German film industry.

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TENDER AGE (FRANCE) BY JULIEN GASPAR-OLIVERI

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Synopsis: Diane, sixteen, exclusively lives in the eyes of her mother, Sophie. Their symbiotic relationship is becoming more and more troublesome for the teenager. At school, she clumsily expresses her need to be loved the way she is at home, like when she trades a favor for a glance, in the toilets. Big mouth, provocative and attention seeker, the young girl tries to break away from her mother. For one week-end, she wishes to live like a grown up. Running time: 00:26:50.

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Selections/awards: Festival international de Clermont-Ferrand, Palm Springs IFF (Best Live Action Short), Rhode Island FF, Brussels Short FF, Brussels Independent FF, Amsterdam Independent FF, and more.

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About the director: Julien Gaspar-Oliveri, actor and theatre and film director, studied theatre at the prestigious Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique de Paris. He began directing films with an autoproduced short film, "Loin de Benjamin", followed by the short "Passe", then the critically acclaimed film "Villeperdue". The latter had a theatrical release in 2017, was screened at various festivals and was awarded the jury as well at the public prizes at the international Namur festival.

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NOT A ROBOT (UK) BY GEORGE SUMMERS

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Synopsis: A robot tries to break into a human facility, and is asked a security question... Running time: 00:01:00.

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Selections/awards: Boston Short FF, Super Shorts London, Sydney World FF, Toronto Arthouse FF, Hong Kong Arthouse FF, and more.

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About the director: George Summers is an animation director from Cornwall, creating stop-motion films with an emphasis of rich storytelling and memorable characters.

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SEVEN SQUARE MILES (USA) BY LJ FRIZELL

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Trailer

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Synopsis: Can policing be reimagined? When a small New Jersey city realizes it cannot solve the epidemic of gun violence by arresting their way out of the problem - they try another strategy. With funding from the Attorney General's office, the city pilots a program to support those who are at risk for reentering the criminal justice system. With the help of a formerly incarcerated activist and a team of city residents --a young women police detective creates a program whose goal is to support and mentor rather than punish those who are at risk for recidivism. Over the course of a year, we witness the struggle to keep this small but vital program alive as they confront the enormity of the task at hand. The film looks at the limitations of the criminal justice system in tackling issues driven by poverty and race and explores the possibilities of compassionate humane policing. Running time: 01:12:00.

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Selections/awards: Toronto Independent FF, International Social Change Festival. 

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About the director: Lorna Johnson Frizell (LJFrizell) is a filmmaker who works in both experimental and documentary forms. Her first film Strands (1993) was screened nationally at a number of festivals nationwide, including the Atlanta Film and Video Festival, Women in the Director’ Chair, and the Ann Arbor Film and Video Festival. Her 2004 documentary Freedom Road profiles women prisoners in a memoir writing workshop has been broadcast nationally, and featured on the local Emmy award winning program Due Process in New Jersey. She was the recipient of the 2012 Leeway Transformation Award granted to an artist whose work demonstrates a commitment to social change. She has also been nominated for a 2021 Mid Atlantic Regional Emmy for a web based interactive video project.

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