TRANS_CCS - Maria Millan
Venezuela, 20:00, Documentary
An intimate take on the life of a transgender woman living in Caracas, Venezuela during the lockdown of 2021. Her name: Angelica Vitanza, who won Miss World Gay 2021. Her emotional story from boy to girl. Her daily physical transformation. Her thoughts and experiences with hormone intake in a country where there is lots of discrimination, how does she survive? She lost both of her parents but she is lucky enough to have a 'father' in the community who has supported her. Through her struggles, we learn about the current situation that transgender people face in a country where they’re denied rights. We observe the place she works in, witness the performance of different Drag Queens and their attitudes to the pandemic. We also dive into her relationships with men, and her worries about her future and aspirations.
Maria Millan Venezuelan Director, Producer and writer. She took part in the Hessen Lab with her screenplay 'The Hollow Women'. The lab was part of an invitation to the B3 Biennale celebrated in Frankfurt, Germany last October. She has been selected for 'Talent Led: Next Gen' by the Independent Film Trust (London, 2022/2023), a mentorship scheme. Maria holds a BA Honours in Communications and Media, with a specialisation in Audio-Visual Arts from the UCAB in Caracas. She also studied Video Editing techniques at the renowned International Film School in Cuba (EICTV). Maria directed Lujza Richter (Phantom Thread) and Demi Hannah Scott (SHOWstudio) in "The Refuge," which became part of the Women’s Film Festival in Seattle and L’Etrange Festival in Paris. Millan was honoured with an invitation to have a solo screening and Q&A at David Lynch's Private Members Club: Silencio. "The Refuge" is available on Amazon and numerous SVODs. Last October, her documentary 'TransCCS,' premiered at the 33rd Tampa Bay International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. Also, on the 8th BangkokThai International Festival and, will be screened at the 8th Lonely Seal Festival in Boston, the 15th Seattle Latino Festival and, at the Tokyo International Short Film Festival. Her first feature-length documentary: 'Family Pride, Queer Aside' will premiere on the 15th edition of the Seattle Latino International Film Festival next October.
Venezuela, 20:00, Documentary
An intimate take on the life of a transgender woman living in Caracas, Venezuela during the lockdown of 2021. Her name: Angelica Vitanza, who won Miss World Gay 2021. Her emotional story from boy to girl. Her daily physical transformation. Her thoughts and experiences with hormone intake in a country where there is lots of discrimination, how does she survive? She lost both of her parents but she is lucky enough to have a 'father' in the community who has supported her. Through her struggles, we learn about the current situation that transgender people face in a country where they’re denied rights. We observe the place she works in, witness the performance of different Drag Queens and their attitudes to the pandemic. We also dive into her relationships with men, and her worries about her future and aspirations.
Maria Millan Venezuelan Director, Producer and writer. She took part in the Hessen Lab with her screenplay 'The Hollow Women'. The lab was part of an invitation to the B3 Biennale celebrated in Frankfurt, Germany last October. She has been selected for 'Talent Led: Next Gen' by the Independent Film Trust (London, 2022/2023), a mentorship scheme. Maria holds a BA Honours in Communications and Media, with a specialisation in Audio-Visual Arts from the UCAB in Caracas. She also studied Video Editing techniques at the renowned International Film School in Cuba (EICTV). Maria directed Lujza Richter (Phantom Thread) and Demi Hannah Scott (SHOWstudio) in "The Refuge," which became part of the Women’s Film Festival in Seattle and L’Etrange Festival in Paris. Millan was honoured with an invitation to have a solo screening and Q&A at David Lynch's Private Members Club: Silencio. "The Refuge" is available on Amazon and numerous SVODs. Last October, her documentary 'TransCCS,' premiered at the 33rd Tampa Bay International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. Also, on the 8th BangkokThai International Festival and, will be screened at the 8th Lonely Seal Festival in Boston, the 15th Seattle Latino Festival and, at the Tokyo International Short Film Festival. Her first feature-length documentary: 'Family Pride, Queer Aside' will premiere on the 15th edition of the Seattle Latino International Film Festival next October.
Sacred Sheets - Maria Molteni, Allison Halter
United States, 17:42, Experimental
The visionary labor of 19th century Shaker sisters is explored through a ritualistic reproduction of spirit writings entitled Sacred Sheets.
Titled after Gift Drawings made by Shaker sisters during their 19th century “Era of Manifestations” Sacred Sheets translates the imagery and calligraphic spirit writing of these inspired works into a colorful cut-paper floor drawing. Shifting light marks a day’s passage and frames a ritualized space clearing, invoking the creative labor of visionary women. Performances by the artists revisit a fruitful historic period for femme agency through intimate observations of preserved Shaker ephemera and the natural world.
Maria Molteni (b. 1983, Nashville) is a multi-media, interdisciplinary artist, mystic, beekeeper, and Shaker researcher based in Massachusetts. They descend from competitive TN square dancers, quilters and beekeepers who farmed land near South Union Shaker Village, KY. With formal training in painting, printmaking and dance their practice has grown to incorporate research, ritual and collaboration with the living and dead. From textile to film, performance to publication, they choose media that combine conceptual rigor, formal satisfaction and spiritual depth, giving shape to the unseen.
Allison Halter is a conceptual artist and witch. Using performance, video, sound, and photography, Halter explores themes of physical and psychic accumulation and calls into question audience expectations. Repetitive actions hint at mysterious prior events. The viewer must extrapolate the significance of these proliferating gestures, which take on a deeper emotional charge as they slowly and inexorably pile up. Halter received her Master of Fine Arts in Visual Studies from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon.
Gabe Elder (cinematographer) is a cinematographer and filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NY. His work is wide-ranging but rooted in documentary. Elder has shot independent films, as well as projects for the BBC, Netflix, CNN, Food Network and others.
United States, 17:42, Experimental
The visionary labor of 19th century Shaker sisters is explored through a ritualistic reproduction of spirit writings entitled Sacred Sheets.
Titled after Gift Drawings made by Shaker sisters during their 19th century “Era of Manifestations” Sacred Sheets translates the imagery and calligraphic spirit writing of these inspired works into a colorful cut-paper floor drawing. Shifting light marks a day’s passage and frames a ritualized space clearing, invoking the creative labor of visionary women. Performances by the artists revisit a fruitful historic period for femme agency through intimate observations of preserved Shaker ephemera and the natural world.
Maria Molteni (b. 1983, Nashville) is a multi-media, interdisciplinary artist, mystic, beekeeper, and Shaker researcher based in Massachusetts. They descend from competitive TN square dancers, quilters and beekeepers who farmed land near South Union Shaker Village, KY. With formal training in painting, printmaking and dance their practice has grown to incorporate research, ritual and collaboration with the living and dead. From textile to film, performance to publication, they choose media that combine conceptual rigor, formal satisfaction and spiritual depth, giving shape to the unseen.
Allison Halter is a conceptual artist and witch. Using performance, video, sound, and photography, Halter explores themes of physical and psychic accumulation and calls into question audience expectations. Repetitive actions hint at mysterious prior events. The viewer must extrapolate the significance of these proliferating gestures, which take on a deeper emotional charge as they slowly and inexorably pile up. Halter received her Master of Fine Arts in Visual Studies from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon.
Gabe Elder (cinematographer) is a cinematographer and filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NY. His work is wide-ranging but rooted in documentary. Elder has shot independent films, as well as projects for the BBC, Netflix, CNN, Food Network and others.
Sad LARP - Marissa Goldman
United States, 17:31, Documentary
In this documentary, a comedian's break-up leads her to a surprising journey with a community of LARPers.
Marissa Goldman is a comedian, filmmaker and artist living in Brooklyn. She wrote, directed and animated a short for Adult Swim. She was selected to attend the Union Docs documentary feature development lab in 2023 . Here work has been featured in Vulture, Teen Vogue, Fast Company, WNYC and had a write up about her online comedy show "Marissa's Google Doc Quarantine Party" on Google. Her short film Tree Girl was featured on NoBudge. As well, she performs comedy around the city. She regularly hosts the show Mediawitch Fun Fest, a multimedia comedy show, featuring slideshows, music and videos, at an arcade bar, which has been featured in TimeOut.
United States, 17:31, Documentary
In this documentary, a comedian's break-up leads her to a surprising journey with a community of LARPers.
Marissa Goldman is a comedian, filmmaker and artist living in Brooklyn. She wrote, directed and animated a short for Adult Swim. She was selected to attend the Union Docs documentary feature development lab in 2023 . Here work has been featured in Vulture, Teen Vogue, Fast Company, WNYC and had a write up about her online comedy show "Marissa's Google Doc Quarantine Party" on Google. Her short film Tree Girl was featured on NoBudge. As well, she performs comedy around the city. She regularly hosts the show Mediawitch Fun Fest, a multimedia comedy show, featuring slideshows, music and videos, at an arcade bar, which has been featured in TimeOut.
Undertones - Kat Castro
Canada, 5:16, Dance
Humans are like existential onions. There are many layers to uncover, hence the title name, Undertones. It is a single-channel experimental movement film that focuses on the relationship between the underlying layers of architecture, music & sound, and the movement artists. The film plays with themes of curiosity, tension, connection, and release. Through movement, it explores how personal experiences and emotions are not only affected by other individuals, but also by the elements in the environment that surrounds us. The relationship is cyclical in nature and as the cycle repeats, we gain more awareness within and outside ourselves.
Kat Castro (she/they) is a 1st generation Filipina-American interdisciplinary artist, embodied healer, director, and producer born and raised in New Jersey, currently based out of NJ/NYC. More importantly, she’s Human. Grounded in the theme of kapwa (shared-self) and rooted in ancestral healing, she focuses on creating belonging spaces to honour vulnerability and self-exploration through her work.
Maintaining her inner-child fire, Kat curiously experiments through different mediums such as movement, film, photo, design, and more. Raised in an immigrant household, she always rebelled towards the arts at a young age. From playing piano, to showing off dance moves to her grandparents, to documenting memories with her mom’s point-and-shoot cameras, she always found ways to express herself in whatever way she could. In the midst of pursuing and finishing her degree in Kinesiology at the University of Toronto, she found ways to break out of the expected mold and spent any time she could, immersing herself in Toronto’s art and dance communities. This opened doors for her to where she continues to build and expand with local and global artists, brands, and non-profit organizations, aiming to put an emphasis on sharing stories through a socio-cultural lens.
Canada, 5:16, Dance
Humans are like existential onions. There are many layers to uncover, hence the title name, Undertones. It is a single-channel experimental movement film that focuses on the relationship between the underlying layers of architecture, music & sound, and the movement artists. The film plays with themes of curiosity, tension, connection, and release. Through movement, it explores how personal experiences and emotions are not only affected by other individuals, but also by the elements in the environment that surrounds us. The relationship is cyclical in nature and as the cycle repeats, we gain more awareness within and outside ourselves.
Kat Castro (she/they) is a 1st generation Filipina-American interdisciplinary artist, embodied healer, director, and producer born and raised in New Jersey, currently based out of NJ/NYC. More importantly, she’s Human. Grounded in the theme of kapwa (shared-self) and rooted in ancestral healing, she focuses on creating belonging spaces to honour vulnerability and self-exploration through her work.
Maintaining her inner-child fire, Kat curiously experiments through different mediums such as movement, film, photo, design, and more. Raised in an immigrant household, she always rebelled towards the arts at a young age. From playing piano, to showing off dance moves to her grandparents, to documenting memories with her mom’s point-and-shoot cameras, she always found ways to express herself in whatever way she could. In the midst of pursuing and finishing her degree in Kinesiology at the University of Toronto, she found ways to break out of the expected mold and spent any time she could, immersing herself in Toronto’s art and dance communities. This opened doors for her to where she continues to build and expand with local and global artists, brands, and non-profit organizations, aiming to put an emphasis on sharing stories through a socio-cultural lens.
Lacy - Eve Mahoney
United Kingdom, 8:49, Comedy
If you can be anything, be verified.
In the pursuit of fame and adoration, Lacy, a wannabe celebrity from Reading, (although she claims she’s from the Ends) sets out to film her audition tape for reality show, Cocktail Villa. She drags along her 14-year-old cousin, Megan, her videographer, as they venture through the hectic streets of Brent Cross and Cricklewood. However, as the day unfolds, Lacy's ambitious facade begins to wane as encounters with various people from her past threaten to burst her bubble of delusion. Amidst the popularity and influence she craves, she almost finds herself questioning the true cost of fame. Almost.
Starring - Abigail Sakari
Directed by - Eve Mahoney
Written by - Abigail Sakari
Produced by - Aphra Kennedy Fletcher
United Kingdom, 8:49, Comedy
If you can be anything, be verified.
In the pursuit of fame and adoration, Lacy, a wannabe celebrity from Reading, (although she claims she’s from the Ends) sets out to film her audition tape for reality show, Cocktail Villa. She drags along her 14-year-old cousin, Megan, her videographer, as they venture through the hectic streets of Brent Cross and Cricklewood. However, as the day unfolds, Lacy's ambitious facade begins to wane as encounters with various people from her past threaten to burst her bubble of delusion. Amidst the popularity and influence she craves, she almost finds herself questioning the true cost of fame. Almost.
Starring - Abigail Sakari
Directed by - Eve Mahoney
Written by - Abigail Sakari
Produced by - Aphra Kennedy Fletcher
Trapped - Lauren L. Owen
United States, 11:52, Drama
Tiffany has a bright future and is about to embark upon the trip of a lifetime, until she gets stuck in her apartment with her twin sister, who doesn't seem to want to let her leave.
Lauren L. Owen is an independent producer, writer, director, and the first Black or African American graduate of NYU’s highly selective MBA/MFA dual master’s degree program. She previously held the position of Vice President of Development and Special Projects at 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, where she sourced materials and discovered stories to adapt into film and television projects for director/producer Spike Lee. She worked on Mr. Lee’s acclaimed "BlacKkKlansman," and she is an Associate Producer for the Netflix Original Film, "See You Yesterday."
While pursuing her two master’s degrees, Lauren wrote and directed six short films, a commercial, and produced many other projects, including the Academy Award-nominated "My Nephew Emmett." Additionally, Lauren co-produced a feature film, "Blood Surf," that was executive produced by James Franco. She is also the producer of the feature film "Paper Friends," starring Sharon Leal and Dorian Missick, which premiered on the BET Her channel. She co-produced a psychological thriller entitled "Ghostwritten," which stars Jay Duplass, and she is developing a biographical narrative feature with Grammy Award-winning, Oscar-nominated, Raphael Saadiq as Executive Producer.
Lauren continues to build a slate of shows, feature films, and shorts that she is writing, directing, and/or producing. Her work is geared toward promoting diversity both on the screen and behind the scenes. Lastly, Lauren loves living in Brooklyn and has a healthy addiction to tacos.
United States, 11:52, Drama
Tiffany has a bright future and is about to embark upon the trip of a lifetime, until she gets stuck in her apartment with her twin sister, who doesn't seem to want to let her leave.
Lauren L. Owen is an independent producer, writer, director, and the first Black or African American graduate of NYU’s highly selective MBA/MFA dual master’s degree program. She previously held the position of Vice President of Development and Special Projects at 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, where she sourced materials and discovered stories to adapt into film and television projects for director/producer Spike Lee. She worked on Mr. Lee’s acclaimed "BlacKkKlansman," and she is an Associate Producer for the Netflix Original Film, "See You Yesterday."
While pursuing her two master’s degrees, Lauren wrote and directed six short films, a commercial, and produced many other projects, including the Academy Award-nominated "My Nephew Emmett." Additionally, Lauren co-produced a feature film, "Blood Surf," that was executive produced by James Franco. She is also the producer of the feature film "Paper Friends," starring Sharon Leal and Dorian Missick, which premiered on the BET Her channel. She co-produced a psychological thriller entitled "Ghostwritten," which stars Jay Duplass, and she is developing a biographical narrative feature with Grammy Award-winning, Oscar-nominated, Raphael Saadiq as Executive Producer.
Lauren continues to build a slate of shows, feature films, and shorts that she is writing, directing, and/or producing. Her work is geared toward promoting diversity both on the screen and behind the scenes. Lastly, Lauren loves living in Brooklyn and has a healthy addiction to tacos.
Can You Carry Me - Tess Meersman
United States, 3:38, Experimental
Can you carry me? uses old familial artifacts such as super eight film, mini dv tapes, and old teeth to examine generational remembrances and the influence that the passing down of memory plays on the development of identity.
Tess Meersman is senior at Emerson college studying Media arts Production, Literature, and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality studies. Her areas of concentration lie in Producing, Development, and Experimental Filmmaking. Her works mainly focus the concept of the body, primarily in relation to gender and illness.
United States, 3:38, Experimental
Can you carry me? uses old familial artifacts such as super eight film, mini dv tapes, and old teeth to examine generational remembrances and the influence that the passing down of memory plays on the development of identity.
Tess Meersman is senior at Emerson college studying Media arts Production, Literature, and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality studies. Her areas of concentration lie in Producing, Development, and Experimental Filmmaking. Her works mainly focus the concept of the body, primarily in relation to gender and illness.
The Children's Menu - Jenny Plante
United States, 7:57, Experimental
A ghost, a hypnotist, a medium, an exorcist and a priest walk into an apartment...
Jenny is a filmmaker, screenwriter and artist living in New Hampshire. She has screened her work in NYC, Boston, Finland, London, Slovenia, Berlin and Los Angeles. Her work is largely satirical with elements of camp and heavy doses of pop culture and film history.
United States, 7:57, Experimental
A ghost, a hypnotist, a medium, an exorcist and a priest walk into an apartment...
Jenny is a filmmaker, screenwriter and artist living in New Hampshire. She has screened her work in NYC, Boston, Finland, London, Slovenia, Berlin and Los Angeles. Her work is largely satirical with elements of camp and heavy doses of pop culture and film history.
Living Lessons in the Museum of Order - Malic Amalya
United States, 20:00, Experimental
Living Lessons in the Museum of Order examines the carceral logics of the Orca Encounter at SeaWorld San Diego and the “Doing Time” tour of the former Alcatraz prison in the San Francisco Bay.
Alcatraz is part of a larger industry of prison tourism that treats prisons and jails as real-life haunted houses. Through an immersive audio tour with stories from prisoners and guards, “Doing Time” reinforces racist beliefs that police and prisons “keep us safe.” Gently challenging this narrative, Alcatraz has recently hosted art and educational exhibitions that question the prison industrial complex. Likewise, Alcatraz’s buildings are permanently marked with evidence of Indigenous resistance to settler colonialism during the Occupation of Alcatraz from 1969 to 1971.
In contrast to the empty prison cells and crumbling buildings at Alcatraz, SeaWorld is full of marine life in above ground tanks with see-through walls. Under pressure from activists and exposés on the cruelty of their practices, SeaWorld’s marketing focuses on their habitat conservation and animal rescue efforts, as well as hyperbole about how their scientific research and education materials help marine animals – both captive and wild.
Juxtaposing original 16mm footage, promotional VHS and 16mm footage, and analog video feedback, Living Lessons in the Museum of Order explores the tensions between public fantasies and exploitative practices, as well as between rhetorical and cultural changes, within the two California entertainment empires.
Malic Amalya (b. 1980. Burlington, VT) is an experimental filmmaker living and working in Boston.
Malic is an Assistant Professor of Experimental Media and Film Production at Emerson College. His films have screened widely and are distributed by Canyon Cinema in San Francisco and Collectif Jeune Cinema in Paris.
United States, 20:00, Experimental
Living Lessons in the Museum of Order examines the carceral logics of the Orca Encounter at SeaWorld San Diego and the “Doing Time” tour of the former Alcatraz prison in the San Francisco Bay.
Alcatraz is part of a larger industry of prison tourism that treats prisons and jails as real-life haunted houses. Through an immersive audio tour with stories from prisoners and guards, “Doing Time” reinforces racist beliefs that police and prisons “keep us safe.” Gently challenging this narrative, Alcatraz has recently hosted art and educational exhibitions that question the prison industrial complex. Likewise, Alcatraz’s buildings are permanently marked with evidence of Indigenous resistance to settler colonialism during the Occupation of Alcatraz from 1969 to 1971.
In contrast to the empty prison cells and crumbling buildings at Alcatraz, SeaWorld is full of marine life in above ground tanks with see-through walls. Under pressure from activists and exposés on the cruelty of their practices, SeaWorld’s marketing focuses on their habitat conservation and animal rescue efforts, as well as hyperbole about how their scientific research and education materials help marine animals – both captive and wild.
Juxtaposing original 16mm footage, promotional VHS and 16mm footage, and analog video feedback, Living Lessons in the Museum of Order explores the tensions between public fantasies and exploitative practices, as well as between rhetorical and cultural changes, within the two California entertainment empires.
Malic Amalya (b. 1980. Burlington, VT) is an experimental filmmaker living and working in Boston.
Malic is an Assistant Professor of Experimental Media and Film Production at Emerson College. His films have screened widely and are distributed by Canyon Cinema in San Francisco and Collectif Jeune Cinema in Paris.
Soft Touch - Paige Mazurek
United States, 10:57, Experimental
An existential bubble bath caught between past, present and daydream, 'Soft Touch' reconsiders how we move through the tunnel of life. The film is both a celebration of and escape from the everyday—set within an unexpected American ritual.
Paige Mazurek is a multidisciplinary artist. Her work is a celebration of the everyday, drawing inspiration from observations within the American landscape and her own personal history. Memory, both individual and collective, is a continuous thread throughout her body of work. In 2011, she earned a BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts + Tufts University and in 2019 she earned a graduate certificate in audio storytelling from the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies at the Maine College of Art. She has been an artist-in-residence at the Watermill Center in New York and at the Haystack Mountain School of Craft in Maine. She has also worked for the past decade helping to innovate projects like the MIT Case Study Initiative and the Southeast Chicago Archive & Storytelling Project— immersive, multimedia experiences for educational platforms with storytelling and social responsibility at the heart. She is originally from Baltimore, Maryland and currently based in Providence, Rhode Island.
United States, 10:57, Experimental
An existential bubble bath caught between past, present and daydream, 'Soft Touch' reconsiders how we move through the tunnel of life. The film is both a celebration of and escape from the everyday—set within an unexpected American ritual.
Paige Mazurek is a multidisciplinary artist. Her work is a celebration of the everyday, drawing inspiration from observations within the American landscape and her own personal history. Memory, both individual and collective, is a continuous thread throughout her body of work. In 2011, she earned a BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts + Tufts University and in 2019 she earned a graduate certificate in audio storytelling from the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies at the Maine College of Art. She has been an artist-in-residence at the Watermill Center in New York and at the Haystack Mountain School of Craft in Maine. She has also worked for the past decade helping to innovate projects like the MIT Case Study Initiative and the Southeast Chicago Archive & Storytelling Project— immersive, multimedia experiences for educational platforms with storytelling and social responsibility at the heart. She is originally from Baltimore, Maryland and currently based in Providence, Rhode Island.
Comeback - Natalie Peracchio
United States, 3:36, Music Video
16mm music video for "Comeback" by Boston based band, Linnea's Garden.
My personal work explores themes of adolescence, persona, and transformation using analog film, puppets, and experimental techniques. I like to create stories where imagination and reality can co-exist in silly and dramatic ways. I have a background in production design and SFX prop fabrication, and bring a DIY attitude to my projects. I grew up in Detroit, MI and earned a BA from Carnegie Mellon University and an MFA from Emerson College. A pelican bit me on the nose when I was 7 and I have been at war with birds ever since.
United States, 3:36, Music Video
16mm music video for "Comeback" by Boston based band, Linnea's Garden.
My personal work explores themes of adolescence, persona, and transformation using analog film, puppets, and experimental techniques. I like to create stories where imagination and reality can co-exist in silly and dramatic ways. I have a background in production design and SFX prop fabrication, and bring a DIY attitude to my projects. I grew up in Detroit, MI and earned a BA from Carnegie Mellon University and an MFA from Emerson College. A pelican bit me on the nose when I was 7 and I have been at war with birds ever since.