BLOCK CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING FILMS:
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A WRECK IN PARADISE (FRANCE)
UTAH PREMIERE
SYNOPSIS: A drunken man who crashed his car finds himself a strange Faustian bar with a stranger sets of rules, but he might get the girl… Fate is about to offer him his last chance. Will he be able to seize it ?
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Language, Sensuality, Adult Content
DIRECTOR: François Zaïdi
AWARDS NOMINATIONS: N/A
DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: François ZAÏDI is a director, producer and post specialist, born in Clermont-Ferrand, France, in 1977. His passion with pictures began very early, and he takes his first argentic pictures when he’s 10. Motion pictures begins to grow as his deepest interest, and he discovers editing in a video workshop shortly after (The ol’ time of s-vhs and Hi8). He creates a video workshop in high school, and will shoot several documentaries and a short. Once graduated, he begins to work professionally in Clermont-Ferrand – as an assistant editor, then as an editor – embracing the upcoming online editing technologies. In 2000, he works at a local tv network where he begins directing live events and talk shows. He then works for Disneyland Paris as a camera director and junior producer for 3 years. In 2005, he chooses to go freelance and directs shows and concerts, sports for TV and producing DVDs. In 2013, he creates his own company, Gigowatt Film, to go back to his first love : fiction.
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BY BLOOD (FRANCE)
UTAH PREMIERE
SYNOPSIS: Once a ruthless war lord who won his land by his sword, Mort-Lieu is now a sick old man. A mysterious knight appears ; Mort-Lieu believes the stranger is Death himself coming to get him. Facing his own end, Mort-Lieu has to confront his legacy.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence
AWARDS NOMINATIONS (2): Best Score – Short, Best Costumes – Short
DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Born in Paris, Guillaume studies filmmaking at the Ecole Supérieure de Réalisation Audiovisuelle (ESRA), where he directs his first short Correction starring the late famous French actor Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu. After graduating, he spends the next 10 years working as editor and sound editor on several TV series and feature films such as L’Affaire Dreyfus, Jean Moulin, Dieu Que les Femmes Sont Amoureuses or Una Pura Formalita, collaborating with such famous French directors as Yves Boisset, Magali Clement or Guiseppe Tornatore. Then, Guillaume becomes a full time script writer.
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CC (CANADA)
UTAH PREMIERE
SYNOPSIS: AIDCC28002025, known as CC, is an AID (Artificially Intelligent Device). She has been leased by Cloverhill Nanny Agency to Lena Howard to take care of her daughter, Adelaide. When a violent incident occurs between CC and Lena, an investigative team must determine what happened.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Language
DIRECTOR: Kailey Spear, Sam Spear
AWARDS NOMINATIONS (1): The Minerva Award
DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Kailey and Sam Spear are director/writer/actors (and twin sisters) originally from Bowen Island, British Columbia. In 2012, they completed the four year film program at SFU, graduating with BFAs with honours. They have since directed both in both theatre and film. In 2015, their short, “The Mary Alice Brandon File”, was the winner of the “New Voices of the Twilight Saga” competition hosted by Lionsgate, Facebook, and WIF-LA. It won three Leo Awards. The twins have recognized by Women in Film & TV Vancouver with a Spotlight Award. In April/May of 2017, they shadowed a director on the CMT/ Lionsgate show “Nashville”. Their most recent short, “ALIEN: Ore” was made with 20th Century Fox in celebration of the 40th anniversary of “ALIEN”. Representation: Literary: Jenny Maryasis and Abby Glusker, UTA. Acting: Meagan McLeod, LLA.
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CONDAMNED (SPAIN)
UTAH PREMIERE
SYNOPSIS: Jack, a weak old man, lives in seclusion in a dark and gloomy underground chapel. Haunted by the ghosts of his past, he’ll try to scape to the outside world, but a terrible secret will come out to prevent his departure. Jack will have to fight with all his strenght in order to escape not only from that wretched place but also from himself.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Adult Content
DIRECTOR: Octavi Espuga
AWARDS WINS / NOMINATIONS (1): Best Costumes – Short
DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Passionate about genre films and filmmaking. He studied Image in his hometown and worked on different audiovisual projects for over 10 years. In October 2011 he released his first short film, Silent Agony, which was selected and nominated in more than 50 fantasy festivals worldwide, including countries as diverse as Spain, US, Ireland, Mexico, Italy, Croatia, Canada, Sweden, Puerto Rico and South Africa. Silent Agony was awarded with Best Clasical Horror Short at the Fete Fear Festival (US, 2013), nominated Méliès d’Argent in Imagine Film Festival (Holland, 2013), and awarded in the Zed Fest of Los Angeles. Condamned is his second professional short film as a filmmaker.
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DEEP CLEAN (UK)
SYNOPSIS: A troubled kid forced into boring work experience on his Uncle’s road crew discovers it is hiding an amazing secret…
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Strong Language
DIRECTOR: Matt Harlock
AWARDS NOMINATIONS: N/A
DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Award-winning director Matt Harlock’s first feature film, ‘American The Bill Hicks Story’ was the 2nd most successful documentary released in UK cinemas in 2010 and is 6th on the iTunes Docs Bestsellers chart. His drama short films have been shown on Channel 4, Film4, HBO and Sky. In 2017, his festival hit Ink, Cocks & Rock’n’Roll premiered on Vice, and his current project, supernatural comedy horror short Deep Clean starring Paul Kaye is the precursor to a feature/TV series. www.halflifefilms.com
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LIMBO (SPAIN)
UTAH PREMIERE
SYNOPSIS: When Xose doesn’t manage to adapt to his new life, he get pulled into a self destructive spiral.
RATINGS GUIDE: Strong Violence
DIRECTOR: Daniel Viqueira
AWARDS NOMINATIONS: N/A
DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Daniel Viqueira is a director of Television Programs. Limbo is his first alone short film, but he has previously directed “koan”, which won the best short film in Caceres and Best Direction in the Cans festival.
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ME & MICHAEL (USA)
USA PREMIERE
SYNOPSIS: A visually driven, experimental film about a young man living with mental illness.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, All Audiences
AWARDS NOMINATIONS (1): Best Youth Film
DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Bayleigh Elliott is 17 years old and attends East Hollywood High in Utah. Bayleigh would like to pursue Forensics and Herpetology in the future and would like to experiment with film in relation to forensic psychology.
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RUB ME THE RIGHT WAY (GERMANY)
UTAH PREMIERE
SYNOPSIS: A hobo unwittingly frees a genie who grants him three wishes. When he is harassed by two snobby teenagers minutes later, he seizes the opportunity to turn the tables. The genie, however, has other things in mind…
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Language
DIRECTOR: Jefferson Jung & Pit Bredimus
AWARDS NOMINATIONS: N/A
DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Jefferson Jung – Born in Frankfurt/Main in 1990, Jefferson Jung discovered his passion for horror early on. It continues to drive him as a fan and author. He studied film and television at the Dekra Hochschule Berlin and works as a translator and scriptwriter.
Pit Bredimus – Born in 1991 in Luxembourg. Studied motion design at the BTK, where he made his first short film “Listen:” as a final project. Now working as a freelance cinematographer in Berlin.
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SALVATION (NORWAY)
USA PREMIERE
SYNOPSIS: Salvation, a mystery thriller, depicts the journey of a young policewoman as she goes through a traumatic awakening to find back to her own humanity. On a patrol, the policewoman by the name Maria ends up stranded inside the home of an elderly spiritual couple. At first, everything seems fine, but when it becomes apparent that they’ve waited for her arrival for a long time and mystical events start to take place in the house, she understands that couldn’t be further from the truth…
RATINGS GUIDE: Adult Content
DIRECTOR: Kim Brinch
AWARDS NOMINATIONS (1): Best Student Short
DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Kim Brinch is 29 years old, born in Denmark, raised in Norway. His fascination for film and it’s influential power manifested itself when he was traumatized by the Alien-franchise as a child. Since then he has felt drawn towards dark cinematic universes like we often find in the thriller genre. Personally, he believes that it is in the darkness that we can best examine our own humanity. It is through experiencing the dark that we can truly appreciate what is good in our existence.
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WRONG NUMBER (UK)
UTAH PREMIERE
SYNOPSIS: When a woman has a foreboding dream, she must find out its meaning before it is too late.
RATINGS GUIDE: Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexuality
DIRECTOR: Tiago Teixeira
AWARDS WINS / NOMINATIONS: N/A
DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: The award-winning filmmaker Tiago Teixeira was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and lives in London. He has directed several short films including “Ação/Reação” (Action/Reaction, 35mm, Kodak Film School Finalist); “Sobre os Mesmos Passos” (Over the Same Steps) and “Mania de Perseguição por Boeing” (Boeing Persecution Mania, Winner of the One Minute Film Festival). He also directed music videos for the Brazilian band Audax and the British duo Detachments. In 2008 and 2009 he was selected twice for the SESC Screenwriting Lab (currently called Laboratório Novas Histórias) with the scripts “Unhappening” (Currently in pre-production by director Marcos Bernstein) and “The Blind Mirror”. In the latest years, Tiago has been working as a screenwriter. He is also a writer on the critically acclaimed HBO series El Hipnotizador produced by RT Features, currently on the second season. He directed two short films in London, “A Quiet Room in Walthamstow” and “Wrong Number”.
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Z-GOAT: FIRST BLEAT (BELGIUM)
UTAH PREMIERE
SYNOPSIS: The year is 2078. Resources are scarce and the world is slowly dying. Darwina the young huntress will encounter a new threat very soon.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence
DIRECTOR: Julien Jauniaux, Bertrand Leplae
AWARDS NOMINATIONS: Best Makeup – Short
DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Julien Jauniaux, editor by trade, also writes and directs his own stuff. He made An Eldritch Place – a Lovecraftian tribute to 80’s cinema. Julien wrote First Bleat after spending six months in the mountains studying the mysteries of the elusive Shub-Niggurath Goat.Bertrand Leplae is a prolific actor from many short films.On set, Bertrand will be directing the goat and actors. This project is the perfect opportunity to make good use of his acting experience, as a director this time.
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