BLOCK CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING FILMS:
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ATTRITION (UK / FRANCE)
UTAH/REGIONAL PREMIERE
SYNOPSIS: Supernatural drama set in the British trenches of WW1. Along with the rest of his platoon, young Private Edwin Childs fears imminent German gas attacks. As the dreaded attack begins, how much will Edwin give of himself in the ultimate act of compassion towards his fellow men?
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Language
DIRECTOR: Kelly Holmes
AWARDS NOMINATIONS (6): Best Fantastic Short, Best Director – Short, Best Ensemble Cast – Short,Best Cinematography – Short, Best Production Design – Short, Best Costumes – Short,
DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Kelly Holmes has been writing and directing shorts, and crewing on films over the past ten years in the UK and beyond. She has screened her short films THE GRAB, DOLLS and FAMILY PORTRAIT in international film festivals worldwide, winning several awards including Best Film and Best Directing awards, as well as technical awards and special mentions.
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BRUTE (IRELAND)
UTAH/REGIONAL PREMIERE
SYNOPSIS: A young mother and her son flee an abusive husband in the middle of the night only to find themselves trapped in their car in a field with a homicidal bull.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Language
AWARDS NOMINATIONS (1): Best Fantastic Short
DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Brian Folan has worked in film and television for more than 15 years in Ireland, Australia and Poland. He has had short films screen in international film festivals including Galway International Film Festival, Izmir International Film Festival and Kiev International Film festival. He has directed comedy, horror, documentary and drama and also writes a mean line of advertising copy when needs be. He’s got two little daughters that are scarier and funnier than anything he ever directed.
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COMPARTMENTALIZATION STORAGE FACILITY (USA)
UTAH PREMIERE
SYNOPSIS: A skeptical woman checks out an extraordinary storage facility where customers can, quite literally, compartmentalize their issues. A cowboy-salesman haphazardly tries to get her to commit to a unit, but she is hesitant. Her walk down suppressed-memory lane leaves her unaffected until the last locker reveals a crossroads where there’s no turning back.
RATINGS GUIDE: Language, Sensuality, Adult Content
DIRECTOR: Eliaz Rodriguez
AWARDS NOMINATIONS (1): Best Production Design – Short
DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Eliaz Rodriguez is an international-award winning self-taught writer, director, and editor from Chicago. In 2016 he launched his production company Elamina Films. The first release from Elamina was “Think Twice” which went on to be selected to 50+ film festivals and has won multiple “Best Director” and “Best Short Film” awards. The next year Elamina Films followed up with the romantic comedy short “Off Book”, which Eliaz was an Associate Producer on, and went on to screen at 22 festivals and won 10 awards. Eliaz’s super 8 short film “The Journey Inward”, which was all done with marionette puppets, made its premiere at Straight 8 London at the BFI theater in the summer of 2018. He is currently living as a nomad in Mexico as he writes his first feature film and as he develops a sketch-comedy tv show with his brother Donny, titled Brothers Rodriguez. Their proof-of-concept sketch “Mid 30s Martyr” just won “Best Micro Short” at the ME Film Festival.
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FACE SWAP (USA)
UTAH PREMIERE
SYNOPSIS: Featuring two internationally recognized A-list movie stars, FACE SWAP makes first-of-its-kind use of controversial machine-learning algorithms to deliver a cautionary tale about where our society is headed. A man convinces his wife to try out a new A.I. technology to spice up their sex life, but he ends up getting a bit more spice than he bargained for.
RATINGS GUIDE: Adult Content
DIRECTOR: David Gidali, Einat Tubi
AWARDS NOMINATIONS (1): Best Micro Short
DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: David Gidali is an LA-based feature-film director and visual effects supervisor. He attended Sam Spiegel Film School in Jerusalem, and graduated from the American Film Institute Conservatory’s directing MFA program in 2011. David has directed several award-winning sci-fi shorts, the weekly sci-fi/reality show INGRESS REPORT, and the 2015 film 10.0 Earthquake. Einat Tubi is a UCLA graduate and a writer/director living in Los Angeles. In 2017, her first feature film screenplay PROVIDENCE advanced to the Semi-Finals of the Academy Nicholl Fellowships. Her other writing credits include co-writing a historical fiction novel, as well as a dramatic TV show pilot produced in Eastern Europe based on the 1998 Kosovo War, which entailed living in the region for nearly a year. FACE SWAP is her directorial debut.
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FOR THE LOVE OF KYLE (USA)
UTAH PREMIERE
SYNOPSIS: In a desperate attempt to win back the love of his life, a man slowly realizes he’s trapped inside a bizarre made-for-tv drama.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Comedic Violence
DIRECTOR: Peter Campbell , Thomas Campbell
AWARDS NOMINATIONS: Best Comedy Short, Best Ensemble Cast – Short
DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Thomas & Peter Campbell – Directors of KILLER SPACEMEN FROM OUTER PLANET X (short), are a pair of filmmakers from Cape Elizabeth, Maine that been making movies for over 10 years, first breaking out into the film festival scene with a short for the Portland 48 Hour Film Project, called “Ye Apprenteth”. Following their graduations from the University of Southern Maine, Peter went on to enroll at Columbia University graduate school in New York City to pursue a master’s degree in Film Directing, and Thomas leapt into professional work in Theatre and Film throughout New England. They’ve received many awards for their movies over the years, including being named Best Maine Filmmakers in the Portland Phoenix’s 2017 “Best Of” Poll.
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GOD GLITCH (NETHERLANDS)
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
SYNOPSIS: In a future where entire human lives are expressed in algorithms, a couple must say their final goodbyes in a digital afterlife.
RATINGS GUIDE: All Audiences, Mild Violence
DIRECTOR: Gideon van Eeden
AWARDS NOMINATIONS: N/A
DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Gideon van Eeden is a South African former television actor and theatre creator who attained success in South Africa and performed in various European countries. After emigrating to the Netherlands he has worked as a filmmaker for corporate clients, NGO’s and wildlife documentary. His short film Bijltjesdag (Day of Reckoning) is currently screening at festivals world wide and marks his debut as a director of narrative fiction with numerous awards and nominations. His second short film, The Apricot Tree, premiered at the Raindance Film Festival in 2018 and is being received well on the festival circuit. Both productions were made as part of his studies in screenwriting and directing with the Raindance MA programme and the University of Staffordshire, which he completed with distinction.
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GODS & GOLD (USA)
UTAH/REGIONAL PREMIERE
SYNOPSIS: Music video for “Gods and Gold” by Aesthetic Perfection, featuring guitar by Richard Z. Kruspe of Rammstein. Directed by Clint Carney.
RATINGS GUIDE: Adult Content
DIRECTOR: Clint Carney
AWARDS NOMINATIONS (1): Best Music Video
DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Clint has worked on many different film projects as a director, producer, screenwriter, editor, and actor. He has recently directed music videos for the bands Aesthetic Perfection, Mankind is Obsolete, Elias Black, and more. Clint’s first feature, the surrealistic horror film “Dry Blood,” (that he produced, wrote, and starred in) has proven a huge success, having accumulated 30 festival awards and 15 additional nominations. Dry Blood was recently released by Dread Presents and Epic Pictures in January 2019. Clint currently has several other features on the horizon.
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THE DISHWASHER (USA)
UTAH PREMIERE
SYNOPSIS: Inspired by true events, a young family is thrown into upheaval after receiving a note from the local cartel in Puerto Penasco, Mexico.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Language
AWARDS NOMINATIONS (2): Best Fantastic Short, Best Supporting Actress – Short
DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Originally from Long Island, New York, Jordan Jacinto studied screenwriting and acting at Chapman University before developing his first screenplay with mentorship from Academy Award Nominee, Chazz Palminteri (A Bronx Tale, Bullets Over Broadway). In 2015, Jacinto made his directorial debut with the short film, Laguna Sleep, which he also wrote and starred in. In 2017, Jacinto wrote and directed the proof of concept short film, The Dishwasher. The film is inspired by true events and follows a young family thrown into upheaval after receiving a sinister message from the local cartel in Puerto Penasco, Mexico. During the summer of 2018, Jacinto released a short film featuring STUTTERHEIM Rain Coats entitled, Beneath The Jacarandas. Jacinto continues to develop the feature-length version of The Dishwasher, along with other projects.
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WHAT DAPHNE SAW (USA)
UTAH PREMIERE
SYNOPSIS: In the future, capital punishment has been abolished. Violent criminals are reprogrammed into unquestioning servants, their free will and ability to speak taken away. A young woman endures her punishment of servitude in a seemingly normal man’s home, where she discovers dark secrets.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Language
DIRECTOR: Lizz Marshall
AWARDS NOMINATIONS (1): Best Sci-Fi Short
DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Lizz Marshall is a Los Angeles based filmmaker. Shortly after graduating the University of Southern California (USC) School of Cinematic Arts in 2018, Lizz was awarded the inaugural Stephanie Rothman Fellowship for Women Student Filmmakers for her sci-fi/horror script What Daphne Saw. The fellowship, created by Rebekah McKendry and supported by Blumhouse’s Shock Waves podcast, was presented at Etheria Film Night, an annual showcase of short films by women genre filmmakers. Lizz spent her last semester at USC successfully crowdfunding for her first short film post-graduation. Her crowdfunding pitch video was named one of Seed&Spark’s favorite pitch videos of the year. Lizz also was a finalist in the 2018 Sundance Horizon Awards competition. Lizz prefers writing from the perspective of characters that are peculiar or under-represented. She is drawn to the thriller and horror genres and has had a life-long love for sci-fi and fantasy films. Lizz believes these genres provide a creative vehicle for examining difficult subjects and encourages us to question our own world.
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