THE BEST PROJECTS OF 2023
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Sobre Sombras e Luzes
A reflection of beings living in social invisibility, thinking about the difficulties of dealing with adversity and realizing that they are resilient in the face of life, bringing a look of humanity and innovation believing in a better world.
A film student, beginner director of three collaborative projects, taking the first step in the profession within cinematographic productions.
I aim to expose what I think and what I feel, I believe that we have the ability to change ourselves and thereby change the world around us through good feelings and good attitudes, walking with an open heart to share new learnings and new achievements.
ANTIQUARIUS
A lonely artist, facing a creativity crisis, desperately searches for inspiration. As an antiquarian, locked up in the world of old books and letters, he casts his mind back to his memories and demons of the past. Immersing himself in the works of ancient masters, he tries to find himself and the sense of existence. The movie was inspired by a life of a writer Franz Kafka and his “Letters to Milena”, where he reveals his helplessness and mysterious tension. A ghost of Milena intensifies his emotions and a mysterious spectre creates an atmosphere of uncertainty and danger. A film inspired by life and artistic work of Franz Kafka.
Jacek Krawczyk – film and theater director, independent filmmaker, choreographer, actor-dancer, performer, teacher, member of the Dance and Ballet Section of Association Of Polish Artists Of The Theater, Film, Radio And Television. A graduate of the Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, he obtained an artist-dancer diploma, awarded by the Polish Artists Of The Theater, Film, Radio And Television, honored by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. Together with the choreographer Joanna Czajkowska, they co-create the original Sopot Dance Theatre. Creator of many original choreographies. As a dancer and choreographer, he collaborated with many alternative and institutional theaters: with The Witold Gombrowicz Municipal Theatre in Gdynia, the Entertainment Theater in Chorzów, the Small Theater in Warsaw, the Musical Theater in Gdynia, the New Theater in Słupsk, the Grand Theater in Poznań, the Baltic Opera in Gdańsk, the Grand Theater in Łódź and the Gdańsk Shakespeare Theater, the German Audio Gruppe, the French Teatro Artonik and the Goerlitz Tanz Theater. He has performed at many dance, theater and performative art festivals in Poland and in over 20 countries in Europe, Asia and South America (including China, Indonesia, Argentina, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria , Sweden, Finland, Russia, Hungary, Romania, Lithuania, Estonia, Moldova, Czech Republic, Slovenia, France, Austria). Five times he received a scholarship for creators of culture from the Marshal of the Pomeranian Voivodeship and multiple scholarships of the President of the City of Sopot. In 2006, he was nominated for the “Artist of the Year 2005” award in the Gazeta Wyborcza Trójmiasto poll. He is a winner of the Theater Award of the Marshal of the Pomeranian Voivodeship in 2005 for directing and choreography of two performances: “Square. Version 6 ” and “Helicopter Tanz Streichquartett ”. He received a scholarship of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage for 2006. In 2007, he received the honorary badge “Meritorious for Polish Culture” from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage. In the academic year 2006/2007 he led the faculty in “Dance and movement systems in culture” in the field of cultural studies at the University of Gdańsk. In the years 2008-2010 he worked as a lecturer in the field of dance theater at the Alternative Theater School of the Żak Club in Gdańsk. In the 2016/2017 academic year, he taught the subject of “Dance theater workshops – theory and practice” at the Department of Performing Arts, Faculty of Philology, University of Gdańsk. In 2017, he received an award in the field of culture and art – “Sopocka Muza”. In 2019, honored by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage with the Bronze Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis. In 2020, he received a scholarship from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage – Online Culture. In 2020, he directed “The Seventh Seal”, an experimental indie short film which received Award Winner at Independent Shorts Award, at Vegas Movie Awards, at Tokyo International Monthly Film Festival, at Heart International Italian Film Festival, at IndieFest Film Awards, at Cannes Shorts Film Festival, at Eastern Europe International Movie Festival, at Milan Gold Awards, at Golden Wheat Awards, at Halicarnassus Film Festival,at Calcuta International Cult Film Festival, at Luis Bunuel Memorial Awards, at Dreamachine International Film Festival, at 8 & Halfilm Awards, at Fox International Film Festival, at Grand New York Film Awards, at Stanley Film Awards, at Emarald Peacock, at Golden Harvest Film Festival, at Cult Critic Movie Awards, at International Gold Awards, at New York Movie Awards, at Krimson Horyzon International Film Festival, at Black Mountain Film Festival, at Black Swan International Film Festival, at Virgin Spring Cinefest, at Europe Independent Movie Festival and received a nomination at AltFF Alternative Film Festival, at Indie Short Fest, and official selected at Amsterdam Freedom Independent IFF, at Sweden Film Awards, at Paradise Film Festival, at Paris Film Awards, at Hollywood Gold Awards, at New York Neorealism Film Awards, at Top Film Awards, at Cinematic European Film Festival, at Toronto Indie Filmmakers Festival, and Honorable Mention at Art Film Awards, at Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival and Florence Film Award.
A Single Thread
A street-savvy art dealer and an artistic street kid encounter each other randomly at an art gallery after the man they shared in love and friendship walks out on both of them. In the ensuing confrontation they identify and discover what is truly important to them, but only one can win.
A life-long writer, storyteller and a movie-lover, English is my second language after that of my native country of Poland. I studied Producing and Directing at New York Film Academy. At present, I make my home in Denver, Colorado, where I’m privileged to work with the incredible collection of creative people who never cease to inspire me. I believe in strong, character-driven stories that illuminate the forever-infinite aspects of human condition. This project is my first motion picture.
For some of us, human nature is a fickle proposition.
We heal through the path of least resistance. We live our dreams through other people because it is safer that way. We trust our attention span rather than listening with our heart. When our well-planned lives even begin to think of falling apart, we seek to validate them, often at the cost of invalidating lives of others.
In the immortal words of Jesse Jackson, we should never look down on anybody unless we are helping them up. In the grander scheme of things, it might well be that the majority of our social and individual troubles stems from lack of empathy. Blinded by our fears, we avoid conscious choices of working together to solve a problem – all at the expense of personal growth and the well-being of our community.
These paradoxes have been on my mind for a while, and to that end, I attempted to address them in this film. To me, this is all about healing; about forgiveness; about fear of letting go; lastly, about art so powerful, it controls lives. It is not without reason this story is set in the world of art. That world is bright, sterile, expensive and exclusive; its tensions run high and stakes higher, and it swallows those who made a mistake of voluntarily trapping themselves within it. It is a world devoid of empathy.
Empathy, in my eyes, is one of the most powerful human emotions. It can save a life or topple a civilization. It can be the greatest blessing or the deadliest weapon, depending on whose hand wields it. The sad part is, it does not take a lot – like the proverbial faith the size of a mustard seed, true empathy often starts and ends with a single thread.
Storming Caesars Palace
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas — until now. When Ruby Duncan loses her Las Vegas hotel job due to a workplace accident and accepts public assistance, she discovers firsthand the stigma and harassment by an over-zealous, fraud-obsessed welfare department. With Mary Wesley and Alversa Beals, Ruby creates a welfare rights group to fight for an adequate income, dignity, and justice. They, along with low-income mothers across the country, form the National Welfare Rights Organization (NWRO) with the support of George Wiley, a chemistry professor-turned-activist and Frances Fox Piven, a radical social-scientist. Together, the mothers of the NWRO introduce a Universal Basic Income campaign with feminist Gloria Steinem at their side, at the Democratic National Convention in Miami in 1972.
STORMING CAESARS PALACE shares the story of how a group of ordinary low-income mothers launched an extraordinary grassroots movement for economic justice and Black women’s empowerment in the 1960s and 1970s. This film reveals the roots of today’s movements, highlighting the experiences of Black women organizers from one of the most challenging and forgotten feminist, anti-poverty movements in our history, and places it in the limelight, where it will inspire, embolden and honor the women whose courage, tenacity and dreams could not be quashed, against all odds.
Hazel shares the stories of underrepresented communities, especially women, who strive to dismantle intersectional discrimination historically and today. Hazel has produced highly-acclaimed documentaries for over a decade. She directed 10 episodes of PBS’s primetime celebrity genealogy series, “Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.” Hazel created and produced a 5-part, first-person, short docu-series called, “My Everyday Hustle,” for WNET/PBS WorldChannel. She produced “Roots: A History Revealed” simulcast on A&E/History Channel, which was nominated for a NAACP Image Award and screened at the Bushwick Film Festival in 2016. Hazel was a co-producer for 6-hour PBS series “The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.,” which was honored with an Emmy Award, a Peabody Award, a duPont-Columbia Award, and a NAACP Image Award.
“Storming Caesars Palace,” Hazel’s first feature-length documentary film, has received support from ITVS’s DDF and Open Call initiatives, Fork Films, Firelight Media, the Ford Foundation’s JustFilms, Black Public Media, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and received a 2020 Finalist Prize from Ken Burns/Library of Congress. The film has fiscal sponsorship from Women Make Movies and has participated in Documentary Labs with Firelight Media, BigSky Pitch, Black Public Media’s 360+ Incubator, Film Independent, The Gotham Film & Media Institute, and Brown Girls Doc Mafia (BGDM).
On the surface, my life is banal: I’m a Colombian-born woman who grew up in New York City. But beneath lies a more complicated story: I was left in an orphanage for abandoned children as an infant. Ruby Duncan’s selflessness has driven my desire to examine the lengths that mothers will go to provide for their children. Ruby offers one answer: “a mother will do anything for her children.”
STORMING CAESARS PALACE centers around one of the most maligned and misunderstood groups of women in the United States: black mothers on welfare. Yet, the story of the little-welfare-rights-organization-that-could fueled by Ruby, Mary and Alversa’s determination to provide for their families, is universal. STORMING CAESARS PALACE shifts the narrative so low-income mothers are recognized as visionary political strategists and grassroots leaders who pushed for a Universal Basic Income and Black women’s empowerment — over 50 years ago.
La Sanguchería
L.I.O, una banda de rock, quiere ir a comer algo luego de un concierto y se encuentra con una misteriosa situación.
A psychedelic look into nostalgia. Peruvian animator, Alvaro Giraldo, reminisces an early childhood love for cartoons – exposing his matured but colourful approach to dynamic & shapeshifting and comic storytelling.
In this video I wanted to explore some comic violence. The song alredy narrated the history so I adjust interpreted my own way making the old lady a murderess and the murdered a cop :). Hope you have fun as I did making it 🙂
Full Throttle
A young man gets into a gleaming Porsche and rushes at breakneck speed through the streets of Toulouse.
Né en 1994, Gabriel suit les traces de son frère ainé et découvre le cinéma vers l’âge de six ans.
C’est quelques années plus tard qu’il découvre “Les dents de la mer” de Steven Spielberg provocant ainsi chez lui le souhait d’être réalisateur.
Dans les années 2010, après avoir vu “Top Gun” il s’intéresse aux deux producteurs phares des années 80 “Jerry Bruckheimer / Don Simpson” qui seront d’une grande influence dans son désir de toucher à la production cinématographique.
The Giraffe
The first real action of the Mirage F1 was impressive. At the very beginning of its operational life, the Iraqi Mirage F1 entered the “hall of fame” by killing some Iranian F14 Tomcats, by using the new Super Matra 530F missiles and the “Giraffe” maneuver.
After the First Gulf War, more than twenty Iraqi Mirages escaped to Iran. The US Intelligence Services discovered that the pilots were not defecting, but the flights were part of a secret plan with the agreement of Iran government.
After the First Gulf War, the Allies enforced two NFZ in the north and south of Irak. The threat of Mirage F1 pilots escaped into Iran was taken very seriously by the USAF. To counter the threat, the USAF Squadrons received a training program in Spain and Germany, before the rotations to the Gulf. In this video we show an example of the thousands of mockup combats in between the USAF F16 and the Spanish Air Force Mirage F1. The beginning was hard for viper pilots to counter the tactics and skills of the experienced Spanish fighter pilots. But the training was of high value for the mission.
Today, those Mirages in the video continue training USAF pilots, as aggressors under the flag of Draken Intl. This video is dedicated to the Spanish fighter pilots who operated the Mirage F1.
Battle of Bridges
“Battle of Bridges” is a gripping documentary film that chronicles a pivotal engagement during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990. The battle took place near the city of Al Jahra and involved Iraqi forces and sectors of the Kuwaiti army. The Iraqi forces, aiming to enter the Kuwaiti capital, crossed the Kuwaiti border through various axes, with International Highway No. 80 being the most significant.
To counter this invasion, the General Staff Command of the Kuwaiti Army assigned the 35th Armored Brigade, comprising the esteemed Hammurabi Armored Division (Republican Guard), with the crucial task of obstructing the advancing Iraqi forces. Despite facing challenges in fully mobilizing their troops, the 35th Armored Brigade valiantly engaged the Iraqi army convoys with the available resources. During the intense clash, the Iraqi forces received reinforcements from the Medina Armored Division (Republican Guard) and launched an assault on the rear front of the Kuwaiti 35th Brigade.
As ammunition supplies dwindled, the number of Iraqi forces increased, and the brigade found itself encircled, they made the strategic decision to withdraw to Saudi Arabian territory as nightfall approached. Following their entry into Saudi soil, the brigade regrouped, underwent training, and prepared themselves for the imminent liberation war to free Kuwait.
Television and film director with over 17 years of experience in the industry, specializing in media. Holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and media from Petra National University in the Kingdom of Jordan.
Known for directing a diverse range of television and cinematic works, including drama series, documentaries, and advertisements. Notable projects include the historical series “Raha al-Ayyam,” the documentary film “Humanity..Journey to India,” and the scientific program series “The Splendor of Creation.”
Additionally, he has directed extensive television coverage of national holidays, religious rites, and other significant events. He has also worked on documentaries, capturing live events and recording programs that document national occasions.
Certified trainer of trainers, recognized by the American Bita institute and accredited by the Applied Authority and the Civil Service Bureau of the State of Kuwait. He has conducted numerous training sessions covering various media, technical, and administrative topics such as media skills, film content analysis, satellite broadcasting technology, presentation techniques, team management, and prioritization.
In the field of public relations, he has held prominent positions and actively participated in trade union activities and conferences since the early stages of his media career. Starting as a skilled graphic designer, he has been involved in managing media campaigns.
He is a proud member of the Kuwaiti Public Relations Association, Kuwaiti Cinema Society, and Kuwaiti Artists and Media Syndicate.
Forever Wild
Ever since its transformation from an over-the-hill mining town to a world class ski resort, Telluride has been a diverse mix of ski bums, urban dropouts, back-to-the-land hippies, liberal second-home owners, and savvy business entrepreneurs. “Forever Wild” is a feature documentary about three women who inspire and organize the community to stop a billionaire military contractor and land developer from destroying a beautiful National Park-like valley at their doorstep.
An environmental dream becomes a hard reality when the court hands over its verdict — raise 50 million dollars in only three months or lose it all. Experts tell them it can’t be done. Local naysayers push back. But the spirit of the wild land resides in the heart and soul of these women and the awakened town. They’re ready to risk everything.
An active director, editor and documentarian, Reinhart finds it just as important to take the time to teach. For 17 years he has been a film instructor in Sedona, Arizona. Reinhart teaches narrative and documentary filmmaking, as well as master seminars in editing.
A native of Northwest Indiana, Reinhart was raised in a theatrical family and was on stage at the age of six. By the age of 13 he was making short films. He worked in the entertainment industry in a variety of positions including producer, director, and editor for both film and television.
Reinhart’s first Hollywood experience was producing a documentary on the feature film Hoosiers which led to an opportunity to work with the Coen Brothers on Raising Arizona. Reinhart went on to produce the nationally televised American Highways for Public Television. In the 1980’s, Reinhart started a television production company and produced corporate and industrial projects for Fortune 500 companies as well as documentaries. Several of his documentaries were aired nationally on public television. Classroom Under The Canopy, filmed in Costa Rica, was produced in cooperation with Indiana University and the Indianapolis Zoo. The Eyes of Nepal aired in Australia and the US. He went on to direct the features, Reality Check and the crowdfunded documentary entitled “The Musical Man”. “Born to Rewild” a film that follows the 8 month and 5000 mile conservation trek by John Davis is currently touring the US. Reinhart’s current film “Forever Wild” will be released in June, 2018.
30,000 Strong
War brings out the worse in people, especially if one is Black or Brown and not a citizen of a country where war ravages a nation. During the beginning of the Ukrainian war, African and Asian university students were segregated until room opened up for them weeks later, on the trains to Poland and Moldova.
An eclectic playwright with roots as a journalist, Linda strives to create situations thwarting alienation in her audience. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, she launched her writing career as a reporter for ‘Newsday’ when she graduated from New York University. Immersing herself in theatre and film for several years, she raised her son singly, rescued four dogs, and taught high school English before receiving her Master of Arts in NYU’s Educational Theatre in Music and Performing Arts Professions.
She wrote over 20 plays and films, many of which she directed from New York to Los Angeles. She was positively reviewed by The Los Angeles Times for her comedy drama, ‘Prime Rib Wedding.’ The Tampa Bay Times wrote a feature article on Ms. Pallotta after she started a theatre workshop locally. She wrote and directed a short film, ‘Envirokids’ in Orlando for the county’s EPA as she taught theatre as an adjunct professor at Valencia College. She later taught at CUNY’s Baruch College in NYC.
Ms. Pallotta recently won 3 awards in the Indie FEST Film Awards May ‘23 & was selected semi-finalist in 8 international film festivals for her short and full length screenplays. She is published in the international journal ‘Literature Today’ as well as ‘Fresh Words.’ During the pandemic, Linda was chosen to be a finalist in the women’s festival of playwrights in New York City’s Crossways Theatre.
Listed on NPX (New Play Exchange), she is a Dramatist Guild member as well as SAG/AFTRA/AEA. Linda volunteers at Red Door Community (formerly Gilda’s Club) for those challenged by cancer, leading an improvisational workshop for both children and adults.
The purpose of my life is to create situations that others can identify with within their own lives, to make my audiences feel less alone. If, through my words, I can make life better for some, to share experiences in order to make others happier, then my goal to thwart alienation will be completed. Hopefully my words will .reverberate and help those who need clarification towards what they’re feeling. Creating a tear, a smile, a retort or a belly laugh makes me know my audience is feeling my words. If my words “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comforted,” I will be an artist, for only then will I have embroidered a live tapestry called film.
Pharaoh
“He will taste my revenge!” On his deathbed, the Pharaoh’s Architect tells his sons he made a secret entrance to the Royal Treasury, giving them access to vast amounts of gold and jewels.
An American director, producer, screenwriter, video artist, and journalist, Devyatkin uses elements of humor, art, and new technology in his work. He is known as one of the first video-makers to combine abstract synthesized imagery with camera footage. His programs have been broadcast domestically and internationally on ABC, PBS, Channel 4 UK, WDR Germany, France 3 andTF1, and Channel One Russia.
This story is one of the oldest stories of all human civilization, set in Ancient Egypt, told in a contemporary style as if it is happening today. My father told my brothers and me this tale when we were very young. It concerns questions that are as important today as then.
The Friend
An older woman befriends a younger neighbor whose life she
sees as exciting and strange. The fascinating and frenzied
alliance looms on an attraction riding on danger when the younger woman’s jealous lover blames the older woman for his tarnished and tumultuous relationship, already on the rocks. But the couple stays together, bonded by their odd thirst of lust, revenge and thrills–perhaps murder—giving others the wild ride they crave, fueling their own.
An eclectic playwright with roots as a journalist, Linda strives to create situations thwarting alienation in her audience. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, she launched her writing career as a reporter for ‘Newsday’ when she graduated from New York University. Immersing herself in theatre and film for several years, she raised her son singly, rescued four dogs, and taught high school English before receiving her Master of Arts in NYU’s Educational Theatre in Music and Performing Arts Professions.
She wrote over 20 plays and films, many of which she directed from New York to Los Angeles. She was positively reviewed by The Los Angeles Times for her comedy drama, ‘Prime Rib Wedding.’ The Tampa Bay Times wrote a feature article on Ms. Pallotta after she started a theatre workshop locally. She wrote and directed a short film, ‘Envirokids’ in Orlando for the county’s EPA as she taught theatre as an adjunct professor at Valencia College. She later taught at CUNY’s Baruch College in NYC.
Ms. Pallotta recently won 3 awards in the Indie FEST Film Awards May ‘23 & was selected semi-finalist in 8 international film festivals for her short and full length screenplays. She is published in the international journal ‘Literature Today’ as well as ‘Fresh Words.’ During the pandemic, Linda was chosen to be a finalist in the women’s festival of playwrights in New York City’s Crossways Theatre.
Listed on NPX (New Play Exchange), she is a Dramatist Guild member as well as SAG/AFTRA/AEA. Linda volunteers at Red Door Community (formerly Gilda’s Club) for those challenged by cancer, leading an improvisational workshop for both children and adults.
The purpose of my life is to create situations that others can identify with within their own lives, to make my audiences feel less alone. If, through my words, I can make life better for some, to share experiences in order to make others happier, then my goal to thwart alienation will be completed. Hopefully my words will .reverberate and help those who need clarification towards what they’re feeling. Creating a tear, a smile, a retort or a belly laugh makes me know my audience is feeling my words. If my words “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comforted,” I will be an artist, for only then will I have embroidered a live tapestry called film.