Read below for a synopsis of each film and a bio from the filmmaker.
Each of these films screened live on Saturday September 30, 2023 at the Episcopal Actors Guild Hall in NYC.

+70

Women are beautiful and give beauty. Even at the last moment of their lives.
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Meysam Jafarinejadsedehi - I am Iranian filmmaker and photographer from 2003, I was born in Tehran in 1983.

Loose Change

A man draws a sketch of a lighthouse.

John Bonelli graduated from Manhattanville College with a Bachelor's degree in Digital Media Production. During his time there he was heavily involved with the student-run organization the Manhattanville Video Project (MVP). John loves watching movies and is most captivated by the eccentricity of surrealist cinema.

Tabula Rasa: A Fresh Start

After the departure of a school's beloved fashion instructors, five proactive students are left to organize Savannah Arts Academy's highly anticipated, and first-ever, student-led fashion show.

Kennedy Reid is a high school senior and aspiring filmmaker from Savannah, Georgia. As one of the few women majoring in film at her high school, and even fewer women of color, she has asserted herself as one of the most decorated high school filmmakers in the state. Reid hopes to continue pursuing film in college and throughout her professional career in the near future!

Tyrannosaurus Blues

Safe and secure he sentences to death thousands of young people to whom the future he steals. The Tyrant to the world tells the tales defended by slaves to which he throws crumbs . Clinging to his throne, still survives, drops his bombs, not only emotional. To hope the door closes, bodies stretched out, the darkness advances. Who will our lives give us back? Who will this mess fix? We all look like alabaster statues. Invading and killing gives no glory the Tyrant is already condemned by Time and History: he thinks he’s a hero, he’s just a residue, in our memory will be just trash.

I'm a simple middle school - 1 grade teacher, with his young and normally wonderful students.
This short movie was made with a cooperative work during the school year 2021-22, with a middle school - 1 grade class (11-12 years old): The actors were students, the direction was cooperative, the film shooting shared when possible with the teacher.​

Empire Rising

An evil threat emerges and a school needs a hero.
Tim Burkhart is a 24 year old recent college graduate of Texas Christian University, He was born and raised in New York, NY, where he had the privilege of taking Mike “Chief” Chiafulio’s Filmmaking class as a student at Xavier High School. He gives full credit to “Chief” for pushing him to become the most perfect version of himself, both in and outside of the classroom. It is through the lessons he learned at Xavier, he learned to become a more selfless, creative, daring, and adaptable person. Since “Empire Rising” he has lived in various parts of the country, most recently being in Fort Worth, TX, and Scottsdale, AZ, and he has begun to pursue being an officer in the US Navy.

Camden University

The college process for one student becomes....unhinged.
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My name is Will Rugai. I am a recent graduate of RIT with a bachelor of fine arts in visual media. My passions have always been in film, especially horror. Camden U, my debut film, is a horror/comedy following a recent high school graduate’s acceptance into an abandoned university in Camden, New Jersey.

Enter the Room

A young adult (Brian) is visited by his brother, Jeremy, who needs a place to stay as he settles into his new city. The two polar opposite personalities begin to clash as Jeremy's presence poses a threat to Brian's way of life. Brian's uptight personality and unreasonable living standards rub off on Jeremy, creating an incredible amount of tension. Bad blood, stemming from a traumatic past event reveals the shocking truth of the brothers' current situations, as Brian struggles to differentiate between reality and his worst nightmares.

I am a passionate filmmaker who has been watching movies since as long as I can remember. Some of my favorite films include "Memento", "The Dark Knight", The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "Alien", etc. I have seen over 8,000 films and am as crazy about movies as any individual you will ever meet. I studied Business at Ithaca College and ironically figured out my passion right as I was graduating. I have worked on a number of various films and have written, directed, and edited "515", "Enter the Room", "In the Backseat", "Bay For Blood" and "The Corridor Crossing". I also have a few more projects in the pre-production stage.

Tonight

Two friends discuss life, art and love on one fateful night.

Dustin Wilson is a young filmmaker from Washington focused on creating visually compelling works based on various emotions he's felt but can't describe. He's been making films of some kind or another since they figured out how to work LEGO stop motion. And in the coming years he would like to make a name for himself as an independent director of photography.

Javelina

11-year-old Science whiz Ellie lives in her own world of toys, bugs, and books in Beacon NY. The day before starting middle school, she gets a big reality check when she meets her strange new neighbors and their even stranger pet.
This film was made with the support of the HUDSY Community Content Fund.

Louise Bartolotta is a filmmaker from Poughkeepsie NY and a graduate of the SUNY Purchase BFA film program. Her short films, 'Plastics Are Forever', 'Lucky 13' and 'Other Girls' have played all over the country. In 2021 she was the recipient of a HUDSY Community Content Fund Grant and created 'Javelina', a short narrative film available now on the HUDSY App. She has shot and directed content for Harper's Bazaar, Mashable, Google, and many other companies.

Love Bites

Sam and Charlie have broken up, but instead of taking a much needed break, they are stuck on the closing shift at Fritzy's. This awkward situation is further compounded when Charlie unwittingly starts the zombie apocalypse, serving the radioactive nacho meat. With a horde of zombies staring them down, Sam and Charlie must sed aside their newly minted differences or they may not make it till dawn.

Brian DeLong is a filmmaker from Westchester, New York. He went to study film at Colorado College. Since then he has moved back to New York to create more films. 

Desperate Times

A man on the run has a small breakdown in the middle of the woods.

Born in Cincinnati, Ben Frondorf began attending school at High Point University graduating with a degree in film and minor in creative writing. He is currently working his way through the film industry to continue to make movies and show off creative talents.