The 50th Annual Rochester International Film Festival
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, April 30, May 1, 2, and 3, 2008

All showings at the Little Theater
240 East Avenue
Rochester New York

Wednesday, April 30, 7:00 pm

INSTANT KARMA
Director/Producer/Writer: Tristan Higgs; US, 2008, 8 minutes

Alex attempts to end a run of bad luck by trying his hand at credit card fraud.

Tristan Higgs is an award-winning writer and director of several short films. Originally from London, England, he attended both the Surrey Institute of Art and Design and Florida State University’s Film School. He was a Movies on a Shoestring Trophy winner in 2007 for Ninety Days. He just completed a feature screenplay co-written with Catherine Rehwinkle.

Print Source: tristanhiggs@hotmail.com


MURDERING MAMA’S BOY
Director/Writer: Katherine Cunningham-Eves; US, 2007, 18:27 minutes

A young girl’s obsessive jealousy towards the seven-year-old boy her mother nannies for, drives her to desperate actions.

Katherine Cunningham-Eves graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University with a double degree in History and Acting, then studied directing at the Moscow Art Theater in Russia. As an actress, she appeared in many prime-time television shows, starred in her own sitcom, and worked on several independent films.

Print Source: info@deadseriousfilms.com


TEMPORARY VIRGIN
Director: Tatsushi Momen; Japan, 2007, 3 minutes

The visual images depict metaphors of a love fantasy in a very romantic and abstract way.

Tatsushi Momen is one of the most sought-after creative talents in the Japanese creative industry. After the academic course in Kyushu Institute of Design, he began his career as a motion graphics artist, and commercial director at Koo-ki Co., Ltd. in Fukuoka. He has worked on many high-profile TV projects and has also designed various promotion images for NINTENDO and a series of television commercials.

Print Source: fxfxf@koo-ki.co.jp


STILL(E)
Director/Producer/Writer: Susan Schwarzwald; US, 2006, 25:38 minutes

Through the lens of memory, the daughter of a refugee from Nazi Germany revisits the pain of remembering, tinged with the fear of forgetting that silently haunts her father, herself, and now her young daughter as well.

Susan Schwarzwald received her BA in Philosophy from Alfred University and holds a Masters Degree in International and Comparative Education from Columbia University. Still(e) was awarded the Prix UCMF (Best Film Score) at the Avignon Film Festival and a Director’s Citation from the Black Maria Film & Video Festival. She is co-owner of ICBA, Inc. (design services) and First Gaze Films.

Print Source: info@firstgazefilms.com



ERIN GO WRONG
Directors/Writers/Animators: Brian Kavanagh and Joshua Huber; US, 2007, 4 minutes

Things go awry for two leprechauns who have kidnapped the Easter Bunny.


Brian Kavanagh obtained his BA in film and video from Pennsylvania State University. Currently, he is pursuing his MFA in Computer Animation at the Rochester Institute of Technology and working as a video editor at CGI Communications, Inc. in Rochester.
Joshua Huber obtained his bachelor’s degree from the Ohio State University in computer science, with an emphasis on 3D graphics. He is now working on his MFA in Computer Animation at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Print Source: bkavay@hotmail.com


CHAIN
Director: Hyunmi Park; South Korea, 2007, 16:20 minutes

How far would you go to save a loved one?

Hyunmi Park got a Masters Degree in Film T
heory in Korea. Before moving to America, she was a film critic, festival coordinator, researcher and translator. In 2007, she received her MFA in Film/TV Production from the USC School of Cinema-Television, where she concentrated her studies in directing and writing. With a passion for film and filmmaking, she is trying to make her first feature film in Korea.

Print Source: p_hyunmi@hotmail.com


CLARITY
Director/Writer: Miles Duffy; US, 2007, 10 minutes

A schoolteacher awakes in a cold sweat from a bizarre dream.

Miles Duffy followed his passion for filmmaking to Los Angeles in 1999. Since training in screenwriting at UCLA, he has written and directed numerous screenplays including Prodigy and The President's Men. Duffy's film Mojave Green was showcased in more than 10 international film festivals, including Movies on a Shoestring in 2004 for which he was awarded the Shoestring Trophy.

Print Source: Duffyc4@yahoo.com


THURSDAY, MAY 1, 8:30 pm

THE REPLACEMENT CHILD

Director/Writer: Justin Lerner; US, 2007, 25 minutes

Todd returns to his conservative, backwoods hometown to find that his best friend, Michael, is deathly ill and his family refuses medical attention for him.

Justin Lerner got his BA in Theatre Arts/Film at Cornell University. He just received his MFA in Directing at UCLA's Graduate Film School. His MFA thesis short film, The Replacement Child, has just been named "Best of 2007" at UCLA. Justin currently lives in Los Angeles where he is preparing to graduate and is writing three feature screenplays.

Print Source: Justin@twelve34films.com


TELL ME WHAT TO DO

Director: Lee Ji Sung, Producer: Joanne Hurley, Writer: Ivaila Minov; UK, 2007, 11:21 minutes

Everything you ever wanted?

Lee Ji Sung studied at London Film Academy (Film Making) and earned an MA at Kingston University (Film Studies). Lee has worked as a sound mixer, editor, director, and writer for many shorts films. Lee has also worked for one of the film festivals in Seoul (S.Korea).

Print Source: peel1895@gmail.com


OUT OF THE SHADOW
Director/Writer: Andrew Bartels; US, 2007, 8 minutes

A young man being raised by a racist father re-evaluates his upbringing after witnessing a lynching.

Andrew Bartels grew up in Elgin, Illinois, and he attended Carleton College as an English Major.  While home one summer recovering from spine surgery, he started making movies with a video camera.  His passion is for television and film that holds up a mirror to the emotional dilemmas of its audience.  He currently attends the Florida State University Film School where he has written and directed three short films.

Print Source: kbarber@film.fsu.edu


MEDIUM RARE

Director: Stefan Stuckert; UK, 2007, 14 minutes

Carl is running for his life. When a beautiful woman offers him an unexpected hiding place, his life seems to change. But desire is about to lay its own subtle trap…

Stefan Stuckert has fine-tuned his filmmaking skills in British TV. He worked as an editor before becoming a director. He has won several international editing awards and was voted twice among the UK’s top 5 editors by Televisual magazine.

Print Source: info@mediumraretheshortfilm.com


KIRKSDALE

Director/Writer: Ryan Spindell; US, 2007, 22 minutes

A troubled teenager and a lecherous deputy fight for their sanity and their lives in Kirksdale Hospital, a decaying mental asylum in 1960’s Florida.

Ryan Spindell received his B.S. in graphic design, and a minor in Film Studies, from Florida State University in 2003. After graduation he worked as a professional graphic designer for a year before accepting a position as a photographer for ABC News in Tallahassee. In 2005 he was invited into the Florida State University graduate film conservatory, where he wrote and directed five short films, including a spec commercial for the Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmakers Awards. Kirksdale, his thesis film, has been accepted into the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.

Print Source: kbarber@film.fsu.edu


SOLDIERS OF SISYPHUS

Director/Producer: Bob Barancik, Animator: David Puls; US, 2006, 4 minutes

A meditative look at the futility of war.

Bob Barancik is an award-winning printmaker, photographer, and painter. His digital prints and photography have been featured in six award-winning videos.
Dave Puls has been Creative Director at Animatus Studio since 1992. His independent films, called Fresh Toones have been shown in festivals around the world and on WXXI-PBS. Soldiers of Sisyphus was selected for the Grand Festival Award at the Berkeley Film Festival.

Print Source: dave@freshtoones.com


G8

Director/Producer/Writer: Make It Short Movie Project; Canada, 2007, 10 minutes

World leaders gather for a G8 summit in Thunder Bay, Canada just as known terrorist, Lutero Babych is spotted in the city.

The Make It Short Movie Project was created in 2005 to encourage community support for film production. The projects annual event attracts hundreds of 'non-filmmakers/actors' to experience acting and crew positions in an educational project that actually makes a real short film for cinema release.
Print Source: info@2knine.com


DAVID BIANCHI’S SOLDIER

Director/Daniel J. Pico, Writer/Producer: David Bianchi; US, 2007, 11 minutes

An experimental film told in performance poetry outlining a day in the life of a soldier on the front lines of the Iraq War.

Daniel J. Pico, an award winning writer/director, has been making movies since the age
of eight. He holds a BA in Film and Video from Columbia College Chicago. He has written and directed over 40 short films and two features. He also directed TV pilots and music videos.
David Bianchi, originally from Rochester, NY, is now based in Hollywood, CA. He is a filmmaker, painter, and nationally recognized performance poet. He received his BFA in Performance Theatre from Arizona State University. David has starred in numerous independent films, National commercials, and is a member of the Screen Actors Guild
and AFTRA. Recently he produced the feature film, Farewell/Darkness. Soldier is an official selection of 12 domestic film festivals.

Print Source: sammystix@hotmail.com




FRIDAY, MAY 2, 7:00 pm

Movies on a Shoestring 50-Year Golden Retrospective

Producers: Josephine M.Perini & Daniel K.Reardon

Enjoy a short compilation of some of the notable films of the original 1,062 that have been screened in the Rochester International Film Festival since 1959.

Dan Reardon has been a member of MOAS since the early 70's.He has served in every position including 'Best of the Fest' curator acquiring significant films :for the collection since 1972. He is the Coordinator of Media Services in the West Irondequoit School District.
Josephine M.Perini first became President of MOAS in 1985. She is currently serving her eighth term. Originally from "just outside NYC,” she came to Rochester to accept a position as Middle School Guidance Counselor in WISD. Currently retired, she volunteers for numerous organizations.


L’ORO ROSSO (THE RED GOLD)

Director: Cesare Fragnelli, Writer Alessandra Recchia; Italy, 2006, 12:22 minutes

Erika, who has run away from Romania, lives her life in Apulia in southern Italy with a lovely daughter and terrifying memories of the past.

Cesare Fragnelli set up the cinematographic company Cinemasudfilms in Apulia in 1999. He earned his degree in Modern and Contemporary Italian Literature, at the University of Rome La Sapienza – specialization in Cinema (2002). He is the director and the author of a number of socially committed short films. He also worked as director and author on some advertising commercials.
Alessandra Recchia lives between Locorotundo where she was born and Rome, Italy. In 2005, she received a degree at the Faculty of Foreign Languages at the University of Bari. She works in the advertising world as author of several communication campaigns and backstage videos for cinema and television.

Print Source: recchia@cinemasudfilms.com


MIA

Director/Writer: Catherine Rehwinkel; US, 2007, 7:43 minutes

A ten year-old girl struggles to reconnect with her childhood crush, an older cousin who has returned from Vietnam frighteningly different.

Catherine Rehwinkel graduated from Florida State University Film School in 2007 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. She has written and directed several short films. Recently she received a Director's Guild of America Student Film Award for Mia. In the summer of 2008, she will be moving to NYC to focus on her career in filmmaking.

Print Source: kbarber@film.fsu.edu


PISMO (THE LETTER)

Director/Writer: Matvei Zhivov; Canada, 2007, 15 minutes

A wounded Russian soldier puts his wife to an emotional test with a result he does not anticipate.


Matvei Zhivov was born and raised in Moscow, Russia, but moved to Canada in 1991. He went to Ryerson University in Toronto, originally studying for a Bachelor of Commerce degree in ITM. By chance he got involved in film and that is what he now does. He is currently directing a television feature film for Channel 1.

Print Source: mjivov@gmail.com


MOJADO

Director/Producer/Writer: Angela Trevino; US, 2007, 22 minutes

After 15 year-old Anne plays a prank on her maid, Sofia, grave repercussions result for Sophia and her 16 year-old son, Miguel.

Angela Trevino was born in Monterey, Mexico and moved to Texas at age 11. Mojado was her thesis film at Yale University. She is currently working on her first novel, a work that revolves around one family’s immigrant experience.

Print Source: angela.trevino@gmail.com


REBEL SONG

Director/Writer: Simon Arthur; UK, 2006, 14:52 minutes

A woman and two men play out their broken lives amongst the swaying trees.

Simon Arthur has an M.A. degree in Film and Television Studies and Sociology from the University of Glasgow in 2002. In 2007 he received his Master of Fine Arts from the Screen Academy of Scotland. He worked for several years at Glasgow City Council, teaching filmmaking to teenagers at drop in centers for the socially deprived in the south side of Glasgow. He is also a resident filmmaker on the Board of Directors at the Glasgow Media Access Centre, the largest community centre for filmmakers in Scotland.

Print Source: SimonArthur1@googlemail.com



THE WALL

Director/Writer: Michael Lloyd Green; US, 2007, 7:30 minutes

A New York City cellist plagued by years of unbearable guilt, seeks solace in the music of a Holocaust survivor with whom he shares a tenement wall.

Michael Lloyd Green graduated with a degree in creative writing from the University of Central Florida and immediately began working for Haxan Films shooting behind the scenes videography for their first bio film since The Blair Witch Project. Shortly after, he moved to Miami, where he worked as an assistant to Colin Farrell on the set of Michael Mann’s feature Miami Vice. Michael is currently working on his Master of Fine Arts degree in film production at Florida State University where he continues to sharpen his skills as a writer and director. His MFA thesis film Category 5 will be completed in August 2008.

Print Source: kbarber@film.fsu.edu


SPEED DATING

Director/Producer/Writer: Crystal Liu; US, 2007, 15 minutes

A black comedy about a young woman who devises a sure-fire way to meet the man of her dreams.

Crystal Liu graduated summa cum laude from the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television. Her award-winning thesis film, I Think In White was an official selection at the Tribeca Film Festival and the Hawaii International Film Festival. Ms. Liu invites you to "get hit with love" by the most recent Montezuma Film Festival "Best Comedy Short" award winner, Speed Dating.

Print Source: shadymandarin@yahoo.com



SATURDAY, MAY 3, 2:50 pm

BORDERLINE

Director/Producer/Writer: Sam Lembeck; US, 2007, 10 minutes

A dark comedy about maternal love and first dates.

Sam Lembeck is an LA native with two actors as parents. He attended Columbia College in Chicago and then did his Masters at The University of Southern California in 2003. Borderline is not his first short film, but is his first experience helming a large crew and working with a sizeable budget.

Print Source: Samlem210@aol.com


CONFLATION

Director/Writer: Stéphanie Joalland; US, 2007, 14 minutes

Carol wakes up one more time totally confused. Is she a single mother struggling to get by as a free-lance photographer or a brilliant scientist with a loving husband?

Stéphanie Joalland was born and raised in the coastal province of Brittany, France, the home of Jules Verne. She worked as a television fiction scriptwriter and as a script consultant for France Television 1. She has co-produced, written, and directed three short films that were screened at numerous French film festivals. She has moved to Los Angeles, where she is supplementing her on the job film training by doing a certificate program at UCLA.

Print Source: infinite.tree@gmail.com


COSMOS

Director/Writer: Clayton Hable; US, 2007, 22 minutes

During the fall of the USSR in 1991, a lone cosmonaut circles the earth in Space Station Mir without communication and unaware of his country’s collapse. Some will call him the last Soviet Citizen.

Clayton Hable was born in Louisville, KY. His artistic interests include singing, dancing, musician, and writing poetry. Majoring in Film Studies and Video Production at Vanderbilt University legitimized his hobbies and transformed them into a passion. With his post-graduate degree completed at Florida State University, Clayton will continue his lifelong filmic education, with the hopes that he may someday make an impacting and thoughtful contribution to the medium that has inspired him so greatly.

Print Source: Kbarber@film.fsu.edu


FORasTEiRO

Director/Writer: Thiago Fogaca, Producer: Priscila Andrade; Brazil, 2007, 12:09 minutes

The son of circus performers avoids intimacy with anyone because he is always moving.

Thiago Fogaca was born in São Paulo, Brazil. Since his early years, he had interest in comics and animated films. Forasteiro is his first film as a director and his third as screenwriter. Thiago has worked as an intern at ComunicaFilmes and is now working on his Masters Degree in screenwriting at NYFA in Los Angeles.
Print Source: cinepac@gmail.com


ZEFIRINO: THE VOICE OF A CASTRATO

Director: Gerardo Puglia; US, 2006, 22 minutes

A celebration of the art of a castrato singer named Zefirino, an imaginary character written and performed by Anthony Roth Costanzo.

Gerardo Puglia was born in Wales and educated in Great Britain and the United States. At age twenty, he joined the Film Department of the Public Broadcasting Company in Rochester, NY, and soon established himself as an innovative filmmaker for drama, cultural programs and historical documentaries. He has worked exclusively for Eastman Kodak, National Geographic, PBS, BBC, and RAI Italian Television. He was camera operator on the Academy Award-winning film A Beautiful Mind. The recipient of numerous prestigious awards (including two Emmys, and a Peabody), Puglia was inducted into the prestigious International Cinematographers Guild in 1990.

Print Source: gerardopuglia@aol.com


RACCOON AND CRAWFISH

Co-Directors and Animators: Calvert J. Waller III, Karabo Legwalla, Peter Hale; US, 2007, 7:30 minutes

Like many Oneida Indian legends, this story uses characters from the animal kingdom to teach a moral. A hungry raccoon searches for food, ending up in a battle with a crawfish.

Calvert Waller has an MFA in Computer Animation, a BFA in Illustration and Art History from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a Graphic Design/Graphic Illustration Associates from Mohawk Valley Community College. He specializes in 3D modeling and character design.
Karabo Legwalla, from Gaborone, Botswana, is finishing his MFA in Computer Animation from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He also has a BA in Computer Science and Business from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. He specializes in the technical aspects of 3D animation including scripting and rigging as well as doing modeling and lighting.
Peter Hale has a BFA in Graphic Design from SUNY New Paltz. He designed the 2D sequence in Raccoon and Crawfish as well as lead audio in the film.
Print Source: TFrederick@fourdirectionmedia.com


EDGAR AND ELIZABETH

Director/Writer: Renee Webster, Producer: Melissa Kelly; Australia, 2007, 17 minutes

Elizabeth is the shy, new photocopy girl. Edgar is the stuttering photocopier repairman who comes to repair her extremely vicious copier. Workplace attraction has never been so dangerous.

Renee Webster is an award winning writer/director with an interest in gritty, character driven stories. Her films are internationally award winning. She directed Australian TV programs and commercials. She was also the Associate Producer on the international feature film Triggermen, and is currently working in both documentary and feature film development.
Melissa Kelly is an independent film producer with a background in documentary, drama, and comedy. In 2005, she produced the acclaimed documentary Surviving the Fall: The Gracetown Tragedy [ABC TV]. She has also produced the award winning films, Umbrella Conditions and The Glimpse.

Print Source: Melissa@factor30films.com.au


PENGUIN: THE MUSICAL

Director/Writer: David William Metzger; US, 2007, 8:21 minutes

Abe is madly in love with Lilly. He must find a way to tell her before she leaves to tag penguins in Antarctica.

David William Metzger was originally trained as an actor. While studying at the University of Oregon, he shifted his focus from English to writing and directing film. A graduate of Florida State University’s prestigious film school, his primary home is Butte, Alaska.

Print Source: kbarber@film.fsu.edu