Roommates
Synopsis: Students Izzy and Sophia get placed as dorm-mates because they’re both disabled. They reach common ground via vodka shots and getting personal, christening their first day of college with a night of adventure.
Simultaneously awkward and natural, this is an awesome and important ten minutes about accessibility, perception, and power. Stay for the credits!
· Writer/Director: Ashley Eakin
· Writer: Kelsey Johnson
· Cast: Kiera Allen (RUN), Kelsey Johnson
Gay Haircut
Synopsis: For a stand-up comic, a drastic life change can mean losing one’s entire act. Bisexual comedian Krista has decided her relationship with a trans woman is worth coming out over—but will she commit to an entire rebrand with one gay haircut?
A seemingly simple change with a lot of weight attached. In 7 minutes we get an entire journey about identity filled with some quirky weirdness.
· Director/Producer: Jude Harris
· Writer/Producer: Krista Fatka
· Cast: Krista Fatka (Shaky Ground, Night of the Living Karens), Zach Holmes (JACKASS FOREVER, Too Stupid to Die, Tosh.0, Ridiculousness)
GLITTER AIN’T GOLD
*Winner*
SXSW 22 Special Jury Recognition for Directing and Community Filmmaking
Synopsis: Sixth-grader Jibril and his reluctant best friend Tawanda hustle up some cash and journey to the flea market to buy Jibril’s first chain, in hopes that it will catch the eye of his crush Marlana and divert her attention away from his sworn enemy Rashad.
Writer-director Christian Nolan Jones brings to life a coming-of-age short that dives into the universal feeling of acceptance. Set in the 90s, two best friends Jibril and Tawanda are on a mission to purchase an item that will catch the eye of his crush. Glitter Ain’t Gold perfectly captures middle-school angst. The costumes and overall aesthetic were spot on. Our two young leads Alfred R. Lewis III and Priah Ferguson are stellar. This might as well have been a documentary with their natural ability to captivate the audience. Each beat is authentic. Glitter Ain’t Gold is a tight treatment for s feature or series.
· Writer/Director: Christian Nolan Jones
· Executive Producers: Common, Corey Gamble
· Cast: Priah Ferguson (Stranger Things, THE OATH, Atlanta), Alfred R. Lewis III (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Bunk’d)
We’re living in a world where we have an admitted sexual predator in the White House. We’re living in a moment in time where women are sick and tired of being trampled on, blamed, persecuted, broken, and made to relive their trauma over and over. In dark times we seek escapism. Movies and theater and art keep us grounded. They let us forget the shit and live in a world that can be, at times, as perfect as the fairytale presented. The new film starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, All About Nina, is not that film.
A comic, trying to wade her way through shitty relationships and her budding career, invited us to ride an emotionally explosive rollercoaster right alongside her. As the plot rolls along, it takes a complete 180. Nina’s battle with her past finally comes to light in a very public way. Once this occurs, the script’s small, delicately placed moments have their full weight realized. The comedy is raunchy and appreciated. The cast is filled with comic greats, new and old, but it is Common and Winstead that make this story breathe. It took me a full 45 mins to buy into what Common was selling but maybe that’s just the cynic in me. One particular scene breaks that defense for me and it’s worth the wait. As for Winstead, if I thought she’d even be looked at for this role come Oscar season I would send a blimp with her name on it. She is brilliant in the way women often are but don’t have to balls to shows you, for lack of a better description. Although, once you see her in this film you will just realize it couldn’t be more perfect. All About Nina currently has a 100% fresh certification on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s genuinely difficult to achieve and I am thrilled about it.
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