This is a special screening, with HollyShorts partnering with the International Youth Media Summit to show off some of the projects these special people have made to help raise awareness about various topics that are plaguing the world. Violence, poverty, discrimination and more are all on the menu as we screen films from the next generation of creators and activists, all of whom will be one of the many who are instrumental in inspiring and shaping the next generations of leaders, creators and those who make change in the world. Alongside them in this screening are several other talented filmmakers, selected for their own forms of expression and influence, and all of whom are both worthy and necessary in helping shape both media and the outlook of the world. It’s an honor to be covering and talking about these films, as many of these are not just interesting and entertaining, but a look at how the world can be impacted by film nd the messages they deliver. Please join us in celebrating these brave, bold and wildly talented creators during this month’s screenings, running from April 24th to April 28th on BitPix, with a special in-person screening at the TCL Chinese Theaters in Los Angeles on April 24th, with tickets available for purchase here. Thank you for giving your time to these films and those who made them!
This Is The Summit – Serving as an introduction of sorts for the IYMS and for this first block of selections, this film displays the hard work and community the selected filmmakers have dedicated to themselves, their communities, and their projects. It’s an inside look at those who gathered in Nepal for the 14th annual Summit in 2019, highlighting those in attendance and giving a primer on what this Summit does, and what it can mean. It’s a wonderful way to show the promise of endeavors like this.
John Trailer – Written and directed by Babar Ali, this Pakistani film that released in the middle of last year stars Aashit Wajahat, Saleem Mairaj, Romaisa Khan and Raza Samo and focuses on an innocent janitor and a hitman as their worlds intersect in this action thriller that mixes religious belief and violence, exploring what can push a person to take the life of another. While only a trailer for the full-length feature, what was displayed here looks like a powerhouse.
How Much Do You Really Need – This 90 second Serbian short from the 2010 Summit, made by Ognjen Stojanovic, Myrto Karabela-Makrigianni and Aurelia Hamel, it makes it message quickly but powerfully, as music overlays the difference between the impoverished and those who can comfortably afford food. As one person is seen shoveling products into a shopping cart, likely much more than is really necessary, another is seen picking fruit in various states of decay up from nearby trash bins in an effort to provide from themselves. With poverty such a worldwide epidemic, and food insecurity playing such a large part in that, this is a very pivotal 90 seconds in showing the big differences that are in people’s lives, even when it just comes to being able to eat.
The Pawn – While this 2011 Summit film does not tout a creator, the translation of the word peška shows a translation from Russian. The film itself, only running about two minutes, makes it message known pretty simply; war has no winners. Juxtaposing chess game with images of war weaponry and destruction, it’s a very clear visual: regardless of who wins, be it a game of chess or a war, there is destruction and loss. The only way win is to not play, to not be a part of the mechanisms in which these things take place. Incredibly well done in a very short amount of time.
True Impact – Another short but incredibly powerful film that comes from the 2016 Summit, with Pakistani creator Babar Ali working with US filmmaker Sarah Randolph, who serves as co-director. Starring Nepalese actors Shishir Shiwakoti and Abinash Chaudhary, it’s message is simple: violence upon others is also committing violence all, yourself included. This is reinforced with a message from the Quran saying that much more clearly with passage 5:32 of the holy book stating “Whoever kills a human being it is as if he has killed the whole of mankind, and he who saves a human being it is if he has saved the whole of mankind.” This message is one that should be taken to heart, as it rings true in so many facets of life.
What You Plant You Harvest – A film by Svebor Mihael Jelic, who spearheaded the project alongside co-director Vici Nilsson (who also co-starred in the film with actors Jad and Majd Ayyob) in 2017, this film make a clear parallel between the wasteful nature of modern life and the impact it has on the environment. The film’s title can also be seen as the old adage “you reap what you sow”, showing that the flippant use of wasteful products by those in the modern age will eventually circle back and directly affect them.
Bystander – One of the more recent selections from this package of films created by those during stints at the IYMS, this 2023 film focuses on the subject of discrimination in all its forms. From the color of one’s skin, to their housing status, age, sexuality, disability and so much more, we see a group of people of all different walks of life and circumstances as they help someone who is unconscious on the ground. This film’s message focuses on what is known as the bystander effect, which puts out the theory that in the presence of others, people are less likely to help in an emergency, under the false belief that someone else can administer that aid. Directed by Welsh filmmaker Rebs Fisher-Jackson and featuring a talented international cast, this film shows that if we can break that mental philosophy and come together, regardless of who we are and help others, the world can be a much better place.
Defenders – The first in a series from the IYMS titled “Sanatione”, which translates to “healing”. Focusing on the outset and reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, each episode puts the spotlight on a different aspect of the pandemic as it grew and evolved, with this first entry focusing on those who helped heal the world while it was ill. 22 filmmakers from different nations contributed, with “Defenders” being the product of a filmmaker named Farhad Ayatollahi, and sets itself in Iran, with Ayatollahi serving as the director and enlisting aid from American editor and director James Gleason, and further assisted by a Canadian translator to ensure that everything was executed properly. In it, Farhad focuses on the women of Iran and all over the world who are helping to care for those in need, and for the men who support them. As a women’s rights advocate, this mission has been Farhad’s quest for some time, and being able to show the impressive and courageous women who stepped in during a time of need is incredible.
#NoteToSelf – Coming in as the fifth entry of “Sanatione”, this film focuses on the fear and uncertainty that came with the early stages of COVID lockdowns. Rukshana Tabassum, the subject of this piece, is afraid and unsure of what will happen in the future with the virus raging through not only her home country of India, but throughout the world. Trying to understand and overcome her fear, she takes to using her creativity to slay the beast that is in her own mind, with interesting results. It’s another look into the way that COVID really affected and changed everyone in many ways, not just in their physical health.
The Change – Another in the “Sanatione” series, this one focuses on Joseph Vaz, a Sri Lankan immigrant to the United Kingdom, who gets there shortly before the beginning of the pandemic. While having to adjust to a life away from home, with new customs, foods, language and culture, the pandemic gets added to that list. And in order to cope, music becomes his outlet, allowing him to keep his own mental health in tact while also attempting to keep himself and others safe.
Oblivion – Written and directed by Mansour Naderi, this film focuses on the 18 year old Mansour, as he deals with the twin struggles of the threat of the Taliban in Afghanistan, as well as the rising pandemic. With these two weights pressing down on him, he takes his passions, which he intended to pursue in university, into his own hands, creating some incredible things while he’s stuck in limbo.
Africa Reveal – The final film is more of a teaser, as it signals the announcement of the 2024 IYMS gathering, this time in Tanzania. If any of the previous projects are any indication, this Summit is going to continue to help support those making incredible projects that will help to inform and inspire those around them.
A big thank you to the IYMS for allowing us to show their films in this first block of projects, a thanks that is extended as well to the following films of this second block and their filmmakers, whose work also needs to be commended.
Back Home – David Cameli and Jeremy Schaye co-write and co-star in this film by Bailey Castle that reveals the hidden traumas, slights and resentments that can rise up when tragedy strikes. After their father suddenly passes, an estranged brother returns home to reunite with his sibling, who had also been caring for their mother. What results is an unburdening of long-simmering emotions, revealing the bond that they share and the strain it’s been put under by the circumstances of life. It’s a dynamic film that has a narrow but powerful focus.
Woman Meets Girl – Enuka Okuma and Chelsea Russell star in this beautiful film that brings two unlikely people together. After taking in a barely of age sex worker, Annabelle finds herself in a vodka-soaked game of “Never Have I Ever” with the young woman, revealing more about herself than she ever expected. The two of them form a sudden and deep bond that is lovely to see. Writer/director Murry Peeters delivers on a gorgeous and amazing film that hopefully helps to shed some light of the ways people can expect, even in the unlikeliest of ways.
Mayonnaise – This Eli Speigel film is a wild and dark comedy that sees a production assistant (Jack Hirschfield) that is displeased with his life seek out advice from a successful producer, leading it an eventful and frankly shocking turn of events. It’s a film that’s message is a bit obscure, but from this viewing of it, seems to have an almost nihilistic anti-message. That life, in all its forms, is pretty messed up, and the people in it are all twisted in their own ways. Veronica Slowikowska plays the producer, who is, to put it simply, eccentric, and that’s putting it nicely. It’s a film that has little out of the ordinary happen, but the weird night just hits differently, making it completely captivating as the odd things that happen are more than enough to make you wonder where the hell else this could go. Truly a film that needs to be seen to be understood.
After (A Love Story) – Clare Cooney’s film about trauma and recovery is painful, emotional and has its own form of beauty as Charlie and Edie (Glenn Stanton and Alyssa Thordarson, with Thordarson also serving as the film’s writer) attempt to come back together after they attempt to heal after a break-in and sexual assault destroys their lives. In the aftermath, both members of the couple are dealing with the fallout in their own ways, many of which only seem to divide them further from one another. It’s emotionally straining, but in a way that also feels like it can lead to healing, both for the characters and for those who need to see something like this after going through something similar. It’s a brave and powerful thing to rebuild after being so dismantled, and to see these characters attempt to do that, even while sometimes failing, is something that can be so helpful to so many.
Cold Summer – Anna Evtushenko brings an ethereal and unsettling film to us, as an extremely religious young couple attempts to build their life together, only for one half of the pair to have major reservations. The idea of freezing – both literally and metaphorically – is a big part of this story, as Hope (Taylor Bazos) finds herself unsure if she wants to marry her partner, Graham (Joey Walsh). Despite his own assurances, Hope is distant, worried, going so far as to imagine running out into the cold, away from him and her life. It’s chilling (pun intended) to see the pathos in which this film approaches the subject of marriage, of life, and of making those big decisions, especially at a young age, and with the implications of a child on the way.
Any Woman Of Mine – Lauren Switzer and Nicole Townsend team up for this web series that finds two women who form a bond that is so close that it’s almost too close, as they become co-dependent. It’s a very fun comedy that really only shows the start of their very tight relationship, which leaves so much more room after this pilot to show off the kind of hijinks that can be had with this type of premise.
Remedial – Laurie J. Gardiner’s film is a brutal and heart-breaking story of loss, disability and the attempt to grieve, all while having to adjust to a new home. When Will, a young British boy loses his father, he and his mother move to Houston in an attempt to make a change and deal with their loss. Will is going through a lot, and while the memories of what happened to his father haunt him, he also has to deal with new people, not all of whom seem to enjoy having him around or understand what he’s going through. Kenyon Ebole-Gordon is incredible in this film, delivering a highly emotional performance that is painful and powerful. It’s also a film with a powerful message, explaining the impact misdiagnosis has on navigating trauma.
Out Of The Grey – Joana Ribeiro stars in this Marta Baidek film that focuses on several crises that are currently taking a toll on the world. Housing insecurity and the cost of living, global warming and the growing refugee crisis are all parts of this film that takes environmental refugee Laura out of her comfortable habitat and into the world as she attempts to find safety and medial care for the baby that she’s preparing to give birth to. It’s a harrowing film that feels like it’s not too far from reality, especially with the way the world has been changing at the hands of the human race. This film is a good reminder that while we’re not there yet, we have to take action to prevent life from becoming something that resembles the world of this film while we can.
That’ll take care of us for this month! Thanks for stopping by, and for checking out these amazing films! As a reminder, these films will be screening at the TCL Chinese Theaters in Los Angeles on April 24th, with the films also available online from the 24th to the 28th, only on BitPix! See you next time!
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