Synopsis: 1. Pick / Shaho Ahmadi / Iran / Foreign Language / 4 min.
“Apricot thieves with small hands.”
2. The Last Photo / Mehmet Akif Guler / Turkey / Social Justice / 20 min.
“Abdullah Milhim goes to photograph a just bombed region in Syria, sees an aged man inside the ruins and takes his photo. At the very moment, a bomb is dropped near them. After that day, Abdullah starts looking for his last photo, a new arm, and his future.”
3. Cold Start / Richard Townsley / USA / Debut / 15 min.
“A teen wants to drive his father’s abandoned car but he is emotionally paralyzed by the fatal car crash that his father encountered while on the racing track.”
4. 1st Memory / Chip Hackler / USA / Drama / 5 min.
“Memory’s a funny thing. An aimless lad makes a choice that changes his past, and future.”
5. Check the Locks / Eric Larson / USA / Debut / 15 min.
“Following a nervous breakdown, a woman retreats to a friend’s cabin in the woods — only to discover that her coping mechanisms are mysteriously turning against her.”
6. Middle Eastern Stories: Father / Reza Daghagh / Iran / Foreign Language / 18 min.
“A father intends to take his infant child away from his war-stricken country. He attempts by hiding in a container to flee and cross the border.”
7. Silence Again / Mohamad Kamal Alavi / Iran / Drama / 13 min.
“A young woman lives on a hill far from the city. Alone and in silence, she farms and takes her produce to the city. In her loneliness she turns to “friendship” with a scarecrow. “

Language

Run Time

1. PICK / “The gardener notices on the day of picking the fruit, while he is resting, that they are stealing the fruit. These days, I have taken the path of filmmaking to discover the small moments of life and the simple and everyday human connection with the environment, which is full of deep human concepts. Storytelling on these topics is incredibly magical to me, and adding a personal perspective is something I like to do in my films. So the short film (Picking) is an effort of me and what I discovered and felt is an effort.”
2. THE LAST PHOTO / none available
3. COLD START / “Inspired by my own experiences working on a project 1987 Jeep Wrangler with my father, Cold Start explores the impact that the father-son bonding moments have in a young boy’s life. The experience of building a car teaches patience, builds confidence, develops solution-oriented thinking, and fosters a deep respect for the car community and culture.
After moving to Los Angeles to pursue my Bachelors in Fine Arts degree at The New York Film Academy, it became fully my responsibility for the upkeep and maintenance of the Jeep and, with that, the idea for Cold Start sparked. Originally, this story was going to be told as my end-of-first-semester film, however, the Covid-19 pandemic took hold over the world resulting in the film’s cancelation. After a year of further development, the screenplay began to truly evolve into a far more complex, and emotional story. Additionally, the chosen shoot location used to store Donnini and Carter’s project car was once used by my own grandfather who kept his beautiful, prize-winning 1965 convertible Ford Mustang. Because of this personal connection, our family legacy continues in Cold Start.”
4. 1ST MEMORY /First Memory was made as a collaboration with veteran film professionals and film students. The character with the rake is actor Nicholas Pryor (Tom Cruise’s father in Risky Business, among other notable roles). Our key grip was Bobby Huber, who worked on back-to-back Oscar winners for cinematography (Braveheart, Legends of the Fall). So Bobby’s being shadowed by a film student for whom it’s literally their first day on a film set. That combination is fun and keeps things interesting. In-between camera set-ups, you’re hearing the most amazing stories.
Because of the pandemic, the two scenes (car scene, counselor’s office) were filmed more than a year apart. When we filmed the car scene, people were still wearing masks outside. Since the film took some time to make, it evolved while we were making it. There are now two versions: a five-minute version, which I think of as a drama, and a one-minute version, which I think is a comedy.
Our hero car (’64 Ford Fairlane) was used on the Amazon movie, Uncle Frank.
5. CHECK THE LOCKS / “CHECK THE LOCKS was inspired by my own experiences with anxiety. For years, I’d been unable to leave my apartment until I’d meticulously checked my stove to make sure it was turned off. As my anxiety worsened during the pandemic, I even began to take pictures of the turned-off stove before I left — that way, I could check in later and tell myself, “See, it’s off. You have nothing to worry about.”
The pictures became the antidote to my anxiety attacks, but over time I started to feel like I was becoming a little too reliant on them. That’s where the idea for the film was born.
In CHECK THE LOCKS, the main character, Anna, has the same affliction as me — only her obsession is with locked doors. I wanted to explore the idea of what would happen when a reliable comfort, like photographic proof, is ripped apart from the inside out — and why that ultimately might be the best path toward healing.
We shot this film in the middle of the pandemic, with a small crew and an even smaller budget. Despite our limited resources, I’m proud of the tone we were able to create. I’m particularly proud of Angela Wong Carbone’s performance. The level of nuance Wong Carbone conveys through facial expressions and body language alone perfectly captures the tension of suffering from, and the reprieve of overcoming, a habit-based anxious condition. My hope is that audiences will view her journey as one of enlightenment and victory (and, with this being a horror movie, I hope audiences get a little spooked along the way).
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the film!”
6. MIDDLE EASTERN STORIES: FATHER / “The Middle East, my birthplace, the birthplace of ancient civilizations, is rich with history but void of peace.
If you were born in the Middle East, your mind is probably preoccupied with these questions. When and at what point will this region become peaceful? When will these endless wars come to an end? When will the Dove of Peace nestle in this region? When will this region return to its past glory and magnificence?
To address these questions, some choose to remain here to make these dreams realized and others, hopeless and disappointed at what has happened to them, either emigrate or seek refuge elsewhere.
The fate of some among the first group is either prison or death because objection is often responded with none but these two.
The second group also does not necessarily end up with a better fate. Those who legally immigrate, have to suffer the loneliness of living in foreign lands and those who become refugees, are forced to risk their lives. Middle eastern stories are about people whose current situation is so dreadful that in order to escape it, they are willing to accept any dangers, even death.”
7. SILENCE AGAIN / “When we are alone there is nothing to hide, it is our true self that lives, walks and falls in love. Due to the geography in which I live, I consider being a woman to be a constant challenge for women, and telling their stories is one of my main concerns in making films. Depicting a lonely woman, far from everyone and close to her, with an unconventional love story doubled my motivation for making the text. Also, the concise and minimal narrative method, without dialogue and atmosphere, made it possible for me to rely on the essence of cinema, i.e. the image, in decoupage, and to objectify my mental images. And in the end we are all alone.”

1. PICK / “I have been a filmmaking student for many years and I have tried this field by making short films.”
2. THE LAST PHOTO / “Mehmet Akif Guler graduated from Hoca Ahmet Yesevi University Computer Engineering. He studied animation at Toonz Studio and worked in many animation projects. He studied photography. He finished the Dream Curtain Cinema Workshop and studied cinema in Tursak. He worked in short and feature film crews. He directed many commercials, and continues his documentary, cinema, short film and advertisement works.
3. COLD START / “Born and raised in the San Fransisco Bay Area, Richard Townsley was surrounded by the local influences of LucasFilm, Skywalker Sound, Industrial Light and Magic, and Pixar. Richard has been following his passion as a Video Editor since the 5th grade. In high school, Richard excelled in the video and filmmaking program “COMACAD,” winning 1st place award at the Marin County Fair and honorable mention in Lark Student Showcase. After graduating high school, Richard completed an internship with 32Ten Studios before moving to Los Angeles to continue pursuing filmmaking by attending the New York Film Academy. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Richard’s classes transitioned to online allowing him to use the opportunity to continue through college while working freelance in the industry. Richard’s proficiencies include Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition, and Media Encoder, Avid Media Composer and ProTools, Final Cut Pro, Davinci Resolve, and Lightroom. An accomplished video editor and sound editor, Richard is also a strong team leader, collaborator, and stress-free director.”
4. 1ST MEMORY / “Chip Hackler has worked on camera crews for movies including Iron Man 3, Interview with the Vampire, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He has an MFA in screenwriting and teaches film at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington.”
5. CHECK THE LOCKS / “Eric Larson is a writer and filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NY.
Originally from Wisconsin, he graduated college with a degree in journalism and spent the first few years of his career working as a reporter in New York City.
He now works as a creative director, where he’s written and art directed commercials and digital projects for Google, Casper, Amazon, and the LGBT Center of New York. His creative work has garnered accolades from Awwards, FWA, and D&AD, among others. CHECK THE LOCKS is his first short film.”
6. MIDDLE EASTERN STORIES: FATHER / “Born in 1988 in Mashhad, Iran RezaDaghagh has lived in Tehran since 2016. He graduated in Cinema-film editing from the University of Applied Science and Technology on 2012. He started his career as an editor in 2006 and edited many shorts, Feature films, and documentaries such as “Elephant Bird”, “The Dolls Game” (award winner in 2021 at Route 66 Film Festival), ” Requinto” etc. He has also directed several music videos and TV commercials. In 2016, he directed his first short film “Death time”.
“Middle Eastern Stories: Father” is his second short film as a director, producer, and writer and was completed in January 2022.”
7. SILENCE AGAIN / “October / 20 / 1983 Certificated of Advanced Direction from Young Cinematography
Performing Arts (School of Art and Architecture – Tehran Center)
Directing records : nim/half October / 20 / 1983
Certificated of Advanced Direction from Young Cinematography
Performing Arts (School of Art and Architecture – Tehran Center)
Directing records : nim/half (short movie)/ The PunctureOctober / 20 / 1983
Certificated of Advanced Direction from Young Cinematography
Performing Arts (School of Art and Architecture – Tehran Center)
Directing records : nim/half (short movie) and lots of cultural documentaries and short films for television.
Acting records: Disappearance Movie( Ali Askari)/Delay (Ali A skari)/ Yahya didn’t keep Quiet(Kaveh Ebrahimpour)/Rain (Omid Tootoonchi) / and…
Production Manager Records: Gaze(2017) / Disappearance(2016-2017) / Magical(2018) /Delay(2019) and…
/Single hornOctober / 20 / 1983
Certificated of Advanced Direction from Young Cinematography
Performing Arts (School of Art and Architecture – Tehran Center)
Directing records : nim/half (short movie) and lots of cultural documentaries and short films for television.
Acting records: Disappearance Movie( Ali Askari)/Delay (Ali A skari)/ Yahya didn’t keep Quiet(Kaveh Ebrahimpour)/Rain (Omid Tootoonchi) / and…
Production Manager Records: Gaze(2017) / Disappearance(2016-2017) / Magical(2018) /Delay(2019) and…
and lots of cultural documentaries and short films for television.
Acting records: Disappearance Movie( Ali Askari)/Delay (Ali A skari)/ Yahya didn’t keep Quiet(Kaveh Ebrahimpour)/Rain (Omid Tootoonchi) / and…
Production Manager Records: Gaze(2017) / Disappearance(2016-2017) / Magical(2018) /Delay(2019) and…
and lots of cultural documentaries and short films for television.
Acting records: Disappearance Movie( Ali Askari)/Delay (Ali A skari)/ Yahya didn’t keep Quiet(Kaveh Ebrahimpour)/Rain (Omid Tootoonchi) / and…
Production Manager Records: Gaze(2017) / Disappearance(2016-2017) / Magical(2018) /Delay(2019) and…”

Production Year