CIFF Thursday, Block 3: Shorts Program

THE LIFE AND TRIALS OF WILLY GRUNCH: THE WATER SOURCE
CGI Animation (2 mins.) SC Premiere

Director: Oscar Carabano
Writers: Alain Auderset, JM Khayat, Ben Davis, Bryan Ransom and Oscar Carambano
Producers: JM Khayat, Ben Davis and Bryan Ransom
Cast: Jasmine, Willy Grunch and Oscargot

Synopsis: Willy Grunch only has three things on his mind: Love, Guitars and SNAILS. His flawed pursuit of the beautiful Jasmine leads him through the most amazing and disastrous situations ever imagined while making sure to find time to annoy Oscargot the snail! Tired and unbelievably thirsty, Willy Grunch is looking for water. Just when he’s found his oasis, the hand of his creator pulls out all the stops to stand in his way. Willy finally overcomes all but did he really win?

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HALF GOOD KILLER
Drama (28 mins.) East Coast Premiere

Director: Brent Ryan Green
Writer: Jeff Goldberg
Producers: Brent Ryan Green and Jeff Goldberg
Cast: Russel Kabamba, Tapiwa Musvosvi, David Mbombo and Chia Stanley Kisuh

Synopsis: A jaded child soldier fighting for an African rebel force struggles to survive the war he was thrust into as he reawakens to the life he was destined to lead.

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MORNING CALM
Drama (19 mins.) SC Premiere

Director/Writer: Rudy Dobrev
Producers: Rudy Dobrev and Andrea Harrison
Cast: Rudy Dobrev, Stephanie McIntosh, Shannon Avnsoe, Alex Lombard, John Stevenson and Victor Turpin

Synopsis: Morning Calm poses the question of what one would do for the one that got away. The short film explores the lengths one is willing to go through to be with the person they love. We are taken on the lead character's journey through a period of personal despair. It has been a year since the death of his girlfriend and he finds a way to communicate with her, although in his dream, he becomes convinced she is real. He searches for outside help but no one believes him. At last, breaking the natural laws, he succeeds and they are together forever...or is it just another dream?

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GHOST OF OLD HIGHWAYS
Narrative Short (13 mins.)

Director: Dan Bush
Writers: Dan Bush and Ben Lovett
Producer: Jason Piccolo
Cast: Ben Lovett, Anna Thompson, Justin Welborn, Amy Seimetz, Steven Westdahl, Lake Roberts and Fox Watson
Music by: Ben Lovett

Synopsis: A man pursued by an invading army hunts down previous versions of himself amidst the purgatory of a fractured consciousness. The film is driven by an original score by the artist Lovett, whose song of the same name inspired the script from director Dan Bush. Shot on location deep in the North Carolina mountains, the surreal narrative is set against the distorted dreamscape of the Civil War, a time when this country had turned against itself and into its own worst enemy.

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WAKE UP!
Drama (25 mins.) Germany, East Coast Premiere

Director/Writer: Daniel Ruczko
Producers: Daniel Ruczko and Michael L. Miller
Cast: Luis Bordonada, Jesus Mayorga, Michael L. Miller and Christopher Robletto

Synopsis: Wake Up tells the story of Leon, a 29-year-old male working a mediocre office job, who lost his focus in life. That's about to change when he finds himself waking up in a train being confronted with his way of "living" by a man sitting across of him. Leon struggles with what this man has to say and has to fight his thoughts of what he thinks is real and what’s not. While living his life on autopilot for quiet some time, Leon now has to find a way to "wake up".

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THE LAST PAGE
Family Musical (12 mins.) Canada, SC Premiere

Director/Writer: Marc Roumi
Producers: Marc Roumi and Saint-Joseph University
Cast: Lisa Bondarik, Alica Avchinnik and Edward Ivanovwski

Synopsis: Macha suffers from his parents' divorce, what drove her to hate boys. When her brother tears the ballerina doll that her mother gave her, she found in his bedroom of the book "the steadfast tin soldier". The first dream of Macha shows ballerinas in white mocking a soldier. The second day the neighborhood girls make fun of Macha and therefore she dreams of black ballerinas who tear the white ballerina. The last day, Macha finds finally the last page of the book and she joins the ballerina and the soldier as in reality and in dreams.