CIFF Saturday, Block 6: Shorts Program

THE LIFE AND TRIALS OF WILLY GRUNCH: HOT BUS STOP
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! In this episode Willy Grunch schooled by Jasmine in a life lesson of the disconnect between what men and women want out of a relationship.

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AND AFTER ALL
Dramatic Short (25 mins.) SC Premiere

Director/Writer: Julian Ungano
Co-Director: Tommy Agriodimas
Producers: Laura DuBois, Jack Bryan and John Snyder
Cast: Annabelle Dexter-Jones, Jordan Blumetti, Victor Kubicek, Max Van Bel, Byrdie Bell and Heidi Whitworth

Synopsis: Charlotte (Annabelle Dexter-Jones) moved to New York City from her small New England town at a young age to pursue a life as an artist. After years of working, and on the eve of her first major solo exhibition, she struggles to keep up as the center of attention and faces betrayal by her best friend Lux (Byrdie Bell) and boyfriend Sam (Max Van Bel). Charlotte is shocked when she hears the news that her mother has suddenly passed away. Truly alone for the first time, and questioning her path in life, she ventures home in a search for clarity.

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THE DISAPPEARANCE
Action/Horror Short (8 mins.) SC Premiere

Directors/Writers: Greg Browning, John DeTemple and Scott Smith
Producer: Scott Daley
Cast: Jamie O’Brien, Alex Gray, Anthony Walsh and Cheyne Magnusson

Synopsis: The Disappearance follows a group of four professional surfers and six filmmakers on what should have been the ultimate surf trip to the jungles of Indonesia, but quickly became an excursion into heart-stopping terror. As the group discovers a secret perfect wave, strange images begin to appear on film. Are they sharks, alligators, or something else? Fear sets in. Accusations fly. By night, unseen evil stirs beyond their campfire’s light. By day, large animal prints are discovered nearby. Members of the crew begin to disappear one by one. As the end of their journey approaches, they realize that what they are filming is not an epic trip but their own descent into unimaginable horror.

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A STRANGE KIND OF LOVE
Drama (14 mins.), Hungary, SC Premiere

Director: PÉter Varsics
Writer: Ferenc Wostry
Producers: PÉter Varsics, DÁniel Sz_ke, Gergely Regula, AndrÁs ForgÁcs W., PÁl Laska and Katalin Fegerl
Cast: Vica Kerekes, KornÉl Simon, MihÁly Szabados, AnnamÁria Fodor and Zorka TÖreky

Synopsis: This is a story of a blind girl, who finds tranquility in painting. When a man enters her life to whom she has a strangely strong affection, her past start to haunt her, and she's incapable to create. To be able to paint again and to get closer to the man he loves he has to reveal her closely guarded secrets.

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MI OJO DERECHO
Drama (13 mins.) Spain, SC Premiere

Director/Writer: Josecho de Linares
Producers: Sergi Casamitjana, Lita Roig, Aintza Serra and Josecho de Linares
Cast: Albert Prat, Oscar Lara, Pepita Roca, Margarita Calatayud, NoemÍ RuÍz and Carmen Flores

Synopsis: Zurdo maintained a special relationship with his grandmother. Since he went away to study they have lost contact. On the last day of summer Zurdo decides to visit her with the intuition that he might not see her again.

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IF YOU RETURN
Surreal Drama (16 mins.) World Premiere

Director: Zachary Breitengross
Writers: Pat DeBonville and Zachary Breitengross
Producers: Adam Gorlitski and Zachary Breitengross
Cast: Cierah Sargent and Karson Kern

Synopsis: Deciphering their environment while becoming part of it, an obsessive man and troubled woman search for identity.

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COUNTING HAPPINESS
Fiction (12 mins.) Greece, East Coast Premiere

Director/Writer: Venetia Evripiotou
Producer: Dassera Art Space
Cast: Satyam Singh and Shakir Adeel

Synopsis: Counting Happiness is the fascinating story of Hasan, a delightful little boy who roams the streets of Delhi and earns his living by selling clockwork chicken toys. For him, life is a game with rules mysteriously set by the number of letters in his own name. He knows how to count to five which is reason enough for him to embark on a quest to discover the secret meaning of his name; and the secret is, in the words of ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, that “Happiness depends upon ourselves.”