Bi-monthly festival showcasing the best of POLITICAL films from around the world today.
Fake news is not new – but now it’s digital. From click-bait headlines to cyber disinformation, we are easily manipulated. What do we gain and what do we lose by our unquestioned beliefs that control our actions?
Project Links
David Maddox produced the indie hit “A Ghost Story” starring Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara for the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. He is the owner of Ideaman Studios in Dallas, TX.
Director Statement
Comedy has the unique ability to force us to confront the flaws of society in a palatable way, and hopefully, allow us to change.
A well meaning math teacher finds herself trumped by a post-fact America.
Since graduating from Pomona College in ’91 with a Film Studies degree, then attending UC Irvine in ’98 where he received an MFA in drama, Kelly has been a mainstay on television. He is recognized everywhere he goes from his starring roles on The Drew Carey Show, One On One, Seinfeld, Between Brothers, and Knight Squad. Kelly understands the actor’s process, knows how to pull a performance out of even the most shy actor, and loves being around creative and talented people more than he loves bacon.
Kelly often teams up with fellow Pomona grad Bry Sanders and the directing duo known as “The Sanderine Brothers” have created some of the most unique fare being produced today. Their film “Downward Hiro” won numerous Best Short Film awards and the feature script for the project has garnered glowing Black List reviews and is currently being shopped around. But for “Thee Who Hesitates…”, Kelly solos the helm and navigates a personal narrative on why he believes that getting vaccinated at this point in America’s history is especially critical for communities of color.
Director Statement
We find ourselves at an inflection point in our world’s history. The world is trying to find a way out of a once in a 100-year pandemic. Covid-19 has shut the planet down for a year, plus. And as we try to find a way to the other side, misinformation and disinformation are leading the United States to the brink of a self-perpetuating calamity. In the United States, where vaccines are available to everyone, many people in every community are choosing not to get their shots. Why? And as with all negative forces, the African-American community and communities of color are the hardest hit.
I hope you’ll watch “Thee Who Hesitates…” and it starts a discussion about getting vaccinated. A discussion, unfortunately, I know will be going on for some time to come.
On April 24th, 2021, I got my 2nd vaccination shot. It came with a tinge of hope as I’d been locked down like the rest of the world for over a year. Now mere months later, with the Delta variant running rampant, the vaccination rates of African-Americans have slowed and we’re on the brink of another shutdown and outbreak. Why? In “Thee Who Hesitates…”, I explore my own journey to getting vaccinated and pondered the question of why African-Americans and people of color are still hesitant to get theirs. Even as the disease continues to spread.
I am Hamid Reza Mahmoodi, 43 years old, who started my artistic activity in high school with the encouragement of a teacher. During high school, I was one of the theater group members and began writing different stories. After the end of high school, I began and completed filmmaking classes with the attendance of well-known masters of the artist, called Masoud Kimiai and Hamid Samandrian. After that, I started to film making….
Director Statement
I suffer from several rare diseases, but I hardly make films in Iran. I love making real films to show the pain of the Iranian people.
After a couple of years of effective efforts, Reza became a writer of the artist. He had to leave his country due to a lot of restrictions, which were an obstacle to achieve his dreams and his goals. Therefore, he made a pivotal decision which led to unexpected events and a lot of problems for him.
Project Links
A sheriff investigating the disappearance of two teenagers from a fire watch tower, discovers a mutilated body, an incinerated car with human remains and reports of a UFO hurtling towards the San Francisco peaks.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Val Cole
Richard Lee: Steve Rizzo
John Tharp: Allan Michael Brunet
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When their sightseeing is cut short at a Syrian Army checkpoint in Lebanon, a new couple is forced to learn more about each other as well as themselves in order to find the strength to escape a life-threatening situation.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Julie Sheppard
Danny: Steve Rizzo
Emma: Val Cole – 5
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Political Feedback Festival 