BEYOND (SCI-FI & SUPER NATURAL) SHORTS PROGRAM
Wednesday, September 27, 2023 at 8:00 PM
SHORTS PROGRAM | 81 min
General Admission $10 | Student + Children $8

UNBECOMING
SHORT NARRATIVE| 15 MIN | ENGLISH | CANADA
Directed by Jack Creaghan

A woman receives a phone call from a 17-year-old girl who is strangely familiar to her. The call quickly becomes a horrible nightmare as the woman realizes where the girl is and what is about to happen to her.

About the Director, Jack Creaghan

Jack Creaghan is a filmmaker from Toronto, Canada. After studying Philosophy at University, working for 4 years in tech as a Data Scientist, and then quitting to pursue being a comedian, he finally found his way into the thing he plans to spend the rest of his life doing. Making movies.

CONSUMED
SHORT NARRATIVE | 11 MIN | ENGLISH | USA
Directed by JP Bradham

Tammy discovers one night that her shopping addiction might become the death of her.

About the Director, JP Bradham

JP Bradham got her start in film on her 10th birthday, when she got the camcorder she begged her mom for (which meant she went from forcing her brothers to be in her plays to forcing them to be in her films).

She only later fell into the industry through commercial production as a result of her experience in copywriting and marketing, which quickly moved into television and feature film work as a producer.

With writing being her real passion, JP was among the first group of screenplay writers that went on to work with the Sundance Co//ab program, attending four courses over a span of two years. She's been privileged to receive continued mentorship following continued formal education with notable WGA writers over the course of her career. One thing that's always been important to JP is to constantly work on her craft.

With a (sick) love for the horror genre, JP makes her directorial debut with her short film "Consumed", a project with a message of the insidious nature of consumerism, asking the question: are we buying from a corporation or is a corporation buying us?

CRAZY THESE DAYS
SHORT NARRATIVE | 12 MIN | ENGLISH | USA
Directed by Tara Karsian

Weird things keep happening while Elise is alone. While in the shower the lights go out, and as she goes to check on it she runs into her husband, home early from a business trip. What's going on? Is it just her suspicions on overload or could jealousy play a part?

About the Director, Tara Karsian

As an actress, Tara has guest starred and/or recurred on over fifty television shows such as AppleTV’s The Morning Show (for which she was nominated for a 2022 SAG Award for Best Ensemble), Mayor of Kingstown, American Horror Story-1984, 9-1-1, Dead To Me, I’m Sorry, The Magicians, Shut Eye, Brooklyn Nine Nine, Review, Preacher, Shameless, among countless others.

Tara has produced multiple award nominated plays in Los Angeles such as the world premiere’s of The Cake by Bekah Brunstetter and Bed by Sheila Callaghan at the Echo Theater Company where she was formerly the Co-Associate Artistic Director. Tara co-wrote/produced and starred in the award-winning independent feature film, BFFs, which premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (and went on to play the worldwide film festival circuit for over two years) and can currently be seen on Amazon and various other platforms.

HEALER
SHORT NARRATIVE | 16 MIN | ENGLISH | CANADA, USA
Directed by Mackenzie Leigh

Morgan was conceived to help her older sister who has cancer. She’s a match, but the sister dies right before she was born. To seek solace, she has to turn to an imagined reality where they grew up together.

About the Director, Mackenzie Leigh

Mackenzie Leigh is a producer based in Manitoba, Canada. HEALER is her directorial debut.

Winner of the U.S. INPUT Producer Award, Mackenzie is also a fellow of the Hot Docs Accelerator Program, Telefilm's Producers Without Borders at the Berlinale, and Women in Film LA's Producing Program where she was mentored by industry veterans Michelle Raimo (SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK) and Laura Caulfield (THE WOLF OF WALL STREET).

Mackenzie's recent credits as a producer include the feature film, DAUGHTER OF THE SUN (Fantasia Film Festival), and the feature film, SON OF THE SUNSHINE (Canadian Screen Award Nomination) that premiered as one of Indiewire’s “Top 5 Films to Watch at Slamdance”.

Her other notable productions as a producer include IN THE BEGINNING WAS WATER AND SKY (PBS) and AMERIKA (INPUT TV Best Film). She also produced TIME TRAVELING THROUGH TIME (PÖFF Tallinn Black Nights, Seattle International Film Festival), OUR SECRET, MEMORIES OF YOUTH, and TO ALL THAT WE ARE (Inside Out TIFF Lightbox).

Mackenzie is currently developing her directorial feature debut, NORTHERN LIGHTS, supported by Manitoba Film & Music, and producing her third feature film, THE AQUANAUT AND THE SHIPWRECK.

ETIQUETTE
SHORT NARRATIVE | 4 MIN | TURKISH | TURKEY
Directed by Özgecan Sezen

In a dystopia where the norms of the male-dominated society are described with the metaphor of labels, all women are stigmatised. One brave woman realizes that with access to education, she can break free.

Director, Özgecan Sezen

Özgecan Sezen is an experienced videographer and skilled in main stages of pre- to post-production; including concept development, storyboarding, narrative storytelling, camera operation, cinematography, and artistic video editing.

Strong background in assembling essential materials as camera footage, audio, graphics, visual and sound effects to produce an appealing final film or video product with a bachelor’s degree in Media and Visual Arts.

Proficient in DSLR/Mirrorless cameras, video editing programs, design tools, sound and lighting setup.

RAJA'S HAD ENOUGH
SHORT DOCUMENTARY | 11 MIN | ENGLISH | UK
Directed by Ekaterina [Katia] Saiapina

Raja is a creature in human form working at The Afterlife Bureau, where souls are processed after their death. Fed up after years of processing femicide victims, Raja sneaks to Earth to save a stranger Zoey from her upcoming murder.

About the Director, Ekaterina [Katia] Saiapina

Katia moved to the UK at the age of 17 to follow her passion for telling powerful stories through a moving image.

She graduated with a BA in Cinematography and a MA in Directing Fiction. Being in love with the artistic environment of her hometown, Katia has a background in painting and music which both inspire her to discover her path as a fiction director.

To this day, Katia has directed short films that are all wary in their genres and storytelling techniques. She enjoys experimenting with different formats and approaches to filmmaking in order to discover new original ways and research deeper into the power of visual narratives.

RO & THE STARDUST
SHORT DOCUMENTARY | 15.5 MIN | ENGLISH, SPANISH | USA
Directed by Eunice Levis

A free-spirited teen fulfills her terminally ill grandmother’s dying wish of building a rocket ship to launch her into outer space.

About the Director, Eunice Levis

Writer and director, Eunice Levis is a first-generation Dominican American from the Bronx, New York. Eunice's work focuses on genre-bending stories that combine her love of horror, sci-fi, thriller, and fantasy often through a diasporic lens. She is a two-time Sundance Lab Second Rounder, a Stowe Story Lab Fellow, and a NALIP Latino Lens fellow.

She recently wrote and directed “InVade”, a sci-fi short film, which made the second round of the 2020 Sundance Episodic Lab with its pilot script. Her urban gothic horror feature script “Keep” also made second round consideration for the 2021 Sundance Feature Development program. Her folklore horror micro short “Fell Ends” was an extraordinary selection at NYX's 13 minutes of horror film festival and streamed on Shudder.
Her latest film, an urban space fantasy titled “Ro & the Stardust”, is part of the 2021 NALIP Latino Lens Women of Color Short Film Incubator, sponsored by Netflix.

In addition to writing and directing, Eunice teaches and cohosts Café Negro con Genre, a podcast that promotes creatives working in the genre space. Eunice is a graduate of New York University and is managed by 3 Arts Entertainment.