WINNERS Poland International Film Festival 2024

Remnant

BEST INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE FEATURE, BEST ORIGINAL DIRECTOR & BEST SCREENPLAY

What Kind of Day

BEST INTERNATIONAL DRAMA

Anything You Lose

BEST ARTHOUSE PRODUCER & BEST INDIE DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Out of State-A Gothic Romance

BEST INTERNATIONAL PICTURE

The Assassin’s Apprentice 2: Silbadores of the Canary Islands

BEST ORIGINAL FILMMAKER, BEST NARRATIVE SHORT FILM & BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER

Routine

BEST INDIE DIRECTOR, BEST SCREENWRITER & BEST EDITING

Not Without Gloves

BEST ARTHOUSE CINEMATOGRAPHY, BEST INDIE DIRECTOR & BEST EXPERIMENTAL SHORT FILM

Tony N’ Tina’s Wedding

BEST INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR & BEST ARTHOUSE PROJECT

Eye of the Storm

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Inspired by a True Story) & BEST FILMMAKER

Blanche

BEST INDIE FILM

Thankful

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE SCRIPT & BEST ORIGINAL IDEA

THE BLANKET – Die schwarze Decke

BEST ANIMATION & BEST ORIGINAL EDITING

Dojo

BEST NARRATIVE SHORT, BEST ACTOR OF THE YEAR, BEST PRODUCTION COMPANY & BEST ORIGINAL STORY

Alta California

BEST ARTHOUSE WRITER & BEST ORIGINAL FEATURE SCRIPT

“Only You Can Save Her,” pilot teleplay of series THE BOY WHO EARNED HIS MAGIC

BEST TELEVISION SCRIPT

Monument to Love

BEST ORIGINAL DIRECTOR, BEST INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FEATURE & BEST ARTHOUSE PRODUCER

Ye Ole Glorya

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY & BEST INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR (Category: Comedy)

Big Momma Earth

BEST ARTHOUSE COMEDY & BEST CAST

The Order

BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM & BEST ARTHOUSE DIRECTOR

Nossos Caminhos (Our Paths)

BEST INDIE FEATURE SCRIPT

Luzinete

BEST SCREENWRITER, BEST INDIE FILMMAKER & BEST ORIGINAL SHORT FILM

Cosmic Light

BEST ARTHOUSE MUSIC VIDEO & BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Am I a painter?/Czy jestem malarzem?

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

The Stones of Rome

BEST EXPERIMENTAL NARRATIVE SHORT & BEST ARTHOUSE ACTOR

The Pathos of Hamlet

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILMMAKER, BEST INDIE SHORT FILM & BEST EXPERIMENTAL CINEMATOGRAPHY

Hot Afternoons HaveBeen in Montana

BEST VIDEO POETRY OF THE YEAR

Omnipotent Resolution

BEST INTERNATIONAL MUSIC VIDEO, BEST DANCE FILM, BEST ORIGINAL SONG & BEST ARTHOUSE FILMMAKER

The Liminal Space

BEST EXPERIMENTAL CINEMATOGRAPHY & BEST ARTHOUSE INDIE DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

Saban Bajramovic- My Journey

BEST EUROPEAN DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Artists and Aliens

BEST INTERNATIONAL SCI-FI & BEST INDIE ORIGINAL PROJECT

The Call Center

BEST PILOT TV

Fire Flies: The Golden Dragon

BEST ORIGINAL FEATURE SCRIPT

Fire Flies

BEST INTERNATIONAL NOVELIST

Limitless in Las Vegas

BEST AMERICAN WRITER

Lucky in Long Island 2

BEST AMERICAN FEATURE SCRIPT

An Ever After Drama

BEST NARRATIVE SHORT

Running Out Of Time

BEST MUSIC VIDEO & BEST SOUND DESIGN

Embrace Disruption

BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILMMAKER & BEST ORIGINAL EDITING

Emergency Musical Response: Part 1 – Journey to Netherworld

BEST EUROPEAN MUSIC VIDEO

WINNERS AUSTRALIAN FILM CRITICS AWARDS 2024

Giulietta e Romeo?

BEST INDIE SHORT & BEST FIRST TIME DIRECTOR

Brothers of Babylon

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE SCRIPT

Not Without Gloves

BEST EXPERIMENTAL DIRECTOR & BEST ARTHOUSE PRODUCER

Hot Afternoons Have Been in Montana

BEST INTERNATIONAL VIDEO POETRY

Cate and the Garden Bandits by Betsy Coffeen

BEST INTERNATIONAL BOOK & BEST ORIGINAL WRITER

The Quest for Camelot

BEST ARTHOUSE PRODUCER & BEST ORIGINAL DIRECTOR

The Lost Village

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Hotel Purgatorio: Room 917

BEST WE/TV SERIES & BEST ORIGINAL INDIE DIRECTOR

The Four Of Us Are Dying

BEST ARTHOUSE FEATURE SCRIPT

Ye Ole Glorya

BEST DIRECTOR (Category: Comedy) & BEST ORIGINAL EDITING

Big Momma Earth

BEST SCREENPLAY & BEST ARTHOUSE COMEDY

Fire Flies

BEST AMERICAN FEATURE SCRIPT

Artists and Aliens

BEST INDIE SONG & BEST INTERNATIONAL SCI-FI

Dreams Of Aqua Marine

BEST EXPERIMENTAL PROJECT

Shattered Rainbows

BEST INDIE FEATURE SCRIPT

The Call Center

BEST INTERNATIONAL PILOT TV

Who Are These Bugs

BEST INDIE SONG

A Pilgrimage Into Tibet

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILMMAKER (Category: Documentary Short)

Precious the Baby Dragon

BEST INDIE WRITER & BEST MANUSCRIPT

Risveglio Planetario

BEST EUROPEAN INDIE MUSIC VIDEO

5 Marzo1955 una canzone per Carla

BEST ARTHOUSE SUPER SHORT FILM & BEST FILMMAKER

THE BLANKET – Die schwarze Decke

BEST ANIMATION & BEST INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR (Category Animated Short Film)

The Assassin’s Apprentice 2: Silbadores of the Canary Islands

BEST FILMMAKER, BEST NARRATIVE SHORT FILM & BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER

Routine

BEST INDIE DIRECTOR, BEST INTERNATIONAL SCREENWRITER & BEST PRODUCER

Love Is My Gun

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC VIDEO

The Horror Filmmaker’s Handbook: Creating Terrifying Cinema

BEST INDIE WRITER (Category: Book/Manuscript)

Out of State A Gothic Romance

BEST INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE FEATURE, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST CASTING DIRECTOR & BEST PRODUCTION COMPANY

Atlas Of  Uncertainty

BEST INTERNATIONAL SOUND DESIGNER

Say My Name

BEST ARTHOUSE SHORT FILM, BEST FILMMAKER, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY & BEST CASTING DIRECTOR

An impossible secret

BEST INTERNATIONAL DRAMA & BEST FILMMAKER

In a Tamasic World

BEST INDIE SONG & BEST ARTHOUSE MUSIC VIDEO

The Golden Years

BEST INDIE DIRECTOR & BEST ARTHOUSE NARRATIVE SHORT

Remnant

BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE, BEST INTERNATIONAL CINEMATOGRAPHER & BEST PRODUCTION COMPANY

Dojo

BEST ORIGINAL NARRATIVE SHORT, BEST INTERNATIONAL ACTOR, BEST ACTION MOVIE & BEST ACREENPLAY SHORT

Dylan Brody’s Driving Hollywood

BEST INDIE COMEDY

Sinestesìa

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC VIDEO & BEST ORIGINAL SOUND DESIGN

Alta California

BEST ARTHOUSE SCREENWRITER & BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Pirandello’s Wife

BEST INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS FEATURE SCRIPT

Camino de Santiago – The Pilgrims Speak

BEST ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY SHORT

Ischaemic

BEST ARTHOUSE FEATURE SCRIPT

Nika

BEST INDIE NARRATIVE FEATURE

The Visitors

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Emergency Musical Response: Part 1 – Journey to Netherworld

BEST ORIGINAL DIRECTOR (Category: Short Film)

Alchemy On The Amstel (III)

BEST ORIGINAL EXPERIMENTAL SHORT FILM & BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER

1991. Who is your Neighbor?

BEST ARTHOUSE DOCUMENTARY

Greta GarBitch: A true story of life loss light and love

BEST ARTHOUSE BOOK & BEST AMERICAN WRITER

TutuTango

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (Category: Video Poetry)

Omnipotent Resolution

BEST SONG, BEST DANCE FILM, BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTHOUSE SHORT & BEST SINGER

Luzinete

BEST INDIE SCREENWRITER & BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTHOUSE SHORT FILM

Connor and Sonia

BEST ARTHOUSE FEATURE SCRIPT

Eye of the Storm

BEST INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FEATURE & BEST DIRECTOR

Prima del Giorno Dopo

BEST CAST & BEST INDIE FILM

Colombano & La 21esima Fetta

BEST EUROPEAN INDIE DIRECTOR & BEST ORIGINAL EDITING

Blind Faith: Moments of Missed Understanding

BEST INTERNATIONAL EXPERIMENTAL FILM & BEST INDIE PRODUCER

Can’t Figure It Out

BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILMMAKER & BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Aneyshia

BEST ORIGINAL SONG, BEST INDIE MUSIC VIDEO & BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTHOUSE SINGER

Anything You Lose

BEST AMERICAN DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR, BEST ORIGINAL EDITING & BEST ARTHOUSE DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Lacrime di Vento

BEST EUROPEAN INDIE PRODUCER & BEST EDUCATIONAL SHORT FILM

Thankful

BEST FEATURE SCRIPT, BEST ORIGINAL WRITER & BEST ORIGINAL IDEA

The Stones of Rome

BEST EXPERIMENTAL NARRATIVE SHORT & BEST AMERICAN ACTOR

The Pathos of Hamlet

BEST ARTHOUSE INDIE FILMMAKER, BEST INSPIRATIONAL SHORT FILM & BEST EXPERIMENTAL EDITING

Monument to Love

BEST INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR & BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Balkan Jazz

BEST PRODUCER & BEST FILMMAKER (Category: Documentary Feature)

Promised

BEST ARTHOUSE SHORT

Catalysm downunder

BEST INDIE FILMMAKER

Life’s Mapped Out

BEST ORIGINAL INDIE SHORT & BEST INDIE PRODUCER

Man in the Mountain

BEST ORIGINAL SCI-FI

(EXCLUSIVE) Interview with Angelena Bonet

-What and who has inspired you the most in your artistic career?

I have been blessed to have had many great people in my life and teachers over the years but the one person that I am most grateful for inspiring me is my late fiancé and co-writer of my album, Erick. He changed my life and enriched it in such positive ways. To have unconditional love is a rare thing on this planet and I definitely don’t take that for granted. He knew my potential, he believed in me and I absolutely love the instrumental pieces of music he wrote for me. When he suddenly and unexpectedly passed away in 2007, three days after we got engaged, I got to see how strong I really was and decided to finish our project on my own. Our project was only half complete at that point and as I had so much emotion during that difficult time of grief I chose to find my courage and channel my heart and soul into the songs and write all the lyrics and melody. I was pushed so far out of my comfort zone and have since grown and learned so much about myself. Once again I got to put in practice all that I had honed as a child studying music to then watching Erick in the studio producing bands for years. Finishing my album by laying the vocal tracks and producing our album at Trackdown, Fox Studios was very important to me and definitely a magical experience I will never forget. I wanted to make him proud, complete our project and keep my promise I made at his bedside. And I have! The unique way this album has come to be is nothing short of miraculous and I feel very blessed. “Tragic Fairytale” is my homage to him and a very special song about love, loss and grief and a reminder to keep an open heart, despite the pain, because true love can never die.

-Every true artist is also a revolutionary against power. Do you think there is still room today to express one’s revolution through art?

Absolutely, I do. Creating my documentary short film Change The World and the soundtrack and seeing my art and life journey inspire people around the world and touch their hearts is such a wonderful gift that I am very grateful for. I have deep compassion for myself and every other woman who has suffered any form of violence and I am honored to use my voice for good and speak for those who can’t. My spirit couldn’t be silenced and to now be heard in every country is something so special and is very hard to describe. When I look back at what I have endured and the miracle of surviving the murder attempt to now having my voice heard and winning these special film festival awards is something I could never have imagined would happen! I vowed to make a stand and leave this world a better place than I found it and I am committed. Women are now finding their voice and self-worth and it is fabulous to see. I feel future generations will look back at this point in time with fascination, shock, and dismay and also awe at the courage women have shown by standing up and speaking out about the injustices and violence they have suffered since time immemorial. The social fabric is changing and I’m hopeful the momentum will continue and begin to move more quickly. I see the future in a positive light. I believe change is possible and that we are at the dawn of a new day. As more and more women are in leadership positions, the world will naturally become a more inclusive one and love will become the focus again. Violence will no longer be a silent global epidemic, all girls will receive an education, and helping others will become our primary goal. We have set the wheels in motion to ensure future generations have a safer and more equal world. My message is one of peace, love and unity and being an example of how to turn tragic into magic is the legacy I am creating. Power to the people and music is the universal language. One should always feel empowered to share their voice through art.

-We live in a world where, unfortunately, war still exists. Do you believe that if there were more dissemination of art through the media and social networks, the world would be a more peaceful place?

That is a every interesting and complex question. It breaks my heart to watch the news and see that war is still happening in the Middle East, Europe and around the world. To think that these atrocities are still happening on Earth in this day and age, is beyond my comprehension. Unfortunately, we live in a society that’s strucuture is built on power, and places such emphasis on status, wealth, beauty and fame. For independent artists of any genre, they are faced with the difficulty of having their work heard or seen in a market that is flooded and algorithms in place. I truly believe that peace starts within and we are all responsible for our own healing. That being said, art can definitely inspire the masses and cause a revolution. We are lucky to live in a time where we have social media and can be in control of our own destiny and choose to put our work out for people to find. If your voice is clear it will resonate and artists need to believe in themselves and create without the desire for an audience. The creative process for me is always organic and I have never been motivated by fame, money or others’ approval. I merely speak and sing from my heart and I am very grateful that I have been heard and am inspiring people. There is no greater joy for me than to know that what I have endured has not been in vain and in fact is touching hearts around the world. If that is what you call “a love revolution” then I can die happy knowing I made a positive difference in this world.

-Are you working on a new project? If so, can you give us a sneak peek?

I am working on a new documentary film right now and even though I can’t say too much at this point, I am very excited to share this film once completed. It’s in alignment with my documentary feature film tetralogy and women empowerment.

WINNERS ICEBERG Cinema & Literature Awards 2024

Orpheus with his lyre

BEST INDIE WRITER

Cosmic Light

BEST INDIE MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR

Brothers of Babylon

BEST ORIGINAL AMERICAN FEATURE SCRIPT

Emergency Musical Response: Part 1 – Journey to Netherworld

BEST INTERNATIONAL SOUNDTRACK

Anything You Lose

BEST INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Dojo

BEST ACTOR, BEST ORIGINAL SHORT FILM, BEST ARTHOUSE DIRECTOR, BEST ACTION MOVIE & BEST AMERICAN SCREENWRITER

Remnant

BEST ORIGINAL FILMMAKER, BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE & BEST ORIGINAL CINEMATOGRAPHY

Not Without Gloves

BEST INTERNATIONAL EXPERIMENTAL FILMMAKER

The Horror Filmmaker’s Handbook: Creating Terrifying Cinema

BEST ORIGINAL BOOK OF THE YEAR

Alta California

BEST ORIGINAL WRITER

Magma

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC VIDEO

The Priory of Sion

BEST ORIGINAL EUROPEAN FEATURE SCRIPT

The Stones of Rome

BEST ORIGINAL NARRATIVE SHORT

The Pathos of Hamlet

BEST DIRECTOR & BEST ARTHOUSE EDITING

What Kind of Day

BEST INDIE CINEMATOGRAPHER & BEST DRAMA

The Quest for Camelot

BEST AMERICAN DIRECTOR

The White Chronicles: The Beginning

BEST ARTHOUSE SCREENWRITER

 The Dancing Spies @Goddess

BEST INDIE BOOK & BEST ORIGINAL IDEA

Entangled

BEST EUROPEAN DIRECTOR

BLIND FAITH: Moments of Missed Understanding

BEST ARTHOUSE EXPERIMENTAL SHORT FILM

Can’t Figure It Out

BEST ORIGINAL EXPERIMENTAL PROJECT, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY & BEST EDITING

“Only You Can Save Her,” pilot teleplay of series THE BOY WHO EARNED HIS MAGIC

BEST INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION SCRIPT

Hot Afternoons Have Been in Montana

BEST ARTHOUSE DIRECTOR & BEST VIDEO POETRY

Sonnets (words in despair)

BEST ARTHOUSE FEATURE SCRIPT

The Taste Of Rain

BEST INDIE INTERNATIONAL WRITER

The Victims of Sundarbans

BEST INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY SHORT & BEST INDIE PRODUCER

Luzinete

BEST INTERNATIONAL INDIE SCREENWRITER & BEST FILMMAKER

Roses are Blind

BEST THRILLER

Thankful

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE SCRIPT

Atlas of Uncertainty

BEST EUROPEAN PROJECT & BEST SOUND DESIGN

Monument to Love

BEST ARTHOUSE DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Darker Realities

BEST ARTHOUSE WRITER OF THE YEAR

The Assassin’s Apprentice 2: Silbadores of the Canary Islands

BEST ARTHOUSE FILMMAKER, BEST INDIE SHORT FILM & BEST ORIGINAL CINEMATOGRAPHY

Routine

BEST CAST, BEST INDIE DIRECTOR, BEST SCREENWRITER & BEST INDIE SOUND DESIGN

No Porn Avocado

BEST DIRECTOR & BEST SCREENWRITER (Category: Comedy)

E40S

BEST INDIE FEATURE SCRIPT

Best of Times

BEST ORIGINAL SHORT SCRIPT

Omnipotent Resolution

BEST ARTHOUSE SHORT FILM, BEST INTERNATIONAL SONG & BEST INDIE MUSIC VIDEO

Eye of the Storm

BEST INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR (Category: Documentary Feature)

Errata in blue

BEST EXPERIMENTAL INDIE FILM

Blooming Sisters

BEST INDIE NARRATIVE FEATURE & BEST CAST

Sheldon Mashugana gets stooged

BEST INTERNATIONAL COMEDY

(EXCLUSIVE) Interview with Darius J. Rubin

By Michele Diomà

It was the spring of 2022 when I received a short movie that intrigued me from the moment I saw the movie poster. It was titled “The Fool.” I hadn’t even finished watching it before deciding that I would ask the two young filmmakers behind it, Darius J. Rubin and Yoshima Yamamoto, to collaborate on my next film to be shot in New York. When you come across hundreds of projects each week, as I do, you quickly learn to recognize the artists who shine with a unique light. I am very happy today to say that the film we worked on together between Manhattan and Brooklyn, O – the fiRSt mOvie by aN alien, is now in post-production. I am equally excited to present to the Wild Filmmaker Community the new project directed by Darius, with cinematography by Yoshima: “In Service”.

Here is an exclusive interview with Darius J. Rubin:

-When did you first fall in love with Cinema?

Ever since I was a kid, I always loved movies. I think when I really fell in love with it was high school, as I was getting older and my eyes started opening to the magnitude of life that I hadn’t been aware of before. This coming-of-age experience was paralleled by a new experience of movies, as a form of rebellion against the stiffness of the authorities in my life at the time, like school and parents. Movies from that time include Pulp Fiction, Dazed-and-confused, Searching for Sugarman, Big Lebowski, La Haine, Boogie Nights, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. These movies aren’t necessarily my all time favorites, they’re all great, but they were the types of movies I was watching at the time that Cinema started playing a very big part of my life. 

-Tell us about your last short “In Service.”

It’s set at a funeral, and revolves around a group of young people who have lost a close friend to Suicide. The film explores the cacophony of sounds and voices that populate the space, as people use the experience of grief as an opportunity to bring the conversation back to themselves. This competition for social clout (a very 21st century phenomenon), actively prevents people from expressing the necessary vulnerability to process their grief. We try to explore this by poking fun at the asinine ways we all behave these days in pursuit of social validation. 

When did you realize that this story had to be made into a film?

I’m not sure if there was a specific point that I realized it absolutely had to be a film, but the idea for the story came to me from personal experience, one that stuck with me and shaped who I am, so I thought that, after completing my first film (the Fool), “In Service” had to be the next step. It represented my opinion on society at the time, which I would like to say has grown since, where I was very frustrated with the competition I saw between people on social media, the dopamine roundabout of happiness and despair that constitutes our daily lives, when so much of it is lived online. The experience of the funeral, where I witnessed such a sacred and deeply human event be dominated by this dopamine-grabbing crusade for social-relevance, was, I thought, a perfect example of how we are all missing the trick about what’s really important. And what’s that? The understanding that we are all in this together, none of us have all the answers, so let’s just be honest about that and have a better time. When we are all competing, something like that becomes impossible.

Is there a person you would like to thank for helping you bring your project to life?

There are lots and lots of people to thank but I would like to point out two people specifically. Adrienne Weiss runs a program called Directing Actors. I did this for two weeks in the lead-up to shooting, and it revolutionized the way I understood working with actors, the backstory of characters, connecting to the specificity of what motivates a character to act in a certain way. Secondly, I would thank Dina Amer for encouraging to me connect with myself and my voice, and for always pushing me to go deeper into the motivations for each character and each scene.  

Do you think the Wild Filmmaker Community is helping to turn your dream into a reality?

How could I do it without you Michele!

(EXCLUSIVE) Interview with Bailey Ives Coppola

By Michele Diomà

I am very pleased and honored today to present a special interview to the entire WILD FILMMAKER Community! For the first time on our Magazine, we have Bailey Ives Coppola, a young actor I discovered years ago when I watched Sammy & Quinn, directed by Christopher Coppola, and whom I had the pleasure of admiring just a few months ago at the Cannes Film Festival in the latest masterpiece of cinema history, Megalopolis.

-Who is Bailey Ives Coppola?

In acronym: B:allistic A:nnihilator I:ntroverted L:urid E:nergetic Y:ankee

I:nquiring V:olumetric E:ntertainer S:undried

C:ertified O:dd P:ersonable P:urpose O:nly L:ove A:lways

I am an enigma to myself. I don’t expect this to ever change.  I don’t like to define myself based on my earthly existence. Although, I am not necessarily religious or spiritual or atheist or agnostic. The same goes with Solipsism and nihilism. I find it hard to subscribe to anything
Of man or man made. I have tremendous appreciation for the cycles of creation and destruction within human history. So whichever side of the coin it lands there I lie. I believe i am fated and fixed in my free will.

Who is Bailey?

An honest fellow who is ready to defend what he cares about the most being his family and his country at any cost but is never put to the test. They say he has a big heart.

-Which artists have inspired you the most?

From the get go anything by Dr. Seuss and P.D. Eastman. Green eggs and ham and Go Dog Go.

Coming of age: Orwell and Huxley. 1984 and brave new world.

Actors: Brando and Bogart.

-I know that besides being an actor, you also love painting. Do you think art can save the world?

Art has always saved and will continue to save the human soul which depicts the world as it is and as it should be. But sometimes it’s good to let it all burn ❤️‍🔥 like the Renoir painting in the 1988 film Stars And Bars.

-What makes you happy, and what really makes you angry?

A fastfood restaurant open late at night. A cold beer on a Wednesday. Finding the last item on the shelf. Long distance laughter.

Many machinations of the mind make me angry. They say righteous anger is justifiable. But now I think anger cannot come from love so better to love your enemy and even yourself which can be harder.

-You worked on Megalopolis, the film of the year. How was your experience?

It was incredible just to be on and around set let alone having a part in the flick which is the biggest of my life thus far. It was a fantastic learning experience in control and cooperation. A real dance of the demons as the character Huey is lost in his own manifesto. It was a great pleasure to have finally worked with FFC as his legend of artistic importance had always been made known to me my whole life in America and traveling across the globe.

(EXCLUSIVE) Interview with Sabrina Bogado

-Who is Sabrina Bogado?

Sabrina bogado is a Film Director, executive producer and scriptwriter from Brazil. She is a mother of Iara and Lucas, two teenagers, and works for the Media industry for over 25 years. She owns Levante Films. a female producer who has been in Brazil for 18 years making animation, documentaries and fiction.

-What has been the greatest difficulty you faced in producing your project?

Making films as a South American woman is always a challenge. not only facing political and economic instabilities, but also due to relationships with the feminine such as motherhood. Of course, overcoming all is about the passion and love for cinema, that made me build a solid company like Levante Filmes is. At this moment I’m filming the most challenging project I’ve ever made. First of all, because I have been work on it  for almost all my life. “Behind the story”  is a documentary about the founder of Copa Libertadores, who was a secret police officer in Brazil until the Second World War and who was my great-grandfather. I grew up listening to my grandmother’s stories about him and have been investigating the character for over 20 years. Directing a film that I am emotionally attached to is undoubtedly fascinating and frightening at the same time.

-Do you think the film industry today has been damaged by political correctness?

Ethics has been discussed since ancient Greece. But the commitment of its expression is born and developed throughout the individual’s life. No one should demand political correctness if human nature was committed to this attitude. It would only be natural. And I am talking about ethos, not moral because moral is learned. Cinema is a very completed art, it lets almost all senses to be used during your spectator experience. So, the nature of the film speeches often becomes very evident. Any forced attempt at values ​​ends up becoming too clear for those who have a critical sense. And finally, the exhibitions and narratives becomes also a thermometer and a document about generational positions and the ethics of  individuals who produced them. So, I don’t think you can force political correctness, but calling attention to these singularities allows the perception of others to be refined. A plural, diverse, democratic narrative should be natural for those who respect and made art. Any attempt to force it will always highlight the fragility of the act and the film itself.

-What was the greatest source of inspiration for creating your project?

The life. The experiences I live, the relationships that i have been stablished with people and mainly the exercise of empathy about  those situations of social and cultural fragility and peculiarity. I believe that making films is giving the opportunity to produce a sensitive point of view for different cultures and I always tried to compromise the most faithful way Possible to the realities I have experienced, primarily when we talk about different realities that not everyone has access to known and experienced.

-If you could ask a question to a great director from the past, who would you like to talk to and what would you ask them?

I always wanted to ask Tarkovsky the secret of sustaining such long and at the same time so expressive silences in his films. But maybe even he couldn’t give me that answer.

WINNERS Chicago International Film Festival Best Indie Selection 2024

Eye of the Storm

BEST BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY

Ye Ole Glorya

BEST DIRECTOR & BEST COMEDY

Big Momma Earth

BEST SCREENWRITER (Category: Comedy) & BEST ORIGINAL IDEA

Giulietta e Romeo?

BEST INDIE EUROPEAN PRODUCER & BEST FIRST TIME DIRECTOR

Omnipotent Resolution

BEST ORIGINAL DANCE SHORT FILM, BEST SINGER & BEST INTERNATIONAL SONG

Artists and Aliens

BEST INTERNATIONAL SCI-FI

The Stones of Rome

BEST INSPIRATIONAL NARRATIVE SHORT & BEST ORIGINAL AMERICAN DIRECTOR

The Pathos of Hamlet

BEST CINEMATOFRAPHY & BEST ORIGINAL SHORT

The Assassin’s Apprentice 2: Silbadores of the Canary Islands

BEST ORIGINAL FILMMAKER, BEST INDIE PRODUCER & BEST SCREENPLAY

Routine

BEST ARTHOUSE NARRATIVE SHORT, BEST AMERICAN SCREENWRITER & BEST INDIE CINEMATOGRAPHER

Lil

BEST EUROPEAN EXPERIMENTAL FILM & BEST ORIGINAL EDITING

Life Cycle through the Prism of Nijinsky

BEST DANCE MOVIE

Alta California

BEST AMERICAN WRITER & BEST ARTHOUSE FEATURE SCRIPT

THE BLANKET – Die schwarze Decke

BEST ORIGINAL IDEA, BEST SUPER SHORT FILM & BEST EXPERIMENTAL EDITING

Bat Sheva (The Daughter of 7even)

BEST INTERNATIONAL ORIGINAL SCORE

It’s the Gravy

BEST INTERNATIONAL COMEDY & BEST AMERICAN INDIE DIRECTOR

Sitting in a Dream – Golden Hair music video

BEST DIRECTOR (Category: Music Video) & BEST INTERNATIONAL MUSIC VIDEO

Thankful

BEST FEATURE SCRIPT & BEST ARTHOUSE SCREENWRITER

Monument to Love

BEST DIRECTOR, BEST PRODUCER & BEST INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Not Without Gloves

BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM, BEST ARTHOUSE CINEMATOGRAPHY & BEST EUROPEAN DIRECTOR

BLIND FAITH: Moments of Missed Understanding

BEST INSPIRATIONAL FILMMAKER & BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM

Imoceanation

BEST MOBILE FILM

Can’t Figure It Out

BEST ORIGINAL EDITING

Luzinete

BEST ORIGINAL SHORT

Atlas of Uncertainty

BEST SOUND DESIGN & BEST EUROPEAN ORIGINAL PROJECT

Sonnets (words in despair)

BEST AMERICAN FEATURE SCRIPT OF THE YEAR

No Porn Avocado

BEST ARTHOUSE COMEDY

Hot Afternoons Have Been in Montana

BEST ARTHOUSE FILMMAKER & BEST VIDEO POETRY

Hate Can Kill

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

The Order

BEST EXPERIMENTAL CINEMATOGRAPHY & BEST ARTHOUSE FILMMAKER

Ricchezza vera

BEST SONG WRITER, BEST EUROPEAN MUSIC VIDEO & BEST ARTHOUSE FILMMAKER (Category: Music Video)

The Quest for Camelot

BEST SCREENWRITER, BEST ARTHOUSE DIRECTOR & BEST AMERICAN PRODUCTION COMPANY

What Kind of Day

BEST INTERNATIONAL DRAMA

I Waited for You

BEST ARTHOUSE EXPERIMENTAL FILM & BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Waiting On Love

BEST INTERNATIONAL SUPER SHORT FILM

Skin Show / Live

BEST ARTHOUSE DOCUMENTARY SHORT

(EXCLUSIVE) Interview with Samantha Casella

-What has been the greatest difficulty you faced in producing your project?

I think it is very difficult to find productions company willing to produce the genre of my films. I consider myself lucky. The Shadows Factory met my demands and respected my vision. In hindsight, the greatest difficulty was taking care of the direction, photography and acting in such a complex role.

-Do you think the film industry today has been damaged by political correctness?

Absolutely yes, but the worst thing is that this system is obtuse and hinders anyone who dares to question them.

-What was the greatest source of inspiration for creating your project?

My films are all very personal. Making “Katabasis” was for me an existence, a necessity. Of course, I am very interested in the theme of abuse, but I did not want to show a woman as a victim. The protagonist is on one hand dependent on the abuse she suffers, but a part of her is also abusive, indecipherable, willing to do anything to survive. Within certain limits all the characters in the film suffer and impart abuse. It is society that pushes in this direction.

-If you could ask a question to a great director from the past, who would you like to talk to and what would you ask them?

My first cinematic love was Ingmar Bergman. So, sure, I would have liked to talk to him. First of all, I would like to ask him if he has made peace with God.

-What do you think of the Wild Filmmaker platform?

I think it’s pure oxygen. A very important point of reference for those who work in independent cinema. I think it’s becoming a reality and it is destined to grow up more and more.

(EXCLUSIVE) Interview with Sheldon Armstrong

-What has been the greatest difficulty you faced in producing your project?

I think in all film productions you are going to have hiccups…I was told that it’s an actual miracle that any films are ever made due to so many people having to be involved. For me I’d say, trying to realize my vision with no real budget. The major set piece in my film, the robbery at the art gallery, was done in the recording studio using sound effects and the actors performing their lines in a booth.

-Do you think the film industry today has been damaged by political correctness?

I don’t think the current political climate has affected the film industry. I think the lack of good story-telling has damaged the film industry. Interesting characters doing interesting things has always sold, and I think us as filmmakers have to have the courage to tell the stories we want to tell. If that means lower budgets…then we tell smaller, more intimate stories.

-What was the greatest source of inspiration for creating your project?

I love the 90s style neo-noir films, that’s what I grew up watching and when I think of films that I want to produce…this style, these themes are on the forefront of my mind. 

-If you could ask a question to a great director from the past, who would you like to talk to and what would you ask them?

I am a huge fan of Stanley Kubrick and I would love to just pick his brain on scene blocking, set piece design…basically his method for filmmaking. 

-What do you think of the Wild Filmmaker platform?

Wild Filmmaker is an amazing platform for independent artists and filmmakers. Such a great resource to be introduced to films and filmmakers that you might not otherwise. Forever grateful to have found this platform.