NARRATIVE

Amreeka

A Palestinian woman and her son arrive in the suburbs of Chicago to escape a life of oppression, only to face the fallout from America’s war on Iraq.

Writer/Director – Cherien Dabis
Producer – Christina Piovesan

Artificial Dissemination

Two teenagers with the same sperm donor father and a rare form of dyslexia begin a journey, after receiving a mysterious message from someone claiming to have a cure.

Directors – Tze Chun, Sheila Dvorak
Screenwriter – Sheila Dvorak

Beyond the Mat

Two wrestlers put their friendship on the line for the sport they love, setting one of them on a journey to self-discovery that brings him one step closer to manhood.

Director – Van M. Pham
Screenwriter – Erik Martinez
Producer – Kase Chong, Teresa Shu, and Henry Priest

The Castle

A couple moves into their newly renovated Manhattan apartment only to be haunted by its hidden past, which, to their worst fear, becomes essentially linked to their future.

Writer/Director – Buboo Kakati

Celamy

A tale of a magical friendship between a young girl and her imaginary friend, as told from the point-of-view of the imaginary friend.

Writer/Directors – Joe Turner Lin, Julie Anne Meerschwam

Cougars on Three

A street cop battles her own selfishness and her father— the temperamental coach of her pro football team—to win her teammates’ support and a spot on the field.

Screenwriter – Tanisha White

The Flicker’s Dance

Confined to his house because of his illness, a boy refuses to give up his love of the outdoors and unexpectedly changes the lives of those around him.

Writer/Director – Priyanka Kumar
Cast: Joe Mantegna, William Mapother, Ione Skye

Four

As the rest of America celebrates Fourth of July, two unlikely couples cross paths in their aimless search for companionship and transcendence from their reality.
Based on the play by Christopher Shinn.

Writer/Director – Joshua Sanchez
Producer – Gill Holland and Carly Hugo

Fruit of the Tree

Dr. James Cameron survives a lynching and chooses to turn his anger into a source of forgiveness, remembrance, and healing. Based on a true story.

Screenwriters – Aaron Greer, Fran Kaplan
Producers – Fran Kaplan, Tony Ferraro, and Brad Pruitt

Hannah Henri

A neurotic lesbian committed to playing the field encounters a change of heart when she meets Hannah Henri, a woman embodying everything she ever wanted.

Writer/Director – Akiva Penaloza
Producer – Joan E. Deraval

Hyung’s Overture

The eldest son of a Korean immigrant family gives up his career to manage the family’s convenience store, so that his brother may fulfill his potential as a world-class violinist.

Screenwriter – Young Il Kim
Producers – Teddy Zee and Jonathan Kim

Last Road Home

When a dying man flees his suburban home to live out his final days in paradise, his estranged son is charged with the task of bringing him home before time runs out.

Screenwriter – Roberto Marinas
Producer – Roberto Quezada

Money Matters

A troubled inner city teen struggles to come to terms with her mother’s difficult past while carving out an identity of her own.

Writer/Director – Ryan Richmond
Producer – Sam Pollard
Associate Producer – Neila Johnson

The Papaya Factory

Fourteen-year-old Lucy Alvarez faces an unexpected
challenge when a rival student decides to go head-tohead
with her Quinceanera party, a school project, by
throwing an all-out Sweet Sixteen party.

Writer/Director – Anna Margarita Albelo
Producer – Jamin O’Brien

Rain for Kabul

The lives of a celebrated journalist working on a story of detainee prison abuse and an American aid worker in Kabul collide when one of them goes missing.

Screenwriter – Soo Hugh

Relocation

An outsider to his own family in many ways, Henry Bitsui finds his present and the past clash when his family makes the trip to the city for his graduation.

Writer/Director – Bennie Klain
Producer – Leighton Peterson and Kristina Mann

The Sisterhood of Night

When a twelve-year-old girl exposes a secret society of junior high school girls a small New Jersey town is plunged into controversy.
Based on a Short Story by Steven Millhauser

Director – Caryn Waechter
Screenwriter – Marilyn Fu

Speedy

The unauthorized biography of a corpse: based on a true story of a dead man who became famous after having been kept in a closet for sixty years.

Writer/Director – Natacha Feola

SuperMacho

An insecure Chicano drummer awakens his inner machismo after he takes a job arresting shoplifters.

Writer/Director – Aldo Velasco
Producer – Jasmine Jaisinghani

The Vitruvian Man

When a worldwide blackout causes panic and chaos, a young couple finds themselves deeply entrenched in the heart of the mystery that triggered the situation.

Writer/Director – Rooth Tang
Producer – Emily Wang

Waste

A widowed NYC sanitation worker must negotiate his relationship with his son after he becomes a key figure in a Sanitation strike.

Director – Ben Rehki
Screenwriters – John Campo, Ben Rekhi

DOCUMENTARY

Adopted: The New American Family

An intimate look at the evolving notion of “family” in America, through the stories of two families coping with the complexities of trans-racial adoption.

Director/Producer – Barb Lee
Producers – Molly Fowler and Nancy Parsons

Bronx Burning

A look at the tragic events and misguided policies that led to the destruction of a borough, and the residents who chose to stay and re-claim their neighborhoods.

Director – Edwin Pagan
Producer – Bienvenida Matias

Eventual Salvation

After having fled Liberia due to civil war, an 80-year-old grandmother returns to rebuild her life and bring healing to her adopted homeland that welcomed her nearly 50 years ago.

Director/Producer – Dee Rees
Producer – Nekisa Cooper

Fanaticos

An up-close-and-personal look at the die-hard fans behind Chivas USA, the Los Angeles-based offshoot of the wildly popular professional Mexican soccer team.

Director/Producer – Mylène Moreno

The Foolishness of God: Desmond Tutu and Forgiveness

An in depth examination of Desmond Tutu’s life and work with a focus on his controversial message of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Director – Karen Hayes
Producer – Darin Kuhlmann

Living in Silence: Toraichi Kono

The untold story of the man who was personal valet and confidant to Charlie Chaplin, before facing charges of espionage on the eve of World War II.

Director – Philip Chung
Producers – Clyde Kusatsu, Timothy Lounibos, and Nancy Yuen

The Making of ‘The Boys in the Band’

An in-depth look at the creation of the ground breaking play and film that dramatized the complex experience of being a gay man in the 1950s, long before the Stonewall riots and gay pride parades.

Director/Producer – Crayton Robey
Executive Producer – John Hadity
Project Attorney – Judy Bass

Monica & David

Two adults with Down Syndrome embark on a new life as a married couple amidst much love and some trepidation from their friends and family.

Director/Producer – Ali Codina
Producer – Paola Gutierrez-Ortiz

Parachute Kids

A personal perspective on this controversial immigration practice where Taiwanese teenagers are sent to American to pursue a coveted education.

Producer/Director – S. Leo Chang

Samba

For a group of young dancers and drummers, preparing for the carnaval is the only escape from the violence and crime that dominate the gritty streets of the favelas.

Director/Producer – Jessica Sanders
Executive Producer – Lawrence Bender

Ultimate Christian Wrestling

A group of disenchanted former pro-wrestlers find a new way to combine their passion with ministry.

Directors/Producers – Jae-Ho Chang, Tara Autovino