The 2023 Quarterfinalists Are:
A CAPSULE FOR ROBIN by Lalithra Fernando
Logline: An optimistic host's dinner party goes awry when her husband reveals he doesn't want to have kids in the face of humanity's impending extinction.
ALPHA OMEGA by Clint Ford
Logline: In a chance meeting with an enigmatic old man about his unique fraternity pin, a college student finds himself in a fight for his life as he is slowly sucked into the old man's terrifying tale.
ARCHIE'S LAST DRIVE by John Suriano & Eben Skilleter
Logline: The estranged son of an elderly ex-racing driver must restore his father's long-lost Jaguar in an attempt to also restore their relationship.
BEAUTY IS BLISS by Rachel Hroncich
Logline: Two friends unknowingly experience a major side effect after finally getting their hands on a mysterious new skin cream that’s sweeping TikTok, and does more than treat the signs of aging.
CHAT by Kim Hornsby
Logline: A young woman who develops a flirtatious online relationship with a stranger soon discovers that nothing is what it seems and you’re never as safe as you think you are.
CHECKMATE FOR LIFE by Deborah Harris
Logline: A businessman learns the game of chess from his estranged father in an attempt to survive a dangerous plot designed to destroy his life.
CHIMERA by Justin Hughes
Logline: A stressed single mother enlists a psychiatrist to help with her troubled teenage son's behavioral issues, but she soon discovers a deeper, darker secret lurking inside him.
COW HEAVY AND FLORAL by Richa Rudola
Logline: 4 words. 4 frames.
A postpartum writer struggles to meet a deadline as she co-inhabits a small house with various parts of her identity (cow, heavy, and, floral) and family (baby, husband, dog).
DANCING TO JERICHO by Mishka Trachtenberg Cárdenas
Logline: A willful, modern "damsel in distress" abandoned and betrayed on a desert road, waiting for death - whether from nature, God, or a mysterious stranger ... who gives her the ride of a lifetime.
DEAD GUY by Ginny Leise
Logline: A solo backpacker discovers she is among the few survivors of an apocalyptic event while in the wilderness and is determined to enjoy the time she has left. Her plans change when she encounters another survivor who intends to survive at all costs.
DISCONNECTED by Robin Farmer & Michael Williams
Logline: A young techie learns Artificial Intelligence is no match for real human connection.
DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT by Melissa Kong
Logline: After her father’s death, a woman in intensive therapy for debilitating contamination OCD must confront his death and her OCD with a totally normal, not weird at all, therapy exercise.
ENOUGH FOR A LIFETIME by Benjamin David Hoffman & Darby Gaelle Hannon
Logline: A no-budget experimental film pulled directly from the writer's journal; the psychological pressure of the world falling apart weighs heavily on a young woman who is only able to find hope and inspiration through her artistic expression.
HELPER by Sage Wells
Logline: A young boy left alone to care for his brother during quarantine hides from his spying neighbor, but when he finds himself in trouble he must ask for help, finding it in an unlikely ally.
HOTWAVE by Jared Fembleaux
Logline: Four determined, queer teens trapped in a Los Angeles heatwave urgently conspire to raise funds by any means necessary for the biggest pool party of the summer.
JANUARY 14TH by La'Chris Jordan
Logline:A young couple’s anniversary takes a bittersweet turn when a police officer pulls the husband over on a questionable traffic stop. Inspired by true events.
JINX by Joseph Lee
Logline: PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR SHORT: When a young boy inherits his grandfather's ventriloquism dummy, its presence interferes with his grief.
KOREAN AMERICAN WITCHES SOCIETY by Jennifer Kim
Logline: Awkward Janie and her goth friend Minhee, the only Koreans in their rural Appalachian middle school, create a secret witchcraft society to try to save Janie's dad from cancer and make their own rules for surviving the seventh grade.
KOREAN SHOOTER by Jimmy Prosser
Logline: Still angered by his unexpected upset at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, 35 years later Air Pistol silver medalist Dong Sun Lee plots his revenge against the American who bested him.
LIMITLESS by Janae Smith
Logline: A shy, but spirited middle school singer-songwriter must conquer her fear of “last time” and push past her classmates’ criticism to create a new song and audition for her school’s variety show with confidence.
MAXI by Alison Benson
Logline: After a neglected Poodle pup is abandoned in the snow, he must learn to trust again if he wants a forever home.
MEMENTO MORI by Stuart Creque
Logline: When Charon arrives in a limo instead of a ferryboat, McInerney isn't reluctant to leave behind a wasted life. But when Charon picks up another passenger, McInerney discovers that life can be worth fighting for.
NIGHT OF THE BRIDE by Virat Pal
Logline: A young woman’s cries for help fall on deaf ears as a family holds her hostage, desperate to get their only son married through whatever sinister means necessary.
NIÑO DE VIDRIO (CHILD OF GLASS) by Gerardo Maravilla
Logline: A lonely Mexican boy searches for someone to play with and finds an unlikely companion in the mountains of his small town.
OBSERVATION ONLY by Jeff Cochran
Logline: When a struggling father joins a project to observe the past, he finds himself facing an alternative reality in which his son may have never existed, forcing him to confront his fears about fatherhood.
ODD BIRD by Katy Dore
Logline: An anxious graphic novelist returns to his rural roots to share his truth, but the reaction from his conservative family is not what he expected.
ONE STAR by Jessica Jiji
Logline: When her famous husband ends their marriage, an aspiring actress desperate for fame has a meltdown in front of paparazzi that earns her a starring role as a bitter woman—which also threatens to become her lot in life
OPTIONS by DA Everett
Logline: When Avery Ross, the CEO of a family run chemical company, is extorted on the eve of her company’s IPO, she must decide whether to go along with her father and do the unthinkable, or forge her own path forward.
OTHER PEOPLE by Kat Svaldi
Logline: A beautiful day boating on a lake with a mother and her three children takes a heartfelt twist when it's time to spread the ashes of their recently deceased father.
OTHERSIDE by Kristen Buckels
Logline: In the midst of escaping an abusive relationship a woman finds the help of an unlikely stranger in an epic fever dream to find faith in herself again.
OUT OF WATER by Madi Stine
Logline: When a disenchanted mermaid-for-hire is mistaken for a real mermaid, she plays along to disastrous consequences.
PICTURES ONLY by Charles Honeywood, Rachel Soland, & Kiko Peggs
Logline: To stay independently thriving during the start of an economic downturn during the late 1950s, a 25 year old Arts Teacher & Socialite is given the opportunity to elevate her lifestyle and secure her family’s future.
PLEASE DON'T WATCH THIS YOU SHOULD REALLY GO OUTSIDE INSTEAD by Shaun Radecki
Logline: Against all odds, an intrepid ten-year-old scrambles to save her beloved fish from its broken tank. She broke it, though. Just to be clear. Totally her fault. 100%.
PROXIMA B by Florence Paget
Logline: As the world ends, two sisters are given a chance to leave a dying plant by receiving two tickets to Proxima B, an earth-like plant 20 years away.
RELATIONSHIP KILLERS by Noah A Waters III
Logline: A married couple's dark secret threatens to unravel during couples counseling as they try to navigate their romantic struggles as newlyweds.
RETRIBUTION by Kate Chrisman
Logline: In this thriller short, two women meet for coffee and plan revenge on an abusive boyfriend.
SPICES WITH VICES by Debbie Castanha
Logline: A lost pair of Ray-Ban sunnies must escape a drawer of bickering spices before she's replaced.
[SUBTEXT] by Olivia Haller
Logline: Two people on a first date mask and ignore their insecurities until an event forces them to say what they're really thinking.
SUICIDE AT NOON by Merrit Schmidt
Logline: An organized but suicidal woman must withstand the various objections of her friends and family or be forced to cancel her perfectly scheduled upcoming suicide. (TW: suicide)
THE ASWANG by Matthew Sucher
Logline: An agoraphobic woman who lives with her granddaughter gets rattled when a strange man comes knocking after a car accident. Thinking Death has finally come for her, tensions rise when they discover there may just be an ancient evil among them after all.
THE BLOSSOM by Shahnaz Mahmud
Logline: After her mother takes her own life, a woman revisits painful childhood memories and unlocks a secret that allows her to let go of the past.
THE DATE by Jody Ellis
Logline: A woman accepts an invitation of a first date with a man she meets online, only to find it's not what she expected.
THE FARM by Kimberley Gillis
Logline: The discovery of a dead body and a bag full of cash fractures what's left of an already strained relationship between mother and daughter living in rural Canada. The spiral of distrust and contempt they experience as each desire the money for their own ends also reveals a long-held family secret that results in more than one body needing to wait until the spring thaw for burial.
THE LAST HURRAH by Mia Weinberger
Logline: Emma and Hunter are breaking up. But not until they spend one last perfect day together.
THE UNTAMED by Olga Holtz
Logline: Held captive by her rapist during the Vietnam War, an undaunted woman finds an extreme way to regain her freedom.
TRICK OR TREAT? by Linda Hullinger
Logline: A Halloween package, with no return address, brings a desperate woman an unexpected gift of freedom.
TRUE LOVE WILL FIND YOU by Irene Hernandez & Kelsey McConnell
Logline: Two brides-to-be must decide if they will let a little something like the zombie apocalypse keep them from getting married to each other.
UN VIOLON by JOANNE BELLEW
Logline: A young boy who is desperate to play violin in his grandfather's orchestra, must make his first performance his greatest when the man falls ill.
WADE IN THE WATER by Lynn Esta Goldman
Logline: When a couple of thieves on the run discover two children whose undocumented immigrant parents have been arrested by ICE hiding in their getaway van, they are forced to grapple with a moral choice.
WE ARE THE DEAD GIRLS by Kylie Boersma
Logline: Six young women murdered by serial killers question why we immortalize the men who do terrible things, rather than the women whose boundless potential they steal. Inspired by true stories.
Quarterfinalists
