2014UMFF Films
2014 Universe Multicultural Film Festival--Shorts
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This year, Universe Multicultural Film Festival (UMFF) is proud to present a select group of 17 full length and 20 short films representing variety geography and cultural heritage from over 20 countires.
The Shorts are:              

   

Alice Agonistes (30 min.USA)
Director(s): Jennifer Hulum
Producer(s): Howard Lum
Genre:Drama/Mystery/ Thriller/14+
Synopsis:
When a stranger enters Alice's house,she cannot imagine how his story could change her (and his) life forever. Memory, fear and horrific self-discovery take everyone by the throat.
Personal Appearance: Howard Lum

    At Last (16 min.India)
Director(s): Tarun Jain
Producer(s): Tarun Jain
Genre: Drama/Suspense/Thriller/Horror/14+
Synopsis:
A mastermind, a believer, and a psychopath set out on a journey to an unknown destination. Conversations and incidents take place, blurring the difference between myth and reality
.
           
    At the Third Day (13 min.Paraguay)
Director(s): Osvaldo Ortiz Faiman
Producer(s): Osvaldo Andres Ortiz Faiman
Genre: Short/Comedy
Synopsis:
Nena and Porota haven´t see their friend Chiquita for three days. While waiting for her return so they could pray to St. Expedite together, Porota´s dog brings back Chiquista´s beloved pet in its mouth, dead and dirty...
    Celestino (10 min.Sweden)
Director(s): Elizabeth Watson
Producer(s): Elizabeth Watson
Genre: Short/Animation
Synopsis:
The music from Celestino's panflute is so beautiful that birds come from afar bring coins as gifts. When the man-who-owns-the-mountain sees the coins, his greed takes over...
Personal Appearance: Kathlee Johnsen
           
   

Dark Flow (16 min.USA)
Director(s): Yuxi Li
Producer(s): Yuxi Li
Genre: Short/Drama
Synopsis:
Two brothers are trying to make their life better. One becomes addicted to drugs, the other tries to save him. After knowing their mother is not going to return home, how will their life change? 
Personal Appearance: Yuxi LI

    Draw a Line (26 min.Russia)
Director(s): Lika Alekseeva
Producer(s): Lika Alekseeva
Genre: Short/Drama/14+
Synopsis:
In 90-ies Russia, the parents are too busy with their own problems. How to make a choice between real friendship and being accepted to the gang? What it takes to keep silence when you want t
o scream?
           
    Liberty ( 5 min. USA)
Director(s): Lanzhu Jian
Producer(s): Patrick Ferrell, Lanzhu Jian
Genre: Short/Comedy
Synopsis:
It is a typical day in typical Los Angeles for a typical immigrant at a typical job living in a typical American dream. Jose Guadalupe wants nothing more than climb the ranks of his job.
    Lucky Day (27 min. Korea)
Director(s): Kang Suk Lee
Producer(s): Seong Hwan Kim
Genre: Drama/Crime/Fantasy/Horror/14+
Synopsis:
Jihun cheats his girlfriend and gets a motel room with a girl het met in a bar. The next morning, Jihun gets up but finds that the girl is gone. As he gets dressed to leave, he finds a few words written on a dressing table mirror with red lipstick...
           
    My Country (2 min.Australia)
Director(s): Ralph Stevenson, Jelena Sinik
Producer(s): Ralph Stevenson
Genre: Short/Animation
Synopsis:
Dorothea Mackellar is an icon of Australian poetry. In this animated adaptation of the poem, her beautiful imagery, deep passion for the land, and life of her beloved Australia are rendered in a moving stained glass style.
    Rancho de los Palos Verdes (16 min.USA)
Director(s): David Freeman
Producer(s): David Freeman
Genre: Short/Documentary
Synopsis:
Nominated for 1994 Diamond Award, Frank Vanderlip inspired the transformation of a ranch into a beautiful community. 

Personal Appearance: David Freeman
           
    Rose, Mary and Time (30min.UK)
Director(s): Hardeep Giani
Producer(s): Hardeep Giani
Genre: Drama/Crime/Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Synopsis:
Barney is a man fed up with life, and also an endearing character with faults. This is a story of second chances in life. It looks at the concept of Kismet. Is our life plan already written?


    Stalker's Dream (4 min.France)
Director(s): David Trujillo, Sébastien Corne
Producer(s): Elisabeth Revol, David Trujillo
Genre: Short/Sci-Fi/Music
Synopsis:
One man is trying to survive. He is haunted by the memories of a missing woman. Hope and despair entwine in a mystical and dark perspective, which reflects the confusion of the character.
           
    Stelle (27 min.Switzerland/France)
Director(s): Yann Renzi
Producer(s): Rossano Renzi
Genre: Short/Drama/Fantasy
Synopsis:
Adam is a little lonely and taciturn boy. To overcome his loneliness, he takes refuge in his imagination and in contemplating the stars. But one day, a strange object fallen from the sky brakes this dreariness: a kaleidoscope.
Personal Appearance:Rossano RENZI
    Sustainable Agriculture (12 min. Gambia)
Director(s): Omar Leigh
Producer(s): Omar Leigh
Genre: Short/Documentary
Synopsis:
This documentary surveys how farmers in Gambia utilize the knowledge gained from the training and its impact on their productivity.
           
    The Dharma Bum (20 min.USA)
Director(s): Alex Chavarria
Producer(s): Alex Chavarria
Screenwriter(s): Alex Chavarria
Genre: Short/Drama/14+
Synopsis:
An antisocial Los Angeles teen who's lost hope with the world meets a mute bum who realigns his perceptions on life.
    The Gene of Freedom (26 min. Ukraine)
Director(s): Oleksandr Kovsh
Screenwriter(s): Andriy Danylchenko
Genre: Short/Documentary
Synopsis:
This documentary tells to the viewers what encourages not only Ukraine, but also other nations to honor the memory of well-known Ukrainian poet and painter Taras Shevchenko. 
           
    The Storykeeper (24 min.France)
Director(s): Rogier van Beeck Calkoen
Producer(s): Rogier van Beeck Calkoen
Genre: Short/Documentary
Synopsis:
A B-17 soars over a Paris neighborhood in 1944 and crashes in an explosion that reverberates inside a 7-year-old Rene Psarolis. Did they all die or did some survive? Rene is haunted by questions. He seeks answers. He spends years piecing it all together. He is the Storykeeper
.
    To the Lighthouse (8 min.Spain)
Director(s): Carlos García Abalos
Producer(s): Far Grafic
Genre: Short/Music
Synopsis:
Andreu, in a bad moment of his life, remembers the good times, when and where he met her. He thinks about what went wrong and how to keep the good part and start again.
           
    Welcome Yankee (22 min.Canada)
Director(s): Benoit Desjardins
Genre: Short/Drama
Synopsis:
Amant and Aslan are persecuted. At stake are their lives and the life of their child. Isolated from and forgotten by the rest of the world, their pleas for help go unanswered. In search of a better life, they confide their destiny to God and attempt the impossible
    When Yesterday Becomes Today and Tomorrow (13min.Norway)
Director(s): Kathleen Johnsen
Producer(s): DUOfilm AS
Screenwriter(s): Kathleen Johnsen
Cast: Trine Wiggen
Genre: Short/Drama
Synopsis:
Five longtime girlfriends catch up after taking some time apart. Last meeting didn't turn out that well. So, not everyone is looking forward to this evening.
           
  The Real Human Being (15 min.USA)
Director(s): Chris Lang
Producer(s): Chris Lang, Ana Milena Quiceno
Genre: Short/Drama
Synopsis:
 President of Poland Lech KaczyƄski has died in a plane crash, Russia. Polish military have been given out the mission to investigate, Colonel Mikolaj has become the head of the team. The story follows Colonel Mikolaj and his journey throughout the last few hours before the press conference, where he will uncover the big secret behind the crash......
   Viti (15 min.USA)
Director(s): Dustin Bancroft
Producer(s): Audrey Fontanilla, Dustin Bancroft
Genre: Short/Drama
Synopsis:
Alice & Edmond, two 1840s missionaries are sent to Fiji to convert the cannibal natives to Christianity. But first they must convert the King. Will they sacrifice their lives to save others souls?
           
   Invisible Sacrifice (15 min.USA)