2016 UMFF short films

Universe Multicultural Film Festival--2016--Short

All About The 2016 Universe Multicultural Film Festival

The 2016 Universe Multicultural Film Festival Short films (36 films from 16 countires)

		A CHILDREN'S SONG USA︱27 min Short︱Drama Director/Screenwriter Shayna Cohen Producers Jane Wu, Sid Ganis, James Warren Cast Jane Wu, Leann Lei, Cindera Che, Adam Chernick, Alexandre Chen, Lee Lawrence Two girls who are determined to prove ownership of a single family song uncover the long lost true origin of the melody: a story of salvation and hope when over 20,000 Jews emigrated to Shanghai during WWII. .			ABYSSAL ZONE USA︱16 min Short︱Drama︱Suspense Director/Screenwriter/Producer Simiao Li Cast Debby Gerber Violet, a 22-year-old girl, gets mental disease after her parents died in an accident. She is trying to hide her illness from her boyfriend Andrew, in order to keep him accompany…

		ARIANA'S PERSIAN KITCHEN UK︱Iran︱UAE︱25 min Short︱Documentary︱TV Episode Director Ariana Bundy Screenwriters/Producers Ariana Bundy, Paul Hughes Cast Ariana Bundy Ariana's Persian Kitchen is an 8-part cookery and travel series focused on the vast and fascinating country of Iran. It features Ariana Bundy, an award winning Iranian-American chef and cookbook author, as she returns to the country of her birth to re-discover her heritage.			AT THE END OF THE LINE USA︱6 min Short︱Music︱War Director/Screenwriter/Producer Robert Kerr In 1939, in Nazi Germany, an amazing thing happened: Jewish parents, sensing their lives were in danger, placed their children aboard trains to be raised by foster families across free Europe. They did this, knowing they would probably never see their children again...

		CAGE USA︱5 min Short︱Animation︱Drama︱Fantasy Director Pengpeng Du This project is to present a Chinese cultural and traditional visual style to audiences. CAGE tries to inspire them to recall their memory and consider what is the meaning of life to them individually.			CHAOS USA︱11 min Short︱Triller︱Drama︱Action Director/Screenwriter Ibrahim Nada Producers Tripp Townsend, Ibrahim Nada Cast Allen Perada, Sean Wolf After decades of suffering and injustice, as the President's gold embellished throne began to collapse beneath him, jailbreaks were orchestrated in aims of pushing the protestors to abandon the streets and return home.

		DEAD UNANIMITY USA︱8 min Short︱Drama︱Triller︱Crime︱Action︱17+ Director/Screenwriter James Hu Producers James Hu, Brigitte Buny/DuGally Cast Brigitte Buny/DuGally, Gary Hudson An undercover cop struggles to walk the line between loyalty and duty.			DEDICATED TO QIU TONG China︱28 min Short︱Drama Director Weiji Miao Producers Weiji Miao, Zhen Zeng Screenwriters Hui Zhou, Anpei Wan Cast Zeli Luo, Delong Wang, Daijun Liu, Sicong Gao Qiutong and Tao go to the same college and together establish a fund to help college students who need financial aids.

		FISHERWOMAN AND TUK TUK India︱15 min Short︱Animation︱Fantasy︱Drama Director Suresh Eriyat Producer Nilima Eriyat Animators Abhijit Bugde, Anik Roy, Debajyoti Roychowdhury, Swapnil Patil This is a poignant story of a middle aged fisherwoman who dreams of owning an auto rickshaw and the subsequent consequences that ensue.			GAMES GONE WRONG USA︱23 min Short︱Comedy Directors/Producers/Screenwriters Greg Porper, John Schimke Cast Nick Lazaris, Madylin Sweeten, Edward Zo Shane Harper wants to host the perfect game night, but week after week no matter how hard he tries, nothing ever goes according to plan. It's all fun and games until something really, really bad happens.

		HUMAN SMILE France︱4 min Short︱Music Video Directors/Screenwriter Michael Bernadat Producer Virginie Vinet The audience, aged from 5 to 87 years old, plays the song "Human Smile" by Tambours du Bronx.			I WAS THE ONE Korea︱32 min Short︱Crime︱Drama Director/Screenwriter/Producer Hae Seong Jeong Cast Hae Seong Jeong, Ye Ju Park, Yeong Goo Kang, Ki Yoon Han One rainy day, Hae-seong ran over and killed a person with his car. He secluded himself in his house for a while. After thinking about it, he went to the police station to turn himself in…

		JEWISH BLIND DATE Switzerland︱16 min Short︱Romance︱Comedy Director/Screenwriter Anaelle Morf Producer Emmanuel Gétaz Cast Estelle Darnault, Axel Fernandez, Joëlle Séchaud, Raphaël Vachoux Unhappy in love, Mary Lou decides to reconnect with her religious roots by marrying a practicing Jew. In order to get married, she has to pass the Shidduch test, which will determine whether her life will be a success or failure.			KEFI CAME BY SEA Greece︱6 min Short︱Music Director Katerina Rekka Producer Jill Somer Cast Elena Kiriaki, Vassilis Panayiotidis A mysterious woman brings color to a depressed town.

		LIFE OF RHILEY: A POSITIVE LIGHT ON ADOPTION USA︱8 min Short︱Documentary︱Family Director Jeffrey Boos Producers Jeffrey Boos, Susan Levine The Levines got an unexpected phone call one night about a two-year-old girl that was trapped in a family of neglect and needed someone to provide care for. Little did they know the adventure they were about to embark on…			LOVE GREETING China︱47 min Short︱Drama Director/Producer Weiji Miao Screenwriter Zuyi Peng Cast Fang Wang, Longgang Yu, Xiangling Wei, Shuilin Ding, Yimeng Zhu, Jing Gao, Biao Rao Min Yue is a warm-hearted community policewoman. During her days off, she helps community neighbors settle disputes and helps a young adult who was released from prison start a business. She also cares for a mentally handicapped girl and old men in the community.

		MANDALA China︱24 min Short︱Drama Director Guan Xi Screenwriters Ghazaleh Golbakhsh, Qingqing Dongxia Producer Li Zhen Cast Sarah Li, Duobujie, Omar Avila, Sonam Droka After losing her lover to suicide, a young artist tries to overcome her grief by succumbing to a mysterious request by a Tibetan monk.			MY HOME Zimbabwe︱15 min Short︱Documentary Director/Producer Denise Khumalo This documents a story about an African woman’s struggle to keep her traditions and customs alive while living in an increasingly Western world.

		ONLY WANNA PARTY USA︱3 min Short︱Music Video Director Brian Kohne Producers Brian Kohne, Stefan Schaefer Cast Willie K, Eric Gilliom, Mick Fleetwood, Henry Kapono, Lenny Castellanos, Lopaka Colon Only Wanna Party is the comedic short masquerading as a music video. It stars Willie K and Eric Gilliom as the Barefoot Natives.			PEOPLE OF THE DELTA Ethiopia︱30 min Short︱Drama︱History Director Joseph Lawrence Producers Anteneh Endale, Dawit Shimelis For centuries, Ethiopia’s Lower Omo Valley has been a crossroads for many distinct tribes. During times of drought, natural resources become scarce, escalating clashes between groups. In an ever-changing landscape, young men and women come of age in an unfamiliar time.

		PLAN PERFECT USA︱19 min Short︱Comedy︱Drama︱Suspense Director/Screenwriter/Producer John Schimke Cast Lisa Livesay, Nolan Livesay, John Schimke A couple attempts to discretely steal a valued figurine from a friend when they discover its value.			PROMISE ME USA︱8 min Short︱Drama Director/Producer/Screenwriter Kevin Machate Cast Gayland Williams, Craig Nigh, Step Rowe, Teagan Jai Boyd, Judy McMillan This is an emotionally charged social drama in which a once flourishing woman, now at the end of her life, struggles to ensure that her recently reconciled son does not make the same mistakes that she did.

		REPLIKA Switzerland︱26 min Short︱Sci-Fi Director Luc Walpoth Producer Alexandre Iordachescu Screenwriters Luc Walpoth, Klaus Pas Cast Carole Brana, Jérôme Robart As she is forced to terminate her only daughter, a dysfunctional 13-year-old android, a loving mother tries to convince her husband to adopt a human kid. But in a materialistic and functional world, safety takes precedence over emotions.			ROTARY FATELINE India︱3 min Short︱Animation Director Suresh Eriyat Producer Eeksaurus This film was to depict the efforts of Rotary Club to provide free E- learning opportunities across 10000 schools in India. In a country where millions are mired in poverty, education takes a backseat for those struggling to make a living.

		ROTARY HEARTLINE India︱2 min Short︱Animation Director Suresh Eriyat Producer Eeksaurus In India, the occurrence of congenital heart disease is 8 per 1,000 live births. Rotary arranges free heart surgery at private hospitals, for underprivileged children who cannot afford the cost of surgery otherwise.			ROTARY LIFELINE India︱2 min Short︱Animation Director Suresh Eriyat Producer Eeksaurus The basic idea of the Indian belief is that you can’t change fate as it’s sealed in the fate lines on your palm even before you were born. But the magic of two hands coming together can change fate and miracles happen.

		SIGNS OF AN ARTIST Argentna︱19 min Short︱Experimental Director/Screenwriter Gabriela Nafissi Cast Toti Reynaud, Mario Araniti, Tachuela Laura, Hart Mariana, Martínez Otín Signs of the artist is a short experimental group derived from a device inspired by Lacanian posters, under the artistic experimentation project "reincarnations".			THE APARTMENT India︱23 min Short︱Drama Director/Screenwriter/Producer Indu Subaiya Cast Rajit Kapur, Deergha Sahni, Tanmay Dhanania When an expat landlord living in the US returns to India to respond to a lawsuit, he meets a young female tenant who forces him to confront his past and discover the true meaning of home.

		THE ART OF MUAY THAI Thailand︱8 min Short︱Documentary Director/Screenwriter/Producer Héloïse Lula Dériaz The Art of Muay Thai is a short documentary about Thai boxing, its philosophy and origins.			THE DAY TO CHOOSE Taiwan︱23 min Short︱Drama︱Crime︱Fantasy Director Leon Lee A righteous lawyer who believes that death penalty should not exist in the society. One day, two men visited his house, attacking his wife and torturing her to death. Then they gave the lawyer three choices.

		THE LAST POINT Russia︱19 min Short︱Family︱Drama Director Viktoria Kozeltseva Screenwriter Marina Yelatomtseva A successful businessman finds out what the secret of true happiness really is.			THIRST USA︱7 min Short︱Drama︱Sci-Fi Director/Screenwriter/Producer Roman S. Koenig Cast Joshua Spiegel, Mary Cherwink, Rhianna Basore, Jacob Young, Julie Clemmons In a future of permanent drought, a desperately thirsty woman and a well-off couple fight for their rights to water.

		TODAY IS THE DAY USA︱16 min Short︱Documentary Director/Producer Betsy Haley Hershey Screenwriter Fernanda Rossi Deep in Mexico, Carlos, an indigenous Tarahumara who left his community to be trained as a nurse, has returned to his homeland to try to save babies and mothers who have been dying at a high rate during childbirth.			UNDERNEATH Switzerland︱17 min Short︱Drama Director/Producer Nabil Rafi Cast Nabil Rafi, Krishna Duddukuri, Lolita Fresard, Robert Szuplewski, Soufian Anabir This is the story of Krishna, a flower seller who is going to live an evening of work which promises to be different.

		WAX Argentina︱20 min Short︱Documentary Director Celina Bartolome Producers Celina Bartolome, Rocio Fraga Gil, Carmela Bartolome In Argentina women spend at least $S 20,000 in waxing saloons their entire life, from age 11 till they die. WAX explores this social practice through the eyes of 13 Argentinian women, aged 18 to 85, to try and find a possible answer to this custom exclusive to women.			WHY CAN'T I BE A SUSHI UK︱46 min Short︱Documentary Director/Producer/Editor Hoda Elsoudani This documentary follows the journey of two young half-Iraqi sisters, Niamh aged 10 and Sofia aged 8, who are curious about the sectarian conflict gripping the Islamic world.