A Sense of Place
Shorts Package
The Desert King
2022, PG, US, Short, 16 minutes
East Coast Premiere
Director: Lev Mergian
Producers: Lev Mergian, Neil Michael Raboy, Josiah Lipscomb
Writer: Lev Mergian
Cast: Josiah Lipscomb, Jenna Lyng Adams
While hiking in the desert, a young woman meets an eccentric character who has resigned himself to a life of solitude in the wilderness, and she stays to explore the imaginary kingdom he rules.
Ousmane
2021, NR, Canada, Short, 25 minutes
Florida Premiere
French with English Subtitles
Director: Jorge Camarotti
Writer: Jorge Camarotti
Cast: Issaka Sawadogo, Nadine Jean, Marie-Ginette Guay
Feeling uprooted and looking for a purpose, newly arrived Burkinabé immigrant Ousmane, living in Montreal, has his life take a turn when he meets a disoriented elderly lady, Edith, at the end of a long workday. After learning about Edith’s terrible living conditions, he naively decides to take on the role of her caregiver as if she were his own mother.
Out of Tune
2022, NR, US, Short, 15 minutes
Florida Premiere
Director: Portlynn Tagavi
Producers: Erika Hamilton, Alexis Sterling, Diana Zollicoffer
Writer: Erika Hamilton
Cast: Erika Hamilton, Rinny Perkins, Ayinde Howell, Taylor Nevels, Kandiss Edmunson
Out of Tune is a charming and uplifting comedy short centering Maya, an awkward, 30-something Black woman, harboring a childhood secret: her profound love for the white boy rock band, Journey. Maya gets a second chance at performing in front of people and defining her identity in her terms — freeing herself from years of having “something to hide” to understanding that she has “nothing to prove.”
An Irish Goodbye
2021, NR, Ireland, Short, 23 minutes
Florida Premiere
Directors: Tom Berkeley, Ross White
Writers: Tom Berkeley, Ross White
Cast: Seamus O'Hara, James Martin, Paddy Jenkins, Michelle Fairley
In rural Northern Ireland, estranged brothers Lorcan and Turlough reunite following the untimely death of their mother — a pained reunion worsened by the fact Turlough must now make new care arrangements for Lorcan, who has Down syndrome. When the pair discover an unfulfilled bucket list belonging to their late mother, Lorcan makes a proposal: He will only agree to Turlough’s arrangements once the brothers have completed that bucket list together.