BWiFF 2023

Everybody Wants to Be Loved (Still)

Everybody Wants to Be Loved

A blisteringly hot summer day. Psychotherapist Ina notices something is wrong with her. But she doesn’t have time to worry about it: Patients are waiting at the practice, her daughter is threatening to move in with her father, her boyfriend wants to emigrate to Finland, and her self-centered mother is celebrating her 70th birthday. Ina wants to please everyone. But then everything changes.

Yellowstone 88 – Song of Fire (Still)

Yellowstone 88 – Song of Fire

In the summer of 1988, dry lightning sparked a fire in the parched and drought ridden landscape of Yellowstone Park, igniting a blaze that would scorch over 1.5 million perimeter acres of the park. Song of Fire, a narrative poem, guides the animation of Yellowstone 88 telling the story of this conflagration that raged unabated for months until a snow of such intense severity extinguished the flames. That winter surviving Fauna, exhausted from fire and weakened by hunger, die in greater numbers than those claimed by the fire. The cosmos turns from one season to another and another and life in the park begins anew.

Everybody Wants to Be Loved (Still)

The Rebellion

Written by lawyer/artist Ari Scharg, this music video shines a spotlight on corrupt practices in the legal industry. Finding its roots in the real life $100 million Ponzi scheme perpetuated by a celebrity lawyer, the song focuses on how Scharg’s firm exposed the fraud and how there is currently a little known battle waging in the legal industry between reformers like himself and the Old Guard who want to maintain the status quo so they can continue exploiting a broken system.

Wheel (Still)

Wheel

A character-driven comedy about a ‘Wheel of Fortune’ audition in a less than ideal audition environment. A casting director gets hit with some bad news while helping her eccentric neighbor tape her audition. Tensions are high, nerves are shot, and it’s awkward as hell.

La Nueva (Still)

La Nueva

Maria is the new teacher who arrives at an old religious school. On her first day, she will have to teach a group of rebellious kids who are part of a punishment class. An unexpected event will turn the classroom into a real hell.

Aaron With 2 A's (Still)

Aaron With 2 A’s

Meet Aaron. He’s starting his second career at age 65 as an actor. What could go wrong? A short comedy-drama about learning to get out of your own head.

Just. One. Mile. (Still)

Just. One. Mile.

It’s just one mile. Anybody can run just one mile. That’s the rallying cry, shouted at competitors every twenty minutes, to line them up and do it again and again until only one is left. The Mid-State Mile follows a “last man standing” format, but it is different from other races. It tortures the sport’s elite with over 300 feet of elevation every mile. With no prize money awarded or trophies, bodies and minds are pushed to be the last man standing.

The Search (Still)

The Search

Three days after her high school graduation, Jasmine Lovett joins the Air Force. Initially, she thrives; but soon, she finds herself battling depression. When her commander threatens to discharge her without veterans’ benefits, Jasmine drives to a city park and takes her own life. Three years later, her family still wonders if the Air Force did everything they could to prevent Jasmine’s death.

Some Days (Still)

Some Days

Some days are good, but once a young woman’s freedom is taken from her, some days aren’t so good…for some.

Kiss 'n' Ride (Still)

Kiss ‘n’ Ride

On her way home from a lovely cafe date, a woman finds reminders of her date in every little thing, prompting her to fall in love with the Chicago winter night around her and dream of the date ending differently.