We are moving stories

“If you love fantasy, you’ll be transported by Lost in Aroncore. We’ll take you on a journey from magical forests to the cobwebbed lair of the Baron of Darkness. If you love character-driven dramas, this film is for you as well. We take our time in the scenes between Lucy and Audrey; and they’re funny and porignant. Most of all, you should watch Lost in Aroncore because, at the end of the day, it’s a simple story about love and family explored in an innovative way.”

“This story comes from a place far away, a place of lost things. I lost my mother as a young child, and though years have passed, a part of me has always lingered in the ghost of those old days – and, even now, my films have always danced the line between childhood whimsy and the darkness beyond. To me, fantasy is a boundless playground where absolutely anything is possible - and having loved the Old-Hollywood aesthetics of Spielberg and Tim Burton, I was so excited to craft a small film with big-budget flavours, whilst keeping a true and pure heart.”

“Our creative and post-production teams were fully on board and excited by the idea of creating a never-before-seen fantasy world. Their hard work and enthusiasm really comes through. We ended up with a beautiful and unique look for the short.”

“I’m fascinated by the masks most of us wear to protect ourselves from the world and the way this hiding our true selves to fit in can later lead to identity crises. With Sylphvania Grove, I wanted to explore the hardship of not wearing a mask and the journey to self-discovery that comes with it. I chose an introverted, outcast and bookish type of character to illustrate how great this challenge can be and that the most unlikely person can be the most courageous.”

“It’s an intricate emotional journey layered with mythology and metaphor. There’s something there for every level of film viewer. You can just enjoy the story or spend all night arguing over who the Boogeywoman really is.”

“ The original play took place all in a living room and did not have any fantasy elements. We decided to bring the game to life in order to make the piece more visual and changed a lot of the staging in order to really get a sense of the space in the house.”

“We made this film because we wanted to explore the theme of dysfunction in relationships, and the allure of fantasy in the face of reality. ”

“I cast myself in the role not only because black and multi-racial women are highly underrepresented in film, but also because I resonated with the character (obviously). Ironically enough, despite its dark and creepy nature, I’m really comforted every time I watch Venefica simply because I’m reminded that I don’t have to go through what Penelope does. It’s extremely empowering to be reminded of your own free will.”

“It’s the origin story of Scarlet Hood, and it brings the audience along with her while discovering the fantasy world of Hoods. I want you to come and enjoy this fun ride with me, and I want you to want to see more of the world of Hoods.”

“The desired impact is to enthrall, engage and entertain, to delight, inspire and move the audience towards emotional empathy with the characters..”

“There is a great female lead that people really can get on board with, she has her flaws but she makes you laugh. The story is a fun “what if”, complete with catchy musical numbers. Ultimately you can decide how much you take from it, the deeper story about figuring out what you want in life and relationships, or you can just enjoy the more animated, comedic elements. I just hope we can offer a brief moment to escape from your day to day troubles, just like the RKO and MGM musicals of old.”

“One festival thought it was too horrific for their audiences!”

“THE HEALING TREE was a fantasy of mine. Being chronically ill for as long as I can remember, I have always wished that I could plant a fruit tree that would magically heal me. Unintentionally, my mom planted a jujube tree right outside my window, and I would see it through the seasons. This was the seed of the idea, and I wanted to show the beauty in the darkness in our lives through this film. Oddly, the story came very easily to me. ”

“I think that you should watch “Meeting MacGuffin” because it talks about our contemporary world and its serious environmental issues in a playful, imaginative, insightful, original and non-preachy way.”

“I had been thinking about an urban fantasy project for a couple of years and couldn’t wait to start working on it. I really wanted to do some world-building and to create a fun and unusual setting. Focusing so much on the universe where the story takes place also allowed me to insert common themes into it and explore them in a different way. A story about friendship and communication always seems a bit different when there are monsters all around.”

“The film is set in an alternate world in the 1880s, with history diverting from our timeline in about the 1600s. We have essentially re-written history allowing a few unfinished scientific and engineering discoveries from our timeline to be completed and thrive in Della Mortika’s time line. The idea that certain moments in history can change the whole world is an interesting one - so what historical moments could be altered to create a whole new world? ”

“If we did our job right, then Helio should feel like a major studio film that’s compacted into twenty minutes. I think we ended up with something that you don’t get to see that often, which is a spectacle short film AND a full story. Our goal was to make something that stood out because of the amount of effort we put into it.

The project took almost three years to complete, mainly because of the post-production process, and I really tried to make every shot count. As far as the production went, we tried not to ever look at the film like it is ‘just a short.’ There are almost 500 shots in the film, 130 of which are VFX.”

“All kinds of stories interest me, but the ones that cut to my core are the cautionary tales. The stories that explore perhaps the darker, uglier side of humanity. These kinds of stories force us to examine and reflect on the film long after the screen has gone dark. We have to ask questions. What went wrong? Do those same character flaws exist in myself? Could I be capable of this, if I was in her position?”

“Well I had read David Lynch’s Book: Catching The Big Fish and in it he talks about the subconscious and how it can be used as a way to tell a story. The way he describes it is fascinating: “its an ocean or a reservoir that lies underneath us that we can tap into and everyone has it filmmakers, sports athletes, writers”.”

“This short is part narrative film and part visual poem. It immerses the audience in a dream-like world of stark, desolate beauty.”

“The volcano, Mount Nyiragongo, on the outskirts of my city of Goma erupted and lava flowed into the city. We used this new lavaflow as part of the film, allowing the character to walk through an alien landscape and directly into the city.”