Directed by Maryan Khodabakhsh

On the night of a couple's migration, the child of their friend who has been entrusted to them gets lost, and then a secret is revealed …

Maryam Khodabakhsh was born in 1987 in Iran, she is a director, screenwriter, editor. She believes that each of us has a voice and that our mission as human beings in this world is to find our unique voice and deliver it to people to help them .one of these ways is cinema.

Directed by Andrew David Loewen

In 2021, Lewis Art Williams set out on a journey to bike across the US while painting Plein Air landscapes.

After almost two years of planning, with many interruptions, he and Denita, his wife, completed their journey over 5 months.

Along the way, they overcame obstacles, made new friends, and discovered that even in old age you can pursue your dreams and learn more about yourself, others, and the world around you.

Directed by Marzieh Fakhar

After five years of Marriage, she takes all the measures to undergo a transgender procedure when she realizes that she is pregnant and...

Marzieh Fakhar Writer and director of eight short films, assistant director and programmer in six films, designer and writer of dozens of television and radio programs, university professor

Directed by Nic Gregory

The journey of a lightning bolt from sky to ground highlights the saying “life flashes before your eyes”.

Nic Gregory is a senior artist in the Los Angeles animation industry working on a long list of TV and film productions. Currently working at Marvel Studios (formerly at Cartoon Network, Disney, Bento Box, Titmouse and many more), Nic immigrated from Australia to the USA, following his dream of creating art and content for animated film and television.

His passion for traditional art and love of color, inspires his personal work and shines through in his first film "Suddenly", which takes inspiration from his use of the soft pastel medium and canvas paintings.

Directed by Nathan Cowles

Youth/Emerging Voice Film

In this minuscule yet heart wrenching documentary short, Obtusion follows an older brother as he interviews his sister, 4 months after she was diagnosed with anorexia, body dysmorphia and an eating disorder. On the verge of legally having to go to a facility, the older brother tries to untangle his sister's inner voices and find out why she refuses to get better, as well as connect with her on a much need emotional level. Combining stark imagery and haunting insight, Obtusion not only showcases what this dreaded illness does to the victim, but how it emotionally impacts their loved ones as well.

Throughout my very young filmmaking journey, I've made films of many genres. From avant-garde art house to cringe worthy infomercials, I feel very experienced among many genres. But one thing stood true throughout all of these films, they all brought a sense of joy to make. I felt happy being able to make something, and to use my craft to create stories, no matter how bad they may be in my eyes now.

However, Obtusion was the point in my journey where I wish I never had to make a film. From the interview process, to the editing, I felt empty and hollow during every second of it. My emotions really took control of me in every process, and even knowing that I'm making this for an internally important purpose never fully set true with me. Which is why I think that this thus far, is the most important thing I've made.

Directed By Evan Curtis

In a vanishing wilderness, man silences the freedom of the wolf. 

Thunder Rises is about wolf restoration. Our complicated relationship with nature is displayed through three characters in the film: The Hunter, the Wolf, and its domesticated descendant, the Dog. The film is based on an actual account of a Fish and Wildlife biologist tasked with exterminating a reintroduced wolf for feeding on livestock, as required by his state's Wolf Conservation and Management Plan. I wanted to explore the conflict between wilderness and civilization, and the expectation that wild creatures would obey human laws. The film takes an empathetic approach towards each character, trying not to condemn or praise one over the other. Filmed on location in Southwest Colorado.

Directed by Kyle Beckwith

A young mother packs up the last box, a life never lived.

Kyle is a life long film fan from the Pacific Northwest. From a young age movies were his wonder, usually watching the "making of" right before the actual flick just so he could know how it was done. 

First acting in local theatre and then diving into filmmaking later in high school, Kyle studied film and theatre at Eastern Washington University earning two bachelors degrees. 

After a few years away (and reconnecting with his local film community) Kyle is back directing again, eager to create and grow using the medium that captured his imagination so long ago.

Directed by John Mark Hostetler

A young boy negotiates his love of drag and bible stories.

John Mark is a television and film director based in Los Angeles. His credits include OUTtv's "The Browns," "The Sherry Vine Variety Show," "Dr. Jackie," and "The Gauntlet of Gaymes."

SATURDAY’S FILMS

DAJLA: CINEMA AND OBLIVION

Directed by Arturo Dueñas Herrero

Life is going on in Dakhla, one of the Sahrawi refugee camps in southern Algeria, forgotten for 45 years. The celebration of a film festival, the Fisahara, breaks the monotony. The event ends, life (and oblivion) continues.

Arturo Dueñas (Esguevillas de Esgueva, Valladolid, Spain, 1962). Bachelor of Arts, Qualified in Cinematography and Filmmaking Course at the New York Film Academy. Full member of the Academy of Arts and Cinematographic Sciences of Spain. Actor, director, producer, editor and scriptwriter in several short films, he has produced and directed the feature films Amateurs (Aficionados, 2011), selected and awarded in over 30 international festivals, Corsairs (Corsarios, 2015), Mission: Sahara (Misión: Sáhara, 2016), Built lands (Tierras construidas, 2019) and Pessoas (Pessoas, 2020).

Directed by Farnoosh Abedi

In the land occupied with the sprayers army, no one has the right to grow any kind of plants either in public or private. 

So many of the people and soldiers do not even know how dose a plant grows or look like, until one day one of the soldiers finds a seed buried deep down in the dust and his curiosity is just the beginning of something extraordinary, something big, something revolutionary

Farnoosh Abedi was born in 1985 in Isfahan/ Iran 

He has made more than 20 short animated films and TV series, documentaries and one Feature Animated . 

His films was presented and screened in more than 200 domestic and international film festivals.

Directed by Abhishek Abedi

In order to save their marriage after a heavy loss, Duncan and Maria embark upon an inner and outer journey with the help and counsel of therapist Wallace Cummings to rediscover meaning and passion and give each other permission to heal.

Hi, my name is Abhishek Satham, I am a Director, Editor. I have made 8 short films prior to this film. My last short film "The Last Note" has won 3 awards in the 48-hour film festival, Indianapolis including Best Film - Audience choice & Best writing.

Directed by Steer Sealy, John C. Ashton

A mix-up in Christmas package delivery: The stoners get the fruitcake and the cute old couple gets the marijuana. The stoners dress up like clergy to make the exchange.

Directed by Shayan Shahverdi

Directed By Kevin Jean

A cynical young salary man, Kazuho, comes across a man, Hiro, about to commit suicide. He is going to convince him to first go on a trip with him…

Directed by Tobias Hamed

Youth/Emerging Voice Film

Directed by David Dibble

A slice-of-life look at how kids in the former mining town of Silverton, Colorado stay busy in the summer by “mining” and selling rocks to tourists. Through this time-honored rite of passage, these “rock stars” learn history, social skills, and become little entrepreneurs while delighting tourists from around the world.

Writer, director, cinematographer and composer David Dibble started developing his unique view of the world in the 7th grade when his parents bought a video camera. After learning the fundamentals at the University of Southern California’s renowned film school, he was taken under wing by legendary cinematographer Allen Daviau, A.S.C. (E.T., Empire of the Sun, Bugsy, Avalon).

David’s child-like view has charmed many audiences and has lead to awards and accolades. David’s recent commercials have won American Advertising Federation Awards (Addys) and his music videos made for "The Voice" winner Chevel Shepherd are currently being shown on CMT.

Director Statement

While working on the world famous Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad as a conductor and brakeman, I witnessed little entrepreneurs in action selling rocks to the tourists flooding Silverton. When I learned that it was a rite of passage passed on by generations, it became a story that I was interested in telling. "Rocks 4 Sale!" is slice of life film that gives a small taste of the unique life in Silverton. Kids growing up in Silverton are tough, industrious, clever but most of all, they have a lot of fun.

Peter O'Fallon is a writer/director/show-runner. He created "Mysterious ways" (NBC) Co-Created "Legit" (FX) was the writer/director/producer on the feature film "A Rumor of Angels" Vannessa Redgrave, Ray Liotta (MGM). He directed Suicide Kings (Lionsgate). In television he has directed 15 pilots that have gone to series including "UnReal" Lifetime -"Legit" FX- The Riches (FX) American Soul (BET). Over 100 episodes on television as an Executive Producer. He started and continues as Commercial director winning Clio's, DNAD's.

I’m a documentary filmmaker, Sony Alpha Artisan and photojournalist, and avid explorer of stories and landscapes, natural resource issues and above all else, the human heart.

My focus is bringing new perspectives and deeper public understanding to the complexities of climate change, conservation, human rights, environmental justice and extractive industries. What matters to me are the people within these stories and their own experience of co-creating those narratives, breaking away from traditionally extractive forms of storytelling. 

I received a Masters in Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry where I led the Yale Environmental Film Festival for two years before moving into a career as a full time director, producer, and shooter.

Renan lives to tell stories about our connection to the natural world, often set within the most challenging environments on Earth. He’s constantly searching for projects that move him -- films that have a strong visual identity matched with some deeply compelling human element. 

He began his career as an expedition climber and landscape artist, spending years living in a tent beneath the big walls of U.S. National Parks and in the snowy Himalayan mountains. All of his paintings were created on expedition, carrying large cotton canvases on his back, sometimes even using natural pigments pulled straight from the earth to capture these wildly beautiful landscapes. 

Currently, Renan works as a commercial and documentary filmmaker, an expedition climber for The North Face, and a photojournalist for Sony and National Geographic. The films he’s made over the years have had a global presence; he’s probably best known for MERU (cinematographer/subject), which won the 2015 Audience Choice Award at Sundance, and the critically acclaimed Sherpa (cinematographer/co-director), which screened at TIFF and Telluride. 

Childs is known for following ancient migration routes on foot, pursuing early Pueblo passages across the Southwest and most recently the paths of first peoples into the Americas during the Ice Age. He has published more than a dozen books of adventure, wilderness, and science. 

An occasional commentator for NPRs Morning Edition, he teaches writing at University of Alaska in Anchorage and the Mountainview MFA at Southern New Hampshire University. He lives outside of Norwood, CO.

American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence.

As a member of R.E.M., Stipe was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. As a singer-songwriter, Stipe influenced a wide range of artists, including Kurt Cobain of Nirvana and Thom Yorke of Radiohead. 

Michael began to focus more on Hollywood in the 1990s. His Single Cell film company started achieving success in 1999, producing the Oscar-nominated Being John Malkovich (1999), among other films.

He recently released several solo singles benefiting nonprofits organizations like Pathway to Paris and Extinction Rebellion.

Poster art by Carmella Wilson graphics@ouraynet.com 
Carmella has lived in Ridgway since the 80s and graphic/commercial artist, book publisher, editor (Country Graphics & Wayfinder Press), former art director (Telluride Mag.), fine artist.