Great cast of characters in this experimental video for Maslo Chernogo Tmina by director Lado Kvataniya (previously featured here). Shot in Russia, “Untitled” follows a diverse group of strangers as they arrive together at a remote cafe filled with post-Soviet aesthetics. The video is a metaphor of compassion, with the cafe representing a kind of timeless Purgatory where lost souls await their final mystical ritual-transition. Wanting to highlight “the type of people we encounter daily,” the cast consists of unprofessional actors without any on camera experience. As Kvataniya explains:

“We just had to set up the camera, everybody left and I brought the actor in. He didn’t know when I was going to shoot and didn’t know what to do. Before that, we were each having a small, but frank, short interview, and what I learned about their lives, frankly speaking, was shocking. I wanted everyone to get their own autobiographical scene.”

Watch above and see full credits below!

Written & Directed by Lado Kvataniya
Director of Photography: Kirill Groshev
Producer: Arseniy Zyabbarov
Line Producer: Aliya Kosaeva
Assistant Producer: Vlad Pritulyak
Assistant Producer: Firuz Mukhidov
Edit: Vladislav Yakunin
Color Correction Studio: COMPANY3
Color Correction Artist: Sofie Borup
Production Manager: Vladimir Ivanov
Focus Puller (1st AC): Ruslan Osipov
Camera Technician (2nd AC): Viktor Saratov
Gaffer: Ruslan Salamov
Light equipment: CINERENTAL KAZAKHSTAN Abylaykhan Ashimov
Lightning Technicians: Alexey Zhukavin, Tamerlan Zaurbekov, Amir Abdykalykov, Konstantin Tsoi, Alexandr Amuns, Meldebekov Esengeldi
Costume Designer: Abdrash Akbope
Makeup Artist: Nargiz Aminova
Assistant Makeup: Hudajnazarova Fatima
Production Designer: Dmitry Kolodin
Assistants of Production designer: Mark Shpaltakov, Aliya Kossaeva
Casting Agency: Made of management

This video was submitted by Lado Kvataniya and selected by our team. Consider participating here if you have a project you’d like us to check out!

A series of lovely abstract sequences exploring the theme of loneliness by director and animator Tomás Pichardo-Espaillat (previously featured here).

Great look and feel to this short passion project by Los Angeles-based director Hunter Lyon (previously featured here). “In Thin Air” is set to a track from Lorn and revolves around a relationship as it’s falling apart. Shot in California over the course of 2 days, the film became a way for Lyon to break away from the kind of work he’d been doing at the time and create something for himself — something “that had my voice in it as much as I could.” As he explains:

“I wanted to make a piece that I felt represented me as a director, without compromising the ability for the audience to connect to the film. I had ideas for some of the scenes in my head for months and months, and I felt like the only way I could get them to stop was to just make them. I learned a lot about directing during the process of making this project. I’m grateful for my friends for collaborating and bringing so much to the table, pulling off miracles and putting in hours upon hours to create. I hope it makes you feel something.”

Watch “In Thin Air” above and check out some behind-the-scenes images from the shoot below!

Director: Hunter Lyon
Cinematographer: Andy Fronczak
Gaffer: Brandon Waddell
Key Grip: Colin Shepard
Day One AC: Ryan Sax
Day Two AC: Caitlin Brown
Colorist: Jacob McKee
Female Lead: Zoe Belle Elyse
Male Lead: Brent Burdett
Voice Over: Katlyne Magana

Hunter Lyon’s Website

Hunter Lyon on Vimeo

Hunter Lyon on Instagram

A fantastic documentary short by New York City-based director and photographer Daniel Soares (previously featured here). Following the efforts of professional Jai Alai athlete, Tevin, to bring back fans to the dying game, “Forgotten” poses the question: “Would you still perform your art, even if nobody was watching?”

Starring: Tevin
Director: Daniel Soares
Editor: Alvaro del Val
DoP: Mika Altskan
1st AC: Isaac Mead-Long
Sound: Franz Brun
Producer: Rance Randle
Producer: Daniel Soares
Producer: Aimee Perrin
Prod Company: Soares Films
Post: Uppercut
Jr Editor: Tyrone Rhabb
Head of Production: Julia Williams
VFX: John Geehreng
Graphic Design: Daniel Soares
Music: Markus Almkvist
Line Production: Bravo
Line Producer: Kelly Laguaite
Audio Post: Bang Audio
Mixer: Nick Cipriano
Colorist: Mikey Rossiter
Color Producer: Evan Bauer
Color Coordinator: Blake Rice

This video was submitted by Daniel Soares and selected by our team. Click here if you have a project you’d like us to check out!

A depressed man begins to make a change in this uplifting video for Rayowa’s track “Better Man” by director Hobby Holmes of London-based Mahogany.

Starring Andre Nisbett-Gordon
Director: Hobby Holmes
Producer: Eolande Diaz
Exec. Producer: Patrick Greaves
Production Company: Mahogany
Cinematographer: Alister Little
Stedicam: Justin Theodore
1st AC: Shane De Almeida
Gaffer: Paul Brennan
Art Director: Fin O’Sulilvan
Make-up & Hair: Lucy Vick
Runner: Jack Hobbs
Runner/Driver: Horia Cojan
Editor: Ben Harding
Colourist: Hugh Howlett @ Encore

This video was submitted by Hobby Holmes and selected by our team. Consider participating here if you have a project you’d like us to check out!

An engrossing short by Melbourne-based director and cinematographer David Rusanow. Based on the comic by Chris Gooch, “Mother” tells the story of a suburban housewife who finds a used condom while vacuuming her house. Knowing it could only have come from one of two people — her fifteen-year-old daughter or her husband — she consults her therapist to determine the best course of action.

“Mother is a simple yet dense tale of a wife making a strange decision to keep her family together. It is at once a dark comedy and a drama about the sacrifices we make to be happy.”

Starring
Dana Miltins
Alec Gilbert
Chris Connelly
India Morris
Mitchell Chapman
Daniel Cropley

Director/Cinematographer: David Rusanow
1st AD: Elisa Pascarel
Camera Operator: Hugh Turral
1st AC: Matt Jenkins
Kieran Wheeler
Gaffer: Stephen Loats
Best Boy: Ryan Lloyd
Grip: Giovanni Lorusso
Sound Recordist: Jack Dyball
Art Department: David Mckinnar
Clalla Morishita
Make Up Artist – Kate Awhy
Mirjana Laferlita
Colourist: Dan Stonehouse
Sound Designer: Gunay Demirci
Sound Mix: Ryan Granger

This video was submitted by David Rusanow and selected by our team. Consider participating here if you have a project you’d like us to check out!

Love the simplicity of this video for Luung’s track “Fallout.” Director and frontman Bailey Jeffs came up with the concept after hearing multiple accounts of close friends having a falling out with someone:

“I was frustrated with the idea that people were giving up on relationships so easily…. The goal for the video was to make something pretty simple so we decided to have a crack at a ‘one shot’ visualiser. We wanted to play with the idea of two people in a relationship losing touch.”

Director: Bailey Jeffs
DP: Caleb Ware
Camera Assist: Corey Donaldson
Focus: Esteban Rivera
Grip: Samuel Dunstan
Actors: Jayvin & Holly Abrahams
Thanks to Brian at Panavision Goldcoast for having sweet gear.

This is just one of the many lovely submissions we’ve received in the past week. Click here if you have a project you’d like us to check out!

A delightful musical PSA from Los Angeles-based director Sean Pecknold and musician Garett Van Der Spek aka Prism Tats. While the two friends co-wrote the song as a fun love letter to outdated technology, “This Is My Flip” draws on Pecknold’s actual fondness and use of his flip phone:

“I have come to use [it] as an alternative to the smart phone in moments when I’m feeling particularly fried from apps and constant texting/scrolling, but still need to be in reach by loved ones or have something in case of emergencies. It may sound silly, but I think everyone is trying to figure out ways to deal with communication-fatigue, and this is my current solution.”

Watch above and check out more of Pecknold’s previously featured work here, if you haven’t already!

Directed by Sean Pecknold
Starring Garett Van Der Spek
Song Written by Garett Van Der Spek & Sean Pecknold
Song performed by Prism Tats
Song Mixed by Eric Blood
Edit by Mike Dorsey
Special Thanks:
Sing-SIng
Adi Goodrich
On The Mark

This video was submitted by Sean Pecknold and selected by our team. Click here if you have a project you’d like us to check out!

Really nice vibe to this video for J Ember’s track “Bragain Flights” by NYC-based filmmaker Jackson Tisi (previously featured here).

Featuring:
Marlon Lenoble
Tyler Marelli
J Ember

Directed by Jackson Tisi
Executive Producer: Patrick Donovan
Producer: Alec Battistoni
DP: Danyal Niazi
Commissioner: Federico Morris
Label: EQT
AD: Mike Bregenzer
1st AC: Michael Parry
Steadicam: Kevin Jacobsen
Key Grip: Ace Buckley
Best Boy Grip: Matthew Foundoulis
Edit: Jackson Tisi
Color: Joseph Bicknell at Company 3
HMU & Wardrobe: Fallon Horvath
Driver/PA: Evan Schwartz
Driver/PA: Matthew Ericson

This video was submitted by Jackson Tisi and selected by our team. Click here if you have a project you’d like us to check out!

A beautiful visualization of mental illness for Son Little by director and cinematographer Daria Geller (previously featured here). Shot in Tbilisi, Georgia, “Suffer” speaks to the ways loneliness and depression settle in our bodies and how difficult it can be to overcome without the support of those closest to us.

Starring Indira Reyes & Bright Pridho
Director & DOP: Daria Geller
Producer: Nino Zhvania
PM: Imeda Piranishvili
First AC: Nika Okitashvili
Focus Puller: Irakli Duru Jgenti
Camera Assistant: Imeda Tetradze
Casting Manager: Pikria Kikodze
Playback: Nikoloz Mdivani
Ronin Operator: Melqisedek Rostiashvili
Ronin Assistant: Giorgi Babilodze
Gaffers: Tigran Tumasyan & Karen Tumasyan
Costumes: Ira Kiperman
MUA: Veriko Bedeladze
Colorist: Dmitry Litvinov
Production Company: Normafilm and No Man’s Land

This is just one of the many wonderful submissions we’ve received in the past week. Consider participating here if you have a project you’d like us to check out!

A gorgeous portrait of a photographer coming into her own by Moscow-based filmmaker Evgenii Bakirov. While the work of Aleksandra Kirievskaya may exude strength and self-assurance, Kirievskaya didn’t always feel this way herself. In fact, when Bakirov and Kirievskaya first met through a series of short interviews, he learned that she used to be extremely reserved — only taking pictures of close friends and family. It wasn’t until Kirievskaya realized the limitations this placed on her career prospects that she was finally able to push herself to do what needed to be done. As Bakirov explains further:

“When I saw Sasha’s works for the first time, I immediately had an urge to make a slideshow of them and watch it with music… The story which is told in the film is a collective image of my thoughts as a film director, the thoughts of several close people of Sasha and of course the thoughts of Sasha herself. When all the collected material lay on the paper, it was decided not to use many different voiceovers, but to take only one narrator — an imaginary friend of Sasha, who knows everything about her. So, in some way, the storyteller is a person who knows Sasha even better than her family. The music in the final of the film marks the end of this personal history of overcoming. We wanted this music to be sung as if by everyone Sasha had ever photographed. We imagined all the creators of this film and all its viewers singing in this chorus.”

Written & Directed by Evgenii Bakirov
Director of Photography: Dmitriy Sukhov & Evgenii Bakirov
Music: Jora Vensky
Sound Design: Vladislav Kotov & Jora Vensky
Color Grading: Artem Leonov

This video was submitted by Evgenii Bakirov and selected by our team. Click here if you have a project you’d like us to check out!

A delightful tribute to the strange immortality of pop music for Florida Pipe by Toronto-based director Aidan Johnston (previously featured here). Shot this past Summer at the Collingwood Elvis Festival, “Popstars” offers a glimpse into the world’s largest gathering of Elvis tribute acts and the generations of fans living out their fantasies of becoming one of history’s most iconic celebrities. Bizarre yet endearing, Johnston and his team capture both amateur acts and established career performers while contemplating the motivation behind a crowd of people all vying to be the same person. Check out “Popstars” above!

Directed & Produced by Aidan Johnston
Director of Photography: Nikolay Michaylov
Editor: Maria Todorov-Topouzov
Colour: Kevin Luttman

This video was submitted by Aidan Johnston and selected by our team. Click here if you have a project you’d like us to check out!