Multi-Screening: The Lamp, Month to Month, Writer's Block Party, Anti-Socialites, SHADOWS, Flight of the Heron, Horseless

Intro Video

2020 Edition of the SacFilmChallenge 

Month to Month

When an aspiring writer rents a room in her home, a middle-aged widow's emotional journey of rediscovery begins. With Kevin's help, Diane comes to terms with the tragedies in her life and the possibilities ahead of her. Along the way, her travails become a much-needed inspiration to him. A story of love lost and dignity regained, Month-to-Month is a powerful example of how kindness can overcome loss.

Director Bio: Tim Walton has been involved in film production in one capacity or another for more than 40 years. An Emmy Award winning documentary editor, Tim has worked on programs ranging from PBS documentaries and TV programs, to independent short and feature films, music videos, web shorts and more. He and his wife live in the foothills outside of Sacramento, California.

Writer's Block Party

When an aspiring author struggles to conclude her first mystery novel, the characters decide to offer their own suggestions.

Director Bio: Gabriella Sipe filmmaker who recently graduated from George Fox University with a degree in Cinematic Arts and Organizational Communication. Born in raised in Washington State, the creativity of the Northwest influences her each and every day.

Sipe recently won two awards (Best Director and Best Produced Screenplay) at the Fox Film Festival for her film, 'Writer's Block Party' which also took home awards for Best Picture and Best Original Song.

 Sipe hopes to continue growing her skills in both writing and directing while working on future projects.

Horseless

A father seeks out the gang that robbed him, relentlessly searching for something closer to him than money.

Director Bio: Donn Weber is an ambitious independent filmmaker that began his career in writing, stop motion, and animation. He has balanced a corporate position while producing his film projects on the side. Donn's passion is in live-action film-making however and as 2020 arrived, he made the conscious effort to build Hartford Film Club and focus primarily on his live-action works.

Anti-Socialites

With a heartfelt mission to glorify the extremely ordinary, Anti-Socialites is a micro, relatable and ongoing series about people in places, just trying their best.

Director Bio: Kat Roman and Sean Sonnenburg are partners and full-scope filmmakers who have nearly two decades combined experience creating commercial, promotional, scripted and documentary content for large and small clients, original and work-for-hire, traditional and new outlets alike. And like their student loans, even twenty-years of experience hasn't paid off.

Duel Of The Dyad

A short reimagining of JJ Abrams now iconic lightsaber duel on the ocean moon of Kef Bir.

Director Bio: Mason Drumm is passionate about telling stories, especially through compelling visuals. Over the past five years I’ve worn many hats for The University of Oklahoma’s marketing department, doing everything from aerial cinematography to long form documentary productions, to animating stop motion films and managing my own small team of photographers. I even teach a stop motion class at a local high school.

Outside my work in higher education, I’ve served as a DP on short films and sat in the director’s seat on a handful of my own creative endeavors, most of which are stop motion animations. I also run a maker-centric YouTube channel, “Making Things With Cameras” - largely devoted to sharing my experience as a stop motion animator and a Fuji-photographer.

SHADOWS

Blocked for new ideas, a writer falls asleep at her desk only to be awoken by the doorbell and unexpected visitors in the middle of the night.

Director Bio: Mette Holt was born in Sandefjord, a small town in the south of Norway. She began her career in the fashion industry as a young model. Discovered by the head of Team Models in Oslo, she began working there for various photographers, designers and magazines.  Modeling enabled her to work and travel the world from the far East to the West with long stays in Germany and Italy until she finally settled in New York City.

With Broadway and theater surrounding her, Mette bravely quit modeling and took the next step toward her true dream—acting. While she studied the English language, she began her training at the Strasberg Institute with famed actor and teacher Charles Laughton and later with Robert X. Modica from the Neighborhood Playhouse. ​ Mette dedicated herself to studying her craft and acted on stage in many theater productions.

Next step, Los Angeles where she studied with well known acting coach, Milton Katselas who also directed her in “Tea and Sympathy” in the role of Laura.  Additional LA stage credits include Lila in "A Loss of Roses", Denise in "Affections Of An Alley Cat", Eva in "Pop Noir", Lorraine in " A Lie Of the Mind".

Television appearances include Guest Starring and Co Starring roles in critically acclaimed TV series: "NCIS",“CSI: Miami”, “ER”, “Cold Case”,” Alias”, “Crossing Jordan”, “Men At Work” and Norway's NRK's Drama Series, “HJEM”.

​Mette has appeared in numerous feature and short films. Her role in, “Stealing Home”, landed her a nomination for Best Actress at the 168 Film Festival in Los Angeles.

Mette wrote her first screenplay, a children’s fantasy Christmas Film-- Legend of The North; Return of The Northern Lights presently under consideration with several producers.

And finally, Mette made good use of the entertainment world’s forced ‘down time’ by becoming a true multi-hyphenate.  She wrote, directed, edited and acted ALL THE ROLES to create her first short film, SHADOWS.

The Lamp

A man considers the consequences of power obtained from a mysterious lamp.

Director Biography: As a director of youth musical theater, Jacob Keller developed a passion for working with young actors: creating stories for kids, and by kids.

He has taught and coached many aspiring young artists, fostering and sharing his love of storytelling through a multitude of after-school arts programs. He knows first-hand the joy kids bring to the creative process.

 After completing his Bachelor’s degree in Directing for Film at CSU Sacramento, Jacob set a goal to create quality family entertainment. His three award-winning short films (SUPER, YOUNG LOVE and WRITERS IN THE STORM) each explore different types of relationships that kids experience.

Flight of the Heron

Directed by: Olivia Reedy

In Sacramento, Lu Ho is a stellar med student. When she falls critically ill, she gets a surprise visit from Gabriel, an old love who’d vanished mysteriously. Now he shares an app with Lu that lets her time travel and discover history did not unfold as she thought. When Congress bans Chinese women’s immigration, Lu must convince her ancestor, a doctor, to smuggle his wife into the U.S. and open a badly needed clinic. Lu seals the deal, saving countless lives for generations. But Lu’s illness takes a turn, and she finds she must stare down her own mortality.