Sunscreen Film Festival West 2014 Official Selections
Narrative Shorts Block #6 - Drama - Today Kids
"The Boy and the Bus" (dir. Simon Pitts) -- After the death of his mother ten year-old Joe moves to a remote village. It's where she'd wanted to live. Alone with his older father, Joe is silent with grief. When the local bus driver won't wait for him, Joe begins to run.
"The Red Ball" (dir. Joe Roos) -- Emma and her brother, Owen, are enjoying a game of catch with their red ball in the park, when Ian interrupts them with a bigger red ball. The chance at playing with the bigger ball lures Emma's attention away from her brother and onto a darkening chase, while Owen makes new friends and continues to improve through practice.
"Zugzwang" (dir. Yolanda Centeno) -- Zugzwang in German means obligation to move. Life and chess are not so different. There is a moment in life where you know you have to make a decision, but the best thing to do would be not to make any move. But... you must. We simply call this being screwed. In chess, they call it Zugzwang.
"Zombie Elementary" (dir. Andy Harbeck) -- A girl afraid of everything, finds herself at a Halloween party and must find the courage to save her brother and friends from zombie kids.
"The Dead Bird" (dir. Damian Overton) -- Jake and his younger brother Nick are isolated by the small rural town they live in. Their father is a violent and unforgiving man. Jake holds on tightly to the belief that one day he will be able to leave. Jake’s latest attempt to escape is thrown into chaos when he has an unexpected and brief encounter with Mila, a strange and beautiful girl he meets in the forest. This strange girl has an unusual connection with the Ravens she believes come to her. A suitcase with its own story, a dead bird and a rifle, all collide in this unconventional story about escape and the power of belief.
"Casey" (dir. Miguel Duran) -- Casey is about a young girl who struggles with her mother's misguided attempts to show love. She finds escape as an MC in an underground hip-hop club and must decide between taking a stand against her mother, or watching her owns dreams drift away.
"For Family's Sake" (dir. Sam Shaib) -- Sama is in love with Patrick, an all-American boy. Born to a traditional Arab family, she discovers that is she to be betrothed to a 32-year-old man. Not wanting to get married, she runs away with Patrick, but her family finds out. Will Sama escape or become a victim of beliefs that are rooted in thousands of years of tradition?
"Silent Tears" (dir. Ilango Ram) -- An innocent father and his blind daughter with a doll spend their days within the walls of a bunker during the final stages of civil war in Sri Lanka. The surprising third character connects the father, daughter and the doll in a sorrowful manner. The blood tears they shed during the darkest hours are unheard by many. The characters represent the current stages of tamils in Sri Lanka. The ones who died, disappeared and the living dead.
"O-Star" (dir. Dima Otvertchenko) -- Rudy & Ava have 4 days to make sense of their broken relationship before the end of the world in this rock music video adventure told through 7 original songs.