 When a fox demon spares the life of a young monk, the two form an unlikely bond that ends in the ultimate sacrifice.  Director Kylene Wong Harrington Kylene Wong Harrington is an Asian American filmmaker with a great love for animation, storyboarding, and screenwriting, as well as a strong passion for eastern and western cultural arts. She has a B.A in English literature from the University of South Florida, and in 2020, received her MFA in film production from Loyola Marymount University. Her passion project, The Shadow of Snow, is adapted from a short story she wrote in university, and takes great inspiration from Chinese folklore and literary imagery.
Director StatementIn the spring of 2016, I was an undergraduate student majoring in English literature so I did consistent work on the western literary canon. At the same time, I started to more deeply explore my own cultural background and its artistic traditions. While reconnecting with my Asian heritage, I fell in love with Chinese poetry and literary conventions. Due to a combination of Daoist, Buddhist, and Confucian beliefs, these stories tended to follow a circular nature. Everything connects to everything else, and this style has influenced East Asian storytelling to this day. I then thought to myself, “How could I have taken these beautiful stories—this combination of folklore, mythos, spirituality, and history--for granted?” I became fascinated with these traditions and searched through a plethora of classical literature, folktales, opera recordings, and more. Then I came up with my own concept, drawing heavy inspiration from the ancient Chinese folklore and artistic tradition that I was so influenced by. I turned my idea into a short prose story titled “One Winter’s Dawn,” the tale of a tragic friendship between a wild fox spirit and a young Buddhist monk. It was my love letter to the aesthetic of Chinese art and storytelling. Ever since, the idea remained a passion project in the back of my head...  From the jungles of the Congo to the university laboratory, ROUGH & TUMBLE: TAKING PLAY SERIOUSLY features the essential role of play for gorillas, dogs, dolphins and rats, and reveals how necessary it is for the healthy development of children. Through play, we learn the rules of social behavior and how to bond with others. We develop our imaginations as we improve our physical and emotional well-being. ROUGH & TUMBLE reminds us of the joy and connection we experience playing, both as kids and as adults, and encourages us to get out and have fun!  Director Yuri Makino Yuri Makino’s award-winning films have screened nationally and internationally, on public television and in museums. Her previous fiction and documentary films examine cultural borders and the experiences of women living in these liminal spaces. Her current work explores the importance of human play from the perspective of scientists studying animal play. She is co-directing a feature documentary about communities restoring healthcare to its noble mission by taking control away from entities designed to profit from our sickness. https://www.takingplayseriously.com
She is an Associate Professor in the School of Theatre, Film & Television and an Interim Associate Dean in the College of Fine Arts at the University of Arizona. For her films she has been awarded an AIR Resilience Grant, a RII Research Production Grant, a Confluence Center Innovation & Collaboration Grant, and two Hanson FilmTV production grants from the University of Arizona; an Emerging Artist Grant from the Contemporary Forum at the Phoenix Museum; the Roy W. Dean Grant; and an Arizona Commission on the Arts Visual Fellowship. She is also a 2023-24 Udall Center Fellow. Yuri received a M.F.A. from New York University in Filmmaking and a B.A. with Highest Honors in Film Studies and in German Studies at UC Santa Barbara.
 The Nature Girl is a story of a brave and courageous young Girl, abandoned by her parents at an early age, who ends up living on the streets in urban chaos. Her spirit is tested as she saves lost and injured animals with acts of heartfelt kindness to brazen rescues. She risks it all to save those that may be harmed. The Nature Girl is a story of purpose, compassion and a deep connection to the sacredness of Nature and its fragile animal life during a time of climate crisis.
This film was created in collaboration with passionate industry filmmakers in Northern California and in the UK. One of the Co-directors, Paul Charisse, has created Visual Effects on a variety of films over the past 10 years including the Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Stardust and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Co-writer Donna Laemmlen is an award-winning screenwriter, whose most recent collaboration, Tabula Rasa, won Best Dramatic Feature at the Big Apple Film Festival in NYC and the Audience Award at the Cinequest Film Festival in Silicon Valley. The film also features the impactful song from Kate Bush, ‘A Woman’s Work’. https://www.abluerain.com  When life gives you Lemon, sometimes that's all you need. Beatrice and Raff are lost - one in grief and the other in questioning his worth. Lemon has the least to live for and perhaps the most to give.  Director James Freemantle James Freemantle’s known for his exuberant TV presenting circa 1998 - 2007 when he wrote, produced and presented over 300 stories for Australian television - on Coxy's Big Break, Postcards, Talk to the Animals and Bread. Based in Moscow during 2007/08 James was an international anchor for controversial TV News channel RT, broadcasting globally. He presented Medifacts for Buchanan Group for 8 years, wrote and presented stories about Australian agriculture for MLA’s Feedback TV and has worked as an actor on Stingers, Secret Life of Us, Wog Boy, Neighbours and numerous short films and TVCs. https://www.jamesfreemantle.com
Director Statement We hand-reared a lamb who was born ‘not quite right’ – a second twin whose Mum rejected him - a bit of a lemon, and that’s what we called him. Eastern Australia had been inundated with floods two years in a row, bringing hardship and loss. Tony Dean and I were producing training films for a client and wanted to make a short to exercise our creative instincts. Russ - an English actor and Tony’s brother - was in town and we were intrigued by the work of Sarajevo-born Milijana Cancar, who came to Australia as a refugee during the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1994. Mili, Russ and I created the characters Raff and Beatrice, and co-developed the script, with the little farm on Dja Dja Wurrung country in central Victoria I share with my family as our location. We filmed in two and a half days with two actors, a lamb and a less-than-skeleton crew of three, then took a year to put it together in our spare time. It’s entered into festivals world-wide, accepted into 4 so far (in Montreal, Cambridge, Gympie and San Antonio!) and we’re looking forward to our premiere screening at the Heart of Gold festival in Qld, Australia. So far we can only offer you the teaser, but hope you love it as much as we loved the work of this talented lamb!  The German Daniel Weigend has been living with his wolf packs in the mountains of Andalusia for over 25 years. His research not only provides new insights into the behavior of dogs and wolves, but also reveals surprising findings about our current social situation.  Director Biography Tilo Wondollek, born 1964 in Stuttgart, studied graphic design in Munich and developed international marketing and design strategies for over 20 years. At the same time, he organized congresses on the topic of awareness development in business. In addition to his commercial work for companies, he has been devoting himself increasingly to documentary film production in the areas of camera, editing, directing and production since 2014. His first release "Egg-volution", which he produced exclusively in-house, took part at several international film festivals successfully.
Director Statement When I heard about a German who lives in seclusion with his wolves on a huge estate in Andalusia, my curiosity was piqued. In my encounter with Daniel and his wolves, “Wolfman” is less about the animals and more about the unusual world view of a man who critically scrutinizes the development of our society based on his intensive research and observations. The result is a short film that raises important questions and makes us think. |
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