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Animalis Fabula Film Festival Official Selection Laurels

AniFab Official Selections '21

Wild Winds: Spirit of the Bison - Short Documentary - USA

7/26/2021

 
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A buffalo preserve in northern Indiana is home to over 250 wild bison (also known as "buffalo"). Their human caretakers share their passion for the United States' national animal, and its importance to the nation's history and future.

Sawyer states on his LinkedIn that, he considers himself a
 well-rounded filmmaker that specializes in directing and editing. I love telling people's stories and creating something that both my team and I are proud of.

#AniFab judge's aggregate score for Sawyer Pasma's Wild Winds: Spirit Of The Bison is 7.4 out of 10 with one judge writing, " 
Thoroughly enjoyed learning about the origins of Wild Winds in Indiana. It makes me want to go there. Nicely done, Sawyer.
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Director Sawyer Pasma
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MicroKansas / Tribulation - Short Documentary - USA

7/24/2021

 
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The first chapter of a larger project. Tribulation documents the struggles of a young garter snake in central Kansas, USA.

Bobby Obermite is a filmmaker, photographer and instructor from Hutchinson, Kansas. Where he lives with his wife, daughter and two dogs. He studied film and media at the University of Kansas, graduating in 2011. He is an instructor in the Media Production department at Hutchinson Community College, where he also works as a filmmaker. Bobby started and runs Blue Barn Productions, a production company that produces independent films.
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Director Bobby Obermite
AniFab judge's aggregate score for MicoKansas is 7.1 out of 10 with one judge commenting, "Interesting macro look into a few harrowing moments of being a frog in a pond with predators. We want to see more!
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SMART - Feature Documentary - USA

7/21/2021

 
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Imagine your pet - a member of your family - stranded on a cliff, stuck in a lake, starving on top of a 100' palm tree or trapped underneath an abandoned home. Who would you call?

​Meet Armando Navarrete and Los Angeles' Specialized Mobile Animal Rescue Team. SMART - the extraordinary documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Justin Zimmerman - showcases Armando's journey as he grapples to get his team off the ground, survives death-defying rescues and finds love, all in the midst of LA's heart-breaking animal shelter system. It's "Blackhawk Down" meets "Blackfish" and an unforgettable experience for anyone who's shared a bond with an animal.
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Director Justin Zimmerman
AniFab judge's aggregate score for SMART is 7.2 out of 10 with one judge noting, "SMART is a passionate take on the lives and work of LA's animal rescue team. SMART is smart!"
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Saudade - Short Documentary - Portugal

7/16/2021

 
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You can watch Saudade free right here in an effort to amplify the message of SOS Animal
Sandra Duarte Cardoso, veterinary medicine and founder of SOS Animal in Portugal, was to know Najin, Fatu and its protectors. this is the story of a meeting the two latest white rhinocerontes from the north of the planet.

Sandra is an activist, mother of a human and 8 non-humans, President of SOS Animal - Portugal, CEO of Imprescindível Pensar, TV presenter - SIC Chanel, Medical Vet -DVM MCs, Phd Student. She was the producer of the successful television project “À Descoberta Com”.
Tiago Iúri (1994) studied “Image and Sound” at the Higher School of Arts and Design (ESAD) of the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, in Caldas da Rainha.

Currently, he is a director and editor at the production company Imprescindível Pensar in partnership with SOS Animal, with the successful television project “À Descoberta Com”.
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Director's Sandra Duarte Cardoso & Tiago Iúri
AniFab judge's aggregate score for Saudade is 8.9 out of 10 with one judge writing, "This film allowed me slow down and step into another world! The cinematography is beautiful and brings us in direct contact with an animal that few of us ever see up close, let alone touch. This is a touching story, yet culminates in hope; hope that the children of Kenya will learn the value of keeping their wildlife alive. A lovely film!"
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Furball - Short Narrative - Canada

7/16/2021

 
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​When self-centred feline, Furball, faces losing his owner’s attention, he takes matters into his own paws and learns that, while relationships may change, the love remains, no matter what the species.

A graduate of York University's Film and Video program,  Jason Rogerson is the winner of the L.M. Montgomery PEI Writing for Children Award for his short story, Thalia, Jason was granted one of PEI’s inaugural Film 4Ward awards for his short film, Furball. He currently has several films in development, including Boxcar Dan and the Vagabond Strangers, which was awarded the PEI Screenwriters’ Bootcamp – Pitch For Your Life award in 2018.
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Director Jason Rogerson
​Director Statement
With Furball, I wanted to create a quirky short that explores the many ways in which we connect (or struggle to). Whether we're yearning for a relationship, possessive of one, or lucky enough to be in a healthy one, it seems we all share one thing - a fear of the unknown. Furball is about taking risks, letting go of our fears and egos, and discovering something better than we could have ever imagined, no matter what our species.
AniFab judge's aggregate score for Furball is 8 out of 10 with one judge writing, "I can't stop smiling! Furball had me amused and enthralled from the start! I actually thought the description being spoken at the beginning could have been of Furball or his human. As the story unfolded this story had me chuckling out loud - loved it!"
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Coo-Coo - Short Narrative - Russian Federation

7/14/2021

 
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Dasha, a young biologist, prepares to defend her Ph.D. on the Baikal seal. Her Ph.D. advisor is skeptical about Dasha’s love for animals, and her mother only cares about the girl not missing night prayers. A story about a conflict between science and religion, love and suffering, between what Dasha wants and what others push her to do.
Director Svetlana Belorussova — anthropologist, filmmaker. For about ten years she has been conducting ethnographic expeditions among the peoples of Russia and Kazakhstan - Chukchi, Nenets, Khanty, Tatars, Kryashen, Nagaibaks, Kazakhs.

In 2017, she defended PhD thesis “Dynamics of the Ethnicity of Nagaibaks in the 18th – 21st сenturies”.

Since 2019, she is a student at the St. Petersburg School of New Cinema (Laboratory of Documentary and Feature Films).

AniFab judge's aggregate score for Coo Coo is 9.8 out of 10 with one judge exclaiming, "Wow, gorgeous and powerful!!"
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Director Svetlana Belorussova
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Amber's Halfway Home - Short Documentary - USA

7/12/2021

 
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​A day of rescue in the fields and dog pounds of western Tennessee.

Amber Reynolds runs her nonprofit, the Halfway Home Animal Rescue, in Greenfield, TN, a tiny farming community hidden somewhere between Nashville and Memphis. At a glance, Greenfield is pastoral, beautiful even. But underneath idyllic scenes of meandering creeks and cotton fields, is a raging problem of too many unwanted animals.
In Amber’s Halfway Home, a film crew follows Amber for one day. During that day, she rescues 19 dogs. Some are dumped on the roadside and left to survive on their own. Others are living in unhealthy conditions at the unregulated and pitifully funded shelters. Watch as one woman saves these homeless animals from certain death.

Amber’s Halfway Home is an exploration of the conditions at government-funded shelters and the consequences of ignoring our country’s homeless animals. But, it’s also a celebration of a woman battling for change in her Southern community, a warrior who saved 2000 dogs in one year.

Director StatementWe are certain that the problem of 'throwaway dogs', unregulated shelters, and so much suffering does not exist because people don’t care, but because they don’t know.

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Director's Melissa Armstrong & Jason Pidgeon
Melissa Armstrong lives outside of Nashville, TN and is the author of Catching Dawn. She has been independently rescuing strays for over fifteen years. From 2013-2015 she fostered and trained 30 dogs for a local nonprofit. Melissa walks with her husband Mason and their four mutts in rural Tennessee.

Jason Pidgeon lives in Charlotte, NC. When he isn't editing features for ESPN, he's traveling with his wife Honora and their three rescue dogs. Jason loves adventure, and he's found it all over the globe, from chasing cherry blossoms in Japan, snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef to surfing in Costa Rica to salmon-fishing in Alaska. Although his expertise is editing, he's also an animator, designer, journalist, and videographer. He graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.
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AniFab judge's aggregate score for Amber's Halfway Home is 6.9 out of 10 left with these comments, "Reached out to this filmmaking team.  Amber's Halfway Home resonates with the core of the work of the World Animal Awareness Society.  It is recommended this project become serialized. 
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Left Behind - Short Documentary - Mexico

7/9/2021

 
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Los Rezagados tells the story of two cases of adoption of animals considered "unlikely to adopt" in the city of La Paz, Mexico. Against obstacles such as the null government aid for the protection of non-human animals, the little culture of adoption in the area, and the prejudices towards animals with undesirable characteristics; The volunteers of the Patitas La Paz Community animal sanctuary have been able to bring together responsible and empathetic owners with their ideal companion.
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The Stragglers captures the value that companion animals add to human lives, as well as the responsibility that the population has to provide a dignified life for so many animals that try to survive on the streets.
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Director Andrea B. Millán
Director StatementThe number of stray animals in Mexico is a serious problem today; as of today there are more than 25 million homeless dogs and cats in the country. These animals face hunger, thirst, disease, extreme temperatures, human abuse and fights with each other.
Although there are associations dedicated to the rescue and rearrangement of these beings in new homes, most of them have a whole life in a shelter, when they are lucky. Or an execution, when they end up in euthanasia kennels and aren't adopted fast enough.
Many of the animals in these institutions are rejected, either for their physical characteristics or for their behavior derived from past abuse and trauma. Ignored in favor of their purebred counterparts, who are bred and sold as merchandise.
The Stragglers focuses on two animals in a shelter in a specific city. But unfortunately, the phenomenon that their stories illustrate exists in almost every city in the country and in the world.
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AniFab judge's aggregate score for Left Behind is 6 out of 10 with one judge leaving the following comment, "It is so important to have these voices sharing stories of animals from around the world.  I am recommending Left Behind for selection in July."

FIREFALLS - Short Narrative - France

7/6/2021

 
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Directed by French painter and film director Ariel Neo, Firefalls explores the reality of the world we live in today and depicts the devastation caused by humans on Earth. As an artist working for the cause of nature and wildlife conservation, Neo’s unique storytelling aims to blur the boundaries between man, nature and art while hoping to once again align them together. Ariel Neo wants to alert minds towards the urgent need to preserve our dying Earth and she uses both her powerful cinematography and paintings to illuminate an important question for her audience. How long can mankind run away from the apocalypse it birthed itself?
Firefalls is associated with the documentary "Behind the firefall" The 52 minute documentary allows the viewer to go behind the scenes and to discover the creative process of a low-budget independent short-film.
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Director Ariel Neo
AniFab judge's aggregate score for Firefalls is 9.8 out of 10 with one judge stating, "This movie needs to be seen! Stunning."
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​Ariel Neo is a visionary new voice in filmmaking. Over the past two years, she has broken into the international scene with Flying Through the Water and Rainslide, which have both won multiple awards in festivals and competitions. Her latest short film, Firefalls, promises to be even more influential as Neo hones her style and skill, presenting a dramatic, wordless narrative which uses archetypal imagery and symbolism to make the tragedy of climate change come alive before our eyes.
In addition to her broad conceptual vision, Neo is devoted to detail. She prepares every aspect of filming: scouting her own locations, designing costumes, creating props, and storyboarding the action. Neo began her creative journey as an oil painter, and her paintings, impressive and richly colored images rendered on four to seven-foot round canvases, make appearances in her films, acting as totems that reinforce the significance of her cinematic work. Where words fail, these images shepherd us into new understanding by setting a tone full of reverence and beauty. In turn, her films explore and dramatize the themes that Neo’s artwork has always sought to capture: the beauty and diversity of nature, the joy of creativity, and her grave distress at what is happening to our environment. In fusing together art and film, she strives to make something new, an immersive and active art installation that reaches out and enwraps the viewer, creating an atmosphere that is immediate and suspenseful and yet introspective. This unique vision is what sets Neo apart and promises an exciting future.
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Feral Swine Bomb: Rise of the Super Pigs - Short Documentary - USA

7/2/2021

 
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​The U.S. wild pig population is rapidly multiplying (nine million and counting as a 9-19-20) and are running rampant, costing the U.S. an estimated $2.5 billion each year in damages and control costs. With this rise of these invasive hybrid pigs of domestic breeds and European wild boar, some are calling, "super pigs," experts can only describe this phenomenon as a ticking feral swine bomb.

AniFab judge's aggregate score for Feral Swine Bomb is 5.8 out of 10
with one judge noting, "
I appreciate the work Micah has put into this short doc / mash up.  Interesting too the use of Frontline style graphics.  As a student project, I want it to have a chance.​"

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Director Micah Smith
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    2021 Official #AniFab Monthly  Selections

    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021

    ​Monthly Selection

    Animalis Fabula Film Festival official monthly selections have the opportunity to compete for monthly attention as well as inclusion in the annual live / virtual film festival in Austin, Texas and the end of year fundraising benefit for animal welfare.

    Find out what films have earned monthly awards for the Best Of Fest here!

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Animalis Fabula Film Festival is a production of WA2S Films, World Animal Awareness Society and World Animal Rescue Network., an award-winning 501c3 United States based media non profit.
WA2S Family of Non Profit Organizations
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  • Animalis Fabula
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      • AniFab 21 >
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