Every year we have the privilege of presenting a collection of the Best of Texas-made short films to the industry in Hollywood, and 2008 is no exception. Studio representatives, talent agents, production executives, and members of the film industry are invited to join us for a screening and reception with the filmmakers in attendance. There is something for everyone among these films made by Texas' most up and coming filmmakers.

Industry Screening . Sunday June 22, 2008 . Directors Guild of America Theatre . 6:00PM . RSVP 818-384-1643

The Aviatrix (10:00 min., 35mm)

    A gleaming silhouette rockets through the cosmos. She is The Aviatrix. And she exists in the mind of Anne, a young woman battling cancer.

  • Toddy Burton - Austin, Texas

    Toddy Burton made her first superhero movie when she was 12 and has continued to pursue filmmaking ever since. After graduating from the Art/Semiotics program at Brown University, she received her MFA in Film/Video Production from the University of Texas in Austin. The Aviatrix is her Masters Thesis. Currently, she is developing multiple film projects, including a feature length version of The Aviatrix. Toddy lives in Austin where she works as a teacher and a writer.
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Death Of An Ally (15:00 min., 16mm)

    Sixteen year-old Fidel Castro loves America, he even hopes to reach Hollywood one day and become a star like his hero Clark Gable. One day Fidel goes on a double date and is instantly taken by Betty, a stunning beauty visiting from California. But when John F. Kennedy struts into the bar with a couple of other navy sailors, Fidel is forced to compete for Betty's attention, and he will never look at America the same way again.

  • Marla and Julio Quintana - Austin, Texas

    Julio and Marla Quintana founded Fallen Matador Productions in 2006, joining forces to create films that inform, empower, and inspire. Julio was born of Cuban immigrants and for this reason is attracted to stories addressing Latin America, among other things. After two years of producing short films they are looking forward to producing their debut feature film The Maginot Line in 2008.
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Goobees (2:45 min., Animation)

    Goobees is a film that playfully juxtaposes the light-hearted imagery of anthropomorphisized candies against a morbidly humorous story of how goo-filled, chocolate-covered candies are made.

  • Patrick O'Brien, P. Antonio Piedra, Michael Losure, and Seth Freeman - Washington, Texas

    Goobees was developed by a team of four students in Texas A&M University's Visualization Sciences Department that offers a masters degree in Visualization. Michael and Patrick are recent graduates, and Antonio and Seth are finishing thesis work. Seth Freeman and Antonio P. Piedra currently work at Pixar. Patrick O'Brien and Michael Losure start work at Dreamworks in July 2008.
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jean=truth (11:30 min., s16mm)

    Memories of Jean have never left Mari for a long time. Each night, Mari revisits her memories and re-encounters a painful secret that prolongs to be healed. Through her psychological journey to her inner-world, Mari finds a way to forgive herself for one night.

  • SunHee Cho - Austin, Texas

    SunHee Cho was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. After two years in creative writing at Dongguk University in Seoul, she moved to Austin, Texas in 2000 where she is currently pursuing her MFA degree in Film Production at the University of Texas at Austin. Having experienced different dimensions of living in a foreign country herself, SunHee is interested in bringing stories of women who live in places far from their home. After completing her MFA degree, SunHee hopes to travel the world and help missionary work with her skill and knowledge in Film to witness for Christ.
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The Last Turn (30:00 min., s16mm)

    Tandee and Cash are small time grifters, living from hustle to hustle on the short con; but Tandee dreams of something more. Together they plan to take down an after hours gambling club but to make it work they need someone to bankroll the scheme and to play the front man. They recruit Jimmy, a mob connected street hood, and train him for the part. They have prepared for everything...everything that is except each other.

  • Robert Castaldo - Arlington, Texas

    Bob Castaldo has produced, directed and/or edited commercials, music videos, corporate/industrial programs, and over a dozen feature films. Projects he has contributed to have played at SXSW, New Directors New Films, Sundance, AFI, Berlin and more. Between film assignments he has served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington teaching film production. As writer/director, The Last Turn was the result of becoming 'tired of doing work that wasn't mine.' Bob lives and works in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
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Midway (10:30 min., 35mm)

    Inside this barbershop, you're guaranteed a haircut. But your wait may be longer than expected.

  • Darius Monroe - Houston, Texas

    Darius Clark Monroe, a native Houstonian, earned a BA from University of Houston in Media Production in spring 2004 and was accepted to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Film Program the same year. Darius wrote/produced/directed the award winning short films Testify, which screened at over 40 film festivals including the Cleveland Intl. Film Festival, London Gay and Lesbian Intl. Film Festival, and the Hollywood Black Film Festival, and Midway, a finalist at the 2007 American Black Film Festival, 2007 Angelus Student Film Festival, and a 2008 National Board of Review Award Recipient. Darius is currently completing post on his debut feature documentary Evolution of a Criminal.
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Separate Vacations (3:15 min., Animation)

    A dog owner, boarding her dog before leaving on vacation, is thrown a curve by the kennel's required form.

  • Anne S. Lewis - Austin, Texas

    Anne S. Lewis is a filmmaker and writer who lives in Austin, TX. Separate Vacations is her third short film, her first animation. It has screened, and won awards, at festivals around the country from LA to Providence, Rhode Island. It was one of 25 films selected by the Dallas Video Festival for a traveling program of " The Best of 20 Years of the Video Fest." Lewis also writes about film, including documentaries, for publications like The Wall Street Journal and The Austin Chronicle. She has also worked as a creative consultant on various films and documentaries.
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When The Light's Red (10:45 min., HDV)

    When The Light's Red is a poignant and humorous take on one motorist's experience with intersection panhandling. It is an examination of the way in which privilege, power, truth, and reality intersect inside our heads and outside our car window.

  • Keith Wilson - Austin, Texas

    Keith Wilson's award-winning films, videos and installations have been exhibited in film festivals, galleries, community institutions and educational settings across North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. His documentaries Southern Family, Lesbian Grandmothers From Mars and When the Light's Red have been broadcast on numerous PBS stations, MTV's Logo Network and in over 100 film festivals including the London Film Festival, the San Francisco Documentary Film Festival and the New York Underground Film Festival. In 2009, he will receive his MFA from the Radio-TV-Film Department at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is a Jesse Jones and University Fellow.
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