LAVA Film Festival: all about the films!

Dead Set on Stardom is a darkly comic satire about the absurd cost of chasing fame. A washed-up director, his fame-hungry wife, and a reclusive novelist will stop at nothing to make their horror adaptation a Hollywood triumph. But when their cast of clueless young actors—and one overlooked stunt double—prove incapable of delivering, the filmmakers turn to more sinister methods for “authentic” performances. As accidents mount and egos clash, the line between cinema and reality collapses, leaving everyone on set to ponder if stardom is worth dying for.

Mae Horak is a writer, musician and co-founder of film production company Off Hand Co. Her work takes inspiration from literature, pop culture and rock n roll music. She most recently wrote an introspective psychedelic short film “Bat Country” which was produced and met with success on the festival circuit.

Pivoting back into the world of comedy, she co-wrote Dead Set on Stardom with author Dante DiCarlo at various Wetherspoons across London. Mae writes and performs indie rock music under the name Mae Velour and lives in Joshua Tree, CA.

Lena Vani is a filmmaker and trained actor based in the Northeast. She’s been gaining traction as a producer of bold, independent films, with recent projects drawing attention for their dark humor, unique tone, and collaborative spirit. Her work spans concept development through post-production, and she’s passionate about telling offbeat, character-driven stories.
As an actor, Lena is known for her physicality, timing, and strong ensemble work. She has a strong foundation in heightened text, recently playing Verges in Much Ado About Nothing with The Hanover Theatre Rep, where she also trained in verse, text and movement. She has additional training in the Suzuki Method, which informs her grounded, expressive style on stage and screen.
Vani is co-founder of the production company, Off Hand Co.

Cole Whitaker lives in the Hilltowns of Western Massachusetts with his wife and two daughters, all of whom have now been wrangled into movie making. A middle and high school social studies teacher by day, Cole unexpectedly became an amateur filmmaker when his oldest daughter (4 at the time) asked, “Daddy, can we make a movie?,” and he, for reasons still unknown given his utter lack of noteworthy knowledge, experience, or equipment, said yes. That first experiment resulted in the short film “School Day” as well as a newfound curiosity about how movies are made and used as a storytelling medium. His subsequent films, “Deep Sea” and “The Journey Home,” continue his experimentation with turning his furtive journaling habit into a public cinematic spectacle of curiosity, humility and, hopefully, humor.

SAM TURIN
DIRECTOR-PRODUCER
Sam Turin is a Boston-based Filmmaker who specializes in making comedy-infused parody-inspired short films. Growing up in the internet age, Sam has been making “skits” from a young age, often featuring his friends. His directorial debut festival film, “Dude Ferrari” – a knock-off mockumentary of the popular Food Network show, “Guy Fieri’s Diner Drive-Ins and Dives” – was awarded third place in the 2024 Providence 48 Hour Film Festival. This award granted him and his production team, Butterhill Productions, a spot in the 2025 “Yes We Cannes” 48 Hour Film Challenge, for which the team produced Le Storáge Loquére, screening at the 2025 LAVA Film Festival.

Turin currently attends Syracuse University and is studying music business in the Bandier Program. While he specializes in music, he hopes to keep his foot in the film world as his artistic career progresses. Turin will study in London in the spring of 2025, and Los Angeles in the fall of 2026. He hopes this experience immerses him more fully into the music and film world as he continues making short films with Butterhill Productions.

AIDAN CLARK
DIRECTOR
Aidan Clark is a college junior studying film at Rochester Institute of Technology. He’s been writing, directing, producing, filming, editing, and performing in YouTube videos, comedy sketches, and short films for the past 12 years.

LYNN WEISSMAN
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY / PRODUCER
Initially daunted by the gadgetry of the camera, Lynn Weissman now thrives behind the lens as an award-winning freelance Director of Photography (DP) and Cinematographer. Weissman has filmed hundreds of projects spanning narrative films, documentaries, web series, and commercial work, collecting a shelf full honors including from the Telly Awards, Muse Awards, and the Creative Spirit Foundation. As the only Cinematographer she knows juggling life as a full-time freelancer and mom-of-twins, she embraces the challenge of nurturing both her career and family.

Gregory Boover is an actor, writer, musician, educator and visual artist based in the Berkshires. He has worked with many organizations and venues across the east coast including the the Majestic Theater, Silverthorne Theater, Hanover Theater, The Adams Theater, The Humanist Project, Barrington Stage, Catskill Mountain Shakespeare, The Mount, WAM Theatre, Emergent Ensemble Theatre, The Theater at Monmouth, Urbanite Theatre, the rig, The Theater at Woodshill, The Umbrella Stage Company, Hampshire Shakespeare, Berkshire Playwright’s Lab, The Looking Glass Theatre (NY) and many more. His acting work has been nominated for award by the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association. He has collaborated in film production with Sadeh Studios, The Continental Shoemakers, The Ark Picture Co. and Ambush Pictures. Greg is a company artist and educator at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA, serves on the faculty at Community Access to The Arts in Great Barrington, MA and he produces multidisciplinary independent artwork across mediums.

director statement:
Notification examines the “relationship” with technology in the 21st century, and begs the question – how do we fight for connection to our bodies, minds and the natural world when technology as we further develop it demands more and more of our attention and time with it’s ease of access, immediacy of information, popularity, personalized programming and monetized interests? What is the cost if it’s use?

Rachel S. Thomas-Medwid is an award-winning genre director, screenwriter, and producer who loves exploring the darker side of humanity and complex nature of people in her work. Her films have screened at over 50 film festivals worldwide, garnering over 50 nominations and 20 awards collectively to date. Rachel is on the International Screenwriters Association’s esteemed Development Slate as well as an ISA Top 25 Screenwriter to Watch. A few top recognitions include the Women in Horror Award, Happenstance Horror Fest; Michelle Mower Female Filmmaker of the Year Award; Best Narrative Short Film Director, Mystic Film Festival; Best Writer/Director, Austin Revolution Film Festival; Female Filmmaker of the Year, Lonely Seal International Film and Music Festival; Shawna Shea Film Festival Spirit Award Winner; and New England Film Star Awards Finalist.

Rachel is an Alliance of Women Directors Member and Board Member of Women in Film Video New England. She has served on the Sherman Oaks Film Festival Filmmakers Board and Film Invasion Los Angeles Filmmakers Board and as a screenplay judge for Renegade Film Festival.

director statement:
This film is a comedy born out of a familiar feeling to many performers: that palm-sweating moment before stepping onstage. By giving that universal fear an absurd voice, Stage Fright plays with genre and tone while never taking itself too seriously.

We shot on an island with no crew, no budget, and very little gear so I had to lean into my love for guerrilla filmmaking to bring this one together!

It’s meant to be a fun ode to performers, anxious creatives, and anyone who’s ever tried to silence their inner critic—only to find it yelling back in a ridiculous voice from the front row.

Ted is a writer/producer born and raised in Massachusetts and based out of Boston. His diverse work in the media industry has included working for several cable access networks and independent production houses, working many roles on numerous local independent films, spending multiple years in digital marketing for both local and nationwide brands, and writing for the Amazon Original podcast ‘Badlands’, iHeartRadio’s original podcast ’27 Club’, and Warner Music’s “Amplify Color”.

After a 20 year hiatus teaching history, Rachel Knowles has refound her love of filmmaking.

director statement:
I fell in love with Greenfield in 1997, a teenager fresh out of high school. In between washing dishes at the local food cooperative and volunteering in Americorps, I took filmmaking classes at Greenfield Community College. The foundation I built in art and video took me to the San Francisco Art Institute for an undergraduate degree in filmmaking. I stayed in San Francisco for 20 years, playing music, working on small indie films, and eventually working full-time as a Director and Editor for a creative agency. The remote-work possibilities opened up by the COVID-19 pandemic allowed me to fulfill a lifelong dream of moving back to Greenfield. I’ve been thrilled to find this town still as weird and inspiring as it was in the 90s, and I’m excited to celebrate it in this documentary series.

Joe Aidonidis is the founder of Great Sky Media, a video production form that focuses on creating work documenting the extraordinary challenges and experiences of everyday people. Aidonidis partners with nonprofits, artists, arts and culture institutions, schools, and businesses to create short-form documentaries about important topics like community, the power of art, substance use, and other issues of cultural relevance. His mission is to help facilitate people’s imaginations so they can tell impactful stories the world needs to hear.

director statement:
This was the most difficult film I’ve made. I have the great honor of being married to the main character, Francesca Olsen. Since, 2022, I have helped her through crisis and stood with her for every small joy. Francesca is an incredible advocate for young people with cancer and her courage to document part of her story is a testament to the bravery of so many others who walk her path. I’d also like to acknowledge our daughter, Louise, who has given our lives so much meaning and love.

Mayor of Lowell follows the journey of Sokhary Chau, the first Cambodian-American mayor in the United States, and explores the rich culture of Cambodian Americans in Lowell, Massachusetts, through the lens of art and community at the Lowell Folk Festival. Directed by Hunter Berube and Kayla Dalton, both Suffolk University alumni, the film highlights the significance of the 50th anniversary of the Cambodian genocide and features artists connecting with their heritage.

Hunter Berube is a Lowell-based producer, writer, actor and director. His mind is always in storytelling mode. A top honors graduate of Suffolk University’s Broadcast Communications & Film program, Hunter’s strongest skill set is his optimism. He challenges himself to craft never-before-seen, high-quality films and documentaries.

director statement:
I am humbled and excited to have produced a film full of love and culture shock. Please enjoy the experience that is “Mayor of Lowell”, celebrating a city of trendsetting immigrants and artists redefining the American Dream.

Alex O’Neil is an independent filmmaker and musician living in Worcester Massachusetts. Alex graduated from Fitchburg State University with a degree in film in 2020, with a concentration in Documentary. Alex loves making music videos and short films in addition to his regular interview and documentary focus.

director statement:
More Than a Fridge is my first funded film! I applied for a 2024 Grant for Creative Individuals from Worcester Arts Council, and was awarded the $5,000 grant in January of 2024. This project was going to be made with or without the funding, but receiving the grant allowed me to hire a drone pilot and animator, as well as other things like provide catering for the screening. The funds ended up being instrumental to bringing my vision for the film to life!

Michael Nix performs on classical guitar, Banjar, banjo, and mandolin, throughout the United States and Asia. He has recorded for the PBS series, American Experience, independent documentaries, and numerous CD projects. His compositions, performed internationally, have been heard on Weekend Edition and other NPR programs. Nix performed his New Classic Banjo compositions at the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, DC. His solo Banjar album of compositions and commissions, Aperçu, was released on PARMA Recordings Big Round Records. Nix designed the Banjar; a modern seven nylon-string banjo combining elements of the five-string banjo and classical guitar.

director statement:
While attending the 7th Surin International Folklore Festival at Surindra Rajabhat University, Surin Province, Thailand, January 15 – 25, 2012, I toured the North Eastern provinces on the Mekong River bordering Laos known as the Issan region, where I was introduced to the style of music known as Mor Lam. Mor Lam meaning singer, enjoys a thriving modern music scene incorporating traditional Thai/Lao Issan instruments with modern electric basses, guitars, loud amplification, and trippy electronic effects.

Ethan Garstka (He/Him) is a filmmaker and director from West Springfield, Massachusetts. He is a graduate of the University of Hartford, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in cinema and digital media production. “LIGHTS OUT” is Ethan’s second film to be screened at the LAVA Fest, after his student film, “Our Bad Faith,” premiered at the LAVA Fest back in 2023.

Dai grew up in Osaka, Japan, then Saipan. He studied Broadcast Journalism and Film at Suffolk University. He went to one of the world’s best transit systems in Japan to one of the world’s oldest subways in Boston.

Seamus Kelley is a filmmaker raised on the North Shore of Massachusetts. He’s currently pursuing a hybrid degree in Sociology, Economics, and Journalism at UMass Amherst.

director statement:
This film was my first crack at investigative journalism. I had to constantly improvise my way through production, recording one interview right before my Senior Prom (bow tie and all!) It was an intense, but deeply educational production. I hope you enjoy.

An annual series born out of the desire to win the Ashfield Film Festival, this is Mo and Bella’s third Shmaniel Shmonston movie. Unlike the late great Daniel Jonston, they have never received any awards or recognition. They are currently finishing Schweiger’s first 30 minute short about a baker who may have accidentally poisoned Greenfield with testosterone.

Brolin lives with his wife in an old schoolhouse on the river in Colrain. He is a Western Mass native who has been putting out music as Unagi on his label 442 Records since 2003. He also makes videos for fun.

Riley Cosby is a filmmaker based in Western Massachusetts. He grew up in New England, Texas, and Colorado and is currently in his senior year at Westfield State University. Cosby, who started writing and directing five years ago, has a purposeful enthusiasm for storytelling that inspires him to push the mold on what student independent filmmaking can be.

Sam Horton is an aspiring multimedia artist specializing in the audio-visual field of production. Sam studies communication, film, music, and theatre design at Westfield State University as a 4th-year. Passionately, he works collaboratively in the Massachusetts area with like-minded individuals in studio and performance based productions and actively researches similar environments.

Directors Statement:
BATTLE ANGEL is meant to feel like the show you watched on Adult Swim’s Toonami in 2007, but reimagined as a twisted graphic novel style of Frank Miller’s Sin City. For better or worse, we decided to take this insane anime pitch, the hundred dollars in our pockets, and attempt a faithful live-action adaptation of a show that had no chance of being animated. Our inspirations came from the aesthetics of anime like Fullmetal Alchemist and Jujutsu Kaisen, as well as films like Constantine starring Keanu Reeves.

With this project, I wanted to prove two things: first, that queer female action heroes not only exist but can be powerful and compelling on screen; and second, that passion can take you further than resources when it comes to independent filmmaking.

Despite being just a nine-minute, micro-budget student film, BATTLE ANGEL pushed us to innovate technically, in visual effects, audio production, and cinematography. To me, these breakthroughs are proof of a simple truth: if you have a bold idea, pursue it.

Tyler Lum is a student filmmaker, born and raised in Massachusetts, currently studying visual media arts at Emerson College as a Sophmore. Although he had a lingering interest in biology, his creativity and passion to tell stories is what won. He’s worked on several short film productions at Emerson College, narrative and documentary projects at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston and worked with the Asian Community Development Corporation to assist in facilitating Films at the Gate, a non-profit, three-day, free film festival with the mission to restore Chinese cinema to the Chinatown community in Boston.

director statement:
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to improve yourself. However, it’s not healthy to compare ourselves to others around us. These days sue to social media and growing body standards, it’s getting harder for people to be happy for who they are. This film explores the dangers of body dysmorphia and self dissatisfaction through a unique lens by looking at the effects from toxic social media influencers who use their platforms to set the bars high for what they all masculinity. If people choose to work out, it should be because they enjoy it, not because people body shame them. If people choose to change their own personality, it should be their own choice, not because people call them “weak.”

Evan Moren is a writer, director, and editor currently studying Communications with a focus on Media Arts at Westfield State University. Deeply inspired by the films of Steven Spielberg, Evan’s work often explores themes of childhood, wonder, and imagination. He strives to capture the magic and emotional sincerity that made him fall in love with movies in the first place.

Evan began his filmmaking journey at a young age, collaborating with his younger sister and brother, who continue to appear in nearly all his films. Together, they create under the name ECR Productions (Evan, Chloe, and Rowan). He also works on the Emmy-nominated television show As Schools Match Wits as the floor director and camera operator.

director statement:
Binoculars: A Backyard Adventure was born from a desire to keep creating during the quiet of summer break. Made with zero budget and my younger sister, this film reflects the kind of storytelling I cherish most: sincere, imaginative, and deeply rooted in wonder.

At its core, this short film is about the brilliance, boldness, and imagination of what it’s like to be a child. How something ordinary, like a pair of binoculars, can unlock a world of discovery. It’s a celebration of curiosity, creativity, and the quiet power of noticing what others often overlook. While the story unfolds simply on the surface, it carries a deeper contrast between the fading innocence of a world changing too fast, and the enduring brilliance of a child’s ability to look through the noise and still find something worth holding on to, and saving.

Gyuri Kepes is an independent filmmaker and Professor at Holyoke Community College. His films employ a unique genre bending melange of camp, satire, dark comedy, psychological horror, magical realism, and film noir with cheeky winks to Lynch, Hitchcock, Cronenberg, and Kubrick. Themes often center around a single metaphor, motif, or double entendre. Kepes has also frequently collaborates on films with his 12-year-old daughter, Samarah, including an award-winning stop motion animation.

Marco Steel is a second year student at Tufts University in the Film and Media Studies program. He is an emerging filmmaker and a local to the Boston area who works primarily in horror. While still new to filmmaking, he is dedicated to learning the craft and getting better with every short film he creates. His ultimate goal is to direct his own feature film and he is working as hard as he can to achieve that goal.

director statement:
This film is particularly personal to me and something that I see more as a crime of passion than a well thought out piece. The Film is a bit of a look into how lost one can get after their partner leaves them abruptly and how scary that can be.

Jason Dailey is a local filmmaker based in Boston, Massachusetts currently studying film and video production at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. As a writer and director, he focuses on untraditional narrative, making work often based around the queer experience, hoping to show the dimensionality and different layers of complexity that come with being a queer person.

director statement:
The Queer Experience is a diverse aspect of life, I want to show the world every part of it.

KYLE LINDFORS – WRITER / DIRECTOR: Kyle has had a lifelong passion for making films, having written and directed shorts since he was in middle school, and he loves any sort of creative artistic collaboration. Some of his recent writing and directing works include the dark comedy ‘Bumpy the Clown’ and the horror short ‘Mourning Night’. He is extremely excited to continue to grow and evolve in this art form.

JOHN OGDEN – CO WRITER: John Ogden has been a media producer and decorated media educator for over 20 years. He is a multi-time recipient of Student Production Awards from the New England Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences – the regional body of the Emmy® Awards. Kyle and John recently co-wrote ‘Mourning Night’ together, and they have been excited to work together on future ambitious screenplays.

DARCY LALLY – CINEMATOGRAPHY / EDITING: Darcy Lally graduated as an honors student from Fitchburg State University with a degree in film and photography. She was the 2023 Film Student of the year and she is also a member of the Massachusetts chapter of the Women’s Caucus for Art. Darcy has a deep love and passion for working on films. She loves to learn and has gathered an array of skills including directing, cinematography, producing, gaffing, editing, and color grading. Darcy enjoys working with others and collaborating to create the best projects possible. She is extremely excited to work beside Kyle in the future after their great experience together on their last short horror film, ‘Mourning Night’.

director statement:
All my prior projects have leaned real comedic in tone, and I wanted to try and step away from that. People had really complimented my dialogue (of which there was plenty) in my past couple projects, so with this one I thought I’d experiment with more visual storytelling; much of the story is told through visual cues rather than the characters stating it outright. The house is meant to be a vessel of Eleanor’s traumatic religious upbringing, so I went for in-your-face Jesus; atone for your supposed “sins” and whatnot.

director statement:
As interesting as the film itself is the industry-redefining manner VESTIGES was produced. Singing Bridge Pictures, the production company that made VESTIGES, is a non-profit offshoot of a public access TV station in western Massachusetts – ChicopeeTV. A traditional public access TV station, ChicopeeTV offers community training coursework for use of our studio and video equipment. After years of offering these trainings, station staff began to notice that trained community members seldom came back. Through conversations both internally and with the community members we’d trained, we realized…they were all daunted at the prospects of making something alone – and couldn’t get friends to volunteer to produce anything with them.

An experimental idea was born: “Let’s bring in some community members and start a mock writer’s room, break a story idea and hammer out beats…then bring in community members and train them on the roles of a professional film set.” We got 15 community members on board, got the Mayor’s office for the city supportive of the project, and started training the community members, 1 on 1, one at a time…on how to do the crew position they’d been assigned. We had two three-hour trainings with each crew member to orient them with the pieces of gear they’d be responsible for operating during the shoot: how to load into a set, how to pack out, how to operate and solve problems. After months of that, we brought all the individuals together for a fake 3-hour shoot to work together as a team and learn real-world set etiquette. So for all practical purposes (despite most of our crew being adults), ours is a student film! We wrote a grant to the Chicopee Cultural Council to pay to rent a location, and for materials for props and costume pieces.

Then we shot our movie – and these never-before-been-on-a-set novices crushed their roles. VESTIGES is the result. A grant-funded, grassroots-produced, community-supported project of professional Hollywood quality. We’re so proud of our cast and crew that we’re beaming, and hope you’ll agree…what we’ve accomplished here is exceptional in every way!

Sarah E. Jenkins is a queer Appalachian artist & experimental animator from central Pennsylvania. She is an Assistant Professor of Animation, Creative Arts & Visual Culture at Hampshire College.
Their recent moving image work explores extraction, hidden labors, and disappearance via in-studio and site-responsive stop motion animation.
Jenkins’ work has been exhibited at the ICA Boston, Emerson Contemporary, Buffalo AKG Museum, and the Torrance Art Museum. Last year, there was a screening retrospective of Jenkins’ moving image work for the Ciné Culture Series at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Their films have recently screened with GRRL HAUS Cinema, Boston Underground Film Festival, and the Ann Arbor Film Festival.
Jenkins’ site-responsive project Slate Lines was recently installed as a 6 month solo exhibition at the Boston Children’s Museum. Their work is included in the forthcoming book Queering Appalachia’s Visual History: A Collection of Queer Appalachian Photographers, from the University of Kentucky Press.
For the last few months, Jenkins has been collaborating with her grandma, Donna L. Jenkins, as they make a quilt by mailing squares back and forth between Western Mass and Central PA.

The speaker grew up in a community of comrades reciting Berthold Brecht in Hindi—on the roadside, at the chai stall—“Will there be singing in the dark times? Yes, there will be singing, about the dark times.” Opening views of the moon through New England’s roadside trees transport the speaker inside a memory. Inside this memory he is grounded in the clarity of community. Even beset by centuries-old stigma and contemporary police violence, here, he knows who he is—“you say we are born criminals. We say we are born artists.”

The point of view returns to the coldness of the speaker’s current context. For a time, the only figures are shadow people experienced in the hurry of transit.

The film culminates in the speaker finding his ground again within a new community during the street protests and public poetry performances following the murder of George Floyd. A shared experience of responding to police violence, though not the same, shares a rhythm that allows for a grounding recognition. Across geography, the character of the film is the collectivities, whose resilience is in its dispersal and in the collective experience of surviving.

Born into one of India’s “Denotified and Nomadic Tribes” or “DNT” communities, Abhi identifies as a twice-colonized person — first by the label of inborn criminality applied by the British at the height of their colonial power, and second by the ongoing stigma wielded by a mainstream Indian society still ruled by caste and class hierarchy. Drawing from his upbringing in political street theater, Abhi sees cinema as an important ground for an ever- evolving decolonizing practice. Abhi has over a decade’s experience in documentary editing with some of India’s most respected and daring socio-political filmmakers, including Anand Patwardhan, Dakxin Chhara and Nakul Singh Sawhney. He has worked on documentary and fiction films. Since coming to the US, Abhi’s credits have included Trevor Noah’s Turning Point series for MSNBC and Peacock TV, the World Channel at GBH Boston and PBS, Untold: Netflix, Black Voters Matter documentary among other independent documentary projects.

director statement:
I come from a marginalized nomadic tribal community in India known as ‘Chhara’. We are one of 200 nomadic tribes labeled ‘Born Criminals’ by the British law (see the ‘Criminals Tribe Act’ of 1871). Like most people in my community, I knew little about our history until members of my community who called themselves ‘Budhan Theatre’ brought theater performances to our streets. Budhan used the improvisational, participatory street theater form to counter the stigma still attached to us because of the ‘Criminal Tribes’ label. I joined Budhan Theatre when I was fourteen and experienced the political power of art and transformative potential for individuals and communities.

As with the street theater I grew up in, Documentary filmmaking for me is collaborative and participatory. From the beginning, I was trained by my mentors to observe people deeply and to document for documentation’s sake. This results in a story emerging organically from the people involved, rather than from the filmmaker down. I experienced filmmaking as something within the community, collaborative with the other members of Budhan Theater who were also becoming filmmakers. Even when I was not working within my community, I approached subsequent films in the same way, as a collaborator rather than a ‘filmmaker’. Now that I have relocated to the US, this is even more the case.

“I am grass” is my most personal film. It interweaves the Hindi poetry (including poets from all over the world translated into Hindi) of my childhood and youth with the blurred and rushing landscapes of my first year in New England. The film culminates in me finding my ground again within my new community during the street protests and public poetry performances following the murder of George Floyd. The poems that were the heartbeat of Budhan Theatre, of all of our lives at home in Chharanagar, are not replaced by something more recent or more American. Rather, they create a musical round that flows through my experiences, both of the present and of memories. My experiences of police violence, harassment, and discrimination in India are not the same as many Black Americans’ experiences of police violence in the US. Yet, like the poems, there is a shared rhythm of these experiences that allows us to feel recognition in each other’s experiences.

Anne Ciecko is a maker, writer, and educator based in Amherst, Massachusetts, USA. Her poetry films and short experimental works have received official selection at festivals in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, England, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, United States and Wales.

director statement:
My layered hybrid film/video works connect original poetry and music with reflexive explorations of culture, nature, humanity, and survival. They explore a marriage between digital media convergence and the vitality of hand-making, during tumultuous times.

Maria Servellón is an award-winning multimedia artist, filmmaker, and educator from Boston, MA. Her expertise spans film, new media, projection, installation, photography, and design. Using a synesthetic approach that integrates sensory experiences and storytelling, Maria’s work delves into the interplay between art, music, and dance in shaping self-identity.

Maria’s creative projects have reached audiences locally and internationally, with screenings and exhibitions in Massachusetts, New York, California, Oregon, the UK, and Mexico. Highlights of her work include the magic-realist short film Hyphen (2018); projection designs for Company One’s Black Super Hero Magic Mama (2022) and The Interrobangers (2024 Elliot Norton Award nomination for “Best Scenic Design”); and the immersive installation Hibiskiss (2022), showcasing the breadth of her creative work.

Her contributions to the arts have earned significant recognition, including being named a “Latina Leader” by Amplify Latinx, an “Outstanding Young Leader” by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, and one of WBUR’s “The Makers”. She has also received honors, grants, fellowships, and residencies from the Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts & Culture, Mass MoCA, Boston Arts & Business Council, and other prominent organizations. Maria holds a BA in Studio Art from UMass Boston, an MFA in Film and Media Art from Emerson College, and has taught at Emerson College, MassArt, Northeastern University, and UMass Boston.

director statement:
I am a visual explorer and storyteller who uses film, new media, design, music, and dance to express truths and possibilities. My approach blends experimental and narrative techniques to craft authentic narratives and immersive experiences. Through my work, I seek to satiate my curiosity about the world and unravel my connection to it.

My artwork is a conscious and intuitive exploration of intersectional identity, utilizing elements of magic realism. Through abstract and archival visuals, I pay a color-rich homage to the fluidity of culture, gender, history, memories, and dreams.

My artistic journey aims to transcend established norms existing in both the physical and digital spheres. These realizations aim to bridge a connection between myself and the audience, forging a mutual path of discovery and understanding.

Victoria Roccaforte is a Western Massachusetts–based writer, director, and photographer, originally from Texas and Louisiana. She’s worked behind the scenes on sets, written and directed her own short films and music videos, and has a career capturing social content for brands and production companies. Her favorite kinds of films often feature conversation as plot, the passage of time, the ‘80s, impermanent connections, and lesbians. When she’s not writing, on set, or talking about film online, you can usually find her curled up with her big orange cat, Billy.

Brittany Severance is an award winning disabled filmmaker and educator based out of Worcester, Massachusetts. You’ll often find her behind a camera, whether as the director, director of photography, or as a set photographer. Her work explores themes of identity, perception, memory, and relationships, creating projects that often reflect on domestic and daily life.

Severance’s photography and short films have shown in film festivals, museums, and galleries such as the Women’s International Film and Arts Festival, the Massachusetts Independent Film Festival, the Texas Short Film Festival, the Worcester Art Museum, the Fitchburg Art Museum, the Danforth Art Museum, and the New Britain Museum of American Art among others.

Currently she is an Assistant Professor of Communication at Worcester State University teaching video production, screenwriting, and film studies courses.

Herman E. Servatius is a filmmaker creating projects primarily in the New England region in addition to various international collaborations. He enjoys telling unique stories (especially those with a twist), incorporating hidden meanings into his work, and forging bonds with fellow artists during the filmmaking process. While Servatius strives to work on a variety of projects, both narrative and documentary, he is currently focused on independent shorts. His passion for storytelling includes a special fondness for enabling others to present their own narratives – and for finding any opportunity to tell a good joke.

Servatius achieved his Masters in Civic Media from Emerson College. In addition to other media endeavors, such as writing, composing, and digitizing film/analog footage, He enjoys various sporting activities as a viewer, official, and participant. These activities have allowed him to travel the world in pursuit of telling new stories and preserving old history. Currently, Servatius works as an Adjunct Professor of Communication at Worcester State University, teaching courses on Media Writing, Public Speaking, and Digital Storytelling.

director statement:
Periphery explores the idea that there is a power and an importance of place. Spaces can be imbued with the quality of comfort which often leads to feelings of nostalgia. Brittany was inspired by her own childhood memories of enjoying her time at the playground across the street from her home at the time before she moved at the end of third grade. The playground and park selected for this film is one that closely resembles it, not too far away from where she grew up.

We are both inspired by chance encounters; we have had numerous occasions where we randomly run into people we met years ago in unexpected places who remember us. The film also centers around perceptions of memory and how truly subjective they are for everyone. It can be hard to see beyond our own experiences. There is power in sharing a collective memory. However, we can often feel alone on our journey. Throughout different stages of our lives, people come and go. In the search for connection, we hope that we leave a positive impact and will be remembered. Taylor is skeptical to believe that he made an impression while he lived in Morningdale during some of his most formative years. Jordan’s curiosity and willingness to connect with Taylor, presumably a stranger, allows him to have a way to voice his thoughts out loud.