WFF2025 Film Guide

Haunted by the ghosts of Moby Dick and the memory of all those lost to the opiate epidemic, A PHANTOM SONG takes us down to “the crossroads" where the past and future collide in a dramatic struggle for the soul of a long-abandoned theater and its surrounding community. In a blues opera cast directly from the recovery, reentry, and unhoused community, playwright and advocate Michael Gorman and his "Phantoms" create an inspiring chorus of faces and voices that are often unseen and unheard to confront the bias and resistance that often lead to the destructive power of stigma.

There is an old house, surrounded by a dense forest, set in the middle of a vast lake. One can find no way into or out of the property, except by boat, and there is no boat to speak of. Beyond the lake, there are no signs of human life: no sounds of distant trains, no emissions coming from factories, no smoke wafting from far away chimneys and no church bells sustaining notes during evensong. Within this house there are six children of varying years. They were brought to the property by their parents to be kept safe from a deadly pandemic that has swept the world. However, years of isolation has begun to affect the children. Disagreements sprout out of nothing and nowhere. Until finally, their paradise is on the verge of destruction.

A mystical being receives the dreams of Black children via a mysterious phone number. The Dream Collector, the dashing “Honk-Shoo Hero,” does what he can to protect them from the forces that seek to destroy them. If you have a dream worth sharing, please call the Dream Collector’s hotline at 971-266-0341 to share it anonymously. This film is supported by a grant by Oregon Film. Visit https://oregonfilm.org/ for more information.

Anemone is a modern mermaid. Every night, she sings at a bar, seduces a man and invites him over to her place, where she kills him. Her seven roommates have the same routine, as they all share the same mission: ridding the world of as many cishet men as possible, by killing them, one by one.

Music video for the song "Ayala" by Yehudit Ravitz, based on the illustrations of the singer. The gazelle wanders around the house from the coffee table to the music studio. The gazelle is the song,that writes itself. Yehudit Ravitz is an Israeli cultural icon - she has created the soundtrack of our lives, being the most beloved, well-known, and admired singer in the country for over five decades.

The music video for Allie Young's "Back and Forth" - filmed over the course of two days in Belgrade, Serbia, forged in blues and reds, dredged in silk and smoke and glass.

Tony has just turned 26 and is feeling blue ... that is until he follows his mysterious neighbors through a mystical closet and onto a dance floor where you never have to grow up.

Right before the opening ceremony of the newly opened Ilsung Art Museum, the museum director says that the pig’s head on the ceremonial table is not smiling. A member of the museum staff must find the best smiling pig head, while battling his nervous breakdown.

In the 1960s, a Korean boy (16), kidnapped and assaulted at a juvenile center on a remote island, must escape with his rival to survive.

On their 25th wedding anniversary, a bickering couple is given one day to do something they haven’t done in 25 years – work on their marriage.

The girl draws a circle on the ground. Passersby step into it, one by one. Soon the circle is full of people, struggling to stay within. Once the girl returns and erases the circle, people start heading their way.

10 years after people have stopped dying, Florian, a self destructive porn star, tries desperately to understand the point of life after his twin sister announces her pregnancy.

Ana, a young Filipina filmmaker, shoots a re-enactment of a fight she once had with her mother - a fight brought on by mutual refusals to communicate. Spurred on by the obsessive need for perfection, Ana “fixes” the fight by rewriting every veiled insult into a chance for forgiveness. As her perfect story diverges further from the reality of what happened, she begins to realise what her mom has been trying to say all along.

A man is digging a clandestine grave in the middle of the forest at night when he is suddenly discovered.

DREAMFUL is a short documentary that explores life and death through the lens of ease and courage, celebrating the simplicity and beauty of existence. The film follows 80-year-old Persian art collector Farhad, who embarks on a grand project to create an art island in Greece with his friend, artist Fereydoun Ave. Set on the small island of Chiliomodi, owned by the St. John Monastery of Patmos, Farhad hopes to make the island a destination for pilgrims and artists. The documentary captures their enthusiasm and reflections on life’s lessons, focusing on peace, exile, and the joy of pursuing dreams despite age and challenges.

ENCOURAGED - BUILDING THE FUTURE follows Red Bull BMX athlete Courage Adams as he comes good on a promise he made five years prior to the Lagos BMX crew, to help them build Nigeria’s first ever skatepark. Courage was born in Benin, Nigeria but immigrated to Spain as a young child. At age 12, he started riding BMX and by the age of 16 he’d turned pro, taken the BMX world by storm, and made the most of his parents bold move. Now, he returns to his roots in Nigeria, with an eclectic cast of volunteers to realize this shared dream and create a path for the Lagos BMX crew to follow in his footsteps. This film was funded by Red Bull Media House.

ES LA VIDA is stories of overcoming, of effort and hope, of how the relationship between man and horse exists, are possible and healthy both physically and mentally. Overcoming trauma, alleviating pain, recovering mobility - the power of horses over people is incredible and the bonds that are created are unbreakable. But what if it were a horse that also needed the help of a human being?

Things that we thought were gone may not truly leave us – perhaps they are still with us somehow. Life is full of ups and downs and Death is a natural part of life. This story inspires us to rethink our life and treasure every moment we have, just like the two inseparable little cats enjoying their life and experiencing the grief of death.

FIGHTING BACK follows Jessica Ng, a first-generation Hong Kong-Chinese American and internationally recognized Muay Thai fighter. Her self-defense classes empower Asian American and Pacific Islander women at a time of an alarming rise of Anti-Asian hate crimes in New York City in recent years. FIGHTING BACK explores themes of love, energy and growth as Jessica navigates her identity, public responsibilities and newfound motherhood.

This short student documentary is a crossed portrait of two transgender women working on their voices to make them sound more feminine and to match the new people they have become. One is 67 year-old Bernie Wagenblast, one of New York’s most famous voices. She is one of the male subway voices, heard by millions of commuters every day and feels comfortable with both of her voices. The other is 25 years-old Jade Stephan, who feels that her "old voice is something that she treasures as a thing she will not be bringing out for company". She is currently seeing a voice therapist to help her work on her voice. This film explores their relationship to their voices and how voices can be a factor of integration into society.

Caught between the fiery pressures of an upcoming dance performance and holiday celebrations, Ellen navigates the fall out of her parents' divorce.

FLOCKY is an animated allegory exploring the evolving bond between a mother and her unborn child. Set against a magical landscape of cold tones, the film artfully explores the journey of pregnancy. The story unfolds through the mother's evolving visions at each stage of pregnancy, providing insight into her anticipation of their future together. Each scene metaphorically represents a moment in pregnancy, ranging from a symbolic portrayal of conception in the sky to the heartbreaking realization of Flocky's absence. Embarking on this poignant journey, a melancholic landscape and haunting soundtrack evoke the profound emotional depth of Flocky’s existence—and eventual disappearance.

Created and directed by Jasia Ka, GIRLS AREN’T FUNNY is a ground-breaking drama-comedy series that interweaves the hilarious, powerful stories of three incredible young women and non-binary comedians in NYC as they take on the male-dominated comedy industry. The series is based on real experiences and features an all star cast of real-life comedians. The pilot episode introduces Amamah as she attempts to balance her blossoming comedy career and her conservative Muslim Pakistani family’s expectations back at home on Long Island.

GIRLS IN TROUBLE: THE SERIES is an indie web episodic created by two Alicia’s - musician/writer Alicia Jo Rabins and director/editor Alicia J. Rose - produced by Lara Cuddy. After their successful collaboration on feature film A KADDISH FOR BERNIE MADOFF, the team now brings their focus to stories of Biblical women, expanding Rabins' acclaimed song cycle into a series of snappy storytelling episodes. In each episode, Rabins takes the viewer on a journey into a Biblical woman's story through a feminist diasporic lens, visits scholars and artists to get their take on the story, and celebrates the resilience and strength of these ancient characters. Episode 1 “Vashti” features the rebellious antihero of the Purim story, Queen Vashti.

When your kid tells you there's someone in his room, you might want to listen.