The 2023 Semifinalists Are:
CHAT by Kim Hornsby
Logline: A young woman who develops a flirtatious online relationship with a stranger soon discovers that nothing is what it seems and you’re never as safe as you think you are.
CHECKMATE FOR LIFE by Deborah Harris
Logline: A businessman learns the game of chess from his estranged father in an attempt to survive a dangerous plot designed to destroy his life.
DISCONNECTED by Robin Farmer & Michael Williams
Logline: A young techie learns Artificial Intelligence is no match for real human connection.
HELPER by Sage Wells
Logline: A young boy left alone to care for his brother during quarantine hides from his spying neighbor, but when he finds himself in trouble he must ask for help, finding it in an unlikely ally.
HOTWAVE by Jared Fembleaux
Logline: Four determined, queer teens trapped in a Los Angeles heatwave urgently conspire to raise funds by any means necessary for the biggest pool party of the summer.
JANUARY 14TH by La'Chris Jordan
Logline:A young couple’s anniversary takes a bittersweet turn when a police officer pulls the husband over on a questionable traffic stop. Inspired by true events.
JINX by Joseph Lee
Logline: PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR SHORT: When a young boy inherits his grandfather's ventriloquism dummy, its presence interferes with his grief.
KOREAN AMERICAN WITCHES SOCIETY by Jennifer Kim
Logline: Awkward Janie and her goth friend Minhee, the only Koreans in their rural Appalachian middle school, create a secret witchcraft society to try to save Janie's dad from cancer and make their own rules for surviving the seventh grade.
MEMENTO MORI by Jaime Stuart Creque
Logline: When Charon arrives in a limo instead of a ferryboat, McInerney isn't reluctant to leave behind a wasted life. But when Charon picks up another passenger, McInerney discovers that life can be worth fighting for.
NIGHT OF THE BRIDE by Virat Pal
Logline: A young woman’s cries for help fall on deaf ears as a family holds her hostage, desperate to get their only son married through whatever sinister means necessary.
NIÑO DE VIDRIO (CHILD OF GLASS) by Gerardo Maravilla
Logline: A lonely Mexican boy searches for someone to play with and finds an unlikely companion in the mountains of his small town.
OBSERVATION ONLY by Jeff Cochran
Logline: When a struggling father joins a project to observe the past, he finds himself facing an alternative reality in which his son may have never existed, forcing him to confront his fears about fatherhood.
ONE STAR by Jessica Jiji
Logline: When her famous husband ends their marriage, an aspiring actress desperate for fame has a meltdown in front of paparazzi that earns her a starring role as a bitter woman—which also threatens to become her lot in life.
OPTIONS by DA Everett
Logline: When Avery Ross, the CEO of a family run chemical company, is extorted on the eve of her company’s IPO, she must decide whether to go along with her father and do the unthinkable, or forge her own path forward.
OTHERSIDE by Kristen Buckels
Logline: In the midst of escaping an abusive relationship a woman finds the help of an unlikely stranger in an epic fever dream to find faith in herself again.
PICTURES ONLY by Charles Honeywood, Rachel Soland, & Kheirra Peggs
Logline: To stay independently thriving during the start of an economic downturn during the late 1950s, a 25 year old Arts Teacher & Socialite is given the opportunity to elevate her lifestyle and secure her family’s future.
PLEASE DON'T WATCH THIS YOU SHOULD REALLY GO OUTSIDE INSTEAD by Shaun Radecki
Logline: Against all odds, an intrepid ten-year-old scrambles to save her beloved fish from its broken tank. She broke it, though. Just to be clear. Totally her fault. 100%.
RETRIBUTION by Kate Chrisman
Logline: In this thriller short, two women meet for coffee and plan revenge on an abusive boyfriend.
SPICES WITH VICES by Debbie Castanha
Logline: A lost pair of Ray-Ban sunnies must escape a drawer of bickering spices before she's replaced.
THE ASWANG by Matthew Sucher
Logline: An agoraphobic woman who lives with her granddaughter gets rattled when a strange man comes knocking after a car accident. Thinking Death has finally come for her, tensions rise when they discover there may just be an ancient evil among them after all.
THE DATE by Jody Ellis
Logline: A woman accepts an invitation of a first date with a man she meets online, only to find it's not what she expected.
THE LAST HURRAH by Mia Weinberger
Logline: Emma and Hunter are breaking up. But not until they spend one last perfect day together.
UN VIOLON by JOANNE BELLEW
Logline: A young boy who is desperate to play violin in his grandfather's orchestra, must make his first performance his greatest when the man falls ill.
WADE IN THE WATER by Lynn Esta Goldman
Logline: When a couple of thieves on the run discover two children whose undocumented immigrant parents have been arrested by ICE hiding in their getaway van, they are forced to grapple with a moral choice.
WE ARE THE DEAD GIRLS by Kylie Boersma
Logline: Six young women murdered by serial killers question why we immortalize the men who do terrible things, rather than the women whose boundless potential they steal. Inspired by true stories.
Semifinalists
