Downstaged is a coming-of-age drama depicting women desperately seeking love and validation from men who, in turn, can’t even love or validate themselves. These lives suddenly intersect on a fateful night, catapulting forever changes. Viscerally explore our culture’s intrinsic patterns of toxic masculinity, self-doubt, and internalized homophobia where trauma is nurtured and pain is cyclical.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Project status: Development
Director/Producer: Ana-Julia Cavana
Producer/Director of Photography: Valentina Martinico

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A young Black basketball prodigy struggles with the burden of single-handedly saving his family from hardship on the night of the NBA draft.

Project type: Fiction Short
Director: Tom Glinkowski
Writer/"Pops": Shawn Williams
"Number One": Joseph David-Jones
Producer: Jillian Nordby, Sierra Oleson, Avery Chung-Melino
Cinematographer: Kenzen Takahashi

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Never before seen archival video reveals the untold story of an underground LGBTQ nightclub that became a political and creative center for a community besieged by AIDS and discrimination. As club owners Paul V. and Mr. Dan prepare for the Dragstrip 66 finale, patrons, staff, and celebrities reflect on their memories and impressions as the beloved nightclub comes to the end of its historic run.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director/Producer: Phil Scanlon
Co-director/Co-producer: Paul Vitagliano

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After having her bright and spunky spirit beaten down one too many times by her abusive husband, Earl, Frankie accidentally kills him. Her best friend Ava Mae helms the escape, and in their police chased mad dash to ditch the body, Earl transforms into a loveable zombie. Breaking up really IS hard to do... But one way or another, EARL’S GOTTA DIE.

Project type: Fiction Short
Writer/Director: Heather Shapiro
Writer/Co-Executive Producer: Amanda Hinkley
Producer: Faoileán Cosgrove

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In 1986, a spirited high school student attempts to find his long-lost father by setting off a device that sends him and a young diner server into a dangerous parallel world.

Project type: Fiction Short
Director: Travis Misenti
Producers: Hadrien Fages, Miriam Arghandiwal
Cinematographer: Dante Cheng

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A burned-out ICU nurse and a retired racehorse with an injury unexpectedly form a bond that leads to a new future for them both.

Project type: Fiction Short
Director: Annika Hylmo
Producer: Betsy Pollock

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Before Jeremy Lin and Yao Ming, there was Eun Jung Lee. EJ Lee, a Louisiana legend nicknamed the “Korean Magic Johnson of NCAA women’s basketball,” has been overlooked her entire career. But finally, at the age of 60, EJ receives her first opportunity to become a college head coach and lead an underdog team in West Texas.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director/Producer: Jason Rhee
Producer: Razi Jafri
Producer/Editor: Zoe Sua Cho
Co-Producer: Cindy Martin
Executive Producer: Brenda Robinson

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A POW aboard a roaming dieselpunk labor camp is cornered on his last day by a radical mycologist who claims to possess the secret to saving their war-ravaged world.

Project type: Fiction Short
Co-Writer/Co-Director: Benjamin Pierson
Co-Writer/Co-Director: Sascha Montgomery
Executive Producer: Salem Daniel
Line Producer: Brianna Fish
1st Assistant Director: Samuel Bear
Cinematographer: Daniel Kleen
 

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After being rescued by a charismatic vaquero on the streets of East LA, gay goth skater Santiago must put an end to closeted young love, leading to personal transformation and a newfound connection to familia.

A coming-of-age comedy with stylish edge, El Paisa bridges alternative Latinx subcultures to celebrate unifying notions of family, young love and Queer identity.

Project type: Fiction Short
Writer/Director/Producer: Daniel Eduvijes Carrera
Producer: Candi Guterres
Production Manager: Karla Legaspy
Director of Photography:Smokey Nelson
 

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El Tonto Por Cristo is the tale of an unlikely saint. A monk in a monastery on the coast of Texas embraces the life of a Holy Fool.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Director: Josh David Jordan
Producer: Jessica Marie Jordan
Cinematographer: Hutch Crane
Composer: Michael Paraskevas
Lead Actor: Matthew Posey

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Emerging Artists LA offers access to the film festival experience FREE to filmmakers and film aficionados alike. Submitting a film is free and attending the festival is free and that’s the way we’d like to keep it!

Project type: Festival
Curator/Program Director: Erica Mountain
Curator/Art Director: Carla Harris

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A self-conscious high school senior navigates first love and the uncertainty of her athletic ambitions all while trying to make it to graduation.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Writer/Director: Jackie Mahoney
Producer: Annie Huang, Paulina Jaskiewicz

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Asher (she/they, late 20s, Chinese American) spends her last night in Shanghai with Hip Hop dance teacher Tori (she/her, late 20s, native Chinese). Their attraction towards each other grows as the night progresses. But Asher knows that it’s unlikely they will see each other again after her return to Los Angeles.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Writer/Director: Shan Jiang
Co-Writer: Ashley Jiang
Producers: Jane Zheng, Kennie Zhou
Co-Producer: Sol Ye

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A Black high schooler prepares for senior picture day but insecurities and a tense friendship start to transform her into something abnormal.

Project type: Fiction Short
Writer/Director/Producer: Alexander Casimir
Writer: Mackenzie Chang Russell
Producers: Mackenzie Chang Russell & Lexi Notrica
Executive Producers: Lizzie Frankenthal & Jessica Carlson

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Max, a high school senior, has led his younger cousins through childhood; but as the summer after graduation winds down, his cousins have one last chance to tie him down in Illinois, forcing max to decide what's more important: his family or his future?

Project type: Fiction Short
Director/Writer: Cole Bacani
Producer: Lily Norris
Producer: Norrie Palmer
Executive Producer: Jason Y. Lee
Cinematographer: Brian M. Tang

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A young woman suffering from trauma-induced memory loss finds herself spiraling dangerously out of control as the impending anniversary of the event nears, threatening to destroy her carefully crafted veneer of normalcy, her relationships and even her life.

Project type: Fiction Short
Writer, Director, Producer: Christina Hulen
Producer:Staci Witt
Producer: Kim Turner
Producer: Lisa Crnic
Cinematographer: Nacia Schreiner
Production Designer: Andrew Hammer
Cast: Charlotte Rothwell
Cast: McKenna Slone
Cast: Michelle Clunie
Cast: Chopper Bernet
Cast: Rick Otto

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After losing his sister to a stray bullet in a gang-related shooting, societal pressures from his environment of Compton, California push Jeremiah to respond.

Project type: Fiction Short
Director/Writer: James Grisom
Producer: Letia Solomon
Co-Producer: Allison A. Waite
Co-Producer: LaDarius Torrey

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As the spectre of war grips us today, Rachael, a lonely puppet artist recreates the perilous trek of her mother from Burma to Bengal during WWII and survival in India.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director/Producer: Sourav Sarangi
Co-Producer: Humaira Bilkis, Miriam Chandy Menacherry

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Reality and artificial reality blur when a young girl begins to suspect that her father isn't her real father, but rather a paid actor.

Project type: Fiction Short
Project status: Development
Writer/Director: Kelly Yu
Producer: Ally Cheng
Producer: Connor Williams
Virtual Production Supervisor: Nhan Le
Production Designer: Shi Min Yong
Director of Photography:Philips Shum

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A film about fashion’s impact on the environment and the designer who’s doing something about it, “Fashion Reimagined” follows Amy Powney of London brand Mother of Pearl who decides at the height of her career that she can no longer participate in her industry’s destructive cycle. Instead, she sets off to produce a sustainable collection from field to finished garment, a pioneering journey across three continents that tests her strength and belief in humanity.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director/Producer: Becky Hutner
Director of Photography/Editor: Daniel Goetz

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