It is an honor and a privilege to bring you the worldwide virtual premiere of the 6th Annual Stage 32 Short Film Program! Below you will find nine amazing short films to watch that were carefully curated by Stage 32's panel of leading industry executives. Our esteemed panel of judges is made up of top producers, managers, development executives, and Oscar-winning filmmakers.

Our winning filmmakers hail from all over the world, and we could not be more excited to share their undeniable talents with you. We were proud to screen these films at the Oscar-qualifying Hollyshorts Film Festival in Hollywood, California last fall. Now, we're even more proud to showcase today's international virtual premiere to all of the development executives, agents, managers and agents that work with us.

Since 2016, the Stage 32 Short Film Contest has served as an unparalleled incubator for finding talented filmmakers and helping them forge connections that make their careers blossom. Our past finalists have gone on to be signed by Paradigm, APA, Gersh, Verve, Echo Lake, Circle of Confusion and more!

Congratulations to all the 6th Annual Short Film Contest winners, we cannot wait to see where your talents take you.

These films are only available for viewing Monday 3/21/22 - Friday 3/25/22

Executives - please get in contact with Amanda Toney, Jason Mirch or Richard Botto for introductions.

The 6th Annual Stage 32 Short Film Program

Grand Prize Winner

ADA by Julie Bruns & Steven Kammerer

ANGEL - by Dicky Chalmers

BABY'S PHONEY FRIEND - by Brianne Berkson & Miguel Gluckstern

INVISIBLES (KAUNAPAWA) - by Joel Haikali

RAG - by Yuval Sussler

TALENTLESS - by Jeff Perreca

THE PASSPORT - by Olivier Dressen

THE PLUMBER - by Cate Carson

WHATEVER IT TAKES - by David Kelly Crow

Grand Prize Winner: ADA

London, England. 1851. Dying of cancer and facing down early Victorian sexism, brilliant mathematician Ada Lovelace risks a high stakes gamble to raise the money needed to complete her life's object, the worlds first computer.

Julie Bruns - Vancouver, Canada

Writer/Actor, "Ada"

Born in the Great White North, the Yukon Territories of Canada, Julie first took the stage at four years old for a performance of I'm a Little Teapot. Her passion for the performing arts was born and she hasn't looked back. Much of her childhood was spent in Baja California, Mexico where she learned to speak Spanish fluently and fed her growing love of cinema with a series of self-directed short films. She eventually found her way to Vancouver, Canada to start a career in film and TV, performing in over 30 independent films before making her TV debut in Untold Stories of the ER's episode 'Dr. Robot', airing on TLC and Discovery Life.

She continued her training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) in London, England, and has refined her craft under the tutelage of Tom Todoroff, Anthony Meindl, Ben Ratner and Jeb Beach.

Her passion for storytelling led her to don the director's cap in five independent films to date, including Influenced and Sense Memory. She then combined her acting and directing chops, stepping both in front of and behind the camera in the comedy-skit Audition Nerves and then in the eco-horror short The Purgamentum.

In 2019, she starred as forgotten 19th-century genius mathematician Ada Byron King, Countess of Lovelace in the award-winning Crazy8s production of Ada, which she also co-wrote and co-produced. She has spoken in a number of interviews about the importance of centering Ada as the world's first computer programmer while promoting women in STEM.

Out on the international festival & awards circuit, Julie has won 4 Best Actress Awards, has received 5 other Best Actress nominations, and has won a Best Director award.

Steven Kammerer - Vancouver, Canada

Director, "Ada"

Steven Kammerer is an award winning filmmaker based in Vancouver, Canada. He has been nominated 6 times and won 2 awards for Best Director. His film "Ada" (2019) has garnered over 50 nominations on the festival circuit, with 19 wins including 5 wins for Best Short Film. "The Purgamentum" (2019), which he co-wrote & co-directed, has screened on SuperChannel and Apple TV. As a storyteller he passionatly explores the "historical imagination", in which the past is viewed as a thing to be continually re-jigged, reconstituting our origin myths in the search for alternative modernities. A case in point is "Ada", which returns the brilliant 19th century female mathematician, daughter of the poet Byron, to her rightful place at the origin of our computer age.

THE PASSPORT

A man wakes up bruised and bloodied in a large city with no memory. As he begins to discover what happened to him the story takes a violent turn into the unexpected as he begins to discover who he really is.

Olivier Dressen - Shanghai, China

Writer/Director, "The Passport"

Olivier is a Belgian director, cinematographer, and photographer based between Shanghai and Los Angeles. He combines different techniques such as; photography, drawing, motion design, and video. His primary focus is character development and storytelling. Olivier's work includes collaborations as a creative director with considerable talents such as Kobe Bryant and Sophie Marceau and partnerships with several European and Asian celebrities.

His most recent short film, The Passport, recently received 62 nominations worldwide with sixteen wins; best short drama, best short film, best foreign director, best director, best actor, best thriller, crime thriller, two times best editing, best VFX...Oliver's work has also received the silver award at Cannes and the Promaxbda bronze award in Los Angeles. Along with his artistic practice, Olivier has collaborated with major brands such as Converse, Nike, Porsche, Elle magazine, and many more. With Adobe Creative Cloud, Olivier became their brand ambassador in 2017 with his photography series Girl Perfected. In 2018 Olivier endorsed Fuji Film's newest camera by shooting an entire music video in Los Angeles with its unreleased product. A dream come true with his first art show in Los Angeles and his toy series photography with fashion influencer Alex Costa, a collaboration with Stranger Thing's props team for his art installation and articles featured in LA Weekly and Hollywood reporter.

TALENTLESS

When a new procedure is invented that can take one person's talent and implant it into someone else, a struggling artist must decide if she should continue pursuing her dreams or sell her talent to the highest bidder.

Jeff Perreca - Los Angeles, California, USA

Writer/Director, "Talentless"

Jeff Perreca specializes in telling stories that are high concept, but also high character. Whether it’s laughter, fear, or a few tears, his work always aims to elicit emotion. He has a background in advertising where he worked as a writer/creative director for over fifteen years. Jeff has been a part of countless productions for some of the world’s biggest brands, like Chevy, Honda, U.S. Navy and Los Angeles Tourism.

He developed a TV Show with Blumhouse TV and Jennifer Lopez’s Nuyorican Productions. His pilot “Graphic” was named as a finalist in the trackingb.com TV Script Contest and the Grand Prize Winner of the WeScreenplay TV Contest. He co-wrote a feature that was named to the 2018 Hit List. That same year he was also named to the Young and Hungry list. In 2019, Jeff made his directorial debut with the short film, “Talentless”. It was named a winner of Stage32’s Short film contest, and debuted at Dances with Films. It also played in academy-qualifying festivals like HollyShorts and Raindance. Most recently, Jeff was selected as a directing fellow for BlackMagic Collective’s First Frame Initiative.

BABY'S PHONEY FRIEND

Afraid of losing Mama and Papa to Phoney's evil forces, Baby wages war, vowing to destroy her enemy once and for all.

Brianne Berkson & Miguel Gluckstern (Briguel) - New York City, USA

Writers, Directors, Producers, Editors, & Composers, "Baby's Phoney Friend"

From the notes in a musical score to those given on a script or a set, we put our heart and soul into everything we do, developing and delivering powerful stories that drive emotional impact. Brianne Berkson, born in NYC and Miguel Gluckstern, born in Germany and raised in Spain, are BriGuel; we met while directing / producing a short film "Fly Away," and haven't left each other's side since. We celebrate and inspire diversity every day, bringing together different cultures, genres and styles through the most powerful and inspiring mediums in the world: film and music.

Since releasing our music in 2018, we've garnered huge recognition through press outlets and reached over 2 Million streams. In 2020 / 2021 our doc-short film and song The Difference screened at Tribeca Film Festival and continues to screen at 30+ festivals globally. In 2021 we released our comedic short film Baby's Phoney Friend, written / directed / produced / edited during quarantine with a skeleton crew as well as a 6 track EP of the same name with all songs set to the film's soundtrack, which we also composed. In addition to producing our own music and film, we operate a full service Production company BriGuel that services clients with their film and music needs. We're currently developing "Harmonize," a docuseries fusing music, art and social activism; producing "Alchemizing Auschwitz" a documentary feature filmed in the US, Poland and Austria; delivering impactful projects for clients; finalizing an EP; and raising our 2 beautiful daughters in NY.

ANGEL

When a girl goes back to a guy’s house following a dating app hook-up, she becomes suspicious of his true intentions after discovering his obsession with cooking ramen broth, and a strange AI digital assistant called Angel.

Dicky Chalmers - Taipei, Taiwan

Writer/Director, "Angel"

Dicky Chalmers is a screenwriter and film director from the UK. He grew up in Dubai, was educated at Oxford, studied film in Tokyo, and for the past 20 years has been directing films and commercials throughout Asia. This time spent immersed in different cultures features prominently in his frequently dark and satirical work that delights in exploring how technology affects human relationships and society as a whole. His short films ANGEL and SELFIE have won awards, and have screened at major festivals worldwide, including Austin, Raindance, HollyShorts, and Golden Horse. In addition to his narrative work, Dicky also directs commercials and branded content for clients such as Cadillac, Toyota, Honda, Suzuki, Canon, Puma, and many more. He currently lives in Taipei, and is fluent in English, Japanese, and Chinese.

THE PLUMBER

As curfew approaches, an everyday heroine risks it all in a smuggling operation from Nazi-occupied Poland.

Cate Carson - Los Angeles, California, USA

Writer, Director, and DP, "The Plumber"

Cate's vast experiences with heroes and villains alike as a Detective & Military Intelligence Specialist, ignited her passion for directing/writing. She wields bold and atmospheric storytelling in suspense thrillers and genre-blending films, with a future aimed at blockbusters with iconic characters. She has award-winning feature screenplays and short films, including the national competition Lionsgate short “Masque,” which also earned her a WIF directing award at the Crystal & Lucy’s and had over 3 million views. She was an HBO's Project Greenlight finalist and a director selectee for the Alliance of Women Directors Short Film Program grant, “Of Mine”, which premiered at Disney Studios in 2018.

Her latest film, “The Plumber” is a several best of fest/best director winner, has screened at three Oscar-qualifying festivals so far, is a winner in the 6th annual Stage 32 short film contest, and earned her the Marlyn Mason award for new voices at Rhode Island Int'l Film Fest. In 2021, she was fortunate enough to be selected as 1 of 9 fellows in the “Future Directors of Studio Features Initiative” by Blackmagic Collective and will move forward in the Next Level: Feature Directors initiative for 2022.

INVISIBLES (Kaunapawa)

Two individuals run into each other at a low point in their lives and go on a journey of self-love and freedom. Traveling the majestic Namibian outback, landscape of the psyche of a post-Apartheid nation and theirs, they find their place.

Sophie Haikali - Okahandja, Namibia, Africa

Producer, "Invisibles"

Sophie is an award-winning Afro-German content producer and writer based in Namibia with a production company Joe Vision Production (JVP) in Namibia, Germany& Angola. Before joining JVP she worked on different projects across Africa in the area of media research allowing her to establish a great network of professionals on the continent. This helps her in film as well as in the Creative Industry Guide initiative JVP launched. Sophie has several projects in development at different stages in different countries from series to feature film projects.

Joel Haikali - Namibia, Africa

Director, "Invisibles"

Joel Haikali is an award winning Namibian filmmaker, scholar and creative entrepreneur who writes and directs most of his movies from acclaimed short films, documentaries and to feature films. In the past 10 years he has established himself as a change maker in the African

creative industry. Joel holds a Master degree in film and is actively involved in the management of the film and creative industry as the Board Chairperson of the Namibia Film Commission"

WHATEVER IT TAKES

Marcus is an average guy unwillingly thrust into his city's criminal underbelly. With only his pure athleticism and wits, he does what is necessary to get out of a dangerous situation from three men set on ending his life.

David Kelly Crow - Princeton, New Jersey

Producer, "Whatever it Takes"

David Kelly Crow is a storyteller based in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. A producer, DP and commercial photographer that loves the ideas, imagination, process and camaraderie of creating and bringing a story to the surface and onto the screen. He has a background in advertising and editorial print and film.

Sean Michael Bradley

Director, "Whatever it Takes"

Sean Michael Bradley is an Actor, Stunt Performer, Writer and Director based in New York City. He is a member of both SAG-AFTRA and AEA, and has worked in Hollywood Film, Independent Film, Network TV, Cable TV, New Media, Regional Theatre and Off Off Broadway. He holds an MA with Honors from University College Dublin Ireland and a BFA from The University of the Arts.

John Martin

Producer, "Whatever it Takes"

John Martin is a producer, consultant, poet, and restless pair of hands located in Philadelphia, PA. Whatever It Takes (prod. 2019) represents John's entrance to the festival circuit, and he is grateful for the warm welcome.

RAG

Two immigrant women manage to escape a violent assault by white-supremacists, but when they learn about each other’s identity, they discover that overcoming their own prejudices might be their toughest challenge of the night.

Yuval Sussler - New York City, USA

Director, "Rag"

YUVAL SUSSLER is the writer, producer, editor and director of RAG.

Born in Buenos-Aires to a family of Jewish immigrants who had fled Eastern Europe, he relocated as a child from Argentina to Venezuela and later to Israel, where he started to work in film productions at age 16, during his summer break from school.

Since then, Yuval has worked in film, television and theater, on and off stage, in front and behind the camera, in countless productions around the world.

A graduate of the Nissan Nativ Acting Studio in Tel-Aviv, Yuval was invited to join the Haifa Theater as a resident actor. Several years later, he left Haifa to collaborate with choreographer Inbal Pinto, with whom he performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages and festivals, in over 20 countries. After a successful leg of shows in New York City, Yuval decided to make Manhattan his permanent base and give up performing in order to concentrate on writing and filmmaking.

In his work, Yuval draws from his personal experience and focuses on questions of immigration, nationalism and xenophobia. He is particularly interested in tackling issues of Antisemitism and Islamophobia, and in observing the impact of the conflict in the Middle-East on biased sentiments halfway across the world.

Currently, Yuval is working on a feature version of RAG, hoping to bring the film’s message and unique point of view to a wider audience.

Join us on Wednesday, March 23rd at 10am PT for an exclusive panel with these amazing filmmakers!

Emerging Voices in Filmmaking: Winners of the 6th Annual Stage 32 Short Film Program

Wednesday, March 23rd at 10am PT

CLICK HERE to Register for FREE

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