Saturday, August 29

Lonely Seal International Film, Screenplay and Music Festival / Saturday, August 29

10:00 AM-10:55 AM Writers Block Strategy Session [Block 5]

Lonely Seal founder Hammad Zaidi leads a seminar on career strategy, financing, packaging, and development tailored for screenwriters, but applicable for all creators. This session is meant to equip you with tools to accelerate your career and get your project moving toward the heights it deserves.

11:00 PM-12:30 PM WIFVNE Showcase [Block 6]

The Guy, the Girl, and the Guilded Goat (USA 11:11) A couple attends an art fundraiser to find the perfect piece for their new place —only to discover that their tastes do not align. Hanging on the walls of the contemporary art gallery, a sentient painting withstands a long day of critiques as it waits for its future owner to take it home.

Join The Club (USA 9:56) A grieving teen acts out and is forced to join her high school’s drama club, where she finds herself among a group of endearing misfits.

Late Fall (USA 17:30) In a working-class Boston apartment, a toddler’s demands are pulling two new parents under. Tina carries the weight of everything, certain she’s the only one holding it together. Danny retreats into books, searching for a connection he can’t find at home. Neither can see what the other is carrying or why.

FRANKSLIST (USA 14:19) A simple interview spirals into a nightmare of bizarre encounters and escalating chaos.

Italian Movie (USA 8:38) At an Italian backyard BBQ outside of Boston, a tight-knit family must deal with outsiders that threaten their status quo.

Sever (USA 10:50) When a pregnant woman fleeing an abusive husband hides in her grandmother’s farmhouse, a childhood fairytale forces her to confront a legacy of violence.

So You Want To Steal a Kidney (USA 14:38) Peaches has a serious gambling problem. When neighborhood bookie Jimmy threatens to kill her if she won’t pay up, a true-crime TV show shows her a solution: She could steal a kidney and sell it on the black market! And she’s got the perfect guy, her old pal, the ever-gullible Butchie.

1:00 PM-3:15 PM Sports Showcase [Block 8]

Kicking Toward Tomorrow (South Korea 30:00) A recreational soccer team run by a small Christian church — David and Goliath FC. For the team’s star player, Dongchan, soccer isn’t just a hobby — it’s his entire life. Fueled by an unrelenting desire to win, Dongchan throws himself into rough challenges and risky tackles without hesitation.

Untouchable (USA 17:59) Roxanne is a fencing champion-turned-coach who was forced to retire too young. Her student, Miles, dreams of achieving glory in the NCAA, egged on by his overbearing father, Harvey. When Miles is waitlisted by his dream school, tension brews amongst the three of them.

Body of Work (USA 24:34) Eric Anfinson, whose life-changing high school spinal cord injury redirected his life into an extraordinary journey of recovery and self-discovery, and the creation of over 700 paintings.

Greetings from New England (USA 1:00:00) This rare tale follows Charlie Johnson, Jon Cegielski, and the crew of New England Stone Lifting (NESL) on a first-of-its-kind multi-day, multi-state stone-lifting tour.

3:30 PM-4:50 PM Feature Documentary Showcase [Block 9]

Detroit and Me (USA 1:19:32) Two stories, worlds apart, all through the eyes of a former Romanian immigrant returning to the city at the 20th anniversary of his immigration to America.

5:00 PM-6:00 PM Heros Showcase [Block 9]

Bombs to Booze (USA 38:59) * North American Festival Premiere* Mike Girard has survived things most people only see in the movies, including digging a live pressure-cooker bomb out of the dirt in Afghanistan and disarming it. Instead of leaving the defused Improvised Explosive Device (IED) behind, he turns it into a still and makes his first batch of moonshine. Back home in Colorado, his newfound passion for distilling turns into a loved business. But when the memories he’s outrunning catch up, he’s forced to confront a simple truth: surviving isn’t the same as living.

7:00 PM-8:40 Local Showcase [Block 10]

Michael Solace (USA 14:00) A screenwriter finds himself on a surreal odyssey where he wrestles with selling his soul and his script.

We Need to Talk (USA 24:13) Kayla enlists the help of her hacker friend Jared when she suspects her boyfriend is having an affair.

Redraft (USA 20:00) A reclusive but highly regarded television writer is taken hostage in his remote home by three crazed fans of his critically acclaimed television show. They demand that their hostage write a new ending for the show that’s more to their liking… or else.

Proxy (USA 14:51) Clyde and his AI girlfriend, Alora, excitedly try a new service that installs Alora into a real, live, human body. But when they find out where the bodies come from, things become deadly serious.

Shift (USA 8:28) Alone in the wilderness, a resilient forest ranger faces a sinister presence stalking her through the night, testing her resolve and sanity in a chilling battle for survival.

Vestiges (USA 14:56) A young artist comes home to a mysterious gift on her front porch…the latest of many. When she opens the newest box, she finds a camera that’s missing from her own closet. As she tries to figure out who is giving her these gifts, she soon realizes it may not be a person at all…but something sinister.