The 7th edition of the Lonely Wolf International Film Festival exhibits sophistication, growth, and maturity on both a logistical and thematic front.
Behind the scenes, with a record-high of submissions for any one single trimestrial virtual event of the festival’s so far, with 737 total audiovisual projects in-competition; an annual-scale pool of submissions critically deconstructed and reviewed in just four months by its global jury team digitally-led by Adrian Perez, former manager of regional marketing communications and asset management for the Disney Channels EMEA/UK and The Walt Disney Company.
LONELY WOLF FESTIVAL STATS
1. A pool of submissions that basks diversity, with Lonely Wolf’s jury extending their expertise and plethora of welcomed formats beyond motion pictures and screenplays, to podcasts, filmed theatre/live-recorded media, fashion films, and cult cinema.
2. The ratio of male to female to non-binary content creators this season amounts to 65: 30: 5; a record-high of 219 women filmmakers for any one single Lonely Wolf season (last Winter 2021’s season saw 142 female creators in the competition out of 484). Progress.
3. The ratio of domestic to international content creators ranges from 72 domestic submissions (10%) from the United Kingdom, 369 submissions (50%) from the United States, and 289 submissions (40%) from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and China.
A decline of submissions from the Russian Federation and Ukraine has hit the festival, but some student filmmakers from the Alexander Mitta Film School were resilient to contact the festival team, with the standout Russian student film DEJA VU (dir: Artur Matveev) and breathtaking Ukrainian documentary The Truck (dir: Viacheslav Merzlikin) both making the official selection.
A triumph for both artistic circles during the current war crisis.
4. 104 total audiovisual projects (15%) have been officially selected to be streamed for an exclusive 10-day window (29 April to 7 May).
5. This season’s festival trailer has a considerable paid media budget behind it to send the film programme into stratosphere and reach as big an audience as possible. Lonely Wolf’s record as of yet is a reach of 417,960 people for their Spring 2021 virtual film programme, this converted to around 3,883 official attendees + 10,691 total film streams for the 10-day window. This season promises just as big an audience, if not a new record. An official email account from Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment last year opted for a free pass via FilmFreeway; important industry attendees are to be expected and interesting conversations do spark from the festival’s virtual event for some of the top contenders of the season.
6. Link to this season’s festival trailer here.
LONELY WOLF FESTIVAL TRAILER
1. Lonely Wolf’s state-of-the-art, multi-DRM encrypted streamer pops-up again (Google Widevine DRM encryption, Apple Fairway DRM + members-only password protection).
2. Link to access the digital cinema + official selection here.
3. Free passes to unlock/watch the films can be obtained directly via the Lonely Wolf website here.
4. Another 248 total audiovisual projects (34%) made at least one of the official top 20 ranking spots in at least one award category (out of the 83 total categories that are hosted). Making one of the top 20 positions means that the project excelled in one of the production’s specific technical and/or artistic merits, leveraging it to the top 3% of all 737 projects from across the globe this season. An achievement to scream from the rooftops.
5. Making the top 10 positions is an extra achievement, for apart from an official award laurel to plaster over your work, the project qualifies to have the award nomination (or win) listed on IMDb here.
6. Link to this season’s competition results here.
ABOUT THE FILM PROGRAMME
Lonely Wolf’s latest curated film programme, sophistically-architected, quietly explosive, hangs us instantly over a psychosocial and existential precipice of identity, with invigorating titles whose infectiously empathic protagonists long for connection and freedom. Powerful thematic tensions embellished in exemplary narrative silence, stylistic hysteria, and irresistibly fresh auteur archeology that drive film as an art form to new heights. But that’s not all, this season’s cinematic depth’s also rivaled with vivid brushstrokes of epic science fiction, fantasy, and animation that leverage indie film‘s capabilities as an industry to new heights.
Curated film blocks to guide your viewing this season:
The Unmissables:
Epic, immersive storytelling to awaken your senses and cinematic appetite. These are the must-watch multi-award-winning films of the entire season.
1. WE DO THIS ONCE (USA) – Michael Marantz
2. THE ATTACHÉ (USA) – André Stringer
3. GASLIGHT (USA) – Kristen Yuan, Mild Kamolluck Niamkongkit
4. LITTLE BROTHER (USA) – Dikega Hadnot
5. CITIPATI (Germany) – Andreas Feix
6. MIXED FEELINGS (Canada) – Benjamin Freemantle
7. DON’T DIE FIRST (USA) – Daniel Brian Foster
8. LA VOIX HUMAINE (USA) – Nanine Linning
9. LIBERTY (Belgium) – Phil DeWitte
10. PACSIRTA “SKYLARK” (Hungary) – Béla Paczolay
Black Hysteria Masterclass:
Award-winning films to depict black interiority + reignite racial justice/activism
1 LITTLE BROTHER (USA) – Dikega Hadnot
2 MIXED FEELINGS (Canada) – Benjamin Freemantle
3 DON’T DIE FIRST (USA) – Daniel Brian Foster
4 WASTED TALENT (USA) – Derrick Benton
5 RUNAWAY (USA) – Daniel Fries
6 À TERRE PROMISE “GROUNDS OF HOPE” (France) – Lionel Bernardin
Eye-Violation, Transgressive Excess + Prohibited Cinema:
Best of Cult Cinema. Rebellious must-watch films. Brutal, cruel, and simple, made to carnivalise moral, cultural, and aesthetic sensitivities.
1. HOT-DOG (Switzerland) · Anaëlle Morf
2. LA COMIDA (USA) · Edward Pomerantz
3. 虫 “MUSHI” (Australia) · Odin Jurray
4. RINGU: Meme Origins (USA) · Nick Toti Epilepsy Warning
5. CLUB INTERNACIONAL AGUERRIDOS “C.I.A.” (Mexico) · Leandro Cordova
6. COMBAT NUNS: All Or Nothing (USA) · Rick Williamson
Best Feature Films:
1. LIBERTY (Belgium) · Phil DeWitte
2. PACSIRTA “SKYLARK” (Hungary) · Béla Paczolay
3. À TERRE PROMISE “GROUNDS OF HOPE” (France) · Lionel Bernardin
4. 8 DON 75 FAKTA ICHCHASHAKTI HAVI (India) · Sushrut Bhagwat
5. MÉDUSE “MEDUSA” (France) · Sophie Levy
6. IT’S NOT OVER (Italy) · Alessandro Riccardi
7. LABYRINTH (China) · Xue Ma
8 ALBERTINA (Brazil) · Luiz Fernando F. Machado
9 HARPER (USA) · Kate Bohan
10. PROF. (Canada) · Logan Alexander Mitev
11. OLMA DJON “LOVE APPLE” (France) · Victoria Yakubov
12. LXI (61) (Peru) · Rodrigo Moreno del Valle
Best Animation:
1 GASLIGHT (USA) · Kristen Yuan, Mild Kamolluck Niamkongkit
2 CITIPATI (Germany) · Andreas Feix
3 LA CUSTODIA ‘THE CASE’ (Italy) · Maurizio Forestieri
4 DON’T CROAK (USA) · Daun Kim
5 COMMON MONSTERS S1.E1 (USA) · John Irvine
6 THE CALL (France) · Gabriel Vuillemin
7 PAPEL (USA) · Nancey Fang
8 HAPPIER ALONE (UK) · Lili Giacobino
9 LIFEBLOOD (Australia) · Nicholas Tory
10. SIX TO SIX (Israel) · Neta Cohen
Best Filmed Theatre + Live-Recorded Media:
1. LA VOIX HUMAINE (USA) · Nanine Linning
2. PIE IN THE SKY (USA) · Maria Gobetti
3. GEORGE M. COHAN TONIGHT! (USA) · Jon Peterson
4. NOT ON THIS NIGHT (USA) · Bill Humphreys
5. THE SYSTEM (UK) · Guy Unsworth
6. TALES OF THE ACCIDENTAL (Kenya) · Maimouna Jallow
7. DISROBED (USA) · Troy Peterson
8 NIGHT, MOTHER (USA) · John Patrick Lowrie
9. SPOOK (USA) · Meshaun Labrone, Nate Starck
Best Documentaries:
1. THE TRUCK (Ukraine) · Viacheslav Merzlikin
2 MASTERJAM (USA) · James Curry
· GLASS WORLD PROJECT: Nature & Human (Switzerland) · Raphael Sommer, Olivia Lina Gasche
· WHITE WOLVES: Ghosts Of The Arctic (Germany) · Oliver Goetzl
· ある島を想うこと “DREAMING AN ISLAND” (Switzerland) · Andrea Pellerani
· FRANK BEY: All My Dues Are Paid (USA) · Tom Dwyer, Lisa Palattella
· THE TREASURE OF HIS YOUTH: The Photographs Of Paolo Di Paolo (USA) · Bruce Weber
· FULL CIRCLE: A Downhill Longboarding (Kenya) · Genna Print
· I’M NOT GAY (Australia) · Nathan Short
· SAL (Mexico) · Paco Álvarez
· SAVING GLACIERS (Slovenia) · Ciril Jazbec
· くじらびと “LAMAFA” (Japan) · Bon Ishikawa
Best Dramas, Shorts + Series:
1. WE DO THIS ONCE (USA) · Michael Marantz
2. LIMBO (Canada) · Anthony von Seck
3. JULI. “JULY” (Norway) · Mauritz Brekke Solberg
4. AMORPHE (France) · Vincent Meilac
5. LITTLE BROTHER (USA) · Dikega Hadnot
6. MIXED FEELINGS (Canada) · Benjamin Freemantle
7. DON’T DIE FIRST (USA) · Daniel Brian Foster
8. WASTED TALENT (USA) · Derrick Benton
9. RUNAWAY (USA) · Daniel Fries
10. 老頭村 “THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OLD CHAP” (Hong Kong) · Carmen Hau
11. THORNS (South Africa) · Emma Atalya Chana Tollman
12. AGGRAPPATI A ME “Hold On To Me” (Italy) · Luca Arcidiacono
13. ECSTASY (UK) · Grant Taylor
14. THE COST OF LIVING (UK) · Alice Trueman
15. GLEN (Australia) · Jeremy Brull
16. LIFE SKILLS (UK) · Gino Evans
17. LAZARUS (France) · Guillaume Corde
18. PONGAMOS QUE HABLO DE TI “Let’s Pretend I’m Talking About You” (Spain) · Daniel Pradilla De Bedout
19. TO ERASE A CLOUD (UK) · Jim Longden
20. THE LAST CHRISTIANS (Germany) · David Lichtenauer
21. KEPLEY (USA) · Michael Grant, Stephanie Katherine Grant
22. LA TIERRA LLAMANDO A ANA “Planet Earth Calling Ana” (Spain) · Fernando Bonelli
23. TAPEBOY (Canada) · King Dawit
24 PINT? (UK) · Duncan Guymer
25. MÓW DO MNIE “A Silent Song” (Hungary) · Dora Laszlo-Gulyas
26 THE STRANGE INCIDENT IN ROOM 36 (Germany) · Kiana Klysch
27. KAPARA. (Australia) · Steve Hudson
28 MUTE (USA) · Wesley Wang
29. RISKY BUSINESS WITH JORDAN WILSON (USA) · Chris Owsiany
30 SOUNDS (USA) · Andrew Frescas
31. COERCION (USA) · Christian Elliott, Neal Johnson
32. MAX (Finland) · Marko Möttönen
33. THE ISLAND OF MISFIT ARTISTS (USA) · Jordan Elizabeth Sambogna
34. ECHOES (USA) · Anthony Kalmeta
35. EUNUCO “EUNUCH” (Mexico) · Félix Gómez Amaya
36. BEA, SERIOUSLY (USA) · Hanna Gray Organschi
37. OAKDALE, 1959 (USA) · Josh Garvin
38. DEJA VU (Russian Federation) · Artur Matveev
39. INCOMPLETENESS S1 (USA) · David Ash
Best Sci-Fi + Fantasy:
1. THE ATTACHÉ (USA) · André Stringer
2. MY ROOMMATE THE JEDI (USA) · Byrne Owens
3. CHECKPOINT (USA) · Jason Sheedy
4. FENESTRA (USA) · Jason Sheedy
Best Music Videos, Podcasts + New Media:
1. VINCENT ALIZÉ ‘LES NUITS INCANDESCENTES’ (Director’s Cut) (Canada) · Alexandre Richard
2. HOT MONDY ‘PALE EMBER’ (USA) · Brad Tobler
3. CATALYST ‘SUNSHADES’ (Switzerland) · Linus von Stumberg
4. SPACE CHASER ‘REMNANTS OF TECHNOLOGY’ (Germany) · FEEDZ, Lucas Fiederling
5. SHORES (UK) · Kelly Joanne Jenkins
6. MYNAMESCHRIS ‘THE BOX PARODY’ (USA) · Chris Montanez
7. NEOSHIN (Germany) · Sebastian Selg
8. FRACTURED ILLUSIONS (USA) · Rahi Raval
9. EARTH ECLIPSED S1.E1 ‘The Abacus Project’ (USA) · Nicholas Prufer
10. YELLOW JACK (Australia) · Harry Sanna
11. MOON KNIGHT (USA) · Akshay Tiwari
Best Screenplays (Written/Unproduced):
1. SERIAL (USA) · Robert Benjamin
2/ THE COMBINE S1.E1 ‘Metamorphosis’ (USA) · Cole Dilts
3. BLACK OCEAN (USA) · Francesca Florentyna O’Hop
4. MAKE A WISH (UK) · Robyn Pete
5. AMY AND ANGEL (USA) · Julia Verdin, Deedee Benkovich
6. RESET BUTTON (USA) · Paul Root
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