2025 Finalists: Emerging Filmmaker Showcase Presented by Gold House
About the Showcase:
Since 1989, The American Pavilion has offered unparalleled experiences in Cannes to film students and emerging filmmakers from around the world. AmPav’s Emerging Filmmaker Showcase provides an opportunity for filmmakers to have their works seen by Cannes Festival and Film Market attendees. Finalist Films will be screened at The American Pavilion. Each of our five categories of exceptional and diverse 2025 films (Emerging Filmmaker Showcase, LGBTQ+ Showcase, Student showcase, Emerging Documentaries and Student Documentaries) will be showcased to our American Pavilion audiences followed by a live filmmaker Q&A. Jury Award prizes will be awarded to filmmakers.
2025
EMERGING FILMMAKER SHOWCASE
PRESENTED BY GOLD HOUSE
OFFICIAL SELECTION OF FILMS
EMERGING FILMMAKER LGBTQ+ SHOWCASE
Tuesday, May 20 – 3:30pm to 6:00pm
DANCING IN TOMORROWLAND
2024, 15:40 min., USA, Documentary/LGBTQ+, UCLA
Director: Jakob Roston
Producers: Nazanin Nemetollahi, Grace Vincent, Jakob Roston
Cast: Crusader
In this fantasia of a 1980’s gay rights theme park documentary an unsung teen activist fights to overturn Disneyland’s ban on same-sex dancing.
HANDWOVEN
2024, 9 min., USA, Documentary/Indigenous/LGBTQ+, Chapman University
Director: Dasha Levin, Mason Cazalet, Mihika Das, Matthew Wisdom
Producer: Dasha Levin
Cast: Nikyle Begay
A lyrical portrait of Nikyle Begay, a non-binary shepherd and weaver; working to preserve their way of life through the traditional art of weaving.
HAPPY NEW YEAR, MS. LUNA
2023, 17:33 min., Australia, Drama/Comedy/LGBTQ+
Writer/Director: Andy “Celeste” Diep
Producer: Michelle Ny, Vada Gock, Yingna Lu
Cast: Renee Lim, Victoria Ho, Monica Sayers, Gareth Yuen
Luna, a young transfeminine woman, attends her family’s annual Chinese New Year gathering for the first time since her transition.
INTERFERENCE
2025, 24:59 min., USA, Psychological Horror/LGBTQ+
Director: Lila Woodbridge
Writer: Stephanie Saavedra, Lila Woodbridge, Al Bouchillon, Nic Wells
Producer: Lila Woodbridge, Al Bouchillon
Cast: J.D. Robinson, Mike Pratt
“Interference” tells the story of one teenage boy’s struggle with paranoia and identity amidst the start of the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s.
Trailer | Website | Facebook | Instagram
OLD GIRL IN A TUTU: SUSAN RENNIE DISRUPTS ART HISTORY
2025, 8:02 min., USA, Animation/Documentary/LGBTQ+
Producer/Director: Cheri Gaulke
Writer: Cheri Gaulke, Sue Maberry
Animation: C. Lily Ericsson
Cast: Susan Rennie, Kirsten Grimstad
Feminist scholar, Susan Rennie, seizes her iPhone and sneaks her queer, octogenarian body into master works of art, disrupting the narrative of the male gaze.
PACE
2024, 15:10 min., USA, Drama/Sports/LGBTQ+
Writer/Director: Beck Williams
Producer: Shannon Elizabeth Clark, Aaron Krimetz, Kelly Lou Dennis, Sarah Evans, Beck Williams, Rainn Wilson, Bernadett York, Nas Albizuris, Autumn Ivy, David Florin, Bex Taylor-Klaus
Cast: Beck Williams, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Kelly Lou Dennis
Struggling with dysphoria, a boxer wrestles with the decision to transition at the potential cost of their marriage. When another boxer who shares their identity enters the gym, the two find solace in training together while navigating their own challenging journeys.
SAFETY STATE
2024, 15:37 min., USA, Dramedy, LGBTQ+
Director: Jeanette L. Buck
Writer: Rani Deighe Crowe, Jeanette L. Buck
Producer: Jeanette L. Buck
Executive Producers: Bonnie Rae Brickman, Rani Deighe Crowe
Cast: Caitlin Lopez, Jane Reagan, Alan Tyson, Stephen Woosley
In the dystopian near future, a gay and a lesbian couple form an unlikely friendship as they flee the Midwest for safety in New England.
SATURDAY RITUAL
2024, 12:24 min., USA, Comedy, LGBTQ+
Writer/Director: Sydne Horton
Producer: Rachel Carlson, Sydne Horton, Ansley Martinez, Sabrina Morgan
Cast: Ryan D. Madison, Susan Louise O’Connor, Haley Baird Riemer, Kiara Romero, Cora Lu Tran
Cammie’s relationship with her soccer mates is put to the test when a psychic reveals a hidden truth.
EMERGING FILMMAKER STUDENT SHOWCASE
Wednesday, May 21 – 3:00pm to 5:30pm
Trailer | Instagram | Facebook
ADA AND THE DOC
2023, 15:07 min., USA, Drama/Historical, Savannah College of Art & Design
Writer/Director: Matison LeBlanc
Producer: Matison LeBlanc, Chelsea Bryan, Halle Losordo, Bailey Selvidge, Jackson Bartholomew, Jacob Denton, Grace Pritchard
Cast: Chelsea Bryan, Matthew Martinez, Patrick Logan
In 1927 southern Louisiana, subversive housewife Ada LeBoeuf is put on trial alongside her alleged lover for the grisly murder of her husband in one of the most explosive sex-murder trials ever reported.
BEFORE THE WINTER
2024, 15:39 min., USA, Mystery/Drama, Chapman University
Director: Juan Zuloaga Eslait
Writer/Producer: Flora Wengu Jiang
Cast: Venice Wong, Yin Yin Liow
Within the pages of her diary, a middle school girl recounts her harsh reality: the mother’s desperate attempt to protect their sick cat. Dark secrets are threatened when the diary falls into the hands of her concern but nosy professor.
CHASE JUPITER
2025, 4:41 min., USA, Comedy/Drama, University of Southern California
Writer/Director: Linjie Huang
Producer: Tarun Kanakamedala
Cast: Flora Jiwu Hwang
An odd young female who has devoted 120% of herself to astrophotography becomes aggressive when she finds out her shooting plan is sabotaged by her dog.
CHRISTMAS, EVERY DAY
2024, 13:49, USA, Documentary, Stanford University
Writer/Director: Faye Tsakas
Producer: Enrique Pedraza Botero
Christmas, Every Day gives a slice-of-life glimpse of preteen influencers Peyton and Lyla Wesson, ages 11 and 12, as they perform for their online fans under their mother’s watchful guidance.
Trailer | Website | Website | Instagram | Instagram
THE HICKS HAPPY HOUR
2024, 16:38 min., USA, Musical/Dramedy, American Film Institute
Director: Kate McCarthy
Writer: Kate McCarthy, Michael Kefeyalew
Producer: Cameron Wen
Cast: Phoebe Kuhlman, Ella Victoria, Charley Rowan McCain, Tristan Wilder Hallett
In 1972, the ever-smiling mother of a family band struggles to keep the family’s TV variety show and wholesome image going when her estranged husband doesn’t turn up to the season finale taping.
Trailer | Website | Website | Instagram
LIFE AND SOUL
2025, 7:37 min., USA, Drama, Oaks Christian School
Producer/Writer/Director: Micah Max Polaha
Original Song by: Caleb Polaha
Cast: Robin Thomas, Kristoffer Polaha, Brooke Moore, Micah Max Polaha
Lost in the decline of dementia, a rockstar has a moment of lucidity and reminds his son of the one thing that matters most.
Trailer | Website | Facebook | Instagram | Instagram | Instagram
LOVING DAY
2024, 16:15 min., USA, Drama, University of Southern California
Director: Daeil Kim
Writer: Daeil Kim, Melanie Sudyn
Producer: Melanie Sudyn
Cast: Sidney Flanigan, Ian Oh, Raphael Sbarge, Willie C. Carpenter, Catherine Hogan
An interracial couple’s wedding plans take an unexpected turn when the Loving v. Virginia case, which legalized interracial marriage, is overturned, leaving them to navigate the fate of their child.
PRIVATE i
2024, 16:13 min., USA, Drama, Florida State University
Writer/Director: Evan Patrick Adams
Producer: Tyler Kirkpatrick
Cast: Taylor Petracek, Avrielle Corti, Geoffrey Davin
A bellboy who uses his camera to spy on guests follows a mysterious woman with a dark secret, but he’ll need to investigate himself first.
Trailer | Website | Instagram | Instagram
WHEN BIG PEOPLE LIE
2024, 13:36 min., USA, Drama, AFI Conservatory
Director: Gianfranco Fernández-Ruiz
Writer: Gianfranco Fernández-Ruiz & Pablo Cervera Gutierrez
Producer: Gus Murray, Kouxiao Amy Zhang
Cast: Kaden Quinn, Sasha Merci, Faruk Amireh, Diane Sargent
The riptide of adult choices drags young Elvis out to sea.
EMERGING FILMMAKER SHOWCASE
Wednesday, May 21 – 5:30pm to 8:00pm
AGITER
2024, 19:01 min., USA/France, subtitles, Drama
Director: Amanda Moresco
Writer: William Francis Hoffman
Producer: Hannia Guillen, Yudelka Heyer
Cast: Hannia Guillen, Frank Delay, Willy Liechty, Catherine Wadkins
Julie is already a great chef, but she’s moved to Paris to put herself against the best. Will seizing an opportunity to prove herself be her triumph, or has she reached beyond where her skills will allow her to go.
DEAR OWNER
2023, 8:57 min., USA, Comedy/Drama
Director: Jonathan Coleman
Writer: Marc Paykuss
Producer: Karis Danish
Cast: Karis Danish, Juan Javier Cardenas, Marianna Houston
When a young married couple meet the owner of the home they hope to buy, they soon learn the meaning of the phrase “Buyer Beware.”
GET AWAY
2023, 15:25 min., USA, Thriller/Horror
Director: Michael Gabriele
Writer: Michael Gabriele, Anthony Jefferson
Producer: Danny Rhodes, Mike McNamara
Cast: Lisa Starrett, Steph Martinez, Ericka Lane Enggren
While spending the weekend at a remote desert vacation rental, a group of friends play a mysterious VHS tape and discover a series of strange and terrifying coincidences.
Trailer | Website | Instagram | Instagram | Instagram | Instagram
LITTLE ORANGE FLAGS
2024, 17:26 min., USA, Thriller
Writer/Director: Julianna Gelinas Bonifacio
Producer: Matthew Bonifacio, Meghan Lennox, Julianna Gelinas Bonifacio
Executive Producers: John Gelinas Jr., Carole Buddenhagen Gelinas
Cast: Lisa Emery, Bella Price, Bella Miah Estrada, Chris Henry Coffey, Alexis Marie Wint
Twelve-year-old Iris is sent to live on a farm in rural Pennsylvania after an encounter with her mom’s boyfriend.
MIRIAM
2025, 16 min., USA, Drama/Comedy
Director: Josie Andrews
Writer: Levi Alexander
Producer: Brenda Goodman, Josie Andrews, Levi Alexander
Cast: Justin Kirk, Amy Davidson, Pearl Scarlett Gold, Laura Gardner, Alan Wasserman, Roman Adolfo, Henry Leith, Connor Esterson
In 1985, Miriam is chosen to be the first bat mitzvah of her Orthodox community – an honor complicated when she starts secretly skipping Hebrew lessons to pursue skateboarding under the wing of a homeless teen.
RAGAMUFFIN
2024, 14:27 min., USA, Drama/Coming of Age/Sports/LGBTQ+
Writer/Director: Kaitlyn Mikayla
Producer: Hannah Alline, Christina Jundt, Sailor Larocque, Amber Neukum, Jason Reitman
Cast: Eden Harper, Robert Hadlock, Courtney Dietz, Bailey Sloan, Michael Milligan, Cyle Winters
A twelve-year-old motocross racer spends what seems like an average race weekend at the track with her father. But as the weekend unfolds, she’s faced with her identity, her deafness, and what it means to be a girl.
Trailer | Website | Facebook | Instagram | Instagram
SALLY, GET THE POTATOES
2024, 16:36 min., USA, Drama/Coming-of-Age
Writer/Director: Danicah Waldo
Producer: Cade Waldo, Sarah Parr, Jess Dubois, Danicah Waldo, Patricia Chica
Cast: Kynlee Heiman, Clark Carmichael, Quinn Hemphill, Travis Doughty, Bohdana Madlova, Amanda Ferguson, Charlie Ferrara
A little girl’s innocence is shattered when she takes an unexpected ride in her wealthy family’s rolling laundry cart and learns their secrets.
Trailer | Website | Website | Facebook | Instagram
SHE IS US: THE STORY OF JUDGE SONGHAI ARMSTEAD
2024, 14:13 min., USA, Animation/Documentary
Director: Samara Hutman, C. Lily Ericsson,
Producer: Samara Hutman, C. Lily Ericsson, Cheri Gaulke, Animate Possibility, a program of Second Nurture with Righteous Conversations Project
Cast: Songhai Armstead
This animated film chronicles the extraordinary story of social justice warrior Songhai Armstead who was system impacted, faced systemic obstacles, and found purpose in empowering others.
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