Welcome to the first ever
Tampa Film Festival
in beautiful sunny Florida!
We connect filmmakers with each other in a celebration of
the best in independent cinema. We hope you join us
to enjoy the films and the sun and fun of Tampa!
Thursday, December 7th, 2023
Friday, December 8th, 2023
Saturday December 9th, 2023
FILMS OF THE 2023 Tampa Film Festival
Drama Life
Liang Yi yi, a 65-year-old actress who was tricked into selling her home for a film, accidentally realizes her dream when she finds out a way to get her money back.
Bo Yao has a Master degree in filmmaking and has watched more than 4000 movies. His past directing efforts include Mr. Bunny and the Undead Detective.
Directed by Bo Yao
Written by Xiaohan Luo
Echo
Detective Harder takes on her first case after surviving a bomb attack during a police training mission in Afghanistan. The remains of a girl are discovered in a moor near the small German town of Friedland. But Harder's investigation hits set backs.
Nominee - Berlinale (Berlin International Film Festival)
Official Selection - Cinefest Sudbury
Official Selection - The Oldenburg Film Festival
Mareike Wegener studied film at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne, documentary filmmaking at the New School in New York and philosophy at the European Graduate School in Switzerland.
Echo is her first feature and was nominated at the 72nd Berlinale.
Written & Directed by Mareike Wegener
Rutubet
(The Moisture)
Teacher İshak is a teacher in Turkey struggling with an unruly student Yusuf as well as his own marital problems. But everything changes when one of his students goes missing.
Winner - Santa Barbara International Film Festival
Nominee - La Biennale di Venezia (Venice)
Turan Haste won Best Short for The Moisture at the 38th Santa Barbara Film Festival this year. The film was also nominated for Best Short at the 79th Venice Film Festival.
Directed by Turan Haste
Written by Muhammed Furkan Dasbilek
sister
On the day of her older sister's burial, a bereaved woman meets an amicable bartender who helps her find the courage to continue on. A story about sisterly love and the bonds that will always remain.
Stars Billy Magnussen (Game Night, Aladdin, 007 No Time to Die) and
Jayne Brook (Star Trek: Discovery, Brothers & Sisters, Boston Legal)
Directed by Shane Andries
Written by Meg Jenkins Locke
Born and raised in Houston, TX, Shane Andries graduated from The University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He won the Grand Prize at the Slamdance Screenplay Competition and is currently developing a live-action Aladdin spinoff for Disney Plus with Billy Magnussen who he runs a studio with and are producing several projects. Shane has performed worldwide as a Blue Man in BLUE MAN GROUP and has worked on projects such as HBO's Love and Death. He resides in Texas with his wife Bethany and their children.
The Nana
Project
Set in the competitive world of chess, we follow Nana’s (Academy Award Winner Mercedes Ruehl) journey in a heartwarming feel-good comedy about reuniting her grandsons and supporting her retirement community. Also starring Nolan Gould (Modern Family), Morgan Fairchild, Tony Todd (Candyman), and Sierra McCormick
Robin Givens has acted in many projects including Boomerang and Riverdale and directed episodes of TV shows Nancy Drew, Dynasty, and others as well as six features.
Directed by Robin Givens
Written by Eric Ulloa
Life
A young man who, solving his problems, finds himself in a string of events and people whose meanings of life form a kind of kaleidoscope.
Nominee - Tokyo International Film Festival
Official Selection - Toronto International Film Festival
Official Selection - Hong Kong International Film Festival
Emir Baigazin was born on July 19, 1984 in Alma-Ata, Kazakhskaya SSR, USSR now known as Almaty, Kazakhstan. Emir is a director and writer, known for Harmony Lessons, The River, and The Wounded Angel. He has won and been nominated at film festivals such as Tribeca, Berlin, Venice, Toronto, Tokyo, San Paulo, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Seattle.
Written & Directed by Emir Baigazin
John Doe
A homeless man with no memory of his past or who he is, helps save the citizens of Los Angeles. Stars Martin Kove (Cobra Kai, Karate Kid), Crystal Allen (Star Trek: Enterprise) and Jeff Rector (American Horror Story)
Directed by Jeff Rector and Vahe Garabedian
Written by Jeff Rector
Jeff Rector is an award-winning writer, director, producer, actor, stand-up comedian and best-selling author. Jeff has over 150 Television & Film credits to date and is also the Festival Director for the Tarzana International Film Festival. He also supports many charitable organizations such as The American Heart Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, The Boys and Girls Club, and The Frontline Foundation which feeds the homeless on skid row.
Vahe is accredited for producing hit TV movies for HBO/Cinemax
Behind
Our Walls
Despite all odds, a group of inmates in Michigan join a Bachelor's degree program, in order to change their lives...and maybe even the system.
Directed by Nate Roels
Nate Roels is a director based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the founder of Second Mile Video. Criminal justice reform is a special focus of his, which is the topic of two of his documentaries, Behind Our Walls (2023) and Renardo (2016).
This
Time
When a closeted teen inherits her estranged father’s journal she discovers cryptic clues uncovering his secret life.
Now to fulfill her father’s dying wish she must blackmail an alcoholic hearse driver to race her cross-country to attempt a long shot rendezvous with her father's longtime friend Liza Minnelli.
Directed by Robert George Vaughn
Written by Allie Jennings
Vaughn has written and produced on more than 30 television and feature films for the likes of HBO, Hallmark, Showtime, and more. This Time marks his feature directorial debut and stars character actor Charles Martin Smith and emerging breakout talent Anwen O’Driscoll.
Clone
In the future, every U.S. citizen has the right to own one clone of themself. Clones have no rights and can only become citizens if emancipated by their original human.
After 30 years together, Alex suddenly elects to emancipate his clone, but his closest friends begin to question his true intentions. Starring Alex Breaux (Showtime's Waco: The Aftermath) and Kiowa Gordon (AMC's Dark Winds)
Official Selection - Jacksonville Film Festival
Official Selection - Flickers Rhode Island
Official Selection - Montclair Film Festival
Official Selection - DC International Film Festival
Ryan M. Kennedy is one of the few people to direct a feature and have it go to Netflix and Hulu and then go to film school! He has a Bachelors of Fine Arts in filmmaking from Montclair University and is currently working on his Masters at Georgetown
Written & Directed by Ryan M. Kennedy
