Welcome to the
Tampa Film Festival
in beautiful sunny Florida!
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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!
LOOK CINEMA TAMPA
Thursday August 1st, 2024 8 PM
FILMS OF THE 2024 Tampa Film Festival
ARENZ:
The Final Quarter
Rising from small-town roots to collegiate basketball stardom, Lauren Arenz's dreams are challenged by a season-threatening injury in her last year. As she battles to salvage the rest of her career, Lauren confronts the ultimate decision: walk away from the game or fight on.
Jacob Phillips is an award-winning filmmaker and documentarian who specializes in sports filmmaking. Owner of JLP Films, Jacob is graduating from the University of Wisconsin.
Directed by Jacob Phillips
Camping
In Paradise
A philosopher and his girlfriend must spend the night at a nudist campsite, which is far beyond their comfort zone. At the campsite they meet a friendly couple, which unearths revealing underlying conflicts in their relationship.
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Official Selection - Tribeca Film Festival 2024
Eirik worked as an actor before he starting writing for the stage in 1997. Since then, he has gone on to write and direct 14 short films. His work stretches from high realism to stylized comedy. His film Night Ride earned Eirik an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film in 2023.
Written & Directed by Eirik Tveiten
The Life of Lester Wink
Lester Wink is a door-to-door pet insurance salesman with a phobia of talking with strangers who must make a sale by 5 pm or get fired.
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Official Selection - Cleveland International Film Festival 2024
Official Selection - HollyShorts Film Festival 2023
Official Selection - Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival 2023
Written & Directed by Cassidy Harrison
A graduate of the New York Film Academy, Cassidy went on to create and co-wrote her first screenplay with accomplished director Boaz Yakin (Remember the Titans, Safe, Max, Uptown Girls, Aviva). She has worked as a writer/creator with Warner Brothers and is a Sundance Alum.
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She has had her photography featured in art galleries and currently resides in Los Angeles, California with her 12-year-old son Zuma. The Life of Lester Wink is her directorial debut.
Pearls
Written by former Division 1 Collegiate Cheerleaders, this dark comedy-drama follows an elite group of athletes at the prestigious "Tuttle University." Late for the last practice of training camp, new freshman Sasha must battle her eclectic group of teammates and her icy coach to keep her spot on her image-focused, nationally-ranked cheer team in the vibrant, but turbulent city of Miami.
Brandi Stevens is a graduate of the University of Miami in Film Studies where she was given "a chance to cheer at one of the most prolific college sports programs in the country""The most impactful part of my experience however was the family I made with both the team and coaching staff," she says. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Film at USC.
Directed by Brandi Stevens
Written by Brandi Stevens & Torrey Crosby
Hours.
Nia Ray is a modest and witty accountant with no social life. Her co-worker Bradley Morris is fresh out of a serious relationship & ready to get the party started! What happens when these two emotionally unavailable coworkers find themselves on the brink of a romance after throwing caution to the wind for 24 hours?
Written & Directed by Tiger AJ Ray
Tamp Film Festial is proud to screen Tiger AJ Ray's directorial debut, Hours. She cut her teeth as an assistant director for other directors on their shorts before tackling her own story.
A Dire
Strait
Demi has stayed in bed for weeks due to a Chinese tradition "Zuo-Yue-Zi" which is believed to heal women after child birth and help them produce the most nutritious milk. Although Demi tries to be as cooperative as possible, the weeks-long confinement and endless chicken soup push her to her limit. However, just one misstep spirals into her worst nightmare...
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Official Selection - Dances with Films 2023
Official Selection - Dallas International Film Festival 2023
Written & Directed by Liang-Chun Lin
Liang-Chun Lin was born and raised in Taiwan. She earned her BA of Radio and Television at Chengchi University in Taipei and MFA from Chapman University in Film Production, emphasizing on directing. After 9 years of experience in this industry, she now works with both Taiwanese and American productions, as a writer director, a bilingual coordinator, and an assistant director.
Vance and
the Afterlife
A corporate stiff named Vance (Frank Caeti, MadTV) who dies and ends up in his own imagination… or lack thereof. Through an appeal process administered by his afterlife guide Sarah (Carly Zien, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Vance is given a second chance at life that’s focused less on superficial career goals and more on creative expression and appreciation for the world around him…
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Official Selection - Tallgrass Film Festival 2023
Official Selection - LA Shorts FIlm Festival 2023
Written & Directed by Sam Kimbrell
Sam Kimbrell is a Los Angeles-based comedy writer and director. He holds a degree in screenwriting from Chapman University and studied improv and sketch at Second City and UCB. He’s created scripts, comedy blogs, live shows, jokes, and videos for Crackle, Cartoon Network, and more.
Caller Number 9
Oscar calls into a radio show and wins an unusual prize...
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Starring Dicky Barrett (The Mighty Mighty Bosstones; former Jimmy Kimmel Live! announcer)
Written & Directed by Mike Salva
Mike Salva is an award-winning cartoonist & animator who has had over 125 film festival screenings for his animated projects including Spike & Mike’s Sick and Twisted Animation Festival and San Diego Comic Con
Line
by Line
A Tampa-based, self-taught painter, uses his Cuban roots to create unique pieces of art, and talks about how he shares it with the community.
Directed by
Martin A Espinoza & Julian Ortega Del Toro
Martin A Espinoza and Julian Ortega Del Toro run Dot MP4 a studio out of our backyard here in Tampa. They have directed many music videos and more.
There Can
Be Only One
A chaotic battle ensues between a cat and a girlfriend in order to compete for the love and attention from the oblivious boyfriend.
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Official Selection - Annapolis Film Festival 2024
Written & Directed by Britney Fan
Britney Fan is a Concept Artist and Painter based in LA. She is newly graduated from USC's Film and Animation Program. She is currently working as an Artist and Designer for Louis Vuitton.
Inside
A woman regrets her life decisions and clings onto childhood memories to comfort herself in her dark moments.
Written & Directed by Angelina Phoenix
Angelina studied under the guidance of fellow Floridian Jonathan Jackson (Five time Emmy winner for his role in General Hospital). Angelina believes that through the power of cinema we should shine a light into the darkness of this world.
Behind the
Door
Two sisters, Alice and Dina, wake up at night because of the noises behind the door.
Alice does everything she can to keep Dina from going out...
Written & Directed by Ol'ga Livshits
Ol'ga Livshits is a filmmaker from Bat Yam, Israel. Tampa Film Festival is happy to screen her debut film.
Likeness
A commercial film set goes awry when the likeness of an actress fails to perform correctly.
Written & Directed by John Ryan Wells
John Ryan Wells is a filmmaker based right here in Tampa, Florida. He has written and directed award-winning short films, music videos, documentaries, and theatre productions.
Haunted for Life:
Encounter
2 teens perform a seance on Halloween night to see if a haunted dream comes true.
Written & Directed by Hunter Nickless
Hunter has been acting professionally since he's been 8 years old and being on set inspired him to take an interest in film making as well as acting. For high school he was accepted into an performing arts school with a major in Film Production where he continues to learn and learn and advance his craft. This short film is a sequel to his first short film Haunted for Life he made when he was 12.
Tied Up
Patrick Lake, a bumbling, asthmatic employee at B&D Accounting, has a big job interview for a promotion - the only thing in the way is his off-putting, egghead boss, a knife, and himself.
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Official Selection - Jacksonville Film Festival
Official Selection - Vero Beach Film Festival
Official Selection - Gasparilla International Film Festival
Written & Directed by Liam Fineout
Liam Fineout had a film that won in the 1st ever Tampa Film Festival. He served as a SGA Senator at his dream school, Florida State, but claims it was all for the comedy writing material.
1st Annual
Tampa Film Festival Awards
DEC 9
Film, Exceptional
Writing, Exceptional
Actor, Exceptional
Actress, Exceptional
Supporting Actor, Exceptional
The Festival
About the Festival
About the Festival
01
Welcome to the Tampa Film Festival in beautiful sunny Florida!
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The Tampa Film Festival connects filmmakers with each other in celebration of the independent film scene from filmmakers all over the world to our own backyard of Florida.
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The Tampa Film Festival premieres the most exciting and challenging works from brand new talent to established auteurs who have played and won awards from Toronto, Cannes, Tribeca, Sundance, Venice, Berlin, Tokyo, and more. They have worked for Netflix, WB, HBO, Disney, and Marvel to ad campaigns for the likes of Apple, Ford, and PlayStation. They have combined decades of experience with Master degrees and have worked with the likes of David Lynch, David Fincher, and the Russo Brothers. They even have been honored by the Academy Awards, BAFTAs, Emmys, Grammys, Webbys, NAACP, and more! While others have just started to pick up a camera! But all films are considered the prestige in independent cinema and a selection into the Tampa Film Festival is considered a top honor.
The Mission
The Founder
Jimmy Kustes
The Founder
Jimmy Kustes is an actor/writer/producer who won Best Feature at both the 14th Annual Peachtree International Film Festival and the 10th Annual Louisville International Festival of Film, and Remi awards at the 53rd Worldfest-Houston for Body Swap which he made on a $50,000 budget. He's worked on projects from Steven Soderbergh to Greg Berlanti. Talent in his films have starred in their own HBO shows to hosting Saturday Night Live. He founded the Tampa Film Festival to bring attention to challenging projects you can't see anywhere else.
Supporting Actress, Exceptional