01. Stucco (18 Minutes)
02. The Leaf (4 Minutes)
03. From Here (7 Minutes)
04. Crosswinds (7 Minutes)
05. F1-100 (13 Minutes)
06. No Crying At The Dinner Table (16 Minutes)

Stucco

Written and Directed by Janina Gavankar, Russo Schelling
Director of Photography Quyen Tran
Executive Producers Janina Gavankar, Snehal Patel
Co-Producers John Trefry, James Mitchell

Directors’ Statement

We’ve always wanted to make work that examines the part of ourselves we’re least proud of. Sometimes before we can move on, we are forced to vomit our past, or sit in the mess we’ve made. “Stucco” is this, for us.

Janina Gavankar Bio

JANINA GAVANKAR is most known for her diverse acting career in television, film and major video games, such as The Morning Show, True Blood, The League, Blindspotting, Star Wars: Battlefront II, Big Sky and The Way Back. She is also trained as a pianist, vocalist, and orchestral percussionist. She majored in Theatre Performance at the University of Illinois at Chicago She met Russo in 2014, while working on The Mysteries of Laura, and they forged their creative partnership. Stucco is their narrative directorial debut.

TWITTER: @Janina
INSTAGRAM: @Janina

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1232470/

Russo Schelling Bio

After forging a career in the local commercial world, RUSSO SCHELLING, fled Madison, WI to New York City, where he helped direct tandem units on Mr. Robot, and assisted created Baz Luhrman on The Get Down.

TWITTER: @RussoSchelling
INSTAGRAM: @russoschelling

Quyen Tran Bio

QUYEN TRAN is a Los Angeles-based cinematographer who prioritizes story above all else. Tran's latest award winning features include PALM SPRINGS which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and the Peabody Award winning Netflix drama UNBELIEVABLE. She splits her time between features and television, having shot multiple pilots and series for HBO, Netflix and FX including: CAMPING, HERE AND NOW and the upcoming FX/HULU series A TEACHER. Tran is currently prepping a new Netflix limited series with John Wells, MAID, in Victoria, B.C. In the documentary world, Tran is a frequent collaborator of director Grace Lee, whose film AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY: THE EVOLUTION OF GRACE LEE BOGGS, won the distinguished Peabody Award. Last year Tran traveled to a refugee camp in Kenya to document a story about girls' education for the nonprofit organization GIRL RISING. She is passionate about mentoring, frequently appearing as a guest speaker for universities and high schools between projects.  She is an official mentor for Project Involve in addition to having informal mentees. Beginning her career as a still photographer, Tran gained acclaim for her stunning images of the heartbreaking destruction of 9/11. With this background, she strives for emotive cinematography, capturing the humanity and truth of each moment, regardless of the subject matter. She has shot films throughout the United States and all over the world, including New Zealand, Kenya, South Africa, Canada, Thailand, Japan, China, Russia, Italy and Vietnam. Tran was featured in American Cinematographer as an ASC Rising Star in 2017, and was recently named in Variety's 10 DPs to Watch 2019.  She also was awarded the 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award from her alma mater UCLA earlier this June.  

INSTAGRAM: @qgar

https://www.qtranfilms.com/
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1765623/

The Leaf

Directed by William J. Zang

From Here

Directed, Written and Starring Samantha Futertman

Crosswinds

Directed by Candace Ho

Candace Ho Bio

As an East Coast transplant now in LA, Candace strives to tell stories that increase representation, and bring us together at a technologically isolating age. She is a graduate from UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television, with a concentration in Directing. Candace is currently a 2021 Armed with a Camera fellow and 2020 WAVE Grant Finalist.

https://www.candaceho.com/

Director Statement

When H first shared their animation work with me, I was immediately moved by its abstract connections to the struggles of gender identity and expression in constricting environments. Inspired by H’s creative voice, I wanted to explore interwining H’s art with meditations on gender and visa status through this documentary project.

In August 2019, I bought the cheapest plane ticket I could find to fly to Malaysia and visit H during their summer break at home. Malaysia was the first country I visited since I started hormone replacement therapy in 2015. Turning over my passport with a photo of myself taken in 2013 to airport authroities as I passed through the United States, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore, it was the first time I felt like a global trans person. And it was the first time I was treated as such.

The fear I felt as I was held at customs, as I was pulled out of lines, as I was questioned about my body, shattered my illusions of being a global trans citizen. It tarnished my fantasies about traveling outside of the United States. I realizaed that my trans existence is relative to my geography. While I hope for H to be able to live as they are in a country accepting of their identities, I know they are up against restrictive and oppressive policies, legislation, borders, documentations, and social climates that impact trans futures. Illuminating underlying anxieties alongside H’s hopes and distinct artistry, F1-100 is a story about steady resilience. My biggest hope with this film is that someone will be so moved by H’s story and talents to help them, and others, create an option in life that holds a pathway to citizenship in a country more accepting of their full sel.

Emory Chao Johnson Bio

Emory Chao Johnson (they/them) is an artist settled on the land of the Tongva working primarily in documentary filmmaking. Their approach to documentary is grounded in empathy and compassion.

Emory was a production fellow on the Netflix Original Documentary Disclosure (dir. Sam Feder) and their narrative short Bind has played festivals such as Frameline, NewFest, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, and Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival.

F1-100, Emory’s latest documentary short, had its world premiere at CAAMFest 2021 and was recognized with the Loni Ding Award for Social Issue Documentary. At Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, the film received the Linda Mabalot New Directors/New Visions Award. F1-100 also received a Special Mention, Best LGBT+ Short at 2021 Palm Springs International ShortFest, and a Special Mention, Best Documentary Short at Outfest LA 2021.

Emory is currently working on a hybrid documentary short about trans time and memory for their MFA thesis at the University of California, Los Angeles.

https://www.chaojohnson.com/

Carol Nguyen Bio

Carol Nguyen is a Vietnamese Canadian filmmaker, born and raised in Toronto, now based in Montreal. Her films often explore the subjects of cultural identity, family and memory. Her last film “No Crying at the Dinner Table” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and had its international premiere at IDFA 2019, where she was additionally invited as the Opening Night speaker. In 2020, “No Crying” also received the Jury Prize for Short Documentary at SXSW. Carol is a 2018 Sundance Ignite fellow, Adobe Creativity Scholar and a TIFF Share Her Journey ambassador, where she strives to empower diverse voices and women through her own stories and personal experiences in the film industry. Today, Carol is working towards several films, including her first documentary feature as well as an animated short.

https://carolnguyenfilms.com/