Synopsis: 
A portrayal of an elderly woman's grief and her memories of intimate moments.  This story was inspired by the filmmaker’s fear of loosing her grandmother. In the process of creating this film, she spoke with many senior women and men about death, love and sex.

Kirsty is a New Zealand-based filmmaker who completed a Masters in Creative and Performing Arts at the University of Auckland in 2006.  In 2007, she worked as Vincent Ward’s assistant on the feature documentary-drama Rain of the Children and subsequently began work as Niki Caro’s assistant on her feature film The Vintner’s Luck.  In March 2008, she will travel to France to begin principal photography of this film, which Kirsty will also document in a “making of” documentary. 

She has directed several short award-winning digital documentaries including Good for a Girl (2005), a portrait of NZ Women’s Boxing Champion and I Can Read You Like a Book (2003). Both of these films were awarded Best Director and Best Documentary in the 2004 and 2005 AUSA/AUT 15 Minutes of Fame. She has written two features and is currently directing and editing the feature length documentary Assume Nothing.

CHINESE DUMPLINGS / 8 minutes
Director: Michelle Hung / Los Angeles, USA

Synopsis: 
Like so many Chinese American kids, Lucy and Grace would rather be playing outside than practicing violin in their living room. Believing that they especially deserve a break because it's Grace's birthday this day, older sister Lucy goes out of her way to look out for their interests. In the end, the two little girls prove that they will do anything to escape their daily violin practice.

DESIRES / 1:42 minutes
Director: Kate Jessop / United Kingdom
www.katejessop.co.uk/

Synopsis: 
Desires is based on a poem by Gaia Holmes and was originally made for the Adaptation event of the Manchester Literature Festival. Kate likes to approach filmmaking as making moving image collages encompassing various techniques in her work. Desires is a composite of stop frame and drawn animation and live action footage.

HAPPINESS / 11 minutes
Director: Sophie Barthes / France / New York, USA

Synopsis: 
What if happiness was for sale? One evening, after work, Iwona buys a box of happiness in a strange discount store and has to decide what to do with it.

Happiness stars Polish-American screen legend Elzbieta Czyzewska. The New York Anthology Film Archives dedicated a retrospective to her career in May 2005. Elzbieta has acted in more than 40 feature films directed by Polish distinguished directors

MEET-MARKET.CA / 11 minutes
Director:Geneviève Poulette / Montreal, Canada
www.meet-market.ca

Synopsis: 
Film director Marie-Helene and fashion stylist Zoe have been friends for a long time and single for even longer. Every Friday night, they get together to party and forget their single status. One crazy Friday, they sign up on "Meet-market.ca", an online dating site. From virtual discussions to actual meetings, the girls are faced with one surprise after another... and so are their partners!

ONE HUNDREDTH OF A SECOND / 5 mins, 20 secs.
Director: Susan Jacobson / United Kingdom
www.100th.tv

Synopsis: 
Kate is a talented photojournalist. She risks her life to deliver powerful images to the waiting world until a photograph of a Girl changes her life forever.

One Hundredth of a Second was inspired by the bravery of the photojournalists covering the crime in post-apartheid South Africa, as well as a strong interest in the role of the media today.

After writing and directing several short films, Susan is currently writing her feature film, A LOVE STORY, which is in development with Metlab in the UK and which she will also direct.

ORCHIDS / 18 minutes
Director: Bryce Dallas Howard / Los Angeles, USA

Synopsis: 
Beatrice is an amateur photographer who leads a simple, solitary life, content to hide behind the lens of her old camera. She spends her afternoons taking photographs in the garden of a lavish mansion near her home, and speculating on its inhabitants. When she stumbles upon a mysterious personal ad left in the mansion's front lawn, Beatrice recognizes a golden opportunity to appease her insatiable curiosity. She decides to answer the ad. Thus begins her bizarre acquaintanceship with Cliff, a wealthy, middle-aged recluse whose eccentric behavior is as off-putting as it is endearing. As Cliff and Beatrice struggle to overcome their doubts and insecurities, an unlikely romance blossoms.

Howard’s additional film credits include the M. Night Shyamalan film, LADY IN THE WATER and the Lars von Trier film, MANDERLAY, the filmmaker’s follow-up to DOGVILLE. She made her feature film debut starring in the M. Night Shyamalan film, THE VILLAGE.

ORCHIDS is her directorial debut, a project she took on as part of Glamour Magazine’s Reel Moments program.
After leaving the Tisch School of the Arts Program at New York University, Howard began working on the New York stage, including the role of Marianne in the Roundabout’s Broadway production of TARTUFFE, Rosalind in the Public Theatre’s AS YOU LIKE IT, Sally Platt in the Manhattan Theatre Club’s production of Ayckbourne’s HOUSE/GARDEN and as Emily in the Bay Street Theater Festival production of OUR TOWN.

SEXY THING / 14 minutes
Director: Denie Pentecost / Australia
Producer: Heather Oxenham
www.sexything.com.au

Synopsis: 

On a dry, suburban day, one child’s secrets can be seen forever…

During this time, she completed a number of director’s assignments and courses, namely at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School. Sexy Thing is her debut as a writer/director.