Indie Fest USA 2008

DOPE is a look at four legendary world champion skateboarders, Jay Adams from Dogtown's Z Boys, Christian Hosoi, Dennis Martinez, Bruce Logan it examines their rise to the top and their descent into the drug and crime culture and slow climb back to life. Narration is by legend Danny Trejo music title song by P.O.D. Archival period footage along with current interviews makes this a must see project.

Genius. Madness. Tragedy. Triumph.

On a dark night, what seems to be a routine shift for taxi cab driver, Ricardo (Luis Robledo - American Family, Havoc), turns out to be a night where questionable morality and loneliness collide. Norma (Jana Mitsoula - Tru Calling, Stargate: Atlantis), a beautiful stranger enters the cab and the ensuing events change the course of their lives forever. Nothing as it seems...our strangers soon discover the commonalities between them and the secrets they share. Luis Robledo's debut, EL TAXISTA, not only marks his first foray into directing, it is guerrilla filmmaking at its best. As writer, director, actor and editor of this film, Luis successfully packs all the punch of a theatrical feature into 15 minutes worth watching.

Joseph Rickman is a very strange man. Ever since a premonition permitted him to save the life of a young girl, the unhinged teacher can’t shake the sense that his entire destiny has been plotted out in advance. Numerous signs around him clearly suggest that his acts and decisions follow a preordained logic. Joseph can’t, however, convince those close to him of what he has come to believe. They’re convinced instead that he’s sliding into schizophrenia, the same way his father did so many years before. As Joseph’s mental wellbeing deteriorates, an atmosphere of dread settles on his surroundings. A stranger in ghastly garb has been seen lurking about the streets of his neighbourhood, his appearances coinciding with a string of inexplicable disappearances. Convinced that only Joseph’s psychic abilities can catch the culprit, the detective Clara Wilkie urges him to help her. He accepts her request, oblivious to the fact that his worst fears may soon be confirmed. Miniscule budgets and creative freedom are often linked together, and with its transgressive spirit, THE END makes a stunning appearance on the landscape of DIY cinema. A gobsmacking cross between Charlie Kaufman and William Shakespeare, it is unquestionably the most original Canadian film of the year. By coming at the tropes of the film noir from an entirely unexpected angle, Jeremy Thomas fashions an audacious debut feature shot through with bitter laughter, pulling the strings of myriad contradictory emotions with a blend of uncanny hallucinatory visions, gripping and tightly executed action scenes, and side-splitting moments of absurdist comedy. Making Rickman’s madness the leitmotiv of a determined whodunit, Thomas leads us into a realm of the delirious where the standard rules of film narrative are shattered (and surprises us by handling the lead role himself, a bravura turn both nuanced and highly theatrical, a magnificent reflection of his character’s renegade psyche). A true post-modern nightmare from the fringe, THE END unquestionably announces an exceptional new talent. For a couple reviews check out: www.dreadcentral.com efilmcritic.com

After the death of his older brother and challenges to his own health, a Hollywood talent agent drags his son through an obsessive quest to recapture his childhood. This journey takes them into Zero Gravity flights, obsessive collecting of pieces of Disneyland and on a trekaround the world to discover the perfect roller coaster. The father,Richard Kraft, attempts to juggle these high adventures while managing the carreers of such composers as Danny Elfman, Marc Shaiman, AlanMenken and Jon Brion. The son, Nicky, tries to find balance between living with his mother in a log cabin in Oregon raising chickens and life with dad living in Kraftland, an over-the-top Los Angeles shrineto giantic advertising icons, 1000s of board games and a onslaught of theme park ride vehicles. Along the way both father and son discover one another and the true meaning of living life to its fullest.

This 3d animation is about a girl's unique experience that she has in a baby's dream.

A young woman (Jenna Billings) finds a cache of letters written to her mother over the course of many years by a mysterious gentleman named Jerome. Against the advice of friends, Jenna searches out the only connection to Jerome that she can find, one Dallas Moore, an ex-roustabout and odd-jobber now living and working in the forgotten backcountry of Oregon. Dallas agrees to help Jenna, but the quest quickly turns dangerous when others with an interest in Jerome learn what Jenna is up to and head out to intercept her and convince her that the best way for her to preserve her health and happiness is to drop her interests and go home. When she doesn't listen to their advice either, things really heat up.

In the summer of 1952, we are at war with China and Chinese Americans are afraid. As the 'red scare' of the McCarthy era gains momentum, people don't feel safe. As this oppressive atmosphere permeates the country, Chinese American reporter, Roland Lu, returns to his hometown of Millville. Things are not as he remembers. As he strolls down main street, a Chinese man shoots himself in front of city hall. Roland smells a story and soon learns that below the surface, Millville is full of interracial relationships that could tear the town apart. Roland also learns the Chinese are being fired from their jobs, and suspects that his old nemesis, Frank Dugan, is plotting to take their property.

When the zombie apocalypse begins, some will try to hide. But you can not keep out the madness if it is already within.