The Shaft

Murder noir set in 1950s New York City.

• LGBTQ-Unbordered – Gold Award

Undertow

A modern-day fairytale of love and romance set in gay Fort Lauderdale, FL.

• LGBTQ-Unbordered – Silver Award

More Going Down

LGBTQ murder-mystery musical set in the present day.

• LGBTQ-Unbordered – Bronze Award
• Hispanic International Film Festival – Gold Award

Strings Attached

Animated Short (8–10 minutes) · Psychological Drama / Dark Comedy / Supernatural Animation

Logline: When a washed-up musician returns to his sacred studio to write one last song, the guitars he abandoned come alive, forcing him to face the haunting truth about the silence he chose — and the music that never died.

Synopsis: Dennis, once a celebrated singer-songwriter, now hides from his art in a lonely, dust-covered studio filled with three guitars he hasn’t played in years. Each guitar personifies a part of his soul: Guitar #1 (De Niro-style) is the hard-nosed voice of his past glory and bitterness; Guitar #2 (Amy Adams-style) is the vulnerable, soulful heart he’s tried to forget; and Guitar #3 (Ryan Reynolds-style) is his inner cynic and rage. As the guitars argue and unravel Dennis’s history of retreat, broken promises, and artistic betrayal, they begin to physically and emotionally push back. When Dennis finally picks up Guitar #2, a quiet harmony is born, leading to a final, poignant performance of his original song Solitary Man.

Unique elements: Voice cast stylized like De Niro, Amy Adams, and Ryan Reynolds; darkly humorous, emotionally grounded, dialogue-driven animation; an original 1982 song, Solitary Man, weaves throughout Dennis’s character arc and has appeared in two other screenplays by the creator (Now & Then and Chasing Truths).

Tone / comps: Inside Out meets Love, Death & Robots; Toy Story with psychological scars and adult edge.