Schedule

The 3rd HIDFF

3rd Season Schedule
Due to the COVID-19 closure of movie theaters and venues in Los Angeles County, this season is being held virtually at https://hid.festq.com on February 24th and 25th, 2021.


Outraged
Outraged is a UEFA original documentary exploring different types of discrimination in football (soccer). It centres around the topic of exclusion based on ethnicity, gender, refugee background and sexual orientation. Through the personal experience of the biggest names in football, the state of discrimination in the game is examined.
Directed by Simon Bisset

Heart Whispers
A reflective abstract short exploring a journey through adolescence, developing and struggling to belong as a trans man. A story about rebirth and alignment with self.
Directed by Ash Verwiel
Written by Ash Verwiel
Cast: Ash Verwiel, Kaleb Wright, Sydney Gartmond

Spark: A Systemic Racism Story
A documentary exploring the root causes of systemic racism and proposes remedies in public safety, policing, criminal justice, and social norms.
Written by Denise Terenzio and Trent Gegax

Saved Rounds
Drawn from the writer Doc Farrow’s experiences as a US Navy combat Corpsman in Iraq, SAVED ROUNDS looks at the devastating pain of loss, survivor’s guilt, the redeeming qualities of love and honor, and the fragile glimmer of hope in those whose lives are forever changed by war.
Directed by John Finn
Written by Doc Farrow and Deborah Leonhardt
Cast: Doc Farrow, Deborah Leonhardt, John Laughlin, Isabella Serrano, Hector Salas

Chronicles of Her
Five heroines from five different, yet similar, worlds face social and systematic oppression and injustice. We follow their journeys as they struggle for hope and a better life.
Directed by Taghrid Abouelhassan (Segment: Mercy Table), Maysoon Khaled (Segment: Diana), Rim Mejdi (Segment: Children's Game), Emna Najjar (Segment: Crossroad Happiness), Farah Shaer (Segment: Shakwa)
Written by Taghrid Abouelhassan (Segment: Mercy Table), Maysoon Khaled (Segment: Diana), Rim Mejdi (Segment: Children's Game), Emna Najjar (Segment: Crossroad Happiness), Farah Shaer (Segment: Shakwa)
Cast: Rakeen Saad, Khadija Baccouche, Vanessa Mghames, Farida Hany, Aya Koubis

Sky Blossom
As young as eleven years old, they are taking care of parents and grandparents who are battling sickness. We call them Care Heroes. And there are five million of them in America.
Directed by Richard Lui

My Babushka Smokes a Pipe
An animated film about people who defeated fascism and saved our lives.
Directed by Ivan Pavlov
Written by Ivan Pavlov and Tatyana Leonova

Foundher
No one fits into a neat little box. Except in Silicon Valley, everyone might as well. So when Monica, a Japanese-American female founder, tries to raise the Series A for her blossoming tech start up, being an outsider stifles her every move.
Directed by Jordi Matsumoto
Written by Jordi Matsumoto
Cast: Olivia Sui (SMOSH, The Big What If), Michael Vlamis (Roswell New Mexico, New Girl, Simi Valley), Gale Hansen (Dead Poets Society), Tohoru Masamune (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Inception, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Intae Kim (CSI, How To Get Away With Murder), Anna Campbell (Veronica Mars, Mad Men, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)

Killing the Shepherd
A remote community in Africa, led by a female chief, attempts to break the stranglehold of absolute poverty by waging a war on wildlife poaching.
Directed by TA Opre
Written by TA Opre

Grandma's House
Busy at making dinner in the kitchen of a family restaurant, Raúl gets a phone call from his grandma in Mexico.
Directed by Dante Jiayu Liu
Written by Eduardo Olmos and Dante Jiayu Liu
Cast: Eduardo Olmos, Mikai Karl

Le Choix
An ambitious young man with African roots grows up together with his friends in the problem areas of Vilvoorde, Belgium. He wants to end his hopeless existence and dreams of breaking through as a rapper. As close as he has ever been to achieving the dream, he and his friends get a hold of a weapon, leading to a choice that will decide the rest of his life.
Directed by Sarah Kasmi
Written by Sarah Kasmi
Cast: Emmanuel Basoko, Christina Salapo, Younes Callabaro

Click Next to Continue
The pilot episode from the Sci-Fi series BEYOND INFINITY, introducing Dr. Charity Payne and Dr. Shakir, who finds himself trapped in a game of revenge.
Directed by Abdul Stone Jackson
Written by Abdul Stone Jackson
Cast: Levin Valayil (SubUrban Underground), Madia Hill Scott (The Blacklist, Barry, For Life), Manni Perez (The Blacklist, Chicago P.D., Law & Order Special Victims Unit), Catherine Corcoran (Long Lost, Terrifier, Chuck, Return to Nuke' Em High)

Rosie
In 1943 America, factory worker Rose Donnelly must stand up for her female co-workers when their supervisor ignores blatant harassment and refuses to treat them as equals to their male co-workers. Based on the “We Can Do It!” poster by artist J. Howard Miller.
Directed by Tessa Germaine
Written by Tessa Germaine and Daniel James Clark
Cast: Bethany Walls (Good Cop, Bike Cop; Sun Dogs; Rustlers), William Charlton (SWAT; General Hospital; The Rum Diary; Changeling; As the World Turns), James Ciskanik

My Friend, The Mayor
Among the first to be hit by the AIDS epidemic in the 1980’s, Sean Strub’s political ambitions took a backseat as he struggled to survive. Now 60, he is running for mayor of a conservative town in Pennsylvania. How will this liberal, openly gay ex-New Yorker and founder of POZ, a magazine for people with HIV, fare in a rural community that voted for Donald Trump? My Friend, The Mayor follows his two-month campaign through to its nail-biting finish.
Directed by Max Westerman

Heaven's River
Heaven wakes up one day only to realize her life has taken an unexpected turn.
Directed by James Avelar
Written by James Avelar
Cast: Ayana Taylor

Legitimately Mallie
Mallie’s the girl next door, the cute kid, the leader of the bunch and the one who always seems to scope out shenanigans that land her and her two best friends - Earnie and Sophie - in the hot seat. She’s the Know-it-All who doesn’t quite Know-it-All, but she is always well meaning. A family-friendly comedy.
Directed by Mahalia Jackson-Butler
Written by Mahalia Jackson-Butler
Cast: Mallian Butler, Gracie Silva, Dieter Kingswergs, Theo Bray, Shawna Linzy

The Rejects
A hot tempered, general manager of a furniture store learns that her team of misfits are required to participate in a reality show to bring more business into her failing store.
Directed by Cecilia McLaren and Kristin Thomas
Written by Jessica Sade Ward
Cast: Jessica Sade Ward (Stepford Sidechix), Courtney Nichole (Assisted Living), Kenesha Hemmings (Games People Play)

Tuscaloosa
1972. Vietnam war protests and racial tension is sizzling in the late summer heat of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Billy Mitchell (Devon Bostick, Diary of a Wimpy Kid), a recent college graduate, spends the summer working on the lush grounds of an old world mental institution run by his psychiatrist father (Tate Donovan, Rocketman). Billy falls in love with Virginia (Natalia Dyer, Velvet Buzzsaw, Stranger Things), a patient who is possibly crazy, or perhaps she is the only sane person Billy has in his world. Billy’s best friend Nigel (Marchánt Davis) becomes involved with a radical civil rights activist (YG) against Tuscaloosa’s power elite, which includes Billy’s father. Billy is torn between Nigel, his father and his cronies, and Virginia who is planning her escape with or without Billy.
Directed by Philip Harder
Written by Philip Harder
Cast: Devon Bostick (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Okja), Natalia Dyer (Stranger Things, Velvet Buzzsaw), Marchant Davis, Tate Donovan (Rocketman)

Magician: Game of Detective
Zhang Cheng, an Chinese magician who wants to prove himself, is discovered by FBI agent Storm while he's studying in the United States. He will use his talent of face changing and traditional Chinese tricks knowledge to help the FBI to catch the Japanese female burglar Octopus who is proficient in face changing and cross dressing. A "face changing vs face changing" game begins...
Directed by Tanxuan Shi
Written by Tanxuan Shi
Cast: Anthony Tai, Lauren Rodriguez, Yisrael Dubov, David C. Smalley

Standing Ovation
Charles Henderson has been cast as the lead in a play about slavery written and directed by acclaimed director Kurt Santiago Charles is talented and determined... but Kurt is willing to do whatever it takes to get the best performance out of his actors to ensure his reputation, even if that means sinking into the dark abyss of an actors mind to pull out the truest of emotions and pain required for this soulful character.
Directed by Chase Gutzmore
Written by Chase Gutzmore and Alex Tacher
Cast: Chase Gutzmore, Alex Tacher, Erick Szot

Previous season schedule