Jacksonville Film Festival 2009

David Karr, husband, father, White House press reporter, film producer, powerful millionaire, defense contractor, Corporate CEO, renaissance businessman… soviet agent? Ten for Grandpa is a fast paced, introspective look at the enigmatic life of a most influential ancestor. Structured by a list of unanswered questions, the film takes an analytical, clear-eyed, and often comedic look at the life of this complex character and the events surrounding his untimely demise. An existential hero operating outside the everyday constraints of society, or a sociopathic loose canon willing to indiscriminately betray associates, friends and family members alike in the service of his obsessive ambition? Ten for Grandpa reaches to understand the forces that push an individual to immerse himself in a nefarious web of danger and infamy. Rooting the narrative thematically by looking at the consequences of secrecy on the family, our narrator tries to decipher if his forbearer really was a shrewdly manipulative antihero or simply a victim of a McCarthy witch hunt and State Department character assassination. If his most precarious choice was deciding to do business with the USSR at the height of the cold war, or if he really was a vehicle for international deception and skullduggery. With a multifaceted approach, the film reconsiders the romanticized popular conception of the secret agent. Deflating the quixotic convention of a dapper playboy, and replacing it with an elusive serial-husband who had as much difficulty dealing with the blurred lines of rivaling international superpowers as he did raising his own children. Far from answering these impossible questions, Ten for Grandpa evokes the specter of the enigmatic lineages and the unseen forces that inform our personalities and family lives. At its crux, the film is a snapshot of a fascinating ancestor, and the skeletons that rattle away in our closets. Ten for Grandpa was filmed on Super 35mm film, framed with a 2.35:1 screen aspect ratio.

After an attempted assault in a serious automobile accident with Charlie, her husband, Keyt tries to preserve, In the midst of irreparable loss, the passionate side of their relationship. Attempts to rebuild and maintain their relationship through many situations she creates to mitigate the silence is established and reaffirm their love for husband.

You only get one opportunity to seize the moment that could change your life. This is especially true as a standup comic when wit, charm, and quick thinking define your success as a comedian. On a lively college campus in a quaint Florida town, life bustles at the usual pace between classes outside the student union, where swarms of student organizations lobby and advertise for upcoming events. Amidst the students mingling, socializing and shuffling through the masses their way to class, Jihad finds one advertisement particularly appealing—an invitation to compete in this year’s Multicultural Comedy Fest. Her dilemma now is to compete in the fest and prove her worth to her family at the risk of alienating their support. Hordes of competitors flock to this year’s fest dressed in traditional garb in aspiration of raising awareness of their cause while embracing the spirit of the event. On the biggest stage of her life, after recently forsaking a career in medicine, a newfound confidence exudes through the female Muslim comic as she takes the stage. Only it is not as multicultural as she thought. Suddenly, a life in medicine seems far less stressful than cracking jokes in front of a bunch of strangers. Now the protagonist must really choose between cowering off stage to a preordained life in medicine, or facing her demons while chasing her dream. Florida State University

Last night Rhett Somers, so far scraping by on good luck or just plain old ignorance, met the love of his life. He's sure of it. She doesn't know. Now the only thing left to do is convince her that she's the one. Not an easy feat considering how they met.

A day in the life of former pro-skater Jesse Sorensen. He may have lost his career, but he'll never lose his cool. Jacksonville

University of Southern California- California Best of USA Student Shorts