Best Woman Short Film Block B (Chandler International Film Festival)

Asura - The Demon Within

Directed by: Viren Shinde

Run Time: 5 minutes, United States

Premiere status: World Premiere

Two sisters perform an inauspicious prayer to the anti-god Lord "Mautya". They ask of him a simple boon - that their mother’s soul be returned to her body so she may come back into their lives. Although the prayer seems to work, but every prayer has an offering.

Love Sweet Sound

Directed by: Neha Manoj Shah

Run Time: 10 minutes 48 seconds, Kenya

Premiere status: World Premiere

Keya is a young woman who is in denial of her blindness. She is forced to venture out into the outside world where she bumps into Anthony, a reclusive, struggling man. They embark on a journey to resolve their scars, handicaps and shortcomings.

Nothing about you scares me

Directed by: Justyna Nowak

Run Time: 30 minutes, Poland

Premiere status: US Premiere

During the production of a play based on Aristophanes’ “Birds” three artist friends need to take responsibility for the roles they play in their social microcosm. Someone regrets leaving somebody. Someone seduces the director of the play, because they believe in polyamory. Someone thinks that the war has never ended, and one must never surrender. Someone else claims that it’s all about how you fall, and you should know how to drop. In the meantime, an unusual post-hipster melodrama unfolds.

Thirty

Directed by: Ei Mon Kyaw

Run Time: 19 minutes 40 seconds, Myanmar

Premiere status: North America Premiere

Myat Hsu, an obedient daughter who has always stayed with her mother for thirty years, decided to move out one day in order to find herself.

Music To Die For

Directed by:Rebecca Doherty

Run Time: 14 minutes 46 seconds, Ireland, United Kingdom

Premiere status: Arizona Premiere

In a post-Troubles Northern Ireland, a pianist – who lived through the conflict – and a singer perform in a bar to an unenthusiastic audience. The music, and their reflections on it, reveal contrasting generational feelings of disillusionment and hope. Both seek fulfilment, and the pianist seeks redemption. A man emerges from the audience to confront the pianist about their shared past, recalling a fatal attack on their former band during the Troubles caused by music existing in a society where the arts and political identity struggle to be separated. What follows is a performance that uses the power of music to offer both men a chance at achieving the redemption they need to move on from their past.

Funny Thing About Grief

Directed by: Anne Arreguin

Run Time: 11 minutes 51 seconds United States

Premiere status: Arizona Premiere

As if dealing with a nasty breakup isn’t tough enough, Phoebe Barrett finds out that her ex is dead. Overwhelmed with emotions and mixed feelings, not only over the news but of their history, she has to do the only thing she can do. Deal with the grief. Inspired by true events, Phoebe navigates her way through a journey that we all handle differently.

Host or Publisher Chandler International Film Festival