2025 Carole Dorothy Joyce Grant for Student Filmmakers – Finalists
Congratulations to the student films selected to be finalists for the Carole Dorothy Joyce Grant!
On this page, we give each filmmaker the opportunity to tell the world about their film. They choose the pictures and loglines. Some may choose not to reveal their projects on this page and we respect their wishes.
Uncanny Valley
Feature
uncannyvalleyfilm.com
Two misfit teens will burn the world down before they lose another friend, so when their best friend decides to die, they go looking for answers. What they find is worse: their world is a 1990s TV Show and its creator is feeding on their suffering.
Moonflower
Short
adriennedefaria.com
Working at the crossroads of Western, psychological drama, horror, and rape-and-revenge genres, “Moonflower” asks a pressing question: can revenge ever truly heal the wounds left by trauma? Following two women raped by the same man, Moonflower follows a dangerous yet cathartic alliance set in America’s forgotten West.
Falling
Short
instagram.com
Short Film Synopsis: Alone in the suffocating quiet of his surrogate sister’s apartment, fifteen-year-old Analu clings desperately to memories of his lost loved one, Iolani, the one person who made him feel seen. The night becomes a battleground of haunting flashbacks and quiet suffering, as Analu teeters between holding on and letting go. Malu, his surrogate sister, fights to reach the part of him still holding on. Falling is a raw, intimate journey through trauma, where the weight of the past threatens to eclipse the connections that remain.
Brian's Assistant
Short
instagram.com
After his boss commits suicide, an assistant working at a health insurance company becomes an unwitting new tribute to a clan of sadomasochistic investors.
100 Meters
Short
instagram.com
A para athlete fights for a spot on her high school’s swim team, battling ableism and her own grief as her sister tries out alongside her.
한 바람 (One Wind)
Short
seedandspark.com
On a family trip to South Korea, Juna, a young American girl, is abruptly left in the lone care of her grandmother in the countryside. The two slowly form a fragile bond, beyond generational and language barriers.
HOST
Short
The host of a live true crime podcast gets a dark call from a huge fan.
HOST is an intense and restrained thriller, taking place in a single location in the present day. Written and directed by Erik Avilez, and produced by Victor Brasil Salgado and Erica Meyer, the film explores the cost of our entertainment, and the consequences that we try to avoid.
