Sunshine & Swampland: New Florida Shorts, Volume 1
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Sunshine & Swampland: New Florida Shorts, Volume 1
Sunshine & Swampland was born to celebrate all the things that filmmakers find unique about life here amongst the heat and humidity. This year, we had so much incredible content we created two diverse programs to showcase filmmakers we believe best exemplify the future of filmmaking in Florida. From invasive species in the Everglades and celebrating the beauty of the human body’s various shapes and sizes amongst the springs, to the need for prison reform; struggles with mental health, overbearing mothers, artists and muses; and maybe even a werewolf, there are a lot of stories in the Sunshine State, and we’re thrilled to bring you these.
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Sunshine & Swampland: New Florida Shorts, Volume 1
Python Huntress
Directed by: Nicholas Orris and Matt Deblinger
USA, 2023, 19m
Donna Kalil is a South Florida environmentalist who spends her nights patrolling the Everglades in search of the Burmese Python—an invasive apex predator that has devastated local wildlife. Donna too is a hunter, but fulfilling her job responsibilities does not always come easy.
Sunshine & Swampland: New Florida Shorts, Volume 1
Make Up Your Mind
Directed by: Hayley Nash
USA, 2022, 14m
In this winner of the 2022 Central Florida Film Slam, a young woman struggling with her mental health must decide whether or not to buy a new brain.
Sunshine & Swampland: New Florida Shorts, Volume 1
Tomb of the Sea
Directed by: Andrew Garcia
USA, 2023, 17m
In English and Spanish with English subtitles
This rich and layered portrait of grief, love, and the constant struggle to achieve the American Dream follows Rosa, a Cuban woman in Miami, who is forced into confronting the trauma of her past in the wake of Fidel Castro’s death in 2016.
Sunshine & Swampland: New Florida Shorts, Volume 1
Nash
Directed by: Tim Warren
USA, 2022, 12m
Nine-year-old Nash is determined to find the monster that killed his mother; his father George is equally determined to stop him.
Sunshine & Swampland: New Florida Shorts, Volume 1
Like the Girls Who Wear Pink
Directed by: Jennifer Msumba
USA, 2022, 6m
A time-traveling video finds its way to 1981. A plea from the future, it serves as a warning woven together with hope and encouragement for a young autistic girl, and perhaps for us all, in this personal essay from FFF alumna Jennifer Msumba (“The Fish Don’t Care When It Rains,” FFF 2021).
Sunshine & Swampland: New Florida Shorts, Volume 1
Un-Portalable!
Directed by: Ira Klages
USA, 2023, 5m
Ira Klages’ UCF master’s thesis follows Enya, a reserved young man preparing to meet up with a new friend. He wants to make a good impression, but his buddy Jonesy complicates things in a major way in this 2D and experimental mixed-media animated short.
Sunshine & Swampland: New Florida Shorts, Volume 1
1402 Pork n’ Bean Blue
Directed by: Juan Luis Matos
USA, 2023, 7m
At the intersection of his grandmother’s death and the redevelopment of the public housing project his family has lived in for generations, artist/community advocate/father of three Roscoe B. Thicke III reflects on his childhood in the Pork n’ Beans projects and the influences behind his work.
Sunshine & Swampland: New Florida Shorts, Volume 1
Made by God
Directed by: Wyatt Weymouth
USA, 2022, 12m
Dylan is a directionless young man living in rural Florida, alienated from the few people around him by his mental illness. When Dylan’s brother sends him away to stay with his friend for a few days, and they go into the woods to shoot guns, things take a violent turn.
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