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Film Freeway

First Time Filmmakers Block 1

Available: Jun 12, 2026 07:00
Until: Jun 19, 2026 06:59
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First Time Filmmakers Block 1
OUr first block of selections from first time filmmakers.
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ON AIR ON AIR

ON AIR

When a disgraced man hijacks a live radio broadcast to expose the lovers who betrayed him, unsuspecting callers are forced to decide guilt, truth, and consequence in real time. As the show descends into chaos, the line between justice and revenge collapses on air.
15 minutes
Single & Thriving...Kind Of Single & Thriving...Kind Of

Single & Thriving...Kind Of

Single & Thriving... Kind Of is an 8-episode dramedy that follows Cassandra (Cass), a vibrant and sometimes chaotic Brooklyn transplant in her late 20’s, as she navigates love, career, and the journey to self-discovery. Between swiping left and right, hustling at a corporate job that often feels more like a battlefield, and trying to hold it together through self-doubt, uncertainty, vulnerability and all the highs and lows of a human life, Cass is caught in the messy, hilarious, and sometimes heartbreaking reality of being a Black woman in today’s world.

Through Cass, the show explores the pressures of time, the distorted standards of social media, and the weight of systemic racism in corporate America, all while shining a light on how these forces impact Black love and the mental and emotional well-being of young Black men and women. But it’s not all heavy—this is a show that celebrates Black joy, Black love, and Black friendship. With wit, humor, nostalgia and plenty of heart, Single & Thriving... Kind Of offers a refreshing, authentic look at what it means to truly grow into yourself while thriving and struggling at the same damn time!
30 minutes
Pandaal Pandaal

Pandaal

A female pimp, dispensing her own brand of justice by pimping out abusive men, must confront her darkest secrets when a new case brings her haunting past to light.
16 minutes
Discovering Bessie Coleman 0:15 Discovering Bessie Coleman 0:15

Discovering Bessie Coleman 0:15

Discovering Bessie Coleman is an inspiring documentary that celebrates the impact of Bessie Coleman’s legacy through the eyes of those she continues to inspire. Rather than a biographical account, the film shares personal stories from Coleman’s family, aviation professionals, and celebrities like author and actress Karyn Parsons, recounting how they first learned about Coleman’s groundbreaking achievements as the first African-American and Native American woman to earn an international pilot’s license. Despite her accomplishments, Coleman’s story remains unfamiliar to many. This documentary highlights the transformative power of her journey, showcasing how her determination to overcome barriers continues to motivate and empower new generations in aviation and beyond.
15 minutes
Somewhere In Brooklyn Somewhere In Brooklyn

Somewhere In Brooklyn

What began as an undercover assignment during the COVID-19 lockdown turned into an unexpected romance. A year later, when a police officer reconnects with the woman he fell in love with, a ruthless criminal from his past returns, threatening not only their future together but his life as well.
20 minutes
Unknown Caller Unknown Caller

Unknown Caller

Maya, a 60-year-old mother, marks ten years since her son Amar's suicide on what would have been his 28th birthday. Trapped in a cycle of guilt and grief, she maintains a shrine to his memory while her sister urges her to "move on."

During a violent storm at 4:25 AM, Maya receives a wrong-number call from Neal, someone in crisis contemplating suicide. What begins as a misdirected call to a suicide hotline becomes a profound conversation between two souls in pain.

Through a 2-hour conversation, Maya shares her story of loss while helping Neal find reasons to live. In saving Neal, Maya begins her own journey toward healing.

As Maya shares her story of loss and regret, she unknowingly saves Neal's life while beginning to heal her own. The film explores how helping others can be the path to healing ourselves.
Explores Maya’s complex journey of parental grief and finding purpose in pain.
16 minutes
Black & Blue Black & Blue

Black & Blue

Black & Blue follows two estranged friends and former lovers who reconnect for one night inside a Brooklyn jazz club. They’ve always shared a language through music — it’s what brought them close and what kept them apart. Blue, a writer, shows up ready to finally say what she never could, only to find that Black, a pianist, has news that changes everything. Over the course of one night, what starts as casual conversation turns into something more charged — a mix of old rhythms, missed timing, and the quiet ache of almosts.

Set against the pulse of live jazz, the film explores how love and ambition can move in harmony and still fall out of sync, and what it means to choose yourself when timing refuses to cooperate. Intimate, musical, and emotionally honest, Black & Blue is about the people who shape us, the dreams that pull us apart, and the songs that stay long after the night ends.
19 minutes
Wi Cyah Stay Wi Cyah Stay

Wi Cyah Stay

When their homes in rural Jamaica become unsafe, a queer teen and his cousin find refuge and acceptance at their aunt's house and in each other.
13 minutes
The Baltimore Barber The Baltimore Barber

The Baltimore Barber

Anthony Evers is the best barber in West Baltimore and a pillar of his neighborhood; confidant, mentor, and man who believes deeply in the futures of the young people who sit in his chair. His shop is a sanctuary where clippers hum and clients share their dreams.

Seventeen-year-old Scooter is one of Anthony’s favorites. Bright, ambitious, and full of plans. Scooter talks about opening a bike shop, going viral, buying his mother a house, and building a safer life for his family as Anthony trims his hair and offers fatherly guidance.

Intercut with these moments is a second, colder ritual: Anthony working late at night in an undisclosed location, carefully laying out tools and tufts of hair, performing the same precise motions we see in the shop, but under far different circumstances.

As Scooter speaks passionately about the life he intends to build, the film slowly reveals a shattering truth: Anthony is not only the barber shaping his community’s future, he is also the man preparing its dead. Scooter, whose voice fills the shop with hope, is already gone.

The Baltimore Barber is a haunting meditation on grief, gun violence, and the quiet labor of the men who hold Black communities together. It questions what it costs to keep showing up in a world that keeps taking your kids, and who takes care of the care taker?
6 minutes
I'll Try to Explain it I'll Try to Explain it

I'll Try to Explain it

When a lesbian filmmaker is haunted by intimate dreams of her high school ex-boyfriend, she embarks on a documentary to reunite with him and reenact the dreams, awakening truths about her complicated relationship with men.
15 minutes
Lost in Spice Lost in Spice

Lost in Spice

To impress Emmy, Romain faces his biggest challenge yet: devouring Dragon's Breath noodles. Measured at two and a half million on the Scoville scale!

Through this film, I wanted to explore the theme of anger not as a raw explosion, but as a profound reaction to the invisible tensions that shape us. The main character's anger stems from social pressure, the desire to conform and please at all costs, to the point of losing control of his own choices. Pushed to his limits, he undergoes an intense physical and emotional experience where every fall, every movement, becomes a way of expressing this inner struggle. In the ordeal, he discovers that this anger can also be a force for growth, allowing him to reconnect with himself and regain control of his life.
3 minutes
A Moment in Time A Moment in Time

A Moment in Time

A Moment in Time is an intimate drama about grief, forgiveness, and the conversations we sometimes wait too long to have.

Haunted by a past she has never fully faced, a driven woman is forced to confront the grief she has carried for years before it consumes the life she has built.

In her directorial debut, actor and producer Tara Troy draws from her personal experiences of loss and survival—including a cancer diagnosis and the death of her father—to tell a deeply human story about grief, forgiveness, and the conversations we wish we had before time runs out.
13 minutes
Boy Forgotten Boy Forgotten

Boy Forgotten

When given the chance to confront his mother who went through a procedure to forget about him, twelve year old THEO tries to convince LOUIS, a resentful forgotten, to take him to her. Unable to persuade him, Theo tries to escape, but when given the choice to chase after the mother who doesn't want him, or stay with the outcasts who truly love and need him, Theo accepts his life as a forgotten, surrounded by Louis and the OTHER FORGOTTEN in his care home.
15 minutes

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Diversity in Cannes Short Film Showcase
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