FILM AWARD WINNERS:
BEST FILM: Our Wonderful Nature
BEST PERFORMANCE: Mamma
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: City of My Heart
BEST MUSIC: The Flow
- Watch Audience FEEDBACK Videos:
 BOLD GREEN, 28min., Germany, Romance/Drama WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 MARTINA, OH MARTINA, 12min., Spain, Romance/Drama WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 MAMMA, 5min., Italy, Crime/ThrillerWATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 THE FLOW, 3min., Belgium, AdventureWATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 CITY OF MY HEART, 4min., Greece, Documentary WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 STUPID SMARTPHONE THERAPY, 4min., Germany, ExperimentalWATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 HONEYMOON, 3min., Switzerland, Romance WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 21ST CENTURY HERMIT, 3min., UK, Documentary WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 THE WAVES, 4min., UK, AnimationWATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 OUR WONDERFUL NATURE, 3min., Germany, AnimationWATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 DEAR INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, 4min., UK, Documentary/WarWATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 BE THE ONE, 5min., Switzerland, Crime/Music VideoWATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
The theme of the EUROPEAN Short Film Festival was “DETERMINATION”
Every film was about a character who had a purpose to venture beyond the situation they were currently in.
The 2018 season had its 2nd FEEDBACK Film Festival in Toronto (3rd overall), with a showcased of the best EUROPEAN Short Films from around the world – with 10 of the 12 films being Under 5 minutes in length.
The Under 5 Minute Film Festival has turned out to be one of our most popular events. When I went to Film School back in the day, our guest professor, a well regarded and successful filmmaker, kept telling his students that if you can’t make an engaging 30 second film with a beginning/middle/end, then you have no right making a 1 minute film, much less a longer short or a feature movie. He kept wanting us to go out and make films Under 5 Minutes in length so we truly understood the art of filmmaking and storytelling. This is what all of the great filmmakers have done.
This is what this festival is about. Showcasing amazing stories will little length time. For for the filmmakers to showcase their talent, and work on their art under 5 minutes at a time.
With a showcase of films from all over Europe in various genres from Animation to Comedy to Romance to Thriller – this became one of our most popular events in our history.
Thanks again to the Festival Coordinators Mary Cox & Kierston Drier.
See you at the next festivals.
– Matthew Toffolo
Winning Under 5min. Screenplay – KEEP SMILING by Courtney Wallace
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Thriller
A battered housewife decides that enough is enough, her husband just has to go. By go she means six feet under. If only he would stop foiling her plans!
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Val Cole
Noah: Allan Michael Brunet
Emma: Angelica Alejandro
Get to know the writer:
What is your screenplay about?
A battered housewife who reaches her breaking point with her husband’s abuse and decides to take matters into her own hands.
What genres does your screenplay fall under?
I would say, drama/dark comedy.
Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
I feel that the best short films are the ones that take one moment in a life and examine it under a microscope. That’s exactly what this screenplay does, we see one moment inside a turbulent marriage but we are able to understand just who these people are and even sympathize with the protagonist. No one wants to be beaten down and no one deserves it either.
How would you describe this script in two words?
Karmic Justice
What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
That’s a hard one, I would have to go with “The Addams Family” (1991). I watch it every Halloween, without fail. I love the balance between macabre and screwball.
How long have you been working on this screenplay?
About a month on the first draft and another week on rewrites.
How many stories have you written?
Tons, loads, oodles, plethora, slathers, etc. Any word that means “a lot”. I write constantly, I don’t think I ever have less then 2-3 stories going at once.
What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the most times in your life?)
It all depends on my mood. I listen to a little of everything, I never limit myself. I always listen to music when I write. I mostly listen to rock and alternative. Pop when I’m upset, RnB when it rains. My taste in music (as with most things in my life) is extremely eclectic.
What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?
This was one of my first scripts ever. I was a strictly prose girl before this, so it was like culture shock when I started writing screenplays. I deep shock and anxiety. It’s wonderful and I love it, but learning to write scripts vs. prose was definitely a challenge at first.
Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
My education, as boring as that may sound. I’ve always had a thirst for knowledge. I love to learn and push and stretch my abilities to the limit. Sometimes beyond. I believe that we never stop growing and learning as a human being.
You entered your screenplay via FilmFreeway. What has been your experiences working with the submission platform site?
FilmFreeway is simply amazing. A friend and fellow writer introduced me to it and it was love at first sight, so to speak. It’s easy to use and very professional. I trust the site completely.
What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?
After I finished this screenplay, it quickly became one of my favorites. Then, when I opened my account on FilmFreeway, the Under 5min. Film Festival came up as recommended for me. The timing was so perfect, I had to enter.
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Producer: Matthew Toffolo http://www.matthewtoffolo.com
Director: Kierston Drier
Casting Director: Sean Ballantyne
Editor: John Johnson
Camera Operator: Mary Cox
2017 Under 5min. Short Films at Festival (July to December – 39 films)
List of Under 5 Minute Short Films that were showcased at the festival for the 2nd half of 2017. Click the links and watch the Audience FEEDBACK videos, plus learn more about the films.
 ECSTASY BOULEVARD, 5min, USA, Fantasy/Sci-Fi
WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 SUICIDE NOTE, 5min, UK, Fantasy/Thriller
WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 TYSVAER WARS – A STAR WARS STORY, 4min, Norway, Comedy/Action
WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 STAR WARS: TRIALS, 5min, USA, Action/Adventure
WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
| BODY WITHOUT ORGANS, 2min, USA, Experimental
WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 NOVEMBER UNDER ASHES, 3min, France, Music Video
WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 HOPE, 4min, Iceland, Experimental
WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 STRANGE BEASTS, 5min, UK, Experimental
WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 DIE YOUNG, 3min, USA, Music Video
WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 DON’T LET THE BASTARDS GRIND YOU DOWN, 4min, UK, Experimental
WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 GOLDEN LIGHT, 3min, Italy, Music Video
WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 DOMESTICITY, 4min, UK, Thriller/Drama
WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 UKA, 3min, Spain, Animation/Family
WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 KARMA, 4min., USA, Animation/Family
WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 PERFECT TOWN, 4min., Switzerland, Animation/Fantastic
WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 GRACE & GRIT, 3min, USA, Thriller/DramaWATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 WE WERE SWIMMING, 3min, UK, Art/SurrealWATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
NO STRINGS ATTACHED, 5min, USA, Music Video
POST NO BILLS, 5min, Canada, Animation/Adventure 
THE FOREST PRINCESS, 5min, USA, Fantasy/Family  FIRM WITH PURPOSE, 5min, USA, Comedy WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 FELL, 5min, USA, Drama/Supernatural,WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 BEAUTIFUL, 4min, Iraq/USA, Drama/WarWATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 TASTE OF LOVE, 4min, Austria, Romance/ExperimentalWATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 TWO, 1min, USA, Fashion/ExperimentalWATCH Audience FEEDBACK | UKA, 3min, Spain, Animation/Family WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
| KARMA, 4min., USA, Animation/Family WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
PERFECT TOWN, 4min., Switzerland, Animation/Fantastic WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
| DOMESTICITY, 4min, UK, Thriller/Drama WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 IN A HEARTBEAT, 4min., USA, LGBT/Animation WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 GLORIOUS VICTORY, 2min., USA, Animation WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 ONCE AND DONE, 3min, USA, Animation/DocumentaryWATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 PURRS AND ‘OL MAN BLUES, 2min., Canada, AnimationWATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 BARRY THE BLOBFISH, 2min., USA, AnimationWATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 PINK BUBBLES, 3min., Taiwan, Animation WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 THE BLUE BUTTERFLY, 5min., China, Animation WATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 CONDITIONER, 5min., USA, Animation/ExperimentalWATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 KILLING US SOFTLY, 5min., Australia, Music VideoWATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
 ORACLE, 3min., USA, Music VideoWATCH Audience FEEDBACK |
HIGHLIGHTS & VIDEOS: June 2017 Under 5 Minute Film Festival
AUDIENCE FESTIVAL AWARDS
Best Film: FAMILY SHADOWS
Best Performances: I & MYSELF
Best Cinematography: EYE OF INDIA
Best Music: The music from BLURRY
WATCH the Audience FEEDBACK Videos for each film:
MISSION: APO11O, 4min, France, History/Comedy
MORE THAN LOVE, 3min, USA, Drama/Romance
BLURRY, 5min, USA, Thriller/Mystery
LAST CHANCE, 3min, Hungary, Drama/Sport
EYE OF INDIA, 3min, India, Experimental/Adventure
DAN, 1min, UK, Comedy
DATE TO THE CINEMA, 4min, USA, Romance/Drama
VOICING SILENCE, 3min, UK, Animation
WOW, 4min, France, Drama/Romance
BEYOND, 4min, Italy, Drama/Mystery
FAMILY SHADOWS, 4min, USA, Family/Drama
THE SNOWMAN’S HAT, 2min, USA, Animation
MOUNT ROYAL 2017-09, 2min, Canada, Experimental
THE FINAL FAIRYTALE, 1min, UK, Family
I & MYSELF, 5min, Japan, Drama/Fantasy
PROCLAMATION PUNCTUATION, 4min, USA, Dance/FashionThe UNDER 5 MINUTE JUNE 2017 FEEDBACK Film Festival gave our audiences simply the best of short movies from this community.
The theme of the festival was “OUTSIDE FORCES”.
Every film showcased was about a character(s) or situation that was getting in the way of success.
The UNDER 5 MINUTE FEEDBACK Film Festival is becoming one of our most popular events. It is definitely a festival that stirs the conversation and gets people talking.
For the June 2017 Festival we showcased the best 16 films from around the world in different styles, genres, and budgets. It still amazes me, after all these years doing the festival, the amount of talent that is out there in the world. And the clever things that people come up with to tell a story in less than 5 minutes. In fact, most films presented at this festival were less than 3 minutes.
There’s a cliche in storytelling that you enter each scene late and leave each scene early. The meaning behind that is you don’t want to waste the audience’s time. The classic example is that you don’t have to show a character driving to their destination, parking their car, getting out, knocking on the door etc… They can simply arrive at the next scene already inside the home having a conversation with the person they need to talk to further the story. Trimming the fat and only showing what is needed!
That’s the art of these 5 Minute Short Films. There is a story in all of these films. Setup. Conflict. Resolution – the three steps of any story. And the art is to tell your story within the context of your plot, themes, characters and uniqueness of your idea.
It’s no secret that all of these 16 films succeeded. When you have a tight race of 12 films vying for title of “BEST FILM” of the night, you know you’ve hit a jackpot of a film festival.
Hope to see you at our next Under 5 Minute Film Festival in December.
See you at the festivals.
– Matthew Toffolo
Under 5min. SHORT Script Reading of NIGHT SHIFT, by Yanjuan Song
Genre: Drama, Comedy
A security guard is paying too much attention to the robber because he’s online chatting with a girl.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
Billy: Hugh Ritchie
*****
Director/Producer: Matthew Toffolo http://www.matthewtoffolo.com
Camera Operator: Kierston Drier
Editor: John Johnson
Casting Director: Sean Ballantyne
HIGHLIGHTS – December 2016 Under 5min. Film Festival (Animation Edition)
AUDIENCE FESTIVAL AWARDS
Best Film: I AM DYSLEXIC
Best Performances: STUTTER
Best Animation: SISTERS
Best Music: The music from SISTERS
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I AM DYSLEXIC, 5min. Norway, Animation/Music Video
GRANDMA: A TRUE STORY, 5min, UK, Animation/Family
PHANTOM CITY, 6min, Canada, Animation/Crime
THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT, 2min, USA, Animation/Comedy
CACOPHONY, 2min, USA, Animation/Drama
SISTERS, 4min, USA, Animation/Music Video
AFRO CRAB, 4min, Taiwan, Animation/Comedy
HIGHLIGHTS – November 2016 Under 5min. Film Festival
AUDIENCE FESTIVAL AWARDS
Best Film: MIDNIGHT WALK
Best Performances: A COUPLE
Best Cinematography: DEADLY VIEW
Best Music: The music from TIME
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TIME, 3min., Hong Kong, Docuementary
NO SIGNAL, 1min., Spain, Documentary
THE KUSBEGI, 2min, Mongolia, Documentary
A COUPLE, 4min., France, Relationship
LUNCH, 2min., UK, Experimental/Music Video
NO WOMAN, 3min., Afghanistan, Experimental/Drama
HORSE PARADE, 1min., Puerto Rico, Romance/Experimental
DEADLY VIEW, 3min., Ireland, Thriller/Mystery
MIDNIGHT WALK, 4min., Australia, Thriller
PROVERBIAL LUCK, 5min, Austria, Romance/ComedyThe NOVEMBER 2016 FEEDBACK Film Festival was a great success. The sold out crowd loved the films and had plenty to say about each one during the audience feedback portion.
The theme of the festival was “Humanity”.
This was a special festival because we went around the world – showcasing 12 short film from 12 different countries.
NOTE: In over 150 festival events, this was the first time ever that we did not show a film from Canada or the United States.
We started the festival off showcasing five documentary films from Mexico, Lebanon, Hong Kong, Spain, and Mongolia. The Hong Kong film ended up winning “Best Musical Score” at the festival.
We then showcased a relationship film from France that ended up winning “Best Overall Performances” at the festival.
After that, we ventured to the “experimental” realm showing 3 diverse films from Afghanistan, Puerto Rico, and the UK.
The Thriller genre was next as we showed two films from Ireland and Australia in the genre. The Australian film ended up winning “Best Film” at the festival, while the Ireland film won “Best Cinematography”.
And to end the festival, we showcased a a comedy film from Austria that could be the most successful short film in the year 2016. The film has played at over 100 film festivals around the world.
To prepare the festival with assigned moderator Amanda Lomonaco, we had a hard time scaling down the conversation points becaue their simply was “so” much to talk about. These were simply 12 amazing short films. Truly a night to remember!
Click the posters, learn about the films, and watch the Audience Feedback Videos.
– Matthew Toffolo
