
Awkward pool party encounters, a space secret and and breakup body horror were among the topics of a lively NewFilmmakers Los Angeles program entitled InFocus: Indigenous Cinema.
The festival in November highlighted the work of indigenous filmmakers in front of and behind the camera, writer-director Omar S. Kamara’s award-winning debut narrative African Giants, and a selection of shorts.
The line-up began with shorts program November Shorts, an eclectic mix of narratives that offered laughter, satire, connection, self-awareness, intrigue and fear.
The day’s programming continued with InFocus: Indigenous Cinema, a selection of short films that included stories of profound interconnectedness with nature, the preservation of Indigenous languages, and returning home to heal.
The evening concluded with African Giants, an honest, grounded and intimate look at the relationship between two first-generation Sierra Leonean American brothers as they navigate adulthood and their changing dynamic. It won the audience award at Slamdance last year.
NFMLA showcases films by filmmakers of all backgrounds throughout the year, across both our general and InFocus programming. All filmmakers are welcome and encouraged to submit their projects for consideration for upcoming NFMLA Festivals, regardless of the schedule for InFocus programming, which celebrates diversity, inclusion and region by spotlighting communities of filmmakers within our filmmaking community as part of our monthly program. This exhibition is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.
Here are biographies and interviews with the NFMLA filmmakers, as well as details on their films. Congratulations to all.
“Plantasy,” directed by Peyton Tenison
About Peyton: Peyton Tenison is a Los Angeles-based actor, producer, and writer. Dating back to early childhood, he has always had a deep affinity for prose and film alike, spending much of his youth watching Denzel Washington movies and writing haikus for his crushes. In high school, he began his foray into the world of moviemaking by joining an acting class and ultimately falling in love with the craft. Since then, he has starred in feature films such as 2024’s Home by Sunday, directed by Will Gundlach, and 2023’s Pregame, directed by Peter Gold. His directorial debut, “Plantasy,” is currently on the festival circuit.
About “Plantasy”: An agoraphobic plant-woman is thrust into a nightmarish reality when her water supply is suddenly shut off. With her houseplant (and only friend) Peperomia by her side, she must confront her fear of the outside world or suffer the dire consequences.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Peyton Tension, director of “Plantasy”:
“To All the Girls I Could’ve Loved Before,” directed by Adolfo Mena Cejas
About Adolfo: Adolfo (Cuba, 1987) is a Cuban-American filmmaker who has called New York City home since 2016. With a foundation built on his rich background in theater, Adolfo’s cinematic journey has been influenced by his role as Assistant Director at Havana’s Teatro El Público. More recently, he has taken the stage himself as an on-stage video/performer, contributing to acclaimed Broadway and Metropolitan Opera productions, including the 2020 revival of West Side Story directed by Ivo Van Hove, Lucia di Lammermoor, and Dead Man Walking.
Adolfo’s short films have been selected for important film festivals worldwide. Alongside his success in filmmaking, he also works as a Senior Video Editor at Spectrum News, earning Emmy nominations for his outstanding contributions. At the same time, he’s dedicated to an independent feature film project he hopes to be his opera prima.
About “To All the Girls I Could’ve Loved Before”: In New York City, confident gay man Raúl faces a life-altering choice between an unexpected attraction to a woman and a tempting threesome, exploring love, desire, and self-discovery.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Adolfo Mena Cejas, the director of “To All The Girls I Could’ve Loved Before”:
“Ripper Was Here,” directed by Joel Kazuo Knoernschild
About Joel: Joel is a half-Japanese, multi-hyphenate, 2x Emmy-award-winning film and commercial director who seeks to give a voice to marginalized individuals. Joel recently won at the 76th Emmy Creative Awards for The Making of Shōgun, his second Emmy win and sixth nomination. Joel shadow directed the last two episodes of FX’s upcoming feudal Japan show, Shōgun with director Frederick E.O. Toye (who won an Emmy for best director on the episode Joel shadow directed, episode 9) in Vancouver, Canada. He also directed a trailer in Tokyo for Apple Music with Eikichi Yazawa, and recently directed Apple Music’s series Up Next featuring X-pop group XG in Tokyo.
Joel’s currently attached to direct the untitled Margaret Cho TV show, created by his sister Katie Malia. Rene Gube (The Bear) is attached to showrun. His web series Almost Asian, co-created with Malia, explores the ethnic dichotomies and racial diversities prevalent in youth culture today and polaroids Katie’s personal and professional struggles as she awkwardly attempts to maneuver through life as a half-Asian mix. It has been featured by PRI’s The World, The Washington Post, Fast Company and the Huffington Post. In 2020, Joel wrote and directed a 30-minute documentary for Netflix/Ryan Murphy entitled The Boys in the Band: Something Personal, featuring interviews with late playwright Mart Crowley, director Joe Mantello and star-studded cast: Matt Bomer, Zachary Quinto, Jim Parsons, Andrew Rannells, Robin De Jesús, Brian Hutchison, Michael Benjamin Washington, Tuc Watkins and Charlie Carver. His narrative short film, “VARMiNT” challenges life lessons in adulthood, social conventions, and man’s thoughtless disposals of life. It won the Audience Award at the New Orleans Film Festival and the Grand Jury Prize at Dances with Films, and was featured on Short of the Week and received a Vimeo Staff Pick. His experimental short film “Sight Unseen” (presented by NOWNESS) features music by FKA Twigs and was screened at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. Joel has directed music videos for Tom Petty, Julianna Barwick featuring Jónsi of Sigur Rós, Dr. Octagon featuring Paul Banks of Interpol, LANY, the Knocks featuring Foster the People, Summer Moon (Nikolai Fraiture of the Strokes) and Gary Numan.
About “Ripper Was Here”: Recently declassified documents reveal American astronaut Lt. RJ Rippenkroeger was the first man in space.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Joel Kazuo Knoernschild, the director of “Ripper Was Here”:
“How To Fill The Unfillable Hole Inside You,” directed by Dave Canning
About Dave: Dave Canning is a director, writer, author and freelance executive creative director. His advertising work has won multiple Emmys, and gold in every award show including Cannes, The One Show, D&AD, the ANDYS, and The Clio Awards. The Guardian called his “Climate Name Change” campaign the best climate change campaign in history. His fiction has been published in The Madison Review, Sterling Clack Clack, Literally Stories and The Festival Review, and has been awarded by Writer’s Digest and the National Hemingway Prize. His films have been selected by HollyShorts, the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival, and the New York Shorts International Festival, among others.
About “How To Fill The Unfillable Hole Inside You”: An experimental short film that deals with the complexity of our deepest emotions through the lens of comfort food.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Dave Canning, director of “How To Fill The Unfillable Hole Inside You”:
“Golden Child,” directed by Hannah Levin
About Hannah: Hannah Levin is a writer, filmmaker, and actor based in LA. She’s worked on shows like The Sex Lives of College Girls and will appear in a role in the upcoming third season. She’s also assisted comedy writers on overall deals at 20th Television and ABC Signature, helping with all aspects of script development. Hannah served as an Executive Producer on FINTECH, an independent pilot written/directed by Mekki Leeper (Jury Duty), which screened across the U.S. in fall 2023. Most recently, she wrote, directed, and starred in Golden Child, a dark comedy short film that had its World Premiere at Aspen Shortsfest and has played at the Seattle International Film Festival, and the Raindance Film Festival, among others.
About “Golden Child”: A young woman is reunited with her childhood friend at a pool party and reckons with the fact that he used to pee on her when they were kids.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Hannah Levin, director of “Golden Child”:
“African Giants,” directed by Omar Kamara
About Omar: Writer-director Omar S. Kamara is a first-generation Sierra Leonean American, Virginia native, and graduate of the College of William and Mary and AFI. His debut feature film, African Giants, which he independently wrote, directed, and produced, won the Audience Award at the 2024 Slamdance Film Festival and was picked up for worldwide distribution by Juno Films, which is planning a theatrical release this summer and a multi-platform digital release this coming winter.
In addition to winning the Franklin J. Schaffner Fellow Award at AFI, Kamara was selected as an inaugural Resident for the Rideback Rise BIPOC Content Accelerator as well as a filmmaker for the Rising Voices Program — a collaboration between Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad and Indeed — to write and direct a short that will premiere at Tribeca in 2024. His previous short film, “Mass Ave,” won the Grand Prize at the DGA Student Film Awards, was named a Finalist in HBO’s Short Film Competition at ABFF, and was nominated for the Grand Prix at Clermont-Ferrand International Film Festival. The film was licensed by HBO and is currently streaming on HBO Max. Kamara’s films touch on his first-generation experiences and strive to highlight and honor the African Diaspora.
About African Giants: Over a weekend visit in Los Angeles, two first-generation Sierra Leonean American brothers navigate the changing dynamics of brotherhood after a surprise announcement.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Omar Kamara, director of African Giants:
“River Bank,” directed by Charine Pilar Gonzales
About Charine: Charine Pilar Gonzales is a Tewa filmmaker from San Ildefonso Pueblo and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Charine’s Tewa name is “Ku’yan Povi” which translates to Turquoise Flower. Her esteemed short doc “Our Quiyo: Maria Martinez” (2022) premiered at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and received national recognition. Charine’s debut narrative fiction short film, “River Bank (Pō-Kehgeh),” is making international waves on the film festival circuit. Charine aims to intertwine memories, dreams and truths through story.
Charine owns the multimedia production company Povi Studios. She attends the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) MFA Creative Writing program with a focus in Screenwriting. She earned a BFA in Cinematic Arts and Technology from IAIA and a BA in English – Communication from Fort Lewis College. Charine is co-founder of the Native Lens project, a crowdsourced collaboration by KSUT Tribal Radio and Rocky Mountain PBS.
Charine is a 2024 Native Lab Fellow through the Sundance Institute Indigenous Program, and an alumni of the Full Circle Fellowship, Native Lab AiR, and Indigenous Film Opportunity Fellowship. She’s also an alum of the LA Skins Fest TV Writers Lab and Native American Animation Lab. She received the First Peoples Fund ABL Fellowship and participated in the Jackson Wild Summit Media Lab and MCA Fellowship. Charine is represented by Rain Management Group, based in Los Angeles. Her favorite foods are Pueblo oven bread, red chile stew, and chicos. She resides in Santa Fe with her family and chunky orange tabby cat, Cheddar.
About “River Bank”: A Pueblo woman struggles with guilt after stealing money from a local business. Her grandmother takes her to the River to remind her of Tewa values. The Pueblo woman blesses herself with River water, and the River becomes her guide. Together, they give to the people.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Charine Pilar Gonzales, director of “River Bank”:
“Escape Artist,” directed by Kieran Barker
About Kieran: Kieran Barker is a Los Angeles-based CG Animation Artist specializing in storytelling through Lighting and Environment art. He is dedicated to making a creative impact in film, television, and video games. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Animation and Digital Arts from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. With expertise in filmmaking, photography, CGI lighting, rendering, modeling, and texturing, Kieran brings a wealth of experience to each project. He has worked on award-winning films, games, and shows and is currently creating animation and VFX for several clients.
About “Escape Artist”: An alien robot ship invades the colorful creative world of Artist to harvest their creative energy and capture a workforce. Some are able to use their creative powers to resist capture and escape off the ship as the alien robots attack.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Kieran Barker, director of “Escape Arist”:
“How May I Help You,” directed by Eleanor Harmon
About Eleanor: Ella Harmon is a Chicago-based filmmaker and educator whose work centers around the ways individual lives are shaped by larger systems of social organization. Ella works at the margins of documentary film, incorporating narrative techniques to call attention to their role in an active process of truth-construction. Ella’s films have screened at CUFF, Tacoma FF, Nefiltravanae Kino, and other festivals worldwide. Ella holds an MFA in Documentary Media with a certificate in Critical Theory from Northwestern University and previously studied Film and Philosophy at Sarah Lawrence College and Oxford University. Ella’s other interests include writing, music, color theory, language learning, photography, and animation.
About “How May I Help You”: Through a series of vignettes scripted from real phone conversations between call center workers and customers, How May I Help You reimagines fleeting personal encounters between strangers.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Eleanor Harmon the director of “How May I Help You”:
“Come Back Haunted,” directed by Logan James Freeman
About Logan: Logan J. Freeman (he/they) is an award-winning digital artist and commercial director from Birmingham, Alabama. With a background as a touring musician and a lifelong passion for storytelling, Freeman’s work explores the depths of emotions tied to invisible disabilities, externalizing the otherwise uncommunicable. Drawing on his experiences as an artist and musician, he captures the rhythmic nature of memory and recall, transforming mental states into complex narratives through deliberate camera language and a commitment to nurturing collaborative, authentic performances. Freeman often uses horror as a mechanism for exploration, inviting the audience to engage with his characters’ journeys through subtly complex and terrifying worlds. Their approach to filmmaking creates a visceral experience, where the audience is an active participant in the characters’ emotional and psychological landscapes. Logan’s honors include Runner-Up for Student Academy Awards for producing “My Indian Rhapsody”, Sundance Labs Digital Fellowship Runner-Up, Stowe Story Labs Participant, and Runner-up for Project Greenlight’s Music Video Contest. Their shorts, “Fated to Repeat” and “Brian,” are streaming on major digital distribution platforms. Freeman earned a B.A. in Communication and Theatre Arts from The University of Alabama and an M.F.A. in Media Art with a focus on Film Directing from Emerson College. Freeman is currently pursuing a M.A. in Comparative Literature and Folklore at the University of Montevallo. Logan serves as an Assistant Professor of Filmmaking at the University of Montevallo, where he is developing the inaugural B.A./B.F.A. program in Digital Film and Media that serves first-generation and low-income students.
About “Come Back Haunted”: A reclusive woman is forced to confront her buried past when a blood-soaked teenager appears at her door.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Logan James Freeman, director of “Come Back Haunted”:
“Tail,” directed by Yichien Lee
About Yichien: Yichien Lee is a Taiwanese writer-director whose work primarily deals with female sexuality and Taiwanese national identity. Strongly influenced by gothic literature and Taiwanese folk tales, her works tend to be disturbing or erotic as she explores unnerving subjects like identity crisis and toxic romance. Yichien has an MFA in Film and Media Art from Emerson College. She is currently based in Los Angeles.
About “Tail”: Hura is ready to leave her boyfriend for good. As she leaves his apartment, she discovers a 30-foot penis chaining her vagina to her soon-to-be ex.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Yichien Lee the director of “Tail”:
Main image: A still from the film “River Bank (PŌ-KEHGEH)”