Films about the death of death and an attempt to befriend a giant were among the highlights of NewFilmmakers Los Angeles’s InFocus: International Animation program, in which NFMLA showcased animated work from all around the world.
InFocus: International Animation featured a slate of animated films and stories from Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, France, Korea, Poland, Singapore, Spain and the United Kingdom. It began with a special presentation of the past 10 years of finalists from the 24 HOURS Animation Contest for Students run by Legends Animated, a 501(c)3 worker self-directed nonprofit animation company that promotes the awareness and appreciation of animation as a medium by providing collaborative opportunities to create engaging and impactful work.
The August event’s programming continued with Made In California, a selection of films shot throughout the state. Stories in this block dealt with horror, drama, complicated family dynamics, and perseverance. A Made in Los Angeles block explored ambition, dissociation, interpersonal dynamics, growing up, grief, abuse, seeking justice and the rich history of LA’s communities.
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 representation by spotlighting various communities of filmmakers as part of the NFMLA Monthly Film Festival. This project is made possible in part by grant support from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
Here are interviews with the filmmakers and details about them and their films.
“Gale,” directed by Sean Kim
About Sean: Sean Kim is a Portuguese-Korean filmmaker, animator, and artist based in Toronto with a keen interest in the fantastical and the macabre. Inspired by the intersection between the supernatural and the personal, Sean seeks to create compelling stories and memorable images through atmospheric and genre-led design. For his thesis year, Sean wrote and directed the animated short “Gale.” Now graduated, he continues to write and has begun work in the Toronto animation and indie scenes as a production designer, storyboard artist, and animation supervisor.
About “Gale”: When her village is inadvertently destroyed by an ever-earnest gentle giant, Gran, the lonesome town matriarch, will have to let her guard down if she ever hopes to befriend the hulking construct and rebuild what has been lost.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Sean Kim, the director of “Gale”:
“Chasers,” directed by Erin Brown Thomas
About Erin: Erin Brown Thomas is a writer, director, and producer known for her genre-blending “traumadies” that mix comedy and drama to explore authenticity and performance. Her latest project, “Chasers,” — a 31-minute single-continuous-shot pilot — world premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and made its Los Angeles premiere at Slamdance, becoming the first narrative project accepted into both festivals. A Nicholl Fellowship Semifinalist, Erin makes films that critique ambition, social imbalance, and industrialized Christianity. While not on set, she champions the work of emerging filmmakers as the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Salute Your Shorts Film Festival in Los Angeles.
About “Chasers”: At a Los Angeles house party, an aspiring musician pursues her crush through a crowd of hopeful dreamers chasing empty promises.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Erin Brown Thomas, the director of “Chasers”:
“Marvelous Gift,” directed by Danna Galeano
About Danna: Danna Galeano is a Colombian animation director and writer driven by a love for storytelling with a twist of dark comedy. She wrote and directed her first animated short at 17, winning a national award that launched her career. Since then, she’s worked with major companies including Webtoon, Sony Music, and Netflix, bringing bold creative vision to every project. Her original work has been recognized at top festivals, including a selection at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and a win at Pixelatl. Danna is currently directing her second animated short and developing a new series for Adult Swim.
About “Marvelous Gift”: In a world where no one can die, a haunting journey unfolds to uncover what it truly means to live.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Danna Geleano, the director of “Marvelous Gift”:
“Finding Jamia’s Spirit,” directed by Candace Patrick
About Candace: Candace D. Patrick is an award-winning filmmaker who has earned several award nominations for her short “The 5th Room.” In 2023, she was a Reel Sisters Micro Budget Fellow for her script “Finding JaMia’s Spirit,” which went on to win “Best Short” at the 2025 Believe Psychology Film Festival. Candace earned her BA in Screenwriting from Loyola Marymount University, where she developed her voice focusing on stories that authentically depict human journeys. Identifying as a queer, neurodivergent, matcha latte enthusiast, Candace makes projects that explore grief, healing, friendships, and finding joy.
About “Finding Jamia’s Spirit”: After an inquisitive young girl is told that her recently deceased dad is now an ancestor spirit that she can feel whenever she needs, she tries to find his spirit before her first day of kindergarten.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Candace Patrick, the director of “Finding Jamia’s Spirit”:
“Wight,” directed by Jonathan Chen
About Jonathan: Jonathan Chen is a writer-director, born and raised in San Jose, California and based in Los Angeles. He holds an MFA in Film Directing from UCLA. He has directed several short films during his time at film school, and is a recipient of the Motion Picture Association of America Award and the Delia Salvi Memorial Award for excellence in directing actors. His filmmaking style focuses on a sense of place and grapples with identity, particularly the tension and conflict that arises from straddling the line between two different worlds, which is informed by his Chinese-American background. His work also examines and deconstructs film genres and history, by taking traditional narratives and viewing them through a lens that empowers underrepresented voices. He prides himself on building a culture of respect and collaboration on set, where the safety of the cast and crew is considered integral to the artistic creation.
About “Wight”: Marion, a young Chinese-American woman, returns to her childhood home in a cramped San Francisco Chinatown apartment after her grandmother is hospitalized under mysterious circumstances.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Jonathan Chen, the director of “Wight”:
“Big Yikes,” directed by Ibrahim Rana
About Ibrahim: Ibrahim Rana is a director, writer, and actor from Pakistan and a recent MFA graduate in Directing from UCLA. His work spans film and theater, often exploring themes of identity, cultural displacement, and community. In 2023, he was awarded the Tasveer Film Fund in the LGBTQ+ category, supported by Netflix. With a background in theater-making and a focus on personal, character-driven narratives, Ibrahim brings an intimate and nuanced perspective to his storytelling. He is committed to centering underrepresented voices and using film as a space for reflection, empathy, and conversations around belonging and difference.
About “Big Yikes”: After a regretful night, Yassin seeks his cousin Ayesha’s help to retrieve his nonconsensual video.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Ibrahim Rana, the director of “Big Yikes”:
“Little Bird,” directed by Oanh-Nhi Nguyen
About Oanh-Nhi: Oanh-Nhi Nguyen is an award-winning filmmaker whose decade-long commitment to gender and racial justice drives her storytelling. Through her lens, she amplifies Asian women and girls, weaving narratives that explore diaspora, immigrant identity, and the complex bonds between generations. An AFI Conservatory MFA graduate, Oanh-Nhi has directed ten narrative shorts and documentary episodes that have reached audiences from the Smithsonian American Art Museum to festival circuits nationwide. Her acclaimed short “Little Bird” captured the Jury Award for Best Student Short at Cinequest 2025 and earned a Remi Award at WorldFest Houston. Her work has also been showcased at CAAM Fest, Boston Asian American Film Festival, Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, and Viet Film Fest. Recognition from industry leaders includes her selection for Tribeca’s 2024 Creators Market, where she pitched to top professionals, alongside acceptance of her comedy pilot “Unacceptable” into the Athena’s Writers Lab and her docuseries debut “Taking Root” into the 2023 Tribeca Festival. As one of just ten filmmakers chosen for Hillman Grad and Indeed’s Rising Voices program, Oanh-Nhi directed and co-wrote “The Stand,” which premiered at Tribeca Festival in June 2025.
About “Little Bird”: In 1980s Los Angeles, Linh Tran, a disheartened Vietnamese woman tasked with evictions, uncovers the harsh reality of displacing fellow Vietnamese refugees. She struggles with the choice to keep her job or stand in solidarity with those she’s meant to uproot, and her moral dilemma deepens as she befriends a little Vietnamese girl caught in the midst of it all.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Oanh-Nhi Nguyen, the director of “Little Bird”:
“From A Son,” directed by Gilbert Trejo
About Gilbert: Born and raised in Los Angeles, Gilbert Trejo was exposed to the creative expression of film at a young age. After struggling with addiction for the better part of his youth, he found that expression in himself through independent music video production, often working with punk bands in an entirely DIY style.
About “From A Son”: The Orphic tale of a father unable to save his son from the hell of addiction.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Gilbert Trejo, the director of “From A Son”:
“Go,” directed by Dusan Brown
About Dusan: Dusan Brown is an award-winning writer, director, and lifelong actor. An AFI and NAACP Image Award winner, Brown is a recent Chapman University Dodge College of Film & Media Arts graduate, 2024 Academy Gold Rising Fellow, and 2023 Student Oscar Semi-Finalist. Brown’s written four features, directed approximately 20 shorts, and worked on an additional 20+ productions as crew. His latest film, “Go,” executive produced by Viola Davis and Julius Tennon, premiered at the Academy Qualifying LA Shorts, and screened at NFMLA, XL Fest, and SABIFF. Brown’s storytelling explores moral complexity and emotional pressure through anti-heroic characters.
About “Go”: When a perfectionist collegiate wrestler finds himself stumbling through the stages of grief after the tragic death of his parents, a security guard with a similar past secretly coaches him to grow into a champion.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Dusan Brown, the director of “Go”:
Main image: “Marvelous Gift,” courtesy of NFMLA