THE EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON FILM FESTIVAL 2020 by Genesis Castaneda https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT JOURNEY, TRUST IT. en-us 2020-10-06 21:31:23 UTC 2026-01-03 07:33:49 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-uploads.storage.googleapis.com/684154570/d6c6c9f2f407dacfec39e08435aadcae/kisspng_airplane_paper_plane_paper_airplane_5a98eadd454617_6853694615199710372838.jpg đź’Ś START HERE đź’Ś gcastaneda192 https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/809212939 Hey, how are you? Now before we start I just want to advise you that this film festival will display many paths we are all familiar with. For many they could be triggering and for others a sigh of relief. You are not alone.

We were all born to give love and receive love, it's what makes the universe go round. See recently I went through a very traumatizing breakup, never in a million years did I think I was going to cry my nights away asking the heavens "why me?"

It wasn't until recently that I analyzed it all and paid visits to memory lane. If this relationship wouldn't have happened I would have never learned how brave I am, how intelligent I am, how kind my heart is even to those who do not deserve it. It's all part of my journey, it was bound to happen because it was a growing opportunity or as some storytellers may say it's my character development.

I acknowledge my past and have hope of trusting my future timeline. I want to invite the audience to ground themselves and be vulnerable to the idea that there is no such thing as coincidence, we all meet people and invite them into our story even if it's for a season because the encounter was meant to happen at that exact moment in your life.

With that being said I leave you here with this french saying c’est la vie.

]]> 2020-10-07 05:05:57 UTC https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/809212939 ONCE UPON A LINE(7 min) gcastaneda192 https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/809292871 Who believes in love at first sight? Is it real? Is it an infatuation with the thought of someone? Whatever it may be we all can agree that love is exciting and even more so when it is unexpected. For many cases it turns your life upside down and inside out just like the Diana Ross song. This film ONCE UPON A LINE directed by ALICJA JASINA will follow the regular nine to five colorless work life of a man, who by slight chance the universe connects him to the perfect woman who brings color into his life. This film is the introduction to this festival because it clearly emphasizes the key concept that we meet people not by coincidence but because it had to happen. The universe incorporates these events into our timeline because they are destined to be part of the journey, for the most part the outcomes are way better than what was expected. ]]> 2020-10-07 05:52:30 UTC https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/809292871 THE GF CLUB (5 min) gcastaneda192 https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/809319127 Who remembers their first big crush? I definitely do, and it feels like it was just yesterday when I would come home from middle school and play the song Rockstar by Hannah Montana on repeat because the lyric “Some days I spend a little extra time in the morning just to impress you” would resonate so much to the current situation I was in. I never told Aaron A. I liked him, but I hope he is doing well. I was a very shy kid, so never in a million years did I think of making a move or telling my crush how I felt, but don’t get me wrong I did think about it on occasions where I was ready to press send on MySpace and then I would back out. In this film THE GF CLUB directed by JACK ANDERSON we will embark on a journey of innocence, excitement, and the outcomes of just living in the moment. ]]> 2020-10-07 06:08:22 UTC https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/809319127 IN A HEARTBEAT (4 min) gcastaneda192 https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/809320834 Imagine each time you have a crush on someone your heart jumps out of your chest and I am not talking Bugs Bunny style but an actual heart taking character and matter into its own hands. IN A HEARTBEAT directed by ESTEBAN BRAVO and BETH DAVID is what you would get if Pixar made an LGBTQ+ animated short, where we have great storytelling through no dialogue, just action. We place ourselves in the panic and nerves of a young boy who suppresses his heart because he is scared of what the rest of the students may think of him. We learn about the fears of love and how scary it may be to let your heart speak for you, but your heart and your gut know exactly what they are doing. It is important to feel as it can help you understand yourself better. ]]> 2020-10-07 06:09:16 UTC https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/809320834 97% (8 min) gcastaneda192 https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/809323037 We live in an era where we spend most of our socializing time on a social media outlet, an app, a website, or possibly a widget. If you download a dating app you’ll definitely get at least one match that has potential, and if you are a hopeless romantic you’ll quickly begin picturing your future with them. In the film 97% directed by BEN BRAND we follow a man on a subway ride when his dating app alerts him of a close compatibility, he believes he is at the right place at the right time. Although the film has little to no dialogue we learn how the protagonist reacts through points of views and strong eye contact. Main lesson to be learned is that sometimes the right person is right in front of you, you just have to look up and not be so dependent on an app that you forget that in person compatibility is stronger because your real energy is projected into the world. ]]> 2020-10-07 06:10:28 UTC https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/809323037 HERE'S THE PLAN(18 min) gcastaneda192 https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/809324095 If the film LA LA LAND directed by DAMIEN CHAZELLE and Cartoon Network had a baby you would receive this very emotionally driven animation. Planning the rest of your life with someone whether you are dating them or marrying them is so beautiful, because you see yourself building a story and not only writing a few chapters. In this very color driven animated short HERE’S THE PLAN directed by FERNANDA FRICK we follow the newlyweds on their journey to successfully accomplish their one dream of having a bakery together. The power of love, communication, and understanding, is the strength of this story and what makes these animal protagonists so relatable is that they project a scenario that is very probable for many. Losing track of your dreams and getting a wake up call is sometimes what is needed to snap out of it and see where all of the delayed process has led you to be.  ]]> 2020-10-07 06:11:08 UTC https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/809324095 A SUBWAY STORY (5 min) gcastaneda192 https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/809326019 Do you ever wonder with “what if” statements? For instance, what if I hadn’t taken the blue bus that morning, what if I had never attended the party, and so on. We usually think of this statement when we want to acknowledge the present. A SUBWAY STORY directed by EUGENE KOLB is exactly what the “what if” statement would feel like if it was wrapped up in a bow and put in film. We never get to see the real characters,we experience their honey like voice overs of their lovers told with simplistic sketches of New York City as they narrate their love story. This story shows the power of courage and how sometimes by a simple look you just know someone is about to partake in an important role in your life. The characters crossed paths and didn’t even know the moment they both took the same subway route that day in 2011. ]]> 2020-10-07 06:12:18 UTC https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/809326019 LONELY PLANET (24 min) gcastaneda192 https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/809326840 Many of us have distinct ideals on romance, love at first sight, soulmates, destiny, twin flames, karmic partners, friends with benefits, etc. But if there is something we can all agree on is that love is felt and recognized right away by our body, mind, and soul. Running away will never fix anything, it will just be a temporary heal. We all want to find comfort in people that make us feel most at home. Home being our true selves. Displayed through beautiful cinematography the film LONELY PLANET directed by ALEX BURUNOVA is a love letter to Spain and its wonderful attractions. We see the story of a nomadic woman who is in love with traveling, because a place has never broken her heart unlike a person. That is until she visits the technicolor country of Spain and intersects paths with a local who immediately gains her trust as he shows her around the city. Their meeting will change her perspective on love, forever. ]]> 2020-10-07 06:12:47 UTC https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/809326840 Q & A WITH ESTEBAN BRAVO AND BETH DAVID gcastaneda192 https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/809363557 After this short film went viral on social media it got the attention of many influencers and even The Ellen DeGeneres Show. This film brings affirmation to society that on the inside we are all the same and that what you feel no matter who you feel it towards is all valid. Through animation our creators Esteban Bravo and Beth David take us through a technicolor love letter to the innocence of crushes through our pre-teen characters Jonathan and Sherwin. Seeing LGBTQ representation getting so much positive buzz has made the entertainment industry realize that it's a topic that needs to get addressed not as a taboo but as a norm. We have the pleasure to have with us today both writers and directors Esteban Bravo and Beth David to tell us all about their short.  Moderator for this Q and A session will be social media influencer, Connor Franta. 

6 questions before opening up to the audience:  

  1. What animators or animation styles inspired this short?
  2. What was the genesis of this short film and how was this storyline created? Was it based on your own love experiences?
  3. Did you guys predict that this short animated film was going to get much attention from the media?  
  4. If a major studio picked up the film to make a feature length film, how would you feel about it and what guidelines would you want the studio to follow?  
  5. Is there a reason why you guys decided to take the no dialogue route to address an LGBTQ love story? 
  6. What do you want your audience to take away from this short film and share with the world? 
]]> 2020-10-07 06:34:32 UTC https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/809363557 YOU LOVE ME AWARD gcastaneda192 https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/809365050 I am pleased and honored to announce the winner of THE EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON FILM FESTIVAL, to whom I present the one and only They Really Love Me Award, and that is to LONELY PLANET directed by ALEX BURUNOVA. This award is given to those films who make you feel immersed in the story, warmth, depth, and leaving the screening room with a new found view. As Robert Mckee, author, lecturer, and story consultant,would say “[s]tory isn’t a flight from reality but a vehicle that carries us on our search for reality, our best effort to make sense out of the anarchy of existence.” Great storytelling helps us understand and find answers in our own realities, and this short did just that in 24 minutes by showing in such a poetic manner with outstanding cinematography and direction the satisfaction of being afraid to not only love in the moment but also live in the moment. ]]> 2020-10-07 06:35:23 UTC https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/809365050 LOGIC BEHIND THE FESTIVAL gcastaneda192 https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/809369761 This festival came together to unite those hopeless romantics, the secret hopeless romantics, but most of all to bring closure to our hearts. In our lifetime we will always experience some type of heartbreak more or so it's the event that shapes us and our views on romance. Just because you’ve healed doesn’t mean you’ve forgotten, you just learned to live with the event that happened. But if we really think about it, without that heartbreak you wouldn’t be where you are today. It’s not an easy feeling to understand and between you and me love is like a rollercoaster full of surprises and butterfly feels. I structured the screenings for THE EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON FILM FEST in a particular way that portrays a story of its own. We start off by learning innocence and living in the moment because when we are kids it’s much easier to just want to take action when the opportunity shows up. Next we navigate and learn about the excitement of meeting a stranger and wanting them to stay a little longer in your life because they add that spark you’ve been missing. As we move along through the films the audience grows to see a different point of view regarding courage and how powerful another human's actions can be to help grow our characters into more defined versions of themselves. Not everything will always be rainbows and butterflies, but love finds you no matter how much you hide from it, receiving that message, on your way to work, a wedding reception, school, whether it's from a dating app, opening a bake shop, a new subway route, or traveling. And remember just because they aren’t written in this chapter, doesn’t mean they aren’t a big part of your story. Everything happens for a reason, trust it. Thank you. ]]> 2020-10-07 06:38:07 UTC https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/809369761 RECEPTION (22 min) gcastaneda192 https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/812074133 I think one of the best feelings in the world is when you make unexpected connections with people. There is something about telling a stranger your whole love life situation that makes you feel liberated and heard. The small talks turn into deep talks and as humans that is something we seek for comfort. I can tell you now that I’ve made so many good friends on social media platforms by simply venting or letting them vent out to me. RECEPTION directed by JOE GILLETTE gives you butterflies and traces it all back to the first time you met someone after the biggest heartbreak of your life. A huge takeaway from this is that who you thought was the one is sometimes not meant to be yours, no matter how much you want it, but that doesn’t mean you won’t find your dance partner one day. Your timeline is still being created. 

]]> 2020-10-07 23:08:34 UTC https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/812074133 ADD SONGS THAT FEEL LIKE LOVE TO YOU. THEY WILL BE PLAYED AS LOBBY MUSIC THROUGHOUT OUR FILM SCREENINGS gcastaneda192 https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/812375213 2020-10-08 01:50:03 UTC https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/812375213 gcastaneda192 https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/812554972 2020-10-08 03:31:17 UTC https://padlet.com/gcastaneda192/pi2wmiuzlq9faw4c/wish/812554972