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Breaking Boundaries: Empowering Stories & Bold Narratives
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Explore powerful stories that champion equality, personal choice, and the strength to break boundaries. This block features bold dramas that spark important conversations and inspire change.
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Meet the Directors:
Kate Spates and Carolyn Moloshco
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Left to Right: Kate Spates, Carolyn Moloshco
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Kate Spates is a Coachella Valley resident and digital marketing pioneer who founded her agency in 1996. After selling her firm in 2011, she pursued filmmaking through Kim Waltrip’s Filmmakers Lab. As President of Palm Springs Women in Film & Television, she’s directed three short films and produced several others.
Carolyn Moloshco Carolyn Moloshco is a charter member of Kim Waltrip’s Filmmakers Lab, where she’s written two short films and directed Exit Interview. She previously worked as a broadcast news editor and producer for Southern California networks and PBS and now focuses on playwriting and screenwriting in the Coachella Valley.
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Watch the Trailer for Exit Interview:
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Meet the Writer & Director:
Joanna Leigh Downing
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Joanna Leigh Downing is a film director, cinematographer, and photographer. She has also collaborated on music videos with companies like 5 Towns Productions and Sparkplugz Productions. Additionally, she works as an intern-studio assistant at 3 Chicks That Click Photography, creating behind-the-scenes promotional videos.
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Right to Privacy offers a unique look into the life of an abortion provider, whereas most stories about abortion center around the patient.
Right to Privacy is a woman-centered film with a woman-centered cast, creative team and crew - the team is more than 75% women - including 85% of our department heads, and an all woman G&E team.
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Meet the Writer:
Rachel Mann
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Rachel Mann is a writer of fiction, plays, screenplays, and essays. Her short film Right to Privacy premiered at the 2024 Soho International Film Festival, and her essay "Vital Signs" was listed as notable in The Best American Essays 2024. Her novel On Blackberry Hill won the 2016 National Jewish Book Award. Rachel holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College and degrees from Columbia and NYU. She lives in NYC, where she works as a writer and editor.
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Meet the Director:
Julie Herlocker
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Julie Herlocker is a Los Angeles-based director with a background in network TV, including her debut on NBC’s Grimm. She’s directed four short films, graduated from the DGA's DDI Mentorship Program, and her feature The Sintern is streaming on Tubi. Julie was selected for the 2024 Alliance of Women Directors Rising Director Fellowship. She lives in Venice, California with her husband, four kids, and their Boston Terrier, Yogi.
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Watch the Trailer for Right to Privacy:
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Love, Danielle is the first scripted feature film to tackle the completely absurd decisions and issues faced by an individual who carries a BRCA gene mutation but has not been diagnosed with cancer. Approximately 1 in 200-400 individuals worldwide carries a BRCA gene mutation.
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Devin Sidell is an actress and activist from Los Angeles, known for her roles in Malcolm in the Middle, The O.C., Ray Donovan, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
As a BRCA-1 carrier, Devin underwent a preventative oophorectomy/hysterectomy in 2016 and a double mastectomy in 2017 due to her heightened cancer risk. Drawing from her personal journey, she filmed footage for her role as Danielle, candidly revealing her scars and expanders to authentically capture the emotional and physical complexities of her decision.
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Meet the Director:
Marianna Palka
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Award-winning filmmaker and actress Marianna Palka was born in Glasgow and moved to New York City at 17 to study at the Atlantic Theater Company. She wrote, directed, and starred in Good Dick, which premiered in Dramatic Competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, earning her the Directing Award from Sean Connery. She also starred in the popular Netflix series GLOW and in the movie Love, Danielle.
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(Victor/Victoria. Cinderella, Desperate Housewives)
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(The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Spin City)
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(My Bloody Valentine, Sin City, White Chicks)
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(Training Day, Alien Ressurection, Under Siege)
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Watch the Trailer for Love, Danielle:
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Join us for the 23rd Annual Garden State Film Festival, happening March 27-30, 2025, in Asbury Park & Cranford, NJ!
Secure your tickets now for a spectacular celebration of cinema—we can't wait to share these amazing films with you!
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THE GARDEN STATE FILM FESTIVAL is New Jersey's Premier Independent Film Festival®. Now in its 23rd year, the GSFF, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is a global destination festival that stimulates economic growth in New Jersey through the arts. It also promotes student creativity, makes the arts accessible to underserved populations and preserves heritage arts.
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