The Mass Reality Check is a college doc shorts showcase for college and university students and recent graduates working in short documentary and experimental documentary film.
An industry jury will award software packages provided by Boris FX and rental credits from Talamas to the top three films, with the first place winner being awarded "Mass Reality Check Best Short," and a comlimentary one year membership to Women in Film and Video New England (WIFVNE). The first place winner will also meet individually after the festival with programming staff from Salem Film Fest and representatives from Documentary Educational Resources (DER) and Women in Film and Video New England (WIFVNE), to get advice about filmmaking as a career and receive insights into funding and distribution, as well as other professional considerations.
Congratulations to all of our 2023 mass reality check film participants!
SAVED BY LOVE
Co-Directed and Produced by Valentyn Arden, Zack Furnari
Boston University
24 minutes
An American couple navigates the process of adopting a child from the Ukraine while also overcoming societal pressures surrounding their sexuality in the pursuit to create a family.
RED
Directed by Erielle Amboy
Massachusetts College of Art and Design
8 minutes
An experimental short film about an invasive seaweed species known as Dasysiphonia Japonica and its pollution of Popponesset. The filmmaker uses the seaweed species and ocean water to develop the film.
THE LONG HAUL
Directed by Claire Maske
Boston University
10 minutes
Julie Craven, a middle school principal in Cambridge, MA, struggles with a long covid diagnosis.
SH!T, PISS, AND KEVIN
Directed by Spencer Owens
Bridgewater State University
7 minutes
A recreation of three individuals’ most embarrassing stories.
IN COD WE TRUST
Directed by Raphaël Edwards, Eric Seonghoon Park
Boston University
18 minutes
Fishing has been a pillar of life in the community of Gloucester since the 1600s, but recent government mandated fishing quotas in response to environmental pressures have put in question the future of the industry.
GUND KWOK
Directed by Xudong Liu
Emerson College
18 minutes
Showcasing a folk dance that has been historically performed by men in Asia, GUND KWOK follows the first women-led Lion Dance troupe in the U.S as founder Cheng Imm Tan and fifteen women strive to break stereotypes about the strength and images of Asian women.
WANDERING FOR LIFE
Co-Directed by Claire Collins
Co-Directed and Edited by Abbey Frias
Produced by Aniyah Forney
Fitchburg State University
7 minutes
This short follows a man’s journey of living life on the road, redefining the meaning of home, happiness, and success.
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