Wednesday, July 5, 2023 at 9:30 PM

Island Shorts

Bronx Film Wednesdays – Independent films you will love.

This July, BxFW collects standout international short films by international directors:

  • APACHE. Director: Octavio Guerra Quevedo. 2019. Canary Islands. 20:00 min. After 10 years of living in the street and drinking alcohol, Jesus tries to reintegrate himself into society through a social program. After two years of obligations, rules and living in a shared apartment with other users, he begins to realize that he will never have an independent life again. His way of headlong rush and feeling freedom is running.
  • PRAWN NOODLES AND A DREAM. Director: Ng Ding Jie (DJ). 2021. Singapore. 10:20 min. Singapore’s hawker food culture is one made of dreams, creativity and innovation. Despite being added to the list of the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, Singapore’s hawker culture is still in danger of disappearing. Hope is not all lost, as a young man who rises to the challenge of hawker trade to express his ideas and make his mark in life.
  • THE WARIA OF JAVA. Director: Anna Gonzalez. 2020. Java, Indonesia. 13 min. Shinta Ratri is the founder of the world’s first and only Islamic school run by and for transgender women. Over a decade ago, Shinta opened Al-Fatah Pesantren in the Muslim city of Yogyakarta. Her goal: to offer fellow Waria* the opportunity to discuss and practice their Islamic faith in a communal space.
  • THE VOICE OF THE SEA. Director: Kashyap Kulkarni. 2020. Pamban Island, India. 15 min. A community radio station named Kadal Osai based in Pamban Island, Tamil Nadu, India runs with this intention to educate the fishermen community by spreading the awareness of climate change and it’s effect on ocean and marine life.
  • uNpACKAGING. Director: Zireja. 2020. Tenerife. 9:00 min. The short film “uNPACKAGING” presents the uncomfortable truth of how trash starts by being left scattered on the street during an outdoor party, to how it arrives to nature by various ways. With the main theme being the environmental costs of large street parties, this film, which mixes fiction and activism, shows the “b” side of all massive parties.
  • BEFORE THE BEAUTY IS GONE. Director: Mackai Sharp. 2021. Vancouver Island. 14 min. An unfortunate reality: our fish are disappearing. Not our Salmon or our Halibut, but those will soon follow. Forage fish, a key segment of the marine food chain, is vanishing off the coast of British Columbia.

Program presented in English and Spanish with subtitles.

9:30 PM | Bronx Film Wednesdays Digital on BronxNet TV — Hosted by BronxNet’s Sonyi Lopez.

WAYS TO WATCH:

Pregones/PRTT
—Facebook Live: www.facebook.com/pregonesprtt
—Vimeo: www.vimeo.com/pregonesprtt

BronxNET TV
—Cable: 67 Optimum
—Cable: 2133 FIOS
—Web: www.bronxnet.org/watch/

Bronx Film Wednesdays (BxFW) screens new, little-seen, and standout indie films that you will love! Travel the world and open your mind to stories as wild and from as far as the imagination can go — romance, comedy, action, sci-fi, horror, fantasy, thriller, drama, music, sports, animation, documentary, and more! Carefully selected to illustrate cultural, aesthetic, and geographic diversity. This year, BxFW goes digital in partnership with BronxNet Community Television, bringing our monthly screenings online and to public access television!

More About The Artists – Click To Open

OCTAVIO GUERRA QUEVEDO is a director, screenwriter and editor. Graduated in Information Sciences in Valencia, he completed the Ibero-American Masters in Film and Television Script at the UIMP. He is currently the director of the documentary series “Six Dreams” for Amazon Prime, awarded by the National Academy of Television, Arts and Sciences of the United States with the Emmy for the best entertainment program in Spanish.

NG DING JIE (DJ) is a freelance film and television producer. Before becoming a freelancer in 2016, DJ worked at Sitting in Pictures, where he worked as a full-time producer and was in charge of both local and international projects, factual and narrative. As a freelance producer, DJ leads a talented and creative team focused on meeting the needs of the story while also delivering a high-quality film or show. DJ holds a Diploma in Film, Sound and Video from Ngee Ann Polytechnic and has also completed the Producer’s Mentorship Programme conducted by the British Film Institute.

ZIREJA began her career as a professional actress and dancer, performing in the theatre. She then translated the concept of using her body as a tool for social change into contemporary art. ziREjA is co-founder of the collaborative art project ‘Acción Experimental’, which provides an experimental space for artists who value the body as a tool of action.

MACKAI SHARP has been filmmaking and creating since he was 8 years old, often fostering and researching his own arts education as no school programs would accept him to study due to his early age. As of 2023, Mackai identifies as a Filmmaker/Photographer/Creative Director but that is all subject to change as he continues exploring new mediums and formats to better share his stories and translate his thoughts into a mutual language.

Our Esteemed Funders – Click To Open

Still frame of THE VOICE OF THE SEA by Kashyap Kulkarni and trailer of PRAWN NOODLE AND A DREAM by Ng Ding Jie reproduced by courtesy of the directors.

Special thanks to our media broadcast partners at BronxNet Community Television.

This program is made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. For a full list of our distinguished funders, visit www.pregonesprtt.org.

Event Details

  • Location

    ONLINE & CABLE TV:
    Facebook Live
    Vimeo
    BronxNet
    67 Optimum
    2133 FIOS

  • Date & Time

    JULY 5, 2023
    9:30 PM Eastern

  • Bronx Film Wednesdays

    DIRECTORS:
    Octavio Guerra Quevedo
    Ng Ding Jie
    Anna Gonzalez
    Kashyap Kulkarni
    ziREjA
    Mackai Sharp

    HOST:
    Sonyi Lopez