3rd Annual Rich & Successful Film Festival Announces Official Selections (September 20-21)

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

13 short films from the top rising filmmaking talent in Los Angeles
set to screen at the Historic Egyptian Theatre

Los Angeles, CA (August 8, 2024) – LA’s Rich & Successful Film Festival 3 (RSFF 3), presented by Topcat Management, and co-presented by sogbots and the American Cinematheque, announced the lineup of films set to be presented on September 20-21. The highly curated film festival will feature 13 short films, spanning several genres, all helmed by Los Angeles-based filmmakers. For the first time, RSFF will take place at Los Angeles’ historic Egyptian Theatre (6712 Hollywood Blvd.).

Additional workshops and events will be held on September 19-20 as part of the festival’s program and directive to assist in the discovery, development, and promotion of upcoming filmmakers who make their home in the heart of Hollywood. All Official Selections, as well as some additional films not included in the screenings at the Egyptian Theatre, will be featured in RSFF’s digital catalog, which is distributed to festival attendees and industry professionals for additional exposure.

RSFF Festival Directors Nir Liebenthal, Noah Morse, Jeremy Roth-Rose, Dylan Trupiano, and Page Brady said, “As we head into our 3rd year, we’re excited to add new opportunities to RSFF’s programming—including skill development workshops, live entertainment, and new spaces to connect with other filmmakers. Providing thoughtful education and resources to our community is extremely important to us, and we’re thrilled to be able to showcase these 13 short films in such an iconic film establishment at the Egyptian Theatre.”

Making its world premiere at RSFF will be Maky Rupert’s Peas, a coming-of-age story about a young girl seeing her mother go on a date for the first time since her father’s death. An Nguyen’s Thru The Wire will make its North American Premiere when it screens at the Egyptian Theater. The film follows a chronically online and socially inept teenager as she meets up with her online bestie for the first time.

Other short films highlighting promising filmmakers include Tennis, Oranges, directed by award-winning stop motion animator Sean Pecknold; Rat!, a genre bending horror-comedy from Neal Suresh Mulani starring Caitlin Reilly and Tyler Joseph Ellis; Jackie! Zhou’s Order For Pickup, developed through Hillman Grad’s ‘Rising Voices’ initiative that depicts burnout through a surrealist lens; Creating Things, a heartfelt documentary from brothers Bryan and Taylor Simpson that explores the legacy of their father through his art; and Stephanie Kaznocha’s award-winning Confessions, a heartfelt comedy following two nuns who ponder what their futures hold.

This year’s edition of RSFF was curated by a unique jury comprising alumni filmmakers, junior executives, and seasoned programmers. The jury will include Festival Directors Page Brady, Nir Liebenthal, Noah Morse, Jeremy Roth-Rose, Dylan Trupiano, Producer, and former Sundance programmer DaManuel Richardson, Slamdance award-winning director Yuchi Ma, RSFF 2 alumni Tiffany Lin, Producer and former Slamdance programmer Jake Rotger, and Imani Davis on behalf of the American Cinematheque.

For more information about the Rich & Successful Film Festival, please go to: https://filmfreeway.com/rsff.

2024 Rich & Successful Film Festival Official Selections

Baggage
Director: Tim Hendrix
Country: USA, Running Time: 13:27 min
In a universe where everyone brings their baggage to their first date, a blind date goes awry.

Confessions
Director: Stephanie Kaznocha
Country: USA, Running Time: 11:07 min
After the death of a friend, two nuns in their golden years contemplate what their future holds. One confession leads to another and before they know it, they’re embarking on an adventure.

Creating Things
Directors: Bryan Simpson, Taylor Simpson
Country: USA, Running Time: 10:20 min
Two brothers use interview fragments, pieces of art, and various family mementos to explore the legacy of their father and what he left behind.

Half-Light
Director: Lauren Jevnikar
Country: USA, Running Time: 13:25 min
A couple debates having unprotected car sex late at night.

The Jennifer Meyers Story
Director: Caroline Symons
Country: USA, Running Time: 12:21 min
A mock true-crime episode covers the 1988 disappearance of a fictional teenager named Jennifer Meyers, but the reenactments are acted out with crudely made mini models. As the episode progresses, we learn more about the woman constructing and operating the reenactment mini models and the danger lurking in her one-bedroom apartment.

Order for Pickup
Director: Jackie! Zhou
Country: USA, Running Time: 12:30 min
Trapped in a cycle of work and self-isolation, burnt out Kelsey’s reality starts to blur until an irregular order for pickup disrupts everything.

Peas World Premiere
Director: Maky Rupert
Country: USA, Running Time: 12:06 min
A drolly coming-of-age story following a young girl as she witnesses her mother go on a date for the first time since her father’s death.

Rat!
Director: Neal Suresh Mulani
Country: USA; Running Time: 16:48 minutes
When a chronically online music journalist encounters a global pop star’s latest effort at queerbaiting, he seizes the moment, turns on his camera, and expresses some choice words for the vapid musician and their fans. But as his social capital rises and the internet is set ablaze, he unknowingly traces a bold-faced arrowhead to his front doorstep, where the pop star’s overzealous fans show up to wreak havoc and seek retribution.

Still Life
Director: Connor Griffith
Country: USA, Running Time: 6:52 min
Composed of over 1000 engravings from the 18th-19th century, Still Life is a meditation on objectivity and meaning. The film explores the idea that we live in a world of objects and a world of objects lives within us.

The Swimmer
Director: Máté Boegi
Country: Denmark/USA, Running Time: 16:17 min
When a sound-recordist brings his girlfriend on a trip to the Danish west coast to record atmospheres, he picks up a disturbing sound that begins to torment his conscience.

Thru The Wire North American Premiere

Director: An Nguyen

Country: Vietnam/USA, Running Time: 15:52 min

A chronically online and socially inept teenager takes a leap of faith to meet up with her online bestie for the first time.

Tennis, Oranges
Director: Sean Pecknold
Country: USA, Running Time: 10:53 min
A robotic vacuum suffering from burnout quits its job at a hospital and sets out to find community and a greater purpose on a quiet street where two lonely rabbits are stuck in perpetual loops.

VOCÊ MEANS YOU
Director: Mahyar Mandegar
Country: USA, Running Time: 3:18 min
In the midst of an ordinary skatepark afternoon, Reza’s world transforms as he embarks on the first steps of what could be a beautiful journey, all set in motion by an awaited encounter.

About the Rich & Successful Film Festival (RSFF)
Founded in 2021 by sogbots—a production company run by Nir Liebenthal, Noah Morse, Jeremy Roth-Rose, and Dylan Trupiano—and joined the following year by Page Brady as Lead Producer, RSFF curates a slate of short films by LA-based filmmakers across all genres. Focus is placed on the attending filmmakers at the festival, who find themselves in a supportive and hyper-engaged atmosphere where films are devoured, relationships are fostered, and talent is discovered in an atmosphere surrounded by both emerging talent and the industry mainstays looking for them. A non-competitive festival, RSFF instead emphasizes the platforming of its selected films and filmmakers, as well as providing exclusive workshops, panels, and sponsorships to hopefully, pave the way for even more creative collaboration. Additional support can also come by way of sogbots’ Fix it in Post Fund, which awards select filmmakers with post-production funding for their shorts.

About the American Cinematheque
Established in 1984, the American Cinematheque is a member-supported 501(c)(3) non-profit cultural arts organization dedicated to building an engaged film community through immersive film curation, conversation, and presentation.

The American Cinematheque celebrates the movie-going experience at the core of its mission. Since it first began showing films in theatres in 1985, the American Cinematheque has provided a wide range of film programming, with both new and repertory cinema, hosting screenings, panels and special events with thousands of filmmakers and luminaries.

The Cinematheque showcases over one thousand five hundred films per year; it connects the filmmaker to the audience and film history to its future. Presenting in 35mm, 70mm, rare nitrate, and state-of-the-art digital.

See you at the movies!