Self Directed: Make Your Own Path + Rural Shorts Double Bill

Directors’ Bio:

Christopher and David Thaler shot their first film in the summer of 1982 (Christopher 10 and David 15) – It was a stop motion short about a Radio Flyer wagon with a life of its own – ever since that summer the Thaler brothers have committed themselves to the art of film making – their journey began in network news – shooting and editing  news, sports and entertainment packages gave the brothers an excellent foundation for documentary production and due to the fast paced nature and deadlines of television news they developed an understanding and appreciation for production value.  While working full time in the television industry the brothers studied film at NYU and in May of 1996 launched Thaler Films a full service production company with studios on Long Island – The Brothers have acquired a long and prestigious list of clients in the corporate, broadcast and commercial worlds and they attribute that success to their creative and passionate commitment to production.  Both brothers have won many film and television awards including multiple Emmy awards for cinematography, editing and producing.

Christopher and David know what engaging content is all about. Since 1996, they’ve produced everything from broadcast media to web series to award winning documentaries. Their expertise in writing, directing, cinematography and editing allows them to bring a unique, cinematic perspective to every project they touch. 

Mary is a hospice nurse on the brink of burnout. When a desperate man with an unusual dilemma begs Mary for help, she’s forced to reckon with the thing she’s been avoiding: feeling all of it.

SHORT | 15 min | US | 2021

Director’s Bio:

Annie’s short film HELP ME MARY marks her debut as a writer/director for the screen. The piece was selected for the LOWER EAST SIDE FILM FESTIVAL, for which it one the Best Narrative Short Award. It has also played at PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL SHORTFEST, HOLLY SHORTS, SANTA FE FILM FESTIVAL and the MONMOUTH FILM FESTIVAL.

Annie served as the associate director for Present Laughter on Broadway (dir. Moritz von Stuelpnagel). She was the Associate Director for The TEAM’S touring productions of Mission Drift and RoosevElvis (dir. Rachel Chavkin) and Gabriel Kahane’s The Ambassador (BAM; dir. John Tiffany).

She is a former Ars Nova Director-in-Residence, Drama League Directing Fellow, and alumni of the Williamstown Directing Corps. 

For the last seventy-five years, in the summer, for one hour on Wednesday nights, rain or shine, the Callicoon Center Band has been playing. The audience is mostly locals, because Wednesday night is not really convenient for the city people whose second homes dot the hills and lakes surrounding Callicoon Center. Also the music may not be quite to their taste. Polkas, waltzes, and the hits of fifty years ago come blaring and bouncing out of the thirty member band.

Director’s Bio

Alice Elliott is an Academy Award nominated documentary director of The Collector of Bedford Street, and a Guggenheim Fellow.  Alice’s second film in a trilogy, is the PBS Award winning documentary, Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy. Alice enjoys creating and distributing films that ask us to look at our perceptions of ability. She completed Accommodation, three short films about accessibility on college campuses, and directed and wrote a web series of short videos for self-advocates, ACTIVATE HERE!  She was a directing advisor on Jason DaSilva’s web-pilot Dismantled.

Miracle on 42^nd Street, a documentary she directed about affordable housing for artists, made its world premiere at the DOC NYC Festival in 2017. She received a National Endowment for the Arts Grant for Miracle on 42^nd Street.

Through her social media presence, she tweets regularly about housing and disability.

She is a Distinguished Teacher at New York University and is currently developing an app on the history of disability rights and looking at empathy and disability through VR.

SHORT | 22 min | US | 2021

Filmmaker Daysia Leneé Hiller, a graduate of the University at Albany, shares the heartfelt story of her aunt Sheena’s bond she had with her beloved dog in the film “Redi Love.” Created in partnership with YouthFX in Albany, NY.

SHORT | 9 min | US | 2021