Dear Guest,
Thank you for being a part of this year’s AGBO+Slamdance DTLA Summer Showcase. Your participation brought an exceptional energy to the event, making it a memorable and impactful experience. Our commitment to inclusivity and accessibility was beautifully represented through your presence, enriching our mission.
We know it’s often difficult for the sequel to live up to the original, but by bringing everything we’ve learned over the past year, Part II was a slam dunk.
We extend our deepest appreciation to our incredible Slamdance team, the dedicated ASL Interpreters, and our generous sponsors: LUMIX, Los Angeles County Arts & Culture, Unity Coffee, Final Draft, Coverfly, and Creature Comforts. Special gratitude goes to Slamdance alumni Joe Russo and Anthony Russo, and the entire AGBO team for their unwavering support and dedication.
Your support made all the hard work worthwhile. We are deeply appreciative of your contribution to the success of the AGBO+Slamdance DTLA Summer Showcase.
I say Slamdance, you say AGBO!
Warm regards,
Taylor Miller
Festival Director
P.S. Your donations play a crucial role in supporting our year-round programs. We appreciate your consideration in continuing to support our mission.
SLAM SCRIPT SHOP
A day of screenplay workshops dedicated to emerging screenwriters.
“Our 2nd annual AGBO x Slamdance DTLA – Script Shop was one for the books! We had a packed house for our Polytechnic panel and workshops that proved to be even more informative than the first. The excitement of our Final Draft giveaways was electrifying and the endless supply of Unity coffee was a delicious treat. Thanks to all that attended and we hope to see you at our next Polytechnic event!”
– Anna Lee Lawson, Film Festival & Screenplay Competition Manager
Dissecting a Pilot by Jamie King
Photo by Julia Muniz
Mentor Mindset
Join Anjini Azhar and Irene Jiang, the dynamic duo behind the Slamdance Mentorship Award program, as they share their experiences and insights about the ever changing industry landscape and mentoring our screenplay award winners.
Dissecting a Pilot
Slamdance reader Jamie King breaks down his pilot CASTLE ROCK and its journey from live musical comedy at UCB to winner of Best Teleplay at Slamdance. Attendees will see clips and excerpts that highlight what makes it work, receive a link to the full script, AND may get feedback on their own loglines.
What it Takes to Write a Winning Script
Join USC School of Cinematic Arts professor Beverly Neufeld for a workshop on crafting a standout script. Discover what script readers look for, what they love, what they loathe and why they reject. Learn the key elements of a successful screenplay and gain the tools to impress industry professionals. Perfect for writers at any level, this session will reveal the secrets to writing a winning script.
SHORTWAVE
Selected from the 2024 Slamdance festival lineup, a revolutionary short film program that redefines visual storytelling.
“I’m so deeply in love with my Slamdance family and admire how they champion independent storytellers like they have for me and our film “Dosh”. To screen on the beautiful screen at AGBO gives me and my team a sense of hope that there’s a future for us in this intense industry. Feeling seen and appreciated strengthens my resolve to persevere and to further lean into my vulnerability to tell the stories that only I can tell.”
– Radha Mehta, Director of DOSH
DOSH Film Team
Photo by Julia Muniz
Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World – 2024 Unstoppable Honorable Mention
Dir. by Julio Cesar Palacio — USA / 23 min
A Black teenage girl has spent her life grappling with a rare form of autism that rendered her essentially nonverbal.
Smash or Pass
Dir. by Cory Reeder — USA / 5 min
Dating pool or cesspool? They both stink!
The Steak – 2024 AGBO Fellowship Winner
Dir. by Kiarash Dadgar; written by Kiarash Dadgar, Ali Narimani – Iran, Canada / 8 min
Birthday party preparations get turned upside down when something horrible takes place.
Lotus-Eyed Girl
Dir. by Rajee Samarasinghe — Sri Lanka, USA / 6 min
A hauntingly evocative, experimental rumination on the effects of colonialism on human desire.
European Man…American Beach – 2024 Jury Honorable Mention for Narrative Short
Dir. by Rex Shannon — USA / 7 min
A nude European brawls with an offended American on the beach.
DOSH – 2024 Spirit of Slamdance Award Winner
Dir. by Radha Mehta – USA / 16 min
When her son’s life is put at risk at their family’s pre-wedding ritual, a hard-of-hearing mother must decide how to seek help for her husband in order to keep her family safe.
Legend of El Cucuy
Dir. by Cynthia Garcia Williams — USA / 14 min
Carlos tells his wife about El Cucuy’s origins, and that same night, El Cucuy pays the family a visit.
NOHOMO
Dir. by J. Santos — USA / 5 min
Dick’s mundane evening turns sour when his penis launches an attack on him.
This Body is a Shell
Dir. by Ashley Eakin — USA / 6 min
Disabled women wrestle with self-image and fight to uncover meaning beyond what is skin deep.
This Is a Story Without a Plan
Dir. by Cassie Shao —USA / 8
Two people, and an explosion.
DIG: THE NEXT E-POCH
DIG (Digital, Interactive and Gaming) recognizes creators using new and emerging mediums, led by DIG programmer and marketing visionary Dekker Dreyer.
“This year’s DIG was our best yet. We presented beautiful new work from emerging global artists, navigated tough industry questions with a panel of experts, and celebrated the creativity of the digital, interactive, and gaming community like never before.”
– Dekker Dreyer, DIG Programmer and Slamdance Marketing Consultant
Lucky Yu by Mike Yi Ren
Photo by Julia Muniz
DIG’s State of the Union
DIG’s State of the Union brings together new media experts to discuss evolving technology’s impact on entertainment, production, accessibility, and immersive experiences—what’s at stake for all of us. Panelists include Dekker Dreyer, Ray Mosco, Ross Minor, Taylor Miller, and Gregg Katano.
AI History 1890 – 2090
Future Zoetrope (HASE & YAZAKI) / 12 min
Letting AI tell its own history gives the audience a sense of the fictionality and reality that AI brings to the world. This is what this work is about. Formally, we are being made to learn by AI in a museum-like space, and the structure of the experience is the opposite of what people are making AI learn.
My Name is Coraline
Forestplant Studio , Mavskegg / 4 min
In a world of enchantment and mystery, Coraline Dale uncovers supernatural phenomena within her majestic castle. Overhearing a plot to capture her oldest friend, she embarks on a quest with her faithful feline companion, Shadow, venturing through a hidden passage into a mechanical domain. As they unravel the castle’s secrets, they discover the significance of companionship, kindness, and the unwavering power of their bond in this immersive and captivating dark fantasy odyssey.
Mother, Player
Angela Washko / 1 hr
In this meticulously hand-drawn experimental narrative video game, players explore the maternal healthcare industry and parenting culture as a burnt-out pansexual artist who becomes pregnant at the onset of a global pandemic.
Mother, Player was supported in part by the Creative Capital Award and the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry’s Further Fund.
Migrant Sea
Stephane Grasso / 40 min
MIGRANT SEA is an online cross-platform multimedia documentary about the voices, stories and realities of African migrants who have survived the harrowing journeys from their home countries to reach Europe. Immersive, film, audio, and photo documentaries interweave with migrant-led essays, creative multimedia content – and more – to create an intimate, interactive exploration of the voices, histories and realities of Sub-Saharan migrants today.
Fukushima – The Home That Once Was
Dir. by Timo Wright — / 20 min
An online cross-platform documentary about the voices, stories and realities of African migrants who have survived harrowing journeys.
Tethered
Julianna Johnston, Tom Scherlis and Cat Yochum / 2-15 min
“Tethered” is an immersive projection and sound installation that is controlled by the gameplay of a tetherball match. Wall projections and synthesized sound are generated live based on the position of the ball and the progress of gameplay. As the game nears its conclusion and the ball wraps around the central pole, the soundscape intensifies and energizes the competitive gameplay, creating a physicalized feedback loop.
Lucky Yu
Mike Yi Ren / 5 – 10 min
Lucky Yu is a meditative fishing game with a unique hand-painted Chinese black ink art style. Relax and enjoy a fishing trip set in the natural landscapes of ancient China.
My Own Private Apocalypse
Visu_AI_Poetry | Bartek Sozanski / 1 min
“My Own Private Apocalypse” delves into the concept of individual existential desolation. The artwork mirrors our personal apocalypses: the hidden fears, anxieties, and devastations we harbour within us. It’s a depiction of our shared human experience, an invitation for introspection and acknowledgment of our own destructive capabilities. It’s also a metaphor for the poetic essence of neural networks – the beautiful chaos and the unexpected patterns that emerge from the seeming randomness.
Synchronization Station
Allen Riley / 30 min
Synchronization Station is a participatory performance about mediated intimacy that uses analog video mixing as a counterpoint to everyday communications technologies. It operates in a fictional moment in which computers are being invented, or reinvented, for the intentionally humorous purpose of establishing contact between humans. The central device of the show is an oscillator-controlled video mixer that blends the hands of pairs of participants who take turns coming up to the stage. The show also incorporates analog video synthesis works that transform visual artifacts from computer history.
THANK YOU TO OUR ASL INTERPRETERS
Amber Berteloot at Entertainment Interpreting
Ajamu Brown
Gabriel Gomez
Richard Loya
Susan Pacheco
OFFICIAL SPONSORS
