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FILM GUIDE

Live Action Shorts
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Live Action SHORT

THE FREEZE

8:40 minutes | 2023

A girl experiences the legendary Seattle Freeze for the first time.

 

​Director: Caitlyn Cutler 
Writer: Hannah Nelson
Producer: Hannah Nelson
Key Cast: Hannah Nelson

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Live Action SHORT

RASH

11:27 minutes | 2025

Days before her board exam, a stressed medical student develops a mysterious rash and must decide between pursuing success or saving her health and sanity.​

Director: Lyssa Samuel 
Writer: Lyssa Samuel 
Producer: Lyssa Samuel 
Key Cast: Lyssa Samuel 
Key Cast: Nealla Gordon 
Key Cast: Rachel Drayke 
Composer: Mel Guérison 
Sound Design & Mixing: Troy Micheau 
Cinematographer: Lyssa Samuel 
Editor: Lyssa Samuel 

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Live Action SHORT

RANCH HANDS

14:59 minutes | 2025

Ren and Matt are bunkmates, workmates, and playmates for life, but when the matriarch of the farm on which they work and live winds up in Matt's bed, it hastens a proposal that Ren has for them to buck the system. But when Matt hears the plan, his resistance sends their relationship into a tailspin that threatens their lifelong connection. Inspired by "They Fell," a piece from the play "Almost, Maine" by John Cariani, Ranch Hands tests the concepts of traditional relationships and all the institutional expectations surrounding them. Filmed in Oregon City, OR and Baring, WA.

Director: Stefan Hajek
Writer: Drew Hisey
Producer: Patrick McBride
Cast: Jared McClain
Cast: Tyler Roy Roberts
Cast: Carlee McManus

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Live Action SHORT

VINES

18:10 minutes | 2024

A mad botanist experiments on an unwilling human subject to give plants a fighting chance against climate change.

 

​Director: Luke Zwanziger
Writer: Luke Zwanziger
Producer: Luke Zwanziger
Producer: Sophya Vidal
Producer: Alice Wells
Producer: Yvonne Landry
Key Cast: Joel Ausin
Key Cast: Lowell Deo

Vines: The Film

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Live Action SHORT

SUPERIOR SUBJECT

11:54 minutes | 2023

Superior Subject centers on DAWN, a brave student who decides to fight against the bizarre and increasingly oppressive tests she and her friends are forced to undertake by the menacing PROCTOR. However, her quiet rebellion against Proctor puts herself and her newfound allies in more danger than she ever could have imagined. Filled with the foreboding eeriness of Dark Mirror or the Twilight Zone, Superior Subject stars Jen Taylor (Halo, Halo Infinite, Destiny 2) as Proctor, and is proud to introduce Ruby Durr and Carolina Jane as Dawn and Casey.​

Director: J.D. Henning
Writer: J.D. Henning
Producer: Larry Estes
Producer: Cornelia Duryée
Key Cast: Jen Taylor
Key Cast: Ruby Durr
Key Cast: Carolina Jane

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Live Action SHORT

CONTROLLING THE NARRATIVE

15 minutes | 2025

Danica Jones, a cutthroat Hollywood producer, develops a "cinematic dissociative disorder” after her estranged mom dies. To avoid getting stuck in a Rom-Com, she must learn the only way to control her narrative is to let go of what she can’t control.​

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Director: Eva Moss
Writer: Eva Moss
Producer: Jen Tate
Producer: Eva Moss
Producer: Dana Murphy
Key Cast: Arianna Ortiz
Key Cast: Bear D'Angelo

Controlling the Narrative

ranchhands
rash
thefreeze
vines
superior
controlling

Copyright © 2025 Manzanita Film Festival LLC. All Rights Reserved. 

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