Room 10
USA
Getting married is easy … staying married is hard. Frannie is an emergency room nurse going through a rough patch in her marriage. She hides in her work at the hospital to avoid addressing her problems at home. It’s a typical night in the E.R. until an expected encounter with an old man and his dying wife challenges her beliefs and choices in life. Based on a true story. Co-directed by Andrea Buchanan and Jennifer Aniston (yes, that Jennifer Aniston, making her directorial debut). Principal cast: Robin Wright Penn and Kris Kristofferson.
– Watch the film again, below.
– To learn more about the film visit oprah.com.
– To read an interview with director Jennifer Aniston visit msnbc.msn.com.

Wherever You Are
Spain
An old man relives beautiful memories of his younger years on a farm where he met the love of his life. He returns to the farm and finds a surprise waiting for him. This is writer/director Nicolas Tapia’s first short film. He has worked as a production manager on films such as Sexy Beast and many of Pedro Almodovar’s films. Principal cast: Lucia Jimenez, Enrique Alcides, Fernando Tielve, Maria Herze and Manuel de Blas.

Watch Room 10 again:

Chicxulub
USA
65 million years ago the Chicxulub meteor collided with the earth and erased 75% of all living species. Tonight, Ted and Maureen receive a phone call that their daughter has been hit by a car. These two tragedies begin to intertwine. Ted and Maureen are about to rediscover the power of fate. Written and directed by Malona Voigt. Chicxulub is based on the New Yorker magazine short story by T.C. Boyle. Principal cast: Joel Swetow and Susan Tierney.
– To learn more about the movie and to read the short story visit chicxulubmovie.com.
– To watch an interview with the filmmaker visityoutube.com.
– To learn more about the author T.C. Boyle visit tcboyle.com.

Manon on the Asphalt
France
What will flash before your eyes at the end of your life? It’s a lovely spring day and Manon is on her way to a rendezvous with her boyfriend until an unexpected bump in the road has her seeing life from an entirely different perspective. As everyone gathers around the accident, Manon’s thoughts wander. It must be easy to die in Paris in the springtime. Written and directed by Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont. This 2009 Academy Award nominee won top prize at the Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival in 2008. Principal cast: Aude Leger, Bastien Ehouzan, Yves Lecoz, Edouard Raix and Michele Leger.

On the Line
Germany/Switzerland
A department store security guard is secretly in love with a clerk in the store’s bookshop. He watches her daily on the video monitoring system. One day he follows her on the subway and sees he has a rival for her affection. He is racked by guilt after the rival is attacked in the subway by some punks and he does nothing to stop it. This 2009 Academy Award nominee has won numerous awards including a 2008 Student Academy Award. Written and directed by Reto Caffi. Principal cast: Roeland Wiesnekker and Catherine Janke.
– To learn more about the filmmaker visit retocaffi.com.

Breathe
Australia
Life is much different than it is in your dreams. The union with another human being can be a source of great comfort but at times can also cause deep misery. Sleep deprivation and worries about the fragile health of their new baby bring the emotions of a young couple to the breaking point. Juliet Porter wrote and directed this emotional and brutally honest film. Principal cast: Scott Johnson and Jane Allsop.

Tougher Yet
Germany
Marcus has a secret. Sarah has a secret. Neither has the nerve to tell each other. What appears to be a rough patch in their relationship builds to something much more complicated and life changing. Their silence leads to a misunderstanding that threatens to tear them apart. Written and directed by Felice Goetze. Principal cast: Karoline Schuch and Matthias Walter.

Beauty Queen
Ireland
Jennifer Dugan is beautiful, and she knows it. She feels her beauty entitles her to the good things in life and feels no sympathy for those less fortunate than her. That is until one day when she has an epiphany at an audition that changes her perspective on life. Written and directed by Brendan Muldowney (The Ten Steps, which aired in season four of Imagemakers). Principal cast: Ailish Symons and Britta Smith.

The Body Against
Spain
Bombarded with images in the media of perfection, girls are faced with unrealistic expectations of beauty. A young woman obsessed with her image takes a dark journey into the labyrinth of her own perception. Her body becomes a prison for the world to see as she lives the self-destructive dream of becoming what she is not. Written and directed by first time filmmaker Eduardo Chapero-Jackson. Principal cast: Macarena Gomez, Sarai Encinas Martin and Yaiza Guimare.

When Elvis Came to Visit
Sweden
On the outskirts of Stockholm a small but momentous meeting occurs between Lukas, a young man who despises immigrants, and a young boy named Elvis. Elvis and his Iranian family just moved into the flat across the hall. Due to circumstances beyond his control, Lukas is forced to baby sit the young Elvis. What happens to prejudice when it is faced with the simplicity of a child? The award-winning short is written and directed by Andreas Tibblin. Principal cast: Josef Saterhagen, Ben Solimanaznavi and Leila Hadji.

The Passage of Mrs. Calabash
USA
An overnight train hurtles through the barren winter from Chicago to New England. A young white gas station proprietress and a retired African American astrophysics professor share a sleeper car. This unlikely couple exchange stories of love and loss and reveal their deepest secrets. Written, produced and directed by Scott Tuft, the film sketches a skillful meditation on the notion that sometimes only a stranger can help you with the most personal and difficult transitions. Principal cast: Katherine Cunningham-Eves and Charlie Robinson.

Snapshots for Henry
Canada
Pent and Angie are party people. Tim and Joanne are a hard-working (= boring) couple with a baby. The only thing these couples share is a duplex — until life throws them all a cruel curve. Sex, drugs and rock n’ roll are the backdrop to one woman’s recollection of her youth, and the fateful decision that unexpectedly touches her life 25 years later. Engaging performances and a refreshingly unapologetic script populate this story of regret and rebellion. Written and directed by Teresa Hannigan. Principal cast: Zoie Palmer, Allan Hawco, Daniel Petronijevic and Molly Jane Atkinson.

Ten Feet Tall
Australia
Two men, bound together in trying circumstances, must rely on one another to prepare for an uncertain future. The sparse dialogue captures how men attempt to deal with grief and look for ways to start again. Directed by Aaron Wilson and based on the song of the same name by Australian singer/songwriter Pete Murray. Principal cast: Samuel Johnson, Michael Veitch and Georgia Van Cuylenburg.

Daddy
Norway
A heartbreaking look at the plight of refugees on the run. A father and son risk life and limb to escape to a better life. They arrive at what they hope will be a safe place to call home, until the father realizes he has to choose between two evils in order to provide for his son’s future. The award winning short film was written and directed by Hisham Zaman. Principal cast: Broa Rasol and Serdar Ahmad Saleh.
– To read an interview with the filmmaker, go to pov.imv.au.dk.

Mother
USA
Two women’s lives are irrevocably changed through a chance encounter in a hotel one night. Carolyn, a self-absorbed Beverly Hills wife, trapped by motherhood, has come to a posh hotel to have an affair. Lu, a street woman living in a van, wanders the hotel hallways scavenging for food. When Carolyn opens the door to find Lu crouched on the floor eating off a tray, she mistakes her for room service. Desperate to get rid of her baby girl for the evening, she hires the stranger to baby-sit. A momentous decision is made that will change the three women’s lives forever. This award winning film is written and directed by Sian Heder – who worked as a baby-sitter in four-star hotels when she moved to Los Angeles. Principal cast: Angela Featherstone, Ashleigh Sumner and Lauren and Madelyn Wesch.
– To learn more about the film, go to motherthemovie.com.

Estes Avenue
USA
One word — five lives. It’s 11 o’clock on Estes Avenue in Chicago. A Sunday not unlike many Sundays that came before. A day of rest. A day of peace. “God’s” day, if you like. Five residents greet this special day in their own unique way. Written and directed by Paul Cotter. After graduating from Southern Illinois University, he has gone on to direct commercials as well as theatre productions. Cotter filmed Estes Avenue while living on that street. He filmed the entire film in one day. Principal cast: Betsy Zajko, Stephen Dunn, Raminder Chadha, Lily Miller, Margaret Kustermann and Dan Flannery.
– To learn more about the film and watch it again, go to paulcotter.net.

The Shovel
USA
When a man discovers his neighbor digging a hole in the middle of the night, he writes it off as bizarre small town behavior. That is, until the suspicious neighbor, his dog and his cheating wife disappear. Worried he has stumbled upon more than he has bargained for, he calls on the local sheriff to unearth the truth. He finds out that, in a small town, some secrets are better left buried. A tense and twisted thriller starring David Straithairn (Goodnight and Good Luck), Tim Guinee and Neal Huff. Written, directed and produced by Nick Childs. This is the NYU grad’s first dramatic short.
– To learn more about the film, go to theshovelmovie.com.

Crash
Spain
A couple in their late twenties discover an underground surprise that transports them back to their youth. The thrill of adventure is quickly matched by a spike in the protaganist’s machismo, when a gang of teenagers decide to join in the fun. He soon learns that a bumper car rink isn’t exactly the ideal location for a romantic date. Written and directed by Nacho Vigalondo whose previous film (7:35 in the Morning) was nominated for an Academy Award. Principal cast: Nacho Vigalondo and Barbara Goenaga.