Ben Hanson, Toby Jones and AJ Thompson are 3 lifelong friends who always imagined of making a movie together and now they’re living the dream of showcasing their off the wall comedy to film festival audiences across the country. Hear about where the idea of ‘AJ Goes to the Dog Park’ came from and how the community of Fargo supported the project.

Synopsis:  An absurd and surreal comedy about an ordinary man named AJ, who enjoys a simple life in the midwestern haven of Fargo, North Dakota. When his favorite dog park is taken away, it begins a chain reaction that completely upends his existence and sends him on an unforgettable odyssey to fight, fish, scrap, scrape and sap things back into place. 

Ted aka Steady sat with director Danny Villanueva Jr. and the cast of What Happened to Dorothy Bell during Fantastic Fest 2024. Hear their thoughts and experiences while making this found footage gem that is sure to get the attention of horror fans very soon!

Synopsis: Ozzie Gray (Asya Meadows) video documents an investigation into the traumatic events from her early childhood involving her late grandmother, Dorothy Bell. WHAT HAPPENED TO DOROTHY BELL? is a feature-length nightmarish found footage horror film by writer/director Danny Villanueva Jr. starring Asya Meadows, Michael Hargrove, Lisa Wilcox, Sargon Odicho, and Arlene Arnone Bibbs.

HAPPY CAMPERS chronicles the final days of a working-class summer colony in a scrappy trailer park that just happens to hold the secret to a rich life. In a waterfront campground off the coast of Virginia, residents spend their summers living spitting distance apart in rust-bitten RVs. They chuckle about the modest rent they pay for a million-dollar location, but what makes them the luckiest people in the world is more than just stunning sunsets, it’s the community they’ve created. I sit down with director Amy Nicholson about her inspiration for capturing what can only be desctibed as the modern day American dream.

Visit https://www.happycampers.film/ for more info.

Beneath cliched trailer park stereotypes lies an unlikely utopia where all are welcome. Neighbors help each other out and share everything from power tools to simple pleasures. Loneliness and isolation are inconceivable. When their affordable paradise is sold to developers, the residents brace for eviction and the loss of friendships that span generations. They hold tight to their final days in the sun. The well-heeled crowd that takes their place will never be as wealthy.

Amy Nicholson is a New York-based filmmaker and commercial director whose projects often explore the essence of Americana with a humorous eye and a warm respect for her subjects. Nicholson’s most recent documentary, a short, titled Pickle, won multiple audience awards, was selected for The New York Times’ Op Docs, and was featured on the Criterion Collection alongside Errol Morris’ Gates of Heaven. Pickle was also nominated for an IDA Award and Cinema Eye Honors. Nicholson has produced and directed several features. Zipper: Coney Island’s Last Wild Ride won the Special Jury Prize at DOCNYC and was held over twice at the IFC Center. Muskrat Lovely premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival and was broadcast on Independent Lens. Nicholson’s films have screened at Hot Docs, Sheffield, Full Frame, DOK Leipzig, BFI London, Camden, Traverse City, Rooftop Films, and the MoMA. They have been reviewed by Variety, Indiewire, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.