War Game
In an imagined battle between the United States and the fictional Latin American country of Cubuchilia, an American soldier has control over water resources and news media on both sides of the war. This depressed soldier profits monetarily by the continuation of the war, and therefore ensures the battle endures through his power over the water and news. Inadvertently, he causes all the soldiers on both sides to perish, and thus the war ends. He then, through his media control, presents himself as the hero of the conflict and the savior of the United States.
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Mehrnoosh FetratDirectorDirector
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Jon AppelDirectorSecond Director
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Mehrnoosh FetratWriter
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Jon AppelWriter
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Kayla WatkinsWriter
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Mehrnoosh FetratProducer
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Jon AppelProducer
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Temple UniversityProducer
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Chauncey OwensKey Cast"Bob"
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Brock VickersKey Cast"Harry"
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Caitlin RileyKey Cast"Holly Marry"
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Jose Raul MangualKey Cast"Armando"
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Gerardo SalazarKey Cast"General"
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Project Type:Short
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Genres:Political, Drama, Human Rights
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Runtime:18 minutes 40 seconds
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Completion Date:July 1, 2019
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Production Budget:4,000 USD
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Country of Origin:Iran, Islamic Republic of
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:Chinese, English, Spanish
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Shooting Format:Digital 4K
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:Yes - Temple University
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Sundance CollabUtah
United States
August 1, 2019
Official Selection -
Trenton Film FestivalNew Jersey
United States
March 26, 2020
Official Selection -
Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film FestivalBuffalo
United States
August 28, 2020
Official Selection -
Ca' Foscari Short Film FestivalVenice
Italy
March 25, 2020
Finalist -
Realtime International Film Festival (RTF)Lagos
Nigeria
June 7, 2021
Semi Finalist -
Diamond Screen Film and Media Arts FestivalPhiladelphia
United States
May 2, 2019
Nominated for Best Film, Nominated for Best Cinematography -
Adirondack Film FestivalNew York
United States
October 15, 2020
Nominated for Best Drama Short -
Intimalente Film FestivalCaserta
Italy
December 20, 2019
Official Selection -
UFVA ConferenceOnline
United States
July 27, 2020
Official Selection -
Mosaic Film FestivalGeorgia
United States
April 25, 2020
Official Selection -
Best of Latin America Short Film FestivalSanta Monica
United States
July 24, 2020
Official Selection -
Nostalgia Film FestivalLombardy
Italy
September 4, 2021
Semi Finalist -
London Arthouse Film FestivalLondon
United Kingdom
October 11, 2019
Official Selection -
PSLPhiladelphia
United States
September 13, 2019
Official Selection -
Box Short Film FestivalTehran
Iran, Islamic Republic of
February 3, 2021
Honorable Mention
Mehrnoosh Fetrat (مهرنوش فطرت) is an award-winning filmmaker from Iran who focuses on social justice, war, and immigration. She currently works as an assistant professor at Northwestern University and has taught at several other universities, including Temple, Drexel, The College of New Jersey, Pennsylvania College of Art & Design, and Saint Joseph's University.
Her passion for cinema made her change her background from Electrical Engineering to Film. She got her MA in Cinema Studies from Tehran University of Art and MFA in Film Production from Temple University. She received The University Fellowship during her education in Philadelphia.
Mehrnoosh has written, produced, and directed three short films, namely “War Game,” “America” (available to stream on Comcast’s Streampix), and “Copsi.” Her films have been screened at more than 50 film festivals and galleries in the US, Germany, Italy, Nigeria, Croatia, Turkey, Iraq, India, and the United Kingdom. CFMDC--Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Center--is the distribution company for her films.
She founded Philadelphia’s Utopia Film Club for cinephiles to watch and discuss avant-garde and alternative cinema. She has been nominated for the Princess Grace Award and PEW Fellowship. Her films are admired by people such as Boots Riley and Golshifteh Farahani.
Mehrnoosh’s primary research is on the history of Iranian documentary filmmaking. She is working on a feature documentary "Unfinished: Kamran Shirdel: about an influential pioneer in Iranian documentary who faced censorship before and after the Islamic Revolution for depicting poverty in Tehran.