STRAW 2025: A Mother’s Silence Was Louder Than a Siren
A haunting look at grief, survival, and a mother’s quiet collapse in a world that never gave her room to fall.

Stuck in a routine where everything seems to go wrong, a young man is on the verge of giving up. One day, a coworker offers him a pill, claiming it can change his life. Taking it as a last hope, he starts to see unexpected improvements. But as his confidence grows and opportunities appear, the question remains: was it the pill... or something else entirely?
A haunting look at grief, survival, and a mother’s quiet collapse in a world that never gave her room to fall.
Tara Thorne’s film is equal parts emotional and comedic, illustrating the beauty and the pain of long term relationships.
Complex relationships between mothers and daughters are far from a new concept, whether the strain comes from abandonment, beliefs, or trauma. In My Only Wish, an Incluvie Film Festival submission, Brenda Gutierrez’s take on her character’s maternal divide comes in the form of abandonment.
'Yes, God, Yes (2019)' is a coming-of-age tale about a Christian teenage girl discovering her sexuality, the turbulence that comes with it from within herself, and the judgment from those around her.
Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 film "Pyscho" is an American film classic that still resonates today.
The shattering of what we strive to maintain as reality. It is certainly truthful to state that most, if not all, of us have experienced moments of genuine mental stress. Regardless of what might be the cause, the sheer unsettledness, the pressure that weighs upon us is a tangible force that CAN seem insurmountable. However, more often than not, this is only a temporary , one we can come through and simply move on from.