Welcome to MergingArts Productions

MergingArts Productions produces cultural events and radio programming related to music and visual arts, reaching out to communities both locally and globally.

Box Logo Reincarnation Mall The Hind In the Land of Lost Dreams Journey in Amnesia Clock Logo Mimesis Jeroen, niet doen! The Neti Pot Compromise Box Logo Wood Galibot Egor! Breaking the Waves Clock Logo Just Another Story Crumble Pillar Pillar Late Bus to Taracapa Box Logo Midnight City Cat-Puccino Saunapiru Creator Clock Logo Massless Particle Headache Virginia's Dreams Link Box Logo Flowers for the Resting Sinking Intrusion The Ideal and Reality of Clay Clock Logo Employee of the Month Whispers of the Heart Yanira Let's Roll Box Logo Metro Passing The Great Connection
Short Short Story Film Festival

The Short Short Story Film Festival is a competitive international festival of films that tell a story in under six minutes, celebrating brevity in filmmaking with films from across the globe, both live-action and animated.

The 16th edition of the festival took place at Cinestudio on Saturday, 25th November.

Located on the campus of Trinity College in Hartford Connecticut, Cinestudio was founded in 1970 and has a long-standing reputation for its diversity of programing, legendary projection, and superb sound quality, including a recent 4K Digital Cinema system.

It's a Wrap!

The 16th edition of the festival played to enthusiastic crowds, and we will be counting the ballots to determine audience award winners shortly.

Thanks to everyone at Cinestudio, especially Doug, for making the day run smoothly, and to everyone who came out to support the festival.

Stay tuned for more awards announcements!

Film Selections

With several hundred submissions from more than fifty countries, it was difficult yet rewarding to select the best of the best.

In total, we accepted 35 films, from more than twenty countries on six continents, with 23 films making their US premieres, and seven world premieres.

Click here to see a list of festival films.

Two programs, Heartstrings and Headtrip, both showcase dozens of films tightly sequenced in under ninety minutes, each with a distinctive tone yet wide-ranging styles and topics.

More On The Festival

Audiences will vote on their three favorite films to determine award winners in each program. A panel of Spoiler Alert Radio interviewees judge the films and selects the best in each program.

Commissioned custom art objects created by past festival participants are presented to the winners. Scroll down to see some of last year's awards.

Click here to read details of last year's festival.

To learn more about the festival concept and history, click here.

For requirements to submit to future editions, click here.

There is no fee to submit your film to the festival.


Music Charting

Toni (aka DJ Madame B) is a global music genre director showcasing sounds from around the world. She hosts Pacifica affiliate syndicated and regional world music shows.

She submits MergingArts Global Radio weekly charts to NACC (North American College & Community Chart) and RMR (Roots Music Report).

She is an active panelist of international charting organizations, TWMC (Transglobal World Music Chart), BWMC (Balkan World Music Chart), and RWMC (Russian World Music Chart), representing MergingArts.

Click here to view weekly and monthly world music charts and adds.


Radio Syndication

World Music

Donne del Mondo showcases global music by women, celebrating musical women of the world. Available Saturday afternoons, it is distributed via the Pacifica Radio Network on select affiliates throughout North America.

Transworld Airwaves features a cross-cultural musical journey united in voices and rhythms. As well as syndicating on Pacifica, it broadcasts every other Sunday evening from 7:00 to 8:00 pm (US Eastern time) on WZBC 90.3 FM from Boston College in Newton/Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

You can hear more international sounds every Sunday from 8:00 am to 11:00 am Eastern, by tuning in to World Wide Waves, with rotating hosts. It can be heard on 90.3 FM WRIU, non-commercial radio broadcasting from the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, RI.

Spoiler Alert Radio

Featuring conversations on the craft of filmmaking, Spoiler Alert Radio continues to syndicate weekly on selected Pacifica affiliates.

You can find out more about the show, including syndication information, by clicking here, or visit our podcast and archive page by clicking here.


Women ... Animation ... Womanimation!
W! Logo 쿠키 커피 도시락 Goutte d'eau 白布之下 Миллионы алых роз W! Logo Canadà Zasićenje Ich fühl mich FURCHTBAR!! 분노의 개구리 W! Logo Testigo del Viento La nuit blanche Piano in the Bushes Носки для Звезды

Womanimation! is a festival showcasing acclaimed animated short film stories created by women from around the world.

The thirteenth edition of Womanimation! took place on Saturday 8th July at Greenwood Features in Bethel, CT, USA.

To find out more on this year's festival, click here.

Awards

The Audience Award winner for 2023 was Носки для Звезды (Socks for the Star), directed by Olga Titova from Russia.

In a new twist for this year’s event, a special jury was assembled consisting of women musicians who have topped one of the MergingArts Global Radio weekly charts. The jury reviewed and rated the films, with the winner being Testigo del Viento (Wind Whisperer), from Fernanda Caicedo (Ecuador/Germany).

Click here for a list of jury members.

Award winners received custom awards created by previous award winners, Joanna Lurie (France) and Indra Sproģe (Latvia).

Check out the awards pics on the left or right side of the page.

Festival Films

Twelve films from nine nations were screened, all of which were US or International premieres. Styles ranged from stop-motion to traditional hand-drawn to several varieties of 2D/computer hybrids.

The films emphasized well-developed narratives as well as visual daring, exploring themes including our relationship with nature, culture clashes, family bonds, and the fragility of life.

The perspectives are of course uniquely female, delving into issues related to affairs of the heart, body image, and gender roles or expectations.

Click here for a detailed listing of the Womanimation! 2023 films.

World Music Charts 


SSSFF 2022 Heartstrings Jury Award

Jury Heart

A custom creation by Eric Giessmann


SSSFF 2022 Heartstrings Audience Award

Audience Heart

A custom creation by Éric Montchaud


DJ Madame B

Global Sounds


Womanimation! Jury Award 2023

Womanimation!

A custom creation by Indra Sproģe

Spoiler Alert Radio

A weekly broadcast and podcast featuring conversations on the craft of filmmaking.

For more information about the program, click here.

This week's episode:

Margret Einarsdottir - Icelandic Costume Designer - Life In A Fishbowl, Rams, Swoon, The County, Welcome To Utmark, Lamb, Against The Ice, and Northern Comfort

Click the film strip!


SSSFF 2022 Headtrip Jury Award

Jury Head

A custom creation by Eric Giessmann


SSSFF 2022 Petit Prose Award

SF 22 Petit Prose Audience

A custom creation by Anna Kadykova


SSSFF 2022 Minds Eye Award

SF 22 Minds Eye

A custom creation by Anna Kadykova


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DJ Madame B on


Womanimation! Audience Award 2023

Womanimation!

A custom creation by Joanna Lurie