2026 Web Series
City Don’t Sleep: Pilot
directed by Nich Esposito
( 2025 / 31 mins )
An aging lounge singer, a narcoleptic sage, a hardboiled lady detective, a sentient ball of rats, a corrupt mayor, and a giant talking penis alien must join forces to save the world’s greatest City from a shadowy tech corporation.
Program: Web Series Program
Sunday, February 15 · 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm, Regal Gallery (TICKETS)
About the Director
A BFA graduate of the SUNY Purchase Dramatic Writing conservatory in 2012, Nich Esposito created and produced sketch comedy and short films in and around New York and Philadelphia through 2014. He co-wrote “Vocabulary of the Mysteries,” Audience Award winner at the 2014 Brooklyn Film Festival and Best Student Film Award winner at the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival. After moving to Los Angeles, he co-created, wrote, and produced the interactive cross-media “Makeson Drinxon Universe” comedy series from 2014-2018. With animated short “A Street Dog Named Desire,” Esposito has now featured in Silverlake Shorts, Show and Tell, and won the audience choice award at the LA Lift-Off Sessions for July 2024. “Street Dog” serves as a proof of concept for currently in-production adult animated pilot “City Don’t Sleep,” which demos of are currently screening in Primetime monthly at Channel 101.
Jam Boy
directed by Sriram Emani
( United States / 2025 / 22 mins )
Sriram has always played by the rules, the perfect model minority in a near-future America, where obedience is currency and freedom must be earned. Every immigrant needs “travel credits” to leave the country, and Sriram has spent years chasing enough to visit his sick mother in India. Then he discovers the truth: the system is designed to keep people like him trapped, feeding workers flavorless “lunch cakes” that erase memory and resistance. When Sriram smuggles in his mother’s recipe for tamarind rice, something inside him wakes up. Taste becomes rebellion, and food becomes freedom. Jam Boy is a sharp, fast-paced sci-fi thriller about breaking the algorithm, reclaiming memory, and finding revolution in the most unexpected place – the kitchen.
Program: Web Series Program
Sunday, February 15 · 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm, Regal Gallery (TICKETS)
About the Director
Sriram Emani is an actor, filmmaker, and founder of the global arts platform IndianRaga. His creative work blends cultural heritage with bold, contemporary storytelling. As an actor, he recently appeared alongside Kathy Bates in Matlock (CBS) and Heather Graham in Chosen Family (Verdi Productions). As a filmmaker, Sriram’s work draws from his personal journey as an immigrant and his deep interest in dystopian futures, identity, and freedom.
Unbreakable Soul
directed by Alexander Kwanje
( United States / 2026 / 38 mins )
Unbreakable Soul is a three-episode docuseries chronicling the journey of Shirin Behzadi, At just 17, she fled Iran during the 1979 revolution to escape the threat of execution for her anti-regime activities. She crossed the border into Turkey, living as a refugee before immigrating to the United States in search of safety and opportunity. Starting from nothing, she worked behind bulletproof glass at a gas station to make ends meet. Through unwavering determination and hard work, she rose to become the CEO of a billion-dollar company. Years later, she faced another life-threatening challenge — a brain tumor — and once again, she survived after a long and difficult recovery.
Program: Web Series Program
Sunday, February 15 · 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm, Regal Gallery (TICKETS)
About the Director
Alexander Kwanje was born in 1986 in Iran to a Cameroonian father and an Iranian mother. His passion for filmmaking began at the age of 12 in 1998, when he started experimenting with storytelling by lining up video game demos on his PlayStation. That early spark of creativity led to a lifelong dedication to visual storytelling.
