1. Waterside Boy

Synopsis:  PATRICK OYIBO, a mercenary, a warrior, a survivor, turns his back on his homeland of the Niger Delta in search for a better life. He journeys to Libya like tens of thousands of other sub Saharan migrants to find passage across the sea to Europe. Patrick meets EZINNE and her son, AFAM. The ten year old boy withstands immeasurable pain from puss covered leg sores, a symptom of his advanced sickle cell. The grizzled warfighter finds himself drawn to the boys’ kindness and his mother’s courage. On the other side of the Mediterranean, a Migrant Offshore Rescue Ship (MOAS) begins it’s life-saving mission. SEAN, a troubled but talented deep sea rescue diver clashes with the gruff, by the book, CAPTAIN ODELL. Sean has made a habit of breaking protocol, putting himself and his team in dangerous situations. He keeps alone, immersing himself, almost fanatically into his work unwilling to face the recent death of his nine year old daughter. On the migrant boat, two rival camps are formed.

2. Jamal

Synopsis:  A young Syrian boy is smuggled into America by a sympathetic US soldier, hoping to seek asylum for the child. However, the  soldier faces harsh criticism and xenophobia from his wife and family members until a life changing event brings them all together as a family.

3. Like Father Like Son

Synopsis:

Luis Preciado is a brilliant Mexican trumpet player who  has recently hit a patch of bad luck. Though his talent is unmatched in the Los Angeles Banda music scene, his attitude and ego  have lately made it difficult for him to find steady work. As the story opens, Luis has just blown a golden opportunity with a respected Banda orchestra and is considering his very limited options for how to renew his visa which is due to expire in a few months. He’s already been forced to take a job as a karaoke DJ at a bar to pay his bills but if he can’t find a job as a musician, a requirement of his O-1 visa, he’ll be forced to return to Mexico.

His luck takes a turn one night during a karaoke shift when he runs into Christina Moreland, his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his son, David, whom he hasn’t seen in over 10 years. Luis is moved to learn that David, a high school freshmen, is playing  trumpet in his school’s marching band.

Against Christina’s expressed wishes, Luis goes to David’s marching band practice the next day and discovers that, because of district budget cuts, the band currently lacks a director.  Seeing an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, Luis applies for the job and gets it. However, he neglects to inform the school’s principal or his estranged son of his real identity.

As he takes on the task of whipping  the band into shape, he immediately begins to butt heads with his strong willed son. As the conflict threatens to derail the band, Luis is able to win over the band members and David by blowing them away with his world class trumpet skills. The good vibes dissipate quickly when Rafaela finds out what Luis is up to and, furious, confronts him. He’s already abandoned his son once and she’s sure as hell not going to let him get close to David only for Luis to abandon him again. Luis begs her to keep his secret and let him continue to direct the band, convincing her he’s helping David. Christina,  deeply conflicted, eventually goes along but makes Luis promise not to tell David who he is.

Luis faces another obstacle when he meets with his immigration lawyer who is not convinced that being the director of a high school marching band will satisfy the requirement of his visa, which is specifically for exceptional artists performing at the highest professional level. Luis lies and says that his marching band will be performing at the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day, an event seen by 70 million people worldwide. The lawyer agrees that is probably impressive enough to renew his visa. Realizing he now must take extraordinary measures to ensure the band gets into the Rose Parade, an extreme long shot, Luis has the idea of introducing Banda music to the marching band. Believing this music is in their blood and will inspire the kids to excel, Luis sets out to write a program that is sure to blow the judges away and land them a spot in the Rose Parade.  And he has to do it while hiding the truth from his son who soon begins to scheme to get his single mom and his new banda director to fall in love.

Equal parts touching and hilarious, “Like Father Like Son” is the story of a man learning that, though his God given talents may not win him fame and fortune, if he’s lucky, they might just give win him back the family he was always meant to have.