Fear of Heights
In 1983, film student Rich Murray was handed $20,000 in a brown paper bag by a hustler named 'Butch.' These were the funds he used to direct his first music video for a local Philly rocker named Alan Mann. That video for the song “Christmas on the Block”, went on to become the first and perhaps only video by an unsigned artist to play on regular rotation on MTV. Using “Christmas on the Block” as a framing device, Murray illuminates Mann’s larger story - and how he could have, should of and almost did make it, but didn’t because of his excesses, and a tragic accidental death. The film also turns the lens sharply on the film’s director (Murray) and how his own excesses might have resulted in the same tragic trajectory, that but for wisdom and luck, did not.
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Katerina works in a registry office. She helps seal loving hearts, while her own marriage has been on hold for a long time. Katerina's husband has been in a coma for five years, and the family seems to be stuck with him. A new love brings a major change in Katerina's life, forcing her to make choices that she was previously afraid to make.
An afflicted soul wanders a wilderness that seems alive with torment—its silence broken only by the whispers of something dark, something ancient. Struggling to distinguish delusion from truth, he’s pulled deeper into a shadowed realm where fear, doubt, and despair close in like fog. As his mind unravels and the world around him bends, fragments of something different—something radiant—begin to break through. A presence. A promise. A choice. The New Creation is a haunting descent into the human soul’s darkest night, and a stirring exploration of the mysterious force that can bring light to even the most forsaken path.
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Catatumbo is a subregion of Norte de Santander, on the border with Venezuela. Its jungles, mountains, and rivers shelter the unique Catatumbo Lightning, which lights the skies every night. Violence escalated in the late 1970s, when guerrilla groups like the ELN, EPL, and FARC increased armed actions with killings, kidnappings, and town takeovers. Between 1999 and 2006, paramilitary groups—the Catatumbo Bloc, the Héctor Julio Peinado Front, and the Motilona Resistance Front—left 99,074 displaced, 832 selective killings, and 599 massacre deaths. According to CNMH, over 59% of three decades of displacements occurred in that period. Child recruitment marked another wound: the Truth Commission documented 18,677 individual cases. By 2019, the National Information Network recorded 37,978 victims in Catatumbo, including 19,390 women. On January 16, 2025, clashes between FARC dissidents and the ELN in Tibú and El Tarra triggered another crisis. The UN reported 91,879 people affected, with 56,091 displaced to Cúcuta, Ocaña, and Tibú. UNICEF noted that 84,165 people were impacted, including 70,000 children and adolescents. Of them, 52,807 were displaced and 31,355 confined. Amid state neglect, coca cultivation became a survival strategy for many families, but it also exposed them to persecution, violence, and stigma. To speak of Catatumbo is to name its pain, but also the resilience of its people. Despite hardship, thousands remain standing. Sources: CNMH; UN/OCHA; UNICEF Colombia; Verdad Abierta; El País. Production Notes: This short film was created entirely using artificial intelligence tools for animation, narrative, sound, and editing, including Veo 3, Flow, Whisk, Gemini, ChatGPT, and CapCut. Credits – Short Film PLAY MOVIE (please click here)PLAY MOVIE (please click here)Title: Catatumbo: House of Thunder, Memory and Dignity Direction, Screenplay & Production: Jhonattan Sarmiento Art Direction & Animation: Generative AI (Veo 3, Flow, Whisk, Gemini, ChatGPT) Editing & Post-Production: CapCut Sound Design & Music: Generative AI, edited and mixed in CapCut
On their seventh wedding anniversary, Liu Xiaoyan and Li Ziyang end their marriage amidst a bitter argument. However, on the very day they receive their divorce certificate, Xiaoyan is diagnosed with suspected gastric cancer. Faced with the sudden onset of a terminal illness and the sting of perceived betrayal, the two—who had become virtual strangers—are forced back into each other's lives. Li Ziyang casts everything aside to accompany his ex-wife on a grueling journey toward recovery. Within the walls of a hospital ward filled with joy and sorrow, they witness the fragility of life and taste the bitterness of human nature. Yet, in this desperate struggle, they begin to re-examine one another and the true meaning of marriage. Moving from resentment and collapse to a bond where they must rely on each other to survive, they nourish their nearly withered love with blood and tears amidst the agony of fighting the disease. This is a journey of life defined by betrayal and protection, despair and rebirth, farewells and reunions. When the long winter finally fades, the flowers that once withered shall surely bloom again.
At first glance, the life of a lonely middle-aged woman passes smoothly, in household chores, but how much effort and labor she has invested in the apricot orchard, the only source of income on which she can live until next year. And suddenly fallen snow upsets all her plans and hopes for a good harvest. Therefore, in her thoughts there is only one thing “to save the harvest from frost.” Fumigation (creating a smoke screen) of flowers of apricot trees brings results and there is a premonition that everything will be fine...
A free spirit girl fell for a medical doctor after drifting through life with an unsettled heart
Directed by Rich Murray. 1h 42 01 sec
Best known as the director of mega hit clips for 90’s MTV icons Kris Kross and Spin Doctors, Rich Murray directed over 100 music videos on the way to becoming one of the most prolific directors during the classic music video era.
Murray’s feature film directing debut , Snipes , starring Zoe Saldana, Nelly and Dean Winters premiered at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival and subsequently won the Festival of Independents at the 2002 Philadelphia International Film Festival.
Murray has numerous other feature film credits as both a producer and assistant director and has been a member of the Director’s Guild of America since 1988.
Director Statement
I worked on this film for over a decade. It started as a short film about my first ever experience as a director – just out of film school – and it developed into something much more. As I traveled back to the 1980’s to relive the experience of “Christmas on the Block”, I also wanted to illuminate the mysterious life of Alan Mann and to introduce his music (of which I am a fan!) to a new audience. That journey led me to some unexpected places and after spending years trying to tell ‘Alan’s story’, I came to understand there were clear parallels to my own story – and that I needed to tell that story as well. The result is “Fear of Heights”.
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