Two of the short films produced as a part of Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU)’s TRUSpeak: Hear Our Voices 2025 benefit will be screened at the third annual AMT International Film Festival, running from October 21-25, 2026. The red carpet is being rolled out at the AMT Theater in the heart of New York City’s Broadway Theater District; the cinematic event will bring together the artistic community locally and internationally. The festival features a diverse lineup of bold, original, and boundary-pushing voices in independent filmmaking; showcasing feature films, short films, documentaries, animation, and AI-generated works. Tickets are available at https://www.amttheater.org/amtfilmfestival.

TRUSpeak is an ongoing short film series produced by Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) and executive produced by Janel C. Scarborough and Carley Santori. The program adapts stage plays into digital short films exploring urgent social, political, and personal issues.

“We are thrilled to have two TRUSpeak films selected to be included in the AMT International Film Festival. As we continue to explore the spirit of collaboration, drawing focus to the intersecting lens of making theatrical film and cinematic theater; we look forward to audiences having the opportunity to experience these thought-provoking films in such a welcoming theater environment,” said producer Janel C. Scarborough.

Saturday, October 24th at 8:00 PM (Block K)

SAFE HARBOR by James McLindon

Life, death, and the Texas legislature. A doctor and a hospital attorney navigate the critical medical and legal implications surrounding an endangered pregnancy.

Starring Tonya Pinkins (Tony Award winner for Jelly’s Last Jam; Tony nominee for Caroline, or Change;filmmaker/producer of Red Pill), Veanne Cox (Tony Award nominee for Company; TV appearances in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel; Only Murders in the Building), and Kiana Kabeary (Empire Off-Broadway).

Directed by Megan Hess and produced by Tony Award winner Cady Huffman.

Director of Photography: Jeanette Bears; Editor: Carley Santori

Sunday, October 25th at 6:00 PM (Block O)

RIDING LESSONS by Brett Hursey

Boy meets Girl, meets Clown; a reflective journey to self-acceptance.

Starring Sky Lakota-Lynch (Tony Award nominee The Outsiders; Dear Evan Hansen; Off-Broadway The King’s Critique; Marvel’s Iron Fist; Netflix’s Spirit Rangers), Elizabeth Teeter (Off-Broadway The Hairy Ape, Heathers: The Musical; Broadway Beetlejuice, The Crucible, The Audience and Mary Poppins; AUDELCO nominated The Secret Life of Bees), and Dick Monday (Director of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s Clown College; Big Apple Circus; co-founder, The Laughter League).

Directed by Misti B. Wills and produced by Mike Katona.

Director of Photography: Christopher Smith; Editor: Matthew Brennan

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is the leading network for developing theater professionals, a thirty-four-year-old 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created to help producers produce, emerging theater companies to emerge healthily, and all theater professionals to understand and navigate the business of the arts. Membership includes self-producing artists as well as career producers and theater companies.

TRU publishes an email community newsletter of services, opportunities, and productions; presents weekly Community Gatherings about the arts, and monthly Town Halls about current social issues; offers a Producer Development & Mentorship Program taught by prominent producers and general managers in New York theater; and presents Producer Boot Camp workshops to help aspirants develop business skills. TRU serves writers through the TRU Voices Play Reading Series, TRUSpeak: Hear Our Voices (adapting short plays into films), Writer-Producer Speed Date, a Practical Playwriting Workshop, How to Write a Musical That Works, and a Director-Writer Communications Lab.

Programs of Theater Resources Unlimited are supported in part by the Leibowitz Greenway Foundation, Stewart F. Lane & Bonnie Comley, Merrie L. Davis, Dunbar Hofmann Productions, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

For more information about TRU membership and programs, visit www.truonline.org.

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