Chester Endersby Gwazda

Movies

We Can Be Heroes
Music Editor
Sometimes, finding your tribe requires a bit of magic. For attendees of a live action role-playing (LARP) camp in upstate New York, the deeply accepting environment has given neurodivergent, queer, and self-proclaimed "nerdy" teenagers the space and community for self-discovery that they have never found anywhere else. As the campers immerse themselves in this imaginative world, they discover inner strength, heal from past traumas, and emerge as the heroes they are meant to be, both in the fantasy realm and in real life.
Margie Soudek's Salt and Pepper Shakers
Sound Designer
An artist and VFX instructor connects with her aging grandmother, Margie, in a documentary short on collecting, artmaking, and obsessiveness as a way to enhance our realities. Margie has been collecting salt and pepper shakers for 73 years -- at 94, her days are spent repeating the same, simple routine. When her granddaughter pays her a visit, the collection, now in the thousands, takes on a new life. With a score by Dan Deacon, the film -- part love letter, part documentary, part experiment -- merges the real, the fantastical, and the world of a computer desktop.
Strawberry Mansion
Sound Mixer
In the not-too-distant future, an all-seeing surveillance state conducts “dream audits” to collect taxes on the unconscious lives of the populace. Mild-mannered government agent James Preble travels to a remote farmhouse to audit the dreams of Arabella “Bella” Isadora, an eccentric, aging artist. Entering Bella’s vast VHS archive, which contains a lifetime of dreams, Preble stumbles upon a secret that offers him a chance at love—and hope for escape.
Please Enjoy Your Stay
Sound Mixer
An anxious musician finds himself unable to leave his hotel room. Dan Arnés writes and stars in “Please Enjoy Your Stay,” a surreal comedy that employs an ever-shifting dream logic to explore issues of identity and artistic process. Surrounded by slips of paper with scattered notes, a man attempts to check out of a hotel room and move on with his life, whatever that may be. He calls the front desk, but the Concierge (voiced by Conner O'Malley) suggests he stay in the room, as does The Bellhop (Carmen Christopher) and The Maid (Caroline Yost), as they take turns entering his space and attempting to capture his vibe through photographs and music recordings. Directed by NoBudge veteran, Tynan DeLong (continuing to try new things and expand his range), the film is lifted by dreamy, colorful visuals and a lovely score from Arnés himself, alongside its lively comedic performances.
Tux and Fanny
Painter
Tux and Fanny are two friends living together in the forest and these are their adventures!