The WORD

Directed by Arianna Ortiz. Written by Stephanie Alison Walker & Paula Pizzi. Produced by Rachel Stander Cast: Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel, Paula Pizzi, Ignacio Serricchio, Nate Santana, Margarita Lamas Cinematography by Christopher Rejano, Edited by Jonathan Cuartas. © A Season of Rain LLC Ortiz’s film is a 16-minute short film set during an intimate birthday dinner in Chicago.

The Birthday Gift is based on the play “The Abuelas,” written by Stephanie Alison Walker. Adapted for the screen by Stephanie Alison Walker and Paula Pizzi, and directed by Arianna Ortiz. Welcome to Soledad’s birthday dinner. The characters in this film are meant to entertain and invite the audience in. The only hint of the destination ahead is the opening image of the frozen, shattered surface of the Chicago river in winter.

Audience Alert: This short could blow you out of your seat. What follows should provide insight into why this reviewer was blown out of his seat. On the surface, the film looks deceptively simple in its early scenes. A convivial birthday dinner celebration between a mother, Soledad (played by Paula Pizzi), and her daughter Gabriela (played by Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel), is interrupted by the arrival of an unexpected guest.

Albert Einstein — Often associated with dyslexia, though historians debate whether he was formally dyslexic. Tom Cruise — Has discussed struggling with reading as a child due to dyslexia. Whoopi Goldberg — Diagnosed with dyslexia as a child. Cher — Has spoken openly about living with dyslexia. Keira Knightley — Diagnosed young and motivated to improve reading through acting scripts. Henry Winkler — Didn’t discover he had dyslexia until adulthood; later became an advocate.

What’s It About This beaut directed by Kyra Bartley and created by the global charity Made By Dyslexia was designed as a deliberate campaign to “hijack search engine algorithms.

New York, NY – Tuesday, May 12 – The Tribeca Festival, presented by OKX, today announced that Madonna will return to world premiere a cinematic presentation accompanying her forthcoming new album ‘Confessions II,’ directed by David Toro and Solomon Chase (TORSO), on Friday, June 5 at the Beacon Theatre. Following the screening, she will join the directors for an exclusive conversation with Jimmy Fallon.

Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA) is a Muslim humanitarian and disaster-relief nonprofit headquartered in Alexandria, VA. It was founded in 1993 and operates both internationally and domestically, providing emergency aid, food assistance, orphan support, health programs, refugee assistance, disaster response, and community services regardless of religion or background.

More than 20 years after legal scholar David C. Yamada introduced the first version of the Healthy Workplace Bill, no U.S. state has enacted the legislation in its original form — even as concerns about toxic workplaces, institutional intimidation, and employee mental health continue to grow nationwide. Prof David Yamada.

Aarresting erotica – one of many – from Director Madison Young’s BY THE ROOTS. An arresting scene from Director Madison Young’s BY THE ROOTS. Shibari (縛り), Japanese for “to bind” or “to tie,” is a modern, often artistic form of Japanese rope bondage used for eroticism, intimacy, and trust-building.

Saturday, August 18, 2026 Greggory Morris—founding editor of the WORD as well as an activist journalism professor, writer, author, and longtime advocate for independent media and who has a deep passion for filmmaking—has been officially approved to cover the 25th Tribeca Festival, taking place Wednesday, June 3 through Sunday, June 14, 2026 – for the WORD, of course. Morris will be covering one of the film industry’s most influential cultural events.