Maggie, a wife and mother of two, must find the courage to own up to her behavior when she wakes to find every adult has received a star rating floating above their head. While most everyone else has a shining 4 or 5 stars, Maggie has only 2.5!

Palm Springs Shortfest, Savannah Film Festival, Cleveland International Film Festival, Rhode Island International Film Festival, Short Shorts Film Festival Japan, DC Shorts Film Festival, Sonoma International Film Festival , Heartland Film Festival, Big Island Film Festival, San Jose International Short Film Festival, Sedona International Film Festival, Crested Butte Film Festival, Fort Lauderdale Film Festival, Annapolis Film Festival, Hollyshorts Film Festival, Golden Door International Film Festival , Montclair Film Festival, Athens International Film Festival, Sarasota Film Festival, South Dakota Film Festival, Sapporo Shortfest Japan, Et Cultura Film Festival, Fargo Film Festival, Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival, Bahamas International Film Festival, Gasparilla International Film Festival, Santa Fe Independent Film Festival, Destiny City Film Festival, Devourfest, Boulder International Film Festival, Weyauwega International Film Festival, Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema, Rincon International Film Festival, Gold Coast International Film Festival, Taos Shorts, Ojai Film Festival, Newport Beach Film Festival, Stay In May Short Film Festival, Sunscreen Film Festival, Rocky Mountain Award Winning Shorts, Bermuda International Film Festival, Film Festival Peteluma, Walnut Creek International Film Festival, Reel Shorts Film Festival Alberta, Southside Film Festival, Stonybrook Film Festival, Woods Hole Film Festival, Los Angeles SAG Short Film Showcase, Skyline Indie Film Festival, Carmel International Film Festival, Pittsburgh Short Film Festival, Hollywood North Film Festival, Canada, Aesthetica Shorts Film Festival UK, Arkansas Shorts Film Festival, Bates Film Festival, Boyton Beach Short Film Festival, Thrival Fest, Artemis Film Festival, Vero Beach Film Festival,

Director's Statement
Never more so than today do we need conversation around empathy and why it's important toward others and ourselves. With RATED, I saw an opportunity to have that conversation through a story that used technology that we all know and use in a way that served as an intervention in my characters lives. Instantly, for better or worse, the star ratings cause our characters to stop, think, and reflect on their behavior in the world. Especially when the world makes it personal and the ratings become dividers in our society. Suddenly it doesn't matter what the color of your skin, how rich or poor, what religion, sexual orientation, identity, or your politics. All that matters is how you act and are perceived. Would we be good to one another to up our "rating" or to serve our humanness? RATED's story brings awareness to our actions in our world. What are other people going through in their day? What if instead of being reactive, we try to be compassionate in how we affect one another?
Reviews
“IT'S FANTASTIC! The multiple award-winning short film RATED, is A CHARMING, CLEVER, INVENTIVE, FEEL GOOD CROWD-PLEASER! SEE IT!”
Film Critic: Scott Mantz
“RATED GETS OUR HIGHEST RATING: A+! An EXCEPTIONAL comedy thats FUNNY, with depth and social commentary!"
Influx Magazine
“OMG! I LOVE IT! FUNNY, profound, zeitgeist . . . Truly knocked out by RATED! Brilliant performances by all! A beautiful moral tale about human behavior. It’s great at so many levels. Such a great message about how we treat people. Amazing work!”
Daily Mail: Jaci Stephen
"Smith delivers a WONDERFUL PERFORMANCE as Maggie who wakes up one day to find a star rating hovering above her head." "RATED also perfectly complements the humanist themes…" and "provides a fitting programming option for these pivotal times in which empathy is literally saving lives!"
Roger Ebert Film Critic: Matt Fagerholm Indie-Outlook
“RATED is an extremely engaging dramedy. The performances are amazing and spot on, delivering a story that will make you LAUGH, THINK, and discuss our social boundaries today.”
WeAreMovingStories.com
“RATED is FUNNY, SWEET, and THOUGHT-PROVOKING!"
Daily Mail: Brian Viner
"RATED is a Beautifully Human Film and a MUST SEE! I really enjoyed this film!"
FSM MEDIA
“RATED is MARVELOUS, not just because it’s FUNNY, but because it’s incredibly insightful!”
Film Critic: Martin Hafer
"GROUND BREAKING, FANTASTIC and a PERSONAL FAVORITE was the EYE-OPENING, RATED by John Fortson"
The Yorkshire Times
"RATED wins Top Prize in the Juried Category Best Narrative Short at the Savannah Film Festival!"
Variety
"RATED is a FUNNY, SMART story about compassion! John Fortson is a gifted actor, creative writer, and now accomplished director with his multi-award winning debut which won 21 awards!"
LifeSheHas
"TRULY TERRIFIC! Heartwarming and inspiring. I related to it a lot. I encourage everyone to sit down and watch this movie!"
The Mommyhood Chronicles
"RATED is a Must See! Excellent!"
BrightestYoungThings: Kaylee Dugan
“RATED, with it’s deep subtext and Christie Lynn Smith’s captivating performance, IS ONE OF THE FINEST AMALGAMATIONS OF ENTHRALLING STORYTELLING IN IT'S SHORT FORM.”
Gornoblonde: Haren Yong
“RATED is NOTABLE, WONDERFUL, SURREAL and A FILM TO SEE!”
Orlando Weekly
"ADORABLE! RATED is a hilarious, gentle, and wry commentary, as family life is turned upside down one morning when the adults wake up to find they have rating stars over their heads. Unfortunately, the mother is only 2.5 out of five, leading comically to ostracization and discrimination. They plan to expand this to a full-length feature, which I would enjoy seeing!"
Aperature Arts
“BEST INDIE DRAMEDY EVER! Love this film. It hits the heart with a KABOOM! I highly recommend it. A film worth watching over and over!!!”
IMDb
"THE BEST SHORT FILM OF ALL TIME! A MASTERPIECE! Outstanding and unforgettable!"
IMDb
"GREAT. FUN. BRILLIANT. DELICIOUSLY ACTED!"
Vimeo ON DEMAND
"RATED is FUNNY while offering a commentary on several issues — prejudices, discrimination, being judgmental and also about finding the courage to own up to your behavior and make a choice to be better. The tone shifts from comic to dramatic to serious and eventually it's all positive, feel-good! I enjoyed it!"
THE HINDU
"A MUST SEE FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY! RATED is beautifully written, laugh out loud hilarious with strong performances by all. It's fun for the whole family and appropriate for all ages...which is rare these days. Our family watched it 3 times in a row! It's a GEM!"
GIRLSONFILM
"HILARIOUS! Do not miss this film! RATED is one of the funniest, original, well played shorts I have ever seen."
IMDb
"I love RATED so much! The directing is superb! Actors are all phenomenal! Taught me a lot as a human being. Great movie to watch during quarantine... and soul searching. My 13 year old son LOVED IT AS WELL!! CONGRATS on creating a beautiful movie!"
Vimeo ON DEMAND
"RATED is a fun, relatable and thought provoking ride with great performances all around and spot-on direction."
Vimeo ON DEMAND
"RATED is an excellent example of a short film well done! The writing is stellar, the direction spot on. The acting is brilliant with a shining light particularly on Christie Lynn Smith!"
Vimeo ON DEMAND
"GREAT FILM! Cleverly written with a message for us all!"
IMDb
"MARVELOUS! AMAZING SHORT FILM! Hilarious, entertaining and meaningful! I recommend it!"
IMDb
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Palm Springs Shortfest, Savannah Film Festival, Cleveland International Film Festival, Rhode Island International Film Festival, Short Shorts Film Festival Japan, DC Shorts Film Festival, Sonoma International Film Festival , Heartland Film Festival, Big Island Film Festival, San Jose International Short Film Festival, Sedona International Film Festival, Crested Butte Film Festival, Fort Lauderdale Film Festival, Annapolis Film Festival, Hollyshorts Film Festival, Golden Door International Film Festival , Montclair Film Festival, Athens International Film Festival, Sarasota Film Festival, South Dakota Film Festival, Sapporo Shortfest Japan, Et Cultura Film Festival, Fargo Film Festival, Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival, Bahamas International Film Festival, Gasparilla International Film Festival, Santa Fe Independent Film Festival, Destiny City Film Festival, Devourfest, Boulder International Film Festival, Weyauwega International Film Festival, Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema, Rincon International Film Festival, Gold Coast International Film Festival, Taos Shorts, Ojai Film Festival, Newport Beach Film Festival, Stay In May Short Film Festival, Sunscreen Film Festival, Rocky Mountain Award Winning Shorts, Bermuda International Film Festival, Film Festival Peteluma, Walnut Creek International Film Festival, Reel Shorts Film Festival Alberta, Southside Film Festival, Stonybrook Film Festival, Woods Hole Film Festival, Los Angeles SAG Short Film Showcase, Skyline Indie Film Festival, Carmel International Film Festival, Pittsburgh Short Film Festival, Hollywood North Film Festival, Canada, Aesthetica Shorts Film Festival UK, Arkansas Shorts Film Festival, Bates Film Festival, Boyton Beach Short Film Festival, Thrival Fest, Artemis Film Festival, Vero Beach Film Festival,
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