Cory Cullinan Unveils Short Film ‘2025 Alive’ feat. Riley Max

“2025 Alive,” the newly released audio-visual experience from Cory Cullinan, takes audiences on a journey through the present moments of 2025, a surreal realm where it’s difficult to differentiate between politics and culture and vice versa.

Cullinan says, “‘2025 Alive’ has vocals throughout but only one lyric: ‘Test.’ This word is immediately deconstructed and splintered into pieces, like so much in our modern world. Whether current events are testing your resolve in a culture you loved, or you support those who are testing just how far we can break or reform our norms, this premise is apropos of what you are experiencing in 2025. We hope you find our work meaningful in this amazing and overwhelming year to be alive.”

2025 Alive was directed and produced by Cory Cullinan’s daughter, Sidney Cullinan, an acclaimed director of music videos for Grammy-winning artists, who has also composed, edited, and produced environmental documentaries, designed social media for the US Green Chamber Of Commerce, and created campaigns and social media content securing the greatest engagement in the history of the world’s largest environmental non-profit (The Nature Conservancy).

The soundtrack for 2025 Alive is a high-tech improvisation by Cory Cullinan and his daughter, singer-songwriter Riley Max. Cullinan himself is a chart-topping musician, commissioned composer, author, award-winning teacher, speaker, and studio owner.

2025 Alive opens with shots of everyday life and then shifts to visuals from news outlets like CNN, MSNBC, and Fox, where talking heads discuss the latest events and their possible effects. As the images come faster and faster, they assume a surreal milieu that initially conveys an overwhelming sense of confusion, followed by a feeling of catharsis as the scrolling images release pent-up emotions.

The film closes with snapshots of real people enjoying life, smiling, and connecting with others – an amazing juxtaposition of authenticity against the hollowness of current events.

Cory Cullinan sums it up best: “They express the myriads of thoughts and feelings we’ve had during this unconventional cultural year that, regardless of where you stand… feels like a test of some sort. A test of new ideas. Of old ideas in a modern world. Of stamina. Willpower. Intellect. Empathy. Patriotism.”

Cory Cullinan “2025 Alive” (feat. Riley Max) single artwork