With 120 short films spread across 4 days. This years SNAFF is the largest to date.
For tickets and for information on the festival click HERE.
Wednesday – Film Block 1 – June 20, 12:00 pm
Citizens – Dir. Marc Nadal
Drama – 14 minutes
Spain
The lack of jobs leads citizens into an emergency situation that pits them against each other. In the face of violence and injustice citizens like Noe suffer from the absence of effective laws.
Kardon Gets a Taco – Dir. JoJo Munkee , Michael Helgens
Comedy – 7 minutes
Two humanoid space travelers, Kardon and loyal sidekick Sodon, meet up at an Earth-based taco establishment to discuss matters of galactic importance. (And of course to order some amazing tacos!)
The Scary Ham – Dir. Sue Mroz
Drama – 15 minutes
Two middle-aged sisters sorting through 50 years’ worth of family memorabilia reconnect, as they contend with their late father’s beloved ham.
Someone Else’s Hero – Dir. Stephen Folker
Drama – 17 minutes
A woman confronts her own feelings of guilt when her son is killed in the war in Iraq.
Stuck – Dir. Steve Kennevan
Comedy – 33 minutes
Two people from different generations are thrown together in an unusual circumstance that elicits conflict and raises questions about modern society and how it impacts isolation, communication and the secrets we keep.
Witches of Wonder – Dir. John Gigrich
Sci-Fi / Fantasy – 6 minutes
Two young witches must figure out how to rescue their younger sister after they accidentally send her back in time.
Wednesday – Film Block 2 – June 20, 2:00 pm
A Doll Distorted – Dir. Niall Shukla
Horror – 15 minutes
United Kingdom
Jane suffers from haphephobia (the pathological fear of touch), tormented by years of loneliness and isolation she orders a synthetic love doll online to nightmarish consequences.
Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City – Dir. Kelly Rundle
Documentary – 19 minutes
“Good Earth: Awakening the Silent City” presents the fascinating story of the Good Earth at Blood Run historical and cultural site as told by a Native American grandfather to his grandchildren. Produced in 4K by Emmy-nominated documentary filmmakers Kelly & Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films, the documentary combines vivid present-day views of Good Earth at Blood Run State Park’s scenic vistas and wildlife combined with Drama historical reenactments portraying daily life in the year 1650 of one of America’s largest cities. Good Earth was the ancestral home of the Omaha, Ponca, Ioway and Otoe tribes for more than two hundred years.
Last Tree Standing (nodlmfa) – Dir. Agnes Peel-McGregor
Sci-Fi / Fantasy – 29 minutes
In a bleak world of dystopia, Last Tree Standing tells the tale of a young girl named Lexie, who befriends a peculiar being – half- man, half-tree.
Once upon a dream – Dir. Anthony Nion
Foreign – 13 minutes
France When Valentin meets Ludivine, he is convinced she’s the girl he has been dreaming of for the past weeks… Literally, the girl of his dreams! Only, Ludivine has a feeling this boy meet girl scenario will take a nightmarish turn…
Pronto – Dir. Da’Shawne Smiley
Comedy – 9 minutes
Delivering food can be hard..especially when it comes with a person.
Rag Dolls – Dir. Justin & Kristin Schaack
Comedy – 4 minutes
Playtime turns into uncontrolled shenanigans when a child discovers rag dolls in an antique chest. Her imagination runs wild, but for the dolls’ real-life doppelgΓ€ngers, self-control is out of their hands.
Significant Other – Dir. Justin Mackey
Drama – 9 minutes
Paul and Patricia are feeling the effects of a long marriage. Paul begins to suspect that his wife wants to find love elsewhere. He researches and finds a unique infidelity testing service. The organization, Significant Other, analyzes Patricia and creates a perfect fictional character based on her personality. An actor brings this character to life and attempts to seduce her. Paul waits for the answer to the question…..if the perfect person came along, would they remain faithful?
Wednesday – Film Block 3 – June 20, 4:00 pm
The End of the End (of the World) – Dir. Evan Runkle
Comedy – 4 minutes
The end of the world has come and gone leaving Joe, and the rest of the world, to figure out what comes next.
Eskimo Kisses – Dir. Chuck Mittan
Drama – 5 minutes
At his mother’s funeral, a man recalls moments from their past together.
Haven– Dir. Kelly Fyffe-Marshall
Drama – 3 minutes
Canada
As a young girl the first beauty salon chair a girl is introduced to is sitting between her mother’s legs. It’s a place where innocence is treasured, bonds are strengthened and confidence is boosted. Every Sunday like clockwork Janice does Jada’s hair, this is where she finds solace to confess her deepest secrets.
The Hatman – Dir. Charlie Gandez
Horror – 7 minutes
Have you ever woken up paralyzed to a stranger?
Hawkeye Creek – Dir. Russ Fry
Documentary – 23 minutes
Nothing had more to do with the way Burlington, Iowa developed than the various streams that were collectively known as Hawkeye Creek. Today, they are all but forgotten. Hawkeye Creek’s many branches cut deep ravines that separated Burlington’s neighborhoods. Take a tour of Burlington’s historic Hawkeye Creek. Watch the 2010 flood. Go down into the storm sewers. See the present and visit the past.
Oliver Short – Dir. Kevin Isaacson
Drama – 27 minutes
A troubled teenage girl, struggling with the death of her father, must help three spirits with their unfinished business on earth.
Scream Until You Like It – Dir. Brent S. Duncan, Ryan J. Gilmer
Horror – 10 minutes
Sometimes you can never go home; this Friday, can you survive the night? Keith decides to show his friends a good time and steals his dad’s van for the weekend, but while taking a short cut down an old highway the group’s ride breaks down. They’re alone – ….or are they? Stranded with nobody to turn to and no phone service, the five college students have unwittingly stumbled upon a secluded dwelling of horrors. Little do they know something is stalking them. The trick is to stay alive. Will they survive or will they scream until you like it?
Tiny Clones – Dir. Jim McDonough
Comedy – 5 minutes
Twin brothers have a heart to heart about life, the universe, and the ethics of making tiny clones of yourself.
Yes, Alz – Dir. Kevin Bradshaw
Documentary – 13 minutes
This video was created through life’s need as the Dementia/Alzheimer crises increases. Katie Neff’s mother has Alzheimer and has tips on how to deal with a loved one, friend or acquaintance that has the disease. These four tips can help you work through your contact with a person with Alzheimer.
Wednesday – Film Block 4 – June 20, 6:00 pm
Blur – Dir. Summer Medina
Drama – 2 minutes
Where reality and imagination collide. A daily struggle between nurse and patient.
The Comancheros – Time Machine – Dir. Jay Pelzer
Music Videos – 4 minutes
The Comancheros boys wake up after a long night to find they’ve ran out of the proper party supplies. They hop in their trusty and rusty old Ford truck with a plan to restock on the cheap.
Go – Dir. Eric Lang
Drama – 1 minute
A man’s life comes to a literal stop when he has to make a difficult decision.
The Mangina Exit – Dir. Byron Brown
Comedy – 4 minutes
Blake is having relationship problems. His older brother Sebastian has an unorthodox solution that has been used for generations.
Night Call – Dir. Amanda Renee Knox
Drama – 17 minutes
When on a routine patrol, a Black female cop living in and patrolling Inglewood gets called to a disturbance she is forced to make an unprecedented life altering decision.
REDSHIFT – Dir. Benjamin Crane
Drama, Sci-Fi / Fantasy – 10 minutes
After a bio-chemical attack renders earth infertile, mankind is forced to colonize mars, and mine the earth of its remaining resources. Among the miners is David Cain, who has grown tired of earth and longs for a new life. One day after the company decides to relocate to the red planet, David is given the option to transfer, or remain on earth with his family. As tension rises between him and sister as they care for their dying father, David must weigh his commitment to family and his desire for a better life.
She Came from the Woods – Dir. Erik Bloomquist, Carson Bloomquist
Horror – 12 minutes
A campfire story comes to life for a group of counselors on the last day of the summer of 1987 at Camp Briarbrook.
The Terrorist Hunter – Dir. Ann Shin
Documentary – 32 minutes
Rita Katz is a brilliant, female lone wolf in a profession dominated by men. A former spy, and now the director of SITE Intelligence – Search for International Terrorist Entities – she is no stranger to controversy. While she is credited with uncovering key information about Al Qaeda and ISIS, detractors say Katz is too eager to find terrorist plots where none exist.
Katz’s crusade comes at a time when terrorist violence and anti-Muslim sentiment are on the rise. The zeal with which she hunts terrorists matches the fear sparked by news coverage of people being gunned down at shopping malls and bombed at concerts. THE TERRORIST HUNTER explores Rita Katz’s career and life, exposing the world of espionage with all the suspense and drama of a procedural, as well as the important historical and social information to put it in context. As the documentary reveals Rita’s own personal history, it also exposes how fear and terror play out in our society.
Third Wheel – Dir. Daniel DelPurgatorio
Horror – 4 minutes
Susan has more than just skeletons in her closet.
Thursday – Film Block 1 – June 21, 12:00 pm
Damnation – Dir. Marc Nadal
Drama, Foreign – 7 minutes
Spain
Based on real history. In 2014 there were and average of 189 evictions in Spain daily, 2 evictions every 15 minutes. This eviction was carried out at 5:00 PM.
Eskimo Brothers – Dir. Michael McCallum
Comedy – 14 minutes
A group of married couples get together for a night during the holiday. The guys are trying to get their one single friend to talk to a girl at the bar. They realize that they all have had relations with her previously.
IDOL – Dir. Luisa Taraz
Comedy – 8 minutes
Germany
The artist Loudo should have submitted a commissioned work some time ago, but he is in a blockade. When he finally – inspired by his muse – creates a masterpiece, his manager and his muse get into a violent argument over the sale of the work. Only too late Loudo realizes what role he was playing in all this.
Life Before Fairfield Iowa – Dir. Dick DeAngelis
Documentary – 44 minutes
See what happened in the area now known as Jefferson County, Iowa BEFORE the first settlers arrived. Explore the impact of the great glaciers, the movement of prehistoric beasts and the traditions and language of the native peoples of this land. This film will have you walking away with a different perspective on the place you call home, wherever that may be.
Quiver – Dir. Shayna Connelly
Horror – 13 minutes
Suzanne’s grief transcends the boundaries of the natural world and arouses a primordial being. She courts this ghost, using intellect and desire to forge a union between them. Quiver melds horror and passion with Virginia Woolf’s idea of a woman requiring a ‘room of her own’ in which to uncover her true identity. Can Suzanne force a rift into the supernatural realm to build a space where she can coexist with what haunts her?
Think Design Every Day – Dir. Mike Machian
Documentary – 6 minutes
Omaha fashion designer Buf Reynolds tells us how she got started, the inspiration for her most recent collection and what she would like to accomplish next.
Thursday – Film Block 2 – June 21, 2:00 pm
BASEMENT FEAR – Dir. Andrew Killmeier
Horror – 12 minutes
A closed loop of psychosis.
The Chocolate Shop – Dir. Ian Walker
Drama – 6 minutes
A woman with Alzheimer’s starts to remember who she is when she walks into a Chocolate Shop.
Fortune-teller – Dir. Gonzaga Manso
Horror – 20 minutes
Routine and red sausage have led Mauricio to lose things he took for granted. In an act of illogical desperation, he visits a carnival fortune-teller to try and tie up the lose ends he left along the way. With the help of her crystal ball, the fortune-teller shows him an alternate reality.
THE GIRLS WERE DOING NOTHING – Dir. Dekel Berenson
Drama – 17 minutes
The Girls Were Doing Nothing is a study into the conflicting nature of love and the human soul – our basic needs for stability, comfort and routine which clash with equality strong desires for novelty, variety and freedom. Marta and Jake are a married couple in their late 30’s. Working in senior professional positions, they are very wealthy: living together in a luxurious cosmopolitan home while spending much of their free time eating at expensive restaurants and exercising at private gyms. Their idealistic lifestyle is a grandiose means of concealing and deflecting the strains of their spousal dynamic. For Jake and Martha, communication has become an obligation; intimacy has become a rarity; and love itself has become a clichΓ©. All of that is about to change when Andrea, their attractive and affable neighbor, asks Jake and Marta for a favor while she goes on holiday.
Marieke – Dir. Thomas C. Johnson
Documentary – 7 minutes
Marieke explores the life and craft of Marieke Penterman, acclaimed Dutch Gouda cheesemaker from Thorp, Wisconsin.
Not Alone – Dir. Summer Medina
Drama, Action – 1 minute
A short dramatization of depression in young people, with a suicide prevention message.
THE PECULIAR ABILITIES OF MR MAHLER – Dir. Paul Philipp
Drama – 29 minutes
Germany
East Germany, 1987: The special investigator Mahler is said to have paranormal abilities. The police assigns him to solve the case of the 6-year-old Henry Kiefer, who is missing for weeks now, before this issue leads to political tensions with the West. But then he brings something to light that makes this family tragedy especially political…
Thursday – Film Block 3 – June 21, 6:00 pm
A Night at The Garden – Dir. Marshall Curry
Documentary – 7 minutes
In 1939, 20,000 Americans rallied in New York’s Madison Square Garden to celebrate the rise of Nazism – an event largely forgotten from American history. A NIGHT AT THE GARDEN uses striking archival fragments recorded that night to transport modern audiences into this gathering and to shine a light on the disturbing fallibility of seemingly decent people.
Babs – Dir. Celine Held, Logan George
Foreign – 12 minutes
United Kingdom
An estranged son discovers an alarming purchase made by his late father.
I BEAT IT – Dir. Ainhoa MenΓ©ndez
Horror – 3 minutes
A dinner with friends. An innocent game. An unexpected end.
Let Them Die Like Lovers – Dir. Jesse Atlas
Sci-Fi / Fantasy – 15 minutes
A body-jumping soldier confronts the morality of her missions in this emotionally-charged sci-fi thriller.
Tell Me – Dir. Charlie Manton
Foreign – 15 minutes
United Kingdom
12-year-old Felix discovers a disturbing secret, which causes him to confront his fears.
Violin – Dir. Konstantin Fam
Drama – 35 minutes
Belarus, Czech Republic, Israel, Russian Federation
The “Violin” film entirely revolves around a unique musical instrument. It’s a story about the amazing fate of a violin that survives all the horrors of the war. The tale begins in a violin workshop where, at the beginning of the 20th century, a violin is created, designed as a gift for a Jewish boy, and ends after many years with a concert at the Wailing Wall.
Friday – Film Block 1 – June 22, 12:00 pm
An American Attorney in London – Dir. Darrell Alden
Horror – 15 minutes
United Kingdom
When a criminal defense attorney visits the US Embassy in London, his appointment with a clinical consular official leads him down a dark and uneasy path to the last place on earth he wants to be.
Calendar of the Dead– Dir. Bret Royer
Comedy – 6 minutes
Two friends are making a calendar with a zombie.
East Meets West – Dir. Julie Johnston
Documentary – 43 minutes
The story of the first railroad bridge to cross the Mississippi River in 1856.
Foreword – Dir. Michael McCallum
Sci-Fi / Fantasy – 7 minutes
A famous author is struggling to finish his next novel and discovers a postcard he has mailed to himself from the future warning of an upcoming danger.
Santa Ana – Dir. CΓ©sar Pesquera
Documentary – 8 minutes
The Santa Ana project aims to elucidate the link between evil and the famed Santa Ana winds. These are extremely dry down-slope winds that originate inland and affect coastal Southern California and northern Baja California. The Santa Ana winds are commonly portrayed in fiction as being responsible for a tense, uneasy, wrathful mood among Angelenos. Some of the more well-known literary references include the Philip Marlowe story Red Wind by Raymond Chandler, and Joan Didion’s Slouching Towards Bethlehem.
Toilet Man – Dir. Chenyang Shu
Comedy – 8 minutes
A superhero born in a toilet.
XIN (Heart) – Dir. Desha Dauchan
Drama – 12 minutes
Xin (“heart” in Mandarin) is the story of a woman haunted by the ghost of her mother after being her caregiver and watching her succumb to Atypical Parkinson’s Disease. With the help of her therapist, she tries to gain clarity on the nature of the hauntings. Are they a product of her grief and guilty conscience? Or are the hauntings truly urging her to perform the ultimate act of violence against her own father. Xin is a psychological drama/horror about surrender, grief and healing.
Friday – Film Block 2 – June 22, 2:00 pm
A Different Script – Dir. Francesca Carter , Eva Andersen
Documentary – 29 minutes
Twenty-year-old Chris Lopes is finally on the pathway to his dream of becoming a professional actor, but as a young man with Down syndrome, he is still struggling to achieve independence in his personal life. Chris lands a Hollywood agent and auditions for one big role that he hopes will be his big ticket to fame. All the while, his family worries about the practicality of his dreams and his desire to move to LA and live on his own. This documentary captures the heart of a young man who never gives up and reveals how acting has not only changed Chris’ life but is giving him an unexpected path toward independence. Through Chris’ story, A Different Script explores the global disability rights movement by focusing on the fair representation of people with developmental disabilities in the entertainment industry and the unique challenges they face in their careers and personal lives.
Alice – Dir. Daniel M. Caneiro
Horror – 10 minutes
Alice is under the dining table, curled up in the shadows, alone and with a big kitchen knife in her hands. At her side, a few meters away, is the lifeless body of Michael, her father. Next to the corpse,on the floor, a cellphone starts ringing: There’s still hope…
Drunk On What – Dir. Kyle Louis Numann
Music Videos – 4 minutes
Music video for the band Cloudmouth’s song Drunk On What.
Prenatal – Dir. Bears Fonte
Sci-Fi / Fantasy – 10 minutes
Mysteriously eight months pregnant overnight, Katie believes the Angels responsible, but her sister thinks differently.
Roadside Attraction – Dir. Ivete Lucas, Patrick Bresnan
Documentary – 9 minutes
Palm Beach International Airport’s newest snowbird has become one of the fastest growing roadside attractions in the United States.
Salient Minus Ten – Dir. Emma Dark
Sci-Fi / Fantasy – 12 minutes
United Kingdom
Adam Harper is an average man. And on an average day he suddenly finds himself catapulted into the strangest, reality changing game… A game of time and chance, where the stakes are a matter of life and death.
Undertow – Dir. Jack Meggers
Drama – 22 minutes
After a close friend suspiciously overdoses, Cyrus is caught in the current of a local drug ring. Surrounded by addicts, lured by money and piling up eviction notices he succumbs to the darkness.
Friday – Film Block 3 – June 22, 6:00 pm
BFF Girls – Dir. Brian Lonano
Sci-Fi / Fantasy – 13 minutes
In this television pilot ,three dorky American girls magically transform into beautiful Japanese Superheroes and fight a tampon monster as they begin their journey into womanhood.
The Bloody Ballad of Squirt Reynolds – Dir. Anthony Cousins
Horror – 7 minutes
The kids at Camp Nawgonamakit are about to find out the tragic tale of Squirt Reynolds is more than just a legend.
Dead. Tissue. Love – Dir. Natasha Austin-Green
Documentary – 9 minutes
United Kingdom
Dead Tissue Love is an intimate experimental documentary exploring and examining the individual character of a female necrophile, as she journeys and recounts her life experiences, sexual awakening and how she expresses her sexuality, whilst hiding it from a society that puts a demonised face on a human figure.
Freelancer – Dir. Francisco Lacerda, Francisco A. Lopes
Foreign – 15 minutes
Portugal
Jorge, a freelancer camera-man, faces abusive clients and late payments for his gigs all too often. One day, what appears to be just another simple wedding ceremony to shoot, turns out to be a living nightmare.
Heartbeat – Dir. pierre teulieres, Sebastien Auger
Music Videos – 3 minutes
France
Ruby Cube – Heartbeat music video.
Hooker Assassin – Dir. Misty Dawn
Horror – 12 minutes
She’s up to her old tricks.
Long Distance Relationship – Dir. Carolina Markowicz
Foreign – 5 minutes
Brazil
A brief story of a Guy who is obsessed about having sex with ETs.
Mother Fucker – Dir. Nicholas Payne Santos
Comedy – 6 minutes
Charles is deeply in debt and desperate to save his kidnapped dog. In a last-ditch effort to secure the ransom, Charles returns home to ask his wealthy, widowed mother for help. An unimaginable bargain is struck.
My Monster– Dir. Izzy Lee
Horror – 7 minutes
Christmas is coming. If that’s not stressful enough, Lily (Brea Grant) has to contend with a clueless partner (Adam Egypt Mortimer) and an unexpected, inter-dimensional holiday guest who just wants two things — blood and cuddles.
Rites of Vengeance– Dir. Izzy Lee
Horror – 4 minutes
A trio of nuns take matters into their own hands when a priest commits a terrible sin.
Robo Greaser – Dir. Dakota Arseneault
Comedy – 9 minutes
Canada
On the closing day of his beloved roller-rink, Robo Greaser does his best to skate through his final shift.
We Summoned A Demon – Dir. Chris McInroy
Horror – 5 minutes
They just wanted to be cool. Instead, they got a demon.
Friday – Film Block 4 – June 22, 8:00 pm
Allen Anders – Live at the Comedy Castle (circa 1987) – Dir. Laura Moss
Drama – 7 minutes
Allen Anders is either having a nervous breakdown or the best set of his life.
Caroline – Dir. Logan George, Celine Held
Drama – 11 minutes
When plans fall through, a six-year-old is faced with a big responsibility on a hot Texas day.
Hair Wolf – Dir. Mariama Diallo
Horror – 12 minutes
In a black hair salon in gentrifying Brooklyn, the local residents fend off a strange new monster: white women intent on sucking the lifeblood from black culture.
Monsters Anonymous – Dir. Jeremy London
Comedy – 21 minutes
A short film comedy about the classic monsters in a group therapy session coming to terms with the fact that they aren’t scary anymore.
My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes – Dir. Charlie Tyrell
Documentary – 13 minutes
Canada
Filmmaker Charlie Tyrell seeks to better understand his emotionally distant late-father through the personal belongings he left behind…including a stack of VHS dirty movies. Narrated by David Wain.
The Scorpion´s Tale – Dir. Jhosimar Vasquez
Drama – 22 minutes
The Scorpion’s Tale is a story of death, revenge, jealously and greed. The perfect killer sits on death row awaiting his fate. But when someone from his past pays him a visit, The Scorpion realizes that when debts are owed, someone must pay. From director Jhosimar Vasquez and Maximiliano HernΓ‘ndez comes The Scorpion’s Tale. Debt are owed. He collects.
Saturday Morning Cartoons Block – Saturday June 23, 10:00am
Bei Mir Bist Du SchΓΆn – Dir. Bouwine Pool
Animation – 12 minutes
A sweet granny is looking forward to her granddaughter’s visit. But when the little girl arrives, the feeling is not mutual. Before the visit is over, granny must try to create the warm bond with her grandchild she desires so deeply.
The Burden – Dir. Niki Lindroth von Bahr
Animation – 14 minutes
An animated musical with apocalyptic undertones. The story is divided into four episodes that takes place in a supermarket, a long term hotel, a call center and a hamburger restaurant. All of the settings are located in a modern, generic market place next to a large freeway.
The characters, portrayed as animals, perform musical numbers with singing and dancing.
The episodes varies both in story and mood, and spans from cheerful tap routine to nightmarish black.
From the Snow-Covered Hill – Dir. Matty Jorissen, Wijnand Driessen
Animation – 14 minutes
Left behind at an isolated boarding school, young Will quickly becomes a target for bullying. Only the friendship from a small bird brings him solace. But as the bullying worsens, Will’s means of escaping the world grows darker.
Ginevra – Dir. Tess Martin
Animation – 3 minutes
Netherlands
Dawn is breaking and the owls are stirring. A young woman has been murdered, but is this truly the end? This short film is based on an unfinished poem by Percy Shelley published in 1824.
Hate for Sale – Dir. Anna Eijsbouts
Animation – 2 minutes
We live in a world in which we consume hate as much as we are consumed by it. This film examines the alluring and tempting qualities of this devouring emotion and why we keep buying into it.
Hot Tea – Dir. Marcel Tigchelaar
Animation – 2 minutes
Some beverages are refreshing in more ways than one…
Mother – Dir. Lee Charlish
Animation – 4 minutes
There’s no love like a mother’s love…
Desperate for a child of her own and following the break-up of a loveless marriage, a woman seeks counsel to help soothe her mental anguish. Her life takes an unexpected twist when a stranger visits and she succumbs to a new torment which throws her life into a macabre turmoil.
People of Color – Dir. Raghav Arumugam
Documentary, Animation – 5 minutes
An animated documentary about race and perception in America.
Perfect Town – Dir. AnaΓ―s Voirol
Animation – 4 minutes
Switzerland
In search of perfection a whole city obeys to selection. A constant struggle. Trying and trying again. Where is the difference between endurance and madness?
Sand Wanderer – Dir. Eric Giessmann
Animation – 6 minutes
As the world starts moving around him, the young desert dweller decides to follow the footprints of his fellow tribesmen to the origin of natural forces, time.
Solar Walk – Dir. RΓ©ka Bucsi
Animation – 20 minutes
Solar Walk shows the journey of individuals and their creations on through time and space. Any meaning of action is only existent from the perspective of the individual, but never mandatory when looking at it from the perspective of a solar system. It’s about the melancholy of accepting chaos as beautiful and cosmic. Passion for creation is projected through the unique and playful texture of the animation craft itself.
Tesura – Dir. Jagriti Khirwar
Animation, Foreign – 2 minutes
India
Tesura revolves around an integral memory from my childhood which involves me and my sister celebrating the festival of Tesu and Jhanjhi – a festival based on an Indian folk tale from the Mahabharata.
Waste– Dir. Sander Alt
Animation – 2 minutes
Two mice on the run looking for a better place to live. After a hard and though journey they find their way into a kitchen. Everything what they hoped for is there…. ? But is it really that wonderful?
Saturday – Film Block 2 – June 23, 12:00pm
42 Counts – Dir. Jill Gevargizian
Horror – 8 minutes
Based on a true story, two unsuspecting victims spend their night off watching scary movies in an apartment rented from their boss until they uncover something much more sinister than what they’re watching on screen.
A Boy A Girl A Pen – Dir. Nolan Quade
Action – 2 minutes
A boy who is very attached to his pen gets distracted and loses his pen. Will he find it, or let the friendship die?
The Eve – Dir. Luca Machnich
Horror – 20 minutes
Simon is an eight-year-old boy who seems to have everything from life. He’s a handsome child, he’s rich yet unhappy. He senses that there’s something wrong with his life and this leads him to wander off thanks to his fervid imagination. His greatest wish is to leave the materialistic world behind since he isn’t fond of it. That’s why the only present he wants for Christmas is for Santa Claus to take him away to live in his fairyland toy factory. At the same time, a secret that his family has been keeping for a long time suddenly comes to the surface and it is feared that the worst might happen soon. The expectation for the stroke of midnight on the night before Christmas is transformed into reality for everyone on the eve of something truly different. Something terrible that might happen.
Intercourse – Dir. Jonatan Etzler
Drama – 10 minutes
Sweden
“I’ll give you 100 bucks” he suggests, and jokingly she agrees, and neither of them see the gravity of the situation. When a sexual boundary is crossed and the balance of power is shifted – what will happen to their peaceful and normal relationship?
Monster Under the Bed– Dir. Insane Mike Saunders
Horror – 9 minutes
Legends and lore of monsters under the bed and creatures in the closest have been keeping frightened children awake at night for years. This time there is something more terrifying than what lurks under the bed.
Morris – Dir. Michael R. Helgens
Drama – 12 minutes
A troubled young man is confronted with the long term effects of sexual abuse and learns that his abuser has a new victim.
Sexpert Franzen – Dir. Kaitlyn Busbee
Comedy – 17 minutes
Meet Fiona Franzen, a young aspiring math teacher who has lived her life according to an equation: school+job+ fiancΓ© = success. When Fiona is thrust into teaching 6th Grade Sex Ed (thanks to Mr. Kraby’s well-timed fishing trip), she begins to question her arithmetic. A short comedy about head versus heart.
Saturday – Film Block 3 – June 23, 2:00 pm
Checkmate – Dir. Alexandra Moad
Drama – 5 minutes
Emotions run high in this short film about what we can and cannot give for the people we love.
End Times – Dir. Bobby Miller
Comedy – 8 minutes
A man finds a dying squirrel in a park.
Kap – Dir. David M. Weiss
Foreign – 8 minutes
Haiti
A form of modern day child slavery still exists in Haiti. It’s called restavek and over 300,000 children live under these conditions. This is a fictional story of one such boy who must deal with forgiving his mother for giving him away and living under the harsh reality of being a servant. In his search for mental escape he turns to making a kap, which means “kite” in Creole. Unfortunately his moment of flight is soon dashed and once again, like so many other restaveks, he can only dream of flying away.
KILL THE LIGHT – Dir. Mark Schimmel
Drama – 22 minutes
After the loss of his wife, Ray Brinley spends his days on the road scooping up road kill in Door County, IL. One afternoon he stumbles upon a woman, Cheryl, left for dead. Ray, who is accustomed to picking up ‘the occasional dog or a deer, but never a person’, invites Cheryl into his modest home in an attempt to help. Together, Cheryl and Ray begin to unravel the mystery of her haunting past. After an intense encounter with the county sheriff and a series of revealing flashbacks, Cheryl realizes that she needs to take matters into her own hands and has only one chance to kill the light to make things right.
The Manual – Dir. Wil Magness
Sci-Fi / Fantasy – 29 minutes
In the distant future, James is the last human on Earth. He is raised and protected by a humanoid robot, the Machine, who brings him up on a strange composite religion described in a handheld device called The Manual. The Manual’s teachings fuse aspects of old-world religion and incorporate robots as spiritual beings in the afterlife, alongside and equal to humans.
The man wrestles with loneliness and depression while the search for other humans becomes more and more futile. As his faith in The Manual is shaken, he sets out to test one of The Manual’s core beliefs: reincarnation to the next life in the city of the Creator. What he finds could be described terribly as exactly that.
Shoken – Dir. Jack Ross
Documentary – 11 minutes
Shoken’ (2017) is a short-subject documentary film on the life of Shoken Winecoff Roshi, a Buddhist monk and founding teacher of the Ryumonji Zen Monastery outside of Decorah, Iowa. Beginning with Shoken’s initial contact many years ago with Zazen meditation and Dainin Katagiri Roshi (1928-1990), a Buddhist monk based in Minneapolis, the film explores his journey to becoming ordained himself as a monk under Katagiri Roshi, and the establishment of the Ryumonji monastery. Through its exploration of Shoken’s life experiences and encounter with meditation, as well as greater implications of its practice, we don’t just learn about Shoken from merely a biographical perspective; rather, we are brought into his world through sound, motion, action, and drama.
The Things You Think I’m Thinking – Dir. Sherren Lee
Drama – 14 minutes
Canada
A black male burn-survivor and amputee goes on a date with a regularly-abled man. After the bar, they go back to his apartment, where he faces his demons as he attempts to experience intimacy for the first time since his accident, ten years ago.
Saturday – Film Block 4 – June 23, 4:00 pm
Brojob – Dir. Ray Chao, Matt Sweeney
Comedy – 4 minutes
Bros just being bros until the wives come home early. Awkward.
Death Metal Grandma – Dir. Leah Galant
Documentary – 13 minutes
97 year old Holocaust Survivor, Inge Ginsberg, rose to fame as a songwriter for legendary musicians such as Doris Day, Dean Martin and Nat King Cole.
DEATH METAL GRANDMA follows Inge Ginsberg’s journey to break out as a performer of death metal music and as she prepares for an America’s Got Talent Audition. The short documentary interweaves the rich personal history of Inge’s life as she attempts to merge her personal lyrics with the contemporary genre of Death Metal.
DELAURENTIS – A Big Part of a Big Sun – Dir. AB/CD/CD
Music Videos – 4 minutes
France
DELAURENTIS – A Big Part of a Big Sun music video.
Father – Dir. Chris Keller
Horror – 9 minutes
United Kingdom
A young boy lives with his mother who is not terribly interested in giving him the attention he needs. There is also a father figure, but unfortunately for the boy, he is much worse…
Greater Good – Dir. Andrea Ashton
Sci-Fi / Fantasy – 8 minutes
When a pregnant woman receives an unexpected visit from two strangers she is faced with making a life-altering decision.
Krista – Dir. Danny Madden
Drama – 9 minutes
In a high school theater class, Krista uses her scene study as catharsis.
The Liberty – Dir. Jill Sachs
Drama – 22 minutes
On the eve of the ‘Grand Reopening’ of the family’s shuttered movie palace, Lily struggles to uphold the dreams of her idealist father (Harry) while facing the reality that the theatre cannot be maintained. Attempting to prevent inevitable foreclosure she has brokered a deal to sell the theatre, but in all the preparations for tonight’s big show, Lily can’t seem to find the opportunity to speak to Harry about what the future might hold.
Life – Dir. Lee hansol
Horror – 14 minutes
Republic of Korea
Geunho, who has asked Yeonsoo for a divorce, continually finds that she attempts to kill him by taking poison at the dinner table.
Mumpsimus and Halcyon Discord– Dir. Rolf Klein
Documentary – 3 minutes
United Kingdom
If you are a young person experiencing mental ill health and homelessness, life is far from a walk in the park. This film explores the connections between mental health and homelessness, challenging common misrepresentations in the media. Using the medium of the spoken word, the film questions whether we can ever view issues such as these in an objective way.
Rolf has experienced mental health issues and homelessness. He wants to use film to challenge our understanding of both. Rolf is a first time film maker.