The Cleveland International Film Festival promotes artistically and culturally significant film arts through education and exhibition to enrich the life of the community.
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Give TodayThe Cleveland International Film Festival promotes artistically and culturally significant film arts through education and exhibition to enrich the life of the community.
Free Screening!
This screening is part of The Taste of the Festival.
Click for more information.
Film Forums
FilmForums are moderated and interactive panel discussions that feature filmmakers, community leaders, and scholars who are knowledgeable about the topic at hand.
Film forums begin after the film ends, and are 45 minutes long.
What is Stand by?
Only a portion of available seats are sold in advance in order to save room for passholders. Once these advanced tickets have sold, a film is considered on Stand By. However, even for crowded films, we can often accommodate additional patrons just before showtime.
Special Location
Akron-Summit County Public Library
60 S. High St
Akron, OH 44326
330.643.9000
Special Location
Beachland Ballroom & Tavern
15711 Waterloo Rd
Cleveland, OH 44110
216.383.1124
Special Location
Hanna Theatre
2067 East 14th St
Cleveland, OH 44115
216.241.6000
Special Location
Cinemark Valley View
6001 Canal Rd
Valley View, OH 44125
216.447.8820
Special Location
Chagrin Cinemas
8200 East Washington Street
Chagrin Falls, OH 44023
Special Location
The Nightlight
30 North High Street
Akron, OH 44308
Special Location
Cleveland State University, MU 107
2001 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44115
Special Location
Connor Palace
1615 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44115
Special Location
Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque
11610 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44106
Special Location
Ritz-Carlton Cleveland
1515 West 3rd Street
Cleveland, OH 44113
Special Location
CIFF Chat Room
Second Floor, Skylight Councourse
,
Special Location
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
1100 E 9th St
Cleveland, OH 44114
216.781-7625
Special Location
Shaker Square Cinemas
13116 Shaker Square
Cleveland, OH 44120
216.921.9342
Special Location
Plaza Cinemas
140 Cherry Street
Kent, OH 44240
330.968.6335
Special Location
Akron Art Museum
1 S High St
Akron, OH 44308
330.376.9185
Special Location
Apollo Theatre
19 East College St
Oberlin, OH 44074
440.774.3920
Special Location
Cleveland Museum of Art - Gartner Auditorium
11150 East Boulevard
Cleveland, OH 44106
216.421.7350
Special Location
Cleveland Museum of Art - Lecture Hall
11150 East Boulevard
Cleveland, OH 44106
216.421.7350
Special Location
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
1 Wade Oval Drive
Cleveland, OH 44106
216.231.4600
Special Location
Keybank State Theatre
1519 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44115
Special Location
Cedar Lee Theatre 2
2163 Lee Rd
Cleveland Heights, OH 44118
216.321.5411
Special Location
Cedar Lee Theatre 1
2163 Lee Rd
Cleveland Hts, OH 44118
216.321.5411
Special Location
Capitol Theatre
1390 W 65th St
Cleveland, OH 44102
216.651.7295
Special Location
Near West Theatre
6702 Detroit Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44102
216.961.6391
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Wednesday, April 07, 2021
CIFF45 Streams will kick off on Wednesday, April 7, 2021 at 7:00 PM ET with our Opening Night Film, TOGETHER TOGETHER. The evening will include the screening of the film, as well as the 8:30 PM ET live post-film Q&A with the film's director Nikole Beckwith. The streaming window for the film is 7:00 PM ET - 10:00 PM ET. For those who would like to join the live 8:30 PM ET Q&A, please plan to start the film at 7:00 PM ET. This film is available to residents in OH, IN, MI, and PA.
Tickets for the Opening Night Film and Q&A are $20 for CIFF members and $25 for the general public. CIFF Super Streamer members are not required to purchase a ticket, as access to the film is included in the Super Streamer level of membership on a first-come, first-served basis.
Related Event
Join us for a live, interactive Q&A with the director of TOGETHER TOGETHER. The Q&A will be available starting at 8:30 PM ET on April 7th on the CIFF virtual cinema platform.
learn more.
UNITED STATES
Directed by Nikole Beckwith
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Matt, a successful app developer in his 40s, is beyond ready to start a family. But life hasn’t gone the way he thought it would. Single and without any romantic prospects, Matt (Ed Helms) makes the unconventional decision to hire a surrogate to carry his baby and to raise his child as a single father. In need of the finances to pursue a college degree, Anna (Patti Harrison), a young barista with a complicated past, is hired as Matt’s surrogate, creating an oddly intimate dynamic for two single straight strangers. Matt and Anna couldn’t be more different. Matt is an over-eager tech nerd who is bursting at the seams to tell people about his new baby, and Anna is a pessimistic millennial with a dry sense of humor, who’d rather keep the news of this pregnancy to herself. In fact, the only thing these two seemingly have in common is their loneliness. But while struggling to navigate the boundaries of their awkward arrangement, Matt and Anna may find themselves in the middle of a love story, and refreshingly, a platonic love story. Featuring a dynamic cast of comedy gems including Tig Notaro, Julio Torres, Anna Konkle, and Sufe Bradshaw, TOGETHER TOGETHER is a delightful comedy about a love and friendship formed in the most unlikely circumstances. —G.S.
Saturday, April 17, 2021
CIFF45 Streams will mark its final weekend with its Closing Night Film BEST SUMMER EVER on Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 7:00 PM ET. The evening will include the screening of the film, as well as the 8:15 PM ET live post-film Q&A with the film's co-directors Michael Parks Randa and Lauren Smitelli, as well as actors Shannon DeVido and AJ Murray. The streaming window for the film is Saturday, April 17th at 7:00 PM ET - Tuesday, April 20th at 11:59 PM ET. For those who would like to join the live 8:30 PM ET Q&A, please plan to start the film on Saturday, April 17th at 7:00 PM ET.
This film is available with captions and with or without audio description, and is open to viewers nationwide.
Tickets for the Closing Night Film and Q&A are $8 for CIFF members and $10 for the general public. Passholder-level members are not required to purchase a ticket, as access to the film is included in passholder-level membership on a first-come, first-served basis.
Related Event
Join us for a live, interactive Q&A with the directors and cast of Best Summer Ever. The Q&A will be available starting at 8:15PM on April 17th on the CIFF YouTube page.
learn more.
UNITED STATES
Directed by Michael Parks Randa, Lauren Smitelli
Running Time: 80 Minutes
After falling in love at a dance camp over the summer, Sage and Anthony don’t know when they’ll see each other again…but it might be sooner than they think. With a magical twist of fate, Sage finds herself enrolled as a new student at Anthony’s high school. Which is great! Except for the fact that everyone at school thought Anthony was at a football camp all summer. As the star player on the Eagles football team, Anthony has kept his love of dance a secret from everyone. But there’s no time like the present to embrace your authenticity, and Sage will inspire Anthony to do just that. A joyful and heartwarming musical filled with original songs, BEST SUMMER EVER will have you dancing in your living room. Fresh and inclusive, this film is made up of a versatile, fully integrated cast and crew of people with and without disabilities. — G.S.
BEST SUMMER EVER will also be available to view with AUDIO DESCRIPTION - for those who are visually impaired. To purchase a ticket for the version with audio description, please visit the BEST SUMMER EVER (WITH AUDIO DESCRIPTION) page.
Tuesday, April 13, 2021
We are thrilled to offer our inaugural Centerpiece screening SUMMERTIME on Tuesday, April 13, 2021 at 9:00 PM ET. The evening will include the screening of the film, as well as the pre-recorded conversation with director Carlos López Estrada and some of the featured poets from the film. The streaming window for the film is 9:00 PM ET – 11:59 PM ET, and is available to residents in OH, IN, MI, and PA.
Tickets for the Centerpiece screening are $8 for CIFF members and $10 for the general public. Passholder-level members are not required to purchase a ticket, as access to the film is included in passholder-level membership on a first-come, first-served basis.
Related Event
Join us for a pre-recorded Q&A with Carlos López Estrada, Director and Producer of the CIFF45 Streams Centerpiece film Summertime, and more. The Q&A will be available starting at 10:30PM on April 13th on both the CIFF virtual cinema platform and the CIFF YouTube page.
learn more.
UNITED STATES
Directed by Carlos López Estrada
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Like his energetic and impactful debut, “Blindspotting,” Carlos López Estrada’s sophomore feature SUMMERTIME is a love song to the West Coast that blends poetry and hip-hop with themes of home and belonging. Taking place over one summer day in bustling Los Angeles, the film showcases 25 young local poets, using their impassioned slam pieces like a musical does songs. As the teens’ lives intersect across the city, each one is given their moment in the spotlight to pour their heart into intensely personal words. From the afroed Tyris Yelp-reviewing his way around a changing neighborhood to Marquesha gaining the confidence to “rap battle her demons,” moments weave in and out to form a vibrant portrait of a city facing gentrification while fostering a new generation of culturally diverse artists. Spoken word, dance, song, rap, and colorful city street montages come together in a unique form that will make you long for the summer heat as you hear the voices of young Angelinos assert their right to claim their home as their own. (In English, Korean, and Spanish with subtitles) — D.O.
Ready for your mind to be blown? Prowl the Festival and feast on these dark, mysterious, thrilling, and bizarre films.
These remarkable films elevate stories, topics, and themes that are embedded in both Black communities and the African diaspora.
This eclectic array of Spanish-language films, and films with Spanish dialogue, explores a multitude of subjects that range from the culturally specific to the universal.
These compelling documentaries spotlight the heroes who are fighting for democracy around the world.
You can take a family trip around the world without leaving your home! These family-friendly films are great for kids and young adults.
* Those films that are in English and appropriate for the little ones are marked as so on the film pages. However, CIFF films are not rated by the MPAA, so we advise viewer discretion for all films.
Focusing on topics including photography, painting, illustration, fashion, and theater, these films explore artists and the artistic process. Some of these films also highlight animation—an art form in and of itself.
These films from—or about—Israel and the Jewish diaspora enlighten with their unique cultural perspective.
Sidebar Sponsored by:
Ilana and Chuck Horowitz Ratner
Deborah and Ron Ratner
Susan and Jim Ratner
This long-standing sidebar, now with a new name, features films focusing on issues, topics, and stories from the lesbian, gay, transgender, and queer communities.
Focusinng on films from the Pacific Islands and the entire continent of Asia, along with stories of Asian-Americans, these films feature modern tales from ancient cultures.
Teenagers can take a trip around the world without leaving their home! This is the one time you won't have to worry about too much screen time, as these teen-friendly films are great for young adults and above.
* CIFF films are not rated by the MPAA, so we advise viewer discretion for all films.
Once again we are proud to feature this collection of films that celebrate empowered women.
Audience at the CIFF love documentaries.
Over the past several years, almost half of the feature films we have presented have been documentaries, which have won the Roxanne T. Mueller Award six of the past seven years. Thanks to Tom & Anita Cook and Anne E. Bloomberg, we’re excited to once again present this competition featuring topics, subjects, and stories that go beyond the descriptions of our other competitions.
Based on audience vote, the winner of this competition will be announced at our Closing Awards Ceremony and receive a $5,000 cash prize.
Competition Presented by:
Anne E. BloombergTom and Anita Cook
Thanks to Mike & Nicki Cancelliere, we're thrilled to once again present this competition featuring films with big dreams and small budgets, and representing the finest in contemporary American cinema.
Based on audience vote, the winner of this competition will be announced at our Closing Awards Ceremony and receive a $5,000 cash prize.
Competition Presented by:
Mike and Nicki Cancelliere
Sponsored by Char and Chuck Fowler
Sponsored by Friends of Patrick McFadden
Sponsored by MP Star Financial
This award winner will quality for consideration in the Shorts Films Animation category of the annual Academy Awards.
Sponsored by Hingetown Browns Backers
Endowed by David K. Ream
Sponsored by Jules and Fran Belkin
This award winner will quality for consideration in the Shorts Films Documentary category of the annual Academy Awards.
Sponsored by University School
Sponsored by La Familia Watilo Blake
Sponsored by Jan and Harold Babbit
Sponsored by Anne E. Bloomberg and Alan Gordon Lipson & Judy Harris
This award winner will quality for consideration in the Shorts Films Live-Action category of the annual Academy Awards.
Sponsored by Bill and Teri Koeth
Sponsored by MP Star Financial
Sponsored by Jinny and John Johnson
sponsored by Overdrive
Sponsored by Overdrive
Thirty-one years ago at the 14th CIFF, we launched a special focus on films from Central and Eastern Europe, the native lands of many Clevelanders.
This year the CIFF is proud to present its 19th Central and Eastern European Competition. And, for the ninth year, we are deeply honored to showcase this competition in loving memory of George Gund III with the support of an endowment from The George Gund Foundation.
As determined by our jury, the winnner of this competition will be announced at our Closing Awards Ceremony and receive a $10,000 cash prize.
Jurors:
Barbara Twist – Barbara Twist is a producer and exhibition consultant based in Los Angeles, where she also works as a freelance post supervisor. In the exhibition field, she consults for Vidiots, Film Festival Alliance, and Europa International, among others. Most recently she produced "Bye Bye Body," which was nominated for Vimeo Pick of the Year 2020, played many festivals including Aspen ShortsFest, and currently has over 220K views on Vimeo. She was listed on Celluloid Junkie's Top 50 Women in Global Cinema in 2017 and featured in BoxOffice's "Women in Exhibition and Distribution" October 2015. Barbara is on the board of the Ann Arbor Film Festival and Cinema Lamont. She is a member of Detroit-based Final Girls (a women's filmmaking collective) and a recipient of a 2016 Knight Foundation grant. She holds an M.F.A. in Creative Producing from Columbia University.
Tom Hall – Tom Hall is the Executive Director of Montclair Film in Montclair, NJ. Previously, Tom held the positions of Director, Artistic Director, and Director of Programming at the Sarasota Film Festival (2005-2014) and Programming Director at newportFILM in Newport, RI (2009-2011). In addition, Tom was Programmer for The Nantucket Film Festival in Nantucket, MA (2002-2005) as well as a former Director of New Media for Bravo/The Independent Film Channel (1997-2000). In January of 2010, Tom was named one of Springboard Media's 20 under 40 in Film. Tom has directed short films for Bob Mould's Carnival of Light and Sound tour and was an inaugural member of the indieWIRE blogging community with his blog The Back Row Manifesto. A graduate of the University of Michigan ('94), Tom resides in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and two sons.
TT Stern-Enzi – Having spent 20 years as a freelance writer and film critic in the Greater Cincinnati region (covering the film industry and film festivals with the alt-weekly Cincinnati CityBeat and television affiliate Fox19, while earning distinction as an accredited critic on Rotten Tomatoes and membership in the Critics Choice Association), tt stern-enzi began curating film programs at the Mini Microcinema and other regional venues. He has also spent time serving on the advisory board for the University of Cincinnati Center for Film & Media Studies and developing an educational curriculum for his WatchWriteNow initiative. These efforts have paved the way for tt to step into the role of lead programmer/curator for the rebranded Over-the-Rhine International Film Festival during its first two years before settling into the position of Artistic Director for the 2021 edition.
The CIFF has always recognized the power of film to change people’s viewpoints about the world. This competition includes films that delve into human health-related issues (both mental and physical) and films about the health of the environment.
The selections in this competition will encourage viewers to question the true definition of health as it relates to individuals and the planet.
This year the CIFF is proud to present our eighth Global Health Competition, thanks to the generous support of Mark Smith & Janet Rosel Smith.
Based on audience vote, the winner of this competition will be announced at our Closing Awards Ceremony and receive a $5,000 cash prize.
Competition Presented by:
Mark Smith & Janet Rosel Smith
In 2005 The George Gund Foundation granted the CIFF with an endowment to create the Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Competition as a tribute to Greg Gund. Greg's friends and family described him as "intensely creative and talented, and wholly without pretension."
For five years Greg lived in Playa Negro near Tamarindo, Costa Rica where he immersed himself by becoming part of the local community. As much as he deeply loved his home there, Greg was also an extensive world traveler with an adventurous spirit and an insatiable curiosity about different cultures and people. He lived by this Mahatma Gandhi quote inscribed in his passport: "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." Greg died at the age of 32 in a small plane crash off the Pacific Coast in 2005.
Standing Up started as a sidebar to focus on films with the mission to change the world and grew into a celebration of activism and the fight for social justice. Our Standing Up Competition includes "films with a conscience." Many of these films highlight personal stories featuring individuals who set out to teach lessons on how to live a better life. One of the aspects all these films share is the impact they make on viewers long after the credits roll. Through the films, Standing Up honors Greg Gund - as well as others with a different view of the world - and the continual fight to make it better.
Based on audience vote, the winner of this competition will be announced at our Closing Awards Ceremony and receive a $7,500 cash prize.
Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Films sponsored by:
CIFF is a great way for Clevelanders to experience the different cultures, languages, and customs of the entire world.
We are recognized for our well-rounded international program, and we’re happy to showcase films from around the globe in the fourth year of this competition, thanks to Tom Piraino & Barbara McWilliams.
Based on audience vote, the winner of this competition will be announced at our Closing Awards Ceremony and receive a $5,000 cash prize.
Competition Presented by:
Tom Piraino & Barbara McWilliams
Local Heroes is our annual celebration of films made about Ohio, in Ohio, or by Ohioans.
Thanks to Lauren Rich Fine & Gries Financial Partners, we are honored to once again support these films and filmmakers, hoping to empower the already booming independent film community of Cleveland and Ohio alike.
Based on audience vote, this winner of this competition will be announced at our Closing Awards Ceremony and receive a $5,000 cash prize.
Competition Presented by:Lauren Rich Fine
The Nesnadny + Schwartz Portrait Documentary Competition and the "May the Schwartz Be with You" Director's Award is dedicated to the life and work of our longtime board member and friend, Mark Schwartz (1956–2014).
For 17 years, N+S has sponsored the CIFF Documentary Competition. Five years ago, we focused more exclusively on portrait documentaries. Like Mark himself, the subjects in these documentaries are determined, dedicated, and daring. The same qualities define the best of what art can achieve in all mediums, including graphic design.
The films are artistic and passionate, telling stories with insight, power, and revelation. Never a man to back down from controversy, this genre of filmmaking exemplifies the way Mark led his life and ran his design firm. Since his death, the firm has continued to honor his vision. Their work is big and bold, grounded in logic, and informed by research.
Portrait documentaries in competition that are screening in the Festival will be viewed by our panel of jurors throughout the week.
As determined by our jury, the winner of this competition will be announced at our Closing Awards Ceremony and receive a $10,000 cash prize.
Jurors:
Abby Sun – Abby Sun is an artist, film programmer, and researcher at the MIT Open Documentary Lab. Through her work, Abby considers the power dynamics in the documentary form's inherent smudging of reality, with a particular interest in the media infrastructures and cultural artifacts of moving image exhibition. Abby has bylines in Film Comment, Filmmaker Magazine, Film Quarterly, Hyperallergic, and other publications. She has served on juries for Palm Springs, New Orleans, CAAMfest, and DOC NYC, as well as nominating committees for the Gotham Awards, Cinema Eye, and IDA Documentary Awards. Her latest short film, "Cuba Scalds His Hand" (co-directed with Daniel Garber), premiered at the Maryland Film Festival in 2019. Abby is the Curator of the DocYard and co-curated My Sight is Lined with Visions: 1990s Asian American Film & Video with Keisha Knight. She previously was senior editor of Nat. Brut and programmer for True/False Film Fest and Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival.
Chloe Walters-Wallace – Chloe Walters-Wallace manages Firelight Media's artist programs, including the Firelight Documentary Lab and the Groundwork Regional Lab—a new initiative that expands the pipeline of early career independent diverse makers from the South, Midwest, and U.S. Territories. Currently, in collaboration with Reel South and the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) she's helming Firelight's latest digital shorts series, Hindsight. Chloe was Program Director of the New Orleans Film Society's Emerging Voices Mentorship Program, which establishes meaningful connections between industry leaders and Louisiana-based filmmakers of color. In 2018 she designed and launched the Southern Producers Lab, a regional program for emerging producers from across the American South. Chloe is a 2021 Rockwood Leadership Institute Fellow, a 2007 Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, and an Ortique Institute Participant. She lives between New York City and New Orleans and is on the board of Third Horizon Media.
Greta Hagen-Richardson – Greta Hagen-Richardson is a programmer and producer with almost a decade of experience in the industry. As a programmer, she strives to elevate the contributions of storytellers working outside the traditional industry, primarily from the American South. Currently, Greta is the Director of Programming at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival and Lead Features Programmer at the New Orleans Film Festival. Over the years she has contributed to many festival organizations, including the Oxford Film Festival, the Chicago International Film Festival, and the True/False Film Fest. In 2020 she participated in Film Independent's Project Involve as a Creative Executive Fellow. While in Project Involve, she was the CE on two shorts, "Hollow" and "Blackout," both developed and completed during the pandemic. Additionally, one of her teams developed and completed a third narrative short film, "Noche del Inferno." She is currently producing the short, "Pearl & Henry," and the feature, "Long Eye," with director Gibrey Allen.
At the 39th CIFF we premiered our focus on debut directors whose innovative films transform the traditional notions of cinematic storytelling.
Thanks to the support of Jules and Fran Belkin, we are proud to present our sixth New Direction Competition. Screening within this competition are films created by emerging filmmakers who we believe will define the future of filmmaking. Films in competition that are screening in the Festival will be viewed by our panel of jurors throughout the week.
As determined by our jury, the winner of this competition will be announced at our Closing Awards Ceremony and receive a $10,000 cash prize.
Competition Presented by:
Jules and Fran Belkin
Jurors:
Joe Yanick – Joe Yanick is the co-founder of Yellow Veil Pictures, a worldwide sales company focusing on boundary pushing genre/art house cinema. Since launching the company with Hugues Barbier and Justin Timms in 2017, Yellow Veil has acquired an array of titles from burgeoning auteurs such as Tilman Singer and A.T. White to veteran directors like Larry Fessenden and George A. Romero.
Katie McCullough – Katie McCullough graduated from Bournemouth Media School with a degree in Scriptwriting for Film & TV. For 16 years and counting she has provided strategy and submissions support to filmmakers worldwide, resulting in the creation of the consultancy brand Festival Formula in 2014. As an active member of the Short Film Conference and the Film Festival Alliance, Katie is also a key spokesperson on festival issues with coverage in The Hollywood Reporter and Screen Daily regarding suspect and fraudulent film festivals. She co-created the Filmmaker Lounge in partnership with Film Festival Alliance—an online space for programmers and filmmakers to discuss their roles.
Setu Raval – Setu Raval has been part of the Film Independent Spirit Awards staff since 2012. As Associate Director of Nominations, she oversees the nominations process and manages the six nominating committees for the Spirit Awards, as well as the selections process for Spirit Awards Filmmaker Grants. In her position, Setu also has dedicated efforts towards ensuring the nominating committees and films in consideration are representative of Film Independent's commitment to diversity and inclusion. She also managed all grants tied to Film Independent's Artist Development Labs, Fast Track, and Project Involve. Prior to her current role, she was the Spirit Awards Nominee Liaison. Setu has also worked at the Sundance Institute, Sundance Film Festival, LA Film Festival, and Creative Artists Agency. In addition, Setu was the Festival Producer for the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles for three years. She received her B.F.A. in Film Producing from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
Sponsored by The Sloop Family
In memory of long-time CIFF shorts programmer, Toni Oliverio.
We are thrilled to once again celebrate female filmmakers at the CIFF, thanks to Deborah Bachman Ratner.
In an industry historically dominated by men, we are honored to showcase these women–who make up 49% of our feature filmmakers–and the empowered female perspectives they provide within their films.
Based on audience vote, the winning director of this award will be announced at our Closing Awards Ceremony and receive a $10,000 cash prize.
Competition Presented by:
Deborah Bachman Ratner
Sponsored by Barbara Hawley and David Goodman
Sponsored by Jim Brumbaugh & Carolyn Berg
Sponsored by Marcie Goodman
Sponsored by Marcie Goodman and John C. Williams
Sponsored by Tom and Ginny Knoll and The Knoll Family Fund Promoting Civility and Acts of Kindness of Akron Community Foundation
After Hours Shorts Program 1
Running Time: 118 Minutes
After Hours Shorts Program 2
Running Time: 121 Minutes
Comedy Shorts Program 1
Running Time: 77 Minutes
Comedy Shorts Program 2
Running Time: 77 Minutes
Comedy Shorts Program 3
Family Shorts Program 1
Running Time: 76 Minutes
Family Shorts Program 2
Running Time: 75 Minutes
Family Shorts Program 3
Running Time: 90 Minutes
FilmSlam Streams Animated Cinema
Running Time: 25 Minutes
FilmSlam Streams Arabic Language Cinema
Running Time: 80 Minutes
FilmSlam Streams Black Cinema
Running Time: 64 Minutes
FilmSlam Streams Chinese Language Cinema
Running Time: 71 Minutes
FilmSlam Streams Cultural Cinema
FilmSlam Streams Cultural Cinema "Light"
Running Time: 31 Minutes
FilmSlam Streams French Language Cinema
Running Time: 64 Minutes
FilmSlam Streams Russian Language Cinema
Running Time: 47 Minutes
FilmSlam Streams Spanish Language Cinema
Running Time: 52 Minutes
Local Heroes Shorts Program 1
Running Time: 121 Minutes
Local Heroes Shorts Program 2
Outlook Shorts Program
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Racial Equity Shorts Program
Shorts Program 1
Shorts Program 2
Running Time: 101 Minutes
Shorts Program 3
Shorts Program 4
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Shorts Program 5
Running Time: 100 Minutes
Shorts Program 6
Running Time: 99 Minutes
Shorts Program 7
Running Time: 102 Minutes
Shorts Program 8
Running Time: 100 Minutes
Shorts Program 9
Running Time: 104 Minutes
Shorts Program 10
Running Time: 105 Minutes
Shorts Program 11
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Shorts Program 12
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Sweden
Directed By: Naures Sager
Running Time: 7 Minutes
A surprising turn of events takes place when Ayman's date is crashed by his friends. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
France
Directed By: 10th grade students of La Guerche-de-Bretagne's high school
Running Time: 8 Minutes
Aurélien, Adama, Liza. Three short letters written and filmed by the students of a French high school. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
IRELAND, UNITED STATES
Directed By: Aideen Kane, Maeve O'Boyle, Lucy Kennedy
Running Time: 94 Minutes
In 1983 the people of Ireland voted to add an Eighth Amendment to the constitution, giving the unborn an equal right to life as the mother; essentially a constitutional ban on abortion. This amendment has led to a bitter and... {more}
PALESTINE, JORDAN, ITALY, SWEDEN, QATAR
Directed By: Ameen Nayfeh
Running Time: 96 Minutes
The wall dividing Israel from the Occupied Territories separates Palestinian family man Mustafa from his Israeli wife and children. Since he has a work permit, he’s able to visit them with a certain amount of frequency, but his staunch moral... {more}
Adventures at Home: Imagination is Everything
United States
Directed By: Travis Lupher
Running Time: 4 Minutes
Being stuck at home can be tough... but it doesn't have to be boring. When you use your imagination you can go anywhere and do anything. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Jenn Shaw
Running Time: 11 Minutes
After multiple encounters with her bully and a little academic inspiration, an African-American teen finally stands up for herself against classmates that question her cultural identity. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Jen Rainin, Rivkah Beth Medow
Running Time: 97 Minutes
For the first 20 years of her life, Franco Stevens didn’t know lesbians existed, let alone that she herself was one. After coming out, she dove into San Francisco’s queer scene, but quickly noticed a lack of genuine lesbian media... {more}
United States
Directed By: Alexandria Cree, Kristen Hilkert
Running Time: 5 Minutes
This is the story of Áine—a magical, feisty girl with Down syndrome. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Family Shorts Program 1
FilmSlam Streams Cultural Cinema "Light"
Switzerland
Directed By: Maria Brendle
Running Time: 38 Minutes
Sezim (19) wants to fulfill her dream of studying in the Kyrgyz capital when she gets kidnapped by a group of young men and taken to the hinterland, where she’s forced to marry a stranger. If she refuses the marriage,... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Rami Kodeih
Running Time: 26 Minutes
As Nazis separate children from their parents in the Warsaw Ghetto, a gang of women risks everything to smuggle their friend's three-month-old baby to safety. (Inspired by true events.) {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Antonio Harper, Abby Burton
Running Time: 2 Minutes
A young man stumbles upon a scene that forces him to become a part of the never-ending cycle of social injustice. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: James Redford
Running Time: 103 Minutes
AMY TAN: UNINTENDED MEMOIR is an intimate and candid profile examining the life and work of Amy Tan, famed author of The Joy Luck Club. Tan candidly describes her journey to become a writer, detailing traumatic childhood memories riddled with... {more}
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Jennifer Redfearn
Running Time: 86 Minutes
The number of women in U.S. prisons has increased 800% due to drug sentencing laws in the past 40 years. The state of Ohio, battling industrial decline and an opioid epidemic, has one of the nation's largest populations of incarcerated... {more}
United States
Directed By: Rayka Zehtabchi, Sam Davis
Running Time: 15 Minutes
A dead car battery leaves Safa stranded alone in a strip mall parking lot. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
ISRAEL
Directed By: Ruthy Pribar
Running Time: 85 Minutes
At 17, Vika (Unorthodox actress Shira Haas) desperately wants to be like any other rebellious teenager: drinking with her friends, exploring her sexuality, and embracing her independence. But Vika’s desires for normalcy are derailed by a degenerative motor disease that... {more}
United States
Directed By: Lorena Gordon
Running Time: 13 Minutes
A timid high school girl reveals her truth during the most important night of the year. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Maisie Crow
Running Time: 98 Minutes
El Paso, Texas is the largest city on the U.S.-Mexico border and home to one of the region’s largest law enforcement education programs. Local Horizon High School offers a law enforcement career track and a Criminal Justice Club that trains... {more}
SLOVAKIA
Directed By: Peter Bebjak
Running Time: 94 Minutes
Based on the unbelievable true story, THE AUSCHWITZ REPORT tracks Freddy and Valér, two young Jewish men from Slovakia, on their agonizing attempt to escape the concentration camp in 1944. Each day the men watch, count, and document the number... {more}
United States
Directed By: HEATHER JACK
Running Time: 13 Minutes
Underemployed and reeling from a recent miscarriage, comedy writer Jo McDowell’s life is getting less funny by the minute. When she lands a meeting that could turn it all around, she has to make a decision: tell the truth or... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Kevin Taylor
Running Time: 16 Minutes
A baby is found in the park on Christmas day, and ten years later her story is told. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
ITALY, SWITZERLAND
Directed By: Damiano D'Innocenzo, Fabio D'Innocenzo
Running Time: 98 Minutes
The suburbs of Rome are not the idyllic environment residents seek. Although this tight-knit collection of families frequently finds themselves in close quarters—birthday parties, shared family dinners, afternoons in the pool—their relationships are anything but civil. Mothers are detached and... {more}
Barbara Lee: Speaking Truth to Power
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Abby Ginzberg
Running Time: 82 Minutes
BARBARA LEE: SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER is an inspiring profile of trailblazer Barbara Lee, the highest-ranking African American woman in the U.S. Congress, and the obstacles she overcame to forge a political career dedicated to racial and social justice. As... {more}
United States
Directed By: TJ Marchbank
Running Time: 11 Minutes
After a pleasant afternoon hike, three friends find themselves stuck at the trailhead, 100 feet from their car with nothing between them but tall dead grass and an unseen, bloodthirsty creature that lurks there. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Kevin Maxwell
Running Time: 9 Minutes
Daniel, a highly accomplished dancer, comes home from college only to find himself entangled in a battle between himself and his concerned father. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Andrew Gorell
Running Time: 7 Minutes
A father and daughter meet for the first time in months, during a pandemic, still grieving from an earlier loss. This is a story of connection and disconnection, forming a "pod", and continuing to live. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
GERMANY
Directed By: Burhan Qurbani
Running Time: 183 Minutes
Based on Alfred Döblin’s iconic 1929 novel of the same name, BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ updates the great German work for the present day. As a child of immigrants himself, director Burhan Qurbani reimagines this fable of morality and acceptance through the... {more}
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Michael Parks Randa, Lauren Smitelli
Running Time: 80 Minutes
After falling in love at a dance camp over the summer, Sage and Anthony don’t know when they’ll see each other again…but it might be sooner than they think. With a magical twist of fate, Sage finds herself enrolled as... {more}
Best Summer Ever (WITH AUDIO DESCRIPTION)
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Michael Parks Randa, Lauren Smitelli
Running Time: 80 Minutes
THIS IS THE LISTING FOR THE VERSION OF BEST SUMMER EVER THAT CONTAINS AUDIO DESCRIPTON - FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED. TO PURCHASE A TICKET TO THE VERSION WITHOUT AUDIO DESCRIPTION, PLEASE VISIT THE BEST SUMMER EVER PAGE. After falling in... {more}
United States
Directed By: Grant Mellon
Running Time: 6 Minutes
Hoodies might make it easier to commit a crime, but not nearly as easy as a gun. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
South Korea, USA
Directed By: Jinuk Choi
Running Time: 4 Minutes
A wheelchair dreams of one day being fast like a racing car, and one night decides to do its own race in the hospital hallway. But will the wheelchair be able to fulfill his dream? {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Yael Bridge
Running Time: 82 Minutes
Socialism. One of the most taboo words in American political speech. The supposed antithesis of everything that the United States represents. The opposite of freedom and choice. Purely un-American… or is it? With our healthcare systems, our education systems, and... {more}
United States
Directed By: Victor Gabriel
Running Time: 5 Minutes
Javion is a dutiful and loving Black father—the protector and provider of his wife, daughter, and grandmother. However, he is haunted by a secret he continues to bury in silence. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Nick Cavalier
Running Time: 21 Minutes
Grapes, much like human beings, need to struggle to build character. This film tells the story of the life of winemaker Edgar Torres, who illegally immigrated to the U.S. with his father in the 80s for a better life. Believing... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Carl Kriss
Running Time: 82 Minutes
In November 2018, General Motors announced plant closures in Ohio, Michigan, and Maryland. The proposed restructuring to become more competitive would result in thousands of layoffs. While GM ran a PR campaign to justify its decisions, GM employees and their... {more}
United States
Directed By: Kris Sundberg
Running Time: 9 Minutes
Brothers and best friends, Andrew and Michael, do everything together—until an unfortunate accident forces Andrew to decide whether or not he can live without his closest companion. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Shawn Spitler
Running Time: 4 Minutes
An alcoholic mother struggles to free herself from addiction after losing her daughter. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
France / Germany
Directed By: Mathilde Babo, Zoé Rossion
Running Time: 4 Minutes
A former Stasi prisoner revisits his cell. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
CZECHIA
Directed By: Agnieszka Holland
Running Time: 118 Minutes
“The Oracle of Urine.” That’s what they call the subject of Polish auteur Agnieszka Holland’s latest skillfully crafted biopic. CHARLATAN portrays the fascinating life of successful Czech healer and accused conman Jan Mikolášek. A certified herbalist with the uncanny ability... {more}
France
Directed By: Yannick KARCHER
Running Time: 16 Minutes
Freshly retired, a man doesn't know how to occupy his days. For fear of being killed by boredom, he gets involved in the crazy project of building a boat in the cellar of his suburban house. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Margaret Munzer Loeb, Eden Wurmfeld
Running Time: 80 Minutes
Free play is a critical component of early childhood development. Yet contemporary parenting has nearly eliminated it. Skipping rope, playing tag, and partaking in friendly games of hide-and-seek have been exchanged for intense curriculums and rigid schedules of extracurricular activities... {more}
Kosovo
Directed By: Ilir Blakcori
Running Time: 10 Minutes
This story begins with its main character—a 100 deutschmark and its beautiful portrait of Clara Schumann. As the banknote travels from one person to another it reveals their stories and perspectives in a world of war, crime, corruption, fraud, destruction,... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Spain
Directed By: Jorge Sarria de Vicente
Running Time: 5 Minutes
The lives of a child from the Republic of Congo and the president of a technology company are connected by a material that will change them completely. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
NETHERLANDS
Directed By: Ivo van Aart
Running Time: 86 Minutes
Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences. Disgruntled columnist Femke Boot (Westworld’s Katja Herbers) makes that abundantly clear in this satirical revenge comedy about the pitfalls of social media obsession. Femke is plagued day and night with death... {more}
NEW ZEALAND
Directed By: James Ashcroft
Running Time: 97 Minutes
A brutal psychological thriller like no other, COMING HOME IN THE DARK ushers the viewer into a nightmarish hellscape that throttles you to the very edge of your seat. Set in the swooping landscapes of Greater Wellington, New Zealand, the... {more}
Directed By: Volia Chajkouskaya
Running Time: 14 Minutes
The director, who has always been viewed as the black sheep in her family, sets out to the Belarusian town of Vitebsk to talk with her parents about previous grievances and topics that were considered taboo. The effort to find... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Ben Proudfoot, Kris Bowers
Running Time: 14 Minutes
A virtuoso jazz pianist and film composer tracks his family's lineage through his 91-year-old grandfather from Jim Crow Florida to the Walt Disney Concert Hall. (English CC available) {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FilmSlam Streams Black Cinema
FilmSlam Streams Cultural Cinema
Racial Equity Shorts Program
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Ilinca Calugareanu
Running Time: 86 Minutes
When Corey Pegues was a young man in the 1980s, he was a member of one of New York City’s most infamous gangs, the Supreme Team. Looking for a path away from crime, Pegues left it all behind to complete... {more}
MEXICO
Directed By: Eduardo Rivero
Running Time: 82 Minutes
*THIS FILM IS DUBBED IN ENGLISH AND APPROPRIATE FOR LITTLE ONES Ten-year-old Nicolas has never had nightmares. His secret? Every year on his birthday his mom makes him a magical costume that keeps bad dreams away. Nicolas keeps these prized disguises... {more}
USA
Directed By: Sachi Cunningham, Vayabobo
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Two decades of exclusive access, plus a lifetime of archival footage, depict Bill Shannon from his early years to his rise as an award-winning dancer and cutting-edge performance artist whose work finds outlet at prestigious venues worldwide. CRUTCH documents Bill’s... {more}
Crutch (WITH AUDIO DESCRIPTION)
USA
Directed By: Sachi Cunningham, Vayabobo
Running Time: 98 Minutes
THIS IS THE LISTING FOR THE VERSION OF CRUTCH THAT CONTAINS AUDIO DESCRIPTON - FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED. TO PURCHASE A TICKET TO THE VERSION WITHOUT AUDIO DESCRIPTION, PLEASE VISIT THE CRUTCH PAGE. Two decades of exclusive access, plus a lifetime... {more}
Netherlands
Directed By: Jörgen Scholtens
Running Time: 7 Minutes
When a lonely man finds his very important job conflicting with a very big opportunity things go a little, well, cuckoo! {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Patrick Sammon, Bennett Singer
Running Time: 80 Minutes
In this age of pride parades, gay icons, and pop culture’s warm embrace of the LGBTQ, it can sometimes be hard to remember what life was like for gay people in the 1970s. Not only was homosexuality seen as a... {more}
Daisy Quokka: World's Scariest Animal
AUSTRALIA
Directed By: Ricard Cussó
Running Time: 89 Minutes
*THIS FILM IS DUBBED IN ENGLISH AND APPROPRIATE FOR LITTLE ONES It’s Daisy Quokka’s lifelong dream to win the World’s Scariest Games. The athletic competition is a series of challenges that tests contestants’ strength, intelligence, and ferocity, concluding with the champion... {more}
Canada
Directed By: Alexis Chartrand
Running Time: 17 Minutes
While observing life outside his shop, a barber thinks he sees someone who is after his life and family. Confronted with imminent danger, the barber decides to react. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Austria
Directed By: Martin Winter
Running Time: 35 Minutes
Single mother Kathi receives day release from prison only to find her three-year-old son, who is living with her unstable mother, in bad circumstances. Time is against her as she is forced to find a way to enable a better... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Germany
Directed By: Katharina Rivilis
Running Time: 20 Minutes
June 17, 1953—Frida’s 8th birthday—was supposed to be a celebration. Instead tanks are rolling through the streets of East Berlin. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Sarah Klein , Tom Mason
Running Time: 13 Minutes
Every June at Maplewood Middle School in N.J., sixth grade students participate in a rite of passage: they write a letter to their future 18-year-old selves. The letters are sealed and held for six years until the students are about... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Cyprus, Turkey, Syria
Directed By: Doğuş Özokutan
Running Time: 12 Minutes
Yusuf accepts a job smuggling refugees with his refrigerated meat truck, believing this is the only way to earn money to save his daughter's life. When the smuggler shows up with the refugees, and Yusuf realizes there are children that... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
France, Morocco
Directed By: Saïd Hamich Benlarbi
Running Time: 25 Minutes
Morocco 2004: the summer 11-year-old Adil is upset by the visit of his father and big brother, who leave for France in just a few days. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Maria Finitzo
Running Time: 108 Minutes
Can you say the word “clitoris” without blushing? Draw the clit in its entirety? If not, maybe it’s time to brush up on your “Cliteracy.” But don’t worry—THE DILEMMA OF DESIRE is here to satisfy your needs. This documentary on... {more}
United States
Directed By: Alejandra Aragón
Running Time: 19 Minutes
Wendy (17) is an aspiring engineer who tinkers using parts from discarded electronics in hopes of making a 3D printed prosthesis for her best friend Shelly (16), an artist with double limb deficiencies. These young Mexican-American women reinvent cultural, gender,... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Spain
Directed By: Susan Béjar
Running Time: 13 Minutes
A typical scene of isolation on a subway car is interrupted by a woman who demonstrates that maybe, deep down, we are all just a little insane. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Justin Powell, David Charbonier
Running Time: 82 Minutes
As intense and unsettling as anything onscreen this year, THE DJINN offers a new, disturbing take on a classic cinematic form—the monster movie. Set in 1989, the film follows a young mute boy, Dylan, as he adjusts to life after... {more}
ARGENTINA
Directed By: Ana Katz
Running Time: 73 Minutes
Although she never makes a peep when he’s around, Sebastián’s neighbors say his dog wails her heart out when he’s not home. A loyal caretaker at heart, Sebastián tries to solve the issue by bringing his furry companion to work.... {more}
Dormo Poco E Sogno Molto - Espana Circo Este
Italy
Directed By: Paolo Santamaria
Running Time: 4 Minutes
A travel through imagination and finding a place called home. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Ursula Liang
Running Time: 83 Minutes
In November 2014, Akai Gurley, an unarmed Black man, was shot and killed by a police officer while walking down a dark stairwell in Brooklyn’s New York City Housing Authority Pink Houses. Peter Liang, a Chinese-American officer, was the person... {more}
CONGO, FRANCE, BELGIUM
Directed By: Dieudo Hamadi
Running Time: 90 Minutes
For six days in June 2000, foreign Rwandan and Ugandan forces fought to occupy the Congolese city of Kisangani, located at the mineral-rich mouth of the Congo River. The conflict, now known as the Six-Day War of Kisangani, left more... {more}
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Euros Lyn
Running Time: 102 Minutes
Working two dead-end jobs and barely getting by, Jan Vokes (Toni Colette) is desperate for a way out. Between bartending and cleaning at a grocery store, Jan spends her days dreaming of a fresh start. Waiting just around the corner,... {more}
DENMARK
Directed By: Kim Hagen Jensen, Tonni Zinck
Running Time: 81 Minutes
*THIS FILM IS DUBBED IN ENGLISH AND APPROPRIATE FOR LITTLE ONES For some time, Minna and her father have been the only members of their tight-knit family. So when her father moves his fiancée and her daughter Jenny to their home... {more}
Russian Federation
Directed By: Ivan Smirnov
Running Time: 19 Minutes
An inexperienced young investigator, just taking office, is interrogating a prostitute who killed his comrade after he raped her. The girl lies and prevaricates because she doesn’t want to go to jail. The young police officer has a choice: refer... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: David Moreton
Running Time: 99 Minutes
When EDGE OF SEVENTEEN graced CIFF’s screens in 1999 (CIFF23), Todd Stephens, who wrote the film’s semi-autobiographical screenplay, promised to make a trilogy based upon his experiences as a gay man in Sandusky, Ohio. Now, 22 years later, Stephens has... {more}
United States
Directed By: Mike Berry
Running Time: 19 Minutes
Teenaged Rosa is forced to make a difficult decision when her father Hector, a hard working Guatemalan, is threatened with deportation. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FilmSlam Streams Cultural Cinema
Local Heroes Shorts Program 1
Spain
Directed By: Christopher Sánchez, Mario Cervantes
Running Time: 8 Minutes
Javier is deaf-blind, but he is willing to live the adventure and climb to the top to fulfill his dream of embracing the stars. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
End of the Line: The Women of Standing Rock
UNITED STATES, FINLAND
Directed By: Shannon Kring
Running Time: 90 Minutes
A small group of indigenous women bands together to form a peaceful camp protesting the Dakota Access pipeline's construction, which is threatening their land, water, and existence. And when filings with federal courts reveal the proposed route cuts through ancient... {more}
United States
Directed By: Nick Kuhar
Running Time: 5 Minutes
Inspired by the Black Mirror episode San Junipero, this film features an oracle, a young woman, and her battle in coming to terms with the fact that she's in charge of her life. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Spain
Directed By: Jorge Muriel
Running Time: 20 Minutes
Two strangers meet in a subway car. Both bring their past with them. Both look from their present. Both will determine their future in that fleeting, and ephemeral, vital journey that brings them together briefly. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Miriam Kruishoop
Running Time: 23 Minutes
What is supposed to be a festive family gathering turns into an explosive showdown when siblings, with opposing political views, clash. Embroiled in the conflict, each family member reveals some painful truths. As everyone struggles with their own deeply ingrained... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Marian de Pontes
Running Time: 15 Minutes
A teenage soldier—brought up in the art of war by the rebel group that kidnapped her as a child—must choose whether to attempt an escape or let her dreams of freedom die forever. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Austria
Directed By: Stefan Langthaler
Running Time: 30 Minutes
80-year-old retiree Arthur lives in a modest home in Vienna. For quite some time he has been lovingly caring for his seriously ill wife Martha, assisted by only female nurses. When a new male Hungarian care worker, Fabiu, enters the... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Poland
Directed By: Yifan Sun
Running Time: 25 Minutes
Lola was adopted into a Belgian family 11 years ago as an infant. Over the years, she has been imagining the reunion with her birth family in China. This summer her dream finally comes true, when Lola’s two families meet... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
SERBIA, FRANCE, GERMANY, CROATIA, SLOVENIA, BOSNIA, HERZEGOVINA
Directed By: Srdan Golubović
Running Time: 120 Minutes
When Nikola lost his job two years ago, his severance package never came. Without consistent work, he has struggled to put food on the table for his wife and two children. They have no food, no electricity, no running water…... {more}
United Kingdom
Directed By: Joe Bor
Running Time: 3 Minutes
Two friends get together for a coffee. Mike tells his friend he's been feeling down, and his friend convinces him it's not all that bad. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Doug Roland
Running Time: 19 Minutes
This coming-of-age story follows 18-year-old Tereek—a kind but guarded teen wandering the streets of New York, desperate for a place to crash—and his encounter with Artie, a deaf-blind man in need of help getting home. What begins as an awkward... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
INDIA
Directed By: Ajitpal Singh
Running Time: 87 Minutes
A wife and husband run a modest hotel in a remote Himalayan mountain village. The wife Chandra's strong-willed resourcefulness has made her the family's sole provider but causes friction with her alcoholic husband, who's left feeling emasculated. Their relationship strains... {more}
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Manuel Crosby, Darren Knapp
Running Time: 103 Minutes
All Mike wants is to take the cute girl next door on a date. A simple enough objective that goes awry surprisingly quickly. After finally getting the courage to ask out his longtime crush Kelsey, the first obstacle Mike has... {more}
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Heather Ross
Running Time: 85 Minutes
Even if you’ve never heard the name Del Close, you’ve undoubtedly seen the products of his teachings. The list of performers—including decades of SNL cast members from Belushi to Poehler—whom Del mentored in the ways of long-form improv is endless.... {more}
Forbidden to See Us Scream in Tehran
IRAN/USA
Directed By: Farbod Ardebili
Running Time: 17 Minutes
The frontwoman for an Iranian death metal band risks everything as she plots to call the cops on her own underground concert in the hopes the raid will help secure her asylum in another country. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Maya Albanese
Running Time: 15 Minutes
When Joy's fairytale romance crashes and burns on her 35th birthday, the incessant TICK-TOCK of her biological clock pushes her to try new things. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Sarah Rattay-Maloney
Running Time: 12 Minutes
An absurdist comedy about queerness, finding yourself, and the lies we live with until we can’t. Because sometimes it takes a magical cat person to push you out of the heteronormative nest. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Russia
Directed By: Taylor Rees, Renan Ozturk, (co-director)
Running Time: 24 Minutes
Vladimir, a scrappy but aging Russian marine mammal biologist, unexpectedly hitchhikes aboard a boat filled with adventure photographers out of a desperate need to return to his science monitoring stations. Two weeks prior his boat was lost to the explosion... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FINLAND
Directed By: Jenni Toivoniemi
Running Time: 105 Minutes
Mitzi is getting a divorce, smoking again, and mostly envisioning a climate apocalypse in her future. It’s also her birthday. When old friends reunite to throw her a surprise party at the seaside cottage they visited in their youth, Mitzi... {more}
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Mu Sun
Running Time: 97 Minutes
In low-income communities across America, children’s health and educational outcomes are declining. This was overwhelmingly apparent to teacher Stephen Ritz when he began teaching in the Bronx, where approximately 37% of children do not have consistent access to food. Since... {more}
United States
Directed By: Helen Alexis Yonov
Running Time: 23 Minutes
Lonely postman Gilbert (James Michael Tyler) secretly recreates postcards for Aurore when her boyfriend's homemade postcards stop arriving from his travels around the world. With the help of his friend Mr. Rostalle (Paul Dooley), a blind widower and retired literary... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Italy
Directed By: Claudia Di Lascia, Michele Bizzi
Running Time: 6 Minutes
As a woman enters an elevator we begin a journey through her life of abusive experiences. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Maureen Bharoocha
Running Time: 87 Minutes
In the competitive world of Ladies Arm Wrestling, you gotta be tough as nails. Armed with mere strength and determination, these fierce women go head-to-head in dingy rest stops, hoping to battle their way to glory—and cash—at Nationals. When Danny,... {more}
Directed By: Kitty Hu
Running Time: 21 Minutes
A father struggles to prepare for his wife's return from the hospital after suffering a brain aneurysm. His daughter documents his struggles and the evolving nature of their often strained relationship in this insightful documentary. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
ESTONIA
Directed By: Lauri Randla
Running Time: 86 Minutes
Johannes’ life was unconventional from the start. Not knowing who his father was, Johannes’ mother wrote that Lenin was the father on his birth certificate. After all, as his grandfather says, “Lenin is the father to all fatherless children in... {more}
United States
Directed By: Bonnie Discepolo
Running Time: 14 Minutes
Anna Camp stars as a southern mom whose life is all-shook-up when her fourth grader claims to be the reincarnation of the King of Rock and Roll. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Stephanie Erb, Deb Hiett
Running Time: 3 Minutes
Two grateful women from different eras find that some things never change. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Emanuele Daga
Running Time: 8 Minutes
Luck unexpectedly flips for an underachieving mama’s boy on his 17th job interview. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Australia
Directed By: Genevieve Clay-Smith, Rawley Reynolds
Running Time: 16 Minutes
For carer Gary, moving on and keeping his family together isn’t always easy. Tensions run high when his late wife’s parents arrive unannounced after he brings home a date. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: J.J. McDowell
Running Time: 7 Minutes
A young couple gets news that they might not be able to grow old together, so they pretend to have their 40th Anniversary. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Todd Stephens
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Gypsy Vale, 25, is a foul-mouthed, corset-wearing Foto Hut attendant who worships Stevie Nicks. Her best friend Clive Webb is a recently out high school senior with a Cure obsession and a fear of sex. Together they’re bored Ohio goths... {more}
France
Directed By: Merryl Roche
Running Time: 24 Minutes
Ever since Marie joined multi-star chef Bruno Mercier's restaurant, she only thinks of perfecting her skills. But sous-chef Thomas is wary of this possible rival. During a service, Marie cuts herself, letting a few drops of blood mix with her... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
CZECHIA
Directed By: Slávek Horák
Running Time: 104 Minutes
Experienced Václav Havel's capricious rise from beloved national playwright to political dissident and eventually President of Czechoslovakia. In the summer of 1968, the playwright revels in decreased censorship under Slovak politician Alexander Dub?ek's leadership as he attempts to reform the... {more}
USA, China
Directed By: Yuan Yuan
Running Time: 13 Minutes
Eight-year-old Chasuna travels from her home on grassland to visit her father who lives in the big city. During her father’s birthday party, Chasuna finds out he has remarried to a Chinese woman, and must learn how to accept her... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
ISRAEL, ITALY
Directed By: Nir Bergman
Running Time: 92 Minutes
Aharon and his autistic son Uri have a great routine. They ride their bikes; they watch Charlie Chaplin movies; they eat pasta stars; they feed their fish Yoni, Yaron, and Daniel. Life is good. Aharon, a loving and devoted father,... {more}
FRANCE
Directed By: CHABNAME ZARIAB
Running Time: 20 Minutes
As Louise prepares to go out of her building, a man hands her a bag before being picked up by the police. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Jessy Leigh
Running Time: 15 Minutes
A mother takes her daughter to get a horse for an upcoming hobbyhorse competition. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Nicole Riegel
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Despite its crumbling industrial backdrop, HOLLER is awash in cool, rich colors. Shot in gorgeous 16mm, director Nicole Riegel returned to her hometown of Jackson, Ohio in the dead of winter to capture her raw, semi-autobiographical debut. The harsh realities... {more}
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Devereux Milburn
Running Time: 106 Minutes
Aided by an organic and percussive score, HONEYDEW’s uncanny atmosphere instantly worms its way into your ear. In this fresh take on the classic road-trip-gone-wrong, Ph.D. candidate Riley is on a camping trip to study sordico, a toxic fungus that... {more}
United States
Directed By: Justice Jamal Jones
Running Time: 13 Minutes
An experimental fairytale dedicated to the modern Black boy, in which four boys disappear one night—as many Black boys do—and find themselves on a fantastical journey to break the curses of Black boyhood. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
GERMANY, ITALY, DENMARK
Directed By: Ronny Trocker
Running Time: 102 Minutes
Influenced by the Euro-thrillers of Michael Haneke, HUMAN FACTORS explores the power of perspective and the tendency to blame personal strife on outside forces. After a well-off, multilingual German family experiences a perplexing home invasion during what seems to be... {more}
Germany
Directed By: Jerry Hoffmann
Running Time: 27 Minutes
One day the withdrawn Noé finds a motionless android in the forest, takes it with her, and reactivates it. It's the beginning of a strange relationship. However, Noé realizes far too late that the android is about to copy her... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Jim Jenkins
Running Time: 14 Minutes
The night before his wedding, an underachiever (John Hoogenakker) receives the power to stop time, so he attempts to make some major life changes his fiancée (Lucy Cudden) wants, all before morning. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Hanna Adams, Cole Bacani, Max Edmeier, Dariel Filomeno, Alexandra Gottlieb, Namquyen "Q" Le, Yolanda Morgan, Victoria Perez, Benjamin Ragasa, Josie Stocks, John Stover, Jinghan Tian
Running Time: 4 Minutes
Yolanda Morgan recalls her experiences with racism and the impact it has had on her. Produced in USC's CTAN 470 Documentary Animation Production class by 12 student directors. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Eli Manos
Running Time: 10 Minutes
A man searches for comfort in an ailing marriage. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Jud Nichols
Running Time: 30 Minutes
This bold and scrappy documentary follows the protestors of Minneapolis and beyond as they demand justice for George Floyd—an unarmed black man who died at the hands of four policemen. From the harrowing imagery of the riots and looting to... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Mexico/USA
Directed By: Sofia Garza-Barba
Running Time: 14 Minutes
In and amongst the confusion created by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, eight-year-old Jackie believes she is turning into a vampire. As her suspicion is reinforced by her parents’ bewildering behavior, the imaginative girl creates a plan to survive the confinement. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Nicholas Mihm
Running Time: 104 Minutes
When Melissa Bumstead’s daughter received a rare cancer diagnosis at the age of four, their family was devastated. They spent a lot of time in the hospital receiving treatments. And through the course of those treatments, they met a lot... {more}
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Nanfu Wang
Running Time: 95 Minutes
IN THE SAME BREATH is a brilliant and challenging recount of the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. This highly topical documentary tracks the U.S. and Chinese governments' response from the first reports in Wuhan to the pandemic’s ebullition in... {more}
DENMARK
Directed By: Anders Refn
Running Time: 153 Minutes
Leaflets gently fall from the sky sending news that the German army has arrived in Denmark. It’s 1940 and Director Skov and his well-to-do family have only heard rumors of war. But Germany’s growing influence is slowly creeping into their... {more}
Spain
Directed By: Javier Fesser, Guillermo Fesser
Running Time: 30 Minutes
Aminodin's father always smiles because, "Happy people live longer." he says. That's why eight-year-old, Aminodin puts on his best smile while working at the Papandayan dump, where he lives with his family. Cousin Aliman on the other hand lost his... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Gregory Garay
Running Time: 7 Minutes
Izzy struggles with the decision to reconnect with an old friend. As she gives into her jealousy for her friend’s success, she makes a decision that her subconscious does not let her get away with so easily. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Jessica Earnshaw
Running Time: 105 Minutes
At 26 years old, Jacinta is finishing up the latest in her string of sentences at the Maine Correctional Center. She’s no stranger to prison life—a place she’s frequented for the last decade—or to her favorite fellow inmate, her mother... {more}
United States
Directed By: Kantú Lentz
Running Time: 20 Minutes
Jack, a man disillusioned with life, works the night shift at a freezing facility where people choose to halt their lives. His life takes a turn the night he chooses to freeze his own life when he meets Jo, a... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Canada
Directed By: Amar Chebib
Running Time: 16 Minutes
Joe Buffalo is an Indigenous skateboard legend. He’s also a survivor of Canada’s notorious Indian Residential School system. Following a traumatic childhood and decades of addiction, Joe must face his inner demons to realize his dream of turning pro. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FilmSlam Streams Cultural Cinema
Racial Equity Shorts Program
Serbia/Canada
Directed By: Vojin Vasovic
Running Time: 7 Minutes
In an abandoned attic, dictaphone robot REC desperately tries to connect with a bird that's perched on the window. Using his play button to say something, he is shocked by the sound, which scares away the bird. With found objects... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Sam Davis, Rayka Zehtabchi
Running Time: 7 Minutes
Mutton Bustin’ champion and future spy, seven-year-old Marlie McDonald is a symbol of resilience and vigor. Marlie was born with an aggressive brain tumor and spent her first few years in hospitals. Today, fearless Marlie is in long-term survival care... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Ireland
Directed By: Gar O'Rourke
Running Time: 9 Minutes
A journey into the heart of what is widely considered the world’s most hardcore gym—Kiev's enormous open-air Kachalka gym. This observational film follows the gym's caretaker as he takes us through the enormous scrap-metal site, allowing a glimpse into the... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson
Running Time: 9 Minutes
Kapaemahu reveals the healing power of four mysterious stones on Waikiki Beach and the legendary dual male and female spirits within them. Long ago, four extraordinary individuals of both male and female spirit brought the healing arts from Tahiti to... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
ARGENTINA, MEXICO, BRAZIL, CHILE, NORWAY
Directed By: Juan Pablo Félix
Running Time: 95 Minutes
With a glorious mane of jet black hair and a furious talent for the dazzling footsteps of malambo, teenaged Cabra wants nothing more than to be a professional dancer. Living with his mother and her stern boyfriend in a bordertown... {more}
ISRAEL
Directed By: Mor Loushy
Running Time: 88 Minutes
KINGS OF CAPITOL HILL plunges into the history and fascinating behind-the-scenes mechanism of the highly powerful pro-Israel lobby AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee). In Washington, D.C., AIPAC has ruled the roost for over 60 years, standing as one of... {more}
ISRAEL, GERMANY
Directed By: Shirel Peleg
Running Time: 101 Minutes
Shira has finally found the woman of her dreams, Maria, and she’s ready to settle down. But everyone in Shira’s family is skeptical of this newfound love—not because Maria is a woman, but because she seems to be one in... {more}
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Nelson G. Navarrete, Maxx Caicedo
Running Time: 111 Minutes
The crisis unfolding in Venezuela has been making headlines for years. As violence erupts in the streets, people without food, water, or electricity have been fleeing the country in droves. Unsustainable economic practices compounded by Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian reign has... {more}
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Cecilia Aldarondo
Running Time: 91 Minutes
When Hurricane María made landfall on the island of Puerto Rico in 2017, the storm devastated the territory’s land, infrastructure, and inhabitants. The U.S. government’s response was nothing short of catastrophic. For months, people went without food, water, and electricity.... {more}
URUGUAY
Directed By: Maximiliano Contenti
Running Time: 88 Minutes
Ana is an engineering student with exams to worry about. But for one night only she’s the projectionist at the old Cine Opera in Montevideo, Uruguay. Having agreed to cover her aging father’s shift at the theater, she’s certain the... {more}
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Sami Khan, Michael Gassert
Running Time: 84 Minutes
Because of the complicated relationship between the U.S. and Cuba, Cuban baseball players must establish a residence elsewhere in order to be recruited by the Major Leagues. Happy, Carlos, and Baró, three promising ball players, defect from their homeland to... {more}
United Statees
Directed By: Michael Shumway
Running Time: 16 Minutes
A farmer wakes up one morning to an unexpected apocalypse. As the last man alive, he decides to throw caution to the wind and start living his very best life. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Elvira Lind
Running Time: 32 Minutes
Richard (Oscar Isaac), a lonely man in his 40s, works as an officer in a maximum security prison. He has been working in the prison system for most of his adult life and for years attempted to climb the ladder... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Jeremy Workman
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Twenty-year-old Lily Hevesh is a world-renowned domino toppler. Her domino designs have been featured in several commercials, on major television shows, and even in Hollywood movies. Her venture into domino art began at age nine when she started a YouTube... {more}
UNITED KINGDOM, PORTUGAL
Directed By: Ana Rocha De Sousa
Running Time: 73 Minutes
Bela and Jota are Portuguese immigrants struggling to make ends meet while raising their three children in London. The loving couple will do anything they can to provide for their kids. But lacking opportunity, resources, and a reliable support system,... {more}
United States
Directed By: Matteo Servente, Molly J. Wexler
Running Time: 16 Minutes
While the evolution of downtown Memphis has ebbed and flowed over the past 100 years, The Little Tea Shop restaurant, founded by two women in 1918, has been a constant. The welcoming feeling fostered at The Little Tea Shop encourages... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Nigeria/UK
Directed By: Akinola Davies Jr
Running Time: 18 Minutes
When an eight-year-old girl, with an ability to sense danger, gets ejected from Sunday school service, she unwittingly witnesses the underbelly in and around a Mega Church in Lagos. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Sabrina Doyle
Running Time: 111 Minutes
Fresh out of prison after serving a15-year sentence for armed robbery, Wayland (Pablo Schreiber) makes his way to a Christian halfway house. While mopping floors to earn his keep, it doesn’t take long for Wayland to run into his old... {more}
United States
Directed By: Olivia Decherd
Running Time: 7 Minutes
This mixed media film is about an artist haunted by the ghost of their missing arm. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Brian Lawes
Running Time: 16 Minutes
Searching for food, a boy breaks into a neighborhood home. But when the homeowners return, he becomes trapped inside with them. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES, FRANCE
Directed By: Marion Hill
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Featuring beautiful people enjoying fine wine and fresh food on the picturesque French countryside, MA BELLE, MY BEAUTY is a breezy, contemporary love story that centers around the surprise reunion of polyamorous ex-lovers. Bertie, a talented singer from New Orleans,... {more}
United States
Directed By: Rudy Valdez
Running Time: 23 Minutes
This ESPN 30 for 30 documentary tells their story of Maya Moore, who skipped two seasons in the WNBA to seek justice for an innocent man, Jonathan Irons. Her efforts to seek justice led to Irons' release, and their relationship... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: T Cooper, Allison Glock-Cooper
Running Time: 10 Minutes
I Am Samantha, by singer-songwriter Benjamin Scheuer, was inspired by his friend Samantha Williams. Directors T Cooper and Allison Glock-Cooper gathered 27 trans actors to make the music video and tell the story of the universal human journey of finding... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
The Man Who Never Saw the Rain
Spain
Directed By: Miguel Muñoz
Running Time: 2 Minutes
What if you've never seen it rain? {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FilmSlam Streams Animated Cinema
FilmSlam Streams Spanish Language Cinema
The Marvelous Misadventures of the Stone Lady
Portugal, France
Directed By: Gabriel Abrantes
Running Time: 20 Minutes
Tired of being a banal architectural ornament, a sculpture runs away from the Louvre to confront real life on the streets of Paris. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Germany
Directed By: Arkadij Khaet, Mickey Paatzsch
Running Time: 31 Minutes
Ingredients: 1 Jew 12 Germans 50 ml Culture of Remembrance 30 ml stereotypes 2 teaspoons of patriotism 1 teaspoon of Israel 1 falafel 5 Stumbling Stones A dash of antisemitism Directions: Put all ingredients into a film, bring to boil, and shake vigorously. Then garnish with Klezmer music. Consumption: Light before serving.... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
RUSSIA
Directed By: Anastasiya Palchikova
Running Time: 86 Minutes
Everyone who meets 13-year-old Masha can’t help but love her. With her charm, unrestrained laughter, and a rather feisty streak, it’s not hard for her to light up a room. The young, natural performer dreams of one day becoming a... {more}
CANADA
Directed By: Liz Marshall
Running Time: 90 Minutes
As the world’s population continues to grow exponentially, so too does society’s demand for meat. But the expansion of the global meat-industrial complex comes at a dire price. Between the acceleration of climate change, the clear-cutting of forests, and the... {more}
United States
Directed By: Ashley Williams
Running Time: 11 Minutes
A pregnant vegan struggles with her newfound craving for meat. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Medicine Man: The Stan Brock Story
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Paul Michael Angell
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Stan Brock led quite the life. As a young man he lived off the grid as a cowboy, wrangling cattle through the Amazonian ranches of South America. Then he went on to star in one of America’s most popular wildlife... {more}
Spain
Directed By: Néstor Ruiz Medina
Running Time: 29 Minutes
An aspiring actor suffers incalculable pain at becoming the laughing stock of his class because of the close relationship he has with his mother. He will learn that pain is a fundamental tool for becoming a better actor, but at... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
France
Directed By: Hugo Caby, Antoine Dupriez, Aubin Kubiak, Lucas Lermytte, Zoé Devise
Running Time: 8 Minutes
Two polar bears are driven into exile due to global warming. Along their journey they will encounter brown bears, with whom they will try to cohabitate. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Miracle Fishing: Kidnapped Abroad
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Miles Hargrove
Running Time: 107 Minutes
When Tom Hargrove was running late for work one morning, he chose to take the scenic route to avoid heavy city traffic in Cali, Colombia, where he worked as an agricultural scientist. After Tom was kidnapped by the FARC (Revolutionary... {more}
United States
Directed By: Ciani Rey Walker
Running Time: 18 Minutes
When they learn their friend has kidnapped a cop on the night of MLK Jr.’s assassination, two sisters and leaders of the Black Panther Party must set aside their differences to navigate one of the most turbulent nights in history. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED KINGDOM, BELGIUM
Directed By: Sam Hobkinson
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Misha Defonseca’s story of surviving the Holocaust is remarkable. As a young Jewish girl, Misha was taken in by a Catholic family after her mother and father were deported by the Nazis. In a desperate attempt to find her parents,... {more}
Germany, Bulgaria
Directed By: Milen Vitanov
Running Time: 8 Minutes
The lives of four Arctic hares take a turn after discovering a strange new creature. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Lisa Molomot, Jeff Bemiss
Running Time: 81 Minutes
Over the last decade, thousands have gone missing in Brooks County, Texas, just north of the Mexican border. In an attempt to circumvent the state’s busiest immigration checkpoint, countless migrants have ventured into the vast ranch lands that surround the... {more}
United Kingdom
Directed By: Alistair Petrie
Running Time: 15 Minutes
Six new teachers at a venerated English boarding school in the 1960s are drawn into a moral crisis regarding upsetting charges against their Headmaster’s son. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Bassam Tariq
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Zed has worked his entire life to make it as a rapper. And he’s made quite a name for himself in New York, rapping about his British-Pakistani upbringing. But for someone who’s created an artistic image around his cultural identity,... {more}
United States
Directed By: David Telles
Running Time: 6 Minutes
Ausee and his best friend Skeeter earn a living dancing on the BART train. An encounter with a hot-headed commuter named Suzy threatens their livelihood and chaos ensues. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
The Most Beautiful Boy in the World
SWEDEN
Directed By: Kristina Lindström, Kristian Petri
Running Time: 94 Minutes
For years, famed director Luchino Visconti traveled the world in search of the perfect boy to play the lead in his acclaimed 1971 film, “Death in Venice.” When Visconti met Björn Andrésen in Stockholm, his exhaustive search finally ended. At... {more}
Mrs. Taylor's Show and Tell - A Prince Story
United States
Directed By: Victor Dean
Running Time: 6 Minutes
This animated short tells the tale of a chance encounter-turned-serendipitous elevator ride with The Purple One. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
My Heart Can't Beat Unless You Tell It To
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Jonathan Cuartas
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Despite its focus on a fiercely protective and close-knit family, an aura of supreme loneliness lingers across every scene in Jonathan Cuartas’ austere debut. Adult siblings Dwight and Jessie dedicate all their time to caring for their frail, ailing younger... {more}
France
Directed By: Nathaniel H'Limi, Clémence Madeleine-Perdrillat
Running Time: 29 Minutes
Violette is an eight-year-old Parisian girl who is passionate about ancient Egypt, chocolate mousse, and her best friend Malcolm. One evening in November, Violette loses her parents and must go live with her uncle...in the Palace of Versailles. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Megan Rossman
Running Time: 7 Minutes
This short documentary shares wisdom from the renowned poet as she celebrates her 100th year. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
COLOMBIA, MEXICO
Directed By: Mauricio Leiva Cock
Running Time: 70 Minutes
It’s 2008 in Bogota, and Iron Maiden is about to play a show in the city for the first time, much to the delight of the surprisingly large Colombian metal scene. Dedicated metalheads Vargas and Chuki have waited three long... {more}
CANADA
Directed By: Aisling Chin-Yee, Chase Joynt
Running Time: 84 Minutes
When American jazz musician Billy Tipton passed away in 1989, the tabloids didn’t explode with stories about his time as a multi-instrumentalist on the club circuit or the two records his self-titled trio cut in the 1950s. Instead the tabloids... {more}
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Nicholas Bruckman
Running Time: 96 Minutes
In 2016 Ady Barkan was on top of the world. Passionate about his work as a political organizer, happily married to his college sweetheart, and raising a beautiful little boy, Ady had it all. And then he noticed a strange... {more}
France
Directed By: Otalia Caussé, Geoffroy Collin, Louise Grardel, Antoine Marchand, Robin Merle, Fabien Meyran
Running Time: 5 Minutes
In Lisbon, a German married couple is about to get aboard the legendary n°28 tramway, but their ride is about to become a much bigger adventure than expected. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
France
Directed By: Thomas Boileau, François Briantais, Robin Courtoise, Alan Guimont, Malcolm Hunt, Mathieu Lecroq
Running Time: 6 Minutes
A one-eyed pirate captain keeps recruiting new crews of one-eyed pirates in his relentless journey to finally bring home the treasure. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Comedy Shorts Program 3
Family Shorts Program 3
Shorts Program 11
United States
Directed By: Jen McGowan
Running Time: 14 Minutes
On his morning bike ride, Scott grapples with the memories of a trauma he experienced with his husband Todd. When his route takes an unexpected turn, Scott finds himself on the doorstep of a stranger intimately connected to a past... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Spain
Directed By: Nacho Garvía, Jorge Moratal
Running Time: 3 Minutes
Space exploration is a big leap into the unknown. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
SWITZERLAND
Directed By: Micha Lewinsky
Running Time: 98 Minutes
It’s Zurich 1989, and a mild-mannered police detective, Viktor Schuler, is sent undercover to suss out the potentially dangerous “radical” politics of a leftist theater group as they mount a production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Undergoing a complete head-to-toe makeover,... {more}
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Travis Pollert, Jacob Kostelli
Running Time: 59 Minutes
In the developing country of Haiti, Dr. Jeff Kempf of Akron Children's Hospital and a team of international doctors revolutionized pediatric cardiac care at St. Damien Pediatric Hospital with the support of charitable partners focused on sustainability and empowerment. Nearly... {more}
United States
Directed By: Arman Taheri
Running Time: 23 Minutes
In post-COVID era Shaker Heights, Ohio, four students go to a eighth grade reunion. But all is not what it seems as they find out the true purpose of the gathering. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Jennifer Tiexiera, Michael Seligman
Running Time: 100 Minutes
In 2014 a box of forgotten letters was discovered in a storage unit in Los Angeles. Preserved in secret, these letters captured the correspondence of New York City drag queens, or “female impersonators”, from the 1950s and 1960s—back when this... {more}
USA and China
Directed By: Shaofu Zhang
Running Time: 7 Minutes
Based on the ancient Chinese creation myth, Pangu is a modern tale about parenthood and the differences between generations. Pangu creates a rigid world of straight and square shapes, but there’s just one problem: his son sees the world as... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Antonio Harper, Abby Burton
Running Time: 10 Minutes
Awakened to muffled voices and piercing light, a panic stricken couple crawl into the New Year. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Pakistan
Directed By: Ameena Ayub
Running Time: 26 Minutes
Pakistan’s treatment of its transgender community, often referred to as Khwaja Siras, is nothing short of paradoxical. Some view them to posses almost mystical-like qualities, so they are seen at weddings and celebrations, wishing good fortune upon the people. By... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Cyprus
Directed By: Michalis Kalopaidis
Running Time: 6 Minutes
Inspired by a true story, this film works as an artistic interpretation of a woman who choses to live on the streets with her parrots, because she is afraid of dying alone in her home. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
DENMARK
Directed By: Malou Reymann
Running Time: 97 Minutes
Director Malou Reymann taps into her own upbringing in A PERFECTLY NORMAL FAMILY—a gentle and sincere debut feature. In early 2000s Denmark, 11-year-old Emma spends most of her time thinking about and playing soccer like the self-proclaimed tomboy she is.... {more}
United States
Directed By: Tania Taiwo
Running Time: 5 Minutes
The story of a quirky, Black pharmacist drowning in student loan debt, who rebels against the system and becomes the drug dealer pharmacy school never taught her. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: The Bragg Brothers
Running Time: 12 Minutes
When a desperate father discovers his daughter’s favorite cake decoration is illegal, he descends into a confectionery black market. Now he must make the ultimate parenting choice: break a birthday promise or break the law. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Julia Max
Running Time: 15 Minutes
A struggling young starlet uncovers a deadly secret, which may be the key to the fame and fortune she so desperately craves. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
BRAZIL
Directed By: Iuli Gerbase
Running Time: 103 Minutes
One day, the pink clouds arrived. No one knew where they came from or why, but they were quickly found to be toxic, resulting in death after only ten seconds of exposure. Like nebulous cotton candy, they drifted with questionable... {more}
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Karla Murthy
Running Time: 70 Minutes
Youngstown, Ohio was once a bustling manufacturing city, but the community faced rapid industrial decline after the collapse of the steel industry in the 1970s. Residents abandoned the city in masses, leaving a community riddled with vacant homes, unemployment, drugs,... {more}
Russia
Directed By: Eteri Nioradze
Running Time: 11 Minutes
Nadia is a nail artist who is obsessed with cleanliness and tidiness. She tries to maintain a “perfect” world around herself, but one day new client Kristina comes to her beauty salon and messes up everything. The chaos helps both... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Charissa Sanjarernsuithikul
Running Time: 17 Minutes
A notorious hitman sentenced to life in prison for his brutal crimes faces the ultimate justice. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Preparations to Be Together For an Unknown Period of Time
HUNGARY
Directed By: Lili Horvát
Running Time: 95 Minutes
PREPARATIONS TO BE TOGETHER FOR AN UNKNOWN PERIOD OF TIME is a beguiling exploration of love and obsession that shimmers like a mysterious dream just out of reach. Set in Hungary, the film follows Marta, a successful neurosurgeon who leaves... {more}
United States
Directed By: Amina Sutton, Maya Tanaka
Running Time: 7 Minutes
An aspiring artist discusses the challenges of finding affordable housing in a new city and the compromises she has to make with her spooky new roommates. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Cai Thomas
Running Time: 20 Minutes
Queenie—a 73-year-young Black lesbian and resident of the Marcy Projects—navigates applying for Stonewall Houses, NYC’s first LGBTQ elder affordable housing development. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: C. Hubert Calhoun III
Running Time: 21 Minutes
A girl who is denied entrance into a prestigious arts academy succeeds her brother in a new way of life. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Julian Doan
Running Time: 7 Minutes
Undertakers wait on a family's final farewells as one son struggles to say goodbye to his dead father. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Pedro Kos
Running Time: 103 Minutes
REBEL HEARTS profiles the pioneering nuns of The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary who challenged the Catholic patriarchy to advocate for themselves and the community they served. Set in 1960s Los Angeles, shortly after the Catholic Church's shocking... {more}
United States
Directed By: T.C. Johnstone
Running Time: 34 Minutes
A group of young pilots attempt to carry on the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen while struggling to overcome racism and prejudice in today's world. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Israel
Directed By: Shirel Paz
Running Time: 16 Minutes
Roy is suffering from a social phobia that makes it difficult for him to engage with people, especially girls. One day he meets a mannequin in a shop window who changes his life. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
SPAIN, UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Alba Sotorra Clua
Running Time: 90 Minutes
After the last ISIS holdout was defeated in Syria, thousands of surrendered ISIS women and children remained. Western governments refused to repatriate them, leaving the local administration to decide the fate of the over 50,000 abandoned people. The world has... {more}
United States
Directed By: Barret Bowman
Running Time: 4 Minutes
A parody of "The Ring" trailer, in which Rachel is haunted by her ring light. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Mariem Pérez Riera
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Rita Moreno, an EGOT-winner with 70 years in the entertainment industry, has become a revolutionary icon for women and the Latinx community. But she had to overcome rampant racism and sexism during her arduous rise to stardom. In her early... {more}
GERMANY
Directed By: Marcus Lenz
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Following the death of his grandmother, nine-year-old Roman leaves the Ukraine to join his mother Oksana in Germany, where she works illegally as an in-home nurse. Thrilled to be reunited, the boy soon realizes he’ll have to share Oksana with... {more}
United States
Directed By: Bill Wisneski
Running Time: 25 Minutes
Pulitzer prize-winning photojournalist Don Bartletti shares heart wrenching stories from his 40-year career documenting history as it unfolds. Internationally recognized for his commitment to photographing the migration of Central Americans to the United States, Bartletti’s images reveal the never-ending saga... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Monique Sorgen
Running Time: 6 Minutes
A drug deal goes wrong when the dealers find out they have a live baby instead of cocaine, and one of them refuses to give it back. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
SLOVENIA, ITALY
Directed By: Miroslav Mandić
Running Time: 85 Minutes
At times the idyllic Slovenian landscape in Miroslav Mandi?’s SANREMO sings with vivid color. But more often than not, shots of the countryside are obscured with haze. Reflecting the cloudy mental state of Bruno, a kind nursing home resident suffering... {more}
France
Directed By: Loïc Gaillard
Running Time: 20 Minutes
Bonifacio 1883: extreme south of Corsica. The widow of the late Saverini lives in an isolated house near the cliffs with her only son Antoine and her dog. During the day she assists women giving birth in town. One night... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Say HIs Name: Five Days for George Floyd
United States
Directed By: Cy Dodson
Running Time: 20 Minutes
The incomprehensible police murder of George Floyd on May 25th, 2020 sparked a global uprising in the epicenter of director Cy Dodson's Minneapolis neighborhood. Dodson captures an immersive observation of unrest and a community that united amidst the chaos. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United Kingdom
Directed By: James Morgan
Running Time: 17 Minutes
Jurassic Coast, 1812. When a young fossil hunter finds something truly remarkable in the Jurassic cliffs of Dorset, she finds herself locked in an ideological battle of wits with a devious auctioneer and the soon-to-crumble worldviews of 19th century... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Germany
Directed By: Nele Dehnenkamp
Running Time: 16 Minutes
Hanan accompanies her brother to classes in the public pool. The first swimming badge is called Seahorse because it doesn’t drown their instructor explains. When Hanan came to Europe in a rubber dinghy, she couldn’t swim, and to overcome this... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Hungary
Directed By: Gábor Holtai
Running Time: 18 Minutes
In a world where childbirth is state-regulated, a couple applies for a license to have a child. They pass the first round of the process, but have no idea what awaits them in the second round. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
China
Directed By: Qiying Lin
Running Time: 12 Minutes
A boy realizes for the first time his inability to protect his migrant kid friend. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Lance Edmands
Running Time: 18 Minutes
A lyrical portrait of an excommunicated Amish woodworker struggling with spirituality, poverty, and life as an outcast from his strict, insular community. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
NORWAY
Directed By: Katja Høgset, Espen Wallin, Margreth Olin
Running Time: 80 Minutes
At 28-years-old, Lene Marie Fossen has never gone through puberty. Her severe anorexia has prevented her fragile body from fully developing, and her skeletal frame struggles to support itself through even the most mundane of tasks. Fossen is dying. The... {more}
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Alex Liu
Running Time: 81 Minutes
Let’s talk about sex. Are you uncomfortable? Maybe that’s because most Americans have been brought up in a culture where sex is seen as a sinful and shameful act we do in the shadows. Additionally, because 49 out of 50... {more}
Spain
Directed By: Silvia Conesa
Running Time: 11 Minutes
It's 2065 and Charly seeks respite from the chaos in an old holographic booth that unexpectedly features a new host model. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Shorts Audience Choice Awards Program
International
These shorts awards each come with a $1,000 cash prize and are determined by audience vote, so make sure to vote using the star rating system on the CIFF virtual cinema platform. Winners will be announced during our virtual Closing... {more}
International
Three jurors select winners of the Best Animated, Best Documentary, and Best Live Action categories. Winners of these awards will qualify for consideration in the Short Films categories of the annual Academy Awards®. The Programmers’ Choice Award is determined by... {more}
SHOT DOWN: Howard Snyder and the B-17 Susan Ruth
United States
Directed By: Michael Mazur
Running Time: 13 Minutes
This documentary short is based on the awarding-winning book SHOT DOWN: The true story of pilot Howard Snyder and the crew of the B-17 Susan Ruth written by Steve Snyder. Steve's father Howard evaded capture for seven months after being... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Tom J Stern
Running Time: 6 Minutes
A lighthearted documentary about an amazing architectural house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright protégé, John Lautner. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Charles Moore
Running Time: 16 Minutes
Elder care nurse Nevaeh struggles emotionally when one of her long-term female patients, Helen, no longer has the financial ability to pay the costs associated with the care facility where Nevaeh works. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Sisters: The Summer We Found Our Superpowers
NORWAY
Directed By: Silje Salomonsen, Arild Østin Ommundsen
Running Time: 77 Minutes
When nine-year-old Vega and five-year-old Billie embark on an overnight hiking trip with their dad, the sisters get a bit more adventure than they signed up for. After their father falls into a pit beneath some large rocks, Vega and... {more}
United States
Directed By: Van Maximilian Carlson
Running Time: 17 Minutes
A mobile hairstylist struggling to launch her hair brand lands a star client who delivers a surprise. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Justin Fair
Running Time: 15 Minutes
An anonymous, anarchic graffiti artist unexpectedly falls in love with a fan, but can’t be with her until he reveals his true identity. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Kaitlyn Schwalje, Alex Wolf Lewis
Running Time: 13 Minutes
Snowy, a four-inch-long pet turtle, has lived an isolated life in the family basement for the past ten+ years, with minimal sunlight and no companionship other than that of his primary caretaker, Uncle Larry. In an effort to improve Snowy's... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Daniel Hymanson
Running Time: 71 Minutes
Jackie and Don Seiden, two lifelong artists from Chicago who have been married for five decades, are getting older. Jackie, who once flourished as an eccentric children’s art teacher and power-dance roller-skater, was known for her peculiar appreciation of deteriorating... {more}
ICELAND
Directed By: Anna Hildur
Running Time: 90 Minutes
In 2019 the Icelandic anti-capitalist and BDSM techno group Hatari (meaning “Hater”) won the honor of representing their home country at that year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv. As pro-Palestinian artists who had just been handed a global platform... {more}
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Alex Noyer
Running Time: 94 Minutes
Synesthesia can manifest itself in a variety of ways. For the music obsessed Alexis, very specific sounds can cause blinding bursts of colors and a sense of euphoria unlike anything she’s ever felt. Although the condition was triggered by her... {more}
France
Directed By: Luce Grosjean, Ismaïl BERRAHMA, Flore DUPONT, Laurie ESTAMPES, Quentin NORY, Hugo POTIN
Running Time: 7 Minutes
On a lake, a heron is fishing while winter arrives. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
BELGIUM
Directed By: Olivier Pairoux
Running Time: 97 Minutes
Eleven-year-old Jim’s fascination with all things outer space borders on obsession. But with a cool astrophysicist dad who’s scheduled to travel into space, how can you blame him? After moving to a brand new city and enrolling in a brand... {more}
United States
Directed By: Keenan Wetzel
Running Time: 33 Minutes
The story of East Liverpool, Ohio and how it went from a shining, exemplary American town to the center of the opioid epidemic. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Jeremy Dubin, Ryan Lewis
Running Time: 2 Minutes
Jimmy spends almost every night in his Palace of Isolation, studying his favorite superheroes. But tonight is different. He may have just cracked the storyline for the next big budget blockbuster. Probably not, but you never know. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Joe Cook, Aubrey Keith
Running Time: 7 Minutes
An Ohio woman's COVID story is revealed. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Patrick Cannon
Running Time: 3 Minutes
Two landscapers daydream about a different set of circumstances. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Carlos López Estrada
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Like his energetic and impactful debut, “Blindspotting,” Carlos López Estrada’s sophomore feature SUMMERTIME is a love song to the West Coast that blends poetry and hip-hop with themes of home and belonging. Taking place over one summer day in bustling... {more}
IRAN
Directed By: Majid Majidi
Running Time: 99 Minutes
SUN CHILDREN tells the story of four child laborers led by the voracious and driven Ali. This 12-year-old and his friends commit petty crimes and work menial jobs to survive. When a criminal leader recruits Ali to retrieve underground treasure,... {more}
United States
Directed By: Juan Gil
Running Time: 6 Minutes
A struggling single mother yearns for stability and purpose. Caught in a moment of peril, she must unleash her inner hero and get home safely to her son. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Luxembourg, USA, Germany
Directed By: Émile V. Schlesser
Running Time: 13 Minutes
A young man with Down syndrome takes on the identity of a superhero in order to muster the courage to profess his love to a childhood friend. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Erin Vassilopolous
Running Time: 99 Minutes
For twins, Marian and Vivian couldn’t be more different. Marian is a free-spirited musician with a complicated past, and Vivian is a strait-laced housewife who seemingly has it all together. Needless to say, these two don’t exactly mesh. After years... {more}
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Todd Stephens
Running Time: 105 Minutes
Returning to CIFF after more than two decades, queer cinema pioneer Todd Stephens completes his “Ohio Trilogy” with the bittersweet SWAN SONG. While his previous films—EDGE OF SEVENTEEN and GYPSY 83—followed young outcasts coming into adulthood, this final installment is... {more}
AUSTRALIA
Directed By: Justin McMillan
Running Time: 101 Minutes
Rocked by a tragic accident, a remote Aussie community hides its trauma deep within towering fields of sugarcane. From the moment Hanna—an obvious outsider—comes to town, she gets the feeling she’s unwelcome. But her quest is one of a grieving... {more}
United States
Directed By: Anthony Sneed
Running Time: 6 Minutes
A delinquent teenage boy learns a valuable lesson about growing up. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Comedy Shorts Program 1
FilmSlam Streams Cultural Cinema
Shorts Program 11
GREECE, BELGIUM, GERMANY
Directed By: Sonia Liza Kenterman
Running Time: 100 Minutes
Shirt pressed, cufflinks fastened, and not a stray thread to be found. Nikos meticulously prepares for a busy day in his elderly father’s tailor shop that nobody visits. Times are changing in Athens, and the demand for expensive Italian suits... {more}
Denmark
Directed By: Magnus Igland Møller, Mette Tange, Peter Smith
Running Time: 7 Minutes
God is a single parent and amateur programmer. He’s working on Project Earth but never seems to get a respite from the kids. One day though, he finally has a breakthrough. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United Kingdom
Directed By: Ben S. Hyland
Running Time: 9 Minutes
Pauline and Barry are a seemingly happily-married, middle-aged couple. That is until Pauline tunes into relationship hour on Talk Radio and thinks she recognizes the nameless voice that’s relaying a lifetime of regrets live on the radio. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Samantha Knowles
Running Time: 20 Minutes
This film follows Attica Scott, the only Black woman in the Kentucky Legislature, as she fights to dismantle a system of discrimination against Black people penalized for something seemingly innocuous—their hair. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Gabriel Gaurano
Running Time: 28 Minutes
Born and raised in the Watts projects of Los Angeles, 12-year-old Mexican-American boxer Meryland Gonzalez fights in-and-out of the ring for her dream to be crowned the 2019 Junior Olympics champion. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
GERMANY, CZECHIA, IRAN
Directed By: Mohammad Rasoulof
Running Time: 150 Minutes
For Iranian men, military service is mandatory. They can’t get a passport or a job, or start a dignified life in Iran, without having served. And while some of these compulsory tasks in the military are mundane… others will haunt... {more}
ITALY
Directed By: Mauro Mancini
Running Time: 96 Minutes
On a day like any other in Northern Italy, Simone finds himself, as he often does, kayaking down a beautiful river and taking in the quiet evening. Then suddenly Simone’s tranquility is interrupted by the sound of a car crash.... {more}
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Loira Limbal
Running Time: 72 Minutes
Nunu and Patrick are a godsend to parents working odd hours, long days, and multiple jobs. The couple owns and operates Dee's Tots Childcare, one of the few 24-hour daycares in their New York community. Nunu and Patrick care for... {more}
USA/Denmark
Directed By: Dylan Bruno
Running Time: 8 Minutes
Waking up to find his wife missing, Johnny is forced—by an awkward and irritable mob boss of unknown nationality—into a twistedly violent but comedic gauntlet of tasks he must complete to win her back. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Kelly Riot
Running Time: 24 Minutes
Quentin Shaw, a quirky 11-year-old half-Asian boy, is still grieving from the death of his mother. He struggles with his racial identity and finding a place to fit in. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Family Shorts Program 3
FilmSlam Streams Cultural Cinema "Light"
United States
Directed By: Asha Flowers
Running Time: 6 Minutes
After killing his wife, a man learns he will be haunted by her extremely angry and unforgiving ghost for the rest of his life. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Taylor Meacham
Running Time: 7 Minutes
A sprightly elderly man brightens the day of a little girl through magic. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Nikole Beckwith
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Matt, a successful app developer in his 40s, is beyond ready to start a family. But life hasn’t gone the way he thought it would. Single and without any romantic prospects, Matt (Ed Helms) makes the unconventional decision to hire... {more}
Norway, Sweden
Directed By: Yaprak Morali, Are Austnes
Running Time: 9 Minutes
A hungry fox hunts for food on a cold winter night. On the edge of the forest he discovers a small farm. He sneaks closer to steal a snack, unaware of the Tomten who guards the farm. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Philip Sansom, Inigo Gilmore
Running Time: 82 Minutes
Around the slums of Katwe, Uganda some unlikely sounds fill the air: those of tubas, trumpets, trombones, and brass drum sets. This is all thanks to Brass for Africa, a UK based nonprofit (98% African-led) that brings brass music to... {more}
FINLAND
Directed By: Zaida Bergroth
Running Time: 100 Minutes
All her life, Tove Jansson wanted to be known for her paintings. Raised in a family of artists, Jansson was always pushed to pursue fine art by her father, a renowned sculptor. But while she studied, painted, and exhibited her... {more}
SYRIA, FRANCE, SWITZERLAND, BELGIUM, QATAR
Directed By: Rana Kazkaz, Anas Khalaf
Running Time: 105 Minutes
Sami Najjar serves as an Arabic-English translator for the Syrian Olympic team at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. However, a slip of the tongue when translating is seen as a slight to the new Syrian president. Sami is... {more}
Canada
Directed By: Brian McWha
Running Time: 9 Minutes
Thomas wakes up to discover his end is near and must come to terms with the life he has and hasn't lived. (English CC available) {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Egypt
Directed By: Mohamed Kheidr
Running Time: 26 Minutes
After her husband abandoned her and illegally fled the country, Walaa’s only way to secure income for her family was by driving a tuk tuk in a male-dominated environment where women struggle. At the risk of being ridiculed, harassed, and... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Andrea Love, Phoebe Wahl
Running Time: 9 Minutes
This stop-motion animated short film is a fresh and woolly take on the classic Hans Christian Andersen fairytale Thumbelina. Follow Tulip, a tiny child born from a flower, on her adventures as she explores the garden outside her home in... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Dana White (she, her), Christopher Knoblock (he, him)
Running Time: 14 Minutes
Based on a true story, this film is about the final hours of 75-year-old Clara, whose nurse Val must break the news to her daughter Violet that her feet are turning blue—a sign she is transitioning towards death. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
AUSTRALIA
Directed By: Poppy van Oorde-Grainger
Running Time: 7 Minutes
As Garang struggles on his first day at high school in Australia, memories are triggered of being lost in South Sudan. When past and present collide, Garang must find a way to bridge the gap between where he is and... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Ashley O'Shay
Running Time: 86 Minutes
Janaé and Bella are Black female activists fighting for transformative justice, responsible policing, and legal reform in Chicago, Illinois. Frustrated that Black women are frequently excluded from leadership in mainstream movements, they unapologetically advocate for racial justice through a Black,... {more}
JAPAN
Directed By: Miwa Nishikawa
Running Time: 126 Minutes
UNDER THE OPEN SKY is a remarkable vehicle for the prolific Kōji Yakusho, whose decades-long career spans “Tampopo,” “Shall We Dance,” “Babel,” and more. The versatile actor wears his heart on his sleeve as Mikami, a former Yakuza recently released... {more}
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Chino Moya
Running Time: 91 Minutes
“I am awake, and I don’t like what I see.” This sentiment is felt by all the characters living in the utterly grey world of Chino Moya’s thoughtfully constructed debut. An anthology film set against the brutalist landscape of a... {more}
United States
Directed By: Candice Carella
Running Time: 14 Minutes
When Elise hits rock bottom, her mentor Marlon suggests she connect with Jonah, a teenaged boy battling severe depression. What begins as a forced conversation turns into a genuine, even life-saving, connection as Jonah and Elise turn out to be... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
India, USA
Directed By: Urvashi Pathania
Running Time: 17 Minutes
A tragicomedy about the lies we tell the ones we love. When Priyanka, an iconoclastic American, goes back to India to immerse her mother's ashes, she discovers her funny family has kept a serious secret. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Spain
Directed By: DANIEL TOLEDO
Running Time: 8 Minutes
This is the story of a first meeting and, at the same time, a reunion. It's the story of the moment when Ana sees Clara for the first time. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Dagmawi Abebe, Victor Alonso-Berbel, Roy Arwas, Hannah Bang, Christopher Beaton, Agazi Desta, Tiffany Kontoyiannis Guillen, Zoe Salnave, Ernesto Sandoval, Sabina Vajraca
Running Time: 108 Minutes
It’s October 1935. America is in the midst of The Great Depression, and millions of unemployed are struggling to survive. Still, Harlem’s Lafayette Theater continues operations and is the most active Negro Theater unit of the Federal Theater Project, a... {more}
India
Directed By: Upamanyu Bhattacharyya, Kalp Sanghvi
Running Time: 11 Minutes
In a version of Kolkata, India rendered unlivable by the rising sea level, things take a dark turn when a family of climate change refugees are ambushed by a tiger on the flooded streets. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Carlyn Hudson
Running Time: 10 Minutes
Kerry is at a sleepover with the socially awkward, mysteriously orphaned heiress Katie. Friendship—in a society that grows ever isolating—is explored as Kerry learns the hard way that Katie always gets what she wants. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Spain
Directed By: Ibon Hernando
Running Time: 10 Minutes
María is in love with her neighbor Susana. She wants to make her fall in love, but she only meets her on the landing where they tend the laundry. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Canada
Directed By: James Burns
Running Time: 14 Minutes
This documentary traces the roots, passion, and perseverance of young Autumn Peltier, an Anishinaabe-kwe from Wikwemikoong First Nation (Manitoulin Island, Ontario) and influential figure in the indigenous and global youth-led environmental movement. Follow her story as she prepares to speak... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
We Are Free Because of Harriet Tubman
United States
Directed By: Nadine M. Patterson
Running Time: 5 Minutes
This lyrical documentary is a meditation on resistance, nature, and history. Professor Sonia Sanchez’s words speak to us today as many in America struggle to find their own liberation. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Miranda Winters, Rocky Romano
Running Time: 9 Minutes
After the killing of George Floyd, a queer black woman in Los Angeles is determined to capture the spirit of a mass social movement, so she hits the streets, camera in hand. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Ian Cook
Running Time: 13 Minutes
This film documents a southern Ohio story of partnership and creative problem-solving that helped a hospital tackle its PPE shortage. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Dia Sokol Savage
Running Time: 21 Minutes
Sarah Jackson, with the help of a volunteer team, picks up legally released ICE facility detainees on the streets of Denver, Colorado, and invites them into her home, providing them with shelter and clothing while helping them reunite with their... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
TURKEY
Directed By: Nisan Dag
Running Time: 97 Minutes
Over the last few years, a dangerous drug has emerged on the streets of Istanbul called bonzai. A cheap, synthetic, addictive replacement for marijuana, bonzai is responsible for the most drug-related deaths in Turkey and has ruined countless lives. One... {more}
United States
Directed By: Emily Schuman
Running Time: 15 Minutes
Michael was a ballet prodigy with a stellar career ahead of him. He transformed into a Russian ballet instructor named Madame Olga as a way to both embrace himself as an artist and reconcile with the trauma from his past. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Israel
Directed By: Tomer Shushan
Running Time: 20 Minutes
A man, who finds his stolen bicycle now belongs to a stranger, attempts to retrieve the bicycle but struggles to remain human. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Maddie Stambler
Running Time: 16 Minutes
As Reverend Darrien Fann—a young African American man with cerebral palsy—enters adulthood, he questions what independence means to him and how our society views people with disabilities. And he reflects on the obstacles he has had to overcome to fulfill... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FilmSlam Streams Cultural Cinema
Local Heroes Shorts Program 2
IRELAND, UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Cathy Brady
Running Time: 85 Minutes
Bursting into the film like a fireball, Kelly returns to her native Irish town—a wild vagabond, soiled and desperate, clearly having lived in a state of complete oblivion. By all accounts, she’s been missing for an entire year. And when... {more}
United States
Directed By: Yibing Jiang
Running Time: 9 Minutes
A father plays a windup music box for his unconscious daughter hoping music will keep them connected and help her find a way back. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Family Shorts Program 2
FilmSlam Streams Animated Cinema
Shorts Program 6
SPAIN
Directed By: Álvaro Díaz Lorenzo
Running Time: 101 Minutes
Something doesn’t feel right. Eva reluctantly asks her best friend Mar to confirm her worst fear: a lump in her right breast. Her mother deceased and her father absent, Eva’s only real family is Mar, who vows to be at... {more}
United States
Directed By: Christina Diamantara
Running Time: 21 Minutes
A young witch's dream of making the best potion in her class takes her to the mysterious world of human males, in search of a powerful ingredient: Big Dick Energy. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Azerbaijan
Directed By: Tahmina Rafaella
Running Time: 13 Minutes
A young, modern mother in Azerbaijan demonstrates the skills needed to tackle the challenges of being a mother, daughter, and wife while still being herself. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Lissette Feliciano
Running Time: 85 Minutes
In 1960s San Francisco, Celina Guerrera is a bright and talented high school student with a promising future. But an unplanned pregnancy dramatically alters her chartered course. After witnessing her best friend die from a botched abortion, she decides to... {more}
Jordan, Qatar
Directed By: Obada Jarbi
Running Time: 17 Minutes
Um Mohamed is a proud mother of three and wife to a polio survivor. Her husband's disability makes him incapable of joining the work force. As a result, Um Mohamed roams the streets of Irbid collecting scrap metal and recyclables... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
INDIA
Directed By: Rintu Thomas, Sushmit Ghosh
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Within India’s caste system, most people are divided into four hierarchical categories: priests, warriors, traders, and labourers. But the “untouchables” or Dalits are considered so impure they are excluded from the caste system entirely. For thousands of years Dalits, and... {more}
Yellow Brick Road: The José Rodríguez Story
United States
Directed By: Todd Kapostasy
Running Time: 29 Minutes
José Rodríguez is a current PGA Tour golfer who had a miraculous and equally turbulent border-crossing experience as an undocumented Mexican immigrant in the mid-1990s. This film chronicles José's astounding personal journey, revealing an American Dream that's not always the... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Yes I Am - The Ric Weiland Story
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Aaron Bear
Running Time: 62 Minutes
As one of the first employees of Microsoft, Ric Weiland’s programming skills and brilliant mind contributed to the foundation of revolutionary technology that changed our world forever. Juxtaposed to his quiet, reserved nature in the workplace was his colorful, unabashed... {more}
You and the Thing That You Love
United States
Directed By: Nicholas Maher
Running Time: 12 Minutes
A teenage Midwest skate punk on the verge of going pro has a freak accident and wakes up blind. This is a story of pain, grit, fight, uncertainty, fear, desperation, and most importantly—love. Shot by two strangers on weekends across... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
United States
Directed By: Caroline Lindy
Running Time: 16 Minutes
Nothing is going right for Laura. Sick and brokenhearted, she moves back home and discovers the terrifying monster, who inhabited her closet as a kid, is still alive and well—and wants to talk about life. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED STATES
Directed By: Christi Cooper
Running Time: 110 Minutes
YOUTH V GOV follows the journey of 21 audacious young people suing the U.S. Government for its continued lack of action in response to the existential threat of climate change. Since 2015 the plaintiffs—now ages 13-24—have argued in an unprecedented... {more}
United Kingdom
Directed By: Sean Mullen
Running Time: 26 Minutes
Pearl and Gadabout are now a flying doctor trio caring for creatures, including a mermaid, a unicorn, and a sneezy lion. However, when bad weather forces them to land at the palace, Pearl is locked up by her uncle, the... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Estonia
Directed By: Auden Lincoln-Vogel
Running Time: 21 Minutes
An alien comes to Earth in hopes of starring in a sci-fi blockbuster. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs: