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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
March 25, 2020 sponsored by
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March 31, 2020 sponsored by
April 01, 2020 sponsored by
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April 15, 2020 sponsored by
September 24, 2020 sponsored by
October 07, 2020 sponsored by
After Hours Shorts Program 1
After Hours Shorts Program 2
After Hours Shorts Program 3
After Hours Shorts Program 4
Animation Program
Comedy Shorts Program 1
Comedy Shorts Program 2
Comedy Shorts Program 3
Family Shorts Program 1
Family Shorts Program 2
Family Shorts Program 3
FilmSlam® African Diaspora Shorts Program
FilmSlam® Arabic Shorts Program
FilmSlam® Chinese Shorts Program
FilmSlam® French Shorts Program
FilmSlam® German Shorts Program
FilmSlam® International Shorts Program
FilmSlam® Russian Shorts Program
FilmSlam® Spanish Shorts Program
Focus 2020: Racial Equity Shorts Program
Halfway Comedy Shorts Program
Halfway Jury Shorts Program 1
Halfway Jury Shorts Program 2
Local Heroes Shorts Program 1
Local Heroes Shorts Program 2
Local Heroes Shorts Program 3
Outlook Shorts Program 1
Outlook Shorts Program 2
Shorts Jury Award Winner Program
Shorts Jury Honorable Mention Program
Shorts Program 1
Shorts Program 2
Shorts Program 3
Shorts Program 4
Shorts Program 5
Shorts Program 6
Shorts Program 7
Shorts Program 8
Shorts Program 9
Shorts Program 10
Shorts Program 11
Shorts Program 12
Shorts Program 13
Shorts Program 14
Shorts Program 15
African Diaspora
These remarkable films feature stories from Africa, made by and about Africans and people of African descent from around the world.
After Hours
Ready for your mind to be blown? Prowl the Festival and feast on these dark, mysterious, thrilling, and bizarre films.
Checks and Balances
These compelling documentaries examine the prevailing threat to democracy around the world.
Cinema en Español
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.
Sidebar Sponsored by:
Family Films
You can take a family trip around the world without leaving the city. These family-friendly films are great for kids and young adults.
Sidebar Sponsored by:
Film Is Art
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.
Jewish & Israeli Visions
These films from—or about—Israel and the Jewish diaspora enlighten with their unique cultural perspective.
Sidebar Sponsored by:
Rochelle and Harley Gross
Outlook
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.
Pan-Asian Cinema
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.
Voices of the Arab World
These films, hailing from many different countries, share the same language and exemplify dynamic cultures that have impacted history while continuing to mold the world's dialogue.
Sidebar Sponsored by:
Dr. Mousab and Mrs. Mary Tabbaa and Family
Women of the World
Once again we are proud to feature this collection of films that celebrate empowered women.
Sidebar Sponsored by:
Ad Hoc Docs Competition
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. 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 Night Ceremony and receive a $7,500 cash prize.
Competition Presented by:
Anne E. BloombergTom and Anita Cook
American Independents Competition
With big dreams and small budgets, these films represent the finest in contemporary American cinema.
Based on audience vote, the winner of this competition will be announced at our Closing Night Ceremony and receive a $7,500 cash prize.
Competition Presented by:
Mike and Nicki Cancelliere
Best Animated Short
sponsored by Reminger Co., L.P.A.
This award winner will quality for consideration in the Shorts Films Animation category of the annual Academy Awards.
Best Documentary Short
sponsored by Jules and Fran Belkin
This award winner will quality for consideration in the Shorts Films Documentary category of the annual Academy Awards.
Best Live Action Short
sponsored by Anne 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.
George Gund III Memorial Central and Eastern European Competition
Thirty 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 18th Central and Eastern European Competition. And, for the eighth 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 Closingn Night Ceremony and receive a $10,000 cash prize.
Competition Presented by:
Jurors:
Ryan Keating-Lambert –
Ryan Keating-Lambert is a screen studies and journalism student from Australia, who's been working as a film journalist and blogger in Prague, Czechia for the last ten years. He primarily writes for his blog, Movie Barf, regularly attends screenings and festivals, and has a fierce passion for European cinema and horror. On top of that, he regularly presents and organizes screenings and debates of foreign films at the new Edison Filmhub in downtown Prague. He also recently published his first short film screenplay in the international literary journal, armorolla, and will start a podcast later this year called Kino Vino, focusing exclusively
on the faces of the Czech film industry.
Dagmar Raduam – Dagmar Raudam was born in Estonia. She worked in The Estonian National Drama Theatre for 17 years as the sound master and project manager. She obtained her bachelor degree in Foreign Relations and worked in The Estonian Foreign Ministry for several years, during which time she was also posted in Georgia, Tbilisi, where she was responsible for cultural affairs. She is the author of several books: bestseller My Georgia (2010), Catwalk (2014), and My New York (2016). She has also been a co-writer for the Estonian TV show, Mägede Varjud (2013), translated an Italian play to Estonian for the theater, and written several screenplays and numerous film reviews to different outlets. Ten years ago she joined Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn, Estonia as a programmer and the head of the film guests department.
Daniel Vadocky –
Daniel Vadocky has a degree in Philosophy from the University of Trnava and in Film Studies from the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. He has lectured on philosophy and aesthetics and has published articles on world cinema, film history, and theory in various magazines and newspapers. He is a Programmer of the short film competitive and non- competitive feature film section, "American Indies," at the Art Film Fest in Slovakia. Daniel worked as Head of Sales at The National Film Archive in Prague and has been a member of international juries in Tallinn, Budapest, Uppsala, and Malmö, among others. Currently, he works
as a Sales and Festival Agent for Negativ Film Productions.
Global Health Competition
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 seventh Global Health Competition.
Based on audience vote, the winner of this competition will be announced at our Closing Night Ceremony and receive a $7,500 cash prize.
Competition Presented by:
Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Competition
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 Night Ceremony and receive a $7,500 cash prize.
Competition Presented by:
International Narrative Competition
The 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 third year of this competition. Based on audience vote, the winner of this competition will be announced at our Closing Night Ceremony and receive a $7,500 cash prize.
Competition Presented by:
Tom Piraino & Barbara McWilliams
International Narrative Films sponsored by:
Local Heroes Competition
Local Heroes is our annual celebration of films made about Ohio, in Ohio, or by Ohioans.
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 Night Ceremony and receive a $7,500 cash prize.
Competition Presented by:
Lauren Rich Fine
Music Movies Competition
At the 30th CIFF we launched our Music Movies Sidebar, which has since grown into a grouping of some of our most popular films each Festival.
For the seventh year in a row, we’re happy to showcase these films as we continue the Music Movies Competition, which is comprised of documentaries and narratives. Based on audience vote, the winner of this competition will be announced at our Closing Night Ceremony and receive a $7,500 cash prize.
Competition Presented by:
Jules and Fran Belkin
Nesnadny + Schwartz Portrait Documentary Competition
The Nesnadny + Schwartz Portrait Documentary Competition is dedicated to the life and work of our longtime board member and friend, Mark Schwartz (1956–2014).
For more than 15 years, N+S has sponsored the CIFF Documentary Competition. Four 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 Night Ceremony and receive a $10,000 cash prize.
Competition Presented by:
Jurors:
Mara Bresnahan – Mara Bresnahan currently serves as the Accessibility Consultant for the Netflix documentary, "Crip Camp," (Sundance 2020 Audience Award) and was the Festival Director for the Boston ReelAbilities Disability Film Festival from 2015-2019. In addition, she is the Artist Programs Manager for Camden International Film Festival and Short Documentary Programmer for the Brooklyn Film Festival. She has served as a documentary feature juror for IFFBoston and was a lead programmer for the 2018 Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. An avid fan and creator of nonfiction storytelling, she is in post-production on the documentary, "Vulterville," and the podcast, The Hardest Thing.
Lela Meadow-Conner – Lela Meadow-Conner was a founder of the Tallgrass Film Festival and served in leadership roles within that organization for 15 years. She has worked as a consultant for the Woods Hole Film Festival and the Bentonville Film Festival for the last three years and has served as the Executive Director of the Film Festival Alliance (FFA), a non-profit networking and professionals organization for film festivals and the people who run them. In 2019 Lela began her own award-winning screening series, mamafilm, that unites nurturers of all kinds, ignites conversation, reflects upon our shared human experience, and supports the work of creators who are also nurturers and caregivers.
Greg Sorvig – Greg Sorvig leads the artistic vision and film programming department for Heartland Film and its Academy Award®-qualifying Indy Shorts International Film Festival and Heartland International Film Festival events in Indianapolis. Greg is also a member of the Tribeca Film Festival shorts screening team and recently served as an Arts Works II 2019 grants panelist for the National Endowment of the Arts.
New Direction Competition
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 CoverMyMeds, we are proud to present our fifth 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 Night Ceremony and receive a $10,000 cash prize.
Competition Presented by:
Jurors:
Dominic Davis – Dominic Davis is the Senior Programmer at Rooftop Films, the country's largest outdoor showcase for independent cinema. Dominic has a degree in mass media studies and political science from the University of Kentucky. In 2011 he took a job with the film office of the Sundance Film Festival, where he discovered film programming as a profession. He has previously programmed films for the American Museum of Natural History and the Tribeca Film Festival, served on grant juries for Catapult Film Fund and Creative Capital, and served on advisory panels and film juries across the globe. When not watching movies, he goes on very long runs.
Lauren Jane Holland – Lauren Jane Holland is an executive in scripted television at Creative Artists Agency. Lauren began her career working on Capitol Hill and subsequently in higher education policy. Concurrently, Lauren started working with BlackStar Film Festival, first managing corporate partnerships and then programming. She was also a programmer for Outfest 2019. She is a fellow of the third annual Industry Academy at Film Society of Lincoln Center. And she is a proud graduate of Howard University.
RJ Millard – RJ Millard has worked in the entertainment industry for over 25 years. He currently runs his own marketing, publicity, and sales agency, Obscured Pictures. Clients include Bleecker Street, Amazon Studios, Focus Features, IMAX, Roadside Attractions, A24, IFC Films, and Broad Green Pictures. He has overseen campaigns for top filmmakers from Steven Soderbergh ("The Laundromat") to Jim Jarmusch ("Dead Don't Die"). And he has run awards campaigns for multiple Academy Award®- nominated films. He previously held top positions at Focus Features, Samuel Goldwyn Films/Roadside Attractions, and the Sundance Film Festival.
ReelWomenDirect Award for Excellence in Directing by a Woman
We are thrilled to once again celebrate female filmmakers at the CIFF.
In an industry historically dominated by men, we are honored to showcase these women–who make up nearly 39% 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 Night Ceremony and receive a $10,000 cash prize.
Competition Presented by:
Deborah Bachman Ratner
The Clover and Maggie Award
sponsored by Barbara Hawley and David Goodman
The Ophelia Award
The Sammy and Jules Award for the Short Film with the Biggest Heart
sponsored by Marcie Goodman
The Spalding and Jackson Award
sponsored by Marcie Goodman and John C. Williams
The Tom and Ginny Knoll Family Award
After Hours Shorts Program 1
Running Time: 95 Minutes
After Hours Shorts Program 2
Running Time: 97 Minutes
After Hours Shorts Program 3
Running Time: 95 Minutes
After Hours Shorts Program 4
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Animation Program
Comedy Shorts Program 1
Comedy Shorts Program 2
Comedy Shorts Program 3
Running Time: 94 Minutes
Family Shorts Program 1
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Family Shorts Program 2
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Family Shorts Program 3
FilmSlam® African Diaspora Shorts Program
Running Time: 77 Minutes
FilmSlam® Arabic Shorts Program
Running Time: 73 Minutes
FilmSlam® Chinese Shorts Program
Running Time: 73 Minutes
FilmSlam® French Shorts Program
Running Time: 74 Minutes
FilmSlam® German Shorts Program
Running Time: 73 Minutes
FilmSlam® International Shorts Program
Running Time: 75 Minutes
FilmSlam® Russian Shorts Program
Running Time: 72 Minutes
FilmSlam® Spanish Shorts Program
Running Time: 77 Minutes
Focus 2020: Racial Equity Shorts Program
Running Time: 91 Minutes
Halfway Comedy Shorts Program
Running Time: 75 Minutes
Halfway Jury Shorts Program 1
Running Time: 71 Minutes
Halfway Jury Shorts Program 2
Running Time: 71 Minutes
Local Heroes Shorts Program 1
Local Heroes Shorts Program 2
Running Time: 97 Minutes
Local Heroes Shorts Program 3
Running Time: 91 Minutes
Outlook Shorts Program 1
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Outlook Shorts Program 2
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Shorts Jury Award Winner Program
Running Time: 142 Minutes
Shorts Jury Honorable Mention Program
Running Time: 84 Minutes
Shorts Program 1
Running Time: 94 Minutes
Shorts Program 2
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Shorts Program 3
Shorts Program 4
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Shorts Program 5
Running Time: 94 Minutes
Shorts Program 6
Running Time: 92 Minutes
Shorts Program 7
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Shorts Program 8
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Shorts Program 9
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Shorts Program 10
Running Time: 94 Minutes
Shorts Program 11
Running Time: 94 Minutes
Shorts Program 12
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Shorts Program 13
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Shorts Program 14
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Shorts Program 15
Running Time: 95 Minutes
USA
Directed By: Emil Gallardo
Running Time: 15 Minutes
A teacher takes heroic steps to protect her students. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Emily Skyle
Running Time: 16 Minutes
With one voice a young woman starts a movement. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Running Time: 11 Minutes
Interactive VR - In connection with the CIFF43 feature film, “Cancer Rebellion,” this immersive VR experience follows Maggie Kudirka, a professional ballerina whose love of dance helped her regain her strength after being diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. {more}
USA
Directed By: Suzette Moyer, Seth Blanchard
Running Time: 8 Minutes
360 VR - Based on an unforgettable front-page article in The Washington Post, a powerful animated VR experience that recounts what happened to Jacob Hall and Ava Olsen, who were first-graders at a South Carolina elementary school when a 14-year-old... {more}
CANADA, VIETNAM
Directed By: Jean-Philippe Duval
Running Time: 99 Minutes
A year after the death of her adopted daughter, Clara, Isabelle embarks on an emotional journey to find closure, traveling back to the Vietnamese orphanage from where she adopted Clara 17 years before. At the orphanage, Isabelle is presented with... {more}
USA
Directed By: Chris Duncan
Running Time: 18 Minutes
CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE The Sammy and Jules Award for the Short Film with the Biggest Heart and Strongest Spirit The triumphant journey of athlete, activist, and amputee Nicole Ver Kuilen. Featuring, Nicole Ver Kuilen, Natalie Harold, Kathleen Wang, and Jan Harley. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Halfway Jury Shorts Program 1
Shorts Jury Award Winner Program
Shorts Program 2
USA
Directed By: Michael Feld, Josh Covitt
Running Time: 13 Minutes
NO CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE A couple is forced to make some urgent choices. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Comedy Shorts Program 3
Halfway Comedy Shorts Program
Shorts Program 8
AUSTRALIA
Directed By: Damon Gameau
Running Time: 92 Minutes
What might the world look like in 2040? According to most research, with our current CO2 output, not great. But here’s a different question: What if we fully embraced and implemented all of the best environmental solutions already available to... {more}
USA
Directed By: Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert
Running Time: 86 Minutes
When women entered the workforce in the 1960s, most of the available jobs were secretarial. Instead of being seen by their bosses as a vital part of the office, many secretaries were regarded as glorified servants for the men who... {more}
AUSTRALIA, USA
Directed By: Robertino Zambrano
Running Time: 2 Minutes
Best Animated Short Award - Honorable Mention ... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
RUSSIA
Directed By: Ivan Smirnov
Running Time: 3 Minutes
An unexpected meeting between two strangers on a night tram will remind a woman that first impressions can often be deceiving. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
MOROCCO, FRANCE
Directed By: Maryam Touzani
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Samia’s status as an unwed, pregnant woman makes her a social pariah. As she searches the streets for work and a place to sleep, she is faced with continuous rejection. Taking pity on the young mother-to-be, Alba, a widow who... {more}
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Steven Chatterton, Mark Arrigo
Running Time: 15 Minutes
Ten year old Adnan has fled Syria with his mother after their family were killed and their neighbourhood destroyed. Now settled in the UK, he must use all his creativity to break through her PTSD or risk losing her forever. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
COSTA RICA
Directed By: Ariana Bolaños Guevara
Running Time: 4 Minutes
A pessimistic teenaged girl encounters an old friend and has a life altering experience. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Catherine Gund
Running Time: 92 Minutes
NO CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE Agnes “Aggie” Gund has one of the most vast and impressive contemporary art collections in the world… but her art might not be the most impressive thing about her. Aggie has used her status in the art... {more}
SWEDEN
Directed By: Jimmy Olsson
Running Time: 23 Minutes
Stuck in a wheelchair and suffering from brain damage,Victoria yearns for intimacy. Her caregiver, Ida, tries to help but finds the outcome both frightening and unpredictable. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Lindsay O'Keefe
Running Time: 9 Minutes
Against incredible odds, young swimmer, Breanna Sprenger tells her inspiring story. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
All About Who You Know (aka Who You Know)
CANADA
Directed By: Jake Horowitz
Running Time: 107 Minutes
As a recent film school graduate and aspiring screenwriter, all Cole can think about is getting his “in” in the industry. Unimpressed with the dull normalcy of his classmates and peers, the pretentious, overly confident twenty-something dreams up scenarios that... {more}
FRANCE
Directed By: Paul Mignot
Running Time: 11 Minutes
The story of Eugene Bullard, the first African-American military pilot. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Danny Clinch, Taryn Gould, Colleen Hennessy, Shannon Hoon
Running Time: 102 Minutes
When Blind Melon frontman, Shannon Hoon, overdosed in 1995, just months after the release of the band’s second album, he left behind an extensive archive of video diaries filmed between 1990 to the day of his death. Hoon began recording... {more}
IRELAND
Directed By: Bonnie Dempsey
Running Time: 13 Minutes
A comic fantasy about two children, one in 1918, the other in 2018, who magically communicate across time through messages in a bottle and help solve each other’s problems. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Dane Cook
Running Time: 18 Minutes
Malik Khan, a struggling actor trying to break through the racial and diversity barriers of Hollywood, has to embrace his stereotype in order to save lives on and off the screen. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
NORWAY
Directed By: Espen Sandberg
Running Time: 120 Minutes
AMUNDSEN is an historical adventure film that recounts the journeys of famed Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen. A great arctic explorer, he was the first man to reach both the North and South Poles. The film details his life and the... {more}
ITALY, USA, ETHOPIA
Directed By: Mo Scarpelli
Running Time: 86 Minutes
Ethiopia’s largest city, Addis Ababa, is growing at a rapid pace. As the city limits expand, farmers who have built their humble communities in the surrounding rural areas are being forced to leave their homes. New apartment buildings continuously encroach... {more}
USA
Directed By: Fisher Stevens, Malcolm Venville
Running Time: 99 Minutes
From producer Leonardo DiCaprio, strap in for the thrilling high-speed rush that is AND WE GO GREEN. Covering the genesis of Formula E circuit racing—inspired by Formula One, but instead using eco-friendly electric cars—the film zooms through a complete ten-city... {more}
USA
Directed By: James Harlon Palmer
Running Time: 14 Minutes
Anniversary is the story of a couple celebrating one year as doting sweethearts. Everything is going swimmingly until Jimmy realizes Ellie believes this milestone leads to the altar - a sacrifice he's not ready to make. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
TURKEY
Directed By: Orçun Behram
Running Time: 115 Minutes
Mehmet, a sheepish man who loves silence, serves as the superintendent to a crumbling apartment complex in a dystopian Turkey. One day he sees a government worker, who is installing the new state-run satellite on the roof, fall to his... {more}
USA
Directed By: Alexandra Kyle
Running Time: 9 Minutes
A short romantic comedy about a young woman and her anxiety. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Ainslie Henderson
Running Time: 5 Minutes
Archie is devastated to learn of the death of his beloved aunt Betty. He makes the long journey to the home she’s left him in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Saddened by all the memories, the storm soon passes and... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Megan Rossman
Running Time: 61 Minutes
When Ellie Conant passed away at the age of 36 after a long battle with lymphoma, her partner and her friends in the lesbian community wanted a way to share her story with others. Luckily, they knew the perfect place... {more}
NORWAY
Directed By: Karl Emil Rikardsen
Running Time: 75 Minutes
When Torarin and his sister, Svalin, asked their parents for a horse to ride, their dad had something else in mind… camels. After shipping two Bactrian camels to their home in Akkarfjord, Norway, Torarin’s family embarks on an unforgettable journey... {more}
ISRAEL
Directed By: Erez Tadmor
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Nine years. That’s how long a friendly stranger at the fertility clinic said he and his wife have been undergoing thus-far unsuccessful fertility treatments. This comes as a bit of a blow to Liran, at the clinic for initial tests... {more}
USA
Directed By: Taylor Rees
Running Time: 25 Minutes
Best Documentary Short Award - Honorable Mention ... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Ryan White
Running Time: 104 Minutes
The mysterious murder of North Korean royal family member, Kim Jong-nam, in Malaysia sparks a captivating global investigation. At the center of the story, two women are on trial for the murder. Are the women ruthless assassins or political pawns... {more}
CANADA
Directed By: John Walker
Running Time: 81 Minutes
Assholes. We all know they are rude to waitstaff, they cut you off on the highway, and they think the sun shines out their you-know-what. But as much as we all dislike assholes, they seem to be increasingly prevalent in... {more}
USA
Directed By: Matthew Bauer
Running Time: 3 Minutes
An athlete recovering from a broken leg reflects on the obstacles he’s overcome to get here. Featuring Sam Grewe. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
POLAND
Directed By: Kasia Babicz
Running Time: 16 Minutes
A man leaves his wife for a beautiful, young woman. After moving in with her, he soon finds she is not what he expected. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
CUBA, COSTA RICA, FRANCE
Directed By: Armando Capó
Running Time: 85 Minutes
After graduating from secondary school, Carlos and his friends prepare for a relaxing and carefree summer by the sea. But the collapse of the Soviet Union does not make for a relaxing and carefree summer when you’re growing up in... {more}
USA
Directed By: Barret Bowman
Running Time: 8 Minutes
When Jen and Paul are invited to a coworker's dinner party, they get roped in to playing the group's favorite game... Baby Bird. Life will never be the same. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
BELGIUM, NETHERLANDS, CROATIA, BULGARIA
Directed By: Jessica Woodworth, Peter Brosens
Running Time: 99 Minutes
During a live reenactment in Sarajevo of the 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, King Nicolas III of Belgium is mistakenly shot in the ear. Three days later, he wakes up in an off-the-grid sanatorium on a Croatian island where... {more}
RUSSIA
Directed By: Kantemir Balagov
Running Time: 137 Minutes
Iya, also known as BEANPOLE for her exceptionally tall stature, is a young nurse in a somber Leningrad at the close of World War II. Although the fighting has stopped, life among the ruins is persistently challenging. Iya spends her... {more}
USA
Directed By: Danny Madden
Running Time: 85 Minutes
In a small southern town, the lives of three young people intertwine as they come to terms with their developing identities. Krista is a theater kid with an infectious grin, eager to pour her heart out on stage. When she... {more}
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Brian Welsh
Running Time: 101 Minutes
The perfectly titled BEATS is a propulsive, surging, coming-of-age look at the lives of two frustrated teenage boys in 1990s Scotland. When conservative law passes the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill, rave culture becomes outlawed and pushed deeper into... {more}
NEW ZEALAND
Directed By: Hamish Bennett
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Unfolding in the rustic pastures of New Zealand’s Northland, BELLBIRD delicately follows the complex relationship dynamics between a gruff and taciturn dairy farmer and his more mild-mannered son, both of whom are shaken by the sudden loss of the family’s... {more}
HUNGARY
Directed By: Kristóf Deák
Running Time: 20 Minutes
When two CCTV technicians find out about an AI machine threatening their jobs, they must get out of their chairs to beat the system - leading them to an unexpected solution. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
BELGIUM, NETHERLANDS
Directed By: Anke Blondé
Running Time: 106 Minutes
Dorien is your typical working-mother-wonder-woman. Along with running her household and caring for her husband and two sons, Dorien heads her own veterinary practice. When she isn’t cleaning cat teeth or performing surgeries on dogs, she’s making meals, taking her... {more}
The Best Orchestra in the World
AUSTRIA
Directed By: Henning Backhaus
Running Time: 14 Minutes
Ingbert, the sock, applies for a position as double bass player at the Vienna State Orchestra. Bad idea. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Nora Kirkpatrick
Running Time: 14 Minutes
When the reigning queen of the Home Shopping Network is killed live on-the-air during a hair drying demonstration gone wrong, her three venomous, power-hungry disciples enter into a cutthroat competition for her coveted time slot. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
SWITZERLAND, BELGIUM
Directed By: Delphine Lehericey
Running Time: 90 Minutes
In the summer of 1976, sweltering heat plagues rural Romandy, Switzerland, where 13-year-old Gus lives on his family farm. While his father desperately awaits a delivery of water from the army, Gus begrudgingly helps dispose of the family’s dead chickens—... {more}
BELGIUM, NETHERLANDS
Directed By: Frederike Migom
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Binti and Elias couldn’t be more different. Twelve-year-old Binti is a fast-talking, self-assured tween who dreams of becoming a famous vlogger, while 11-year-old Elias is a sweet, soft-spoken nature-lover whose sole mission is to save the okapis (an endangered Congolese... {more}
SOUTH KOREA
Directed By: Lee Jong-un
Running Time: 119 Minutes
Jung-il left Korea in search of work to support his family, leaving behind a wife, son, and daughter. Eight years later, he returns to a daughter who doesn’t recognize him, a distant wife, and a deceased son. Their son died... {more}
USA
Directed By: Martina Lee
Running Time: 17 Minutes
An introspective slice of life story about two generations of Black men, living within the same household, juggling the demands of raising a young son with autism. They all struggle to adapt to their new normal after the death of... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Blackfeet Boxing: Not Invisible
USA
Directed By: Kristen Lappas, Tom Rinaldi
Running Time: 29 Minutes
CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE A boxing gym on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana teaches young girls how to defend themselves in response to the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. A film about fighting for respect, identity and acknowledgement. {more}
PUERTO RICO
Directed By: Alejandra López
Running Time: 5 Minutes
Best Live Action Short Award - Honorable Mention ... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FilmSlam® Spanish Shorts Program
Shorts Jury Honorable Mention Program
Shorts Program 12
USA
Directed By: KC Cory
Running Time: 13 Minutes
A dreamy portrait of photographer Shoog McDaniel, a self-described queer fat southern freak, whose work with fat bodies in nature transgresses reality. From mountain-fed waterfalls to the clear blue and weightless world under the surface of a natural spring, this... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Running Time: 15 Minutes
Interactive VR - A VR game created by a local artist and based on the drawings of a six-year-old child on the autism spectrum, with a focus on exploration, solving puzzles, and helping people. {more}
USA
Directed By: Tania Cypriano
Running Time: 93 Minutes
In 2016, New York became the ninth state to require insurance companies to cover gender affirming surgeries. But the demand for these surgeries far exceeds the doctors who agree to perform them. As the number of patients in search of... {more}
BOY EATS GIRL: A Zombie Love Story
USA
Directed By: Sarah Gurfield
Running Time: 7 Minutes
When it comes to this short film, the title says it all. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
NETHERLANDS
Directed By: Joost van Hezik
Running Time: 84 Minutes
Maarten Moreau isn’t sure if he exists. Or rather, he’s so bored with his life that it feels as if he doesn’t. An evolutionary philosophy professor with a wife, kids, and a submissive attitude, he craves something—anything—to shock his life... {more}
USA
Directed By: Jesse Moss, Amanda McBaine
Running Time: 109 Minutes
The sensational winner of the Grand Jury Prize for documentary at this year's Sundance Film Festival, BOYS STATE is a wildly entertaining and continually revealing immersion into a week-long annual program in which a thousand Texas high school seniors gather... {more}
USA
Directed By: Emmett Goodman
Running Time: 3 Minutes
A disparate pair respond quite differently to a dire situation when their shared elevator breaks down. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA, ISRAEL
Directed By: Beth Elise Hawk
Running Time: 85 Minutes
The city of Haifa has long served as a model of coexistence in Israel, where diverse populations of Arabs and Jews have lived, worked, and eaten together for generations. A prime example of Haifa’s cultural harmony is seen in its... {more}
AUSTRALIA
Directed By: Javed Sterritt
Running Time: 35 Minutes
Breaking the Biz is a documentary which tells the story of Australia’s foremost globally innovative, inclusive filmmaking organisation, Bus Stop Films and it’s mission to make the film industry inclusive of all people. The film follows the journey of Joni... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
RUSSIA
Directed By: Darya Belokhon
Running Time: 12 Minutes
On the day he is to marry, Andrei completes a series of challenges before winning the privilege to see his bride. After succeeding, he is informed that his bride-to-be, Kristina, has gotten cold feet. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
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}
CANADA, USA
Directed By: Charlie Tyrell
Running Time: 12 Minutes
NO CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE The Tom and Ginny Knoll Family Award: In Celebration of Acts of Kindness The efforts of one community to restore the power of music education in their school system. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FilmSlam® International Shorts Program
Halfway Jury Shorts Program 2
Shorts Jury Award Winner Program
Shorts Program 10
CANADA
Directed By: Monia Chokri
Running Time: 117 Minutes
Sophia, 35 and pregnant, has spent the last eight years completing her Ph.D. in political philosophy. Now, with no job prospects, very few transferable skills, and a sizeable sum of student debt, she is forced to move in with her... {more}
DENMARK, TURKEY
Directed By: Mikkel Keldorf
Interactive Media - An interactive documentary film that puts you in charge of the decisions of a young Syrian refugee named Ismael, whose mission is to reunite his family members who’ve been split up across multiple countries. {more}
Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn
USA
Directed By: Ivy Meeropol
Running Time: 98 Minutes
In 1951 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted of sharing nuclear weapons technologies with the Soviets, were put to death by electrocution. The man largely responsible for their execution was Roy Cohn, a 24-year-old prosecutor for the U.S. Department... {more}
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Shelly Love
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Pamela and her daughter, Allegra, couldn’t be more different. A 44-year-old single mother, carefree Pamela spends most of her time partying with friends, while Allegra, a straitlaced precocious 15-year-old, spends most of her time doing art and talking about veganism.... {more}
USA
Directed By: Nathan Hale Williams
Running Time: 21 Minutes
Burden tells the story of Bennett Lewis (Nic Few) a highly successful and highly educated family man who in spite of his success still has to deal with the perils of being a Black man in America. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FRANCE
Directed By: Fabrice Bracq
Running Time: 20 Minutes
Souleymane and Leila just got married, for better or for worse. The better is that they love each other very much. The worse is that they live in an absurd and kafkaesque country. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Comedy Shorts Program 1
FilmSlam® Arabic Shorts Program
Shorts Program 14
USA
Directed By: Abby Burton, Antonio Harper
Running Time: 3 Minutes
The journey of a little boy and his balloon. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FilmSlam® African Diaspora Shorts Program
Local Heroes Shorts Program 3
SWEDEN
Directed By: Lisa Aschan
Running Time: 100 Minutes
Niki might be 35, but she lives as if she’s ten years younger—and that means engaging in continuous spats with her mother. Niki works as an elementary PE teacher and has quite the boisterous sex life (including an affair with... {more}
USA
Directed By: Zach Christy
Running Time: 5 Minutes
A man gets mysterious calls for years and tries to understand why. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Capital in the Twenty-First Century
NEW ZEALAND
Directed By: Justin Pembertno
Running Time: 103 Minutes
Based on the wildly popular No. 1 New York Times bestseller by Thomas Piketty of the same name, CAPITAL IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY guides audiences through the fascinating and controversial history of global wealth disparity across the decades. This ambitious... {more}
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Ebs Burnough
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Arguably one of the most infamous and recognizable writers of the 20th century, American author, Truman Capote, presents a controversial legacy that is deepened and enriched in this unfiltered documentary snapshot. The film offers one of the most in-depth looks... {more}
CANADA
Directed By: Pepita Ferrari
Interactive Media - An interactive journey into documentary filmmaking with some of the world’s top directors. Navigate clips from nearly 80 hours of footage with master filmmakers from around the world by choosing topics, themes, or your favorite director. {more}
MALAYSIA
Directed By: Abhilash Chandra
Running Time: 16 Minutes
A father and son fear they may have something supernatural in their cargo. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Carry My Heart to the Yellow River
CHINA
Directed By: Alexis Van Hurkman
Running Time: 21 Minutes
Taking her hospitalized friend's place on a bike tour to the Yellow River, a high school graduate travels to faraway Gannan and races the clock to share pictures of the journey. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
ITALY
Directed By: Leonardo D'Agostini
Running Time: 106 Minutes
Set in the glittering arena of world-class, ultra wealthy, Italian professional footballers, THE CHAMPION follows the tempestuous celebrity life of Christian, a gifted and charismatic lead player whose latest public controversy is causing quite a stir in the international sports... {more}
USA
Directed By: Natasha Lewin
Running Time: 2 Minutes
A young, mixed woman battles her inner voices of self-doubt as she gets ready for a pool party. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Chichinette: The Accidental Spy
GERMANY, FRANCE
Directed By: Nicola Alice Hens
Running Time: 86 Minutes
As a young Jewish woman growing up in France, Marte Cohn never dreamed she would one day become a celebrated hero in the French Army. But Marte’s life was forever changed when the Nazis came to power during World War... {more}
AUSTRALIA
Directed By: Alana Hicks
Running Time: 10 Minutes
All Barbara wants to do is watch the Simpsons, but her recently migrated mum has just been overcharged at the local shops, and it’s up to Barbara to sort it out. As usual. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
RUSSIA
Directed By: Lado Kvataniya
Running Time: 7 Minutes
This Christmas night might turn out to be unbearable. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Keith Adams
Running Time: 13 Minutes
A psychologist tries to discover why one patient keeps drawing the same scene over and over again {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Matthew Fifer, Kieran Mulcare
Running Time: 94 Minutes
In his debut feature, writer/director/star, Matthew Fifer, delivers a confident, complex portrait of a young bisexual man floating through life in New York City. Assembled like a mosaic, the film gathers small everyday moments in the life of Ben, a... {more}
BELGIUM
Directed By: Eva Cools
Running Time: 106 Minutes
Six months after surviving the car accident that killed her parents, Cleo is only just beginning to feel like herself again. The 17-year-old—who now lives with her grandmother along with her seven-year-old brother, Bruno—is ready to revisit her favorite haunt,... {more}
Cleveland Cavaliers: Enter the Cavaliers
USA
Directed By: Hamoody Jaafar
Running Time: 15 Minutes
Enter the Cavaliers early timeline and take a look back on the beginning of the franchise and its founder and original owner, Nick Mileti. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Cleveland Cavaliers: Make History
USA
Directed By: Hamoody Jaafar
Running Time: 10 Minutes
Take a look back at a memorable time in the franchise history and relive the glory days of Larry Nance, Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, Head Coach Lenny Wilkins, and GM Wayne Embry. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Jake Alexander McAfee
Running Time: 29 Minutes
A basketball coach has a plan to change the lives of his players. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
LITHUANIA
Directed By: Andrius Lekavicius
Running Time: 10 Minutes
Interactive VR - Using archival material and an animated environment based on real events, this VR experience puts you in the shoes of a journalist in the middle of the tragic events of January 13, 1991 - when Lithuania’s resistance... {more}
USA
Directed By: Deepak Sethi
Running Time: 8 Minutes
CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE Coffee shop aliases are revealed as three co-workers wait for their morning cups of joe. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Comedy Shorts Program 3
Halfway Comedy Shorts Program
Shorts Program 1
CHINA, USA
Directed By: Siqi Song
Running Time: 7 Minutes
In Chinese New Year, finding the coin hidden inside of the dumplings means having a blessed year ahead. A young woman loses a jar on her journey to a new country, which contains the lucky coins she has been collecting... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
ROMANIA, LUXEMBOURG
Directed By: Alexander Nanau
Running Time: 109 Minutes
In 2015 a deadly fire broke out in the popular Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest, claiming 26 lives in one night. Although survivors were promised the highest quality care, 38 additional burn victims lost their lives in the weeks that followed…... {more}
USA
Directed By: Mercedes Bryce Morgan
Running Time: 12 Minutes
An 18-year-old virgin finds himself in over his head when he responds to a mysterious Craigslist post looking for someone to test a prototype sex robot only to have her not consent. Based on a real Craigslist post. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
NETHERLANDS
Directed By: Maria Peters
Running Time: 139 Minutes
Antonia is a terrible usher. Much to the frustration of her bosses at the concert hall, Antonia is constantly giving more attention to the musicians on stage than she is to the guests in the audience. But this 24-year-old woman... {more}
A Conversation with Asian-Americans on Race
USA
Directed By: Geeta Gandbhir, Michèle Stephenson
Running Time: 7 Minutes
NO CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE Asian-Americans confront stereotypes about their community. {more}
POLAND, FRANCE
Directed By: Jan Komasa
Running Time: 116 Minutes
While serving time for second-degree murder in a juvenile detention center, Daniel finds God. Unfortunately, his newfound dream of becoming a priest is thwarted by his criminal record. When he’s released on parole, instead of entering the priesthood, Daniel finds... {more}
ICELAND, DENMARK, GERMANY, FRANCE
Directed By: Grímur Hákonarson
Running Time: 92 Minutes
Married couple, Inga and Reynir, own an Icelandic dairy farm on the brink of bankruptcy. Most of their debt is to the community cooperative that controls their manufacturing supplies and their milk’s distribution to customers. Inga is tired of the... {more}
NORWAY
Directed By: Johanne Helgeland
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Gerda is a ten-year-old Norwegian girl with a very big imagination. With her apron-cape and a wooden sword, Gerda spends her days acting out the adventures of Porthos and “The Three Musketeers,” annoying her brother Otto in the process. But... {more}
USA
Directed By: Margaret Katch
Running Time: 5 Minutes
A typical workplace comedy...about abortion. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Zoe Dobson
Running Time: 13 Minutes
An enchanted tale of compassion in the midst of callous greed. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Kristina Klebe
Running Time: 7 Minutes
A young woman comes to terms with the passing of her abusive father. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
DENMARK
Directed By: Jesper Sichlau
Running Time: 7 Minutes
When Oscar and his sister receive the news of their parents' divorce, they have to do everything in their power to stop it from happening. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
AUSTRALIA
Directed By: Erin Coates, Anna Nazzari
Running Time: 15 Minutes
A deep-sea environment unexpectedly manifests in the walls of a grieving women’s suburban dwelling; an impossible, flooded inner-architecture. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Sasha Solodukhina, Emily MacKenzie
Running Time: 10 Minutes
A woman goes on a date with a self-proclaimed Male Feminist with one goal in mind - to engage in an elusive animal ritual - sex. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
CANADA
Directed By: Barry Avrich
Running Time: 97 Minutes
David Foster is a man of many hats. As a musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer, he has had more success in the music industry than most. His 47 Grammy nominations and 16 wins position him as one of the greatest... {more}
USA
Directed By: Toby Poser, John Adams
Running Time: 96 Minutes
It was a dark, snowy night in the Catskill Mountains, and she shouldn’t have been sledding near the road. At least that’s what Kurt tells himself after accidentally running over his 14-year-old neighbor, Echo. In a panic, he decides he... {more}
FRANCE
Directed By: Quentin Dupieux
Running Time: 77 Minutes
Georges threw his corduroy jacket in the toilet where it belonged. After all, that tired green thing couldn’t hold a candle to his newly acquired deerskin jacket—100% deerskin to be exact. With fringe. From Italy. Recently dumped and now impeccably... {more}
USA
Directed By: Barbara Kopple
Running Time: 108 Minutes
On November 4, 1979, relations between Iran and the U.S. were forever changed as Iranian student revolutionaries seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. They took 52 American Embassy staff members—diplomats and American citizens—hostage. The crisis also led to the Delta... {more}
TAIWAN
Directed By: John Hsu
Running Time: 103 Minutes
“For subverting the government, the sentence is death.” Harsh threats blare over the loudspeaker as students make their way to Greenwood High School. Over a decade into Taiwan’s White Terror period, martial law continues to rule the daily lives of... {more}
MEXICO, USA
Directed By: Ashley George
Running Time: 15 Minutes
After surviving assault, an enigmatic 17-year-old Mexican girl finds retribution through her untapped female power and local witch culture. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
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}
FRANCE
Directed By: Paul Marques Duarte
Running Time: 3 Minutes
In Dinard, a French town on the English Channel, a young British sailor decides to declare his feelings to the young pastry chef he loves. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Suki-Rose
Running Time: 7 Minutes
An inane chat is interrupted with a sudden outburst of violence, followed by an insistent invitation for a reprisal in this uncanny mobius short. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Sam Feder
Running Time: 105 Minutes
A groundbreaking achievement, DISCLOSURE examines the complicated history of transgender representation in film and television, probing the earliest days of black-and-white silent cinema up to the very edge of the current moment. In this involving deep dive, the film untangles... {more}
NORWAY
Directed By: Jorunn Myklebust Syversen
Running Time: 93 Minutes
On the surface, 19-year-old Mirjam lives a seemingly perfect, downright enviable life. She’s confident, gorgeous, and popular. She’s a renowned world-champion dancer. And she’s the stepdaughter of an evangelical leader who runs a hip, wildly successful youth church called The... {more}
USA
Directed By: Nick Hartanto, Sam Roden
Running Time: 13 Minutes
A chef at a fine dining restaurant in New York City asks a Mexican dishwasher to find good tortillas. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Dolly Kitty and Those Twinkling Stars
INDIA
Directed By: Alankrita Shrivastava
Running Time: 130 Minutes
When Kaajal moves from rural India to live with her best friend/cousin, Dolly, in New Delhi, she can’t wait to live out her dreams in the big city. But things don’t go according to plan. When Dolly’s husband starts making... {more}
USA
Directed By: Daun Kim
Running Time: 2 Minutes
An agile long-legged frog escapes from being dissected by a frenzied determined 12 years old girl. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Don Casper
Running Time: 12 Minutes
Artist Charmaine Wheatley shares intimate moments with people affected by HIV, creating watercolor portraits that capture their image, thoughts, feelings, joys and challenges. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
CANADA
Directed By: Mia Donovan
Running Time: 82 Minutes
CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE DOPE IS DEATH is the story of how the Young Lords and Black Panther Party—two inner-city human rights activist groups— created the first acupuncture detoxification program in America. In 1973 the Lincoln Detox Acupuncture center was birthed from... {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}
USA
Directed By: Richard O'Connor
Running Time: 3 Minutes
As active shooter drills become integrated into schools across the country, students must grapple with the threat of school shootings. This is the case for ten-year-old Dezmond Floyd, who has an open discussion with his mother Tanai about what happens... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Brandon LaGanke, John Carlucci
Running Time: 100 Minutes
Michael’s having a hard time moving on after his high-school-turned-college girlfriend dumped him and headed to New York. Despite graduating, he remains on campus as the late night shuttle driver. Carting wasted students from their dorms to parties and back... {more}
SPAIN
Directed By: Javier Marco
Running Time: 15 Minutes
At 78 years old, Manuela buys a camera and augmented reality glasses. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
The Earth Is Blue As an Orange
UKRAINE, LITHUANIA
Directed By: Iryna Tsilyk
Running Time: 74 Minutes
Since attending a filmmaking camp with her younger sister, teenager Mira has set her sights on becoming a cinematographer. Now, with the help of her mother, three siblings, grandmother, and aunt, she is making a film about her home in... {more}
CANADA
Augmented Reality - An interactive narrative AR experience written by acclaimed Canadian author Joy Kogawa and told from the perspective of Yuki, a 17-year-old girl forced from her home and made to live in British Columbia’s Slocan Japanese internment camp... {more}
PHILIPPINES
Directed By: Thop Nazareno
Running Time: 83 Minutes
Despite being stuck for weeks in a public hospital with his ailing father, Edward is surprisingly lighthearted. A rambunctious teenager, Edward spends the majority of his days running around the hospital with his friend, wreaking havoc on the other patients... {more}
USA, BOTSWANA
Directed By: Louise Hogarth
Running Time: 81 Minutes
When Botswana banned elephant poaching in 2014, something incredible happened: the news of the safe haven spread among herds, prompting a mass elephant migration into Botswana from neighboring countries. Now, with nearly 60% of the world’s elephants residing in Botswana,... {more}
FRANCE
Directed By: Keren Ben Rafael
Running Time: 90 Minutes
When Yuval has to leave his wife, Julie, and their new baby in Paris to renew his visa in Tel Aviv, the couple decides they will video chat every day to keep their connection alive. At first, distance does seem... {more}
ICELAND, IRELAND, USA
Directed By: Eflar Adalsteins
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Starring acclaimed actors John Hawkes and Logan Lerman, this gentle and heartfelt road trip movie traverses the rocky emotional terrain of an estranged father and son working their way through grief and years of personal resentment. After the death of... {more}
IRAN
Directed By: Sonia K Hadad
Running Time: 15 Minutes
It's exam time for a young woman carrying a weighty load. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Rafeeq Roberts
Running Time: 30 Minutes
A talented but shy poet, discovers words have more power than she could ever have imagined. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Florence Keith-Roach
Running Time: 13 Minutes
NO CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE Annabelle wakes up in a strangers bedroom on her 30th birthday. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Comedy Shorts Program 1
Halfway Comedy Shorts Program
Outlook Shorts Program 2
USA, MEXICO
Directed By: Varda Bar-Kar
Running Time: 93 Minutes
FANDANGO AT THE WALL follows Arturo O’Farrill, Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra founder and director, and Kabir Sehgal, best-selling author, as they prepare to record a live album at the U.S.-Mexico border wall. The project is inspired by the annual Fandango Fronterizo... {more}
PERU
Directed By: Barney Elliott
Running Time: 8 Minutes
When a father accompanies his son to a buy a used automobile, he is telepathically seduced by Rosa, a pink limousine. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
BULGARIA, GREECE
Directed By: Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov
Running Time: 87 Minutes
After the unexpected death of his mother, Pavel arrives in his hometown to help his father, Vasil, bury her body. Their father-son relationship has been strained for years, and Pavel struggles to connect with Vasil, who seems to be losing... {more}
USA
Directed By: Erin Brown Thomas
Running Time: 9 Minutes
Vicki idolizes her new girlfriend Samantha, but draws the line when it comes to her time on the porcelain throne. Their small bathroom gets awkward when Samatha challenges Vicki’s definition of intimacy. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Local Heroes Shorts Program 2
Outlook Shorts Program 1
Shorts Program 4
USA
Directed By: Arthur Jones
Running Time: 93 Minutes
If you’ve been online in the past decade, you’ve probably come across a little green frog named Pepe. Although the sad, big-eyed cartoon swept across social media as a viral reaction image, his humble origins are in indie cartoonist, Matt... {more}
Ferenj: A Graphic Memoir in VR
USA, ETHIOPIA
Directed By: Ainslee A. Robson
Running Time: 8 Minutes
Interactive VR - Drift through the creator's reconstructed memories of growing up as a mixed race Ethiopian-American in the heart of Cleveland’s St. Clair-Superior neighborhood in this artistic VR memoir. {more}
USA
Directed By: Elyse Steinberg, Josh Kriegman, Eli Despres
Running Time: 96 Minutes
For 100 years the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has defended the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the United States Constitution… rights that have been increasingly under attack in this divisive political climate. Since Donald Trump took office in 2017,... {more}
Fine, I'll Write My Own Damn Song
USA
Directed By: Allyson Rice
Running Time: 4 Minutes
A 56-year-old mom sends a comedic rap video response to her 25-year-old rap artist/musician son when he invites other family members to be in his music but not her. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
BRAZIL, SPAIN
Directed By: Camila Kater
Running Time: 12 Minutes
Through intimate and personal stories, five women share their experiences in relation to the body, from childhood to old age. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
KOSOVO, ALBANIA, NORTH MACEDONIA
Directed By: Fatos Berisha
Running Time: 115 Minutes
At the dawn of the Kosovo War, a group of four local theater actors find that their upcoming adaptation of Monty Python’s The Flying Circus has been indefinitely shut down by authorities in Serbia. As fate would have it, the... {more}
MEXICO
Directed By: Jonathan Canul
Running Time: 14 Minutes
Bertha, a single maid in the splendor of her fifties, one day found by surprise Pierre, a tender foreign child, abandoned in a room at an all-inclusive hotel in Cancun. Touched by the child´s situation and seized by an unknown... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Vicky Wight
Running Time: 15 Minutes
When a wanna-be mibster loses his most prized marble to the school bully, he must find the courage, the confidence, and the thumbs to stand up for himself and win it back. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: James Carney, Connor Fairfield, Osgar Nugent, Richard Perrins, Matthew Shanahan
Running Time: 15 Minutes
Throughout 2019, 19 International Baccalaureate Film students at St. Edward captured the stories of the homeless in Cleveland, Ohio. Started as an extended introduction to the greater Cleveland Labre Project--which aims to not only to feed those who experience homelessness,... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
CZECH REPUBLIC, FRANCE
Directed By: Helena Třeštíková, Jakub Hejna
Running Time: 78 Minutes
The mercurial spirit and robust creative life of the late filmmaker, Milos? Forman, takes center stage in this expansive documentary tribute. Culled from decades worth of behind-the-scenes archival footage, youthful interviews, and personal home video, the film traces Forman’s difficult... {more}
USA
Directed By: Kyle Anne Grendys
Running Time: 20 Minutes
Filmmaker Kyle Anne Grendys, is only the 75th person to be born with the rare, recessive gene disorder called Fraser Syndrome. Having always felt alone in the world, she sets out on a journey to find her community and finally... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
GERMANY
Directed By: Christian Alvart
Running Time: 127 Minutes
In East Germany 1992, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the residual effects of the old regime are still reverberating loudly. In the piercing FREE COUNTRY, police investigators, Markus and Patrick, are assigned to a rural locale to look... {more}
USA
Directed By: Kate McLean, Mario Furloni
Running Time: 80 Minutes
For over 30 years, Devi has run a thriving (illegal) pot farm in Humboldt County, California. Through her work, Devi has surrounded herself with community and nature, creating memories and lasting friendships. Breezy and laid back, Devi’s approach to life... {more}
USA
Directed By: Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Running Time: 124 Minutes
When Nicole (Dakota Johnson) is diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, her husband, Matthew (Casey Affleck), struggles to cope. Between caring for their daughters, getting Nicole to her appointments, and dealing with the emotional toll of her disease, Matthew... {more}
USA
Directed By: Jack Ireland
Running Time: 5 Minutes
One man's journey through life using just that one infamous four letter word. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Jenna Rae Tooley
Running Time: 7 Minutes
A short film about a teenage girl who discovers a secret fantastical world of giant violent sock monsters living in her front yard. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
BELGIUM
Directed By: Bas Devos
Running Time: 85 Minutes
After working a late shift at her cleaning job, Khadija falls asleep on the last subway home. When she wakes up at the end of an empty line, she begins her long journey back, down the quiet nocturnal streets of... {more}
The Girl at the End of the Garden / Tell Me a Secret
IRELAND
Directed By: Bonnie Dempsey
Running Time: 14 Minutes
A slapstick comedy about an unhappy young girl whose life is turned upside-down when she finds a mysterious runaway with psychic powers in her back garden. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
IRELAND, BELGIUM, SOMALIA
Directed By: Mary McGuckian
Running Time: 112 Minutes
Ninety-eight percent of women in Somalia have undergone cutting, commonly known as female genital mutilation. At the age of eight, Ifrah Ahmed is held down by her grandmother while a doctor conducts a medical procedure to remove her clitoris without... {more}
CANADA
Directed By: Valerie Barnhart
Running Time: 10 Minutes
NO CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE Best Documentary Short Award This is a testament to locked doors. A lullaby sung by wolves with duct tape and polaroids. Not all children make it out of the forest. Some stories children shouldn't hear. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
After Hours Shorts Program 3
Animation Program
Halfway Jury Shorts Program 1
Shorts Jury Award Winner Program
Shorts Program 5
USA
Directed By: Mac Grant, Chad Tennies
Running Time: 20 Minutes
Best Live Action Short Award - Honorable Mention ... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
SAUDI ARABIA
Directed By: Mohammed Alhamoud
Running Time: 14 Minutes
A newlywed couple pays their first visit to the groom's hometown, a small southern Saudi village, where they will celebrate their marriage. Nervous and desperate for her in-laws' approval, the bride, Ayah, makes a daring choice, while her husband, Nader,... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
ISRAEL
Directed By: Sagi Bornstein, Udi Nir, Shani Rozanes
Running Time: 85 Minutes
As a young woman, Golda Meir was warned by her father not to be too ambitious because “men don’t like smart girls.” She went on to disregard his advice completely. Often referred to as the “only man” in Ben Gurion’s... {more}
ARGENTINA
Directed By: Ana García Blaya
Running Time: 86 Minutes
At nine years old, Amanda is already more mature than her father, Gustavo. During their weekends together, it is Amanda who makes sure her younger siblings are clothed and fed, while Gustavo takes a more casual approach to parenthood. But... {more}
USA
Directed By: Elaine Mongeon
Running Time: 13 Minutes
A young woman and her father adapt to terrifying changes they never expected. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Daniel Rashid
Running Time: 8 Minutes
CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE Piper's efforts to give a touching eulogy at her grandfather's funeral are thwarted when her loose cannon ex-boyfriend, Gavin, shows up in his work clothes. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Comedy Shorts Program 3
FilmSlam® International Shorts Program
Halfway Comedy Shorts Program
UNITED KINGDOM, BELGIUM, IRELAND
Directed By: Abner Pastoll
Running Time: 97 Minutes
Sarah is a soft-spoken, widowed, single mother of two with a tendency to let others walk all over her. When the police tell her to stop pestering them about her husband’s unsolved murder, she does. Visibly exhausted and struggling, as... {more}
CANADA
Directed By: Mathieu Grimard
Running Time: 14 Minutes
For Ian Golovin, the death of his father is the chance at a new life outside his native country. As he prepares to leave and bid farewell to his sister, he is forced to face his decision — why he... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Maryam Mohajer
Running Time: 5 Minutes
My grandad was a romantic. He once saw a picture of my granny and realised that she was the love of his life. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Jared P. Scott
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Africa’s Sahel region is on the front lines of climate change. Increasing drought and desertification have led to resource scarcity, conflict, and diaspora. Two-thirds of the landscape are now severely degraded... but not all hope is lost. In 2007, nations... {more}
USA
Directed By: JLee MacKenzie
Running Time: 8 Minutes
A prison movie projectionist recounts the story of the greatest night of his life. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
SLOVENIA, NORTH MACEDONIA, SERBIA
Directed By: Damjan Kozole
Running Time: 105 Minutes
Irena and Neža are estranged half-sisters. They were never given the opportunity to bond because Irena’s father left her and her mother to pursue the relationship that produced Neža. Now an adult, Irena lives in Ljubljana—far from her childhood home... {more}
SWITZERLAND
Directed By: Ennio Ruschetti
Running Time: 4 Minutes
Two politicians shake hands. The Situation gets out of hand. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Hongyu "Neo" Li
Running Time: 16 Minutes
After reluctantly agreeing to an open relationship, middle aged gay man Hank starts a wild journey with a mysterious young man only to find he’s put himself in danger. Narrowly escaping with just his life, and forced to walk home... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Happy Happy Joy Joy - The Ren & Stimpy Story
USA
Directed By: Ron Cicero, Kimo Easterwood
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Before Beavis and Butt-Head, Spongebob, and the “adult” animation craze, there was a furious little chihuahua and his “EEDIOT” cat. Ren & Stimpy burst onto the cartoon scene in 1991 with gross-out gags, double entendres, and lots of emotional instability.... {more}
RUSSIA
Directed By: Konstantin Bronzit
Running Time: 16 Minutes
This story is about mother, son, love and destiny. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Lou Pepe, Keith Fulton
Running Time: 84 Minutes
Terry Gilliam, cult director and Monty Python alum, spent almost 30 years bringing his vision for Cervantes’ Don Quixote to the big screen. Gilliam and his crew eventually began shooting the classic tale in 2000. This failed first attempt—as chronicled... {more}
USA
Directed By: Kimrie Lewis
Running Time: 14 Minutes
Kristi meets her three best girlfriends after returning from the slap-on-the-wrist sentencing of her convicted rapist. Revenge becomes a hot topic of conversation. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
AUSTRALIA
Directed By: Ben Lawrence
Running Time: 111 Minutes
Dan Fisher and Sebastian Ahmed have witnessed events far too horrific to share with their respective families. An Australian war photographer, Dan has devoted his life to capturing tragic moments in footage that he hopes will someday effect positive change... {more}
TAIWAN
Directed By: Pei-Ju Hsieh
Running Time: 90 Minutes
It’s Ying-Juan Jiang’s 30th birthday. Instead of spending the day with friends, she celebrates by drinking alone and eating take-out on a park bench. Her humiliation is amplified when a group of teens mocks her for being overweight. In Ying-Juan’s... {more}
ARGENTINA, SPAIN
Directed By: Sebastian Borensztein
Running Time: 117 Minutes
Fermín and his wife, Lidia, have a dream to revive their sleepy town and bring back economic growth. Looking to purchase an abandoned grain silo and create an agricultural cooperative, they begin to recruit locals to invest in their vision.... {more}
USA
Directed By: Jordan C. Terrell
Running Time: 67 Minutes
In the three years it took to film the documentary, HEROINOHIO, 185,000 Americans died from drug overdoses. Springfield, Ohio is at the heart of this opioid crisis. Drug use is so prevalent in Springfield that none are left unscathed. Mike... {more}
USA
Directed By: Dan Schaefer
Running Time: 5 Minutes
A poignant tale of longing and loss is revealed when a timeworn journal transports a young girl to a place of enchanting wonders. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: John T. Hill
Running Time: 4 Minutes
Jack and Lovey go on a wild adventure after a flying pygmy hippo steals their pacifier and leads them on a zoo - spanning chase! {more}
USA
Directed By: Romell Foster-Owens
Running Time: 10 Minutes
When two Thugs try to rob Kim, a homeless woman and her friend Lucas, they get the surprise of their lives. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FRANCE / SWITZERLAND
Directed By: Chaitane Conversat
Running Time: 14 Minutes
An old lady accumulates at her home boxes filled with memories. Every Wednesday, with her friends the cockroaches, she invents wonderful stories for her granddaughter. But the little girl grows bigger and space starts running out in the house. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Dana Nachman
Running Time: 7 Minutes
NO CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE A sorority girl figures out a way to eliminate all risk from the late-night ritual that is the college hook up. Now all she needs is to find a guy to test out her idea on... and... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Comedy Shorts Program 3
Halfway Comedy Shorts Program
Shorts Program 13
NORWAY, SWEDEN
Directed By: Maria Sødahl
Running Time: 126 Minutes
Anja and Tomas have been a couple for almost 20 years. Anja, a choreographer, and Tomas, a theater director, live fast-paced lives that make it challenging to maintain their large blended family of five children. The brunt of the responsibility... {more}
THAILAND
Directed By: Pailin Wedel
Running Time: 76 Minutes
When Einz—meaning “love” in Chinese and Japanese—succumbed to brain cancer at just two and a half years old in 2015, her parents were devastated, but not without hope. Shortly before Einz passed away, her father, an engineer named Sahatorn, had... {more}
FRANCE
Directed By: Léo Brunel, Loris Cavalier, Camille Jalabert, Oscar Malet
Running Time: 6 Minutes
The two best rescue workers of the region are ready for their new mission. Despite their professionalism and their determination, it will not go as planned... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA, FRANCE
Directed By: P. David Ebersole, Todd Hughes
Running Time: 97 Minutes
Take a look into the glittering, rarefied world of revolutionary high fashion couturier and ready-to-wear designer, the one and only Pierre Cardin. This authorized documentary charts his unprecedented ascendence as a fashion pioneer in mid-century Paris—whether challenging popular silhouettes, introducing... {more}
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Andrew Margetson
Running Time: 18 Minutes
A businessman, staying in a hotel in Eastern Europe, strikes up an unusual relationship with the chambermaid. When things go wrong, he discovers she is not what he imagines. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Apo W. Bazidi
Running Time: 21 Minutes
In the midst of Trump's immigration ban, Ahmed, a teenage refugee, and his sister Ruba find a home at a Cleveland school for immigrants. Will they be able to reach their dreams? Featuring Ahmed Mohammed and Ruba Mohammed. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Kate Trefry
Running Time: 13 Minutes
How To Be Alone follows LUCY, as she struggles to survive an increasing bizarre and horrifying night. When her husband JACK leaves for the hospital graveyard shift, Lucy is left alone in the company of a particularly menacing kitchen cabinet,... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Erin Brown Thomas
Running Time: 4 Minutes
We were not meant to be worshipped... but we need to be seen. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Adam Bolt
Running Time: 94 Minutes
What if before birth you could change the color of your child’s eyes, increase their IQ, or eliminate a genetic disorder? Would you do it? Recent scientific advancements in gene therapy are making this question less and less hypothetical. This... {more}
RUSSIA, LATVIA, CZECHIA
Directed By: Michael Idov
Running Time: 101 Minutes
Boris Arkadiev is a stand-up sensation in the Soviet Union. Everywhere he goes, adoring fans flock to the comedian asking him to do his signature (government approved) acts. A favorite of the KGB, Boris is carted from venue to venue,... {more}
INDIA
Directed By: Katyayan Shivpuri
Running Time: 8 Minutes
Inspired by true events, Hunger is about a homeless man and his love for food. He is a pauper in life but at heart, he is connoisseur of "gourmet" food. He does not eat to live. He lives to eat...and... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Geeta Gandbhir
Running Time: 84 Minutes
As the price of tuition and the cost of living continue to rise, getting a higher education is becoming more and more expensive for Americans. So expensive, in fact, a growing number of students find themselves going hungry and homeless... {more}
ARMENIA, USA
Directed By: Garin Hovannisian
Running Time: 90 Minutes
By March of 2018, Serzh Sargsyan had already served the maximum two terms as President of Armenia. After changing the constitution to give himself even more power, Sargsyan was set to continue his third term as Prime Minister. With full... {more}
USA
Directed By: Lynn Chen
Running Time: 81 Minutes
Letting go is hard when you’re young. Letting go when you’re older is… still hard. A stand-alone sequel to past CIFF favorites “Surrogate Valentine” (CIFF 35) and “Daylight Savings” (CIFF 36), I WILL MAKE YOU MINE reintroduces audiences to protagonist... {more}
If Anything Happens I Love You
USA
Directed By: Will McCormack, Michael Govier
Running Time: 12 Minutes
A man and woman struggle to come to terms with a devastating loss. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
BELGIUM
Directed By: Laura Neri
Running Time: 9 Minutes
Muriel and Fabien, a Belgian couple, have lost that "special spark" over the years. When Fabien strays, he certainly does not expect the consequences which for Muriel must follow quite logically... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
GERMANY
Directed By: Anne-Christin Plate
Running Time: 5 Minutes
A mother with a so-called mentally disabled son, moves with him through everyday life, experiencing ambivalent feelings as she struggles to accept him as he is. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Weiyu Sun
Running Time: 15 Minutes
A Chinese girl tries to survive in the midst of a Chinese red terrorist political struggle. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
SPAIN, FRANCE, SWITZERLAND, CUBA
Directed By: Heidi Hassan, Patricia Pérez Fernández
Running Time: 80 Minutes
Childhood friends, Patricia Pérez Fernández and Heidi Hassan, grew up in Cuba, later studying at the International School of Cinema together. With plans to make films and grow old with one another, the two felt inseparable in their inevitable life... {more}
ITALY
Directed By: Alessio Liguori
Running Time: 94 Minutes
IN THE TRAP is the kind of horror film that grabs you right out the gate and doesn’t let go. After a violent encounter with a demon mars Philip’s childhood, his already devout mother only intensifies her praying and assures... {more}
SOUTH AFRICA, CANADA
Directed By: Diana Neille, Richard Poplak
Running Time: 106 Minutes
Covering the worldwide impact of geopolitical spin-doctors—namely Britain’s Tim Bell—INFLUENCE is an alarmingly pertinent documentary about the current “post-truth” era. Bell’s rise and fall as a global influencer is traced from his start as an ad man, to serving as... {more}
USA
Directed By: Joshua Tsui
Running Time: 101 Minutes
“FINISH HIM!” Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam are just some of the arcade games that made Midway synonymous with the 90s. Their combination of live-action graphics, explicit violence, and a hearty dose of humor helped change the gaming landscape for... {more}
FRANCE
Directed By: Anthony Lemaitre
Running Time: 16 Minutes
Yacine and his two friends want to see "Fast & Furious 8" in their suburban multiplex, no matter what.?Their problem: they can only afford the film-club screening.?What should have been a simple trick for Yacine will turn into a surprising... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FRANCE
Directed By: Laurent Heynemann
Running Time: 105 Minutes
Janot Reichenbach felt a deep connection to Léon Blum immediately upon seeing him.The Jewish-French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister captured her heart at the young age of 16. Life circumstances keep them from marrying, but when they can finally... {more}
FRANCE, QATAR, GERMANY, CANADA
Directed By: Elia Suleiman
Running Time: 97 Minutes
With a face and cinematic style often compared to the great Buster Keaton, Palestinian award-winning filmmaker, Elia Suleiman (“Divine Intervention”), returns after a decade with the poignant and off-beat comedy, IT MUST BE HEAVEN. Playing himself, Elia wanders from his... {more}
SOUTH KOREA
Directed By: Min-gi Jo
Running Time: 10 Minutes
360 VR - A boy wakes up in a strange bed and finds himself caught in a murderous dream-like loop between past and present in this chilling horror VR experience. {more}
Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking Dogs
LATIVA, POLAND
Directed By: Edmunds Jansons
Running Time: 72 Minutes
Jacob isn’t happy to be spending part of his summer in the historical Maskachka suburb with his “know-it-all” cousin Mimmi and Uncle Eagle. His dad ignores his protests since Jacob needs somewhere to stay while his dad travels. The transition... {more}
USA
Directed By: Mick Jones
Running Time: 3 Minutes
Jason and Stella go exploring. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Jay Sebring...Cutting to the Truth
USA
Directed By: Anthony DiMaria
Running Time: 94 Minutes
Credited as having single-handedly defined male hairstyle trends and aesthetics for the 1960s, the craft and legacy of Jay Sebring somehow remains mostly unknown and largely forgotten by the general public. Having revolutionized the market for men’s haircuts, Sebring went... {more}
USA
Directed By: Kenya Gillespie
Running Time: 10 Minutes
An Asian American high school football player confronts his deepest fears after an encounter with a mysterious figure. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Maya Sugarman, Amy King
Running Time: 22 Minutes
“The Jessicas are turning 30” weaves together six compelling narratives of people who were born Jessica in 1989. The film captures what it’s like to be 30 in America today. For millennial women, the milestone has become an age heavy... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
CANADA
Directed By: Anne Émond
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Juliette does not fit in with the high school crowd. Overweight, precocious, and awkward, she’s bullied and outcasted relentlessly by her peers. Juliette’s only refuge is in her best friend, Léanne, and in her own daydreams. Looking for a way... {more}
FRANCE, LUXEMBOURG, BELGIUM
Directed By: Zoé Wittock
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Do inanimate objects have souls? Jeanne seems to think so. For this shy and awkward young woman, the company of bright lights and metal pieces has always been more comforting than the company of people. In the solitude of her... {more}
IRAN
Directed By: Saeed Roustaie
Running Time: 134 Minutes
Already a box office megahit in its native Iran, this powerful police potboiler takes the genre to an anxiety-inducing, heart-racing new high. Curiously titled JUST 6.5, the film gets its name from the shockingly outsized population of drug users in... {more}
USA
Directed By: Mark Andrew Hamer
Running Time: 3 Minutes
Two young characters find each other and get nostalgic about their past. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Robert Machoian
Running Time: 84 Minutes
THE KILLING OF TWO LOVERS is a different kind of marriage story. Set against the backdrop of a sprawling rural town in Utah, David grapples with his recent separation from his wife, Nikki—and subsequently their four children—leaving him to move... {more}
CANADA
Directed By: Myriam Verreault
Running Time: 117 Minutes
Mikuan and Shaniss have been best friends— practically sisters—since they were little girls, growing up on an Innu reserve near northeastern Quebec. While their lives have been intimately intertwined, they have also been drastically different. For instance, after Mikuan brought... {more}
GERMANY
Directed By: Jan-Ole Gerster
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Lara is a complicated person. Throughout her life she has managed to push everyone away, including colleagues, friends, and family. On her 60th birthday, Lara finds herself completely alone, buying up the remaining tickets to her son’s upcoming concert and... {more}
UNITED KINGDOM, IRELAND
Directed By: Aoife Crehan
Running Time: 107 Minutes
On a flight from New York to Ireland for his mother’s funeral, Daniel (Michiel Huisman) talks briefly with an elderly man seated next to him on the plane. When the plane lands and the man is discovered to have died... {more}
Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist
USA, SPAIN
Directed By: Alexandre O. Philippe
Running Time: 105 Minutes
William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist,” still as shocking and effective today as it was in 1973, has been endlessly picked apart—quite literally frame by frame—for decades. Its mythos almost as legendary as the film itself, it may seem as though there’s... {more}
ITALY
Directed By: Stefano Bertelli
Running Time: 3 Minutes
In a park with a small lake there is a tree house. Here the memories come back to life, the shadows of children persist over time, but in time this place will be razed to the ground for the building... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Liberation Heroes: The Last Eyewitnesses (In Association with USC Shoah Foundation)
USA
Directed By: Vanessa Roth
Running Time: 41 Minutes
Heroic World War II veterans vividly share their liberation journeys, drawing parallels between the past and present. Featuring Alan Moskin, Virgil Westdale, Aldean Mason, and Glenn Felner. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
URUGUAY, AUSTRALIA
Directed By: Federico M.S.Mohr
Running Time: 3 Minutes
A modern cowboy, is exposed to the impact his actions have on the planet. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Louis Wallecan
Running Time: 85 Minutes
The electrifying dance style known as “jooking”—a bouncing, bucking, fleet-footed technique coming out of the underground hiphop scene of 1980s Memphis—is captured in this dizzying love letter to the dance sensation. At its center is jooking superstar, Lil’ Buck, a... {more}
SPAIN
Directed By: Daniel Viqueira
Running Time: 14 Minutes
A small family, an isolated farm, a terrible crime and the echoes that remain. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
CHILE, ARGENTINA, PERU
Directed By: María Paz González
Running Time: 83 Minutes
Lina—an immigrant from Lima—works in Chile for a wealthy family in order to send money to her own in Peru. While her ex-husband has begun a new family, her teen son, Junior, is more interested in his phone than holding... {more}
USA
Directed By: Amy Bench
Running Time: 9 Minutes
Best Animated Short Award - Honorable Mention ... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FRANCE, COLOMBIA
Directed By: Franco Lolli
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Overworked, single mother, Silvia Paz, often feels as though the weight of the world is on her shoulders. At home she deals with a terminally ill mother who refuses treatment and a sister who doesn’t equally bear the burden of... {more}
USA
Directed By: Erica Tremblay
Running Time: 12 Minutes
Against the landscape of a rural reservation in Oklahoma, the lives of a Native woman and nine-year-old boy intersect over the course of a school day. Exhausted and burned out, Sharon struggles to provide stability to her fifth grade students.... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
CANADA
Directed By: Charles Wahl
Running Time: 14 Minutes
Kim and Marlon were best friends, despite the fact they communicated exclusively online. Before Marlon died, he sent Kim a message saying he had something important to tell her. To find out what it was, and get a deeper sense... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Alan Hicks
Running Time: 39 Minutes
NO CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE The Ophelia Award: In Celebration of Hope - Given in Memory of Dakota Ophelia Berg Liv and her older sister Tess are inseparable siblings, who from a young age share a strong musical bond. While everything seems... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Halfway Jury Shorts Program 2
Shorts Jury Award Winner Program
Shorts Program 7
AUSTRALIA
Directed By: Christiaan Van Vuuren, Connor Van Vuuren
Running Time: 5 Minutes
Two unlikely misfits, "Millennial" Morgan and "Baby Boomer" Steve are forced to work together as location scouts on the upcoming Australian feature film, 'Top End Wedding'. During their misadventures in Australia's Northern Territory, Steve, a seasoned location scout who is... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Dame Pierre
Running Time: 7 Minutes
A man discovers how hard it can be to escape. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Ben Proudfoot
Running Time: 13 Minutes
CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE In 1963, Ed Dwight Jr. was poised to be NASA’s first African-American astronaut. Until suddenly he wasn’t. “Almost Famous” is a Breakwater Studios x New York Times Op-Docs series of films featuring people who nearly made history —... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Daniel Carberry
Running Time: 3 Minutes
This Jimmy Eat World music video was shot in Ashtabula. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FilmSlam® International Shorts Program
Local Heroes Shorts Program 1
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Sasha Collington
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Frankie has been dumped 11 times in a row. When Thomas, the love of her life, sends his kid brother, Wilbur, to break up with Frankie on his behalf, that makes 12. Seeking an explanation for her cursed love life,... {more}
USA
Directed By: Michael Showalter
Running Time: 86 Minutes
A couple (Issa Rae & Kumail Nanjiani) experiences a defining moment in their relationship when they are unintentionally embroiled in a murder mystery. As their journey to clear their names takes them from one extreme – and hilarious - circumstance... {more}
Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
BHUTAN
Directed By: Pawo Choyning Dorji
Running Time: 109 Minutes
Filled with restlessness and dissatisfaction, Ugyen has big dreams of moving from Bhutan to Australia to pursue a career in singing. The only obstacle in the way of Ugyen’s ambitions is his teaching contract with the Bhutanese government. With just... {more}
GERMANY
Directed By: Adi Wojaczek
Running Time: 15 Minutes
Malou is irresistibly fighting for her dream of a career on the big stage as a dancer. After years of struggle and rejection she suddenly receives her once in a lifetime chance – leading to an unexpected reveal. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FilmSlam® German Shorts Program
FilmSlam® International Shorts Program
Shorts Program 6
FRANCE, ROMANIA, BELGIUM
Directed By: Anca Damian
Running Time: 92 Minutes
For a dog, Marona has lived a very full life. She’s been known by multiple names under numerous owners, each of whom she’s loved unconditionally. She’s lived the life of a stray, a street performer, a guard dog, and a... {more}
AUSTRALIA, USA, GERMANY, BRAZIL
Directed By: Selina Miles
Running Time: 84 Minutes
In the 1970s, New York City declared a war on graffiti, labeling it filthy vandalism indicative of a growing crime problem. While tagged subway cars were scrubbed and walls painted over, Martha Cooper, a burgeoning street photographer, was preserving the... {more}
USA
Directed By: Matthew Bonifacio
Running Time: 22 Minutes
A student may have learned his lesson a bit too well. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA, MEXICO
Directed By: Malona P. Badelt
Running Time: 23 Minutes
ENGLISH SUBTITLES AVAILABLE Best Documentary Short Award - Honorable Mention "La Historia de Mateo" follows a family from Central America fleeing deadly gang violence with their two small children. When legally seeking asylum, one-year-old Mateo is separated from his father by... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
CANADA
Directed By: Xavier Dolan
Running Time: 119 Minutes
Long-time friends, Matthias and Maxime, are on very separate paths. Matthias is climbing the ladder at his Montréal-based law firm, while Maxime is planning a fresh start in Australia, fed up with caring for his abusive and ailing mother, who... {more}
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Natalie Johns
Running Time: 99 Minutes
In 2015 composer Max Richter released his landmark piece, Sleep, first premiering the eight-hour lullaby on BBC 3’s radio station and setting the Guinness World Record for the longest live broadcast of a single piece of music in the process.... {more}
USA
Directed By: Frank Todaro
Running Time: 20 Minutes
At the turn of the 20th Century, swaggering inventor Hubert Moss is having a dry spell that threatens to ruin him. Could the young acolyte who shows up at his door be his salvation? {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Peter Cattaneo
Running Time: 113 Minutes
While their husbands are deployed in Afghanistan, the military wives on the base search desperately for ways to distract themselves. Every time a phone rings or a doorbell buzzes, their anxious minds assume the worst. After their knitting club crumbles... {more}
NETHERLANDS, BELGIUM
Directed By: Floor Adams
Running Time: 30 Minutes
When relying on social scripts to survive the social world, it’s not easy to go off-script. Especially if you’re obsessed with German dive bombers and just want to date a girl. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Ellie Wen
Running Time: 21 Minutes
An all-girls robotics team competes to smash stereotypes and prove themselves in a male-dominated field, while also trying to get through high school. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
SOUTH AFRICA, UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Oliver Hermanus
Running Time: 103 Minutes
Set in 1981 South Africa, MOFFIE takes its title from the vicious, anti-gay Afrikaans slur flung liberally in this bracing Apartheid-era military drama. An unflinching camera hovers closely to the inscrutable face of Nicholas van der Swart—a young, deeply-closeted conscript... {more}
CHILE, USA, GERMANY, NETHERLANDS, SPAIN
Directed By: Maite Alberdi
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Sergio is a newly minted spy at the age of 83. After responding to an ad in the paper seeking octogenarians with a flare for technology, he is hired by private detective, Rómulo Aitken, to be his undercover eyes and... {more}
USA
Directed By: Ramsey Denison
Running Time: 84 Minutes
On October 1, 2017, Stephen Paddock opened fire on a crowd of more than 22,000 concertgoers from his hotel room at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. In a matter of minutes, Paddock killed 58 people and wounded more than 400.... {more}
SERBIA, ISRAEL
Directed By: Yoram Ever-Hadani
Running Time: 16 Minutes
A factory worker assembles an enigmatic machine that produces liquid drops from the moonlight. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
CANADA
Directed By: Arna Selznick
Running Time: 22 Minutes
The Most Magnificent Thing is an inspirational story about a little girl with a creative spirit, determined to make great things. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
LITHUANIA, LATVIA, GERMANY, GREECE
Directed By: Tomas Vengris
Running Time: 96 Minutes
It’s 1992 and Lithuania is once again an independent state after the fall of the Soviet Union. Viktorija, who has lived in the United States for nearly 20 years, returns to her Lithuanian homeland with her son, Kovas, after a... {more}
UKRAINE, RUSSIA, GERMANY
Directed By: Tatiana Fedorovskaya
Running Time: 20 Minutes
Jewish shtetl, Ukraine, 1941. A box with mother’s hairpins – the only thing left from his family – is Yasha’s last chance to escape German invaders and rescue his new friend, a wounded goat kid. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
CANADA
Directed By: Heather Young
Running Time: 85 Minutes
Alcohol dependent, estranged from her family, and in poor health, Donna is living an isolated and joyless life. After she is caught drinking and driving, Donna is sentenced to a reform program. As part of her treatment, she begins to... {more}
MEXICO
Directed By: Carlos Algara, Catalina Serna
Running Time: 9 Minutes
When an imaginative little girl discovers that her older brother might have superpowers, she sets out on a quest to make sure everyone else sees him as she does. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Matt Riddlehoover
Running Time: 90 Minutes
When Vivian Liberto first met Johnny Cash, he was a handsome, young Air Force cadet. While he was stationed in Germany, they wrote each other thousands of love letters, fantasizing about starting a family and a life together. When he... {more}
SOUTH AFRICA
Directed By: Julia Jansch
Running Time: 12 Minutes
ENGLISH SUBTITLES AVAILABLE The Spalding & Jackson Award: In Celebration of Joy Alatha Galela's father, Stoan, says he's more than a dancer - he's a Mover. Using a unique type of African electronic "Gqom" dance, The Mover is helping kids in... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Halfway Jury Shorts Program 2
Shorts Jury Award Winner Program
Shorts Program 5
FRANCE
Directed By: Ludovic Houplain
Running Time: 8 Minutes
NO CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE Best Animated Short Award Disney's big boss, Bob Iger said " Hitler would have loved social media. " He would have felt at ease in our time of soft totalitarianism (less and less soft actually). What if... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Halfway Jury Shorts Program 2
Shorts Jury Award Winner Program
Shorts Program 11
USA, POLAND
Directed By: Steven Oritt
Running Time: 111 Minutes
It’s September 1942 at the height of the German military expansion in Europe. After leaving her family behind and escaping Nazi-occupied Poland, 13-year-old Sara makes her way to the Ukrainian countryside alone. Desperate for refuge after spending days in the... {more}
FRANCE
Directed By: Élise Otzenberger
Running Time: 88 Minutes
Adam and Anna are young newlyweds who decide to take a sojourn away from their charming Parisian lifestyle to connect with their ancestral roots in Poland. Incidentally, being new parents, this adventure is also their long-delayed honeymoon and an opportunity... {more}
RUSSIA
Directed By: Yury Sholin
Running Time: 20 Minutes
A stray dog named Naida has become the only friend of Sergey, a security guard, who after losing his family is struggling to find meaning in his life. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Nail in the Coffin: The Fall and Rise of Vampiro
CANADA
Directed By: Michael Paszt
Running Time: 88 Minutes
Ian Richard Hodgkinson is a single dad doing his best to raise his 17-year-old daughter, Dasha, in Thunder Bay, Ontario. But to his adoring fans, he’s Vampiro—the ghost-faced, rock ’n’ roll professional wrestling legend. Vampiro Canadiense remains one of Mexico’s... {more}
FRANCE
Directed By: Delva Louis
Running Time: 10 Minutes
A couple searches for the perfect answer to a complex question. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Never Too Late: The Doc Severinsen Story
USA
Directed By: Kevin S. Bright, Jeff Consiglio
Running Time: 85 Minutes
In NEVER TOO LATE: THE DOC SEVERINSEN STORY, legendary trumpet player and entertainer, Doc Severinsen, is still kicking at the age of 92. Bandleader on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson from 1967-1992, Severinsen defined the role for his future... {more}
USA
Directed By: Ted Marsden
Running Time: 5 Minutes
Hiring your significant other is a bad idea. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
The New Homesmiths: I Live in a Tiny House
USA
Directed By: Rebecca Blumhagen
Running Time: 8 Minutes
NO CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE Jewel Pearson, an African-American Tiny House trailblazer, sets out to redefine the American Dream within a typically white, hipster community. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
ARGENTINA
Directed By: Gastón Calivari
Running Time: 6 Minutes
Nicolás discovers that in a photograph of him in his childhood there is something he had never seen before: a strange lady who greets the camera, diffuse, in the background and being aware that she was also part of the... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
EGYPT
Directed By: Karim Shaaban
Running Time: 14 Minutes
A contented call center worker is confronted by an unhappy customer on the night shift. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
TAIWAN, MALAYSIA, MYANMAR
Directed By: Midi Z
Running Time: 103 Minutes
NINA WU, a young struggling actress, left her rural town’s small theater company to pursue a film acting career in Taipei. After eight years of commercial and extra work, she finally lands a breakout leading role that—while complex and sure... {more}
Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Werner Herzog
Running Time: 89 Minutes
Renowned writer and adventurer, Bruce Chatwin, touched many through his novels and journalistic works. Throughout his career, Chatwin traveled extensively, exploring sociological and natural history and connecting with people of many cultures, including nomadic and tribal. After Chatwin’s death, his... {more}
USA
Directed By: Meghann Artes
Running Time: 9 Minutes
Miracle, science and luck all play a part in this vibrant and fantastic imagining of how life begins. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Ric Burns
Running Time: 114 Minutes
Oliver Sacks was a famed doctor, best-selling author, and neurologist, whose study of neurological oddities focused on humane treatment of patients. As much as he was committed to treating the disorder, he felt compelled to understand the patient. Author of... {more}
FRANCE, UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Ariane Labed
Running Time: 27 Minutes
Olla has answered to an ad on a dating website for eastern women. She moves in with Pierre, who lives with his mother. Nothing goes as expected. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FRANCE, LUXEMBOURG, BELGIUM
Directed By: Christophe Honoré
Running Time: 90 Minutes
After 20 years of what he thought was a happy marriage, Richard finds out his wife, Maria, is having an affair. And although this is the first he has discovered of her infidelities… this is hardly her first affair. Needing... {more}
USA
Directed By: Oren Jacoby
Running Time: 85 Minutes
The shimmering lights of Broadway have long symbolized success in show business. Each year, top tier Broadway shows attract millions of people from all over the world. But the history of Broadway isn’t all glitz and glamour. In fact, Times... {more}
CZECHIA
Directed By: Jiří Mádl
Running Time: 97 Minutes
Retired professor, Mr. Rypar, is a 79-year-old of stark tradition. He resents the changing world around him—mainly Prague’s rise in immigration—and can’t comprehend the appeal of new technologies. One day Rypar encounters a young Vietnamese man, Song, who is in... {more}
VENEZUELA
Directed By: Anabel Rodríguez Ríos
Running Time: 99 Minutes
ONCE UPON A TIME IN VENEZUELA—not too long ago, actually—there was a small village named Congo Mirador floating atop the waters of Lake Maracaibo, Latin America’s largest oil field. In its homes perched on stilts lived fishermen, musicians, and families.... {more}
SPAIN
Directed By: Sebastián Alfie
Running Time: 14 Minutes
A threat lingers with a young lad. One day he has to choose between imminent hell and the impetuousness of adolescence. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA, BANGLADESH
Directed By: Josh Turnbow
Running Time: 84 Minutes
Located in Bangladesh on its Myanmar (Burma) border, sits the world’s largest refugee camp. Home to over 800,000 people, nearly 95% of Myanmar’s Rohingya population reside in the city-sized camp after their villages were attacked and destroyed by the Myanmar... {more}
USA
Directed By: Natasha Deganello Giraudie, Michael "Pom" Preston
Running Time: 19 Minutes
NO CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE One World Sawalmem is born from one question: what is one word from your ancestral language which changed your life and which you can offer to humanity to heal our relationship with the Earth? {more}
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Chris Cronin
Running Time: 12 Minutes
Duncan (Paul Bullion, Peaky Blinders) and his dog Oscar have gone on their weekly camping trip into the wilderness together. However, when Duncan looks out into the woods, something else looks back. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
ITALY
Directed By: Federico Marsicano
Running Time: 6 Minutes
An experimental journey into the world of domestic violence. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Rob Hatch-Miller, Puloma Basu
Running Time: 85 Minutes
For more than 20 years, the independent record store, Other Music, was a staple in Manhattan’s East Village. While it was best known for selling records and CDs, Other Music was so much more than just a record store; it... {more}
USA, CHINA
Directed By: S. Leo Chiang, Yang Sun
Running Time: 81 Minutes
Shanghai-based artist Maleonn contemplates the past through his whimsical photo tableaus and performance art. His father, Ma Ke, is a now-retired prolific Peking Opera director losing his memory to Alzheimer’s. Holding on to the dream of collaborating with his father,... {more}
USA
Directed By: Connor O'Keefe
Running Time: 9 Minutes
A filmmaker explores his transition to male and coming out at 13 years old by reliving the experience through the perspective of his parents. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Peier "Tracy" Shen
Running Time: 20 Minutes
Two immigrants find a moment of shared understanding. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
NORWAY
Directed By: Hans Petter Moland
Running Time: 122 Minutes
After losing his wife in a tragic accident, Trond (Stellan Skarsgård) desires to live out his remaining years in the Norwegian woods, far away from everyone. But as Trond prepares for a solitary winter in his new home, he comes... {more}
NORWAY
Directed By: Benjamin Ree
Running Time: 102 Minutes
When two paintings by Czech naturalist, Barbora Kysilkova, are stolen from an Oslo art gallery, Norwegian authorities quickly identify and arrest the two thieves but find no trace of the paintings. Hoping to learn what happened, Barbora approaches one of... {more}
FRANCE, ALGERIA, BELGIUM, QATAR
Directed By: Mounia Meddour
Running Time: 105 Minutes
University student, Nedjma—affectionately known as PAPICHA—is a high-spirited, budding fashion designer despite rising threats to women’s autonomy amid the Algerian Civil War. While Nedjma continues her studies, armed fundamentalists shoot dissenters in the street and bomb cultural institutions. Posters demanding... {more}
PUERTO RICO
Directed By: Julio Benito Cabrera , Gabriel Ocando
Running Time: 5 Minutes
A child's dream and the vision of an old craftsman become one. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
GREECE
Directed By: Thanasis Neofotistos
Running Time: 13 Minutes
Yanni’s mum is on her way to audition for a role as Shakespeare’s Viola, when she discovers that her son has been left home alone. Through a series of phone calls, she fights to balance the most important roles of... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
BELGIUM
Directed By: Tim Mielants
Running Time: 100 Minutes
The occupants of the naturist campsite owned by Patrick’s father sure have a lot to hide, considering they live in the buff. TV director Tim Mielants (Peaky Blinders) makes his feature debut with the Belgian tragicomedy, PATRICK. Although Patrick serves... {more}
CHINA
Directed By: Yuchao Feng
Running Time: 14 Minutes
In a desolate Chinese fishing village, a single mother gives her 6-year-old daughter one final lesson. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
SAUDI ARABIA, GERMANY
Directed By: Haifaa Al Mansour
Running Time: 101 Minutes
The most recent film from Haifaa Al-Mansour, the vanguard female filmmaker roaring out of Saudi Arabia, delivers her latest politically charged, social realist drama. THE PERFECT CANDIDATE is a steely look at the life of Maryam, a young Saudi doctor... {more}
The Personal History of David Copperfield
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Armando Iannucci
Running Time: 119 Minutes
THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD re-imagines Charles Dickens’ classic ode to grit and perseverance through the comedic lens of its award-winning filmmakers—giving the Dickensian tale new life for a cosmopolitan age with a diverse ensemble cast of stage and... {more}
USA
Directed By: Jo Ardinger
Running Time: 80 Minutes
“Personhood,” according to the United States Constitution, legally guarantees the fundamental rights of life, liberty, and property. While the term has long been understood to be established at birth, a growing contingent of the pro-life movement is advocating for fetuses... {more}
USA
Directed By: Geoff Marslett
Running Time: 8 Minutes
Tom Skerritt stars in this animated short film about a lonely trucker waiting for a reply on the CB radio...a ghost that haunts the lonely highways...and a whale that sings in a voice no other whale can even hear. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Ian Van der Werff
Running Time: 5 Minutes
The writers and actors of Relationship Deli are back part two of the Relationship Deli franchise, a man orders a relationship, craft beer style! {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA, GERMANY, JAPAN, ARGENTINA, AUSTRIA, UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Martha Shane, Ian Cheney
Running Time: 81 Minutes
Here’s a fun fact: Did you know that “emoji” is a Japanese word that means “picture character?” This definition might give you a hint as to what the film is about. That’s right… emojis. Over the past two decades, emojis... {more}
USA
Directed By: Meredith Bragg, Austin Bragg
Running Time: 12 Minutes
NO CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE A desperate father finds himself on a comedic quest. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Comedy Shorts Program 2
Family Shorts Program 1
Halfway Comedy Shorts Program
Shorts Program 15
USA
Directed By: Alexandra Kotcheff, Hannah Leder
Running Time: 78 Minutes
Martha sucks at her job as a telemarketer, but she’s great at burying treasure—or “planting” as she likes to call it. As a Planter, Martha buries trinket-filled tins in the middle of nowhere for local treasure hunters to find. If... {more}
Playing With Fire - Jeannette Sorrell and the Mysteries of Conducting
USA
Directed By: Allan Miller
Running Time: 70 Minutes
By the age of 17, Jeannette Sorrell knew she wanted to direct a chamber orchestra. Even as a child, her determination led her to practice the piano on a hand-drawn keyboard. So she was not discouraged when she was rejected... {more}
LUXEMBOURG
Directed By: Cyrus Neshvad
Running Time: 15 Minutes
A grandfather at the edge of despair is called to care for his dying granddaughter. Through art, he kindles a relationship with her that brings beauty to the darkness in their lives. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Jessica Mendez Siqueiros
Running Time: 10 Minutes
La Gringa killed her Nana. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Sarah Heinz, Luke Snedecor
Running Time: 6 Minutes
A boy's plan to bake a birthday cake becomes disastrous when his scientist father's latest experiment gets added to the mix. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
PALESTINE
Directed By: Farah Nabulsi
Running Time: 24 Minutes
ENGLISH SUBTITLES AVAILABLE Best Live Action Short Award On his wedding anniversary, Yusef and his daughter, Yasmine, set out in the West Bank to buy his wife a gift. Between the soldiers, segregated roads and checkpoints, how easy would it... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FilmSlam® Arabic Shorts Program
Halfway Jury Shorts Program 1
Shorts Jury Award Winner Program
Shorts Program 13
USA
Directed By: Shelby Blake Bartelstein
Running Time: 10 Minutes
Best friends Rachel and Greg have undeniable chemistry, but it's been simmering and unspoken for the last three years. When Rachel's casual and unexpected hook-up sparks Greg's feelings of jealousy, they'll be forced to say what's on their minds —... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: David Garrett Byars
Running Time: 96 Minutes
One of the most urgent documentaries you are likely to see this year, PUBLIC TRUST uncovers a national epidemic hiding in plain sight. Alongside investigative journalist, Hal Herring, the film is an exposé on the conglomerates that are plundering America’s... {more}
USA
Directed By: Patrik-Ian Polk
Running Time: 104 Minutes
If only Tupac and Notorious B.I.G. were alive to witness the opening of PUNKS, as a posse of WeHo (West Hollywood) drama-queens rate the homoerotic appeal of prominent rappers and R&B singers, in the first romantic comedy feature film to... {more}
SWEDEN
Directed By: Fredrik Gertten
Running Time: 92 Minutes
In the last 30 years, Toronto housing prices have increased by 425%, while the average family income has increased by 133%. This phenomenon, which isn’t exclusive to Canada, is representative of a global housing crisis that’s making it harder for... {more}
FRANCE
Directed By: Nicolas Berno
Running Time: 16 Minutes
A man follows a routine in his effort to avoid reality. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Ben S. Hyland
Running Time: 5 Minutes
A man must decide whether to intervene and stop a casual commuting rule breaker, or live with a lifetime of regret. A comedy about a passive man with an overactive imagination. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA, RUSSIA
Directed By: Gabe Polsky
Running Time: 80 Minutes
RED PENGUINS is not your average sports documentary. Then again, the circumstances under which the Red Army hockey team played after the fall of the Soviet Union aren’t so average either. Hockey fan or not, this insane tale has a... {more}
GERMANY
Directed By: Mariko Minoguchi
Running Time: 111 Minutes
From the moment Nora and Aron first met, it felt like destiny—as if every part of the universe had conspired to bring them together on one rainy afternoon in a subway station. For Aron, who’s dissertation is focused on physics... {more}
USA
Directed By: Jacob Nurse
Running Time: 7 Minutes
The story of a girl's dream to become a ballet dancer. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Lisa Cortés, Farah X
Running Time: 67 Minutes
Hip-hop and fashion have always had a symbiotic relationship. Bold streetwear styles made famous by rap and R&B idols have defined the fashion industry for decades and continue to shape major trends today. But who were the pioneers who led... {more}
USA
Directed By: Hillary Bachelder
Running Time: 94 Minutes
Since the birth of our country, American women have fought for equality and representation. While women have made incredible strides, we still have a long way to go… especially when it comes to gender parity in politics. When compared with... {more}
USA
Directed By: Jon Fish
Running Time: 27 Minutes
Pittsburgh Steeler and Vietnam Veteran, Rocky Bleier returns to Vietnam for the first time since suffering a wartime injury that almost ended his career. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
NEW ZEALAND
Directed By: Sam Deane
Running Time: 3 Minutes
A short film about the challenge of farting in front of your partner for the first time. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
AUSTRALIA
Directed By: India Dupré
Running Time: 11 Minutes
A video doorbell spies on a new couple across the hall as their relationship takes a dark turn. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Douglas Blush, Co-Director: Renee Barron
Running Time: 87 Minutes
Ever dreamed of jamming with your rock star idols? At Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp, you can do just that. Created in 1996 by music producer, David Fishof, Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp offers rock fans and musicians of all... {more}
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Sarah Gavron
Running Time: 93 Minutes
After her feminist period drama “Suffragette,” Sarah Gavron returns with a lively, contemporary portrait of young women from multi-ethnic backgrounds growing up in East London. The story centers around Shola—affectionately known as “Rocks”—a Nigerian-British teen who lives with her single... {more}
SOUTH AFRICA
Directed By: Zamo Mkhwanazi
Running Time: 6 Minutes
While going on a simple errand, Nathi’s journey is marked by disturbing interactions with authority. But is he an innocent victim? {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: David Altrogge, Michael Hartnett
Running Time: 14 Minutes
After Mickey fouls up, Frank is tasked with cleaning up the mess. Saint Frank is a short film about best friends caught in a lose-lose situation. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
SWITZERLAND
Directed By: Susanne Regina Meures
Running Time: 88 Minutes
In the city of Jeddah, 26-year-old Muna feels stifled by the strict laws and customs controlling the women of her country—customs that force her to live a life regulated by her father, whose authority will soon be transferred to her... {more}
USA
Directed By: Robbie Barnes
Running Time: 11 Minutes
A rape victim finds she now has scars that only she and other survivors can see. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
INDONESIA, MALAYSIA, FRANCE
Directed By: Yosep Anggi Noen
Running Time: 106 Minutes
In 1960s Indonesia, Siman, a local farmer, stumbles upon a foreign film crew shooting a fake moon landing. When he is caught, Siman’s captors cut off his tongue in order to bury the truth. Fifty years later, the trauma of... {more}
USA
Directed By: Ira Deutchman
Running Time: 94 Minutes
SEARCHING FOR MR. RUGOFF uncovers the heretofore untold legacy of one of the titans of arthouse cinema, the legendary Mr. Don Rugoff. Through his innovative New York-based company, Cinema 5, Rugoff was a vanguard when it came to the distribution... {more}
USA
Directed By: Crystal Kayiza
Running Time: 6 Minutes
'See You Next Time' is a short documentary that captures the intimate moments between a Chinese nail tech and her Black client in a Brooklyn nail salon. It reaches across the nail salon table for a nuanced look into how... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Mike Doyle
Running Time: 94 Minutes
This romantic comedy for the Instagram-era zigzags among the various romantic dalliances of a group of friends living and hustling in New York City. The film focuses on gay couple Adam and Marklin. One is a frustrated painter working for... {more}
USA
Directed By: Chris Webb, Conrad Miles
Running Time: 19 Minutes
NO CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE The Clover & Maggie Award: In Celebration of Life Conrad Miles, Aaron Saunders, and Paul Carpenter have turned Krump into therapy. This is their story. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FilmSlam® African Diaspora Shorts Program
FilmSlam® International Shorts Program
Halfway Jury Shorts Program 1
Local Heroes Shorts Program 2
Shorts Jury Award Winner Program
Shorts Program 12
Setting the Bar: A Craft Chocolate Origin Story
USA, MEXICO, AUSTRALIA
Directed By: Tim Shephard
Running Time: 85 Minutes
Like craft beer, craft condiments, and other craft foods, the craft chocolate movement is on the rise… and for good reason. The modern consumer doesn’t just want quality products, they want to know where their products are coming from and... {more}
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Directed By: Nayla Al Khaja
Running Time: 15 Minutes
The story of a sick 9-year old boy in the grip of uncontrolled phenomena - and the desperate measures his mother takes behind closed doors to save his life. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
ISRAEL
Directed By: Jonathan Mordechay
Running Time: 13 Minutes
It was supposed to be another ordinary evening for the couple who just had a cute baby. Father just came home from work, mother got up to make dinner, but it's most important - not to wake up the baby... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Shorts Audience Choice Awards Program
International
Running Time: 90 Minutes
CIFF patrons determine the winners of these awards by casting ballots throughout CIFF44. Each award is accompanied with a $1,000 cash prize. Best Short Film Overall - sponsored by Char and Chuck Fowler Best African Diaspora Short Film - sponsored by Hingetown... {more}
International
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Our three jurors select winners of the awards listed below. Many of the shorts are screened and the filmmakers are recognized during this special program. Each award is accompanied by a $1,000 cash prize. Best Animated Short Award* - sponsored by... {more}
CZECHIA, SLOVAKIA, FRANCE
Directed By: Michaela Mihalyi, David Stumpf
Running Time: 13 Minutes
The caretaker, exhausted by his life which includes his frustrated wife and one totally depressed deer, decides he's had enough. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FRANCE, BELGIUM
Directed By: Justine Triet
Running Time: 100 Minutes
After deciding to pursue a career as a writer, Sibyl, who currently works as a psychologist, begins the emotional process of “breaking up” with her patients. But just as she’s letting go of all her old patients, one new patient... {more}
USA
Directed By: Joseph L Billups Jr, Cornell H. Calhoun III
Running Time: 4 Minutes
A homeless man is confronted by a group of students who harass and abuse him, while other students, who witness this want to make it right by helping him. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Charles Moore
Running Time: 16 Minutes
“The Simple Path” follows the decision making of Nevaeh, an elder care nurse who struggles emotionally when one of her long-term elderly female patients, Helen, no longer has the financial ability to support the costs associated with the care facility... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Gilda Sheppard
Running Time: 105 Minutes
NO CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE The United States is home to a startling statistic: the country currently has a higher percentage of its population in prison than any other society in the history of western civilization. Yet, mass incarceration does little to... {more}
USA
Directed By: Ashley Eakin
Running Time: 15 Minutes
A film that confronts the complexities of being disabled and dating. Kim, who was born with one arm, gets set-up to go on a blind date. When she finally meets Jake, she quickly realizes he also has a physical disability,... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Henry Roosevelt
Running Time: 15 Minutes
Sainte-Mère-Église was ground zero on D-Day. For 75 years, people of all countries, races and faiths have gathered to commemorate those whose sacrifice changed the world. With few veterans left, who will preserve their legacy? Sixth of June is the... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Skin Deep: The Battle Over Morgellons
USA
Directed By: Pi Ware
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Cindy Casey-Holman was working as a registered nurse when she began to experience uncontrollable itching and discomfort all over her body. Then one day, as if out of a science fiction horror story, she discovered a multitude of stringy fibers... {more}
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Lewis Taylor
Running Time: 8 Minutes
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
MONGOLIA
Directed By: Sil Van Der Woerd, Jorik Dozy
Running Time: 13 Minutes
A reminder of the "high cost" nature is paying in the name of "progress". {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Max Lang, Daniel Snaddon
Running Time: 27 Minutes
A snail hitches a ride and takes an incredible journey. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
KENYA
Directed By: Sam Soko
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Meet Boniface “Softie” Mwangi, one of Kenya’s most vital photojournalists. He has boldly spent years documenting and exposing injustice and systemic corruption as a leading political activist. SOFTIE begins with a breakdown of the history of the colonialist British occupation... {more}
USA
Directed By: Lance Oppenheim
Running Time: 83 Minutes
The Villages, Florida is the largest retirement community in America, home to 130,000 residents. Retirees flock to the property’s palm tree-lined streets, picturesque lawns, and sparkling pools in search of a fun, carefree retirement. The residence is a bustling, self-contained... {more}
FRANCE
Directed By: Cédric Klapisch
Running Time: 110 Minutes
What does a love story look like when the two romantic leads don’t meet until the very end? SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE takes this premise and gently peers into the everyday lives of two thirty-something Parisian neighbors who would be perfect for... {more}
NETHERLANDS
Directed By: Reinout Hellenthal
Running Time: 18 Minutes
A young teenager develops a close friendship with his older sister's boyfriend, and must confront the depth of his feelings when the couple announces that they will be moving away. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
JAPAN
Directed By: Hayato Ando
Running Time: 18 Minutes
A mother and father try to cope with their devastating loss. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FRANCE, TUNISIA, LEBANON, QATAR
Directed By: Mehdi M. Barsaoui
Running Time: 96 Minutes
In late summer of 2011, just after the Tunisian revolution, Fares and Meriem Ben Youssef enjoy the last days of their summer holiday with their 11-year-old son, Aziz. The Ben Youssef’s pride themselves on being a modern, independent family—they work... {more}
IRAN, CZECH REPUBLIC
Directed By: Mahnaz Mohammadi
Running Time: 102 Minutes
After the loss of her husband, Leila has toiled tirelessly to support her infant daughter and 12-year-old son, Amir. While the factory where she works goes under, Leila is running out of options to avoid falling into poverty. When her... {more}
UNITED KINGDOM, FRANCE, BELGIUM
Directed By: Ken Loach
Running Time: 100 Minutes
A tightly knit working-class family in Newcastle is ripped apart at the seams as they desperately struggle to make ends meet following the 2008 financial crisis in this searing British drama. Drowning in debt, Ricky Turner makes the decision to... {more}
LEBANON
Directed By: Farah Shaer
Running Time: 14 Minutes
While her marital life decays, Mariam worries she might be pregnant. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
GERMANY
Directed By: Vanessa Jopp
Running Time: 122 Minutes
After Leo’s girlfriend dumps him for a Spanish pilot, Leo is desperate to win her back… until he serendipitously starts receiving emails from a stranger trying to cancel her subscription to a magazine. It’s a simple case of an email... {more}
USA
Directed By: Jason Allen Lee
Running Time: 11 Minutes
Amid the collision of light and dark, the bounds of space are revealed. The Space Wall is a visually striking animated journey through cosmic landscapes, accompanied by a deeply atmospheric original score. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Matt Wolf
Running Time: 116 Minutes
In 1991 eight capable men and women were sealed into Biosphere 2, an airtight terrarium in the Arizona desert containing a miniature replica of Earth’s environment. Funded by a Texas oil tycoon hoping to acquire licensable technologies for space colonization,... {more}
CHINA
Directed By: Cao Runze
Running Time: 11 Minutes
A young master falls into the trap of an evil old spirit. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Joe Boothe
Running Time: 9 Minutes
When a disenchanted, passed up middle age salesman is caught cheating by his wife, he’s forced to face his skeletons in the closet to win her back. Will there be a happily ever after or is she fighting demons of... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Curie Lu
Running Time: 2 Minutes
A temple maiden summons her dragon to herald the first spring rain. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Smriti Mundhra, Sami Khan
Running Time: 28 Minutes
NO CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE Bruce Franks Jr. is a 33-year-old battle rapper, Ferguson activist and state representative from St. Louis, Missouri. Known as Superman to his constituents, he is a political figure the likes of which you've never never seen —... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FRANCE
Directed By: Marie-Sophie Chambon
Running Time: 88 Minutes
Lois has her sights set high: she wants to go to outer space, and she’ll do anything to get there. While she’s certainly intelligent enough, she doesn’t have the stereotypical “athletic” body of an astronaut, as her family, teachers, and... {more}
NORTH MACEDONIA
Directed By: Georgi M. Unkovski
Running Time: 19 Minutes
Obtaining a new "sticker" becomes extraordinarily challenging for a father on a mission. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Stonewall: The Making of a Monument
USA
Directed By: Cheryl Furjanic
Running Time: 19 Minutes
Ever since the 1969 riots on the streets outside New York City’s Stonewall Inn, LGBTQ communities have gathered there to express their joy, their anger, their pain and their power. This film explores what more than half a century of... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: James Brown-Orleans
Running Time: 27 Minutes
A routine traffic stop finds a New York State Trooper face to face with a storied stranger from his past. The chance encounter powerfully alters their fates...again. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Deia Schlosberg
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Of all the plastic that has ever existed, more than half was produced in the last 15 years. Of that, 91% has never been recycled. It’s no secret that we have a major plastic problem. What is less known is... {more}
USA
Directed By: James Sweeney
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Fasten your seatbelts and get ready for the breakneck, speed-of-light pacing of a modern screwball comedy like no other. Set in a colorful, glistening contemporary Los Angeles, STRAIGHT UP follows Todd, a razor-smart twenty-something gay man with a bevy of... {more}
USA
Directed By: Janina Gavankar, Russo Schelling
Running Time: 17 Minutes
J is trying and failing to move forward as the scars of old relationships keep her trapped inside her new home. While hanging a piece of art, she knocks a hole in her wall that reveals what might be a... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
GERMANY
Directed By: Reza Sam Mosadegh
Running Time: 14 Minutes
Paving stones serve as reminders of the awful things that can arise out of hatred. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Kevin Mead
Running Time: 14 Minutes
NO CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE After the recent death of their parents, a passionate Italian-American family reunites to enjoy their customary Sunday dinner. But one of them has a major confession that threatens to unravel their beloved tradition. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Comedy Shorts Program 2
Halfway Comedy Shorts Program
Shorts Program 6
AUSTRALIA
Directed By: Liam Firmager
Running Time: 99 Minutes
More often than not, women are left out of rock ‘n’ roll’s historical narrative, and this icon’s story is no different. Although early musicians such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe helped pave the way for the genre, women in the 50s... {more}
FRANCE
Directed By: Zabou Breitman, Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec
Running Time: 81 Minutes
In war-torn Kabul, the citizens of Afghanistan’s capital live under the militant control of the Taliban. Some have adopted the fundamentalist ideologies, but many secretly yearn for their former lives. Mohsen and Zunaira are a married couple who long for... {more}
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Richard Prendergast
Running Time: 17 Minutes
In a heartbeat, the things we hold dearest can so easily be stripped away. Music, ice-cream and games, Sylvia is the story of a normal family road trip. However, as the journey continues, a sense of anxiety suggests that all... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Brendan Boogie
Running Time: 94 Minutes
Look no further for one of the most wildly funny and frequently moving lesbian romantic comedies of the year. Emma and Josie are newlyweds who are thrown a major life curveball when Emma’s cancer escalates to a point where she... {more}
CANADA
Directed By: Andrew Moir
Running Time: 21 Minutes
Featuring intimate, charming interviews with queer Canadians ranging in age from 88 to 17, Take Me To Prom invites audiences to revisit an adolescent milestone while telling a story of social change that spans more than 70 years. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Jacob Ho
Running Time: 2 Minutes
A young man dreams of finally taking his shot. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
HUNGARY
Directed By: Attila Szász
Running Time: 112 Minutes
In 1945 Hungary, World War II has ended, but the country is far from restored. Families struggle to reunite with loved ones and are desperate for news of servicemen still missing. This chaos makes it easy to fall for the... {more}
GUATEMALA, FRANCE, LUXEMBOURG
Directed By: Jayro Bustamante
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Pablo has it all: a beautiful wife, two adorable children, a successful career, and good standing in his evangelical church. But when this high-profile family man announces that he’s leaving his wife for another man, his entire world begins to... {more}
SWITZERLAND
Directed By: Fabiana Serpa
Running Time: 30 Minutes
It is 1888 and Therese, a bavarian botanist, undertakes a four month long expedition to Brazil. Trouble starts unfolding because of the cultural clash between her and a Brazilian local guide as he refuses to take orders from a woman,... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Brad Rothschild
Running Time: 87 Minutes
In Chicago neighborhoods crippled by gun violence, community members stay indoors, fearful for their safety. Tamar Manasseh has had enough. Driven to bring joy back to summer, Manasseh makes it her mission to provide a haven in Chicago’s most crime-riddled... {more}
ARGENTINA
Directed By: Nicolas P. Villarreal
Running Time: 8 Minutes
Immersed in her phone, a girl uses a Taxi-GO! App. The driver is a little unusual. He likes flowers. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
CANADA
Directed By: Yung Chang
Running Time: 106 Minutes
Known for his absolute commitment to reporting the truth from the frontlines of highly volatile war zones, the work and process of legendary foreign correspondent, Robert Fisk, takes center stage in this bracing, furious, nonfiction portrait. Capturing risky wartime footage... {more}
USA, PUERTO RICO
Directed By: Brian Robau
Running Time: 20 Minutes
ESTA ES TU CUBA is a short film inspired by the real-life stories of the children involved in Operation Pedro Pan, the mass exodus of over 14,000 unaccompanied minors from Cuba to America. ESTA ES TU CUBA takes place in... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Magali Barbe
Running Time: 14 Minutes
Nigel is an elderly man living as a recluse, haunted by his past and memory of the family he once had... until an unexpected visitor arrives and disrupts his lonely routine. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA, PHILIPPINES
Directed By: Ramona S. Diaz
Running Time: 115 Minutes
Outsider candidate, Rodrigo Duterte, disrupted the Philippines’ stagnant political system when he won the 2016 presidential election. He appealed to the disenfranchised working class and the poor by acknowledging their struggles and promising better futures. His campaign lauded those often... {more}
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Jamie Di Spirito
Running Time: 17 Minutes
A hook-up between two young men - they make a connection, but it quickly becomes apparent they're looking for different things. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Alexandra Serio
Running Time: 10 Minutes
An ASMR vlogger with a devoted fanbase returns from an extended absence with a livestream that spirals out of control. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
CANADA, USA
Directed By: Michael Nader
Running Time: 80 Minutes
When Cami orders a rideshare at 1:00 AM from the airport, she wants nothing more than to forget her terrible flight and go to sleep. Spencer, her particularly chatty driver, makes the long trek out to her dad’s remote ranch... {more}
USA
Directed By: Lindsay Lindenbaum
Running Time: 95 Minutes
“You’re really good for a woman.” In the male-dominated world of drumming, this is something female percussionists hear all too often. Over the course of five years, TOMBOY follows four tenacious women drummers as they fight stereotypes with their undeniable... {more}
USA
Directed By: Arthur Halpern
Running Time: 15 Minutes
After an unusual online encounter, a lonely man is challenged to step out from behind his computer screen and shatter long-lived inhibitions to claim the touch of another human being. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Devon V. Collins
Running Time: 26 Minutes
Peer into the world of the film’s lead protagonist, Nina. An elite lawyer, loyal wife, and loving mother of a teen boy, Nina is navigating life (and a pregnancy) to the best of her ability. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Focus 2020: Racial Equity Shorts Program
Local Heroes Shorts Program 1
SINGAPORE, THAILAND
Directed By: Pagorn Jungrungruang
Running Time: 16 Minutes
Jonathan excels at helping others communicate but lacks every social skill imaginable in his personal life. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FRANCE
Directed By: Régis Roinsard
Running Time: 105 Minutes
Nine translators from all corners of the globe are whisked away to a top-secret, secluded, luxury bunker where they are tasked with translating the highly-anticipated last volume of the fastest-selling series in publishing history. But an exhilarating, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for... {more}
UNITED KINGDOM / USA
Directed By: Rosie Westhoff
Running Time: 18 Minutes
TREACLE is the story of two friends, BELLE, and JESSIE, who go on a weekend away to help Jessie get over a recent breakup. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
The Treasures of Mrs. Grady's Library
USA
Directed By: Richard O'Connor
Running Time: 3 Minutes
CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE One day he wandered into the library, where he came across a book by African-American author Frank Yerby. The cover piqued his interest, but Olly didn’t want to risk his reputation by letting his classmates see him voluntarily... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Animation Program
FilmSlam® International Shorts Program
Focus 2020: Racial Equity Shorts Program
Shorts Program 7
USA
Directed By: Omer Ben-Shachar
Running Time: 20 Minutes
After he's been cast (again!) as a background tree in his annual school play, an ambitious and imaginative immigrant boy leads a revolution on stage that his intolerant drama teacher will never forget. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
ESTONIA
Directed By: Tanel Toom
Running Time: 149 Minutes
When Andres first sets foot onto his newly purchased farmland, Robber’s Rise, he is filled with idyllic dreams for the future. Although the dilapidated farm sits atop a flooded marsh, Andres has big plans to drain, to rebuild, and to... {more}
USA
Directed By: Matt Kenchington
Running Time: 10 Minutes
It was a blistering hot day, and, as a chubby kid on summer break, Bruno's only goals were to avoid his chores and stay cool while awaiting the sweet jingle of the ice cream truck. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Hannah Chambers
Running Time: 3 Minutes
A nervous young witch’s trip to the supply store goes awry when her and the cute shopkeeper’s familiars don’t get along. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
FRANCE, LUXEMBOURG, BELGIUM
Directed By: Filippo Meneghetti
Running Time: 95 Minutes
To the outside world, Nina and Madeline simply appear to be friendly neighbors living in adjacent apartments. But behind closed doors, the two women share a deep passionate love they have kept hidden for decades. Just as Nina and Madeline... {more}
BRAZIL
Directed By: Helena Hilario, Mario Pece
Running Time: 8 Minutes
While visiting a home for children, a little girl meets Joseph, a boy whose only dream is to have a yellow umbrella. This unexpected encounter awakens his memories of the past. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
CANADA
Interactive Media - Presented as an online shoe company, this interactive website is actually a first-person account of self-actualization in disguise. Follow along on the story of Evie, who never quite felt like a girl or a boy. Using the... {more}
USA
Directed By: Kevin Taylor
Running Time: 12 Minutes
A daughter comes to "care for" and share with her father her feelings about their life together as he is recovering in the hospital at Christmas time. She wants to talk, he can't. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
RUSSIA
Directed By: Marcos Mereles
Running Time: 3 Minutes
On the busy streets of Moscow, most events seem insignificant. But among the city’s many stories, a man comes in contact with a car accident and a person involved… {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
Unsettled: Seeking Refuge in America
USA
Directed By: Tom Shepard
Running Time: 84 Minutes
This powerful documentary traces the setbacks and triumphs experienced by LGBTQ+ refugees and asylum seekers escaping from the Middle East and Africa as they struggle to carve out a new home in the U.S. Facing violence and persecution in their... {more}
USA
Directed By: Andy Stuckey, Shawn Parsons
Running Time: 18 Minutes
Jimmy's Dallas' fishing show is on life support: his cameraman quits, his boss forces him to accept an "American Idol" as his first celebrity guest, and his fertility doctor confirms that In Vitro is he and his wife's final option. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
GERMANY
Directed By: Byambasuren Davaa
Running Time: 97 Minutes
In a province in the middle of the Mongolian steppe, 11-year-old, Amra, lives a traditional nomad life with his mother, Zaya, father, Erdene, and little sister, Altaa. While Zaya takes care of the flock, Erdene works as a mechanic and... {more}
USA
Directed By: Melody Gilbert
Running Time: 4 Minutes
Every day for the past 23 years, Michael has taken a picture with a film camera. Each image, more than 8,000 and counting, carries special meaning. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Susan Strickler
Running Time: 83 Minutes
Setsuko Thurlow was only 13 years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. Decades later, she still vividly remembers the sudden flash of light and the horrific suffering and destruction that followed. While many of her... {more}
USA
Directed By: Foster Wilson
Running Time: 5 Minutes
The morning after a no-strings one-night stand, Gina learns via e-news articles and her early-morning Facebook feed that the woman lying beside her might literally be the enemy. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Tyler Huyser
Running Time: 8 Minutes
360 VR - A package of VR experiences that lets you walk in the shoes of minorities - enduring racism, sexism, homophobia, and classism firsthand - while humanizing the experience of prejudice. {more}
USA
Directed By: Camille Campbell
Running Time: 9 Minutes
A young woman reeling from a breakup shares a connection with a car wash employee who rides along with her through an express car wash. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Linda Goldstein Knowlton
Running Time: 86 Minutes
CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE Don’t expect to see the Radical Monarchs— a scout troop comprising young girls of color in Oakland, California—selling cookies. These troopers earn their badges by learning about social justice movements, from the Black Panthers to Black Lives Matter,... {more}
USA, CHILE, UGANDA, PERU, ITALY, TURKEY, PAKISTAN, FINLAND, ROMANIA, VIETNAM, NEPAL, UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Matthew Salleh
Running Time: 84 Minutes
Everyone knows dogs are man’s best friend, but what did we do to deserve their undying love? Spanning 11 countries and nine languages, WE DON’T DESERVE DOGS tracks the bond between humans and pups across the planet. Some help former... {more}
ARGENTINA
Directed By: Juan José Campanella
Running Time: 125 Minutes
After 40 years of living in a mansion with her husband, Pedro, and his two friends, Martin and Noberto, Mara is at her wits’ end. Fed up with their daily taunts, endless games of pool, and constant gunfire, Mara has... {more}
USA
Directed By: Tina Huang, Malcolm Barrett
Running Time: 7 Minutes
Robert and Denise must navigate the ups and downs of living together for the first time. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Conrad Faraj
Running Time: 2 Minutes
A man must profess his true feelings to the love of his life before the wedding bells ring. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Anabelle D. Munro, Leanne Melissa Bishop
Running Time: 16 Minutes
A dangerous game of fire begins when an elite level gymnast and her coach become entangled in a web of psychological damage. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: David France
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Searing urgency is a guiding force as WELCOME TO CHECHNYA shadows a group of activists who risk unimaginable peril to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ+ program raging in the repressive and closed Russian republic. Since 2016 Chechnya’s tyrannical leader, Ramzan Kadyrov,... {more}
USA
Directed By: Dave Dorsey
Running Time: 9 Minutes
360 VR - Nothing is easy when the McWiffle Family gets involved. Young Brandon’s attempts at wooing his childhood crush are thwarted at every turn with a little help from his highly eclectic and disaster-prone family in this episodic VR... {more}
USA
Directed By: Matthew Vojacek
Running Time: 3 Minutes
“Where Are You Now” is a story about loss and hopeful returns. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Aaron M Cabrera
Running Time: 9 Minutes
After being caught kidnapping a woman, a murdering psychopath hunts down the photographer to silence the loose end. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Christopher Guerrero
Running Time: 7 Minutes
Because of the Harvey Weinstein scandal two men realize that all of their favorite movies are now sexist, leading them down a dark path of discovery. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: Rubika Shah
Running Time: 80 Minutes
In 1970s Britain, the world recession brought about an economic crisis. This left the country vulnerable to a rise in radical nationalism led by a far-right, fascist political party reminiscent of Hitler’s Nazis. Rooted in white supremacy, the National Front... {more}
Widows of Sir Alvaro Cifuentes Fresnadillo
SPAIN
Directed By: Maria Guerra
Running Time: 12 Minutes
After the sudden death of Alvaro, Julia "his widow", watches the body in the conjugal home. She is surprised by an unpleasant visit. Susana "his widow" comes with the legitimate intention of saying goodbye to him. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
CHINA, FRANCE
Directed By: Diao Yinan
Running Time: 113 Minutes
From China, THE WILD GOOSE LAKE lures viewers into the slick, neon underworld of its down-and-dirty gangster milieu on the outskirts of Wuhan. Chopped and screwed to dizzying effect, this hyper-stylized neo-noir explodes this classic genre into something visually mesmerizing... {more}
FRANCE
Directed By: Paul Autric, Quentin Camus, Maryka Laudet, Léa Georges, Zoé Sottiaux, Corentin Yvergniaux
Running Time: 7 Minutes
While on a romantic getaway, Alan and Beverly cause a fatal accident. This crime won't remain unpunished... {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
After Hours Shorts Program 2
Animation Program
Comedy Shorts Program 2
Shorts Program 13
AUSTRALIA
Directed By: Ricard Cussó
Running Time: 89 Minutes
The story of THE WISHMAS TREE begins many years ago in the land of the ancestors when a dark and powerful force swept the earth, bringing extinction to animals everywhere. To survive, a small group of animals put aside their... {more}
USA
Directed By: Javier Molina
Running Time: 16 Minutes
An 11 year-old kid growing up in “the hood” secretly dreams of trick-or-treating as Wonder Woman for Halloween. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
MEXICO
Directed By: David Zonana
Running Time: 82 Minutes
A piercingly urgent story of class frustrations and economic disparity in contemporary Mexico City, WORKFORCE sets off like a bomb. A group of day laborers are hired on a months-long project building a wealthy, single businessman’s elegant, state-of-the-art mansion. When... {more}
USA
Directed By: Pearl Gluck
Running Time: 8 Minutes
Write Me, a poetry film, follows an older woman who joins other survivors in reclaiming the histories tattooed on their bodies. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
AUSTRALIA
Directed By: Dean Ganter
Running Time: 20 Minutes
Being the tale of a young man who came in for a shave, and whom quickly became the focus of the Barber's murderous rage. {more}
This film is part of the following shorts programs:
USA
Directed By: Christopher Winterbauer
Running Time: 106 Minutes
Wyrm is falling behind the rest of his classmates. Not in math or literature, but in his sexuality requirement. In an analog-based alternate future where pre-teens are forced to wear a collar that tracks their sexual development, Wyrm must kiss... {more}
USA
Directed By: Jeffrey McHale
Running Time: 92 Minutes
Upon its release, Paul Verhoeven’s 1995 drama, “Showgirls” was disparaged as pure trash, reviled for its over-the-top performances, baffling script, and demeaning attitude towards women. Rated NC-17, its frequent nudity, bombastic sex scenes, and explicit violence only added to the... {more}
BELGIUM
Directed By: Jean-Pierre, Luc Dardenne
Running Time: 84 Minutes
Winner of the prestigious Best Director prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, YOUNG AHMED is a sharply drawn portrait of religious extremity and radicalized youth. The film’s anxious camera tracks the unnerving descent of a 13-year-old Muslim boy living... {more}
BELGIUM
Directed By: Lars Damoiseaux
Running Time: 89 Minutes
In YUMMY, a young couple travels to a shabby Eastern European hospital for cheap plastic surgery. The young woman wants a breast reduction. Her mother comes along for yet another facelift. Wandering through an abandoned ward the boyfriend stumbles upon... {more}
USA
Directed By: Alex Winter
Running Time: 129 Minutes
ZAPPA is an in-depth look into the life and work of legendary rock musician and composer, Frank Zappa. The documentary is crafted from thousands of hours of unreleased material from Frank Zappa’s private archives—never before seen by the public. Stylistic... {more}