The 30th Slamdance Film Festival, the artist-run organization “by filmmakers for filmmakers,” has announced its full film lineup for 2024. Celebrating 30 years of searching for industry-changing talent, the circle will come full circle by returning to the Yarrow Hotel in Park City. , where it all began.
Starting with the screening of Oscar-winning filmmaker Carol Dysinger’s documentary “One Bullet,” this year’s festival will feature a lineup of 32 feature films, 17 of which are world premieres, 75 short films and five episodes.
In-person screenings and events will take place in Park City and Salt Lake City from Jan. 19-25, and online screenings will be available on Slamdance Channel Jan. 22-28.
“Our Slamdance 2024 programming is a testament to filmmakers who dare to take their stories to the far reaches of cinema, making them deeply private but with global resonance,” said festival director Taylor Miller. “His raw hobby and risk-taking echo our commitment to exploring the uncharted territories of cinematic expression. This year, we’re proud to host the most inclusive and available festival we’ve ever had, staying true to the core goals I sought to tame with our programmers when I accepted this position.
The 2024 programme was decided from more than 9,000 applications, totalling 1,729 feature films. As in previous years, all films selected in the festival’s Narrative Feature and Feature-Documentary categories are directorial debuts with no distribution in the U. S. U. S. and with budgets of less than $1 million.
Closing the festival on Jan. 25 will be Vanessa Hope’s “Invisible Nation,” a seven-year odyssey into the heart of Taiwan’s political arena.
Slamdance’s commitment to bringing varied voices to the film industry is in festival programming and an ongoing commitment to accessibility, representatives said. More than 40% of this year’s films are directed through BIPOC creators and 43% through female or non-binary filmmakers, making 2024 the most varied lineup in Slamdance history.
Slamdance announced the lineup for its fourth annual Unstoppable program, a showcase of new films from visually impaired and non-visually impaired creators. Unstoppable will be at the University of Utah’s Student Union Theatre Jan. 22-24 with upcoming screenings at the Yarrow. All screenings of Unstoppable at the university will be free.
In-person festival diversity passes cost between $125 and $250 and can be purchased at Slamdance. com. Passes to the virtual festival are now available on Slamdance Channel for $50 and come with an annual subscription to the show.
In-person passes and Slamdance Channel subscriptions can be purchased at https://slamdance.com/passes. Individual tickets go on sale Dec. 14 at https://slamdance.com
More information about this year’s programming can be found on the Slamdance website: https://www. slamdance. com.
Slamdance Festival 2024 schedule:
Narrative Features:
AFRICAN GIANTS (USA) World Premiere
Director: Omar S. Kamara
Producers: Leo Blumberg-Woll, Omar S. Kamara, Jordan Tyner
On a weekend in Los Angeles, two first-generation American brothers from Sierra Leone navigate the fraternity’s conversion dynamic after a wonderful announcement.
Cast: Dillon Daniel Mutyaba, Omete Anassi, Tanyell Waivers, Josh Lopez, Kathleen Kenny, Scott Bender
All I’ve got
Directors: Tehben Dean, Rasheed Stephens
Producers: Tehben Dean, Rasheed Stephens, Amaka Onwuta, Lissa Mazzotta, Josh Mitchell
Based on a true story, All I’ve Got
Starring: Rasheed Stephens, Avis Parsons, Naiya Armour, Boo Kapone, Glen “Big Baby” Davis, Charles Constant, Armie Hicks Jr.
BRANDO WITH THE GLASS EYE (Greece, Australia) World Premiere
Director: Antonis Tsonis
Producers: Tia Spanos Tsonis, Blake Northfield
A talented actor commits a heist wrong; he befriends the seriously injured victim and tries to reconcile his guilt before his only audition for a scholarship in New York.
Cast: Yiannis Niarros, Kostas Nikoulis, Xenia Dania, Alexandros Chrysanthopoulos, Maria Kallimani, Yiannis Tsortekis, Chara Mata GiannatouDarla In Space (USA)
Directors: Susie Moon, Eric Laplante
Producers: Erik Mygrant, Hunter Schlesinger
Darla Peterson teams up with a sentient orgasm-granting kombucha scoby named Mother to pay off a huge tax debt.
Cast: Alex E. Harris, Constance Shulman, Rasheda Crockett, Thomas Jay Ryan, Jenn Lyon, Woody Fu, J. S. OliverHELL OF SE (Japan) World Premiere
Director: Sawa Kawakami
Producer: Ikuya Onodera
School girl “Momo Amano” falls in love with her classmate boy “Hayasaka”, but he loves someone else. Amano’s best friend, “Yoshiyuki”, is opposed to her love. “Hayasaka” is a menstruophile, and one day he took all the used napkins in the school and ran away. From that day on, he never returned to class.
Cast: Yura Tsuduri, Watashinoyouna Tenki, Himari Hitomi, Miu Kainuma, Rukapi, Itsuka Hashimura, Tengo SaitoSam’s World (USA)U. S. Department of T World Premiere
Director: Lily Lady
Producer: Dan Lalor
Sam–a non-binary mid 20s sex worker–navigates romantic, sociality and an impending pregnancy-related decision over the course of a weekend in New York City.
Starring: Annie Conolly, Ajé Brown, Riley Mac, Quinn, Coco Gordon Moore, Maddie Vasquez, Aurora O’Greenfield
The Accident (Italy) North American Premiere
Director: Giuseppe Garau
Producer: Cristina Trio
After being laid off, Marcella, a kind-hearted mother in times of separation, buys a crane; She finds herself trapped deeper and deeper in a cynical and competitive world until she is presented with a terrible opportunity.
Cast: Giulia Mazzarino, Anna Coppola, Alice Dente, Nathalie Bernardi, Elena Savio, Toni Pandolfo, Elisa Denti The Bitcoin Car (Norway) North American Premiere
Director: Trygve Luktvasslimo
Producers: Trygve Luktvasslimo, Anze Persin
After pimping out her old Toyota with money she got when a crypto investor started bitcoin mining on her parents grave, a morally challenged goat farmer fears that activity at the mine is endangering everyone.
Cast: Sunniva Birkeland Johansen, Henrik Paus, Zoe Winther-Hansen, Johannes Winther Farstad, England Brooks, Espen Beranek Holm, Marianne Jakobsen, Irene Sundsfjord The Complex Forms (Italy)
Director: Fabio D’Orta
Producers: Fabio D’Orta, Mariangela Bombardieri, Maria Cristina Bombardieri
The worried wait, in a sublime villa, for an organization of desperate people who have sold their bodies to unknown creatures.
Cast: David Richard White, Michele Venni, Cesare Bonomelli, Enzo Solazzi The Washing (Germany) World premiere
Director: Nils A. Witt
Producer: Nils A. Witt
While doing laundry, young lawyer Jan discovers that the washing device creates phenomena. The effect can be replicated and greatly expands your experiments. The devices work 24/7. Is he the one who knows?
Cast: Sebastian Bös, Loredana Linglauf, Stephanie Jost, Henry Meyer, Elikem Anyigba, Can Arduc
Documentary Features:
Citizen Weiner (USA) World Premiere
Director: Daniel Robbins
Producers: Elliot Allen, Michael Gelfand, Daniel Goldschmidt, Joey Lyons, Daniel Robbins
Zack Weiner is an actor who lives on the Upper West Side of New York City. When the film industry shut down due to COVID-19, Zack and his friend Joe embarked on an exclusive project: making a film about running for City Council while running for the New York City Council.
Starring: Zack Weiner, Joe Gallagher, Sarah Coffey, James Watson, Aaron Dalla Villa, Cherie Vogelstein, Dan Bright
Mineral Demon (United States)
Director: Hadley Austin
Producers: Nevo Shinaar, Emma Robbins
A story of life as a result of uranium mining on sacred lands. Filmed over four years under the supervision and direction of the Diné (Navajo) community, the film examines the legacy of uranium mining from the perspective of the landscape and its people.
Starring: Emma Robbins, Lisa Robbins, Jesse Holiday, Deb Haaland, Tommy Rock
My Name is George Lucas: A Connor Ratliff Story (USA) World Premiere
Director: Ryan Jacobi
Producer: Annamaría Sofillas
Five years after playing famed filmmaker George Lucas on the New York cult comedy series “The George Lucas Talk Show,” comedian Connor Ratliff wonders if he wants his continuation and his own drive to succeed and thrive in show business.
Starring: Connor Ratliff, Griffin Newman, Patrick Cotnoir
On The Way Home (Georgia, USA) World Premiere
Director: Giorgi Kvelidze
Producers: Nino Shengelaia, David Michael, Giorgi Kvelidze, Charlotte Savage
A feature-length documentary that follows two Georgian families, displaced during the war, crouched in a deserted former Soviet health center while waiting for government housing.
Cast: Nikusha Berulava, Iamze Giorgadze
Petro (Spain, Colombia, United States) Premiere in the United States
Director: Sean Mattison
Producers: Trevor Martin, Sean Mattison, Jeremy Gardner, Fernando Monzón, Jessica Millstone
The historic presidential bid of a charismatic former guerrilla is dividing Colombia, a conflict-weary country seeking change.
PUNISHMENT (Norway) North American Premiere
Director: Øystein Mamen
Producer: Ingvil Giske
Four maximum-security inmates chose to participate in a three-week Jesuit silent retreat in prison. They are led by two priests. The film slowly observes this paradoxical situation, while looking beyond the question of devout belief: how do moral exercises, rituals, and community silence us?The decoration evolves into a prism that allows us to paint a portrait of the existential landscape of the condemned man.
Roll Bus Roll: A documentary through Jeffrey Lewis (USA) World Premiere
Director: Ilya Popenko
Producer: Ilya Popenko.
Musician Jeffrey Lewis, one of the leading figures in New York City’s anti-folk scene, struggles with crippling anxieties and questions his sanity as he embarks on a search for love. Along the way, he explores the intersection of art and human existence.
Cast: Jeffrey Lewis, Adam Green, Jim Testa
World Premiere of The Death Tour (Canada)
Directors: Stephan Peterson, Sonya Ballantyne
Producers: Chris Jericho, Stacey Tenenbaum, Sergeo Kirby
The Death Tour follows wrestling hopefuls in remote indigenous communities in Canada’s far north on “professional wrestling’s most grueling excursion. “This test of strength and courage will show how some are willing to go through to live their dreams.
Starring: Tony Condello, Sage Morin, Sean Dunster, Dez Loreen, Sara McNicholl
Breakouts:
Anna’s Feelings (Russia) U. S. Premiere
Director: Anna Melikian
Producers: Anna Melikyan, Ekaterina Ryzhaya, Natella Krapivina, Ekaterina Kononenko, Dmitry Litvinov
The story of an undeniable employee of a provincial factory in Russia, who begins to hear the voices of extraterrestrial civilizations. Now he will have to transmit the data most vital to humanity.
Cast: Anna Mikhalkova, Timofei Tribuntsev, Oleg Yagodin
Shipping by Motorcycle (United States)
Director: Eric D. Seals
Producers: Donnie Seals Jr. , Resita H. Cox
Bike Vessel follows a father and son, 35 and 70, as they cycle from St. Louis to Chicago. Film director Eric Seals’ father almost died after three open-heart surgeries. However, he makes a miraculous health recovery after discovering his love for cycling, bringing his son Eric along with him.
Cast: Eric D. Seals, Donnie Seals Sr. , Sharon Seals, Donnie Seals Jr. Curtis Cotton.
CHAPERONE (USA) World Premiere
Director: Zoe Eisenberg
Producers: Alison Week, Devin Murphy
Alienated by her friends and family due to her lack of ambition, 29-year-old Misha discovers a damaging acceptance in a brilliant 19-year-old athlete who mistakes her for a fellow student.
Starring: Mitzi Akaha, Laird Akeo, Kanoa Goo, Jessica Jade Andres, Krista Alvarez, Ioane Goodhue
Love And Work (USA) World Premiere
Director: Pete Ohs
Producer: Pete Ohs
Diane and Fox love to work. Unfortunately, they find themselves in a polarized world where it is illegal to have a job.
Cast: Stephanie Hunt, Will Madden, Frank Mosley, Alexi Pappas, John S. Davies
One Bullet (Afghanistan)
Director: Carol Dysinger
Producers: Ashim Bhalla, Su Kim, Carol Dysinger
This story of female friendship forged amidst America’s longest war is told by a filmmaker who spent 18 years in-and-out of Afghanistan. In this war movie, the battlefield lies behind the curtains of an Afghan home as Bibi Hajji struggles to survive the loss of her youngest child, and the impact of a brother’s death on her remaining sons. A haunting image of that boy surviving a bullet wound prompted director Carol Dysinger to investigate, what happened to him, who fired the shot?
Slide (United States)
Director: Bill Plympton
Producers: Rachel Braga Jones, Wendy Cong Zhao, Sean Davis, Natasha Villegas-Cordero, Owen Andrejco
What if Clint Eastwood and Mel Brooks and the cartoonists joined forces to create the most eccentric and surreal musical western of all time?It’s “Slide. “
Starring: Maureen McElheron, Jim Lujan, Tom Racine, Daniel Kaufman, Sasha Odesa, Ana Sophia Colon, Ken Mora, Simone McAlonen
Highlights:
Bliss (United States) World Premiere
Director: Joe Maggio
Producers: Paula Killen; Matthew Myers; Larry Fessenden
An opioid addicted fugitive living off the grid in the desert canyons north of LA plays a twisted game of cat and mouse with a sexually repressed holy-roller in search of her missing sister.
Cast: Clint Jordan; Faryl Amadeus; Juan Fernandez
Invisible Nation (United States, Taiwan)
Director: Vanessa Hope
Producers: Sylvia Feng, Cassandra Jabola, Ted Hope, Vanessa Hope
With an unprecedented story of Taiwan’s first female president, Tsai Ing-wen, director Vanessa Hope paints a desirable portrait of Taiwan and the country’s struggle to maintain its hard-won democracy. Invisible Nation is a brilliant account of Tsai’s tightrope-walking adventure as she balances her hopes and the nation’s dreams between the colossal geopolitical forces of the United States and China.
Cast: President Tsai Ing-wen, Human Rights Commissioner Chen Chu, Taiwan’s Representative to the U.S. Bi-khim Hsiao, Legislator and Heavy Metal Rock Star, Freddy Lim, Taipei City Councilor Wu Pei-yi
Les Herricanes (United States)
Director: Olivia Kuan
Producers: James Lee Hernandez, Brian Lazarte, Lisa France, James Short, Justin Baldoni, Andrew Calof
The Houston Herricanes, a professional women’s soccer team, camaraderie and strength as they controversially open a new door in the world of sports.
Unstoppable Features:
DARUMA (UNITED STATES)
Director: Alexander Yellen
Producers: Kelli McNeil-Yellen, Alexander Yellen, Jodi Binstock
Patrick (bitter wheelchair user) must enlist the help of his cantankerous neighbor Robert (double amputee) to transport the four-year-old daughter he never knew he had to live with her maternal grandparents on the other side of the country.
Cast: Tobias Forrest, John W. Lawson, Abigail Hawk, Barry Bostwick, Victoria Scott, Joy Nash, Sandi McCree, Austin Foundation
Good Things, Bad Things (United States) World Premiere
Director: Shane D. Stanger
Producers: Steve Way, Shane D. Stanger, Danny Kurtzman, Sean Crampton, Manuel González, Mel McGinnis
Danny, a young man with muscular dystrophy and disillusioned by failed relationships, steps out of his convenience zone and into the world of dating.
Starring: Danny Kurtzman, Brett Dier, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Timothy Granaderos, Samantha Robinson
Leilani’s Fortune (Canada)
Director/Producer: Loveleen Kaur
Producer: Loveleen Kaur
After a decade of suffering as an independent artist, “Leilani’s Fortune” follows the burgeoning career of Ethiopian-Eritrean queer artist Witch Prophet as she nevertheless gains validation and wishes to create her album. Prophecies.
Cast: Sorcerer Prophet, Sun Sun
Look at Me (Location) World Premiere
Director: Taylor Olson
Producer: Taylor Olson
A fictional autobiography about an insecure, awkward, and lonely actor who unknowingly embarks on a self-love adventure in the midst of a relapse into an eating disorder.
Cast: Taylor Olson, Koumbie, Stéphanie MacDonald, Sam Vigneault
NINA is an ATHLETE (Israel, USA) World Premiere
Director: Ravit Markus, Livi Kessel
Producers: Ravit Markus, Livi Kessel, Janine McGoldrick
Turning 40, wheelchair badminton champion Nina Gorodetsky aims to reach greater heights at the festival representing Israel at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. However, she also needs to design, which puts her at a critical professional crossroads, facing a biological clock, either as a mother or as an athlete.
Cast: Nina Gorodetsky, Dor Kessel, Leon Pugach, Boris Gorodetsky, Tamara Gorodetsky, Reuven Moses, Amir Levy, Ron Bolotin
Episodes:
Dog Written Backwards (USA)
Director: Richie Soto
Producer: Tim Almeida
A dog teacher gives the audience a glimpse into the American animal shelter’s formula like never before.
Cast: Tim Almeida, Tipsy, Algiers
Eindis Ends It All (USA, Taiwan)
Director: Tamara Rosenfeld
Producers: Tamara Rosenfeld, Anita Tung
After finding herself inexplicably alone in a post-apocalyptic world, a young woman suffering from anger will have to be informed of the most terrifying thing of all: herself.
Starring: Weslie Lechner, Yen Tsao, Stephanie Tang
Lucy & Sara (Chapter 1: Suicide) (UK) World Premiere
Director: Susan Park
Producers: Susan Park, Ryan Gage
A dark and comedic exploration of two sisters as they are taught to navigate through the vulnerabilities and demanding situations of life after the death of their beloved father.
Starring: Susan Park, Nicolette Morrison, Jeremy Joyce
Night Drives – Season 2 Collection (Canada)
Director: Jono Hunter
Producer: Jono Hunter
A series of animated sketches about the futility of life.
Starring: Alex Stypula, Chris Sandiford, Ajahnis Charley, Miguel Rivas, Rodrigo Fernandez Stoll, Lory Mpiana, Jono Hunter, Madeline Leon
Catering (United States)
Director: E’an Verdugo
Producers: Caleb Davis, Alana Rood
In the wake of his ex-father’s passing, Chase inherits an old garage unit that has a knack for fixing anything broken. . . for him and his dysfunctional family.
Starring: Connor Boyd, Olivia Clari Nice, Jacob Daniels, Joan Deschamps, Stephen Miller, Francis Juarez
Narrative short films:
AFFENTANZ — HUNTER (Germany)
Director: Cyprien Hercka
Producers: Cyprian Hercka, Martin Hillebrand
The story of a hunter who suddenly finds himself in a world of reversed roles when the weakest and nature fight back like a parable with socio-critical observation with provocative photographs that leave a lasting impression.
Featuring: Fritz Fenne, Thomas Brandlmeier, PawełProcek, Georg Weber, Maximilian Schneider, Moritz Zielke, Martin Hillebrand
Blockbuster (Brazil) World Premiere
Director: Rafael Toledo
Producers: Felipe Enio, Vitor Acácio
Obsessed by the practical effects of old cinema, an amateur filmmaker decides to orchestrate a veritable architectural explosion for his next film.
Starring: Luiz Gomide, Rute Vianna, Enedson Gomes
Burnt Milk (Jamaica, USA, UK)
Director: Joseph Douglas Elmhirst
Producer: Ruby Elmhirst
As a lone maternity nurse living in the suburbs of London in 1985, and taking a moment of comfort to make her classic condensed milk pudding, burnt milk, she is inundated with religious photographs that transport her back to Jamaica.
Starring: Tamara Lawrance, Clover Webb, Xavier Alexander Keating
Complications (Norway) North American Premiere
Director: Ivar Aase
Producer: Ivar Aase
An intimate webcam consultation turns into a life-or-death suspenseful scenario for Lotte, a webcam dominatrix.
Cast: Anna Ladegaard. Sven Henriksen.
Deserter (Canada) U. S. Premiere
Director: Aidan Lesser
Producers: Robert Burns, Samatha Stermer
A desperate woman who can no longer support her elderly mother with dementia takes her for one last drive.
Cast: Joan Gregson, Suzanne Pratley
Dissolution (United States) World premiere
Director: Anthony Saxé
Producers: Sebastian Jurd, Thomas Lopez, Anthony Saxe
A is forced to deal with her elderly husband’s deteriorating physical condition when they meet to sign divorce papers.
Cast: Eddie Saxe, Linda DiVirgilio
European Man…American Beach (USA)
Director: Rex Shannon
Producer: Henry Bock
A naked European fights with an angry American on the beach.
Featuring: Bogdan Szumilas, Henry Bock
Fettyland (United States) World Premiere
Director: Vincent Dale
Producer: Eric Cook
After being evicted from their shelter, four drug addicts are struggling to collect their rent at a famous southwest Florida domain known as “Fettyland. “
Starring: Brian Lee, Two Dorz, Pablo Maldonado, Rhonda Ditonno, Lenny Herhey, Jeane Jaeschke
Fishing (UK) World Premiere
Director: Josie Charles
Producers: Esme Allen, Josie Charles
Sixteen-year-old Lola has been stuck in her room for three days; she confesses to a camcorder the secret keeping her locked inside.
Cast: Esme Allen, Lucy Reynolds, Olivia Klein, Odhrán McNulty
Invasive Species (United States)
Director: Annie Ning
Producers: Ruby Rose Collins, Aisha Amin, Shuyuan Liu
Young sound artist Maggie attempts to enter the off-kilter world of an artist’s residency, where her own repressed nature and frustrations begin to boil up to the surface in strange and intrusive ways.
Cast: Emily May Jampel, Pascal Yen-Pfister, Katya Golvin, Stuart Green, JJ Paul, Eve Austin
Je Ne Suis Pas Une Star de Cinéma (USA) North American Premiere
Director: Hugo De Sousa
Producer: Hugo De Sousa
An actor is invited to participate in a disturbing game of improv at an audition for an undisclosed film project.
Cast: Anna Seregina, Hugo De Sousa, Hugo Armstrong, Emily Green, Manny Spero and Scott Monahan
Kayla Baby (United States) World Premiere
Director: Clark Comstock
Producer: Claire Foley
When a teenage girl and her older sister are forced to relocate to an abandoned housing development, they befriend a teenage boy and an old man.
Cast: Kenny Rayborn, Nora Kovasckitz, Cyrus Fontenot, Ayla Cole, George Alexander
Lan Garden (United States)
Director: Jennifer Ru Zhou
Producer: Jennifer Ru Zhou
A matriarch has aged and now her children come to her, but she is not satisfied with this change of care.
Cast: Lan Miao, Kathy Wu, Ning Jiang, Ryan Jiang
My Son Went Quiet (Canada) World Premiere
Director: Ian Bawa
Producers: Ian Bawa, Markus Henkel
After his wife’s death, a South Asian father and son begin to see a shadow around the walls of their home, which the son believes to be his mother.
Cast: Harkaran Jhinger, Jay Vaidyanathan
Shadow (USA) US Premiere
Director: Kamell Allaway
Producers: Kamell Allaway, Adam Tyree, Ashley Rosenberg, Tim Smith
A mother’s shadow comes to life and terrifies her and her daughter for a night.
Actors: Katy Wright-Mead, Valentina Gordon, Christy St. John
tape. (Singapore) World Premiere
Director: Alistair Quak
Producer: Alistair Quak
Plunged into a violent and surreal situation, she is forced to face the inevitable mortality of her daughter.
Cast: Kelly Lim, Annalisa Pickles
Le Steak (Iran, Canada)
Director: Kiarash Dadgar
Producer: Kiarash Dadgar
Preparing for a birthday ceremony is turned upside down when something terrible happens.
Cast: Faranak Khamis, Amin Simiar, Panisa Peyvakht, Mehran Naabi, Ali Narimani
The Year of Staring at Noses (Canada, United States) World Premiere
Directors: Karen Knox, Matt Eastman
Producers: Karen Knox, Matt Eastman
A hybrid story/documentary about a woman who undergoes (real) plastic surgery in an effort to become a contestant on a beloved real TV show.
Cast: Karen Knox, Taylor Hanson Whittaker, Gwenlyn Cumyn
Tokyo Animals (Japan) North American Premiere
Director: Toshiki Yashiro
Producers: Nick A Jones, Eucari
Other peculiar people in a specific city.
Cast: Sho Mineo, Naoyuki Fernandes, Naoyuki Miyahara, Emi Nata, Koshi Uehara
Virus (United States)
Director: Will Duncan.
Producer: Will Duncan.
A complete fool downloads a fatal virus directly to your computer.
Cast: Will Duncan, Ian Abramson
We are all dogs (Iran) World Premiere
Director: Aminreza Alimohammadi
Producer: Amin Rafiei
It’s about a small family a Grandma Grandson and a dog trying to get a house but because of their pet nobody accept
Cast: Afshin Hasanloo
*666 (Canada)
Director: Abby Elizabeth Flavo
Producers: Abby Elizabeth Falvo, Lar Violet
Two women perform a dark ritual and notice that some calls go unanswered.
Cast: Angie St. Mars, Karlee Liljegren, Lar Violet
Documentary Shorts:
A space on each and every piece of land (Norway)
Director: Signe Rosenlund-Hauglid
Producer: Signe Rosenlund-Hauglid
A poet uses her voice to excavate the lost home of her childhood.
Cast: Hanna Asefaw
A Short Film About a Chair (Palestine) World Premiere
Director: Ibrahim Handal
Producers: Ibrahim Handal, Wissam Aljafari
A lonely chair on a deserted balcony, a photographer staring at it for days and nights, something happens that will replace the life of the chair forever.
Cast: Michele Contani, Wanda Handal, Karam Alsalaymeh, Bisho elMesmes
Ask The Plantain (Canada, Greece) World Premiere
Director: Jaime Leigh Gianopoulos
Producer: Shelby Manton
Alternating between myth and reality, Jaime Leigh Gianopoulos untangles the intricate tapestry of pain and the liminal area that exists between belonging to the land in which we were born and the land from which our ancestors once came.
Starring: Jaime Leigh Gianopoulos, Milva Spina, Georgia Glymenakis
Cocks I Love (Germany)
Director: Johanna Gustin
Producer: Johanna Gustin
Visual artist Daniela Torres creates colorful ceramic rooster sculptures through the men who have been roosters for her.
Cast: Daniela Torres
Garbage Container Archaeology (United States)
Director: Dustie Carter
Producers: Stolen Sun, Bruton Stroube, Kiley Enno
Lew Blink, a self-proclaimed “dumpster archaeologist,” embarks on dumpster diving to uncover the latest true stories in the safe haven left in the alleys.
Cast: Lew Blink
Fortune (USA) North American Premiere
Director: Shirley Yumeng He
Producer: Shirley Yumeng He
An embodied camera searches for the “truth” hidden in the façade of the oldest alley in San Francisco’s Chinatown, locating its path between the afterlife and the present, the mind’s eye and reality, between the noticed and the seen.
Friends on the Outside (Scotland, UK) North American Premiere
Director: Annabel Moodie
Producer: Léa Luiz de Oliveira
The story of an incarcerated man called Jamie who finds joy and comfort inside by foraging for weeds and caring for birds.
The Lipstick Lady (Switzerland/Italy) World Premiere
Director: Francesca Coppola
Producers: Andrea Lavagnini, Francesca Coppola
Crafted from archival footage of the director’s family, The Lady with Lipstick is a gritty essay on femininity in a southern Italian city plagued by the metal industry.
Madeleine (Canada)
Director: Raquel Sancinetti
Producer: Raquel Sancinetti
Each week, two friends born 67 years apart tell their life story in a nursing home living room. The young friend convinces the 107-year-old woman to accompany her on an adventure: a path to the sea.
Cast: Raquel Sancinetti, Madeleine
Porta d’Europa (Italy, Germany) North American Premiere
Director: Samuel Mueller
Producer: Samuel Mueller
Stranded for 30 hours off Lampedusa, a migrant boat’s calls for help go unanswered. The Sea-Watch Crew, an NGO, launches an urgent search. In “Porta d’Europa,” audiences confront Europe’s dire human rights failures in the Mediterranean crisis.
Cast: Meret, Samira, Lollo
REMEMBER, BROKEN CRAYONS ALSO COLOR (Switzerland) Premiere in the United States
Directors: Urša Kastelic, Shannet Clemmings
Producer: Zurich University of the Arts
Shannet, a black transgender woman from Jamaica, recounts her healing adventure as she wanders the empty streets of a European city.
Starring: Shannet Clemmings, Romincio Cayol, Eric Dormoy, Ahmad Kron, Jelena Pavlović, Lateena, Moritz Sauer, Kathrin Schweizer
Say Something (United States) World Premiere
Director: Agustina Aranda
Producer: Gustavo René Sanabria
A young filmmaker explores her tense dates with her father, a Paraguayan immigrant, workaholic and amateur cameraman, and her VHS tapes cover more than 40 years of her life.
Cast: Agustina Aranda, Pánfilo Aranda
Klaus’s Cactus (United States)
Directors: Tony Blahd, Lydia Fine
Producers: Jeremy Summer, Double Solitaire, Little Moving Pictures
Pioneering conceptual artist Klaus Rinke’s collection of ‘living sculptures’—an otherworldly Los Angeles cactus garden—inspires philosophical musings on his life in art, obsession with time, and his surprising, yet deeply felt connections with the cacti soul.
Cast: Klaus Rinke
Vision of Paradise (Brazil, UK, USA)
Director: Leonardo Pirondi
Producer: Leonardo Pirondi
An adventure in search of the island of Hy-Brasil becomes a meditation on new concepts of virtual truth and its ambition to expand the barriers of the global physical to a “New World. “
Starring: David O’Reilly, Douglas Goodwin, Jackson Fletcher, George Tramell, Dan Dixon
Actually, you’ve never been here (U. S. ) World Premiere
Director: Florencia Portieri
Producers: Eddy Moon, Olivia Timmons
Years after a horrific sexual assault, a young filmmaker aesthetically reconstructs the complexities and contradictions of her trauma in this fast-moving nonfiction short film detailing her quest for healing.
Cast: Victoria Baldwin, Jake Melamed
Animated short films:
Acid Green (United States, Singapore)
Director: EXYL
Producer: EXYL
A user brushes against a dog’s and gets on a bus.
Butterfly (USA) World Premiere
Director: so Park (Yeonsu Park)
Producer: so Park (Yeonsu Park)
Have you ever fried butterflies? Well, I’m going to find out what’s going on.
Chutes (USA)
Director: Kenzie Sutton
Producer: Kenzie Sutton
A young girl navigates a capitalist world through the lens of childhood toys.
Demons in the Closet (Germany)
Director: James Smith
Producer: James Smith
A resident is challenged by demons from another realm in his closet.
Cast: James Smith
edith and the tall child (USA) North American Premiere
Director: Kohana Wilson
Producer: Kohana Wilson
An anxious recluse fends off stir-craziness, gender reckoning, and visions of a massive prehistoric ground sloth.
Flutz (USA)
Director: Ryan McCown
Producer: Ryan McCown
Two rival figure skaters under the same coach compete for the top spot.
Hills for the Head (USA)
Director: Hyun Kim
Producer: Hyun Kim
A guy is forced by his therapist to run, facing the physical and mental hurdles of a marathon.
Cast: Hyun Kim, David Sanchez, Jeff McCready, Christy Karacas
I Would’ve Been Happy (USA) World Premiere
Director: Jordan Wong
Producer: Jordan Wong
This film is about my dad but it’s really about my mom.
lil sherbet (China/USA) World Premiere
Director: Xinhe Zhao
Producer: Xinhe Zhao
My body is mine, but not all mine.
NOHOMO (USA)
Director: J.Santos
Producer: J.Santos
A young man is tormented by a phallic creature, sending him off the rails.
The Expectation of the Observed (USA)
Director: Stephanie J. Williams
Producer: Stephanie J. Williams
This experiment stop motion considers unrecognized labor featuring puppets of disembodied meaty legs, flayed of skin, dance in repetition even as they start to disintegrate.
This Is a Story Without a Plan (USA)
Director: Cassio Shao
Producer: Cassie Shao
Two people, and an explosion.
Tony’s Dilemma (USA) North Premiere
Director: Nathan Sonenfeld
Producer: Nathan Sonenfeld
Cyberhacking psychos are wreaking havoc on their old teammate Tony’s hometown and Tony must decide between the life he loves and the life he used to live.
Cast: Alec Van Staveren, Brin Gordon, Cameron McManus, Jonah Primiano, Se’Belle Bronson
VACATION (USA)
Directors: Yifan Jiang, James J.A. Mercer
Producers: Yifan Jiang, James J.A. Mercer
Barely surviving a volcanic eruption, a road tripping college student steps into an absurd fable on the nature of nature.
Cast: James J.A. Mercer, Henry Anker, Hayley Dawn Muir, Eve Essex, Tonee Harbert
Experimental:
Entry injuries (United States)
Director: Calum Walter
Producer: Calum Walter
Entry Wounds is a meditation on the symbol and the ball.
Goddess of Speed (Canada, United States)
Director: Frédéric Moffet
Producer: Frédéric Moffet
A practice session for a re-enactment of a missing Andy Warhol starring Fred Herko.
Cast: Stevie Cisneros Hanley
Light of Light (Greece) North American Premiere
Director: Neritan Zinxhiria
Producer: Efijeni Kokedhima
Before his death in 1932, a monk created his own chamber in one of the most remote places in the world. 90 years later, a filmmaker discovers and reconstructs the photographs found.
Lotus Eye Girl (Sri Lanka, USA)
Director: Rajee SamarasingheProducer: Rajee Samarasinghe
An experimental and disturbing reflection on the influence of colonialism on human desire.
Monolith (Mexico)
Director: Teresita (Teri) Carson
Producers: Teri Carson, Mark Holt
An encounter with a volcano culminates in the theft of a stone and a reckoning with disgruntled gods.
There’s no one to fix things anymore (United States)
Director: Joseph Wilcox Producer: Joseph Wilcox
Nobody Wants to Fix Things Anymore is a short film about a lost man who finds a special rock.
Nowhere Stream (United States)
Director: Luis Grané
Producer: Tomás Basile
A man finds himself trapped in the labyrinth of his own brain as he searches the virtual world.
Welcome to the Enclave (USA)
Director: Sarah LasleyProducer: Sarah Lasley
Two Texas sisters must save their virtual utopia from disappearing amid a Reddit troll attack.
Cast: Brenna Palughi
Brief Focus:
In C, Too (USA) World Premiere
Directors: Dean Winkler, John Sanborn Producers: Dean Winkler, John Sanborn
“In C, Too” shows how close our dreams are to a reality that is not unusual.
Starring: KJ Dahlaw, Erin Yen, Jamielyn Duggan, Caitlin Hicks
Unstoppable Shorts:
Best Morning Situation (UK)
Director: Alex Gwyn Davies
Producer: Alex Gwyn Davies
A goat struggles with its resolve, paralysis, anxiety, and internal grievances in an attempt to make the most of the time it has to be in position in the morning.
Cast: Alex Gwyn Davies
Baby (Australia) World Premiere
Director: James Di Martino
Producers: James Di Martino, Llewellyn Michael Bates, Daniel Facciolo
A young woman with Down syndrome embarks on a quest to get pregnant and have a baby.
Starring: Erin Kearns, Michael Buxton, Yiana Pandelis, Daniel Facciolo, Sarah Dute, Albert Goikhman, Daniel Reader
Baggage (U. S. ) World Premiere
Director: Tim Hendrix
Producer: Zoe Rosenberg
In a world where everyone brings their luggage to the table in the form of real suitcases, a blind date does not go well.
Cast: Horace Gold, Michelle Ortiz, Allen Marsh, Skarlett Redd, James Tang
DOSH (United States)
Director: Radha Mehta
Producer: Gabriel Gutiérrez
When her child’s life is threatened by the family ritual before marriage, a hearing-impaired mother will have to decide how to seek help for her husband to keep his family safe.
Cast: Renu Razdan, Nikhil Prakash, Tyler Anton, Mona Sishodia, Asit Vyas, Neel Agrawal, Nadine Naidoo, Shristi Birla, Dev Patel
Hair or No Hair (Canada)
Directors: Janessa St-Pierre, Courtenay Mayes
Producers: Geoff Manton
A young black woman has been hiding wigs for years until her alopecia was publicly revealed; She uses this experience as a catalyst to free herself from the shame she feels about her baldness.
Cast: Janessa St. Pierre, Shaun Morse, Samantha Clarke, Quincy Thomas
Legend of El Cucuy (United States)
Director: Cynthia García Williams
Producer: Landi Madro
A al Cucuy and she will pay the ultimate price for her indifference.
Starring: Diana Sánchez, David Jofre, Obriella Witron, Effie Cacarnakis, Isabella Fell, Hannah Zamora, Vanessa Arcia
Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World (USA) World Premiere
Director: Julio César Palacio
Producers: Julio Palacio, Sam Hanson
In the poignant short documentary “Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World,” we meet an extraordinary young woman whose wit and determination defy all expectations. Makayla, a Black teenager, has spent her life suffering from a rare form of autism that made her necessarily nonverbal. However, her parents, convinced of their daughter’s potential, embarked on a transformative adventure to notice the true intensity of Makayla’s inner world.
Cast: Makayla Cain, Khari Cain, Manana Cain, Roxanna Sewell
PU EKAW TNOD (UK) North American Premiere
Director: Rebecca Culverhouse
Producers: Pamela Pifferi, Sergio Falchi
A couple watching a horror movie tries to prevent the occasions from repeating themselves as they are dragged into a nightmare.
Cast: Dorothea Jones, Harold Addo
Saving Art (UK) U.S. Premiere
Director: Rémi R. M. Moses
Producers: Victor Nauwynck, Jing Zhao, Dami Adeyeye
A father tells his terminally-ill son that the chemotherapy will give him a superpower.
Starring: Michael Salami, Pierre-Laurent Vawah, Alex Walton, Niamh Lewis, Oxa Hazel
Smash or Pass (United States)
Director: Cory Reeder
Producers: Cory Reeder, Val Harvey
Meeting pool or sinkhole? They suck!
Starring: Joci Scott, Drew Timberlake Hill, Diana Elizabeth Jordan, Andrew Simmons, Atif Hashwi
This body is a shell (USA) World Premiere
Director: Ashley Eakin
Producers: Ashley Eakin, Matt Sakatani Roe
Wandering in a desolate inner world, women with disabilities struggle with self-image and struggle to notice beyond the superficial.
Starring: Kelsey Johnson, Celia Flores, Nathalia Freitas, Cherie Louise, Hanneke Talbot
Young and Nothing in Between (Thailand)
Director: Parida TantiwasadakranProducer: Parida Tantiwasadakran
Juice, 7, has a project this year: to help Grandma Lovely preserve as many memories as possible to prevent the onset of her dementia praecox.
Cast: Suwinya Kungsada, Deedee Piamwiriyaku
Revolución Short Film Program, curated by Gabriel Misla:
Marungka Tjalatjunu (Soaked in the Dark) (Australia)
Director: Matthew Thorne, Derik Lynch
Producers: Matthew Thorne, Patrick Graham
An Anangu Yankunytjatjara man escapes city life to return to the countryside in search of religious healing.
Cast: Derik Lynch
Our Persecute (Puerto Rico)
Director: Paulis Cofresi
Producer: Camila Reus
SynopsisIn the 1950s, 16-year-old Celia is forced to confront the fateful truth of Puerto Rico’s colonialist oppression after an unforeseen event by a classmate.
Starring: Verónika Pérez, Ilán Guerrero, Magali Carrasquillo, Israel Lugo, Kisha Burgos, Yan Christian, Elivan Martínez, Paola Vázquez
Our Grandmother The Inlet (Canada)
Directors: Jaime Leigh Gianopoulos, Kayah George
Producers: Shelby Manton, Angelica Stirpe
A poignant documentary featuring Kayah George and her grandmother Ta7a, illustrating the hardship of industry dominance on the mental health of Indigenous youth and their enduring spirit of gentle reclamation as they strive to reconnect with their culture, water, and land.
Cast: Kayah George, Amy George
Urpi: His Last Wish (United States, Peru)
Director: Sisa Quispé
Producers: Sisa Quispe, Suni Sonqo Vizcarra Wood
Urpi travels to the sacred valley of the Incas to fulfill a promise to her grandmother. She meets Sayri, an indigenous Quechua young man, who offers his motorcycle for a journey that will challenge her understanding of identity.
Cast: Sisa Quispe, Juan Abel Ojeda Llanos
DIG – Digital Interactive and Gaming (Online Only):
History of AI 1890-2090
Artist: FutureZoetrope
It’s an experimental animation where AI tells the story from before the advent of AI to an unknown future, as if it existed.
Fukushima – The Home That Once Was
Artist: Timo Wright
Meet the former citizens of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident Exclusion Zone, who share their reports about the waste of their homes and communities, as well as the fragility of their memories.
Yu lucky
Artist: Mike Ren Yi
Lucky Yu is a meditative fishing game that transports players to a world filled with stunning Chinese artwork hand-painted in black ink.
Sea of Migrants
Artist: Stephane Grasso
“Migrant Sea” is a multimedia documentary that focuses on the voices of sub-Saharan African migrants who have survived the arduous journeys from their home countries to succeed in Europe.
Mother, Player
Artist: Angela Washko
“Mother, Player”, is an experimental narrative video game featuring pregnancy and early parenthood stories from artists during the global pandemic.
My Own Private Apocalypse
Artist: Visu_AI_Poesía
“My Own Private Apocalypse” explores individual existential desolation.
Synchronization Station
Artist: Allen Riley
Synchronization Station is a participatory feature on mediated intimacy that uses the combination of analog video as a counterpoint to communication technologies.
Attached
Artist: Julianna Johnston
“Tethered” is an immersive projection and sound installation controlled through the gameplay of a tetherball match.
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