Feature Films
Wolfpack (France/ 2023/ 52mins) directed by Cédric Peyster – Le Roux; Lead Cast: Damas Roy, Romain Léon, David Lancelin Guerrero, Solène Guittenit, Luna Ribeiro, Dionéa Daboville. In a not too distant future, the youth have decided to get back at the older generations and start hunting them at night. Matthieu, 50 years old, will have to survive the pack that is chasing him.
When Adam Changes (Canada/2023/ 1.33mins/animation) directed by Joël Vaudreuil. Adam is a 15-year-old teenager whose body changes according to the mockery and negative comments he receives from those around him. This only adds a layer of complexity to those already present in his life.
The Needle and the Damage Done (UK/2024/67mins)) directed by Kevin Molony; Key Cast: Garry Stewart, Floss Ross, Finlay McLean and Charles Donnel. The mundane life of a Glaswegian middle aged couple is disrupted by on the one hand a recurring dream of a life changing meeting and on the other celebrity status as a champion knitter. The consequences play out in a way no-one could have imagined.
For All Have Sinned (USA/2023/65mins) directed by John Sellman; Key Cast: Devon Floyd, Victoria Laurey, Lisa Anderson, Michael O’Neal. Trying to find direction and peace after the unexpected death of his mother, Mano embarks on a destructive path living by the scripture “for all have sinned and fallen short of His glory” (Romans 3:23) to justify his rage.
eVil Sublet directed (USA/2023/1:45mins) directed by Allan Piper; Key Cast: Jennifer Leigh Houston, Sally Struthers, Charley Tucker, Pat Dwyer, Stephen Mosher, Leanne Borghesi, Patrick Wang, Helen Hong. A couple finds their dream apartment in New York’s East Village (AKA the eVil). Who cares if it’s haunted by a horde of murderous ghosts if the rent is cheap and it’s got an eat-in kitchen, right?
No Right Way (USA/2023/1:43mins) directed by Chelsea Bo. Key Cast: Chelsea Bo, Ava Acres, Eliza Coupe. Georgie, a brazen tween, is thrust into the guardianship of her half-sister Harper whose attempts to parent only lead to exposing their paralleled childhood wounds.
Short Narrative Films
Our Males and Females (Jordan/2023/11 mins.) directed by Ahmad Alyaseer, Key Cast: Kamel El Basha, Shafiqa Al Tal. A father and mother are faced with the painful task of washing and shrouding their deceased transgender daughter. How far is the father willing to go to make sure his “son” is washed?
The Third Defector (USA/2023/16.53mins) directed by John Gray , Key Cast: Margot Luciarte, Lassana, Dee Lay Cherod, Cédric Weber. What seems like a simple assignment for a spy to keep tabs on an Iranian defector becomes a more complicated game of cat and mouse in the streets of Paris.
Involuntary (USA/2023/12.58mins) directed Dana E White, Christopher Knoblock, Key Cast: Jack McGee, Faith Taylor. Carlton, a man in his 70s suffering from Dementia, is moved from a nursing home in the middle of the night.
Barely Breathing (USA/2023/20 mins) directed by Derek Evans Key Cast: Neal Reddy, Anil Bajaj, Lindsay Marie Byto, Gunner Willis, Vas Sanchez. A dark comedy about Sai, who is guilted into moving in with his Father and Step Mother after nearly dying in an embarrassing accident.
The Wait (South Africa/2023/14.55 ) directed by Imran Hamdulay, Key Cast: Siya Mayola, Cedwyn JoelKey Cast, Ayden Croy, Natasha Magengelele. At a Cape Town police station to report a crime, Mzu finds an elderly man has been waiting longer than those ahead of him. The station is busy and chaotic and the old man is confused with no one to help him.
Lumbeeland (USA /2023/ 29.45 mins) directed by Montana Cypress. Starring Billy Oxendine. To gain his independence, a quick-tempered drug dealer must escape the shadow of his kingpin grandfather in a devout Native community.
The Woman from Hamburg (USA/2023/28:33 mins) directed by Michael Jacob Masarof. Key Cast: Jenette Goldstein, Einat Holland, Casey Killoran, Timothy Sekh, Samantha Sherman, Pearl Scarlett Gold. A Jewish woman takes shelter in the closet of a Polish couple in 1943. A child is soon born and their lives are irrevocably changed.
Infraction (USA/2023/21:10mins) directed by Timothy Blackwood. Key Cast: Percy Daggs III, Kevin Oestenstad, Preston Christopher Lawrence. Based on the real life story of Philadelphia native Terrance Lewis. who served 21 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.
Black Silk (USA/2023/16:02) directed by Patrick Michael. Key Cast: Marcus Henderson, Jay Amir and Taylor Leigh Edwards. A young, meek black boy is thrust into darkness when a violent revelation from his estranged father sets him on a course of self-discovery, forcing him to confront family, identity, and forgiveness.
Music for a While (USA /2023/9.05mins) directed by Kelvin Phillips, Starring Grinell Skot Gilmore. Wandering through busy New York City streets, a solitary figure’s quiet desolation is lifted by the serenade of a saxophonist’s solo.
Serving the Lord directed by Ryan Kennedy (USA/2024/14.17mins), Key Cast: Russ Russo and Jacopo Rampini. A guilt ridden man receives a visit from a young door-to-door evangelist claiming to have been sent there by God to offer him a way out of his grief.
Vasectomy (USA/2023/22:49mins) directed by Andrew Bachelor Key Cast:Reedo Brown, Alex Oliver, Baron Davis. Three down-and-out roommates are unwittingly thrust into a high-stakes heist. With a ticking time clock to outmaneuver the law, they must navigate a whirlwind of chaos, morality, and survival.
Manus directed by Win Brooks (USA/2023/2.57mins) A lethal “handjob” from outer-space threatens a surfer on a lonely beach.
Post Infest (USA/2023/15.55mins) directed by Justin Van Voorhis, Key Cast: Mary Linehan, Joshua Michael Payne, Justin Bennett, Keaton Weiss, Nick Butler. Two friends try to find love during a murder hornet infestation.
Don’t Neg Meg (USA/2023/13:21mins) directed by Ann Marie Allison, Key Cast: Abbey McBride, Luca Pedroni, Erica Ortiz, MerryRose Howley. Meg learns a lesson about her own love life from her son.
Inner Demons (USA/2023/10:54) directed by Jasmine Johnson, Key Cast:Ariel Brown, Tamiah Bantum, Jasmine Ashanti. Mya’s forced to confront the darkness lurking within.
Spellbound (Switzerland/2023/10.48) directed by Robin Rippmann, Key Cast; Nikolas Salmon, Liza Callinicos. James’ dull daily routine is disrupted by a strange apparition that begins to haunt him in his waking moments and dreams alike.
And Yet They Speak (USA/2023/35.16mins) directed by Windy Marshall, Key Cast: Hannah McCloud, Matthew Erick, Windy Marshall, Jennifer Marshall. Plagued since her childhood by disturbing sounds, a young girl learns what’s dead isn’t always gone.
Cold directed by Kim Machado (USA/2023/16:05mins), Key Cast: Dave Gamble, Chara Bauer, Prethi John. When Rosamund interviews famous DC philanthropist, Jasper, for her blog, she discovers the cost is more than what she bargained for.
Golden Shopping Arcade (Italy/2023/29 mins) directed by Francesco Ricci Lotteringi, Key Cast: Marco Sincini, Nina Torresi, Diego Maiello, Rosa Diletta Rossi, Gianni Lillo. In a dystopian – yet eerily familiar – setting hospital patients are typically refused the health care they need.
Feature Documentaries
No One Asked You (USA/2023/100mins) directed by Ruth Leitman. Comedian, disruptor-extraordinaire Lizz Winstead (co-creator The Daily Show) and her team Abortion Access Front crisscross the U.S. to support abortion clinic staff and bust stigma. A six-year road film activating small-town folks to rebuild vandalized clinics and expose wrongdoer politicians, domestic terrorists, and media neglect.
An Open Door (USA / 2023. 59.30mins) directed by John Alexander Barnhardt and presented by Colorado State University. A close up and personal look at the influential life and work of the renowned Dr. Temple Grandin, champion of the humane treatment of livestock, autism rights, and inclusive neurodiversity.
Feast Your Ears (USA/2023/ 1:36mins) directed by Jay Schlossberg The story of WHFS based in Bethesda, Maryland. How one of the most beloved & legendary commercial “free form” FM stations ever to grace airwaves came into being in the late 1960s amid cultural, social and political changes.
District of Second Chances (USA/2024/1.16mins) directed by Wynette Yao and Travis Allan Edwards A quest for redemption is unfolding in Washington, D.C. Thanks to forward-looking “second chance” legislation, three men who were sentenced in their youth to life in prison have the chance to plead for release. The film captures their journeys as they unfold but second chance is never guaranteed.
TENS Across the Board (USA/2023/42.40mins ) directed by Bobby “Broady” Best. Not to be confused with waltzing, swinging or doing the two-step, ballroom culture has become a global phenomena. An in- depth look at the lives of those in the Saint Louis ballroom community spearheaded by Maven Logic Lee championing Black and brown LGBTQ artists in dance, music and fashion.
The Way It Was: Paris Restaurants in the 1970s (USA/2023/44mins)directed by Stephen Karl Scher. Using unseen footage filmed in the 1970s, the director revisits the vibrant restaurant scene in Paris at that time. With visits to markets, interviews with food writers, chefs, and restaurant owners, and intriguing behind the scenes insights, we see the way it was during a famous period of French cuisine.
Documentary Shorts
More than Brothers (USA/2023/22:30mins) directed by Andrea von Siebenthal. The personal sacrifices of two Green Berets in a race against time to save the Afghans who kept them safe during their deployments and whose lives have been completely uprooted since the chaotic withdrawal.
1001cuts (USA/2023/24.35 mins) directed by Sarah M Temkin. The careers of women surgeons who are the children of Title IX address the pervasive stereotypes and gender-based discrimination that persist within workplaces designed for and by men.
Lengua de diamante (USA/2023/13.09 mins) directed by Victoria Barbarito. The past, present, and future life of Elsa Riveros, Colombia’s First Lady of Rock. Long after her iconic career as a fierce 80s rock singer, Elsa now seeks to reinvent herself as a political painter in northern Virginia, where she raises her son.
The Vanishing Kindergarten (China/2023/5.40mins) directed by Jian Liu . Zhang Yiqun, the head of Jinhua New Century Kindergarten, receives the notice to close the kindergarten. The number of kindergartens in China decreased by more than 5600 in 2022.
Little Sahara (Spain/2023/30 mins). directed by Emilio Martí López. Those who do not know the Sahara think that in the desert there is only sand. But here there are children, who play and draw and make movies, and who would like not to have to think about war. In Western Sahara, thousands of Sahrawi refugees live in exile.
Hindsight (Ukraine / 2023 /18mins) directed by Max Rykov. A look at the fragility of our roots, the impermanence of our cultures, and the transience of our freedoms through the lens of a traveling VHS camera in the late 1990s. The memories of two young Ukrainians emerging from the fall of the Iron Curtain.
The Test (USA/2023/15.43 mins) directed by Claudia Myers, Laura Waters Hinson. A Ghanaian maintenance worker at a Virginia retirement community dreams of becoming an American citizen to provide a better life for his family. He enlists the help of two elderly residents to prepare for the biggest test of his life: the US Citizenship exam.
That is the Silence (USA/2023/14.56mins) directed by Inna Ivanovskaya. One must once in a while uproot oneself from the daily routine – not to run away from but to get closer to oneself.
Animated Short Films
The Sprayer (Iran/2022/8.45 mins) directed by Farnoosh Abedi. In the land occupied with the sprayer’s army, no one has the right to grow any kind of plants in public or in private.
From one painting… to another (Switzerland/ 2023 /3:10 mins) directed by Georges Schwizgebel. An immersion in art through two paintings on the same subject created half a century apart.
The Bear in the Shower (USA/2023/4mins) directed by Tom Schroeder. Trapped in a shower in Amsterdam for six hours.
Electra (Czech Republic / 2023 / 26.23) directed Daria Kashcheeva. Blending live action and animation, the film portrays the experiences of a woman who is recalling her strained and distant relationship with her father
Silhouette (France/ 2023 / 5:02) directed by Alexis La Fuente Claire, a young woman who has just moved to a big city, soon finds her body gradually disappearing.
Games People Play (USA /2023/ 3mins) directed by Jim Hall. One person witnessing the horror of war has to make a split decision to stop the madness before getting off the Paris Metro…
Redemption (USA /2023 / 3:45mins) directed by Zakkee Kashif Hendricks. A cinematic symphony of despair, supernatural pacts, and a brooding protagonist’s journey.In the hauntingly beautiful realm of an 80’s anime-inspired neon-lit cityscape.
No Ink The Magic Shoe – Episode 4 (UK/ 2022/ 4:13 mins) directed by Florian Guillaume. While sailing away on its umbrella boat, the Magic Shoe gets swallowed by the unpredictable tide of Venice!
The Great Arc (France / 2022 /11.58) directed by Camille Authouart. With nearly 70 monumental works of art scattered throughout the district, La Défense, Paris, is Europe’s largest open-air museum.
The Nectar Instead (USA/2023/4:12mins) directed by Yoo Lee. A young fly gets trapped in the fly trap in the stop-motion studio only to have the existential realization that it spent its entire life chasing after the wrong thing.
The Swineherd (Denmark/2023/6:24 mins) directed by Magnus Igland Moller, Peter Smith. A goofy version of H.C. Andersen’s famous fairy tale “The Swineherd”
I Heard the Bells (USA/2023/14.55 mins) directed by Jeremiah Morrison. December 1944. A homesick soldier in the besieged city of Bastogne shares his thoughts with his wife in a letter seconds before the Germans attack his position.
As The Sun Goes Down (France/ 2023 / 5:58mins) directed by Laurine Bocquet, Ilona Caucal, Inès Fechner, Jahnice Laurent, Sarah Robert, Emma Roussel, Kevin Vandenbeuck. Thrown into the night, a rabbit scared of the dark has to face his fears to get his light back.
One Minute Mistake (USA / 2023 / 14:32) directed by Jim Blashfield, Chel White, Martin Cooper, Marilyn Zornado, Janet Perlman, Diane Obomsawin, Chris Hinton, and Joan Gratz. A collection of eight short animations based on the theme error; be it in science, taste, decisions or personal choice.
Lack (Poland/2023/10:45mins) A story of loneliness, anger and grief experienced by parents who lose a child.
Dragonfly (USA /2023/13:33 mins) directed by Julia Morizawa. A young girl learns of her mother’s survival of the Tokyo Firebombing on March 9-10, 1945 through the eyes of her brother’s spirit.
