Saturday, March 9th at The Carnegie Institution for Science
9:30pm – 11:30pm
Get tickets to this event here
Tickets also available at the door


Annex
Directed by Tommy Nagle
UK&USA / 2018 / 12:48 mins
Ten year old Sim documents his day-to-day family life through short videos taken with his new drone, capturing the unravelling of his household as they live through a global crisis.


The Funeral Dancer
Directed by Natalie McMahon
Germany / 2018 / 9 mins
“The Funeral Dancer” tells the story of “Jazz”, who works as a funeral entertainer which has become one of the best paid jobs in a world, where funerals are a status symbol and at the same time an obligation to entertain relatives, friends and work colleagues alike. Expectations are high, morals are low. While Jazz tries to entertain the mourners, she is forced to face severe problems of her own.


How to Live your Life Correctly
Written and Directed by Xindi Lou
USA / 2018 / 20:35
After suffering a breakdown, Ming is committed to a mental hospital. She wishes to find meaning in life beyond the constructs of Chinese society. Her doctor promises to fix her “existential suffering” with large doses of medication. While under the effects, Ming experiences memories of her past, to a more innocent time as a child. Ming’s roommate, Ace, a rebellious spirit, pulls her out of her trance by convincing her to embrace the meaningless of life. Together, they escape the hospital and fall in love. They settle down in an abandoned warehouse where no one can judge them.
Ming is more optimistic than ever that their relationship will bring true happiness. However, as time progresses, their bond slowly begins to break. The pressure to commit to Ming goes against Ace’s defiant nature. Soon, their relationship collapses under the weight of Ming’s expectations and over-analysis, leaving her at a crossroads, with more questions than answers on how to live an honest life.


In Her Image
Directed by Nikoloz Kevkhishvili
Georgia / 2018 / 20 mins
In a not so distant future where virtual reality is an everyday part of life, Maia, a desperate scientist sets off on a dangerous plan to save her son from an estranged colleague. The perilous journey pushes the boundaries of her own understanding of what is possible as she sinks deeper into the labyrinth of virtual reality. On her quest to save her son she risks everything to catch up with the kidnapper and makes sure no one will harm them ever again.


Regulation
Directed by Ryan Patch
USA / 2018 / 10:53 mins
Mia is an ambitious government outreach worker who is tasked with traveling through rural America distributing and applying “microdosers,” or as they’re colloquially called, “happy patches,” to adolescents. These small, transdermal patches perfectly read body chemistry and matches just the right dose of just the right drugs to keep at-risk youth perfectly content with their life, and not prone to act out. Today, Mia must find out why Kaleigh, a 10-year-old froma rural town has suspiciously ‘opted out’ of the happy patch.
In stark contrast to Mia’s pressed black suit and self-driving car, Kaleigh is wild -with doodles on her shoes and a penchant for wandering around the surrounding fields for hours at a time with nowhere to be. Unlike Mia, she enjoys the extremes of sadness and happiness, of deflation and euphoria. And for a second, Mia understands why -playing pretend sky pirates on her fort staring into the sun and dusting up her pant suit.
Although Kaleigh might seem to be fine without the patch, Mia knows that as Kaleigh grows, it would do wonders for her health and development as she grows up in this unfortunate community. And so she must decide if she will force it on Kaleigh, or let her go, free.
Visit the film’s Facebook page


The Program
Written and directed by Michael Elliott Dennis
USA / 2018 / 14 mins
While sorting through a box of discarded videotapes, a down and out store clerk discovers The Program, a self-help video series hosted by the eccentric Dr. Watkins.
Upon watching the tapes, he’s immediately drawn in by The Program’s promises to change his life for the better. But when he discovers that the pivotal final tape of the series is missing, he sets out to find it—leading to an unexpected encounter.
<– Back to the full 2020 program
Go to: Features / Documentaries / Series / Animations / Shorts / Doc Shorts / High School Films / Program