SLAMDANCE 2024 LINEUP: See The Films Premiering at the Festival’s 30th Edition

The Slamdance Film Festival has announced the full lineup for its 30th annual festival, which will take place in Park City, Utah from January 19-25. Online screenings will be available on the Slamdance Channel from January 22-28. Among the lineup are 32 features, of which 17 are World Premieres, and 75 shorts. Kicking off the festival on its Opening Night is Oscar-winning filmmaker Carol Dysinger’s documentary One Bullet, which follows the director as she investigates the shooting of a young boy in Afghanistan while forging a friendship with his grieving mother.

Closing the festival on January 25th will be Vanessa Hope’s documentary Invisible Nation, a bold, seven-year odyssey into the heart of Taiwan’s political arena. With unparalleled access to President Tsai Ing-wen, Hope highlights the struggle of the 23 million people of Taiwan who battle for autonomy and freedom.

“Our 2024 Slamdance lineup is a testament to filmmakers who dare to push their stories to the very edge of filmmaking, making it deeply personal yet globally resonant,” said Festival Director Taylor Miller. “Their raw passion and risk-taking echo our commitment to exploring uncharted territories of cinematic expression. This year, we proudly host the most inclusive and accessible festival we’ve ever had, staying true to the core objectives I aimed to cultivate with our programmers when I took this job.”

As in previous years, all films selected in the Narrative Features and Documentary Features competition categories are directorial debuts without U.S. distribution, with budgets of less than $1 million. About 43% of this year’s films are by BIPOC creators and 43% are by female or non-binary filmmakers, making 2024 the most diverse lineup in Slamdance history by far.

See the full lineup below and learn more HERE.

Narrative Features:

AFRICAN GIANTS (USA) World Premiere

Director: Omar S. Kamara

Producers: Leo Blumberg-Woll, Omar S. Kamara, Jordan Tyner

Over a weekend visit in Los Angeles, two first-generation Sierra Leonean American brothers navigate the changing dynamics of brotherhood after a surprise announcement.

Cast: Dillon Daniel Mutyaba, Omete Anassi, Tanyell Waivers, Josh Lopez, Kathleen Kenny, Scott Bender

All I’ve Got & Then Some (USA) World Premiere

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 & Then Some follows a day in the life of Rasheed, a homeless stand-up comedian living out of his car in Los Angeles, giving everything he’s got to make his dreams come true.

Cast: 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 method actor commits a heist that goes wrong; he befriends the critically injured victim and tries to reconcile his guilt before his one-shot scholarship audition in New York.

Cast: Yiannis Niarros, Kostas Nikoulis, Xenia Dania, Alexandros Chrysanthopoulos, Maria Kallimani, Yiannis Tsortekis, Chara Mata Giannatou

Darla 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. Oliver

HELL 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 Saito

Sam’s World (USA) 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.

Cast: 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 fired, Marcella, a gentle-hearted mother going through separation, buys a tow truck; she gets trapped deeper and deeper in a cynical and aggressive world until a terrible opportunity shines in front of her.

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) US Premiere

Director: Fabio D’Orta

Producers: Fabio D’Orta, Mariangela Bombardieri, Maria Cristina Bombardieri

The anxious wait, in an elegant villa, of a group of desperate people who have sold their bodies to unknown creatures.

Cast: David Richard White, Michele Venni, Cesare Bonomelli, Enzo Solazzi

The Washer (Germany) World Premiere

Director: Nils A. Witt

Producer: Nils A. Witt

While doing the laundry, the young lawyer Jan discovers that the washing machine creates phenomena. The effect can be reproduced and he massively expands his experiments. The machines run 24/7. Is he the only one who knows about it?

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 residing on New York’s Upper West Side. When the film industry shut down due to COVID-19, Zack and his friend Joe embarked on a unique project: to make a film about running for city council, while actually running for New York‘s city council.

Cast: Zack Weiner, Joe Gallagher, Sarah Coffey, James Watson, Aaron Dalla Villa, Cherie Vogelstein, Dan Bright

Demon Mineral (USA)

Director: Hadley Austin

Producers: Nevo Shinaar, Emma Robbins

An account of life in the wake of uranium mining on sacred lands. Shot over 4 years with Diné (Navajo) community oversight and guidance, the film examines the legacy of uranium extraction from the perspectives of both the landscape and its inhabitants.

Cast: Emma Robbins, Lisa Robbins, Jesse Holiday, Deb Haaland, Tommy Rock

I’m “George Lucas”: A Connor Ratliff Story (USA) World Premiere

Director: Ryan Jacobi

Producer: Annamaria Sofillas

Five years into performing as renowned filmmaker George Lucas in the NY cult comedy show “The George Lucas Talk Show”, comedian Connor Ratliff questions the need for its continuation and his own drive for success and fulfillment in show business.

Cast: 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 documentary feature that follows two Georgian families, displaced by war, squatting in an abandoned former Soviet sanatorium as they await government housing.

Cast: Nikusha Berulava, Iamze Giorgadze

Petro (Spain, Colombia, USA) US Premiere

Director: Sean Mattison

Producers: Trevor Martin, Sean Mattison, Jeremy Gardner, Fernando Monzon, Jessica Millstone

A charismatic former guerrilla’s historic bid for president divides Colombia, a nation weary of conflict and yearning for change.

PUNISHMENT (Norway) North American Premiere

Director: Øystein Mamen

Producer: Ingvil Giske

Four inmates on maximum security have chosen to enter a three-week Jesuit silent retreat in prison. They are guided by two priests. The film slowly observes this paradoxical situation, while looking beyond the question of religious belief: How do ethical exercises, rituals, and communal silence affect us? The setting evolves into a prism for gauging a portrait of the existential landscape of the convicted.

Roll Bus Roll: A Jeffrey Lewis Documentary (USA) World Premiere

Director: Ilya Popenko

Producer: Ilya Popenko

Musician Jeffrey Lewis, one of the chief figures of  NYC’s anti-folk scene, grapples with crippling anxieties and questions his sanity while embarking on a quest for love. Along the way, he explores the intersection of art and human existence.

Cast: Jeffrey Lewis, Adam Green, Jim Testa

The Death Tour (Canada) World Premiere

Directors: Stephan Peterson, Sonya Ballantyne

Producers: Chris Jericho,  Stacey Tenenbaum, Sergeo Kirby

The Death Tour follows wrestling hopefuls across remote indigenous communities in Canada’s far North on ‘the most grueling tour in pro wrestling’. This test of strength and grit will show how far some are willing to go to live their dreams.

Cast: Tony Condello, Sage Morin, Sean Dunster, Dez Loreen, Sara McNicholl

Breakouts:

Anna’s Feelings (Russia) US Premiere

Director: Anna Melikyan

Producers: Anna Melikyan, Ekaterina Ryzhaya, Natella Krapivina, Ekaterina Kononenko, Dmitry Litvinov

The story of a simple worker in a provincial factory in Russia, who begins to hear the voices of extraterrestrial civilizations. Now she has to transmit the most important information for humanity.

Cast: Anna Mikhalkova, Timofei Tribuntsev, Oleg Yagodin

Bike Vessel (USA)

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 friends and family for her lack of ambition, 29-year-old Misha finds a dangerous acceptance in a bright 19-year-old athlete who mistakes her for a fellow student.

Cast: 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 live in a polarized world where having a job is illegal.

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 (USA)

Director: Bill Plympton

Producers: Rachel Braga Jones, Wendy Cong Zhao, Sean Davis, Natasha Villegas-Cordero, Owen Andrejco

What if Clint Eastwood and Mel Brooks became cartoonists and united to create the wackiest, most surreal musical western ever? That’s “Slide.”

Cast: Maureen McElheron, Jim Lujan, Tom Racine, Daniel Kaufman, Sasha Odesa, Ana Sophia Colon, Ken Mora, Simone McAlonen

Spotlight Features:

Bliss (USA) World Premiere

Director: Joe Maggio

Producer: 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.

Juan Fernandez

Invisible Nation (USA, Taiwan)

Director: Vanessa Hope

Producers: Sylvia Feng, Cassandra Jabola, Ted Hope, Vanessa Hope

With unprecedented access to Taiwan’s first female president Tsai Ing-wen, director Vanessa Hope crafts a fascinating portrait of Taiwan and the country’s struggle to preserve its hard-won democracy. Invisible Nation is a living account of Tsai’s tightrope walk as she balances the hopes and dreams of her nation between the colossal geopolitical forces of the U.S. 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

The Herricanes (USA)

Director: Olivia Kuan

Producers: James Lee Hernandez, Brian Lazarte, Lisa France, James Short, Justin Baldoni, Andrew Calof

The Houston Herricanes, a women’s professional full-tackle football team, find camaraderie and strength as they controversially open a new door in the world of sports.

Unstoppable Features:

DARUMA (USA)

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 Basis

Good, Bad Things (USA) World Premiere

Director: Shane D. Stanger

Producers: Steve Way, Shane D. Stanger, Danny Kurtzman, Sean Crampton, Manuel Gonzalez, Mel McGinnis

Danny, a young man with muscular dystrophy who is disillusioned by failed relationships, steps out of his comfort zone and into the world of online dating.

Cast: 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 struggling as an independent artist, “Leilani’s Fortune” follows the blossoming career of queer, Ethiopian-Eritrean artist, Witch Prophet while finally gets the validation and support she needs to create the album of her prophecies.

Cast: Witch 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 goes on an unwitting journey of self-love in the midst of an eating disorder relapse.

Cast: Taylor Olson, Koumbie, Stephanie MacDonald, Sam Vigneault

NINA is an ATHLETE (Israel, USA) World Premiere

Directors: Ravit Markus, Livi Kessel

Producers: Ravit Markus, Livi Kessel, Janine McGoldrick

On the cusp of turning 40, wheelchair badminton champion Nina Gorodetsky aspires to conquer greater competitive heights by representing Israel in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. However, she also wants to conceive, which puts her at a critical career crossroad negotiating a ticking biological clock both as a mother and as an athlete.

Cast: Nina Gorodetsky, Dor Kessel, Leon Pugach, Boris Gorodetsky, Tamara Gorodetsky, Reuven Moses, Amir Levy, Ron Bolotin

Episodes:

Dog Spelled Backwards (USA)

Director: Richie Soto

Producer: Tim Almeida

A Professional Dog Trainer gives viewers an inside look at the American animal shelter system as never seen before.

Cast: Tim Almeida, Tipsy, Alger

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 working through some anger issues must learn to survive the most terrifying thing of all: herself.

Cast: Weslie Lechner, Yen Tsao, Stephanie Tang

Lucy & Sara (Chapter 1: Suicide)  (UK) World Premiere

Director: Susan Park

Producers: Susan Park, Ryan Gage

A darkly comedic exploration of two unlikely sisters as they learn to navigate through the vulnerabilities and challenges of life after the passing of their beloved father.

Cast: Susan Park, Nicolette Morrison, Jeremy Joyce

Night Drives – Season 2 Collection (Canada)

Director: Jono Hunter

Producer: Jono Hunter

An animated sketch comedy series about the joy and futility of life.

Cast: Alex Stypula, Chris Sandiford, Ajahnis Charley, Miguel Rivas, Rodrigo Fernandez Stoll, Lory Mpiana, Jono Hunter, Madeline Leon

Restorage (USA)

Director: E’an Verdugo

Producers: Caleb Davis, Alana Rood

In the light of his estranged father’s passing, Chase inherits an old storage unit that has the ability to fix anything that’s been broken… except for him and his dysfunctional family.

Cast: Connor Boyd, Olivia Clari Nice, Jacob Daniels, Joan Deschamps, Stephen Miller, Francis Juarez

Narrative Shorts:

AFFENTANZ – HUNTER (Germany)

Director: Cyprian Hercka

Producers: Cyprian Hercka, Martin Hillebrand

The story of a hunter who suddenly finds himself in a world of reversed roles when the weaker ones and nature strike back as a parable with a socio-critical commentary with provocative images that leave a lasting impression.

Cast: Fritz Fenne, Thomas Brandlmeier, Paweł Procek, Georg Weber, Maximilian Schneider, Moritz Zielke, Martin Hillebrand

Blockbuster (Brazil) World Premiere

Director: Rafael Toledo

Producers: Felipe Enio, Vitor Acácio

Obsessed with the practical effects of classic cinema, an amateur director decides to orchestrate a real building explosion for his next film.

Cast: Luiz Gomide, Rute Vianna, Enedson Gomes

Burnt Milk (Jamaica, USA, UK)

Director: Joseph Douglas Elmhirst

Producer: Ruby Elmhirst

As an isolated maternity nurse living in 1985 suburban London, takes a moment of solace to make her traditional condensed milk pudding, burnt milk, she is flooded with spiritual imagery that takes her back to Jamaica.

Cast: Tamara Lawrance, Clover Webb, Xavier Alexander Keating

Complications (Norway) North American Premiere

Director: Ivar Aase

Producer: Ivar Aase

An intimate cam session unexpectedly turns into a suspenseful, life-and-death situation for Lotte – a webcam dominatrix.

Cast: Anna Ladegaard. Sven Henriksen.

Deserter (Canada) US 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 (USA) World Premiere

Director: Anthony Saxe

Producers: Sebastian Jurd, Thomas Lopez, Anthony Saxe

A woman is forced to confront her elderly husband’s physical deterioration when they meet to sign their divorce papers.

Cast: Eddie Saxe, Linda DiVirgilio

European Man… American Beach (USA)

Director: Rex Shannon

Producer: Henry Bock

A nude European brawls with an offended American on the beach.

Cast: Bogdan Szumilas, Henry Bock

Fettyland (USA) World Premiere

Director: Vincent Dale

Producer: Eric Cook

After being kicked out of their flophouse, four addicts struggle to come up with rent money in an infamous area of Southwest Florida known as “Fettyland.”

Cast: 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 (USA)

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 asked to play an unsettling game of improv during an audition for an undisclosed film project.

Cast: Anna Seregina, Hugo De Sousa, Hugo Armstrong, Emily Green, Manny Spero and Scott Monahan

Kayla Baby (USA) 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’s Garden (USA)

Director: Jennifer Ru Zhou

Producer: Jennifer Ru Zhou

A matriarch has become old so now her children come to help her, but she does not accept this reversal 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 the death of his wife, a South Asian father and his son begin seeing a shadow around the walls of their home, who 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 young mother’s shadow takes on a life of its own, terrorizing her and her daughter over the course of one night.

Cast: Katy Wright-Mead, Valentina Gordon, Christy St. John

tape. (Singapore) World Premiere

Director: Alistair Quak

Producer: Alistair Quak

Thrown into a violent and surreal situation, a Lady is forced to deal with the inevitable mortality of her Girl.

Cast: Kelly Lim, Annalisa Pickles

The Steak (Iran, Canada)

Director: Kiarash Dadgar

Producer: Kiarash Dadgar

A birthday ceremony preparation gets upside down as something horrible takes place.

Cast: Faranak Khamis, Amin Simiar, Panisa Peyvakht, Mehran Naabi, Ali Narimani

The Year of Staring at Noses  (Canada, USA) World Premiere

Directors: Karen Knox, Matt Eastman

Producers: Karen Knox, Matt Eastman

A hybrid narrative/doc about a woman who undergoes plastic surgery (for real) in an attempt to become a contestant on a beloved reality television show.

Cast: Karen Knox, Taylor Hanson Whittaker, Gwenlyn Cumyn

Tokyo Animals (Japan) North American Premiere

Director: Toshiki Yashiro

Producers: Nick A Jones, Eucari

Peculiar people in a peculiar city.

Cast: Sho Mineo, Naoyuki Fernandes, Naoyuki Miyahara, Emi Nata, Koshi Uehara

VIRUS (USA)

Director: Will Duncan

Producer: Will Duncan

A complete dumbass accidentally downloads a deadly virus directly into his 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 discover that some calls are better left unanswered.

Cast: Angie St. Mars, Karlee Liljegren, Lar Violet

Documentary Shorts:

A Home on Every Floor (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 an abandoned balcony, a photographer watching it for days and nights, a strange thing happens that will change 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 unravels the intricate tapestry of grief and the liminal space that exists between not belonging to the lands one was born on nor the lands one’s ancestors once came from.

Cast: Jaime Leigh Gianopoulos, Milva Spina, Georgia Glymenakis

Dicks That I Like (Germany)

Director: Johanna Gustin

Producer: Johanna Gustin

Visual artist Daniela Torres creates colorful ceramic dick sculptures inspired by the men who have been dicks to her.

Cast: Daniela Torres

Dumpster Archeology (USA)

Director: Dustie Carter

Producers: Stolen Sun, Bruton Stroube, Kiley Enno

Self-proclaimed “Dumpster Archeologist” Lew Blink embarks on dumpster diving excursions to uncover the last true stories within the refuge left in the alleyways.

Cast: Lew Blink

Fortune (USA) North American Premiere

Director: Shirley Yumeng He

Producer: Shirley Yumeng He

An embodied camera searches for the “truth” hidden behind the facade of the oldest alleyway in San Francisco Chinatown, finding its way between past and present, imagination and reality, and the seen and seer.

Friends on the Outside (Scotland, UK) North American Premiere

Director: Annabel Moodie

Producer: Lea 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.

Lady with Lipstick (Switzerland / Italy) World Premiere

Director: Francesca Coppola

Producers: Andrea Lavagnini, Francesca Coppola

Made with archival footage of the director’s family, Lady with Lipstick is a powerful essay on womanhood in a southern Italian town plagued by the steel industry.

Madeline (Canada)

Director: Raquel Sancinetti

Producer: Raquel Sancinetti

Every week, two friends born 67 years apart share their life stories in a senior home’s living room. The younger friend convinces the 107-year-old lady to join her in an adventure: a road trip 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 COLOUR TOO (Switzerland) US Premiere

Directors: Urša Kastelic, Shannet Clemmings

Producer: The Zurich University of the Arts

Shannet, a Black Transgender woman from Jamaica, shares her journey of healing as she wanders the empty streets of a European city.

Cast: Shannet Clemmings, Romincio Cayol, Eric Dormoy, Ahmad Kron, Jelena Pavlović, Lateena, Moritz Sauer, Kathrin Schweizer

Say Something (USA) World Premiere

Director: Agustina Aranda

Producer: Gustavo René Sanabria

A young filmmaker explores her fraught relationship with her father—a Paraguayan immigrant, workaholic, and amateur videographer— using his VHS tapes spanning over forty years of his life.

Cast: Agustina Aranda, Panfilo Aranda

The Cactus of Klaus (USA)

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

A journey in search of the island of Hy-Brasil, turns into a meditation on contemporary ideas of virtual reality and their ambition to expand the frontiers of the physical world into a ‘New World.’

Cast: David OReilly, Douglas Goodwin, Jackson Fletcher, George Tramell, Dan Dixon

You Were Never Really Here (USA) World Premiere

Director: Florencia Portieri

Producers: Eddy Moon, Olivia Timmons

Years after a harrowing sexual assault, a young filmmaker aesthetically reconstructs the complexities and contradictions of her trauma in this rhythmic non-fiction short detailing a search for healing.

Cast: Victoria Baldwin, Jake Melamed

Animated Shorts:

Acid Green (USA, Singapore)

Director: EXYL

Producer: EXYL

A person brushes the teeth of a dog and turns into a bus.

Butterfly (USA) World Premiere

Director: Soo Park (Yeonsu Park)

Producer: Soo Park (Yeonsu Park)

Have you ever deep-fried butterflies? Well, you’re going to find out what happens.

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: 

Entrance Wounds (USA)

Director: Calum Walter

Producer: Calum Walter

Entrance Wounds is a meditation on the image and the bullet.

Goddess of Speed (Canada, USA)

Director: Frédéric Moffet

Producer: Frédéric Moffet

A rehearsal for a reenactment of a missing film by 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 camera in one of the most isolated places in the world. 90 years later, a filmmaker discovers and reconstructs the found footage.

Lotus-Eyed Girl (Sri Lanka, USA)

Director: Rajee Samarasinghe
Producer: Rajee Samarasinghe

A hauntingly evocative, experimental rumination on the effects of colonialism on human desire.

Monolith (Mexico)

Director: Teresita (Teri) Carson

Producers: Teri Carson, Mark Holt

An encounter with a volcano culminates with the theft of a stone and a reckoning with disgruntled gods.

Nobody Wants to Fix Things Anymore (USA)

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 (USA)

Director: Luis Grane

Producer: Tomas Basile

A man gets trapped in the labyrinth of his own mind while seeking meaning in the virtual world.

Welcome to the Enclave (USA)

Director: Sarah Lasley
Producer: Sarah Lasley

Two Texas sisters fight to save their digital utopia from demise amidst an onslaught of Reddit trolls.

Cast: Brenna Palughi

Spotlight Shorts:

In C, Too (USA) World Premiere

Directors: Dean Winkler, John Sanborn
Producers: Dean Winkler, John Sanborn

“In C, Too” illuminates how close our dreams are to a common reality.

Cast: KJ Dahlaw, Erin Yen, Jamielyn Duggan, Caitlin Hicks

Unstoppable Shorts: 

A Perfect Morning Situation (UK)

Director: Alex Gwyn Davies

Producer: Alex Gwyn Davies

A goat battles his decision paralysis, anxiety, and internal critics in an attempt to make the most of the one hour he has to get ready 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 sets out on a quest to get pregnant and have a baby.

Cast: Erin Kearns, Michael Buxton, Yiana Pandelis, Daniel Facciolo, Sarah Dute, Albert Goikhman, Daniel Reader

Baggage (USA) World Premiere

Director: Tim Hendrix

Producer: Zoe Rosenberg

In a world where everyone brings their Baggage to the table in the form of actual suitcases, a blind date goes awry.

Cast: Horace Gold, Michelle Ortiz, Allen Marsh, Skarlett Redd, James Tang

DOSH (USA)

Director: Radha Mehta

Producer: Gabriel Gutierrez

When her son’s life is put at risk at their family’s pre-wedding ritual, a hard-of-hearing mother must decide how to seek help for her husband in order to keep her 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 behind wigs for years until her Alopecia is exposed publicly; She uses this experience as a catalyst to break free of the shame she feels towards her baldness.

Cast: Janessa St. Pierre, Shaun Morse, Samantha Clarke, Quincy Thomas

Legend of El Cucuy (USA)

Director: Cynthia Garcia Williams

Producer: Landi Madro

A visit from El Cucuy and she pays the ultimate price for her indifference.

Cast: Diana Sanchez, 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 Cesar Palacio

Producers: Julio Palacio, Sam Hanson

In the heartwarming short documentary, “Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World”, we are introduced to a remarkable young girl whose spirit and determination defy all expectations. Makayla, a black teenage girl, has spent her life grappling with a rare form of autism that rendered her essentially nonverbal. However, her parents, filled with unwavering belief in their daughter’s potential, embarked on a transformative journey to discover the true depth 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 film try to stop events from repeating as they are sucked into a waking nightmare.

Cast: Dorothea Jones, Harold Addo

Saving Art (UK) U.S. Premiere

Director: Remi 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.

Cast: Michael Salami, Pierre-Laurent Vawah, Alex Walton, Niamh Lewis, Oxa Hazel

Smash or Pass (USA)

Director: Cory Reeder

Producers: Cory Reeder, Val Harvey

Dating pool or cesspool? They both stink!

Cast: 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 through a desolate internal world, disabled women wrestle with self-image and fight to uncover meaning beyond what is skin deep.

Cast:Kelsey Johnson, Celia Flores, Nathalia Freitas, Cherie Louise, Hanneke Talbot

Young People, Old People & Nothing in Between (Thailand)

Director: Parida Tantiwasadakran
Producer: Parida Tantiwasadakran

7-year-old Juice has one mission this year: to help Grandma Lovely retain as many memories as possible in order to halt the onset of her early dementia.

Cast: Suwinya Kungsada, Deedee Piamwiriyaku

Revolution Short Film Program, Curated by Gabriel Misla:

Marungka Tjalatjunu (Dipped in Black) (Australia)

Directors: Matthew Thorne, Derik Lynch

Producers: Matthew Thorne, Patrick Graham

An Anangu Yankunytjatjara man escapes the city life to return to the country for spiritual healing.

Cast: Derik Lynch

Nos Persiguen (Puerto Rico)

Director: Paulis Cofresi

Producer: Camila Reus

SynopsisIn the 1950s, 16-year-old Celia is forced to face the fatal reality of Puerto Rico’s colonialist oppression after an unexpected visit from a classmate.

Cast: Veronika Perez, Ilan Guerrero, Magali Carrasquillo, Israel Lugo, Kisha Burgos, Yan Christian, Elivan Martinez, Paola Vazque

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: Her Last Wish (US, Peru)

Director: Sisa Quispe

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):

AI History 1890-2090

Artist: FutureZoetrope

This is an experimental animation in which AI tells the history from before the advent of AI to the as-yet-undiscovered future as if it existed.

Fukushima – The Home That Once Was

Artist: Timo Wright

Meet the former residents of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accidents Exclusion Zone, who share their experiences of the loss of home and community, and the fragility of memories.

Lucky Yu

Artist: Mike Ren Yi

Lucky Yu is a meditative fishing game that transports players to a world filled with stunning hand-painted Chinese black ink art.

Migrant Sea

Artist: Stephane Grasso

“Migrant Sea”, is a multimedia documentary focusing on the voices of Sub-Saharan migrants who survived the harrowing journeys from their home countries to reach 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_Poetry

“My Own Private Apocalypse”, delves into the concept of individual existential desolation.

Synchronization Station

Artist: Allen Riley

Synchronization Station is a participatory performance about mediated intimacy that uses analog video mixing as a counterpoint to everyday communications technologies.

Tethered

Artist: Julianna Johnston

“Tethered” is an immersive projection and sound installation that is controlled by the gameplay of a tetherball match.