2021 Film Guide
Friday: February 5
7:30p - block: Feature
Saturday: February 6
Theatre 1
1:30p - block: Pixelated
You Can Fly!
Korea – Director: Sung Bae Park
One day, on the beach, an eagle living alone picks up eggs. The moment the eagle tries to eat the eggs, penguins are born. The eagle flies away in surprise. When the eagle comes back he decides the penguin is so cute he can’t eat it. The eagle brings the penguin back home and the two live together. There were difficulties, but little by little, they become a family.
Adrift
US – Director: Alexa Boushey
When a young, devoted painter finds himself stranded in space, he must work through his grief in order to face the challenges ahead and decide whether to return home or move on.
The Rotation
Iran – Director: Hazhir As’adi
There is a war between two tribes on claiming the sun in the sky. As a result, sun annihilates and the volcano erupts. Those two tribes now are dead and a new sun is created, both by lava. Several centuries will pass and the humans are still at war to claim the sun in the sky.
Echo
Iran – Director: Barzan Rostami
The story of echo is about understanding and perception of wildlife and environmental abuse and its consequences on human race...
The Masterpiece
UK – Director: Christopher Satola
A thing about an artist, who works to achieve a masterpiece throughout his life. Although what is the actual masterpiece? A story about everyday life and value of every moment lived through.
The Holes
Iran – Director: Rozhan Abedi
A man reading a newspaper feels a hole under his finger ...
Tiny Duel
Mexico – Director: Mauricio Guerra Bonilla
A tempting reward... A very (very) young cowboy… A nutritious enemy… The Wild West had never witnessed a more unfitting battle.
Identity Crisis
US – Director: Natalie Nichols
A cyborg named Scott is looking for the perfect gift for a loved one, but not all is well in this futuristic city when he finds his own picture on a wanted poster....
One Left
Austria – Director: Sebastian Doringer
"One Left" takes place in a world where life is symbolized by a heart pictogram that appears above a person's head. Several patients are waiting in a doctor’s office to hear test results regarding their remaining lifetimes. In most cases, the allotted time is not as long as they had hoped for.
Talent Scout
Spain – Director: José Herrera
Dominique had been the most prestigious talent scout in París. Now, he is only the shadow of his past until he discovers Sofía, a Spanish flamenco dancer who emigrates to France because of the Spanish civil war and who hides the secret of the greatest talent in history.
4p - block: Cuckoo’s Nest
Small World
US – Director: Jim Ford
Two strangers meet in a far away land and realize they are from the same town.
Discovery
Russia – Director: Mikhail Saburov
A father - daughter fishing trip leads to an unexpected discovery.
Call on Me
US – Director: Pia Cook
A lonely old man resorts to chatting with an equally lonely telemarketer.
Ekaant (Sollitude)
India – Director: Swapnil Pagare
Manasi, a poet, and Sudha, a housewife, are deeply in love with each other but the restrictions of society have put chains around their relationship. Ekaant (Solitude) is expression of their secluded extramarital lesbian affair and poetic recital of first moment of closeness.
I’m Happy, I Promise
US – Director: Mimi Cave
A series of phone calls between Parker and his friends narrate Parker's mission to find true happiness through superficial obsessions.
6:30p - block: Stranger In A Strange Land
One
Spain – Director: Javier Marco Rico
Far out at sea, a cell phone floating inside an air-tight bag starts to ring.
Gifts from Babylon
Netherlands – Director: Bas Ackermann
Gifts from Babylon is a short narrative film exploring the psychological impact of illegal Africa-EU migration through the lens of a Gambian return-migrant. The film captures the personal conflicts that arise when Modou, a deported refugee, returns to his home country after having lived illegally in Europe for five years.
Ashmina
UK – Director: Dekel Berenson
Nestled between a beautiful lake and the Himalayas, Ashmina, 13, lives with her family at the outskirts of Pokhara Nepal, the paragliding capital of the world. The remote and traditional town is also a busy tourist destination where the locals are profoundly affected by the swarms of tourists who visit it daily. Forced to skip school, Ashmina helps her family make ends meet by working at the landing field, packing the parachutes of foreign pilots in return for small change.
The Camel Boy
France – Director: Chabname Zariâb
Somewhere in the desert, a little boy is plunged by force into an intimidating and completely foreign new world: the world of camel racing. Will the distant hope of seeing his mother again give him the strength to overcome his fears and find his place in this hostile environment?
8:30p - block: Feature
White Noise
US – Director: Daniel Lombroso
The documentary is the definitive inside story of the movement that has come to be known as the alt-right. With unprecedented, exclusive access, White Noise tracks the rise of far-right nationalism by focusing on the lives of three of its main proponents: Mike Cernovich, a conspiracy theorist and sex blogger turned media entrepreneur; Lauren Southern, an anti-feminist, anti-immigration YouTube star; and Richard Spencer, a white-power ideologue.
The film takes the viewer into the terrifying heart of the movement—explosive protests, riotous parties, and the rooms where populist and racist ideologies are refined, weaponized, and injected into the mainstream.
Theatre 2
11:30a - block: American Movie
Why We Fly
US – Director: Allie Marsh
Only about 7% of all pilots are female. Why We Fly is a collective celebration of lady aviators who make up the 7% and a tribute to our freedom to fly.
Deeper than Blue
Canada – Director: Devon Robertson
“Deeper Than Blue” explores a shadowed medical crisis that affects mothers called postpartum depression. Told through Amanda Munday; her heartbreaking and empowering story of her experience with postpartum depression following the birth of her daughter Fiona.
Moksha
UK – Director: Jithin Majeed
Moksha is a documentary based on the ancient city of Varanasi, sometimes called Kashi or Banaras, in the North Indian province of Uttar Pradesh. The documentary is an attempt to artistically observe this holy city, it's rituals, quirks and the minds of the people in hopes of understanding humanity, humility, fate and life.
1:45p - block: The Kids Are Alright
No Exit
US – Director: Auden Lincoln-Vogel
After the sixth room of an orderly apartment building disappears, the remaining five rooms begin to slide around. As the solitary inhabitants investigate these mysterious movements, they become progressively more entangled with one another. A feud, an unrequited love, and a paranoid wreck all develop simultaneously on screen, eventually colliding in a kerfuffle of misunderstandings and a final return to solitude.
Wolves of Walter E. Middle
US – Director: Brenna Adams
After Eli's first middle school heartbreak, his buddies join together to get even.
Keep Me in the Dark
US – Director: Erica Matz
Recent exes, Tyler and Karina, collide at a drug-fueled house party hosted by her new rebound, Al. Strung out on dope and betrayals, the fate of all three hinge on Karina's choices.
Pasture
US – Director: Graham Holford
Banished and "unnatural", Levis and Giles must learn to adapt to the secular world.
4:15 - block: Iran To Jax
Horn
Iran – Director: Ghasideh Golmakani
An Iranian lady tries to find a place to park her car in Tehran to be on time for a business appointment. Men in the streets disturb her concentration while she is driving, but she finds a solution.
The Pains of the Sea
Iran – Director: Mohammadreza Masoudi
Syrian and Iraqi immigrants try to cross the sea to reach Turkey. A mother has to choose between seeing and not, the death of her child in front of her eyes in the sea...
Godmother
Iran – Director: Afshin Akhlaghifeyzasar
6:45p - block: Leave Me Like You Found Me
Ms. Rossi
Italy — Director: Pat Battistini
While on her way to a business meeting, Ms. Rossi takes an interesting detour.
Coming Home
US – Director: Kevin A. Kimball
Technical Sergeant Jack Ward, and Senior Airman Danny Spiro wait out a delay at the airport on their last leg home from a long deployment overseas. While Sergeant Ward has been through all this before, Airman Spiro is dealing with the reality of returning home for the first time to a baby girl who doesn’t know him and a wife who may no longer need him.
Show & Tell
US – Director: Sakshi Gurnani
A 6-year old boy wants a Barbie doll for his collection of rugged toys but his mother thinks something might be 'wrong' with him. This humorous film reflects on the adult views imposed on children and creates a commentary on gender and identity. Will an Indian family accept their son if he is part of the LGBTQIA+ community?
Dry Leaves
India – Director: Ali Sohail Jaura
Zahida arrives at a home for the old, believing her son will take her back after a week. Hesitant and apprehensive, she meets Farhat, who is full of hope but as the story unfolds she realizes that the future might be different from her expectations.
The Group of Eight
Russia – Director: Ivan Sosnin
An ordinary hard-worker, Ivan, works on improving the city that will soon host the SUMMIT. One day he finds out that the city authorities decided to clean up the streets from stray dogs. Ivan makes a decision to help his four-footed friends.
Alina
US – Director: Rami Kodeih
As Nazis separate children from their parents in the Warsaw Ghetto, a gang of women risks everything to smuggle their friend's three-month-old baby to safety. Inspired by true events.
9:15p - block: Utterly Macabre
Eat Your Heart Out
US – Director: Giovanni Tortorici
Marceline is vegetarian, kind of lonely, and ready for her date with a cannibal.
The Doe
France – Director: Jennifer Lumbroso
Helene is spending what seems to be a romantic weekend in the French countryside until she has an argument with her lover and gets furious. She decides to flee away and finds herself in rural landscapes, clueless. Nature takes back its rights. The hunt is open. Helen becomes « the doe » while she encounters local characters.
Tea Time
US – Director: Tara Price
A story about a sweet little girl having an innocent backyard tea party with her toys… or so it seems. When no one else is looking, her toys come to life as real people and it’s revealed that she's actually their mob boss with a score to settle! Meanwhile, her oblivious brother is raining on her parade with his insistence that he and his action figure get to play too! Will the toys escape her bloody wrath? It's Calvin and Hobbes meets Scarface! With a special appearance from WWE Champion Rob Van Dam.
Well
Spain – Director: Diego Puertas
A man wakes up in shock in the bottom of a well. No memories of how he got there. He's cold. It's dark and there's water all around him. He tries to climb the wall with his bare hands, but every time he ends up falling back into the water. Time is ticking away and his anxiety is on the rise. Then, a figure leans in at the top of the well...
Stucco
US – Directors: Janina Gavankar & Russo Schelling
J is trying and failing to move forward as the scars of old relationships keep her trapped inside her new home. While hanging a piece of art, she knocks a hole in her wall that reveals what might be a hidden room. Her mind races to think what could be on the other side as she continues to unravel.
Sunday: February 7
Theatre 1
1p - block: The Thin Celluloid Line
Charlotte Mansfield, a Woman Photographer Goes to War
US – Director: Brian Graves
Drawing from an extraordinary archive of unpublished military photographs and personal correspondence, as well as expert and family interviews, "Charlotte Mansfield, a Woman Photographer Goes to War" tells the story of Sgt. Charlotte Dee Mansfield’s pioneering career as a Women’s Army Corps photographer during World War II.
Affurmative Action
US – Director: Travis Wood
Call Center Blues
US – Director: Geeta Gandbhir
Call Center Blues is a lyrical portrait of an unlikely community of US deportees and their loved ones struggling to rebuild their lives in Tijuana, Mexico.
By the River
Australia – Director: Daniel Braga Ulvestadd
Stretching along the river Ganges rests Varanasi, the holiest of India’s seven sacred cities, and a place where devout Hindus go to die in hopes of achieving moksha - becoming liberated from the cycle of rebirth. Several so-called ‘death hotels’ exist to accommodate believers who abandon their lives and come here in wait for death - some for as long as 40 years.
5p - block: Feature
Modern Whore
Canada – Director: Nicole Bazuin
University student by day, escort by night, Andrea Werhun led a secret life under the alias “Mary Ann.” To her horror, Andrea discovers outrageous online reviews of Mary Ann's sexual performance written by self-proclaimed “hobbyists”. In this hybrid documentary, hobbyist and escort perspectives collide with hilarious and revealing results. And when the sex work narrative is controlled by Johns, there are darker consequences than just a bad review.
Theatre 2
11:30a - block: Lost In Translation
Misplaced Call
Russia – Director: Elizaveta Pichugina
Natasha works in a private dentistry, in which she organizes an illegal business at night with an oriental specialist, Lee. A regular patient, Oksana, comes to them. Lee enters the dental office with her and closes the door. Everything goes according to plan, but Granny suddenly appears. She has a sharp pain in her teeth, but Natasha does not let her in. Granny calls the police and faints. A patrol car arrives, one of them is Oksana's husband. What is going on in this clinic?
Give it Back!
Israel – Director: Ruchama Ehrenhalt
Olivia just moved to Israel from New York. Throughout her first day of school in the 6th grade she tries to survive, navigating through the new country she just landed in, her new school and new peers, unsure where she will end up at the end of the day.
1:30P - block: Feature
Broken Down
US – Director: Jessy Cale Williamson
Harold, a guilt-ridden agoraphobic, must overcome the confines of his self-imposed prison to save a boy who has risked everything to help him. Broken Down is a powerful drama that explores how the journey to conquering the demons within begins by letting the heart reach out to others in need
3:45p - block: Feature
Strings Attached
US – Director: Bruce Broder
The documentary delves into the lives, on and off stage, of four superb musicians who give up the prospect of solo careers to form The Dover Quartet. The film captures when they ‘break through,’ winning the most prestigious international string quartet competition, and are suddenly in demand around the world. They achieve success and realize their dreams… but what does it mean? Will the endless days and nights on the road, the cheap hotels, the slim pay and the internal conflicts overwhelm their love of the music? Or will the music win?