PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE

 FRIDAY, AUGUST 7TH:

Block #1: 6:00 pm

Repercussions directed by Kelsey Nerrie (US, Narrative Short, 14 mins) The unsolved disappearance of his daughter prompts a grieving father to take matters into his own hands, giving rise to myriad consequences.

exception(al) directed by Michelle Bossy (US, Narrative Short, 13 mins) A young Asian American university student grapples with what it means to be the only woman of color in her class when a film professor extends unwanted attention toward her. Based on a true story.

Friends We Hate directed by Kimberly Te (US, Narrative Short, 13 mins) Fiona and Rosemary couldn't be more different, but they don't have any other friends at the moment, so this friendship will have to do.

We Can Never Go Back directed by Aminah Hughes (US, Narrative Short, 18 mins) Two old friends seek refuge from a terrifying mass-extinction event, one desperate to reunite with his family, the other pushing them both towards a utopian future.

Late Fall directed by Abigail Jean Lucas & Alecia Jean Orsini Lebeda (US, Narrative Short, 18 mins) In a working-class Boston apartment, a toddler's demands are pulling two new parents under. Tina carries the weight of everything, certain she's the only one holding it together. Danny retreats into books, searching for a connection he can't find at home. Neither can see what the other is carrying or why.

Block #2: 8:30 pm

Awake directed by Kelsey Tarantino (US, Narrative Short, 5 mins) Two kids wake up in a locked room—only to discover they're not who they thought they were.

Burning in the Garden directed by Catalina Cielo (US, Narrative Short, 13 mins) Refusing to see her relationship for what it has become, Sarah is visited by a strange Creature in her bathtub who begins scratching at her carefully controlled life.

FIREBALL directed by TK James (WNY Student Film, 15 mins) There’s a storm brewing in the Wild West, and bounty hunter Fireball seeks refuge in the wall of the Silver Spoon—a saloon owned and operated by Valentine, Beau and Eloise. 

No Bar directed by Jo O'Donnell (WNY Short, 2 mins) The Detectives and the case of the 10-inch dagger.

Inward directed by Jo O'Donnell (WNY Short, 3 mins) Friends discover they didn't know their one friend as well as they thought.

Babysitting Demons on Maple Street directed by Amanda R. Woomer (WNY Short, 18 mins) Less than a year after her daughter died from cancer, Darcy decides she wants to try her hand at babysitting again. But after answering an unusual ad in the local paper for an "au pair," she finds that her new gig has brought her to the home of the mysterious Mr. Abaddon, and the rumor is that it's haunted.

Manic directed by Amelia Favata (WNY Short, 15 mins) A mentally unstable former police detective plagued by trauma from her encounter with a serial killer is persuaded by her remote psychiatrist to undergo an in-person treatment in attempt to finally get some relief.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 8TH:

Block #3: 1:00 pm

Mystery of the Keeper directed by Elina Myshanych (Ukraine, Student Film, 15 mins) In the new short film by a young director, the experience of war is embodied in an unusual genre–fantasy

Trapos sucios (Dirty Clothes) directed by María Barragán (Spain, Experimental Short, 3 mins) A woman feels trapped and dreams of another love. In the end she has to make a decision.

Miriam directed by Karla Condado (Mexico, Documentary Short, 20 mins) Through this video letter, the director talks with her aunt, a victim of femicide years ago, about what it has been like for her to grow up in fear in a country that is dangerous for women, trying to forge her path as the only woman in her family and cope with the grief of the femicide.

NINA’S EYES directed by Lukia Costello (US, Documentary Short, 13 mins) Two Ukrainian women, an artist and a filmmaker, explore migration, memory, and the healing force of art.

My Long Covid Story directed by Sabrina Peña Young (WNY Experimental Short, 3 mins) The 2021 Omicron wave sickened an already weary US populace. By 2022, Sabrina knew. Long Covid was barely whispered then. Five years later, disabled by an unknown plague, she explores the thoughts and pain of dealing with a virus that destroyed lives. Her life.

Kissing the Lipless directed by Amanda Besl (WNY Experimental Short, Psychological, 4 mins) A woman discovers that what draws her like a moth to a flame could be destroying her.

Ant Girl directed by directed by Amanda Besl (WNY Experimental Short, 3 mins) Ant Girl, an insect loving six-year-old, gets her very own ant farm but has some decisions to make when she’s not allowed to send away for the ants.

SUGARCRASH directed by Eva Rose Young (WNY Student Film, 1 min) Shitty DNA Labs is excited to share our latest product: Type 1 Diabetes!

Block #4: 3:30 pm

Untamed directed by Gleryxbelle Feliciano Ramos (US Puerto Rico, Student Film, 8 mins) Marisol is a girl who pays special attention to make sure not a hair on her head is out of place. Then, on the day of a very important job interview… it just so happens to be raining.

STRIPPER MOMS directed by Tricia Horvath (US, Narrative Short, 14 mins) DeeDee, a former stripper turned suburban housewife and PTA president, thinks her life is perfect, until she discovers that her husband, Mike, is cheating on her with a stripper half her age.

Cardboard directed by Julie Hoang (US, Narrative Short, 11 mins) The Presidential Fitness Test is every middle schooler's nightmare. For one self-conscious girl, it only worsens when she gets her period.

Wooly Bully directed by Kristen Buckels Cantrell (US, Narrative Short, 21 mins) Becca copes with her Alzheimer’s stricken mother, Jane, and is thrown for a loop as Jane’s delusions veer into the paranormal!

Nunca lleves mahones a una primera cita (Never Wear Jeans on a First Date) directed by Ady Ocasio (US Puerto Rico, Narrative Short, 17 mins) After ending a relationship, Raquel tries to change her style in order to have better luck in love.

Se fue la luz (The Power’s Out) directed by Laurie Cruz Arocho (US Puerto Rico, Student Animation Short, 4 mins) Two sisters indulge in a game of cards while they wait for the power to come back on during a blackout.

Block #5: 6:00 pm

myself & i. directed by M.K. Scanlon & Alisha Yi (US, Student Film, 18 mins) Hannah’s need to please everyone but herself fractures her identity—and an unsettling version of herself begins to take over…something (or someone)…uncanny.

The Piano Tuner directed by Nicole Claudine Giroux (US, Narrative Short, 22 mins) Trapped in a lonely marriage, Antonia finds unexpected connection when a mysterious piano tuner named Angelo arrives.

Eviction. directed by Ashes Homon-Rahall (US, Narrative Short, 9 mins) A woman attempts to advocate for herself in the hellscape known as the American Healthcare System, only to take matters into her own hands.

Bait & Switch directed by Sarah Falkiner (US, Narrative Short, 5 mins) Four Americans find their choices to have far reaching consequences.

Reminisce directed by Leslie Morris (US, Narrative Short, 12 mins) 25 years younger than her husband, a woman's world is turned upside down when her husband's college classmates come to visit.

Block #6: 8:00 pm

House Haunting directed by Allison Courtney (WNY Short, 6 mins) A couple tours a house for sale where everything is not what it seems.

Specter Nectar and the Death Machine directed by Emily Sugar (WNY Student Animation Short, 4 mins) Tragedy befalls rising band Specter Nectar on the way to their first headlining gig. They won't leave their fans disappointed though!

The Chexorcist directed by Erica Stockwell-Alpert (US, Narrative Short, 7 mins) When Jacob starts acting odd—speaking in tongues, levitating, not calling his mother—a local rabbi comes to perform an exorcism.

Telaraña directed by Nicola Ríos (US Puerto Rico, Narrative Short, 16 mins) In a remote mountain estate in Puerto Rico, a teenage daughter confronts the parasite entwined with her family’s secrets and must choose between inheriting their identity or forging her own.

SHIFT directed by Bridgette Cannell (US, Narrative Short, 8 mins) Alone in the wilderness, a resilient forest ranger faces a sinister presence stalking her through the night, testing her resolve and sanity in a chilling battle for survival.

Dolls and Monsters directed by Margot Miriam Moore (US, Narrative Short, 25 mins) A group of friends receives a strange doll from a neighbor, an innocent gift that quietly begins to change everything.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9TH:

Block #7: 1:00 pm

The Audition directed by Samara Von Rad (Canada, Music Video, 8 mins) A short aerial circus film that shows the emotional roller coaster that is the process of auditioning. 

YAPs directed by Miriam Gordon-Stewart (US, Documentary Feature, 1 hour 21 mins) A traditional career as an opera singer seems less and less viable. And yet, in spite of a system stacked against them, young singers continue to follow their calling.

I am not afraid directed by Ilana Alazzeh (US, Music Video, 5 mins) A music video for the song "I am not afraid."

Mélisande directed by Victoria Hutton (WNY, Music Video, 2 mins) A creative interpretation of a song from Claude Debussy's opera "Pelléas et Mélisande" sung by title character Mélisande, performed by Victoria Hutton.

Block #8: 4:00 pm

Georgina directed by Ana Marazzi (US Puerto Rico, Narrative Short, 21 mins) In 1937 Puerto Rico, under the domain of a U.S. military government, thirteen-year-old Georgina works alongside her mother, Petra, in a tobacco factory. 

Mulata directed by Yarilis Ramos López (US Puerto Rico, Student Short, 16 mins) In 1850 Puerto Rico, a mixed-race girl raised as a Spaniard faces rejection as she seeks to connect with her late African mother through an afro Puerto Rican dance called La Bomba.

Recao directed by Dayra Ferrera (US Puerto Rico, Narrative Short, 15 mins) Anna grows up learning how to prepare sofrito alongside her grandfather Exio in their home in Villa Palmeras, Puerto Rico. Years later, Anna faces the double loss of her grandfather and her home after the forced displacement of the community.

Los changos directed by Gala Rodríguez Belén (US Puerto Rico, Student Animation Short, 4 mins) In a not-so-distant future, the grackles govern Puerto Rico after promising to have freed the people from corruption. 

En duda, siempre a la izquierda (In Doubt, Go Left) directed by Mariana S. Belaval (US Puerto Rico, Student Short, 17 mins) After his first sexual encounter with his best friend, Maco finds his dead grandmother on the couch in his home. Moral guilt and masculine complexity erupt when, accompanied by his friends on the way to the funeral, one of the car's tires bursts in the middle of nowhere. 

Block #9: 6:00 pm

JAMEELA directed by Zainab Malik & Mina Isabella JafriMalik (Pakistan, Narrative Feature, 1 hour 32 mins) Jameela follows a transgender woman in Karachi navigating love, loss, and survival in a society that often refuses to accept her. 

AWARDS: 8:00 pm

MONDAY, AUGUST 10TH:

Block #10: 6:00 pm

Basedball directed by Ryan Elizabeth Brady (WNY Student Film, 9 mins) When his team's legitimacy is questioned, a washed-up baseball coach must rally his players for a display of dominance in America’s favorite pastime.

BLESSED ARE THE UNCLEAN directed by Olivia Billings (WNY Short, 13 mins) A horror short that centers two students in a remote Catholic boarding school who experience a spiritual encounter that reframes their thoughts around Queerness.

Forever Hold Your Peace directed by Paige Cummings (WNY Short, 10 mins) On her wedding day, Josie gets a reveal from her maid of honor she never expected.

The Girl, The Hare, and The Sun directed by Rosemary Runk & Ali Guzman (WNY Student Animation Short, 7 mins) A young girl is thrown into the unknown when a mysterious train shows up at night, leading her to a magical circus.

COSMOS directed by Gabrielle Nunzio & Marissa Graves (WNY Short, 15 mins) Tess is a hopeless romantic trying to piece together the events of last night's crazy party with help from her roommate Ben. All they have to go off of is a mixtape left behind by her crush, the elusive Veronica.

Moral of the Story directed by Heaven Gebremedhin (WNY Student Short, 9 mins) A teenage girl faces the ramifications of her parents' toxic relationship and the sacrifices women make for each other, as she struggles to protect her younger sister from the cycle of abuse.

Block #11: 8:00 pm

Home directed by Sara Mokhavat (Iran, Narrative Short, 10 mins) An elderly couple is preparing to attend their young granddaughter’s birthday party while also attempting to conceal a secret from their children…

Nastell directed by Cydney Jade Ramos (WNY Student Film, Narrative Feature, 51 mins) Ivan Popov explores a complex newfound friendship with his best friend’s younger sister, Nastell Klein, in the city, while Maz Klein continues to stay stuck in their country hometown.

Planet Heart directed by Samantha Zotara (WNY Student Film, 10 mins) Dolled up and mysterious Marsia 555 spends a night catching up with an old friend in small town America’s favorite dive bar.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 11TH:

Block #12: 6:00 pm 

The Hitman’s Laundromat directed by Kelly Kimbis (US Student Film, 15 mins) Cassie Cosenza, hitman and daughter of a notorious crime boss, faces a moral roadblock when she's ordered to kill her uncle in his beloved laundromat.

The Paradox Payout directed by Erika Frase (WNY Film, 11 mins) When a daring heist takes an unexpected turn, one woman must navigate the blurred lines between reality and consequence.

The Showffeür directed by Taylor Martin (WNY Film, 38 mins) Two couples are kidnapped by a mysterious rideshare driver and taken to the country to attend his sadistic birthday party.

Close Your Eyes directed by Hope Muehlbauer (WNY Film, 5 mins) A young couple has a conversation that will decide the future of their relationship.

Block #13: 8:00 pm

TURN UP THE NIGHT directed by Melodie Roehrig (WNY Narrative Feature, 1 hr 57 mins) A drama about the meteoric rise and the catastrophic fall of 80's hard rock/"hair band," Boy Elroy.