Come have a hearty chuckle with these goofy shorts where heroes are pushed to their limits in the fight to keep parrots missing and claim the last piece of pie.

Note: Films in this program may not be suitable for all ages.

Films

No Fan of Andy

Kai Tomizawa | Oregon | Age 16

After her childhood friend becomes completely obsessed with recovering her missing bird named Andy, Rain must decide whether to help her find him or make sure he stays out of their lives.

Backwater

Mone Frogg Christiansen | Norway | Age 22

The weather is perfect. The river is serene. And Even has just proposed to his girlfriend Ida. But do either of them think getting married is a good idea?

Interdimensional Pizza Pushers

Lije Morgan | New York | Age 22

Travelling through time and space delivering pizzas, Fishlips and Honeybear encounter all manner of oddballs as they try to make all the orders before their shift ends.

Pie

Miro Alleyne-McCarthy | UK | Age 15

The lone witness of a grisly brawl recounts the downward spiral that led six strange individuals to fight to the death over the greatest prize of all – a perfect slice of pie.

STAY AT HOME movie

Sasha Lebedeva | California | Age 21

A playful narrator tries to convince herself that she is not bored during the COVID-19 isolation and that everything is okay in this comedy about the destructive nature of self-persuasion.

Happy Little Fly

Justin Fargiano | New York | Age 19

Staring down the business end of a flyswatter, a fly spirals into an existential crisis as its life flashes before its eyes in this tragicomic claymation.

A Bootless Grief

Nick Milczarczyk | Canada | Age 16

Four friends decide the best way to get revenge on an old man who stiffed them on their summer jobs: steal his fortune. But can they even trust each other?

Self-love triumphs in these six short films as the filmmakers come of age and come to understand their own identities.

Note: Films in this program may not be suitable for all ages.

Films

Baby Steps

Kira Findling | Ohio | Age 21

Through middle school texts, webcam videos, and secret moments, a young woman comes of age online. As she grows, she grapples with gender identity and sexuality, finding a new language for herself.

Out of the Box

Casey Gurtler | Colorado | Age 17

Unwilling to conform to social norms, filmmaker Casey Gurtler turns the cameras on her own mother-daughter relationship, crafting an authentic portrait of what it means to live an unshackled life out of the box.

Affection

Connor Williams | California | Age 20

Following an encounter with a homophobic stranger, two young gay men must confront their own attitudes towards public displays of affection, revealing the complexities that often lie within queer relationships.

This is a Teenage Love Letter

Tessa Hill | Canada | Age 18

Elliptical narrative rhythms and a preoccupation with physical media create a fresh perspective on this teenage romance in which a young woman writes a letter to her past, to love, and to what the future might hold.

Tender Hearts

Lauren Jevnikar | New York | Age 22

Remembering a warm summer afternoon, a woman unearths true feelings about intimate moments spent with her partner in this emotionally vulnerable and beautiful film.

Pitoc e Icinakosian

Jos-Onimskiw Ottawa-Dubé, Gerry Ottawa | Canada | Age 18 & 15

Gerry, an indigenous trans woman, and her brother paint a gentle and honest portrait of her identity and experience through the eyes of her family.

Band mates and artists find their music and personal lives blend together in these visually arresting films, featuring energetic music videos to reflective dramas and absurdist comedies.

Note: Films in this program may not be suitable for all ages.

Films

Mod Mod Teenage World

Adelaide Wilson | Chicago | Age 18

Mod teenager Julie becomes smitten with local cutie Winston and, determined to win him over, carefully follows magazine advice on “How to Get the Guy” in this lushly textured love letter to 1960’s Swinging London.

kʷənáŋət néʔ

Marius Fernandes, Anthony Fernandes | Canada | Age 14 & 16

An Indigenous youth artist transcends feelings of social isolation in the COVID-19 pandemic by connecting to community online, empowering his listeners to bond in a time of disconnection.

The Banshee

Eva Ulreich | Virginia | Age 12

Inspired by American composer Henry Cowell’s “The Banshee” from 1925, this short animated fairytale depicts the travel of The Banshee as she retrieves the soul of a dying young woman.

Spit Head

Theo Taplitz | California | Age 16

After the messy breakup of their band, John and Ophie try to make sense of their changed relationship as they reopen old wounds and revisit the underlying pain in the music they made together.

How Sad, How Lovely, How Brief

Olivia Lindsley | Chicago | Age 19

Inspired by the life of singer/songwriter Connie Converse, this experimental projection piece explores the isolation and desperation that can exist even in the most stimulating of environments.

The Artist, The Old Man and The Waiter

Gustav Bondeson | Sweden | Age 21

In the midst of a creative roadblock, a young blasé artist is enlightened in the search for her upcoming musical single when she encounters an old man and a surprisingly talented waiter.

Everything Bagel

Brendan Lee Hickey | Washington | Age 18

Following the devastating breakup and subsequent musical stagnation, a record store employee searches for a path forward as her band prepares for a show. An uproariously funny and absurd Seattle odyssey.

These six shorts celebrate the impact that mothers have on our lives, tugging at your heartstrings with dramatic stories of family, grief, and most of all: love.

Note: Films in this program may not be suitable for all ages.

Films

The Memory Palace

Luke Alexander Harris | California | Age 21

Returning to her childhood home for the last time, Diamond finds her repressed memories triggered by artifacts that force her to re-live a painful history with her mom.

Neuma

Nikki Milan Houston | California | Age 21

As the last rays of a dying California summer shine through, young Neuma tries to mourn the death of her mother after the accidental killing of an animal.

Roti

Ariella Khan | Evanston, IL | Age 20

Sarah has the perfect dress in mind for Homecoming, but her mother insists it’s too short. With the help of some fresh roti and a comically well-meaning classmate, Sarah finds beauty in the different aspects of her life.

Mama

Simon Maria Kubiena | Austria | Age 19

After his mother has a stroke, Karner drives to bring her some essentials. With his daughter in tow, Karner finds more than he expects in his encounter with his childhood home.

Through the Looking Glass

Carolyn Carpenter | Minnesota | Age 22

Exploring her identity through technology, surveillance, water, and archival audio, Carolyn’s self portrait reveals the powerful influence of her mother over her body and mind.

No Crying at the Dinner Table

Carol Nguyen | Canada | Age 21

Using vulnerable recollections in the form of confession, filmmaker Carol Nguyen interviews her family to craft a portrait of love, grief and intergenerational trauma caused by cultural oppression.

True crime, creature features, and descents into the darkest depths of the mind are the jumping off points for these exciting and bold genre exercises.

Note: Films in this program may not be suitable for all ages.

Films

Taming Kara

Naishe Nyamubaya | South Africa | Age 21

Poaching rare animals for the black market, a pair of hunters find themselves in over their heads after capturing the exotic Tokoloshe, a mythic creature whose touch leaves one with a menacing curse.

Wendigo

Max Hendrickson | Ireland | Age 15

Deliriously deadpan, this hybrid animation follows a young man who decides to visit an abandoned house in the mountains, only to be haunted by its baneful, pagan past.

Pogo

Ella McKeon | California | Age 12

This free associative dive into the mind of America’s most infamous clown paints a portrait of “Pogo” as the culmination of failed artistic impulses and dark desires.

Blue Zenith

Jacques Manjarrez, Nathan Kim | Chicago | Age 22 & 21

Sitting around a campfire, we are told the curious tale of Gregory, a young man who takes his maniacal obsession with eels to a gruesome extreme in this dark comedy horror.

Hollow

Max Buttrill | Florida | Age 15

Soaked in inky dread and featuring a Lynchian sonic preoccupation with electricity, this formally bold journey into darkness follows a young investigator as she experiences strange phenomena in a recently abandoned house.

Swipe Right for Murder

Raine Bracken | Canada | Age 21

An aspiring crime writer finds her perfect match through online dating. Unfortunately, their interests are a little too closely aligned: it’s not “fictional” crime he likes to dabble in…