Memory and history inform the future in these six documentaries that consider the legacy of language, the power of collective identity, and the ripple effects of incarceration and climate change.

Films

Inuit Languages in the 21st Century

Ulivia Uviluk | Canada | Age 22

Scouring the internet for information about Inuktitut, Ulivia considers the future of this complex, multi-dialectical language that evolves with new generations.

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Matt Swing | Chicago | Age 22

A few weeks after finishing parole, Antonio Brison returns to the spot that changed his life forever. Now an actor and performer, he utilizes the skills that he uses on stage to tell his story.

The Factory of Light

Cinema en curs students from Castellet High School | Spain | Age 16

A uniquely reflective glimpse into a factory that manufactured graphite rods for cinema projectors. This enigmatic journey explores not only the factory itself but also the people who used to work there.

The Impossible Way

Grady Roderweiss-O’Brien | Chicago | Age 10

An impassioned and informative explanation from a young environmentalist on how humans contribute to climate change and the effects on our animals and planet, offering solutions in the process!

Elizabeth-Antiqua

Pixie Kolesa | California | Age 21

An animated history of Elizabeth Friedländer, the first woman to design a commercial Latin typeface—a feat she accomplished working as a Jewish woman in Nazi Germany.

Uma Fruta Estranha (A Strange Fruit)

Natalie Harris | New York | Age 21

Utilizing stock footage and confrontational narration, this visual poem unearths what binds Afro-Brazilians and African-Americans across continents and shared cultural connections of their resilient ancestors.

Creciendo (Growing Up)

Nancy Nguyen | California | Age 21

On the grounds of a unique Paraguayan high school where students leave home to study farming and entrepreneurship, a portrait emerges of teenagehood and the challenges facing educators in the 21st century.

When it feels like the world has failed to provide us with an adequate instruction manual for life, we need to forge our own path to understand our place in the universe.

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

Films

She Who Wasn’t Tamed

Saleh Kashefi | Iran | Age 19

Over the course of a day-long, school-wide poetry recital competition, a rebellious high schooler reaches out to an anxious classmate whose determination to be the best has pushed them to a breaking point.

Life in the Between

Siara-Lauren | Florida | Age 22

A tense first day of school causes young, biracial Sarruh to find herself stuck in identity limbo. She looks to her family for help in understanding how she fits into the world.

Grounding

Oisín-Tomás Ó Raghallaigh | Ireland | Age 19

Shy, 16-year-old Sarah finds the courage to open up while attending an appointment at a children’s mental health facility.

Ida

Mirjam Thorkelsdottir | Norway | Age 20

Faced with crippling loneliness, Ida tries reaching out to old friends to keep herself from slipping away in this sensitively directed look at the value of companionship.

Beautiful Days

Klaudia Pashjari | Greece | Age 19

A lifelong friendship receives a meditative portrait as we accompany two women during their daily activities, from morning drinks to evening shoreline sunsets.

The Quiet

Radheya Jegatheva | Australia | Age 20

In this cosmically impressionistic animation, an astronaut ponders the quietude of space and comes upon a startling self-realization. The truth is written in the stars, but what will he uncover?

The climate crisis takes a personal toll in these films which investigate humanity’s relationship to nature through dystopian (but not so distant) futures, the damaging effects of commerce, and stresses on individual growth.

Films

Unshopping

Rheannah Wynter | Florida | Age 21

Hoping to stay climate conscious, a sometimes-paranoid filmmaker ditches an alarming heap of fast fashion clothes. In the process, she encounters obstacles, misdirection, propaganda, rabbit holes, and a one-sided obsession with H&M CEO Karl-Johan Persson.

The Pleasure of Killing Bugs

Leonardo Martinelli | Brazil | Age 21

As the climate crisis reaches the point of no return, a nun and a priest grapple with their faith as they lament the disappearance of insects in this surreal and tense vision.

Those Who Move Mountains

Lauren Loesberg | Evanston, IL | Age 22

In a near-futuristic society that has left humans reliant on urban infrastructure and turned nature into a prison, a falsely convicted woman finds a new community in the wilderness.

Metamorphism

Kate Saltel | Texas | Age 17

Metamorphism is the change in a rock due to heat or pressure. This clever short expresses how humans undergo similar transformations under great pressure from family, school, and wealth.

Earth had issues Loading…

Leonardo Pirondi | California | Age 20

Lushly photographed on 16mm, this meditation on the relationship between humans, nature, and technology confronts the menacing effect machines and industry have on the planet’s well being.

COVID-19 may have locked everything down, but it couldn’t stop the creative energy and journalistic drive of these filmmakers who provide a fresh look at our tumultuous now.

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

Films

Fragments of Gage

Emilio Nieto | Chicago | Age 21

A woman balances her bakery business with her medical work at a hospital threatened with closure in this pandemic portrait of Chicago’s Gage Park neighborhood.

“Only Love” by Gem Tree

Bridget Johnson | Chicago | Age 21

Two queer female skateboarders meet at their favorite spot: the skate park. They crush on each other and document their memories on a VHS, celebrating their love in this vibrant music video.

Korridor

Walter Duncan | Germany | Age 7

A mother and son transform their home corridor into a ghostly and experimental place marked by gamelan sounds and transfixing light imagery in this playful lockdown collaboration.

Under the Same Sky. Trinitat From Within

Students of “Cinema en curs” (Catalunya) | Spain | Age 12-13

While preparing a documentary about their neighborhood’s diversity, a group of students are sent home as schools close. They decide to explore their neighborhood from their windows.

this is a completely normal home movie

Tessa Hill | Canada | Age 19

Capturing mundane life through her laptop screen and layering sounds of the natural world, the filmmaker reflects on beauty, family, and creativity in the midst of lockdown.

Exposure

Claire Imler | California | Age 21

A year into the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, this intimate portrait of ICU nurse Deanna Okajima illustrates how this health crisis has impacted her professional and personal life.

Bats, birds, dogs, rams, monsters, and even mushrooms get their stories told in this wide array of animated delights from around the world.

Films

honeyheart

Alice Langlois | Rhode Island | Age 21

Nestled in her cozy tree trunk home, a bird goes about her day until the arrival of a wild honeybee sets her on a strange and tumultuous journey of anxiety, fear, and self-acceptance.

Comfortable Position

DRF Children Animation Studio | Uzbekistan | Ages 8 to 12

When a person falls asleep, they’re immersed in another reality where anything can happen. Through a series of animated vignettes, the beautiful and sometimes menacing world of sleep comes to life.

Monster Land

Students of Toon Club | India | Ages 8 to 13

A free form series of hand-drawn scenes that showcase the precarious routines of several silly monsters as they squash, fight, transmogrify, and bend the rules of their own universe.

Kinoko

Erika Gomi | California | Age 22

Two curious mushrooms embark on a whimsical adventure in the woods. Curiosity, though, may get the better of them when they stumble upon a seemingly cozy woodland residence.

Baofahu (The Evicted Millionaires)

Yufei Xiao | China | Age 17

A resident of an urban village set for demolition ignites his fireworks in view of the police, seemingly in an effort to destroy his livelihood, yet a frequent patron of his shop sees it differently.

Yayoi Kusama’s Magical Circles

Students of Eleni Pehlivani’s Art Workshop | Greece | Age 5

Setting off on a globe trotting hot air balloon journey, Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama visits various lands and collects their magical circles. How will she use their power to rebuild?

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Adél Szegedi | Hungary | Age 22

Haunting pen and paper illustrations bring a poem to life, evoking the way childhood memories and diary notes take on new meanings later in life.

Followers

Students at Veselka TV | Ukraine | Ages 12 to 16

Through vibrantly colored claymation, we witness a herd of curious rams as they’re led to a suspicious venue hosting a grand dinner. But what’s the main course?

Gekou

Ajisa | Japan | Age 22

On her commute home, a young woman finds inspiration to take a different route. The mundane reality of her daily life suddenly shifts and she discovers a different world isn’t so far after all.

Best Seat in the House

Lily Gibbons | New York | Age 11

As the age-old sibling argument over “who gets to sit where” begins to escalate, is there anything that will make them give up their seat before mom intervenes?

Meeting at Half Past Five

Daria Litvichenko | Estonia | Age 17

Combining an unusual perspective with a variety of physical animation styles, this amusing short features the somber Philip as he comes to terms with how cruel and corrupt the world can be.

Night-Riders

Jules Chin Greene | New York | Age 22

Losing their natural habitat due to climate change and encroaching forces, an endling bat reflects on displacement, colonialism, and extinction in this hauntingly beautiful gothic animation.