Synopsis

The works in this program muck around the dark corners of human experience, bringing forth the darkly comedic, can’t-help-but-laugh moments that arise in difficult times. Featuring works by Daniel Sinclair, Malia Ann, Azadeh Navai, Lou Marino, Peter Collins Campbell, and Éric K. Boulianne.

A surprise interruption during a fruitless therapy session brings a married couple closer than they thought possible in the hilarious The Breakthrough (U.S.). A lonely man is perplexed when his mother passes away and leaves him with her heart in a jar in the beautifully tender The Heart (U.S.). The endlessly charming Rizoo (Iran, U.S.) follows a rebellious 8-year-old who recently moved back to Tehran from the United States as she navigates familial and societal expectations. An intimate and endearing work of docu-fiction, Geranios (Chile) follows best friends whose effortless charisma and fierce dedication carries them through tough times. In the delightfully idiosyncratic Variations on a Theme (U.S.), a couple starts literally splitting into multiple versions of themselves. The ups and downs of a couple’s journey trying to get pregnant are humorously and compassionately explored in Making Babies (Canada).

Synopsis

These short documentaries offer singular looks into lives that have been transformed by pivotal events. Featuring works by Mila Zhluktenko, Daniel Asadi Faezi, Sean Wang, Jon Siskel, Kevin Jerome Everson, Claudrena N. Harold, Arun Bhattarai, Francesca Scalisi, and Mark Olexa.

Displaced by war, Ukrainian children make a former military barrack their playground in waking up in silence (Germany, Ukraine). Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (U.S.) is a moving portrait of an elderly pair, their quirky rituals, and their strong sentiments for life. The community of Highland Park, Illinois, commemorates those who lost their lives in the Independence Day shooting of 2022 in Memorial (U.S.). In Accidental Athlete (U.S.), Paulette Jones Morant recounts her athletic journey at the University of Virginia in the 1970s. Mountain Man (Bhutan) chronicles Phuntsho Tshering and his annual sacred journey to the Himalayas to track the movement of the glaciers. The poetry of the passage of time is seen on the faces of the elderly and in the voices of a youth choir in A reflection (Switzerland).

Synopsis

These tense and terrifying shorts reflect how everyday life can turn into horror. Featuring works by Joséphine Darcy Hopkins, Olivia Loccisano, Stephanie Izsak, Kristine Gerolaga, Daphne Gardner, and Michael Gabriele.

Sweet Tooth (France) follows a game among children that grows increasingly out of control. After having her first period, a young girl goes through an unexpected transformation in First Blood (Canada). A teen girl discovers a new way to keep up with toxic beauty standards, but things don’t go as planned in Consumer (Canada). In Mosquito Lady (U.S.), a pregnant teen girl tries to get an abortion despite the objections of her conservative parents, forcing her into an unconventional and horrific experience. In the Flesh (U.S.) finds Tracey pleasuring herself in the shower when the pipes explode and she starts to leak black goo. In Get Away (U.S.), a group of friends rents a remote house in the desert. There, they find an old TV, a VHS player, and a tape containing terrifying coincidences.

Synopsis

Discover the next generation of great filmmakers with CineYouth’s 2023 award winners! From animated gems to impactful documentaries, experimental genre-benders to heartfelt dramas, this eclectic and impressive group of films are all made by directors 22-years-old or younger! Featuring works by Caleb Jacobson, Ian Kim, Andee Williams, Aniya Carey, Antoinette Green, Iyanna Jordan, Aria Gazor, Bjorgvin Arnarson, Irène-Kimberley Valin-Awashish, Julian Barahona, Janay Kelley, and Daisy Friedman.

A couple is a bright spot in their community, running a publishing business for Black creatives and growing a family through foster adoption, in the inspiring portrait and Documentary Award-winner Believe in Wonder (U.S.).

The largely animated documentary (and Animation Award-winner) My Sisters in the Stars (U.S./South Korea) provides vital historical perspective through the story of Lee Yong-soo, one of 11 living survivors of human trafficking in Japanese-colonized Korea.

Chicago Award-winner Taste of 75th (U.S.) is a celebration of famous eats on Chicago’s South Side featuring Brown Sugar Bakery, Original Soul Vegetarian, and Mabe’s Deli.

After an unfair evaluation of a classmate’s film, two students decide to get even with the principal in the absurdist Comedy Award-winner Judgment (Iran).

Experimental Award-winner TOWERFALL (U.S.) is a work of horror-tinged docufiction that presents footage and audio from the 1968 Yanaguana Tower of Americas tragedy to tell an alternate history of San Antonio.

Courageous and hopeful, the documentary essay and International Award-winner Lullaby (Canada) explores coming of age and the power of the unconscious.

Faced with financial challenges, a single mother takes her young son to the moon using the magic of storytelling in Audience Award-winner A Trip to the Moon (U.S.).

The River (U.S.) is an impassioned, poetic expression of a community’s response to the loss of a young girl that addresses sexual violence, grief, and trauma.

In Drama Award-winner As You Are (US), an interabled couple’s first night together leads them to confront complex relationships with desire, bodily autonomy, and what it means to truly love another person.

Synopsis

The six shorts in this program represent distinct modes of storytelling through film, while reflecting the diversity and creativity of our region. Featuring works by Dustin Nakao-Haider, McKenzie Chinn, Linh Tran, Tetsuya Mariko, Ian Kelly, and Brian Zahm.

In Ethan Lim: Cambodian Futures (U.S.), we follow a chef with a mission to share and elevate Cambodian food using his family’s recipes. Two friends living on the south side of Chicago find their friendship tested when one reveals a tightly-held secret in A Real One (U.S.). In Video Funeral (U.S.), two Vietnamese sisters bond over their father’s death and funeral. Two small-time thieves encounter an abandoned car with a small child in the backseat in Before Anyone Else (Japan, U.S.). A grandson uses animation to reconstruct a loved one’s lost memories in the documentary Soft Lights and Silver Shadows (U.S.). Photosynthesis (U.S.) takes the viewer on a 3D journey in the form of a 1960s perceptual art-inspired experience.