Shorts 1: Portraits

A film by Neil Butler

A short docu-portrait about Arturo Arnold, a master of emulsion who processes all of the 8mm and 16mm motion picture film for a busy film lab in North Hollywood, CA.

2025 | 4 mins | B&W | Documentary, Portrait

The filmmakers are expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

About the Filmmaker

Neil Butler is a filmmaker, writer, and educator. His short film Herzog & Morris premiered at BendFilm in Oregon and won the Audience Award for Best Short at the Tallahassee Film Festival in Florida and runner up in the Best of PsychoFest program at WIFF in Wisconsin. He also co-directed the short film My Psychedelic Summer and the musical feature Lewis & Klarq.

Most recently, Neil edited the documentary Betye Saar: Drifting Toward Twilight, a commission from The Huntington Art Museum about the legendary assemblage artist. Directed by Kyle Provencio Reingold, the film is currently running alongside Ms. Saar’s new exhibition at the museum and was also selected to screen at UrbanWorld in New York and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in California.

Neil currently serves as Production Manager for Ghetto Film School in Los Angeles, a non-profit arts organization with the mission to educate, develop and celebrate the next generation of great storytellers.

A film by Les Blank

In 1964 Les Blank filmed 45 minutes of motorcycles for a documentary film that was never completed. Before his death in 2013, he asked his son Harrod Blank to cut the footage to the music of The 13th Floor Elevators. Edited by Ben Abrams, this film captures the vastness of the American West at a time when the motorcycle was the ultimate in highway adventure.

Les Blank attended Tulane University in 1959 where he met Captain Bill Robertson.  The two collegiate rebels were both on the Tulane football team. During the summers they travelled to Key West Florida and camped under a bridge where they dreamed up what they wanted to do with their lives.  After college, both men would move to Los Angeles, California.  Les began working on industrial films and Bill was integral in growing the Church of Scientology with Ron L Hubbard.

Bill invited Les along to film a motorcycle road trip in 1964.  Les was going to make a film using the footage, but it got put on the back burner. Before his death he asked his son Harrod to make a film and cut it to The 13th Floor Elevators. This vintage footage was edited by Ben Abrams into a moment that captures the vastness of the American West at a time when the motorcycle was the ultimate in highway adventure.

1964/2025 | 6 mins | US | Color | Documentary

The filmmaker Harrod Blank is expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

A film by Harrod Blank

A portrait of Leonard Knight and his visionary monument, Salvation Mountain. Painted with 18 coats of donated latex paint, Salvation Mountain, was created over many years, and shows how one man’s determination and faith can make for quite a majestic achievement.

2025 | 20 mins | US | Color | Documentary, Portrait, Art

The filmmaker is expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

A film by Greg Marcks

Monkeys riding dogs herding sheep? The jaw-dropping spectacle of fringe-wearing simian cowboys gives way to the unexpectedly affecting love story behind a novelty monkey rodeo act.

2024 | 18 mins | US | Color | Documentary, Portrait

The filmmaker is expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

A film by Michael Arcos

A documentary about a woman who paints Garfield for a living dismantles when the filmmaker becomes mystified with the color orange.

2023 | 15 mins | Germany, US | Color: Orange | Documentary, Portrait

The filmmaker is expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

A film by Michael Garcia & Christopher Shipe

Young chef Leon C. Brunson sets out to open his first restaurant and discovers that a competitive spirit is not the only ingredient necessary for success.

2025 | 33 mins | US | Color | Documentary, Portrait, Local

The filmmakers are expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

About the Filmmakers

Michael Garcia is a Producer and Director based in Atlanta, GA, United States.

Studying mathematics at the University of Florida encouraged the abstract thinking and creative problem-solving he would later carry into his career as a filmmaker. After co-founding a video production company called “Megafauna Filmworks” and serving hundreds of businesses, politicians, and non-profits in Tallahassee, Michael won a formative job with Stella Artois to produce a 60 second spot for their international “Taste of Home” campaign.

The challenge of creating a piece of entertainment that balanced the client’s brief with a real, culturally sensitive story minted Michael’s passion for producing and directing branded content.

His latest work, which is currently in post-production, was producing a documentary short film for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The film honors the 10 year anniversary of the BIA’s Reserved Treaty Rights Lands (RTRL) Program, a funding mechanism that helps tribes and federal land management agencies restore and protect natural resources on non-tribal lands that are at high risk of wildfires. The film will be shown to Senate and House Appropriations Committees in hopes of growing the RTRL budget and maximizing the program’s impact for years to come.

Michael’s directorial voice is a reflection of an attempt to deeply empathize with subjects. He seems to find beauty in places others may overlook: the odd, quirky, dark, or uncomfortable. In addition to The Winning Recipe, he is currently in production for a short documentary called Panther Creek Road, a portrait of eccentric Arkansans told through mountain lion anecdotes.

Christopher Shipe is an experienced digital storyteller with over eight years of demonstrated experience within video production with a specialty in editing.

From a young age, Christopher’s self-taught skills in animation and video editing, developed through a passion for video games, grew into a love for digital media. This love led to him securing work for GoPro, Null Society (RedBull, Free People, etc.), LA.FIN (MLS x Adidas), highly watched YouTubers, and others as a video editor throughout his mid-teens to early 20s.

A year after graduating from Florida State University with a bachelors in digital media production, Chris transitioned further into producing, filming, and directing. He began his freelance business, “Shipe Video Editing LLC” to broaden his understanding of video production and to acquire new skills beyond editing and animation.

Today, Christopher’s mission is to foster empathy, platform novel world views, and create real-world impact on Earth through digital storytelling.

Keepers, his latest short documentary, explores the life of a young, well-known business owner as he balances fatherhood with his entrepreneurial journey. The film premiered at NewFilmmakers NY and later screened at Barcelona Indie Awards. This formative project was born from AOD’s One Day Doc Competition, which challenges members to complete an original documentary in under a month.