Spotlight Films | Features | Documentaries | Shorts
Film Screening Locations Key:
SLC1 = FSU Student Life Cinema Theater1
SLC2 = FSU Student Life Cinema Theater2
ASC = All Saints Cinema
621 = 621 Gallery
PTT = Palaver Tree Theater
Browse our incredible catalog of films below, download the full 2018 Program (PDF), or check out the full schedule if you know what you’re looking for!
Spotlight Films
Opening Night
The Misogynists
A film by Onur Tukel
It’s Election Night 2016 and vociferous Trump supporter Cameron (Dylan Baker) is boozing up a storm with his pal Baxter (Lou Jay Taylor) in a fancy Manhattan hotel suite. Two high-end call girls are en route, and with all the cocaine on hand, America is feeling mighty great again. Or is it? Writer-director Onur Tukel’s outrageous social satire takes no prisoners, whether it’s would-be Masters of the Universe high on their own supply or pious liberals suddenly cast into an electoral seizure. Top-notch performances and wicked dialogue make for a sharp, disturbing discourse on our polarized American moment.
2018 | USA | Comedy, Drama
Friday, March 23 @ 7 PM @ SLC 1
After-party @ Proof Brewing Co. w/ food by MoBi immediately after the screening!
We are honored to present 2014 TFF-alum Onur Tukel’s latest film. Director Onur Tukel is scheduled to be in attendance at the screening and a Q&A is scheduled post-screening.
Closing Night
Secret Screening!
A film by…
Locals may be familiar with FSU Opening Nights’ “A Movie You Haven’t Seen,” but we have a movie you’ve haven’t seen either.
And it’s a good one. We know you’ll be seeing a lot more from this filmmaker, and we’re honored to be able to premiere their latest work to the Tallahassee audience.
2018 | USA
Sunday, March 25 @ 7:15 PM @ SLC 1
Awards Ceremony preceding this screening.
Our secret film’s director is scheduled to be in attendance at the screening and a Q&A is scheduled post-screening.
Midnight Madness!
Revenge
A film by Coralie Fargeat
Never take your mistress on an annual guys’ getaway, especially one devoted to hunting – a violent lesson for three wealthy married men. That’s the logline – and that’s all we’re saying! The film features so much blood that, according to director Coralie Fargeat, the prop team would often run out of fake blood. We’re excited to premiere this killer flick after it shocked audiences at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. A genre-film to rival all genre-films, deftly crafted by a female filmmaker, and harrowing as hell.
108 min | France | Action, Thriller
Saturday, March 24 @ 10:30 PM @ SLC 1
Spotlight Feature
The Long Dumb Road
…A film by Hannah Fiddell
When college-bound teenager Nat (Tony Revolori) offers itinerant 30-something mechanic Richard (Jason Mantzoukas) a ride during a stop-over in small-town Texas, neither one realizes the indelible impact each traveler will have on his respective journey. Nat, an aspiring photographer, is heading towards a bright future in art school in Los Angeles and wants to find the real America en route to new beginnings out West; Richard, a lovably unkempt motormouth, is simply looking for connection in the moment — and maybe a beer or ten — while he grapples with indecision, past mistakes and dead-ends. As they travel through the American Southwest, taking in picturesque towns and crossing paths with an assortment of old flames, fellow travelers, kooky cons, and Good Samaritans, both passengers come alive through the myriad possibilities of the open road. Finding connection, comfort and chaos in their shared journey, this improbable and unforgettable screen duo forges an epic bond few will forget.
90 min | USA | Comedy, Road Trip!
Saturday, March 24 @ 8 PM @ SLC 1
Spotlight Feature
Madeline’s Madeline
…A film by Josephine Decker
Madeline got the lead role in the play! Strangely, the character looks just like Madeline. And has a cat just like Madeline’s. And is holding a steaming hot iron next to her mother’s face… like Madeline is.
94 min | USA | Drama, Art
Saturday, March 24 @ 8:15 PM @ ASC
Spotlight Documentary
Our New President
A film by Maxim Pozdorovkin
Fresh off it’s premiere at Sundance Film Festival, Our New President is an intricately edited archival documentary that explores the cult of Donald J. Trump through fake news and other methods of destabilized perception. Completely and meticulously compiled from state-controlled political programming and congratulatory addresses to Trump from average Russians, the film shows Russia’s fawning over Trump as a carefully manufactured ideological project.
77 min | USA, Russia | Documentary, Politics, Art
Sunday, March 25 @ 12:15 PM @ SLC 1
Official Selections
Features
After Hours Trading
…A film by Fredrick Johnson
A fun, fresh take on noir films, this crime-caper follows a shiftless malcontent who teams up with a shady Eastern European con artist to get quick cash, only to discover his new partner-in-crime has come halfway around the world to free a victim of human trafficking.
103 min | USA | Comedy, Crime, Caper
Saturday, March 24 @ 4 PM @ ASC
Filmmakers are expected to be in attendance at the screening and a Q&A is scheduled post-screening.
The Current
…A film by Agustín Falco
A stunning debut by a first-time filmmaker from Argentina, with an expressive visual style akin to Alejandro González Iñárritu, the film follows a young man over the course of one night after losing his job as he unexpectedly enters himself in the midst of a narco turf war.
73 min | Argentina | Suspense, Drama
Saturday, March 24 @ 4 PM @ SLC 2
The F#@king Dog
…A film by Dragan Pesikan
Expertly weaving fast-paced action with witty black comedy, colorful characters, crazy situations, and one f#@king dog that brings it all together – this inspired genre film will leave you with a smile on your face.
88 min | Serbia | Action, Comedy, Crime
Saturday, March 24 @ 8:45 PM @ SLC 2
Hold Me Like Before
…A film by Jurgen Ureña
This effortlessly endearing film tells the story of Verónica, a transgender who works as a prostitute in Costa Rica. When a young thief is hit by a car, she takes him home to give him a better life, but at the same time faces the painful side of motherhood.
70 min | Costa Rica | Drama, Family, LGBTQ
Saturday, March 24 @ 6:30 PM @ ASC
In the Wake of Ire
…A film by Brian Maurer
A subtle drama about a man who reunites with his estranged daughter 20 years after a visceral attack at childhood left her injured and her memory unstable. As he tries to secretly uncover what happened to the family he left behind, the two grow dangerously close while he struggles to tell her who he really is.
94 min | USA | Drama, Family
Saturday, March 24 @ 2:45 PM @ SLC 1
Saturday, March 24 @ 7 PM @ PTT
Filmmakers are expected to be in attendance at the screenings and a Q&A is scheduled post-screenings.
Kyrsyä – Tuftland
…A film by Roope Olenius
A creepy-AF new wave Finnish genre film about a headstrong textile student trying to overcome her problems by taking a summer job offer in the isolated village of Kyrsyä.
89 min | Finland | Horror, Comedy
Saturday, March 24 @ 10:45 PM @ SLC 2
Mercury in Retrograde
…A film by Michael Glover Smith
A thoughtful and nuanced examination of three couples from Chicago vacationing together for a weekend at a lakeside cabin in Michigan. Over three days, hidden tensions and secrets will slowly come to the surface.
104 min | USA | Romance, Comedy, Drama
Saturday, March 24 @ 5:15 PM @ SLC 1
We are honored to present 2010 TFF-alum Michael Smith’s latest film. Filmmakers are expected to be in attendance at the screening and a Q&A is scheduled post-screening.
One Bedroom – World Premiere
…A film by Darien Sills-Evans
Equal parts smart and funny, this invigorating story focuses on an African American 30-something couple who, after five years in a gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood, spends their final afternoon together arguing and remember better days, as one of them moves out and hopefully on with her life.
90 min | USA | Comedy, Romance, Drama
Sunday, March 25 @ 4:45 PM @ SLC 1
We are honored to present the World Premiere of One Bedroom. Filmmakers are expected to be in attendance at the screening and Q&A is scheduled post-screening.
Palacios
…A film by Robert T. Herrera
A beautiful look at the lives of two seemingly disparate people. Eugene, an inner-city teen, escaping the city streets and hiding away on a Midwest city rooftop during the 4th of July. He is found by Holly, a widowed alcoholic, living in the secluded rooftop dwelling with her dog.
77 min | USA | Drama, Romance
Saturday, March 24 @ 2:45 PM @ PTT
Sunday, March 25 @ 2:30 PM @ SLC 1
Stretch Marks – World Premiere
…A film by Gregory Rocco
A character building film nearly three years in the making – we’re proud to be able to premiere this unvarnished and transformative story about a man who sets out on an extreme weight loss journey in the hopes of reaching health and happiness. His goal will push him past his physical limits and test the strength of his mental and emotional stability.
91 min | USA | Drama
Saturday, March 24 @ 12:15 PM @ SLC 1*
Saturday, March 24 @ 4:45 PM @ PTT
*Filmmakers are expected to be in attendance at the SLC 1 screening and Q&A is scheduled post-screening.
Two Pictures
…A film by Eric Stone
An impressive debut feature from an up-and-coming director, the film explores Ruth and Conrad, two contradictory individuals co-existing within the same spaces and experiencing moments of disconnect and fear alongside moments of genuine connection.
103 min | USA | Drama
Saturday, March 24 @ 5:45 PM @ SLC 2
Vashon – Pilot Episode
…A series by Curtis Fulton
Gorgeous, quirky, Lynchian and packed with a killer soundtrack, Vashon is an ambitious series debut created by first-time filmmaker Curtis Fulton. Running from her past, a young reporter escapes to Vashon Island, where she reluctantly fights to free residents from a scientist’s experiment.
47 min | USA | Sci-Fi, Comedy, Suspense, TV
Saturday, March 24 @ 2:30 PM @ SLC 2
Filmmakers are expected to be in attendance at the screening and Q&A is scheduled post-screening.
Documentaries
All the Queen’s Horses
…A film by Kelly Pope Richmond
This doc by first-time filmmaker, Kelly Pope Richmond, investigates the crime of Rita Crundwell, a public servant of Illinois who stole $53 million over 20 years, and how her fraud was used to build an empire of one of the nation’s largest breeders of quarter horses.
70 min | USA | Documentary, Crime, Politics
Sunday, March 25 @ 1 PM @ PTT
Ink of Yam
…A film by Tom Fröhlich
Jerusalem: a city full of conflicts, diversity and beauty. Here, two Russian ex-pat tattoo artists have created a place without walls. Their studio is open to all, regardless of nationality, religion or skin color. Through the tattoos and the stories is a unique insight into the sacred city.
74 min | Germany | Documentary, Culture, Religion, Politics, Art
Saturday, March 24 @ 3:30 PM @ 621
Jamaica Man
…A film by Michael Weatherly
A subjective look at British ex-pat Nigel Pemberton, this biographical picaresque is a highly stylized and unconventional portrait of a raconteur nearing the end of his life. Inspired narratively by Spalding Gray, it’s a controversial look at a man stuck in time.
63 min | Jamaica | Documentary, Portrait
Sunday, March 25 @ 2:15 PM @ SLC 2*
*Screens at the end of the shorts program Portraits.
Shined Rabbit
…A film by Veronica Silver
This captivating doc by a first-time filmmaker investigates t
Saturday, March 24 @ 10:45 AM @ ASC*
Sunday, March 25 @ 4 PM @ PTT
*Filmmakers are expected to be in attendance at the screening and Q&A is scheduled post-screening.
W.A.S.P. A Wartime Experiment in WoManpower
…A film by Jon T Anderson
In WWII a select group of women proved that a woman’s place was in the air. The W.A.S.P. (Women AirForce Service Pilots) were a group of civilians who flew military airplanes so men could be freed for combat. When they proved a woman could do a man’s job, feathers were ruffled. The film blends historical footage and interviews with over 30 original members of the WASPs sharing their stories decades later.
88 min | USA | Documentary, Women, History, Military
Sunday, March 25 @ 12:15 PM @ ASC
Filmmakers are expected to be in attendance at the screening and Q&A is scheduled post-screening.
Shorts
Browse all the great short films we have below by title or browse by shorts programs.
#TAKEMEANYWHERE
…A film by Shia Labeouf, Nastja Rönkkö & Luke Turner
In 2016, LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner embarked on a month-long project to hitchhike the internet, in a work commissioned by Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art and the Finnish Institute in London. Each day, the artists would post their coordinates online using the hashtag #TAKEMEANYWHERE and wait for a ride. Whoever then appeared could take them wherever they chose. For the duration of the project, their journey could be tracked in real time at take-me-anywhere.net, with their path entirely in the hands of the public.
44 min | UK, Finland, USA | Documentary, Travel
Saturday, March 24 @ 12:45 PM @ SLC 2*
Sunday, March 25 @ 2:45 PM @ PTT
*Screens as part of a double-bill with Broga Vlog: Road to Enlightenment (details coming soon).
01
…A film by Julian Friedrich
Sergam is a little boy. A refugee. His boat’s stranded on the coast. His mother didn’t survive. Instead, a young woman takes care of him and they set off on their way through a nightmare. 01 is the first episode in Second Truth, a short film series where artists confront current topics.
7 min | Germany | Animation, Music, Art
Screens as part of the shorts program The Animated Hour.
Saturday, March 24 @ 2 PM @ 621
165708
…A film by Josephine Massarella
Shot entirely in 16mm black and white film using single frame photography, 165708 employs in-camera techniques and chemical manipulation of processed film to produce an eidetic study of temporal elasticity. A dynamic original score by the acclaimed composer Graham Stewart accompanies the film.
7 min | Canada | Experimental
Screens as part of the shorts program The Animated Hour.
Saturday, March 24 @ 2 PM @ 621
An Accidental Drowning
…A film by Matteo Servente
On April 28, 1939 Jesse Lee Bond was brutally lynched in Arlington, TN. His official death certificate read: accidentally drowned.
7 min | USA | Documentary, History
Screens as part of the Doc Shorts program and the Palaver Tree Selections program.
Saturday, March 24 @ 11:15 AM @ SLC 2
Saturday, March 24 @ 12:45 PM @ PTT
And Now
…A film by Dominique Bylebyl
In 2024, the French Minister of Justice instructs the Examining Magistrate (also known as an investigating judge in the French judicial system) to be his official representative and witness an event which will mark the history of France to come.
17 min | France | Drama, Suspense
Screens as part of the shorts program Perspectives.
Saturday, March 24 @ 1:45 PM @ ASC
Before You Were Born
…A film by Samie Romman
Ryan and Lorretta are on the brink of parenthood when Ryan suddenly catapults to stardom headlining the MMA fight of his career. An unexpected turn of events, which he chooses to hide from his wife, questions what fatherhood means to Ryan.
11 min | UK | Drama
Screens as part of the shorts program No Control.
Sunday, March 25 @ Noon @ SLC 2
Behind the Glass
…A film by Eugen Merher
Coma patient Maya struggles to free herself from the virtual life she has behind the glass. Her husband Leon had her mind transmitted through neurotransmitters onto a futuristic camera. Will he be able to let her go after years of fighting to be with her?
7 min | Germany | Sci-Fi, Romance
Screens as part of the shorts program Love, or Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.
Saturday, March 24 @ 6:15 PM @ 621
The Best Customer
…A film by Serghei Chiviriga
The Kruchowsky family owns a funeral home. One day, an old man orders twelve funerary wreaths with sympathy messages for many relatives and friends. Mr. and Mrs. Kruchowsky become suspicious and start to investigate this potential cold-blooded assassin.
13 min | Romania | Animation, Comedy
Screens as part of the shorts program The Animated Hour.
Saturday, March 24 @ 2 PM @ 621
The Big Day
…A film by Willi Kubica
Herbert has been more than peaceful for the last few years. Today he has the chance to meet his chaotic family for one last time. The big day has come. Grandpa Herbert Maibach is being prepped for end-of-life. Spending the last years in a coma, he didn’t exactly cover himself in glory. The family gathers to say their goodbyes. Easier said than done.
10 min | Germany | Comedy, Drama
Screens as part of the shorts program Unusual Suspects and as part of the Palaver Tree Selections program.
Saturday, March 24 @ 12:45 PM @ PTT
Sunday, March 25 @ 5:15 PM @ ASC
The Big Show
…A film by Julien Jennequin
Mirabelle is 8. She was quietly watching some cartoons before her parents switched the channel to watch a politician’s speech on TV while having dinner. Mom and dad become different people when watching politics. Now she’s going to have to find a way to get the cartoons back on.
6 min | France | Comedy, Horror
Screens as part of the shorts program Metamorphosis.
Saturday, March 24 @ Noon @ 621
Bitchboy
…A film by Måns Berthas
Lukas, a dedicated young metal head, is visiting his recently departed grandfather at the hospital. Despite the bloodline, he doesn’t want the old man to be buried in the family grave. Dark secrets come to light, and when opportunity comes, he seeks revenge.
15 min | Sweden | Comedy, Drama
Screens as part of the shorts program Rites of Passage.
Saturday, March 24 @ 8:30 PM @ 621
Black Clothes
…A film by Octav Chelaru
An orthodox priest preaches about the sin of hypocrisy, only to find out that he’s not far away of committing it himself while trying to protect his son.
20 min | Romania | Drama
Screens as part of the shorts program Perspectives and as part of the Palaver Tree Selections program.
Saturday, March 24 @ 12:45 PM @ PTT
Saturday, March 24 @ 1:45 PM @ ASC
Blue Before Gray
…A film by Phallon J. Beckham
When a single father returns home after a night at the bar, he finds himself caught in a battle of masculinity and pride. This impressive debut is a student project from first-time filmmaker Phallon J. Beckman, a 2017 MICA MFA Filmmaking candidate and a previous graduate of FSU in 2012 for English. Inspired by a personal account in her own life growing up in Baltimore, the TFF is honored to share this film with our audience.
10 min | USA | Drama
Screens as part of the shorts program No Control.
Sunday, March 25 @ Noon @ SLC 2
Bucket
…A film by Sean Mangan
A rural American family is torn apart after the death of the family cat.
12 min | USA | Comedy, Horror
Screens as part of the shorts program Metamorphosis.
Saturday, March 24 @ Noon @ 621
The Cage
…A film by Alan Wu
An aging ex-biker, ML, is forced to come to terms with his distant Asian son, Ping, when he brings him to a date at a batting cage. As tension between father and son escalates, he must choose between his love interest and his son. A student film with classical film sensibilities, director Alan Wu is currently pursuing his MFA at NYU’s graduate film program.
11 min | USA | Drama, Comedy
Screens as part of the shorts program No Control.
Sunday, March 25 @ Noon @ SLC 2
Cain’s Shadow
…A film by Antonio De Palo
November 5th, 2025. Western metropolis. Young inspector Abel is grappling with the umpteenth disappearance: Angela, a 9-year-old girl, of whom there has been no news for two days. For more than ten years there have been many disappearances of children. Numbers assume alarming proportions. Ada is a young woman of thirty whose daughter was kidnapped some years before. From that day on she has led a personal investigation searching for the truth.
30 min | Italy | Sci-Fi, Suspense
Screens as part of the shorts program Future Primitive.
Saturday, March 24 @ 10 PM @ 621
Casey
…A film by Shanrica Evans
A teenager with gender dysphoria witnesses the physical assault of a transgender woman. A striking student project from first-time filmmaker, Shanrica Evans, out of University of Southern California.
6 min | USA | Drama, LGBTQ
Screens as part of the shorts program Perspectives.
Saturday, March 24 @ 1:45 PM @ ASC
Cave
…A film by Delphine Girard
How do you watch your childhood slipping away when you might never see again? This remarkable debut film from Belgian filmmaker Delphine Girard takes on the perspective of a young boy gradually losing his sight, and then some.
23 min | Belgium | Drama
Screens as part of the shorts program Metamorphosis.
Saturday, March 24 @ Noon @ 621
Cross
…A film by Diego Barraza
Frances thinks Brian is having an affair. In her pursuit to save their marriage she will soon find out more than she ever wanted. A short film based on the stage play Cross by Deborah Kearne.
15 min | UK | Comedy, LGBTQ
Screens as part of the shorts program Unusual Suspects.
Sunday, March 25 @ 5:15 PM @ ASC
Filmmakers are expected to be in attendance at the screening and a Q&A is scheduled post-screening.
Dialogue
…A film by Gabor Fabricius
Refugees and migrants of different eras encounter each other though time and space and fuse to break through barbed wire together. Shot at real migrant locations at Europe’s newly installed barbed wire, using original documentary footage of refugees.
7 min | Hungary | Doc-Drama Hybrid
Screens as part of the Doc Shorts program.
Saturday, March 24 @ 11:15 AM @ SLC 2
Doble Angoixa
…A film by Dani Morell
Angus gets a call from a friend who wants to go out to have a drink, but he prefers to sit quietly at home watching a movie. When he is about to press the play button on the remote, it slips from his hands and falls to the ground. From that moment on he will be involved in a series of fantastic events that will make him fear for his life.
3 min | Spain | Suspense, Thriller
Screens as part of the shorts program Future Primitive.
Saturday, March 24 @ 10 PM @ 621
Do No Harm
…A film by Marielle Woods
A short film about a combat medic attempting to hold on to humanity in the midst of a war much bigger than himself. A medic’s job is to fix people up, but how does that obligation reconcile with someone who is trained to fight and may be asked to kill? Starring Spencer Treat Clark (Animal Kingdom) and Shanola Hampton (Shameless).
7 min | USA | Drama, War
Screens as part of the shorts program No Control.
Sunday, March 25 @ Noon @ SLC 2
Don’t Be Afraid
…A film by Unnikrishnan Parameswaran, Lakshmi Devy & Vishal Mundra
As writer/director/producer Lakshmi Devy put it, “This film is close to my heart as it depicts the life of most Indian girls in a middle class family. It strikes a nerve with most women, as also I believe that at one stage or another, most women across the globe, have gone through life without an option of an opinion.”
20 min | India | Drama, Romance
Screens as part of the shorts program Moths, Flames.
Sunday, March 25 @ 2:30 PM @ ASC
The Driver is Red
…A film by Randall Christopher
The Driver is Red is a 15-minute animated true crime documentary that tells the captivating true story of Zvi Aharoni and the Israeli secret service team that brought down one of the most powerful Nazis on the run. Fifteen years after the end of World War II, the team closes in on the murderer in Argentina in their attempt to bring him to justice. Premiering at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, we’re honored to present this film by an FSU Fine Arts alum.
15 min | USA | Documentary, Animation
Screens as part of the Opening Night presentation and the shorts programs Portraits and The Animated Hour.
Friday, March 23 @ 7 PM @ SLC 1
Saturday, March 24 @ 2 PM @ 621
Sunday, March 25 @ 2:15 PM @ SLC 2
Eyes in the Night
…A film by Christophe Gand
It’s night. A man drives a freight train as he has done hundreds of times before. But this night, a woman stands in the middle of the tracks without moving. What happens next will change his life forever.
19 min | France | Drama
Screens as part of the shorts program No Control.
Sunday, March 25 @ Noon @ SLC 2
Fight Like a Girl
…A film by Agustin Gonzalez and Nicole Wulf Maldonado
In this short documentary, Victoria “VikkiKitty” Perez, Priscilla “Port” Sortino, and Taylor “Xaltis” Rose, three South Florida women, push through the male dominated competitive video gaming scene. A celebration of women in competitive video gaming and an evaluation of the problems they face.
13 min | USA | Documentary, Culture
Screens as part of the Doc Shorts program.
Saturday, March 24 @ 11:15 AM @ SLC 2
The Forest Ranger
…A film by Norbert Fodor
Lucian, the son of the forest ranger is forced to evacuate his house as deforestation begins. A TV crew covering the story helps him move in the city, while filming the transition to his new way of living.
30 min | Romania | Comedy, Drama, TV
Screens as part of the shorts program Future Primitive.
Saturday, March 24 @ 10 PM @ 621
Framed
…A film by Marco Jemolo
Framed is a noir, animated short film, which investigates the role of the individual in society. In an anonymous police station, F.K. asks the law for help in the attempt to report the abuses he has been through: his birth, his formation, his forced work.
He will end up stuck in an endless nightmare.
7 min | Italy | Animation, Horror
Screens as part of the shorts program The Animated Hour.
Saturday, March 24 @ 2 PM @ 621
The Girl in the Blue Bra
…A film by Ayesha Abouelazm
In the midst of the 2011 Egyptian protests, a sheltered young woman is forced out of her comfort zone and into the increasingly hostile streets of revolutionary Cairo. A compelling student project by a female, Egyptian-American, first-time filmmaker who was inspired to make this film and bring attention towards the sexual harassment of women in Egypt and around the world.
12 min | USA | Drama, Crime
Screens as part of the shorts program Moths, Flames.
Sunday, March 25 @ 2:30 PM @ ASC
Half Man, Half Ghost
…A film by Davi Pretto
The whole life of man is but a point in time. This is cinema as art – a filmic exploration of an old man’s gradual disappearing process in a far and remote area in the south of Brazil. A man that represents a time that nearly no longer exists. Somewhere between an ethnographic documentary and a fantasy, this film is a journey into darkness and oblivion.
30 min | Brazil | Documentary, Portrait, Art
Screens as part of the shorts program Perspectives.
Saturday, March 24 @ 1:45 PM @ ASC
Ina nyo
…
A film by Mary Grace Evangelista
Ina nyo (Your Mother) is a day in the life of Ana, a young housemaid in Manila, and her quiet resilience as she is hassled by the family she has come to care for and know. While desperate to send more money to her mother, her job is suddenly jeopardized when the rivalry of the siblings and their desire for her go too far. Ana struggles with how to maintain her livelihood.
12 min | Philippines | Drama
Screens as part of the shorts program Moths, Flames.
Sunday, March 25 @ 2:30 PM @ ASC
The Incident
…A film by Meedo Taha
What happened at the bus stop? The truth lies somewhere between a veiled Muslim woman, a migrant Syrian worker, and a bus full of witnesses on their way to the mosque. The Incident is a subtly powerful film made by a UCLA student.
22 min | Lebanon | Comedy, Romance
Screens as part of the shorts program Love, or Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now and as part of the Palaver Tree Selections program.
Saturday, March 24 @ 12:45 PM @ PTT
Saturday, March 24 @ 6:15 PM @ 621
Inconvenient Comfort
…A film by Ádám Fillenz
Inconvenient comfort is about 60 years old Annabelle who really got attached to her mobility scooter. She’s not aware that she’s bound to this vehicle because of her empty yet very comforting life. Throughout a series of events she’ll realize that she has to make a change in order to prevent her life from falling apart.
20 min | Netherlands | Comedy, Drama
Screens as part of the shorts program Unusual Suspects.
Sunday, March 25 @ 5:15 PM @ ASC
The Itch
…
A film by Timothy Ryan Driscoll
A man goes to violent lengths to relieve himself of an itch.
6 min | USA | Comedy, Horror
Screens as part of the shorts program Unusual Suspects.
Sunday, March 25 @ 5:15 PM @ ASC
I Thank the State
…A film by Freddie Gerrard-Abbott
An accountant living in an authoritarian state is detained against her will and questioned relentlessly about a suspected fake work permit.
14 min | UK | Sci-Fi, Thriller
Screens as part of the shorts program Future Primitive.
Saturday, March 24 @ 10 PM @ 621
Lawman
…A film by Matthew Gentile
1875, Indian Territory. Bass Reeves, is the first African American to be deputized by the U.S. Marshal service. When Bass charges into the desert, he engages in a shootout with two outlaws, also African American. Based on accounts of the real person, Bass served as a Deputy U.S. Marshal in one of the most violent and dangerous regions of the Wild West. He spent more than three decades as a peace officer and during that time brought in more than 3,000 outlaws, a record that should have garnered him a reputation of mythic proportions. But Bass Reeves was black. So history moved on.
13 min | USA | Western, Crime
Screens as part of the shorts program No Control and as part of the Palaver Tree Selections program.
Saturday, March 24 @ 12:45 PM @ PTT
Sunday, March 25 @ Noon @ SLC 2
Lazy Circles
…A film by Marcus Ross
Lazy Circles is a single-camera comedy taking a look at the hilarity and excitement in a small Oklahoma town. Whether it’s the house-raiding librarian’s book burnings, the mayor’s citizen arrest machine that catches perverts, or deadly storms being tracked by a weatherman’s nose, there’s always something crazy happening in Goshè. Inspired by true stories and experiences from Emmy award-winning, Oklahoma brothers, Marcus and Lucas Ross, Lazy Circles features a mixture of actors alongside real, rural Americans telling the story of a people who worship weathermen in a town with more churches than stop signs.
30 min | USA | Comedy, TV
Screens as part of the shorts program Unusual Suspects.
Sunday, March 25 @ 5:15 PM @ ASC
Filmmakers are expected to be in attendance at the screening and Q&A is scheduled post-screening.
The Longneck Goodbye
…A film by Creighton Satterfield
A gloriously lo-fi, original and
Saturday, March 24 @ 5:15 PM @ 621
Lunch Time
…A film by Alireza Ghasemi
A 16-year-old girl deals with the responsibility and harsh bureaucracy of having to identify the body of her mother. Inspired by a dream which the director had, this complex and intricate look at the bureaucracy of death in Iran, is powerful.
15 min | Islamic Republic of Iran | Drama
Screens as part of the shorts program Moths, Flames.
Sunday, March 25 @ 2:30 PM @ ASC
Marcus
…A film by J.R. Poli
A group of men struggle with a life changing decision. They find themselves on different sides of an argument that could possibly lead to a tragic ending.
10 min | USA | Drama
Screens as part of the shorts program Perspectives and as part of the Palaver Tree Selections program.
Saturday, March 24 @ 12:45 PM @ PTT
Saturday, March 24 @ 1:45 PM @ ASC*
*Filmmakers are expected to be in attendance at the ASC screening and a Q&A is scheduled post-screening.
Ming
…A film by Danski Tang
A Chinese student’s experience as a live figure model while abroad.
3 min | USA | Animation
Screens as part of the shorts program The Animated Hour.
Saturday, March 24 @ 2 PM @ 621
Naturally Selected
…A film by Jimmy Evans
Environmentalist Sam Van Leer fights to save Miami from drowning.
9 min | USA | Documentary, Portrait
Screens as part of the shorts program Portraits.
Sunday, March 25 @ 2:15 PM @ SLC 2
Filmmakers are expected to be in attendance at the screening and a Q&A is scheduled post-screening.
Pluto
…A film by Tiger Ji
A deeply hypnotic poem about the haunting lonesomeness of being a child. A lonely young man believes that the only way to find joy is to run away to Pluto.
40 min | USA | Drama, Fantasy
Saturday, March 24 @ 12:15 PM @ ASC
Filmmakers are expected to be in attendance at the screening and a Q&A is scheduled post-screening.
The Poet and the Professor
…A film by Ariel Kavoussi
A dark, comedic short about Ariel, an insecure writer tortured by her own desires. Ariel can’t seem to stop seeing “The Poet,” an older, volatile cinematographer who pursues his ‘art’ while taking full advantage of his rich girlfriend’s beautiful New York apartment. Ariel also can’t stop herself from loving her own professor, a depressed, married, struggling adjunct obsessed with postmodernism and addicted to pills.
22 min | USA | Comedy
Screens as part of the shorts program Love, or Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.
Saturday, March 24 @ 6:15 PM @ 621
Polybius
…A film by Brad Pattullo
In 1981, a boy encounters a mysterious arcade game cabinet. When he plays it, he goes on an unexpected journey.
5 min | USA | Animation
Screens as part of the shorts program The Animated Hour.
Saturday, March 24 @ 2 PM @ 621
Practice
…A film by Deva Palmier
Alja falls in love online with Ebb, a self-described jihadi, and longs to visit him. But he insists on setting a series of escalating challenges to prove that she’s tough enough. When events start taking a darker turn, it becomes Alja’s turn to challenge Ebb’s commitment and integrity. A deceptively dark film that focuses on themes of grooming and radicalization, and also challenges us to look at the way we pre-judge people of different nationalities and religions.
9 min | UK | Drama, Suspense
Screens as part of the shorts program Moths, Flames.
Sunday, March 25 @ 2:30 PM @ ASC
Purple Dreams
…A film by Murat Sayginer
A short animated film about the transition from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius.
2 min | Turkey | Experimental, Animation
Screens as part of the shorts program The Animated Hour.
Saturday, March 24 @ 2 PM @ 621
Red Tale
…A film by Natacha Thomas
Red Riding Hood and Blue Beard are opposed in a dark fairytale of a toxic romance between a man with a terrible secret and a woman determined to expose it. They play together in a dance of violence and power. Red Tale is, at its core, a story about the violence of a dysfunctional relationship.
5 min | France | Romance, Horror
Screens as part of the shorts program Love, or Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.
Saturday, March 24 @ 6:15 PM @ 621
Sac de Merde
…A film by Greg Chwerchak
An unlucky-in-love yet irrationally-optimistic New Yorker thinks her luck has changed when she spends the night with the man of her dreams. But as it turns out, he might just be full of shit. Literally.
12 min | USA | Comedy, Romance
Screens as part of the shorts programs Unusual Suspects and Love, or Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.
Saturday, March 24 @ 6:15 PM @ 621*
Sunday, March 25 @ 5:15 PM @ ASC
*Filmmakers are expected to be in attendance at the screening and a Q&A is scheduled post-screening.
Sand
…A film by Arjan Brentjes
You get up at five, eat your vitamins, drink some water with your coffee, work for a few hours, work a little more, get some exercise and then take a shower. But don’t bother trying to wash the sand out of your hair.
5 min | Netherlands | Animation, Comedy
Screens as part of the shorts program The Animated Hour.
Saturday, March 24 @ 2 PM @ 621
Say No
…A film by Samuel Clemens
Schoolgirl Rossella has just split up with her boyfriend and is traveling to school with a handbag full of guns. Her ex has met a new girl and passions are running high. What does Rossella intend to do?
10 min | UK | Drama, Suspense
Special Note: The TFF is honored to present this film, as difficult as it is, in light of the all-too recent and tragic Parkland, Florida and Great Mills, Maryland school shootings. Despite being produced in the UK, we believe this film is extremely important to the discussion on gun violence in America.
Screens as part of the shorts program Perspectives and the Palaver Tree Selections program.
Saturday, March 24 @ 12:45 PM @ PTT
Saturday, March 24 @ 1:45 PM @ ASC
Second Best
…A film by Alyssa McClelland
Second Best is a dark comedy about the invisible, unbreakable connection of identical twin sisters, Velika and Nouchka Bortsov. Their mother, Dina, has pinned her ambitions to Nouchka’s rhythmic gymnastics career until a turn of events reawakens the power of their unwavering bond.
20 min | Australia | Comedy, Drama
Screens as part of the shorts program Metamorphosis.
Saturday, March 24 @ Noon @ 621
Shed
…A film by Andy McEntire & Matt Burch
Shed centers on Molly, an isolated woman struggling to find a deeper purpose within in the grind of marriage and motherhood. In the brave new world of #MeToo and #TimesUp, these two male, Florida-based filmmakers want viewers, especially men, to examine their own relationships and form deeper connections through empathy and kindness.
13 min | USA | Drama
Screens as part of the shorts program Moths, Flames.
Sunday, March 25 @ 2:30 PM @ ASC
Filmmakers are expected to be in attendance at the screening and a Q&A is scheduled post-screening.
Sliding Away
…A film by Bob Findlay
Starring (Night at the Museum) and Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast, The Departed).
15 min | Canada | Drama
Screens as part of the shorts program No Control.
Sunday, March 25 @ Noon @ SLC 2
A Swedish Classic
…A film by Måns Berthas
A woman in a tattered wedding gown wakes in the forest to the sound of a deafening car horn. She finds her husband in the crashed car nearby. He’s in bad shape but alive. In the wrecked interior, they start to talk about their relationship, which soon seems to be as demolished as their Saab.
8 min | Sweden | Romance, Comedy
Screens as part of the shorts program Love, or Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.
Saturday, March 24 @ 6:15 PM @ 621
Sweetheart
…A film by Jeremie Seguin
Overtaken by childhood memories, a teenager finds out the emotional gap that separates him from his mother. Soon he will realize that his parents are not quite what he has imagined.
17 min | France | Drama
Screens as part of the shorts program Rites of Passage.
Saturday, March 24 @ 8:30 PM @ 621
This My Favorite Mural
…A film by Michael Arcos
An amateur German female filmmaker becomes infatuated with a tire shop mural. She decides to find the artist who painted the mural and makes her first documentary film. The more she investigates the mundane subject, the further she gets tangled in a web of tire shop mysteries.
11 min | USA | Documentary, Portrait
Screens as part of the shorts program Portraits.
Sunday, March 25 @ 2:15 PM @ SLC 2
Filmmakers are expected to be in attendance at the screening and a Q&A is scheduled post-screening.
Those Who Can Die
…A film by Charlotte Cayeux
Zoé, 15 years old, enters a strict boarding school. Around her, students are playing and attending classes with faded eyes. Through their obsequious facade, the supervisors’ violence lurks. One day Zoé meets Marie and understands what they are destined for.
19 min | France | Drama, Suspense
Screens as part of the shorts program Metamorphosis.
Saturday, March 24 @ Noon @ 621
To Do List
…A film by Ryan Austin
She has a long list of things to get done. He has a long story to tell. Her list just got longer. A simple, smart take on the rom-com by a first-time filmmaker out of Canada.
9 min | USA | Comedy, Romance
Screens as part of the shorts program Love, or Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.
Saturday, March 24 @ 6:15 PM @ 621
Transmission
…A film by Varun Raman & Tom Hancock
There’s really no better way to sum this one up than as the directors’ themselves did for us: “Shot on glorious 35mm film, Transmission is an abstraction of our fears over the future of post-Brexit Britain and many western countries that are increasingly adopting methods of manipulation and contempt.”
17 min | UK | Sci-Fi maybe, Documentary for sure.
Screens as part of the shorts program Future Primitive.
Saturday, March 24 @ 10 PM @ 621
Transports Davignon
…A film by Yves Chaudouët
A film of near poetic realistic perfection, this first-time director creates a decaying world that exhibits the difference between those who have money and those who don’t care about it. A young heir, without much regard for the life he leads, finds something one day for which he wants, but cannot have.
27 min | France | Drama, Art
Screens as part of the shorts program Moths, Flames.
Sunday, March 25 @ 2:30 PM @ ASC
Trouble at Sacred Stone
…A film Bruno Filip Lumetta
Of the three ‘water protector’ camps at Standing Rock, North Dakota, Sacred Stone was the most mysterious. The reclusive anarchist collective did not allow photography or interviews of any kind. Captured entirely in secret on an iPhone, Trouble at Sacred Stone is a dreamlike journey through the strange camp, revealing what was its attraction to many, its troubles, and ultimately, its downfall.
27 min | USA | Documentary, Politics
Screens as part of the Doc Shorts program.
Saturday, March 24 @ 11:15 AM @ SLC 2
A Universal Love Story
…A film by Natalie MacMahon
One of the few films in the world that contains dialogue in the rare language of Esperanto, A Universal Love Story is a sci-fi drama about the possibility of finding love in an impersonal world in the distant future, where everyone is so focused on themselves, that it seems almost impossible to connect to another person.
9 min | Germany | Experimental, Romance
Screens as part of the shorts program Love, or Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.
Saturday, March 24 @ 6:15 PM @ 621
Who Decides
…A film by Mylissa Fitzsimmons
A sick woman and a young girl engage in a discussion about who decides when it’s your time to die. Who Decides was the 2017 Sun Valley Film Festival Short Film Lab winner. Judges Jim Burke (Focus Features) and filmmaker Michael Tully (Ping Pong Summer) chose Who Decides as the winning script out of over hundreds of submissions to be made into a short film.
8 min | USA | Drama, Horror
Screens as part of the shorts program Rites of Passage.
Saturday, March 24 @ 8:30 PM @ 621
Wings
…A film by Aidan Millroy
Agatha becomes acutely aware of the presence of death in everyday life after things around her start to die.
6 min | USA | Comedy, Drama
Screens as part of the shorts program Metamorphosis.
Saturday, March 24 @ Noon @ 621
With My Own Two Hands
…A film by Michaël Barocas
The life of a man through his hands and the ones around him.
3 min | France | Experimental, Art
Screens as part of the shorts program Perspectives.
Saturday, March 24 @ 1:45 PM @ ASC
Titles, times, locations, and filmmakers in attendance at a screening are all subject to change without notice. Every effort will be made to notify ticket and pass holders of changes in advance of the screening at the Festival. Questions? Contact us.
Psst! All of the films at our festival are not rated and may contain language and/or content not suitable for children under 17 – so parents or guardians don’t say we didn’t tell you.
Full schedule with times & locations coming soon.