ONCE THERE WAS III (USA) BY NINA MCNEELY

​​

Trailer

Synopsis: 3 women bound to a shared soul oscillating between the throes of brutality and piety. A visceral display of true sisterhood- they suffer together, thrive together and bleed together. Running time: 00:06:34.

Selections/awards: Boston Short FF (Best Music Video), Brussels Independent FF, and more.

​

US (PORTUGAL) BY NELSON FERNANDES

​

Trailer

​

Synopsis: "Us" is a short film of animation which mixes several Stop Motion techniques, proposing a journey through the conflicted human condition. War, loneliness, nature, crossings, fallen dreams are some of the recurring aspects in this animated poem on paper. Running time: 00:05:00.

Selections/awards: Vienna Shorts, Odense IFF, Viborg International Animation Festival, MONSTRA Lisbon Animated FF, Athens Animfest, Palm Springs Animation Festival, and more.

​

THE PSYCHLIST (NORWAY) BY MARTIN A. WALTHER

​

Trailer

​

Synopsis: When his daughter died under tragic events just 11 months old, the bicycle became the only rescue for Per. Running time: 00:08:00.

Selections/awards: Brussels Independent FF, Boston Short FF, Viewpoint Documentary FF, Hong Kong Arthouse FF, and more.

​

BLUE SCREEN (CANADA) BY NOELLE PERDUE

​​

Synopsis: Blue Screen involves collecting hundreds of frames from 1970's/1980's "Golden Age" pornography, training a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) with the frames and creating a new video with the images it creates. The result is (safe for work but) undeniably porn, but with all the elements one usually associates with pornography- human bodies in particular- abstracted until they are unrecognizable. The soundtrack too is generated using AI, training an audio generation software on the classic bass heavy synth tracks associated with 1970's and 80's sleeze. The resulting short film is an attempt to distill a genre of pornography down to its most essential non-sexual themes, to archive it, and to reanimate the media of the past using technology of the burgeoning future. Running time: 00:02:00.

​

HOME COMING (USA) BY JUSTIN AGUIRRE

​​

Synopsis: The road home is paved with good intentions. Running time: 00:02:54.

​

LOSING IT (AUSTRIA) BY SASCHA VERNIK

​

Trailer

Synopsis: After losing the tool he relies on most, a fraud information worker decides to go back in time to prevent it. Running time: 00:09:30.

Selections/awards: Venice Film Week, Boston Short FF.

​

TO DO (UK) BY SAUL PANKHURST

​​

Synopsis: A reflection on the Self Improvement Industry, explored through the filmmaker’s attempts to participate in a guided pseudo-mindfulness exercise. Running time: 00:03:23.

​

MAMMA (NORWAY) BY ASLAK DANBOLT

​

Trailer

Synopsis: It’s Christmas Eve, and Synnøve is searching for her drug-addicted daughter Michelle in an almost desolated city. (Synnøve and Michelle are mother and daughter in real life and play versions of themselves in a story that is very close to their own lives.) Running time: 00:15:00.

Selections/awards: Aesthetica Short FF, Brussels Independent FF, Norwegian Short FF, Ankara Accessible FF (Best Film Award, Best Director Award), Bergen IFF, Hong Kong Arthouse FF, and more.

​

FORBIDDEN SOUND (USA) BY KATAYOUN AFROOZ

​​

Synopsis: Despite of woman's singing being illegal, an Iranian woman sings a tone. Running time: 00:00:50.

​

THE DREAM MACHINE (FRANCE) BY MICHAEL WILLIAM WEST

​​

Synopsis: A woman experiments with a Dream Machine, hoping to escape trouble. Within the light and dark of the machine, violent emotions awaken. Running time: 00:09:29.

​

FOOD OF THE FUTURE (USA) BY CHRISTOPHER P MCMANUS

​

Synopsis: A cyborg from the future tells us about the kind of food we can look forward to eating on a climate changed Earth. Food of the Future is a speculative PSA about the impact of climate change on food security. Done in the heavy handed style of the 1980's ""Brain on Drugs"" tv ads, Food of the Future shocks audiences with its graphic style, clarion message, and slapstick silliness. Running time: 00:01:00.

Selections/awards: Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival, The Strange Days Horror Fest.

​

GOULASH: THE LOST WEEKEND (USA) BY SHAYAN VAZIRITABAR, BAMSHAD BASHIRTASH

Trailer

Synopsis: At least 69,144 people experience homelessness nightly in LA County, according to the 2022 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count. Running time: 00:33:00.

​