The Dallas Film Society announced today the complete lineup of films chosen to screen at the 9th annual Dallas International Film Festival presented by AutoNation, taking place April 9-19. The 11 day Festival will screen 165 films representing 32 countries. A total of 17 premieres will be featured, including 10 World Premieres, three North American Premieres and four US Premieres.
The Dallas Film Society announced today the complete lineup of films chosen to screen at the 9th annual Dallas International Film Festival presented by AutoNation, taking place April 9-19. The 11 day Festival will screen 165 films representing 32 countries. A total of 17 premieres will be featured, including 10 World Premieres, three North American Premieres and four US Premieres.
The Festival’s Opening Night Film, presented by U.S. Risk /Kara & Randall Goss, will be I’LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS, starring Emmy and Tony Award-winner Blythe Danner. Well-known for her respected roles in films such as ALICE and THE GREAT SANTINI, Danner will attend the screening to accept the Dallas Star Award, presented by the Dallas Film Society to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to modern cinema and the advancement of the art of film. In addition to her work in film, the actress has won two Emmy Awards for her role in Showtime’s Huff and was nominated twice for roles in Will and Grace and WE WERE THE MULVANEYS. Her list of career accomplishments continues with a Tony Award for her Broadway debut in Butterflies Are Free and nominations for roles in Betrayal, A Streetcar Named Desire and Follies. Danner’s other notable film roles include the MEET THE PARENTS TRILOGY, WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER?, and SYLVIA.
Also receiving a Dallas Star Award is director John Landis, who is traveling to Dallas to celebrate the 35th anniversary of THE BLUES BROTHERS. Landis will receive his award during Dallas Film Society Honors, co-presented by the Arthur E. Benjamin Foundation, Sheri Deterling, Geoff Hawkes and the Highland Dallas. The ceremony will take place at the Highland Dallas. Landis has left a lasting impression on the film world as director of many iconic comedies such as NATIONAL LAMPOON’S ANIMAL HOUSE, ¡3 AMIGOS!, COMING TO AMERICA, TRADING PLACES, and INTO THE NIGHT. John Landis also wrote and directed AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON and the groundbreaking theatrical short MICHAEL JACKSON’S THRILLER.
The Festival will also celebrate the incredible life and career of Texas writer, actor and producer L.M. Kit Carson by featuring his 1983 film BREATHLESS. Carson is recognized for writing the Palme d’Or winning PARIS, TEXAS, and also for inventing the first ‘mockumentary’ with his film DAVID HOLZMAN’S DIARY. Carson will receive a posthumous Dallas Star Award, which will be presented to his son, Hunter Carson, during DFS Honors.
“Completing the lineup for our 9th festival is such a major accomplishment,” said James Faust, artistic director of the Dallas Film Society. “We are proud to have another amazing group of films, filmmakers, and award recipients to present to the DFW community.”
This year, BAFTA winners and Golden Globe nominees and Phil Lord and Christopher Miller will receive the Texas Avery Animation Award presented by Reel FX during DFS Honors. The Texas Avery Animation Award honors a lifetime achievement in animation filmmaking. Lord and Miller wrote and directed the award winning film THE LEGO MOVIE, for which they earned the BAFTA and BFCA Critics Choice Awards for Best Animated Feature, the National Board of Review for Best Original Screenplay and the Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Writing. The film has earned $468 million at the worldwide box office and to-date, is the 4th highest grossing domestic feature of 2014. Additionally, the pair also wrote and directed 2009's hit animated feature CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS, which earned a Golden Globe and Critics Choice nomination for Best Animated Feature along with four Annie Award nominations for excellence in animation, including Best Direction and Best Screenplay. This will be the 9th year of the award and the second time that there will be two recipients of the award. Fellow Golden Globe Nominees Jorge R. Gutierrez and Brad Booker, director and producer of Reel FX's THE BOOK OF LIFE, will present the award to Lord and Miller.
"For the past eight years, Reel FX has sponsored the Texas Avery Animation Award, which honors achievement in the animation industry," said Steve O'Brien, CEO of Reel FX. "This year, we give the award to two awesome recipients – Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. With films like this year's blockbuster hit THE LEGO MOVIE and 2009's CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS, they have cemented their place in animation history with unique visuals and stories as well as some pretty catchy lyrics. We feel their creativity and versatility embody the spirit of the award and its namesake, Tex Avery."
DIFF will also be presenting Audience Awards to filmmakers in three categories. Audience Awards, sponsored by the Arthur E. Benjamin Foundation, Sheri Deterling and Geoff Hawkes, will be given for Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Feature, and Best Short Film. The winner for Best Narrative Feature and Best Documentary Feature will each receive a cash prize of $3,500. The winner for Best Short Film will receive a cash prize of $3,000.
The Embrey Family Foundation will present The Silver Heart Award and a $10,000 cash prize to one inspirational filmmaker or film to honor their dedication for fighting injustices and/or creating social change for the improvement of humanity. The films below marked with ♥ are eligible for the Silver Heart Award.
Online ticket sales will be available for members only beginning Monday, March 16 at www.DallasFilm.org, with online ticket sales opening to the public on Thursday, March 19. The physical Prekindle Box Office will open on Thursday, March 26. The Prekindle Box Office will be located at Mockingbird station at 5321 E. Mockingbird Ln., Suite 100. For more Box Office information, call 469-828-1719.
Opening Night Film presented by U.S. Risk/Kara & Randall Goss
I’LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS (USA)
Director: Brett Haley
Cast: Blythe Danner; Martin Starr; Sam Elliott; Malin Akerman; June Squibb; Rhea Perlman; Mary Kay Place
I’LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS, directed by Brett Haley, had its World Premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival where it received a standing ovation for its star, Blythe Danner. The film stars Ms. Danner as a widow who’s settled into her life and her age, until a series of events propel her into a renewed engagement with people and the world around her.
Centerpiece Film
PLAYING IT COOL (USA) – North American Premiere
Director: Justin Reardon
Cast: Chris Evans; Michelle Monaghan; Luke Wilson; Aubrey Plaza; Topher Grace; Anthony Mackie
It’s this generation’s SWINGERS meets (500) DAYS OF SUMMER. The story is fresh, quirky, and weirdly relatable as this young, slightly pretentious man falls for an unlikely girl, and will stop at nothing to get her even after realizing she’s already in a relationship.
Premiere Series
5 FLIGHTS UP (USA)
Director: Richard Loncraine
Cast: Morgan Freeman; Diane Keaton; Cynthia Nixon
Over one crazy weekend, a long-time married couple discovers that finding a new apartment is not about winding down, but starting a new adventure.
ENDGAME (USA) – World Premiere
Director: Carmen Marron
Cast: Jon Gries; Efren Ramirez; Rico Rodriguez; Justina Machado
A coming of age movie about a young man, struggling to step out of his brother’s shadow, who reluctantly joins the school chess team after a family tragedy and discovers both solace and self-worth.
LOVE & MERCY (USA)
Director: Bill Pohlad
Cast: John Cusack, Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks, Paul Giamatti
LOVE & MERCY presents an unconventional portrait of Brian Wilson, the mercurial singer, songwriter and leader of The Beach Boys. Set against the era defining catalog of Wilson’s music, the film intimately examines the personal voyage and ultimate salvation of the icon whose success came at extraordinary personal cost.
MANGLEHORN (USA)
Director: David Gordon Green
Cast: Al Pacino, Holly Hunter, Harmony Korine, Chris Messina
Left heartbroken by the woman he loved and lost forty years ago, A.J. Manglehorn (Al Pacino) is an eccentric small-town locksmith toiling away at his work while constantly consumed inside by memories of the great love he let slip through his fingers. This humble locksmith's daydreams have a surreal quality. We see life through the lens of his experience, tinged by a hard-won wisdom that's equal parts pragmatism and whimsy as he tries to start his life over again with the help of a new friend (Holly Hunter). David Gordon Green’s MANGLEHORN weaves humor and insight to guide Al Pacino in one of his strongest performances in years.
RESULTS (USA)
Director: Andrew Bujalski
Cast: Kevin Corrigan; Guy Pearce; Cobie Smulders; Brooklyn Decker; Anthony Michael Hall; Constance Zimmer; Giovanni Ribisi
Recently divorced, newly rich, and utterly miserable, Danny (Kevin Corrigan) would seem to be the perfect test subject for a definitive look at the relationship between money and happiness. Danny’s well-funded ennui is interrupted by a momentous trip to the local gym, where he meets self-styled guru/owner Trevor (Guy Pearce) and irresistibly acerbic trainer Kat (Cobie Smulders). Soon, their three lives are inextricably knotted both professionally and personally.
SLOW WEST (United Kingdom/New Zealand)
Director: John Maclean
Cast: Kodi Smit-McPhee; Michael Fassbender; Ben Mendelsohn; Caren Pistorius; Rory McCann
At the end of the 19th century, sixteen-year-old Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee) journeys across the American frontier in search of the woman he loves. He is joined by Silas (Michael Fassbender), a mysterious traveler, and hotly pursued by an outlaw along the way.
THE WOLFPACK (USA)
Director: Crystal Moselle
Locked away from society in an apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the Angulo brothers learn about the outside world through the films that they watch. Nicknamed the Wolfpack, the brothers spend their childhood re-enacting their favorite films using elaborate homemade props and costumes. Everything changes when one of the brothers escapes, and the power dynamics in the house are transformed. The Wolfpack must learn how to integrate into society without disbanding the brotherhood.
X+Y (United Kingdom)
Director: Morgan Matthews
Cast: Asa Butterfield; Sally Hawkins; Rafe Spall; Eddie Marsan
Preferring to hide in the safety of his own private world, Nathan struggles to connect with people, often pushing away those who want to be closest to him, including his mother, Julie. Without the ability to understand love or affection, Nathan finds the comfort and security he needs in numbers and mathematics.
Narrative Feature Competition
ABOUT A GIRL (CHARLEEN MACHT SCHLUSS) (Germany)
Director: Mark Monheim
Cast: Jasna Fritzi Bauer; Heike Makatsch; Aurel Manthei; Simon Schwarz; Sandro Lohmann; Lauritz Greve; Dorothea Walda
Charleen, 15, quick-witted and sassy, is Kurt Cobain’s biggest fan and wonders why “growing up” has to be so complicated. One day, feeling especially melodramatic and rebellious, she decides to pull the plug on her life. Luckily, she fails – and discovers what fun life and love can really be!
ECHOES OF WAR (USA) – World premiere
Director: Kane Senes
Cast: James Badge Dale; Ethan Embry; William Forsythe; Maika Monroe
A Civil War veteran returns home to the quiet countryside, only to find himself embroiled in a conflict between his family and the brutish cattle rancher harassing them.
LADYGREY
Director: Alain Choquart
Cast: Peter Sarsgaard; Jérémie Renier; Emily Mortimer; Claude Rich; Liam Cunningham
South Africa, 10 years after the end of Apartheid. A South African black and white community located at the foot of the Drakensberg Mountains, lives in the trauma of unsolved killings. None of them has forgotten but they all choose to remain silent. A young woman, who has just arrived in the community, will shatter the fragile balance…
RADIATOR (United Kingdom)
Director: Tom Browne
Cast: Richard Johnson; Gemma Jones; Daniel Cerqueira
A dark, difficult comedy concerning the middle aged Daniel who returns home to help his elderly parents, Leonard and Maria who live in squalor, eccentrically.
SOME BEASTS (USA) – World Premiere
Director: Cameron Nelson
Cast: Frank Mosley; Lindsay Burdge; Heather Kafka
Living in an insular farming community, Sal Damon, a modern-day Thoreau, seeks solace from a past relationship in Appalachia. After his neighbor dies and he discovers a feral child living on the lam, he must reconcile his place in a world that lives outside of the law.
SWEET KANDY (USA)
Director: Nicholas Peate
Cast: Reginald “Reg” E. Cathey; Charles “Charlie” Robinson; Novella Nelson; Marco St. John
Bored and dissatisfied with her small town life, 18 year-old Kandy wants and needs a change. She gets her chance when she meets Val, a charming drifter. They run away together. Needing money, Val agrees to deliver a drug package, but when the deal goes wrong he is arrested. In love, out of luck and locked up, Val risks everything to escape and find Kandy before she marries another man and he loses her forever. Set amid the heat and funk of New Orleans, SWEET KANDY is a tale of two young lovers looking for a chance. Cast includes actual inmates from the Louisiana State penitentiary.
THIS ISN’T FUNNY (USA)
Director: Paul Ashton
Cast: Katie Page; Paul Ashton; Edi Gathegi; Anthony LaPaglia; Mimi Rogers; Gia Carides; David Pasquesi; Danielle Panabaker
Eliot, a stand-up comedian with severe anxiety disorder, meets Jamie, a perpetual traveler who can’t settle down. They fall in love. They push each other’s buttons. Sometimes meeting the right person at the wrong time can be the best thing that ever happened to you.
Documentary Feature Competition
THE AMINA PROFILE (Canada) ♥
Director: Sophie Deraspe
Amina Arraf, a pretty Syrian-American revolutionary who’s having an online affair with Montrealer Sandra Bagaria, launches the provocatively named blog A Gay Girl in Damascus. As the Syrian uprising gains momentum, the blog attracts a huge following. But it’s Amina’s subsequent abduction that sparks an international outcry to free her.
BARGE (USA)
Director: Ben Powell
Dry land’s misfits find purpose and direction twenty-eight days at a time as the steady hands of a towboat due for the port of New Orleans. From a green deckhand following his father and grandmother into the family business, to a former convict working his way to First Mate, job by job; as long as the boat’s moving they’re making money.
CARTEL LAND (USA/Mexico) ♥
Director: Matthew Heineman
Filmmaker Matthew Heineman embeds himself in the heart of darkness as Nailer, “El Doctor,” and the cartel each vie to bring their own brand of justice to a society where institutions have failed. CARTEL LAND is a chilling meditation on the breakdown of order and the blurry line between good and evil.
FRAME BY FRAME (USA) ♥
Director: Alexandria Bombach; Mo Scarpelli
After decades of war and an oppressive Taliban regime, four Afghan photojournalists face the realities of building a free press in a country left to stand on its own – reframing Afghanistan for the world and for themselves.
HOLBROOK/TWAIN: AN AMERICAN ODYSSEY (USA)
Director: Scott Teems
Featuring: Sean Penn, Martin Sheen, Emile Hirsch
Hal Holbrook’s Mark Twain is an icon of American theatre. Since first walking onto the stage in 1954, Holbrook has performed his one-man show on Broadway, in all fifty states, in twenty countries, behind the Iron Curtain, and before five U.S. Presidents. Millions have seen the Tony and Emmy award-winning show, and countless actors and scholars have been influenced by the work. This documentary celebrates the sixtieth consecutive year of Holbrook’s one-man masterpiece. This is the epic story of “Mark Twain Tonight!” This is the story of an American odyssey.
WELCOME TO LEITH (USA) ♥
Director: Michael Beach Nichols; Christopher K. Walker
A white supremacist attempts to take over a small town in North Dakota.
WESTERN (USA/Mexico)
Director: Bill Ross; Turner Ross
For generations, all that distinguished Eagle Pass, Texas from Piedras Negras, Mexico was the Rio Grande. But when darkness descends upon these harmonious border towns, a cowboy and lawman face a new reality that threatens their way of life.
Documentary Showcase
BEING EVEL (USA)
Director: Daniel Junge
Featuring: Johnny Knoxville; Tony Hawk; Travis Pastrana; Robbie Madison; Mat Hoffman
Millions know the man, but few know his story. In BEING EVEL, Academy Award® winning filmmaker Daniel Junge (SAVING FACE) and actor/producer Johnny Knoxville take a candid look at American daredevil and icon Robert “Evel” Knievel, while also reflecting on our voracious public appetite for heroes and spectacle.
DO I SOUND GAY? (USA) ♥
Director: David Thorpe
Featuring: David Sedaris; Dan Savage; Tim Gunn; Margaret Cho
Uncomfortable with sounding “too gay,” journalist and filmmaker David Thorpe meets with a speech pathologist to discover his true voice. What began as a personal journey quickly became a larger examination of sexuality and identity. A witty and insightful documentary, DO I SOUND GAY?, reminds us that being comfortable and authentic in your own voice—no matter how it sounds—is ultimately what’s most important.
FRESH DRESSED (USA)
Director: Sacha Jenkins
With funky, fat-laced Adidas, Kangol hats, and Cazal shades, a totally original look was born—Fresh—and it came from the black and brown side of town where another cultural force was revving up in the streets to take the world by storm. Hip-hop, and its aspirational relationship to fashion, would become such a force on the market that Tommy Hilfiger, in an effort to associate their brand with the cultural swell, would drive through the streets and hand out free clothing to kids on the corner.
RAIDERS!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made (USA)
Director: Jeremy Coon; Tim Skousen
In 1982, two 12 year-olds in Mississippi set out to remake their favorite film: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. It took seven turbulent years that tested the limits of their friendship and nearly burned down their mother’s house. By then end, they had completed every scene except one… the explosive airplane scene. Thirty years later, they attempt to finally realize their childhood dream by building a replica of the 75-foot “Flying Wing” plane from RAIDERS in a mud pit in the backwoods of Mississippi… and then blow it up! This is the story behind the making of what is known as “the greatest fan film ever made.”
SHE’S THE BEST THING IN IT (USA)
Director: Ron Nyswaner
Featuring: Frances McDormand; Melissa Leo; Tyne Daly; Estelle Parsons; Valerie Harper; Charlotte Rae; Doug Wright.
At age 79, veteran character actor Mary Louise Wilson has won a Tony but can't get a job on stage. So she returns to her hometown, New Orleans, to teach her first acting class to skeptical members of the YouTube generation. While demanding emotional honesty from her students, she examines the sacrifices she's made for her career and wonders whether her life has been successful. Eventually her love of acting is rekindled.
World Cinema presented by the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau
THE AMBASSADOR TO BERN (A BERNI KOVET) (Hungary)
Director: Attila Szász
Cast: János Kulka; Tamás Szabó Kimmel; József Kádas; Rozi Lovas; Rémusz Szikszai; Mónika Balsai; Laszlo I. Kish
First-time director Attila Szász’s political thriller chronicles the day of August 16, 1958, when two Hungarian immigrants break into the Hungarian embassy in Bern and take the ambassador hostage. As the Swiss police surround the building and a group of Hungarian immigrants shows up on the street to demonstrate, a tense, twist-filled hostage drama plays out behind the closed doors of the embassy. The screenplay by Norbert Köbli (’The Exam’) is based on a true story about the aftermath of the 1956 Hungarian revolution.
A BORROWED IDENTITY (Israel)
Director: Eran Riklis
Cast: Tawfeek Barhom; Ali Suliman
Eyad is given a chance to be the first and only Arab accepted into a prestigious Jewish boarding school in Jerusalem. Being an outsider, Eyad wants to belong, even if he doesn’t know exactly to whom or to what. But then he falls in love with Naomi, a Jewish girl, and is forced to leave the school when their relationship is uncovered, Eyad faces a decision that will change his life forever.
THE CUT (KESIK) (Germany/France/Poland/Italy/Canada/Turkey)
Director: Fatih Akin
Cast: Tahar Rahim; Simon Abkarian; Makram Khoury; Hindi Zahra; Kevork Malikyan
Mardin, 1915: one night, the Turkish police round up all the Armenian men in the city, including the young blacksmith, Nazaret Manoogian, who is separated from his family. Years later, after managing to survive the horrors of the genocide, he hears that his two daughters are also still alive. He becomes fixated on the idea of finding them and sets off to track them down.
HOLLOW (DOAT HON) (Vietnam)
Director: Ham Tran
Cast: Kieu Chinh; Jayvee Mai The Hiep; Ngoc Hiep Nguyen
A young girl falls into a river and drowns. When her body is found in a remote village along the river, her uncle arrives to claim her body, only to find that she is very much alive. But when she returns to her family, unexplainable occurrences lead them to believe she is possessed.
JASMINE (Hong Kong/USA) – North American Premiere
Director: Dax Phelan
Cast: Jason Tobin; Eugenia Yuan; Byron Mann; Sarah Lian
JASMINE is a gripping and chilling psychological thriller about a man still struggling to come to terms with his grief nearly a year after his wife’s unsolved murder.
KUNG FU KILLER (YI GEN REN DE UL LIN) (China/Hong Kong) – US Premiere
Director: Teddy Chan
Cast: Wang Baoqiang; Donnie Yen
A vicious killer, Fung (Wang Baoqiang), is going around Hong Kong killing top martial arts experts, leaving a secret weapon called the Eaves Swallow as his calling card. When convicted killer and kung fu expert Hahou (Donnie Yen) hears of this, he offers to help the police catch the killer in return for his freedom.
THE LOOK OF SILENCE (Denmark/Finland/Indonesia/Norway/UK) ♥
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer
In Joshua Oppenheimer’s companion piece to the Oscar®-nominated THE ACT OF KILLING, a family of survivors of the 1965 Indonesian genocide discovers how their son was murdered and the identity of the men who killed him. The youngest brother is determined to break the spell of silence and fear under which the survivors live, and so confronts the men responsible for his brother’s murder – something unimaginable in a country where killers remain in power.
LOVE AT FIRST FIGHT (LES COMBATTANTS) (France)
Director: Thomas Cailley
Cast: Kevin Azais; Adele Haenel
Facing an uncertain future and a dearth of choices in a small French coastal town, Arnaud meets and falls for the apocalyptic-minded Madeleine, who joins an army boot camp to learn military and survival skills to prepare for the upcoming environmental collapse. Intrigued and excited by Madeleine, Arnaud signs up too. They soon realize the boot camp is harder than they had imagined, but the experience cements them together as the young couple continues to explore their love.
MARGARITA, WITH A STRAW (India)
Director: Shonali Bose; Nilesh Maniyar
Cast: Kalki Koechlin; Sayani Gupta; William Moseley; Revathy
In this inspirational love story, a Delhi university student and aspiring writer afflicted with cerebral palsy leaves India for New York University, where she falls for a fiery young activist. MARGARITA, WITH A STRAW is a consistently rewarding portrait of a young woman coming of age, making mistakes, and finding the unpredictable path of her own desire.
TAJRISH: AN UNFINISHED STORY (Iran) – US Premiere
Director: Pourya Azarbayjani
Cast: Mohammad Reza Forootan, Shaghayegh Farahani; Afshin Hashemi; Shirin Yazdanbakhsh
Soroor and Amir first met 20 years ago. Since then, she has been widowed and is now the single mother of child and he got married, but their friendship has remained.
WORDS WITH GODS (Mexico)
Directors: Guillermo Arriaga, Hector Babenco, Álex de la Iglesia, Bahman Ghobadi, Amos Gitai, Emir Kusturica, Mira Nair, Hideo Nakata, Warwick Thornton
Cast: Demian Bichir; Emir Kusturica; Yilmaz Erdogan; Sarai Givaty; Pooneh Hajimohammadi
Words with Gods features nine powerful stories of faith, created by some of the world’s most celebrated filmmakers. A dramatic spectrum of beliefs are represented, with each filmmaker speaking about the one closest to the culture they depict in their story: Warwick Thornton deals with Aboriginal Spirituality, Héctor Babenco with Umbanda, Mira Nair with Hinduism, Hideo Nakata with Shinto Buddhism, Amos Gitai with Judaism, Álex de la Iglesia with Catholicism, Emir Kusturica with Orthodox Christianity, Bahman Ghobadi with Islam and Guillermo Arriaga with Atheism. The film is a panoramic global story that confronts birth & death, fateful choices and faith lost & found.
German Spotlight presented by Lufthansa Airlines
CONCRETE LOVE – THE BOHM FAMILY (DIE BOEHMS – ARCHITEKTUR EINER FAMILIE) (Germany/Switzerland)
Director: Maurizius Staerkle-Drux
Gottfried Böhm is regarded as Germany’s preeminent Architect. His father, wife and three sons are all architects as well. Professional collaboration within the family appears to be an equally fertile and fragile proposition.
DAS BOOT (1981; West Germany)
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Cast: Jürgen Prochnow; Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch, Martin Semmelrogge
DAS BOOT is an epic film that unfolds almost entirely in the cramped confines of a Nazi U-Boat during World War II. Director Wolfgang Peterson captures an intimate, claustrophobic world in this classic German repertory film.
FITZCARRALDO (1982; Germany/Peru)
Director: Werner Herzog
Cast: Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, José Lewgoy, Miguel Ángel Fuentes
Set in South-America at the turn of the 19th century, FITZCARRALDO is loosely based on historic events from the life of rubber baron Carlos Fitzcarraldo. Award-winning German writer/director Werner Herzog’s films are known for their epic quality and this one is no exception.
METROPOLIS (1927; Germany)
Director: Fritz Lang
Cast: Alfred Abel, Brigitte Helm, Gustav Fröhlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Fritz Rasp, Theodor Loos
In Iconic German director Fritz Lang’s pioneering science-fiction film, METROPOLIS – set in a futuristic urban dystopia – a man loses his hands, head, and heart to change the city he calls home.
NOWITZKI: THE PERFECT SHOT (Germany) – North American Premiere
Director: Sebastian Dehnhardt
Featuring: Dirk Nowitzki, Mark Cuban, Steve Nash, Donnie Nelson, Holger Geschwinder, Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd
NOWITZKI: THE PERFEST SHOT is a feature length documentary about NBA superstar Dirk Nowitzki, friendship, and what it really takes to fulfill your dreams.
STATIONS OF THE CROSS (KREUZWEG) (Germany)
Director: Dietrich Brüggemann
Cast: Lea van Acken; Franziska Weisz; Florian Stetter
Captured in fourteen fixed-angle, single-shot tableaux, STATIONS OF THE CROSS is an indictment of fundamentalist faith and an articulation of one teen’s struggle to define her own life.
WHO AM I – NO SYSTEM IS SAFE (WHO AM I – KEIN SYSTEM IST SICHER) (Germany)
Director: Baran bo Odar
Cast: Tom Schilling; Elyas M’Barek; Hannah Herzsprung; Wotan Wilke Möhring; Antoine Monot, Jr.; Trine Dyrholm; Stephan Kampwirth
BENJAMIN (TOM SCHILLING) is a nobody, an outsider. This changes when he meets the charismatic MAX (ELYAS M‘BAREK). The two of them couldn‘t be more different, but they share one mutual interest: hacking. Together with Max‘s friends, impulsive STEPHAN (WOTAN WILKE MÖHRING) and paranoid PAUL (ANTOINE MONOT) they form the subversive hacker group CLAY (CLOWNS LAUGHING @ YOU). CLAY provokes with hilarious hacks and has the finger on the pulse of a whole generation. For the first time in his life Benjamin feels like he belongs and even attractive MARIE (HANNAH HERZSPRUNG) starts to notice him. What started out as fun soon turns deadly serious, when Benjamin and CLAY are suddenly investigated by German Secret Service and Europol. With HANNE LINDBERG (TRINE DYRHOLM), the leading Europol cybercrime investigator, at their heels, Benjamin starts to realize that he is no longer a nobody, but one of the most wanted hackers of the world.
Latino Showcase presented by El Creative, Univision TV & Radio, Colibri
ALICE IN MARIALAND (ALICIA EN EL PAIS DE MARIA) (Mexico) – US Premiere
Director: Jesús Magaña Vázquez
Cast: Bárbara Mori; Stephanie Sigman; Claudio Lafarga
Tonatiuh (33), a young writer with a melancholy demeanor, and Maria (30), a beautiful model with a sweet gaze, live a tempestuous relationship that ends abruptly in an automobile accident they experience during one of their violent arguments: Maria dies and Tonatiuh is left in a coma. During his agony, he reconstructs details of his relationship with Maria, but in a brief moment of lucidity he sees Alicia (27), an attractive nurse. Tonatiuh incorporates her into his memory and turns her into the salvation of his unconscious gloom. A year later, after he is discharged from the hospital, they meet up. However, Alicia has amnesia, and for him she is but a fleeting memory. They don't recognize each other but are attracted and engage in a passionate relationship, almost as volatile as that of Tonatiuh and Maria, whose memory is ever present, and who will intercede more and more in Tonatiuh's new relationship, until he decides to solve this in an unhealthy manner, but that is – apparently – very effective.
ASCO (Brazil)
Director: Ale Paschoalini
Cast: Guto Nogueira; Sol Faganello
Asco is the poisonous feeling aroused in a heart broken by the blade of love.
MR. KAPLAN (Uruguay)
Director: Álvaro Brechner
Cast: Héctor Nogurera; Néstor Guzzini
Jacob Kaplan (Héctor Nogurera), one of many Jews who fled Europe for South America during World War II, lives an ordinary life in Uruguay. At almost 76, he’s become fed up with his community and his family’s lack of interest in its own heritage. MR. KAPLAN is a crowd-pleasing black comedy revolving around a Jewish retiree who is convinced the shy, old German owner of a local seafront restaurant is in fact a former Nazi.
Texas Competition presented by Panavision – Grand Jury Prize winner receives a camera rental package valued at $30,000 from Panavision.
DON’T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT 2 (USA) – World Premiere
Director: Anthony Brownrigg
Cast: Andrew Sensenig, Frank Mosely; Scott Tepperman; Jim O’Rear; Megan Emerick; Willie Minor
After 40 years the only known survivor of a mass murder arrives at Green Park mental institution, his presence triggering a series of increasingly disturbing events.
THE GUY WITH THE KNIFE (USA) ♥ – World Premiere
Director: Alison Armstrong
Twenty years after he helped put Jon Buice in a Texas prison, Ray Hill is fighting to free him. Filmed over eight years, THE GUY WITH THE KNIFE traces the history of the friendship between a prominent gay rights activist and a convicted ‘gay bash’ murderer, set against the backdrop of gay rights, victims’ rights, and prisoners’ rights, in the harsh Texas justice system.
LONE STAR HOLY WAR (USA) – World Premiere
Director: Lindell Singleton
LONE STAR HOLY WAR is a sports documentary that looks into the pride, passion and politics of the century-old rivalry between Texas and Texas A&M. This sports documentary explores the tragic loss of the in-state rivalry and tradition through a historical review, in-depth interviews with former coaches, players, fans, sports analysts plus gripping game footage
THE LOVE INSIDE (USA) – World Premiere
Director: Andy Irvine; Mark Smoot
Cast: Zachary Knighton; Joey Kern; Kat Foster; Betsy Phillips; Bryon Brown; Ashley Spillers; Indigo Rael
When Vaughn invites his closest friends to a cabin in rural Texas to meet his fiancée, he expects a relaxing weekend reminiscing about the old days. But when a friend arrives with his ex-girlfriend, long repressed feelings are reawakened and his engagement is suddenly thrown into doubt in this subversive romantic comedy.
RED ON YELLA, KILL A FELLA (USA) – World Premiere
Director: Duane Graves; Justin Meeks
Cast: Bridger Zadina; Michael Berryman; Sawyer Bell; Tina Rodriguez; Pepe Serna; Edwin Neal
In the autumn of 1900, outlaw Claude Barbee puts his “retirement plan” into action, attempting to lead his train-robbing gang across Texas to recover a cash stash hidden after a botched railroad heist. They soon discover they’re being hunted by more than just the law – but rather a merciless, unexpected evil quite possibly greater than themselves.
SACRIFICE (USA)
Director: Michael Cohn
Cast: Luke Kleintank; Dermot Mulroney; Melora Walters; Austin Abrams; Brandon Smith; Lewis Tan
HANK (Luke Kleintank) is a handsome, multi-talented high school student who has just led his football team to a stunning victory during the biggest game of the season. Eager scouts are circling and Hank’s blue-collar parents, (played by Dermot Mulroney and Melora Walters), are counting on their golden boy to win a scholarship to a good college so he can enjoy a brighter future, far away from their hardscrabble life in Texas. Their younger son, TIM (Austin Abrams) more of a loser than a winner, idolizes his older brother and persuades Hank and his friends, KAZ (Brandon Smith) and BENNY (Lewis Tan), to let him tag along on their celebratory hunting trip. It is a decision they soon regret. Tim’s immature behavior after an accidental shooting leads to a series of bad decisions, a second wave of tragedy, and a hasty cover-up. Hank finds himself at the center of a desperate and rapidly deteriorating situation that tests his moral compass and threatens to destroy his family…and his dream.
THUNDER BROKE THE HEAVENS (USA) – World Premiere
Director: Tim Skousen
Cast: Alex Peters; Gavin Howe; Tanner Beard; Tom Nowicki; Hadley Eure
In a Hansel and Gretel-esque modern fairy tale, siblings Samantha (13) and William Paul (6) must survive on their own after a tragedy kills their family. They are placed in an abusive foster home, but when Samantha overhears that they are to be split up, they escape to live in a crumbling shack in the woods. Life is hard, but they receive help from a mysterious source. When supplies run out and William Paul falls ill, Samantha must find a way for them to survive – before it’s too late.
Family Friendly
THE ADVENTURES OF PEPPER AND PAULA (USA)
Director: Kevin and Robin Nations
Cast: Allie DeBerry; Mindy Raymond; John Michael Davis; Holt Boggs
Paula, a world champion gunslinger and the star of a live action Wild West show, is on top of the world, but when her world literally comes to a crash in the form of a horrible accident, it is up to her best friend, her dog Pepper, to save her. As Paula recovers from her accident, Lula Belle (Allie DeBerry of Disney’s ANT FARM) takes over the show. But she’s up to no good and it’s up to Pepper to run that little filly out of town. The result is a fun, action packed, heartwarming story that the entire family can enjoy.
BATKID BEGINS: THE WISH HEARD AROUND THE WORLD (USA)
Director: Dana Nachman
On one day, in one city, the world comes together to grant one 5 year old cancer patient his wish. BATKID BEGINS: THE WISH HEARD AROUND THE WORLD looks at the ‘why’ of this flash phenomenon. Why did the intense outpouring of spontaneous support for a child reverberate around the world and become one of the biggest ‘good news stories’ ever?
PAPER PLANES (Australia) – US Premiere
Director: Robert Connolly
Cast: Sam Worthington; Ed Oxenbould; Deborah Mailman
Dylan Webber, is an imaginative twelve-year old boy with a knack for folding and flying paper planes. After discovering his talent could take him to the top at the World Junior Paper Plane Championship, Dylan prepares to take on powerful rivals. With a great challenge soaring ahead, and a goal to fly into the number one spot, there’s no telling how far he can go!
PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE (1985; USA)
Director: Tim Burton
Cast: Paul Reubens, Elizabeth Daily, Mark Holton, Diane Salinger, Judd Omen
Almost as much fairy tale as adventure, Tim Burton’s PEE-WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE is a simple yet brilliantly written story about a boy and his bike.
Deep Ellum Sounds
DARE TO DRUM (USA) – World Premiere
Director: John Bryant
Featuring: Stewart Copeland
Musical journeys taken by percussionists often start with a simple rhythmic calling, a seductive sound that can often lead to extensive travels around the world in pursuit of permutations and possibilities of percussion. This film speaks to the uniquely inherent traits that drummers and percussionists possess as natural explorers of music and sound, and how this particular story explores the challenge of translating foreign voices of percussive expression into the dialect of a Western classical orchestra setting. Five accomplished percussionists and a rock star composer come together with a major American orchestra to create a groundbreaking work.
THE JONES FAMILY WILL MAKE A WAY (USA)
Director: Alan Berg
A rural, Pentecostal preacher and a jaded rock critic form an unlikely alliance that pushes them both in unexpected ways.
Midnight Specials
CLOSER TO GOD (USA)
Director: Billy Senese
Cast: In this dark indie thriller, a genetic scientist creates the first human clone. But an earlier experiment threatens to destroy everything he's built and puts his family in grave danger.
Jeremy Childs; Shelean Newman; Shannon Hoppe; David Alford; Jake Speck; Isaac Disney
TURBO KID (Canada/New Zealand)
Director: Anouk Whissell, François Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell
Cast: Munro Chambers; Michael Ironside; Laurence Leboeuf
TURBO KID is a post-apocalyptic, BMX-powered, blood-splattered love story that follows the epic journey of an orphaned outcast reluctant to be a hero in the wasteland of an alternate future.
Special Presentations
7 CHINESE BROTHERS (USA)
Director: Bob Byington
Cast: Jason Schwartzman; Eleanore Pienta; Olympia Dukakis; Tunde Adebimpe; Stephen Root
Larry (Jason Schwartzman) is an unqualified, unemployable, inebriated prankster who rides a tide of booze onto the glorious shores of undiscriminating Quick-Lube. Taking a part time job vacuuming cars and washing windshields, Larry finds himself mixed up with hostile co-workers and unsatisfied customers, while also finding himself smitten with his lovely boss, Lupe Torrez (Eleanore Pienta). Will Larry keep it together long enough to win the girl, provide for man’s best friend (his dog Arrow), and do his grandmother (Olympia Dukakis) proud?
THE BLUES BROTHERS (1980; USA)
Director: John Landis
Cast: John Belushi; Dan Aykroyd; James Brown; Cab Calloway; Ray Charles; Aretha Franklin; John Lee Hooker
Jake Blues, just out from prison, puts together his old band to save the Catholic home where he and brother Elwood were raised.
BREATHLESS (1983, USA) – Screening in honor of co-writer L.M. Kit Carson
Director: Jim McBride
Cast: Richard Gere, Valérie Kaprisky, Art Metrano, John P. Ryan, William Tepper
Richard Gere is a petty crook on the run in this 1983 Hollywood remake of Jean-Luc Godard’s French New Wave classic. In their redo of Godard’s milestone director Jim McBride and co-screenwriter, L.M. Kit Carson provide a more linear narrative than the original, featuring memorable cinematography and production design setting off L.A. locations.
THE DAY WEST SHOOK TEXAS (USA) – Work-in-Progress Screening
Director: Jim Gerik
West, TX is a tiny town about 18 miles north of Waco well-known amongst Texans for its baked goods. But on Wednesday, April 17th, 2013, West earned more of a certain international fame when it was rocked by the explosion of a fertilizer storage plant. While an accident of this magnitude is often only the beginning of the devastation, West stands as an example of how a truly close-knit community reacts in the face of tragedy. Informative eyewitness and first responder accounts illustrate how the citizens banded together on that day and continue to rebuild – both physically and in spirit.
DIVINE ACCESS (USA)
Director: Steven C. Prince
Cast: Billy Burke; Gary Cole; Patrick Warburton; Sarah Shahi; Joe David Moore; Dora Madison; Barak Hadley; Adrienne Barbeau
DIVINE ACCESS is a road movie, a buddy picture and an often sweet, thought provoking story of redemption. Jack Harriman has seen it all. After he is asked to join a cable access TV show produced by his friend Bob McCord and humiliating the current host of the show, the Reverend Guy Roy Davis, Jack becomes a spiritual celebrity and takes to the road on a speaking tour accompanied by Nigel, a self-proclaimed catcher, Amber, a down on her luck call girl, and Marian, an enigmatic beauty who challenges Jack’s beliefs and questions whether he has some deeper calling. Forces both natural and supernatural lead Jack on a journey to discover his own spiritual truth, culminating in a showdown with Guy Roy Davis.
DO YOU DREAM IN COLOR? (USA)
Director: Abigail Fuller; Sarah Ivy
Connor, Nick, Sarah and Carina are like most teenagers navigating the growing pains of high school, but unlike their peers these four teens face another challenge – they’re blind. DO YOU DREAM IN COLOR? is an enlightening and poignant coming of age story that captures the inspired journey of four courageous teenagers as they strive to achieve their goals: To be a sponsored skateboarder, to travel the world, to become a rock star and to be the first family member to graduate high school. Their extraordinary stories shine a provocative light on both the social and institutional obstacles faced by people who are blind in the sighted world and what it takes to surmount these barriers.
THE HUSTLER (1961; USA)
Director: Robert Rossen
Cast: Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie, George C. Scott
With oppressive visuals set off by brilliant performances from a star-studded cast lead by Paul Newman, THE HUSTLER looks and feels like the last ‘40s Film Noir.
THE LEGO MOVIE (2014; USA)
Director: Phil Lord; Christopher Miller
Cast: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Charlie Day, Alison Brie
THE LEGO MOVIE is a clever, fun and vibrant world, bringing you back to your childhood and the creativity that came with playing with Legos.
MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED (USA) ♥
Director: Greg Whiteley
The feature-length documentary MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED examines the history of education in the United States, revealing the growing shortcomings of conventional education methods in today’s innovative world. The film explores compelling new approaches that aim to revolutionize teaching as we know it. After seeing this film, the way you think about “school” will never be the same.
RAGING BULL (1980; USA)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci, Frank Vincent, Nicholas Colasanto
Recognized as one of the best films about boxing, and maybe the best film of Martin Scorsese’s career, RAGING BULL gave audiences a story that shed light on Italian-Americans’ fight for family and survival in mid 20th-century New York.
Shorts Competition
+/- (USA)
Director: Andy Irvine; Mark Smoot
A young couple examines their relationship as they await the result of a pregnancy test.
{THE AND} Marcela & Rock (USA)
Director: Topaz Adizes
{THE AND} MARCELA & ROCK is a short documentary that brings the viewer into the emotional space of a modern day relationship. This short film is an intimate conversation between a husband and wife over the obstacles in their union, and is part of the larger interactive relationship genome project (www.theand.us). {THE AND} is the best couples therapy that you’ll ever witness.
ADJUST-A-DREAM (USA)
Director: Jonathan Wysocki
Trust issues are tested as a gay male couple shop for their first mattress.
AUDREY MAKE A MIXTAPE (USA)
Director: James Mackenzie
It’s 1988. Audrey hopes to save her crush from losing his virginity to the queen bee. Weapon of choice? A blank cassette tape.
BAD GUY #2 (USA)
Director: Chris McInroy
Promotions are good, unless you’re bad.
BUTTER YA’SELF (USA)
Director: Julian Petschek
A banana and a hot dog bun are famous.
CAST IN INDIA (India/USA)
Director: Natasha Raheja
Iconic and ubiquitous, thousands of manhole covers dot the streets of New York City. Enlivening the everyday objects around us, this short film is a glimpse of the working lives of the men behind the manhole covers in New York City.
THE CHICKEN (Germany/Croatia)
Director: Una Gunjak
The day-to-day life of a six-year-old girl growing up during unstable times in Sarajevo is shaken up when a chicken joins her family.
CROOKED CANDY (USA)
Director: Andrew Rodgers
Kinder Surprise eggs are enormously popular around the world. From the foil wrapper to the chocolate shell, the plastic yolk capsule to the clever toy inside, Kinder eggs are practically a global rite of childhood. That is, except in the United States, where they’re considered a choking hazard and are illegal. This is the story of a Kinder smuggler.
CUTAWAY (Canada)
Director: Kazik Radwanski
Told solely through close details of hands and objects, this quiet, incredibly perceptive film follows a man through what should have been an ordinary day but an important appointment changes his life.
DAY 40 (Canada)
Director: Sol Friedman
Cast: John Boylan; Rowie Spodek
In this animated retelling of the Noah’s Ark story, various unholy activities fill the great ship, as the animals discover the darker side of their nature.
THE FACE OF UKRAINE: CASTING OKSANA BAIUL (Australia)
Director: Kitty Green
Adorned in pink sequins, little girls from across a divided, war-torn Ukraine audition to play the role of gold medal-winning figure skater Oksana Baiul, whose tears of joy once united their troubled country.
GRAND ZERO (USA)
Director: Kevin Oeser
A family man returns to his hometown to settle his parents' estate, but discovers that he is the last person in town who's not part of a legendary network-marketing pyramid scheme.
HAZE (USA)
Director: Chloe Domont
A well-intentioned young man struggles to explain last night.
KNOCK KNOCK (USA)
Director: Jeff Betancourt
Val and her friends play a game that allows them to communicate with the dead. The Knock Knock Game turns any doorway into a portal to the hereafter, but the girls soon learn that are rules that should never be broken.
THE LITTLE DEPUTY (Canada)
Director: Trevor Anderson
Trevor tries to have a photo taken with his father.
LOVE ME TINDER (UK)
Director: Sami Abusamra
An elder woman and a younger man spend an awkward evening together after meeting on a dating app; a dark comedy about an encounter between two lonely strangers.
MASTER HOA’S REQUIEM (USA)
Director: Scott Edwards
In search of his dead wife's grave, a Vietnamese martial arts master returns 30 years later to the waters that claimed his family in hopes of putting to rest his hellish past.
MEAT (USA)
Director: Michael Forstein
Desperate for work, Darren agrees to a one-day trial as a door-to-door meat salesman.
MELVILLE (USA)
Director: James Johnston
Marcus is dealing with some serious shit but he can't seem to talk to anyone about it.
MULIGNANS (USA)
Director: Shaka King
mulignan(s) /moo.lin.yan(s)/ n. 1. Italian-American slang for a black man. Derived from Italian dialect word for "eggplant." See also: moolie. Source: Urban Dictionary and pretty much every mob movie ever.
MYRNA THE MONSTER (USA)
Director: Ian Samuels
Myrna the monster, a heart-broken alien dreamer from the moon, describes her life to a Los Angeles support group. She talks about her laundromat romance, attempts at becoming an actress, and a transcendent desert drug trip with her best friend Shelly. Her collective experiences give her the courage to make her most personal confession and her most difficult choice. Should she stay or should she go back to her moon lover?
OASIS (USA)
Director: Carmen Jimenez
After her husband dies, Nieves inherits his job as the super of a decaying apartment complex in New York City. But the job becomes more difficult than she anticipated when she discovers a disturbing secret in one of the units.
OH LUCY! (Japan/Singapore/USA)
Directo: Atsuko Hirayanagi
Setsuko, a 55-year-old single 'office lady' in Tokyo, is given a blonde wig and a new identity, “Lucy,” by her young unconventional English instructor. “Lucy” awakens desires Setsuko never knew she had. When the instructor suddenly disappears, Setsuko must come to terms with what remains – herself.
ONE HITTA QUITTA (USA)
Director: Ya’Ke Smith
A boy, who has never had to suffer the consequences for his actions, becomes severely addicted to internet violence, leading him to act out in violent ways himself.
THE OUTFIT (USA)
Director: Yen Tan
An outfit unwittingly triggers rumors about the sexuality of a conservative congressman. Inspired by actual events.
PAPER WRAP FIRE (USA)
Director: Raymond Yeung
A Chinese teenager is left alone in a Community Center where he encounters a handsome man which leads to a discovery that shatters his innocence.
PINK GRAPEFRUIT (USA)
Director: Michael Mohan
A young married couple brings two of their single friends out to Palm Springs for a long weekend. It does not go as planned.
QUESO FLAMEADO (USA)
Director: Jean Pesce
Crispus is a collector of antique murder weapons, champion of dogs, and connoisseur of the popular dish, queso flameado. He also happens to be an assassin for hire.
ROSS & BETH (New Zealand)
Director: Hamish Bennett
The story of a rough as guts farming couple, a sudden loss and an unlikely saviour. And cowshit.
SPEARHUNTER (USA)
Director: Adam Roffman; Luke Poling
SPEARHUNTER follow the story of Col. Gene Morris, who fought to legalize spear-hunting in the state of Alabama and then proceeded to spend $600,000.00 of his own money building The Spear Hunting Museum in Summerdale, AL (a museum dedicated to himself and his spear-hunting prowess). The film also focuses on an offbeat cast of lovers, acolytes, and critics of the megalomaniacal hunter as they remember his distinctive tactics for killing and for leaving a legacy.
THE STOMACH (UK)
Director: Ben Steiner
Frank is a bedridden man in a squalid London house who is able to communicate with the dead in a most unusual fashion. With his health failing, he opts to do one last job before quitting the spirit medium business for good. But some local gangsters have other plans…
SWEEP (USA)
Director: Spencer Gillis
Three men meet in a strained chance encounter at a local recycling center. A tense exchange transforms into a remarkable bond transcending their differences, but a startling arrival leads to an unforgivable parting.
TEETH (UK/HUNGARY/USA)
Director: Daniel Gray; Tom Brown
Things of worth are often neglected in favor of that which is more immediately gratifying. Unfortunately, things that are neglected are often lost forever. In teeth, a misguided and intensely focused man's life is chronicled through his oral obsessions.
TREADING WATER (USA)
Director: Lizabeth Cardenas Franke
After moving back into her childhood home to take care of her elderly father, an independent woman in her thirties finds herself reaching a breaking point as she tries to come to grips with her new reality.
WE’LL FIND SOMETHING (USA)
Director: Casey Gooden
A couple struggles to choose a restaurant while visiting New York.
Animated Short Competition presented by REEL FX
BATH HOUSE (SIMHALL) (Sweden)
Director: Niki Lindroth van Bahr
Six animals meet at the swimming pool. The horse, the pool’s manager, is a dedicated, conscientious friend of order. Over the year, the premises have become her whole world. Two wolves come to the pool to bathe. Their relationship is hard to define, but one wolf constantly wields power over the other. Three mice also visit the pool, but they have a different agenda altogether…
LAVA (USA)
Director: James Ford Murphy
Inspired by the isolated beauty of tropical islands and the explosive allure of ocean volcanoes, LAVA is a musical love story that takes place over millions of years.
MAN ON THE CHAIR (France/South Korea)
Director: Dahee Jeong
“Man on the chair” is tormented and constantly doubts his very own existence. It is just merely a picture
that I created… Perhaps could I be also an image crafted by others?
MEND AND MAKE DO (UK)
Director: Bexie Bush
Cup of tea? Come and take a seat in Lyn's cozy front room, hear her story of love during wartime and watch as her belongings come alive with the hope, fear and humor of one spirited lady.
PALM ROT (USA)
Director: Ryan Gillis
An old crop-duster discovers a mysterious crate floating in the Florida Everglades. Bringing the crate onto his airboat is just the first in a series of decisions he learns to regret.
THE RAVEN (USA)
Director: Limbert Fabian; Brandon Oldenburg
In this chilling and lyrical reinterpretation of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem, a narrator mourning the loss of his love, Lenore, wavers on the brink of insanity. Perhaps hallucinating – or not – he sees a mysterious raven, whispering, “nevermore.”
TIMBER (Switzerland)
Director: Nils Hedinger
A group of logs is about to freeze to death in a cold, icy desert. When they realize that the only fuel for a warming fire is their own body, things start heating up.
WORLD OF TOMORROW (USA)
Director: Don Hertzfeldt
A little girl is taken on a mind-bending tour of her distant future.
