The Boise Film Festival returns for its highly anticipated second edition October 2-5, kicking things off with a celebration of Idaho-shot and produced short films screening at the Historic Egyptian Theater. BFF has grown its highly curated line up, now totaling 38 films, including 16 features (12 narrative and 4 documentaries), and 22 shorts. This year’s edition will also feature the film festival’s master classes on film producing and screenwriting, headed up by award-winning Idaho-based filmmaker Heather Rae (Fancy Dance, Frozen River, Trudell), and director/screenwriter Steven Susco (Unfriended: Dark Web, The Grudge, The Grudge 2), and will conclude with BFF’s celebrated big show filmmaker awards ceremony, which will be hosted by comedian Craig Shoemaker.
The film festival’s epicenter and all screenings will be held at Boise’s Egyptian Theater (700 West Main Street) and The Flicks (646 West Fulton Street), with the filmmaking panels taking place at Idaho Film Society (1212 W. Bannock Street).
BFF Founders and Executive Directors, Christine and Mark Holder (producers of Bandidos, Beasts of No Nation) said, “We knew following the success of last year’s debut was going to be a challenge, but it was one we were excited to take on. From the beginning, we have been dedicated to promoting and celebrating our local Idaho-based filmmakers and productions, and Opening Night will start things off right giving them the rock star treatment with a gala red carpet event. We also anticipate a number of our talented filmmakers making the trip to Boise with their films to meet the city’s film lovers and talk about film in a city that provides the best backdrop to those conversations they could imagine. Add our master classes and another planned big show for our filmmaker awards, and this will be a weekend you won’t want to miss.”
Opening the new film festival will be a special collection of short films locally shot and produced, as the Boise Film Festival gives them a gala platform. Those films include Taylor Hildebrande’s After the End about four young woman forced to scavenge a dangerous wasteland for survival;
Hailey Jackson Boucher’s period drama Brackett & Folder about an inmate pleading for release so she can care for her WWI veteran father; Andrew Ellis’ Dog Person about a man whose life is turned upside down by a person in a dog mask; Drew Garcia’s Fan Film a dark look at filmmakers who pursue their vision at any cost; and Dylan Hamar’s period thriller The Rabbit about a desperate hunter who runs afoul of a vengeful Native spirit.
Also screening on Opening Night will be Tom Taylor’s animated short Sam and Duke’s Big River Adventure which finds the adventurous duo is off an amazing journey along a river in their tiny boat; Justin Bass’ Sloppy Joe in which a personal chef strives to reignite joy in his dissatisfied client; Kody Newton’s Thad & Mr. Black about a recently homeless man and his little yorkie trying to impress his dream girl; Jessica Melton’s Violet looks at a couple in the future dealing with thoughts and feelings she shouldn’t be having; and Colin Kelly Hingel’s Wormhole which looks at what happens when a man, post-break up, gets on a mysterious video chat website.
Highlights among the narrative features include Matthew Shear’s Fantasy Life, winner of two awards at SXSW, about a man who stumbles into a job babysitting his psychiatrist’s three granddaughters, ending up in a house with the woman he pines for, her husband, the three kids, and all four grandparents, including his psychiatrist. Kuna, Idaho local filmmaking brothers B. Robert Anderson, and J. Markus Anderson’s If You Should Leave Before Me focuses on a married couple who serve as guides to the recently deceased, leading them to the afterlife. Tyler Cornack’s Mermaid focuses on a man who discovers a wounded mermaid at his lowest point fighting a drug addiction. Tina Romero’s Queens of the Dead, Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award winner pits drag queens against zombies in Brooklyn.
Documentary features include Adam Bhala Lough’s Deep Faking Sam Altman which tales a deep dive into understanding the technology and people at the center of the AI boom with the assistance of an AI version of the father of AI, OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman. The film debuted at SXSW. Abraham Troen and Angelique Molina’s Just Sing is an inspiring coming-of-age musical documentary that follows the SoCal VoCals as they vie for the championship title in the International Competition of Collegiate A Cappella—the “Super Bowl of song.” Cody Sheehy’s The Last Dive a man whose life was transformed by an unlikely friendship with a 22-foot oceanic manta ray. Now in his 80’s, the man embarks on one final journey to a remote island in hopes of reuniting with his old friend. Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine’s festival favorite Middletown follows a group of teenage misfits, inspired by a renegade English teacher, who embark on a student film project, unexpectedly uncovering a vast conspiracy.
As part of the Boise Film Festival’s mission to bring Hollywood to Boise, BFF will feature three Inner Circle Master Classes focused on insider looks at film producing and screenwriting. Friday, October 4, VFX Producer Tyler Cordova (Lilo & Stitch) will head up a VFX Masterclass sharing the artistry and innovation behind today’s most breathtaking visual effects on the big screen. Saturday, October 5, Heather Rae will take aspiring filmmakers through the producing toolkit from the ground up at her Producing Masterclass with Heather Rae at the Idaho Film Society. Rae, award-winning producer and advocate for artist-driven, culturally resonant cinema, will lead an intensive session, breaking down the real-world path taking a film from concept to market. On Sunday, October 6, Steven Susco will take the reins during the Writing Fearlessly: Steven Susco on Story & Screen panel, also at the Idaho Film Society. Susco will lead emerging and mid-career screenwriters through topics including story conception and development, writing for genre and character, structuring suspense, dialogue that resonates, and strategies for breaking into and sustaining a career in screenwriting.
The Boise Film Festival will have its job cut for it matching the show they put on during last year’s Closing Night Gala and Filmmaker Awards Ceremony. This year’s MC duties will be handled by comedian Craig Shoemaker on Sunday, October 5 at the Grove Hotel (245 S. Capitol Blvd.), Along with the announcement and presentation of the filmmaker awards (both jury and audience) will be a special presentation honoring film producer Larry Leasure (My Promise to PJ, The Diamond Detectives) with the Esther Simplot Excellence in the Arts Award.
To purchase passes and tickets, or for more information, please go to: https://www.theboisefilmfest.com/.
2025 BOISE FILM FESTIVAL (BFF) Official Selections
OPENING NIGHT GALA SELECTIONS
After the End
Director: Taylor Hildebrande
Country: USA; Running Time: 10:10 minutes
4 young woman scavenge the wasteland of what used to be farms for seeds and other useful items. But when nature shows how dangerous it can be, things get deadly.
Brackett & Folder
Director: Hailey Jackson Boucher
Country: USA, Running Time: 8 minutes
Based off a true story in 1923, inmate Hannah Folden pleads with the warden for her release from the Idaho state penitentiary so that she may take care of WWI veteran Walter Brackett, who is suffering from Tuberculosis.
Dog Person
Director: Andrew Ellis
Country: USA, Running Time: 4 minutes
A man on vacation has his life turned upside down by a person in a dog mask.
Fan Film
Director: Drew Garcia
Country: USA, Running Time: 16 minutes
In Fan Film, ambition blurs into obsession as filmmakers pursue their vision at any cost, spiraling into a dark journey of creation and consequence.
The Rabbit
Director: Dylan Hamar
Country: USA, Running Time: 10 minutes
In 1910, a desperate hunter steals a freshly killed rabbit to feed his starving family. But what seems like a small act of survival awakens a vengeful Native spirit that stalks him through the snowbound wilderness. As desperation turns to terror, he discovers that some thefts can never be forgiven.
Sam and Duke’s Big River Adventure
Director: Tom Taylor
Country: USA; Running Time: 9:26 minutes
Sam and Duke are at it again. This time the adventurous duo is off an amazing journey along a river in their tiny boat. Take a ride with Sam and Duke and enjoy the beauty, wonder and perils of their biggest adventure yet. This is the third animated short children’s movie installment for The Adventures of Sam and Duke.
Sloppy Joe
Director: Justin Buss
Country: USA, Running Time: 14 minutes
A personal chef strives to reignite joy in his dissatisfied client.
Thad & Mr. Black
Director: Kody Newton
Country: USA, Running Time: 12 minutes
Thad is recently homeless with his little yorkie named Mr. Black. After they meet his dream girl, Sandy, Thad has to try to impress her in her coffee shop.
Violet
Director: Jessica Melton
Country: USA, Running Time: 12 minutes
In a near future where love and marriage face new complexities, Violet confronts Henry about thoughts and feelings she shouldn’t be having.
Wormhole
Director: Colin Kelly Hingel
Country: USA, Running Time: 14:16 minutes
After getting broken up with over the phone, a guy distracts himself with screen time and other vices. He decides to visit a mysterious video chat website called ‘Wormhole’ where he meets someone. The following day becomes peculiar.
NARRATIVE FEATURES
American Sweatshop
Director: Uta Briesewitz
Countries: USA/Germany, Running Time: 93 minutes
A content moderator (Lili Reinhart) is tasked with purging offensive media from the internet. When she witnesses a crime in a video, she is lured away from the safety of her keyboard as she obsessively seeks to hold someone accountable.
April X
Director: Michael K. Parandi
Country: USA; Running Time: 96 minutes
In a fractured near-future, twin siblings Bax and April are separated by forces neither fully understands. We watch Bax spiral into madness, unraveling the boundary between identity and memories.
Fantasy Life
Director: Matthew Shear
Country: USA; Running Time: 91 minutes
After losing his job as a paralegal, Sam Stein suffers a panic attack and stumbles into a job babysitting his psychiatrist’s three granddaughters. The girls’ mother, Dianne, is an actor whose once-promising career has stalled; she’s in a difficult marriage to David, a rock bassist. When David goes abroad on tour, Dianne and Sam discover an easy rapport. Sam joins Dianne’s family to babysit for the summer on Martha’s Vineyard, and he ends up in a house with the woman he pines for, her husband, the three kids, and all four grandparents, including his psychiatrist.
Hello Out There!
Director: Otis Blum
Country: USA; Running Time: 90 minutes
Minnie, a young journalist, and Rex, her cousin fresh out of rehab, road trip through New Mexico to meet a mysterious man who claims to have proof of alien life and access to Area 51. As the journey unfolds a more personal reason for the quest comes to light.
Idiotka
Director: Nastasya Popov
Country: USA, Running Time: 82 minutes
In West Hollywood’s Russian immigrant district, Margarita lives out the American Dream: competing on a reality show. Will she slay, serve, or survive?
If You Should Leave Before Me
Directors: B. Robert Anderson, J. Markus Anderson
Country: USA, Running Time: 116 minutes
Mark and Joshua, a married couple, face a devastating loss that strains their relationship. To escape grief, they focus on their unconventional jobs as guides for the recently deceased, leading them to the afterlife.
In Our Blood
Director: Pedro Kos
Country: USA, Running Time: 89 minutes
Emily Wyland teams up with cinematographer Danny to shoot an intimate documentary about reuniting with Emily’s estranged mother after a decade apart. When her mother suddenly goes missing, possibly succumbing to the addictions that first tore her family apart, Emily and Danny must piece together increasingly sinister clues to find her before it’s too late.
Magic Hour
Director: Katie Aselton
Country: USA; Running Time: 80 minutes
Erin and Charlie escape to the desert to navigate an unexpected and challenging new phase of their relationship.
Mermaid
Director: Tyler Cornack
Country: USA, Running Time: 105 minutes
A Percocet-addicted ‘Florida Man’ finds a wounded mermaid at his lowest point. Fascination becomes a drug infused, one sided relationship — sending him further into decline. When word spreads about his secret, he’ll stop at nothing to protect her.
Omaha
Director: Cole Webley
Country: USA; Running Time: 83 minutes
After a family tragedy, siblings Ella and Charlie are unexpectedly woken up by their dad and taken on a journey across the country, experiencing a world they’ve never seen before. As their adventure unfolds, Ella begins to understand that things might not be what they seem.
Queens of the Dead
Director: Tina Romero
Country: USA, Running Time: 99 minutes
Drag queens and club kids battle zombies craving brains during a zombie outbreak at their drag show in Brooklyn, putting personal conflicts aside to utilize their distinct abilities against the undead threat.
Recollection
Director: Caden Butera
Country: USA, Running Time: 119 minutes
In a society where people rely on technology to remove painful memories, a glitch returns Kate’s memories, uncovering a dark truth about her past and those responsible. It’s 2033, and memory cleansing has taken society by storm. Thanks to Vitality’s technology, yesterday’s troubles are forever forgotten…or so sullen Kate (Rosslyn Luke) believes until a glitch floods her with memories of a life erased. Now, Vitality wants to make Kate forget again. On the run, Kate joins reclusive Teddy (Falk Hentschel) who believes Vitality killed his wife and is hiding proof in one of Kate’s memories. Kate agrees to help find her missing memory and use it to expose Vitality. After close calls and dead ends, Kate and Teddy meet Sid Dyas (Eric Roberts), a sleazy clerk in Vitality’s underground who reveals a bigger conspiracy at play. Teddy and Kate are quick to devise a plan that hits straight at the heart of Vitality.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
Deep Faking Sam Altman
Director: Adam Bhala Lough
Country: USA; Running Time: 103 minutes
Director Adam Bhala Lough sets out to better understand the technology and people at the center of the AI boom. His quest sends him on a path towards the father of AI, OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman. When he isn’t able to sit down with Altman himself, Adam travels to India to create an AI version of him to interview instead. Sam Bot is a new kind of documentary subject and collaborator, who challenges Adam in surprising and hilarious ways. Together, Adam and Sam Bot explore what it means to be alive, create art, and understand each other in an increasingly artificial world. Hartbeat partners with Vox Media Studios and Lough for this documentary based on reporting from New York Magazine.
Just Sing
Directors: Abraham Troen, Angelique Molina
Countries: UK/USA; Running Time: 93 minutes
Just Sing is an inspiring coming-of-age musical documentary that follows the SoCal VoCals as they vie for the championship title in the International Competition of Collegiate A Cappella—the “Super Bowl of song.” Beyond the high-pressure rehearsals and fierce competition, the film delves into the personal journeys of its members, each facing their own battles in the pursuit of self-discovery, their dreams in music, and friendship.
The Last Dive
Director: Cody Sheehy
Country: USA; Running Time: 88 minutes
Terry is a legendary figure in Baja Mexico, an American veteran who has spent decades living on—and in—the water. Once a man burdened by a troubled past, Terry’s life was transformed by an unlikely friendship with Willy, a 22-foot oceanic manta ray. For nearly two decades, Willy would slap his wings against the hull of Terry’s sailboat to signal their next dive, and together they explored the ocean’s depths—an extraordinary bond that turned Terry into an unexpected conservationist. Now in his 80’s, Terry embarks on one final journey to a remote island in hopes of reuniting with his old friend. But he’s also searching for something deeper: peace, closure, and a chance to say goodbye.
Middletown
Directors: Jesse Moss, Amanda McBaine
Country: USA; Running Time: 116 minutes
- Upstate New York. A group of teenage misfits, inspired by a renegade English teacher, embark on a student film project and uncover a vast conspiracy that is poisoning the ground beneath their feet. Banding together to confront the indifferent adults, corrupt politicians and a violent criminal organization threatening their small town, they produce an investigative documentary that causes shockwaves in their community.
ADDITIONAL SHORT FILMS
The Callback
Director: Kara Herold
Country: USA; Running Time: 13:11 minutes
Maggie has one goal: landing a callback for a film role. Even with minuscule odds, she believes a callback will lead her to the roles she wants, the ones with depth, despite the gatekeeping of a patriarchal film industry. Believing in herself to the point of denial, Maggie applies her artistry to a multitude of outdated women’s roles: girl next door, supportive wife, pretty but silent girlfriend. Casting directors, however, aren’t impressed with her creative interpretations of these one-dimensional roles, despite painstakingly diagramming the life of a midwestern housewife “on the verge of making it,” and studying Russian for the part of “soccer mom. But the moment after she dumps all of her acting paraphernalia into a large garbage bag, her phone pings–a callback! Maggie is placed in position, contorted, bloody, covered in leaves in an abandoned field. Ever the professional, her face goes blank as the crew readies for her close-up. She’s on her way!
The Cello Collective World Premiere
Director: Ron Torres
Country: USA; Running Time: 12 minutes
Professional Cellist Sophie Marshall founds a cello collective in her hometown of Pocatello, Idaho.
Cherry-Colored Funk
Director: Chelsie Pennello
Country: USA; Running Time: 16:25 minutes
Serial grifter Winston Lee has just changed his name to Roberto Ferrari and opened Roberto’s Italian Ice and Gelati – his ticket to wealth and respect. Unfortunately for Ferrari, instead of customers, seemingly everyone he’s ever wronged walks through the front door, each on a mission to settle their grievances. With an enigmatic DJ set blaring over the store speakers, Ferrari is forced to navigate the onslaught while desperately trying to cling to his dream.
Cub
Director: Sofia Rubin
Country: USA; Running Time: 9:26 minutes
12-year-old Kim hates Martial Arts. Her hair is in her mouth, her opponent is a vicious little princess, and her sports bra is squeezing the life out of her. But this is her biggest tournament yet, and Dad will damn her to Hell if she doesn’t win. The scouts are here, and they could make or break her (and Dad’s) career. As anxiety and expectations build, Kim’s body starts to change: new hair sprouts from her arms, new claws pierce through her gloves, new canines knock out her mouth guard. And as Kim transforms, so does everyone else. Everyone is an animal, screeching and hollering. If they want a show, Kim will give them a show. She’ll go straight for the jugular. How about this for a prize fighter, Dad?
Kind Mother
Director: Clare O’Connor
Country: USA; Running Time: 15 minutes
An estranged mother arrives at the silent retreat that her daughter is attending. When the two women engage in an unusual – and fantastical – power struggle, limits are tested, generational trauma is brought to light, and together they must grapple with mortality.
Reprogrammed
Director: Christopher Guerrero
Country: Colombia, USA; Running Time: 7:40 minutes
In retro-future Los Angeles, Andrea, a lonely roboticist obsessed with creating IRIS, her groundbreaking AI masterpiece, isolates herself from everyone she loves. But as she teaches IRIS the complexities of being human, Andrea’s creation forces her to confront painful echoes of her own fractured relationship with her estranged father. Realizing true sentience means understanding messy, human connections, Andrea must mend her past before she can bring artificial life into the world, rediscovering the true meaning of family, forgiveness, and being alive.
Not Here
Director: Cassius Michael Kim
Country: USA, Running Time: 15 minutes
In rural Texas, Sarah’s unraveling life intersects with that of her neighbor, Jack, through a shared discovery of betrayal. As she confronts her own pressing crisis, complicated by a legal mandate in the State, she seeks Jack’s help.
Houston, We Have a Crush
Director: Omer Ben Shachar
Country: USA, Running Time: 10 minutes
After finding a phone accidentally left behind by an astronaut, a lonely alien develops an all-consuming crush that tests his hold on reality.
In the Dark
Director: Molly Ehrenberg-Peters
Country: USA, Running Time: 15:40 minutes
Haunted by her past, struggling film photographer Jade travels from New York City to her hometown in the California desert to reunite with her first love Ryan, from whom she’s been estranged for over a decade, to restage a portrait of him. While the two reconnect at their local diner, reminiscing about the past and skimming the details of the present, Jade becomes overwhelmed by a slew of repressed memories. Once she takes the photo she’s come for, which just might be the skeleton key to moving on from her former life, Jade confronts Ryan about the sexual assault that ended their relationship, the psychological burden she’s carried with her, and the limits of forgiveness.
Just Kids
Director: Jackie Bao
Country: USA; Running Time: 5:11 minutes
Ben, an ambitious Asian-American man shaped by his father’s immigrant experience, is visited by his inner child on his way to the top. Through an unlikely elevator ride, he experiences his childhood dreams, meets a vulnerable father, and finds a renewed sense of self.
Not Here
Director: Cassius Michael Kim
Country: USA; Running Time: 15:42 minutes
In rural Texas, Sarah’s unraveling life intersects with that of her neighbor, Jack, through a shared discovery of betrayal. As she confronts her own pressing crisis, complicated by a legal mandate in the State, she seeks Jack’s help.
The Understudies
Director: Nick Galarza
Country: USA; Running Time: 19 minutes
The Understudies follows a starry-eyed theater geek Marlo, who, despite being just the understudy, tackles the responsibility and preparation of the lead role of his high school play.
