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2022 Schedule

BLOCK: I Am Woman...

1:30 - 4:00 pm

Emmageddon

Emily is a struggling screenwriter who works in an ice cream shop. Emma, the lead character in Emily's screenplay, is a struggling screenwriter who is also secretly “Emmageddon” - a superheroine with the impeccable social graces of a Jane Austen protagonist. Now, Emmageddon must confront Darius, gelato shop owner and art-destroying supervillain, to save all struggling artists everywhere in the universe.(Formerly titled "All Earthly Constraints.")

Directed by: Ryan M. Moore
89 minutes

Taking A Shot

A year-long journey with the women of the SMCA Varsity Soccer Team.

Directed by: McKay Trulove
12 minutes

BLOCK: The Human Condition (s)

4:00 - 6:00 pm

Lax Bros

A group of HS Lacrosse players grapples with grades, girlfriends, and the reality that they are not the best athletes on campus.

Directed by: Mason Smith
12 minutes

Living with Lego's

This short film revolves around how living with Lego's can be in real life.

Directed by: Todd J. Nelson
2 minutes

Undertaker

A man discovers his world is not all that it seems and he discovers that he is not what he is.

Directed by: Chris Esper
10 minutes

10 Minutes

A college student with a bright future meets a woman who’s long-anticipated her death, moments before the world ends.

Directed by: Adyson Wessel
11 minutes

Percy Talks

A creator with Autism talks to children on the spectrum in search of an understanding of what autism really is. The recordings of their conversations create a wealth of mini-stories that are animated and presented by its creator who voices Percy the alien.

Directed by:Diego Raf. Diaz
5 min.

Understanding

Inspired by the magic of American Sign Language, Understanding is a 3D animated short film about a lonely giant who creates a friend and the world they inhabit while learning to understand his new creations.

Directed by: Alexandra Voutsinas
7 min.

You Are Not Alone

You Are Not Alone is a short documentary about a collaborative, mixed media art project started in 2019 by Samantha Schutz and Annica Lydenberg. Their project, You are Not Alone Murals, was created to connect and provide community and support for individuals living with mental health challenges and the people that love them.

Directed by: Kelly Schaber
16 min.

Block: Tuning It Up

6:00 - 7:30 pm

The Birth & History of Western Swing

The quintessential story of America’s most joyous dance music, western swing got its start “where the west begins” in a ramshackle dancehall in Fort Worth, Texas during the depths of the Great Depression. It evolved with a spongelike ability to absorb a myriad of musical styles of black, white, rural and urban influences and transcend multiple ethnic boundaries to create an intoxicating musical gumbo. This landmark film traces its origins, development and legacy utilizing original and contemporary voices.

Urban Cowboy (1980)

After moving to Pasadena, Texas, country boy Bud Davis (John Travolta) starts hanging around a bar called Gilley's, where he falls in love with Sissy (Debra Winger), a cowgirl who believes the sexes are equal. They eventually marry, but their relationship is turbulent due to Bud's traditional view of gender roles. Jealousy over his rival, Wes (Scott Glenn), leads to their separation, but Bud attempts to win Sissy back by triumphing at Gilley's mechanical bull-riding competition.

Directed by: James Bridges
132 minutes

BLOCK: Let's Get Started

12:30 - 3:30 pm

The Death of Us

The Death of Us, a psychological thriller set in the future of today’s world. Katie is a personal trainer that's been forced to move her business online due to social distancing while Morgan, an auto mechanic, has seen a massive drop in clients due to a mandated sheltered in place. The two best friends await their fiancé/childhood friend, Devon, who volunteered to combat the evolving disease in the epic center of New York City. The virus sweeps our planet, and the death toll rises to unmanageable numbers. The unwillingness to comply leads the global elites to instill Martial Law. With the military controlling the streets, confinement draws upon Katie's depression and anxiety. Morgan occupies his time by logging the military patrol routes as he searches for an escape from their new realities. Love may conquer all in most cases, but when the human psyche falls under immense pressure, what will it do to survive?

Directed by: Yonash Breneman
80 minutes

A Break For Impact

In the Spring of 2020, a legal studies professor and a group of students from Florida journey to the US-Mexico border during an "alternative spring break" experience and embed themselves within organizations fighting the growing humanitarian crisis. They discover a series of harrowing facts about the treatment and fate of Central American asylum seekers.

Directed by: Christine Kane
58 minutes

Block: All About Beer!

Craft beer generates tens of billions of dollars annually for the US economy. Despite beer’s Egyptian and African heritage, these traditions have been mostly forgotten and are rarely found in American brewing culture. Today, Black-owned breweries make up less than 1% of the nearly 9,000 breweries in operation. Eager to shift the historical perception of who makes and drinks beer, Black brewers, brand owners and influencers across the country are reshaping the craft beer industry and the future of America’s favorite adult beverage.

Block: Changes

11:00am - 1:30pm

The Innocents

Follow two acclaimed musicians who are determined to use their talents to advocate for social justice. Allen Otte and John Lane tour the country with their performance of The Innocents - a piece created to shine a spotlight on the growing problem of wrongful convictions in the United States. Using a variety of found-object and home-made instruments, electronic soundscapes, and spoken texts, the performer-composers endeavor to explore various aspects of the issues surrounding wrongful imprisonment and exoneration in the American criminal justice system: mistaken identity, incarceration, injustice, politics, psychology, and resilience. The film culminates with a performance attended by Anna Vasquez - an exoneree, who spent 13 years in a Texas prison system for a crime which never happened.

Directed by: Wojciech Lorenc
80 min.

Shhh

When a pharmaceutical spy ducks into a library to avoid capture he encounters a potential partner/love interest in a librarian looking for adventure and a new job.

Directed by: Penny G LeLeux
16 min

You Are Not Alone

Block: Texas, Texas, Yee Haw

1:30pm - 4:00pm

Texas AF

Texas AF is a feature-length comedy about a two college roommates who’s relationship is at a crossroads. Flaco and Eddy are best friends and enjoy their freedom and living life to it’s fullest. Their relationship is strained and tested as each are pulled in opposite directions.

Directed by: David N. Reyes

The Problem With Time Travel

A young woman visited by two time-travelers is shocked to learn that in matters regarding climate change, humans will never change even when presented with facts that would push their species to extinction.

Directed by: Mike Kearby
16 min

Garden Spells

When Claire’s grandma passes away, she leaves behind a spell book that promises magical help should Claire ever need it. Years later, Claire meets Colton in the bookstore where she works and instantly falls for him…but can’t quite seem to tell if he reciprocates the feeling. She calls upon the book and her grandma’s spirit to open his heart to her. The following day she sees him again at the bookstore and thinks her chance has come, only this time he’s there with another girl. Claire is heartbroken. However, her heartbreak turns to horror when, a few days later, he reappears at the bookstore alone and asks her out to lunch. She stumbles over an excuse and retreats to the back room. That night she consults her grandmother’s spirit asking if there’s a way to reverse the spell she cast, full of guilt at having turned his heart towards her when he already had a girlfriend. The next day, Colton and the other girl arrive at the bookstore. While in conversation with Claire, it’s revealed that the mystery girl is actually Colton’s sister Jennifer. Realizing the blunder and being relieved at the outcome, Colton and Jennifer invite Claire out to lunch, and she accepts. We fast forward to years later, where an older Claire is passing her grandmother’s spell book onto her own granddaughter with the promise that it will help her find her own Mr. Right when the time comes.

Directed by: Jordan Wilson
9 min.

Breakfast To Go

A woman prepares a beautiful quiche on a lovely, sunny morning. Everything seems perfect until her day is ruined by a harsh reality check.

Directed by: Ronald Short
5 min.

Block: And, That's A Wrap

4:00 pm - 6:30 pm

Guilt

Two women come face to face to discuss the burden of guilt placed on the innocent in sexual assault.

Directed by: Cedric Thomas Smith
23 min.

Terminator: Bad Judgement Day

Future soldier Kyle Reese has one job -- to protect Sarah Conner, how hard can that be? Reese's commanding officer is about to find out.

Directed by: Lisa Belcher
6 min.

Penny

A female chef attempting to make a romantic connection fights dark impulses as memories of her mentally ill mother bleed into current-day life.

Directed by: Rachel S. Thomas-Medwid
16 min.

Launch

Based on a true story, Apollo astronaut John S. Bull is determined to be the first man on the moon. He and his wife Nancy are an unstoppable force, about to come into contact with the immovable object of the NASA training gauntlet during the pinnacle days of the space race.

Directed by: Vince Williams
20 min.

Their Last Ride

Horses are sacred animals, gifts from our creator - yet today they are being hauled to places they were never meant to be. Their Last Ride - the final journey, is a story of a group of young, healthy horses on their final journey.

Directed by: Neta Rhyne
10 min.

Out There

2 guys see something in the sky and discuss the possibilities.

Directed by: Jose Venegas
2 min.

First Impressions

Randall wants to impress his girlfriend and her friends at their weekly game night with his favorite game, but things don't quite go as planned...

Directed by: Michael Charron
9 min.

Out Of Order

With a sudden disruption to her career, Annie is forced to look within herself to find what she wants out of life while fighting to do what we all must do - keep going.

Directed by: Scott Langford
13 min.

Lifecell

In a dystopian future where everyone is powered by batteries, Jace and Em decide to risk everything at the hope of a better future.

Directed by: Tyler Mann
13 min.

Block: A Little Bit Off...

11:00am - 1:30pm

Disregard The Vampire

Facing extreme challenges, including a visit from the grim reaper himself, a determined crew provided the talented cast with an awesome template to display their prowess as Actors and human beings.

Directed by: Mike Messier
40 min

City Of Angels

A criminally insane man is prematurely released from jail and becomes a political pawn for a corrupt mayor.

Directed by: Drew Dammron
22 min.

Dead Man's Hand

When a poker night amongst friends isn't going well for one of the players, he diverts the evening in a most deadly way.

Directed by: Katie Martin
5 min

5/5

A woman of color finds herself stuck between a rock and a hard place in the unforgiving Texas wilderness.

Directed by: Clinton Pickens
12 min.

Greetings From Sarajevo

GREETINGS FROM SARAJEVO is a story of vengeance and possibly of redemption. When Sofia, a survivor of the Bosnian genocide runs into one of the soldiers who destroyed her world she seeks retribution. A young woman, Hana, an assassin, is sent to make sure justice is served. When Hana reaches her target she discovers Stanislav, the monster she was raised to hate is just a sick, blind, old man. Whether Hana carries out the mission or frees herself from the bonds of the past is the heart of Hana's journey.

Directed by: Melissa Skirboll
10 min.

Strings

Penny has her share of demons, and she’s about to take on one more. Despite her inability to play, Penny has big dreams of becoming the world’s greatest axe player. After stealing one from an antique shop, she decides to break it in at the local punk bar she frequents. Things don't go very well, and Penny ends up face down in the alley after being thrown out by the owner. Defeated, she quickly turns to a familiar vice, shooting smack to ease the pain. As her high subsides, a dark presence approaches her with a proposition: Penny gives up three souls, and all her dreams come true.

Directed by: Rodrigo Moreno-Fernandez
13 min.

Block: It's Getting Dark In Here

1:30pm - 4:30pm

Crude Massacre

Old family wounds cut deep as the blade wielded by a madman as he pursues hardworking oilman Jett Burke and his daughter across the vast expanse of a West Texas oil field.

Directed by: Ven Scott
16 min.

Between The Tree's

Alone on a camping trip in a national forest, Darcy must overcome the threat of a serial killer and a supernatural being to survive. Darcy is on a journey of grief and healing as she hikes through various trails throughout the US. A recently deceased loved one left her rolls of 35mm film – she’s on the last roll and the last stop of her trip. Her road trip takes her past a broken-down car with a man, Adam, waiting outside. She doesn’t stop to help. However, Jessica, in the car behind her does. She pulls over to give him a ride – a decision that proves fatal. Darcy and Adam collide in the forest, where, unbeknownst to either of them, a mythical creature roams between the trees as a protective and vengeful apparition.

Directed by: Kelli Horan
16 min.

The Nothing

The sins of a wealthy man catch up to him on a fateful night, wherein he is terrorized by a merciless entity. Based on a line from the Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis. “It does not matter how small the sins are, provided that their accumulative effect is to edge the man away from the light and out into the nothing.” This film is a sort of a physical representation of what it means to become a part of “the nothing” Lewis talks about.

Directed by: Joseph Kawaja
12 min.

Jack Of All Lanterns

A lonely man's wish while carving a jack-o'-lantern unwitting becomes the ultimate treat and trick under a strange moon rising.

Directed by: Avai d'Amico
6 min.

Tell Me A Story

A father must decide whether he can fight the creature outside the door, or if he must spare his daughter from a grisly death.

Directed by: Brandon Torres
4 min.

Love Me Tinder

From the creative minds of Crash of Rhinos, this horror short film follows Nick, a married man who secretly has been perusing the popular dating app. Tonight is the night when Nick has met his match.

Directed by: Sean Patrick Leonard
13 min.

Amaranth

After 73 years apart, two vampires explore their complicated relationship thru flashbacks.

Directed by: Robert Lloyd Moore
13 min.

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