DC Shorts International Film Festival Guide - 2019 by Metro Weekly

DCSHORTS

INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL & SCREENPLAY COMPETITION SEPTEMBER 19-28, 2019

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

Table of Contents THE 2019 DC SHORTS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL GUIDE

Welcome Letter from the Executive Director...6 Festival Sponsors...8 From the Office of Cable TV, Film, Music & Entertainment...10 Festival Highlights...12 Theaters & Venues...14 Ticket Information...16 About DC Shorts...18 Online Festival & Best of DC Shorts...20 Celebrations & Parties...21 Screenplay Competition...22 Filmmaking Workshops...23 Get Involved...24 Showcases of Films...25 10% Cinema (LGBTQ)...41 Different Wavelengths...42 Haute House (Avante Garde)...43 Ripped from the Headlines...44 Real Reel (Docs)...45 Animation Domination...46 Domestic Disturbances...48 Games We Play...48 Lurking in the Dark...49 OMG I Ded (Comedy)...50 A Question of Faith...51 DC Shorts Jury Awards...52 Acknowledgments...53 Schedule at a Glance...54 Publisher: Randy Shulman • Editors: Peter Morgan & Randy Shulman • Art Director: Todd Franson • Legacy festival design and branding by Gene Cowan, Cowan Creative • A publication of Jansi Media, 1775 I Street NW, Suite 1150, Washington, DC 20006 - 202-638-6830 - © 2019 DC Shorts Alliance & Jansi Media - All Rights Reserved

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

Welcome

to the 2019 DC Shorts International Film Festival

TEPPING INTO THE ROLE OF EXECUTIVE DIRECtor at DC Shorts is not easy when the shoes that must be filled are those of Kimberley Bush, who successfully ran the organization for half a decade. So far, the whirlwind year has been incredible, working with an extraordinary staff, community partners, volunteers, and supporters, all driving forward the DC Shorts mission - to Champion Short Films and Filmmakers. DC Shorts was conceived in 2003 with the simple premise of bringing together filmmakers in the national capital region to share resources and knowledge, to inspire each other, and ultimately to create a platform enabling them to present their vision, their art, in a way that changes perceptions and challenges our thinking, while cultivating artistic passions. This year, DC Shorts received more than 1,250 short film submissions and more than 80 screenplays for consideration, an embarrassment of riches, as they say. Our programming team had an arduous time, and ultimately selected 156 films that represent 36 countries on five continents. And you may have noticed that we’re using the word “International” in the festival’s title this year. As DC Shorts has grown, we’ve come to reflect the global growth of filmmaking. We very proudly share that this year’s festival includes 48 female filmmakers, and not by design but by sheer quantity of quality shorts, which is an amazing indication of change. Progress continues as the DC Shorts mission embraces equality, diversity, and the best storytelling possible. The 19 Official Selection Showcases and 11 Special Interest Showcases are screening throughout the course of the 10-day festival, with many Filmmaker Q&As and panels. For filmmakers of any level, we have 6

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

educational workshops to expand your knowledge and mastery of the craft, led by local professional and industry leaders. DC Shorts continues our online presence with 95 films being available through the DC Shorts Online Film Festival, a secure online portal that allows those who cannot attend in person to enjoy the film selections from home or on the go via smartphone or tablets. Filmmaking is a tremendous collaboration of talent, time, energy, and ambition. It reaches beyond the imagination and can challenge our spirit, transform opinions and awareness, and take us places we never imagined existed. The DC Shorts Team invites you to join us on this journey, as we head into our 16th season of advancing the dreams and realities of filmmakers, audiences, and communities, sharing cultures, new thoughts, emotions, and a broader understanding of what it means to be human.

Lights. Camera. ACTION!

Peter Morgan

Executive Director DC Film Alliance DC Shorts International Film Festival

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

Our Sponsors Luminary

Superstar

Producer

Technical

Crew

Cast

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

Supporting Cast

Feed A Filmmaker Supporters DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

Festival Highlights

DC Shorts Party All Acce Online Festival DC Shorts EEING EVERY FILM AT THEParty A THEATER IS NOT ALWAYS POSSIBLE — WE are showing a staggering 156 films! The DC SHORTS ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL Online Festival is a great way to watch many of the films in the comfort of your home,

Show Duration

DC Shorts Online Festi

or on the run using a smartphone or tablet. FIND MORE INFORMATION ON PAGE 20.

We present 11 SPECIAL INTEREST SHOWCASES during the festival week including Documentary, Comedy, Animation, LGBTQ, Avant-Garde, Horror, and the always popular Ripped From the Headlines. THE SPECIAL INTEREST SHOWCASES SECTION BEGINS ON PAGE 41.

arty Q&A

Q&A

Awards

All Access Worksho

The DC SHORTS SCREENPLAY COMPETITION is an incredible evening of live script readings where the audience determines the winner of a grand prize valued at $2,000! This year’s group of five diverse finalists, chosen from over 80+ screenplay submissions, comes from all over the country. FIND MORE DETAILS ON PAGE 22.

Lunch Show Lunch Show

Our PARTIES AND EVENTS have become legendary! They’re a great place to meet filmmakers and make new friends. Join us for our Filmmaker Welcome Reception at Pepco Gallery and take in the stars at the CITY VIEW PARTY overlooking the nation’s capital from the gorgeous rooftop of the Cambria Hotel. FIND ALL THE DETAILS ON PAGE 21.

Q&A

DC Shorts proudly presents jury and audience awards to our top films. These shorts are programmed into two BEST OF DC SHORTS SHOWCASES, showing at the Miracle Theatre on Capitol Hill on Saturday, September 28. It’s a great way to conclude the week and catch the selections that might go on to win that special golden statue! TURN TO PAGE 20 FOR MORE INFORMATION.

ABOUT DC SHORTS

The DC Shorts International Film Festival and Screenplay Competition is an award-winning, internationally recognized film festival held every September in Washington, D.C. Recognized by MovieMaker Magazine, USA Today, and Washington City Paper Reader’s Poll as one of the best film festivals in the world, DC Shorts champions short films and the filmmakers who create them. DC Shorts believes in the power of short films to democratize filmmaking, permitting diverse voices to be heard from around the globe. Since 2003, it proudly serves to present these voices to vast audiences every year, in a welcoming, thought-provoking, and lively multiday event filled with filmmakers, industry leaders, and film-lovers alike. The DC Shorts International Film Festival and Screenplay Competition is a program of DC Film Alliance.

P/ALL ACCESS VIP/ALL ACCESS

unch Show 12

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

WORKSHOP WORKSHOP

Workshop

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

Theaters

Venues

THE MIRACLE THEATRE 535 8TH STREET SE WASHINGTON, D.C. The Miracle Theater is in the heart of Eastern Market/Capitol Hill and holds 370 guests and offers modern projection and concert sound. DRIVING The Miracle Theatre is located on 8th Street between E and G Streets SE. Metered street parking is available. METRO The Miracle Theater is located 2 blocks from the Eastern Market Metro station. Exit the station, turn right onto 8th Street.

Event Locations LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 555 11th Street NW Washington, D.C. MIRACLE THEATRE 535 8th Street SE Washington, D.C.

PEPCO EDISON PLACE GALLERY 702 8th Street NW Washington, D.C.

THE ROOF AT THE CAMBRIA HOTEL 899 O Street NW Washington, D.C. THE LOFTS AT 600 F 600 F Street NW Washington, D.C.

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

LANDMARK’S E STREET CINEMA 555 11TH STREET NW WASHINGTON, D.C. CORNER OF 11TH AND E STREETS Landmark’s E Street Cinema is a jewel, with multiple auditoriums and a gourmet concession stand, complete with a full bar. DRIVING Landmark will validate parking for 3 hours at the reduced rate after 5 p.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends at the garage adjacent to the theater. Entrance to lot on 11th between E and F Streets NW. The lot closes at midnight. In addition, limited metered street parking is available. METRO The theater is located 2 blocks from the Metro Center station and 4 blocks from the Gallery Place station.

Accommodations CAMBRIA HOTEL 899 O Street NW Washington, D.C. The Cambria Hotel & Suites Washington D.C. is an all-suites hotel where style, form, and function meet.

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

Ticket Information FILM TICKETS

Each showcase runs approximately 90 minutes, and includes 7 to 9 films from around the globe.

BUY AT DCSHORTS.COM $15 + service charge We highly recommend purchasing tickets online, as many shows will sell out.

BUY AT THE VENUE $15 + service charge Box offices at each venue open 30 to 45 minutes before the first show of the day.

NOTE ABOUT FREE EVENTS Free events require tickets for entry. We recommend reserving online, as these events often fill up quickly.

PARTY TICKETS

We are thrilled to bring you the DC Shorts Online Film Festival — more than 95 films may be watched from Friday, September 19th at 6:30 p.m. through Saturday, September 28th at 11:59 p.m. on any computer and most mobile devices. Watch from a coffee shop, your office, or even in the comfort of your bed.

Within 24 hours after purchasing, you will receive an email with a unique access code and link to the online festival website.

BUY AT DCSHORTS.COM OR AT A VENUE $40 + service charge

TICKETING POLICIES

ONLINE SALES Tickets may be purchased via our ticketing partner, TicketLeap. We recommend that you either print your tickets at home/work, or use TicketLeap’s mobile app to present a barcode for scanning. If you forget your tickets, or do not have access to a printer don’t worry, we can still check you in at the door.

IN-PERSON SALES To purchase tickets and passes in person, please visit the DC Shorts Box Office at each venue. Box offices open 30 to 45 minutes before the first event of the day, and close 30 minutes after the last event begins. DC Shorts accepts all major credit cards and cash. No checks accepted. EXCHANGES AND REFUNDS All ticket and pass sales are final. There are no refunds or exchanges of tickets, party, or festival passes. Please familiarize yourself with our Seating Policy. There are no refunds for late arrivals.

All parties include light refreshments and a special selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Attendees must be at least 21 years of age and present a valid photo ID at the door.

Party tickets must be purchased in advance either online or at a venue box office. We do not offer door sales.

BUY AT DCSHORTS.COM $25 + service charge

BUY AT A VENUE $25 + service charge

SEATING POLICIES

FESTIVAL PASSES The ALL-ACCESS VIP PASS allows entry into every screening, party, and workshop — even the Best of DC Shorts!

DC SHORTS ONLINE FESTIVAL

The Festival Pass also includes • Priority seating at all screenings — you get in first! • Priority entry to all parties — you get in first! • DC Shorts T-Shirt (while supplies last) • Swag bag (while supplies last) • Access to the DC Shorts Online Film Festival

BUY AT DCSHORTS.COM OR AT A VENUE $140 + service charge

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

All ticket and pass holders must be seated 15 minutes prior to showtime to guarantee a seat. After that time, pass holders will be admitted with the general audience on a space-available basis.

• 20 minutes before each showcase: Pass holders and filmmakers are admitted to the theater. • 15 minutes before each showcase: Ticket holders are admitted to the theater. • 10 minutes before each showcase: Unclaimed seats are sold at the theater door for $15.

The standby line will form 45 minutes before the screening time. What are your chances of getting in? Pretty good since we usually release 10 to 20 tickets at the door.

We know that mistakes happen. If you present a ticket purchased in error, we will make every effort to accommodate you at another screening of your choice on a space-available basis. Visit the box office for details.

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

About Us

DC Shorts champions short filmmaking!

HROUGH A SERIES OF REGULARLY SCHEDULED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, SCREENING OPPORTUNITIES, sharing resources via online tools, partnering with film, arts and business organizations, and our annual DC Shorts International Film Festival, DC Shorts provides opportunities for filmmakers of every skill level to explore and learn their craft while entertaining and expanding the horizons of audience members. Founded in 2003, DC Shorts was created by D.C.-based filmmaker Jon Gann in response to the dozens of festivals where the focus wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t on the filmmakers and their craft. Jon decided to start his own event, focusing on the form he loves, shorts! The DC Film Alliance is Born! In 2006, the DC Film Alliance, a nonprofit arts organization, was created to present the DC Shorts Film Festival, and offer other programs and resources for Washington, D.C.based filmmakers. The Alliance helped to bridge the gap between other area film organizations, foster a community for regional film festival directors, and sponsored monthly salons to educate filmmakers of all levels. In response to the needs of the industry, DC Shorts has recently rebranded many DC Film Alliance activities, re-tooled others, and now hosts year-round programming.

OUR PROGRAMS

DC WINS: DC Shorts WINS! are special showcases of award-winning films from previous DC Shorts festivals, plus a few that we wished we had been able to program. Some of the films have received Academy Award nominations. All of the films have won accolades worldwide.

COLLABORATIVE IMPACT: DC Film Alliance works closely with other grassroots film arts organizations on mutual topics including Submissions, Promotion, Development, and more.

FILMMAKER RESOURCES

DC Shorts utilizes the @dcshortstools Twitter feed, a daily collection of Jobs, Casting Notices, and events from over 20 DC area and national resources. The DC Shorts Toolkit is an open email exchange to request information from other filmmakers, post-screening information, even sell old equipment. The DC Shorts Actors List posts casting notices to over 2,000+ D.C. MENTORS/CINEMATIC CONVERSATIONS: Through and East Coast Actors. Cinematic Conversations and Mentors, we encourage independent filmmakers to develop the skills to OUR INITIATIVES create outstanding media projects. Taught by film LOCAL INITIATIVES: Local initiatives include programs, professionals and peers, these interactive sessions partnerships, film blocks, and panels that support are designed to build upon one another, developing the local film community. Youth Initiatives: Youth the skills needed to better compete in the crowded initiatives are youth programs, partnerships, film field of filmmakers. blocks, and panels that expose and educate youth of all ages on film and filmmaking that not only educate, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: DC Shorts is proud to but inspire. Community Initiatives: Community present seminars for the Film Community on various initiatives are programs, partnerships, film blocks, topics including, but not limited to Lighting on a Budget, and panels that support underrepresented and Fundraising, Contracts, Film Reviewing, and more! marginalized communities. DC LAUGHS: DC Shorts presents its favorite comedy films with live performances by the areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top standup comics! Each 90-minute program combines film and live performance for a spectacular and lighthearted evening.

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL DCSHORTS.COM/ONLINEFEST

HROUGH A SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT WITH THE FILMMAKERS, MORE THAN 95 OF THE FILMS WE ARE DC Shorts Party showcasing are available to watch online from any computer or smartphone. THAT IS THE VAST MAJORITY OF FILMS SCREENING AT THE FESTIVAL! Online Festival This is a great way to see more films, rewatch the ones you fall in love with, and connect with the filmmakers.

But hurry, the films are available only from Friday, September 19th to Saturday September 28th. Purchase access to this exclusive site online. BUY AT DCSHORTS.COM OR AT A VENUE $40 + service charge. After purchasing, you will receive an email with a unique access code and link to the online festival website.

THE BEST OF DC SHORTS

MIRACLE THEATRE 525 8TH STREETPROCESS SE SATURDAY, SEPT. 28, 8 P.M. & 10 P.M.

Q&A

ALL ACCESS 20

DC Shorts Film Festival 2019

DC Shorts proudly presents jury and audience awards to our top films. These shorts are programmed into two “BEST OF THE FEST” Showcases screened at The Miracle Theater on September 28th. It’s a great way to conclude the week and catch the selections that might go on to win that special golden statue! Award winners are posted on www.dcshorts.com on Tuesday, September 24th.

Lunch Show

WORKSHOP

Celebrate with Us!

C SHORTS LOVES TO CELEBRATE OUR FILMMAKERS — and our audience! All parties include light refreshments and a special selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Attendees must be over 21 years of age and present a photo ID at the door. Save money by purchasing your tickets online. For more information or tickets to any of our events visit http://festival.dcshorts.com/parties.

GENERAL ADMISSION EVENT CITY VIEW PARTY PRESENTED BY THE CAMBRIA HOTEL SATURDAY, SEPT. 21, 7-9 P.M. ROOFTOP @ CAMBRIA HOTEL 899 O STREET NW

Closest Metro: Mt. Vernon Square (Yellow or Green Lines) Tickets: $25 and open to the public Celebrate DC Shorts International Film Festival’s opening weekend with a magical night under the stars on the rooftop of the stunningly appointed Cambria Hotel. Against the backdrop of Washington, D.C.’s amazing city views, enjoy crafty cocktails and delicious noshes. The immersive sounds of local celebrity DJ MIM will have you dancing the night away!

FILMMAKER AWARDS BRUNCH PRESENTED BY THE LOFTS AT 600 F SUNDAY, SEPT. 22, 11 A.M.- 1 P.M. THE LOFTS AT 600 F 600 F STREET NW Closest Metro: Gallery Place (Red Line)

Join us for our festival’s awards brunch, where the Jury awards are announced. Get to know the best of the best from this year’s festival and network with filmmakers from around the world while enjoying complimentary cocktails and food. Winning filmmakers are presented with a glass trophy and showered with prize packages!

SCREENPLAY AUDITIONS PRESENTED BY LANDMARK THEATERS FRIDAY, SEPT. 27, 10 A.M.- 12 NOON LANDMARK E STREET CINEMA 555 11TH STREET NW Closest Metro: Metro Center Tickets: Passholders and Filmmakers Only

Join us as we check out actors who will perform their monologue for our screenplay finalist. You can check out the winners at our Screenplay Competition table read!

FILMMAKERS & ALL ACCESS VIP PASSHOLDER EVENTS

These events are only open to filmmakers and All-Access VIP Passholders, visiting filmmakers, or invited guests. Don’t miss out - purchase an All Access VIP Pass online or at any festival box office.

FILMMAKER WELCOME RECEPTION PRESENTED BY PEPCO EDISON PLACE GALLERY THURSDAY, SEPT. 19, 7-9 P.M PEPCO EDISON PLACE GALLERY 702 8TH STREET NW Closest Metro: Gallery Place (Red Line)

DC Shorts welcomes filmmakers from around the globe and All Access VIP Pass holders to the DC Shorts International Film Festival. Each year we hold an exclusive party just for our passionate filmmakers and film lovers, featuring cocktails, food, music, a whole lot of fun!

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Party DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

16+ T

HE DC SHORTS SCREENPLAY COMPETITION IS A VERY DIFFERENT kind of screenwriting competition. A panel of reviewers consisting of filmmakers, screenwriters, and critics reviewed over 70 screenplays and selected the top 6 to be performed for you! After a table reading, the audience will vote for their favorite, and one lucky screenwriter will walk away with prizes valued at $2,000. Screenplay winners receive $1,000 in seed money to start their project and another $1,000 in finishing funds when the film is completed. The completed film will screen at an upcoming DC Shorts Film Festival. Meet all of the writers at a reception after the reading.

The evening will also feature a screening of last year’s DC Shorts Screenplay Competition Winner, By Any Other Name. THE MIRACLE THEATRE FRIDAY, SEPT. 27, 7 P.M.

PROCESS

DEAR EMMA YOUR CHARLIE

LISA TEDESCO • NEW HAVEN, CT After the death of her mother, Emma, to breast cancer, Aimee and her wife, Cara begin to clean her belongings from their home when Aimee discovers a shocking secret from her mother’s past.

LIFE IN THE PEN

JASON FORBACH • NEW YORK, NY A woman mistakenly receives a letter from an inmate and decides to deceivingly maintain the correspondence to escape the prison of her own life.

THE ERRANT SIGNAL

NIK THEORIN • PHILADELPHIA, PA. A 911 operator struggles to pinpoint the origin of an otherworldly distress call.

Show Duratio

SPECIAL SCREENING BY ANY OTHER NAME

DIRECTOR: PETER KIMBALL • 13 MINS. • COMEDY • USA • WORLD PREMIERE While both Montagues and Capulets thought Juliet dead, along with her beloved Romeo, Juliet’s loving nurse had spirited her away to a foreign land. Now some years later, Juliet is alive and dating again.

LOST AT HOME

JACKSON KNAPP • NEW YORK, NY A woman breaks out of an assisted living facility to try and make her son’s bar mitzvah...or so she thinks.

THE BEST YOU GOT

TAZ LAKE • ATLANTA, GA. Before starting their lives on earth, customers must get their plans approved by an unusual banker and his two assistants.

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

Awards

Filmmaking Workshops D

C Shorts is proud to present workshops for filmmakers of all levels. All workshops are FREE, but registration is required. Visit http://festival.dcshorts.com/events/workshops to register.

Lunch Show

SCREENWRITING: THE NEXT LEVEL FRIDAY, SEPT. 20, NOON-2 P.M. LANDMARK’S E STREET CINEMA 555 11TH STREET NW THEATER #4

Workshops WALA DROP-IN LEGAL CLINIC FRIDAY, SEPT. 20, 1:30-3 P.M. LANDMARK’S E STREET CINEMA 555 11TH STREET NW DC SHORTS LOUNGE

You’ve written a solid screenplay. You’ve won a couple of script competitions. You’re even talking to producers. But you still haven’t sold anything. Learn A-list techniques that will elevate your writing, engage readers, and impact audiences. Topics will include compression, misdirection, restrictive point of view, foreshadowing, visual storytelling, and advanced techniques for writing description and dialogue that will leap off the page, and launch your career. The workshop will be led by George Andre Tittle, a working director/screenwriter and former assistant to Academy Award-winning director Barry Levinson. Tittle was a finalist for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ prestigious Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting.

Questions about filmmaking and the law? Drop by for a conversation with WALA Board Member Sandra Aistars, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School and Legal Services Director Maggie Gladson, accompanied by students of the GMU Arts and Entertainment Advocacy Clinic.

ENTERTAINMENT LAW 101 FOR FILMMAKERS

Sound is one of the most important aspects of any film. Join professional location sound mixer Mike Panfeld as he discusses finding the right balance between budget limitations and best practices to achieve stellar audio for your indie film.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 20, 12:30-1:30 P.M. LANDMARK’S E STREET CINEMA 555 11TH STREET NW THEATER #7

SOUND FOR INDIES: BUDGETING & BEST PRACTICES FRIDAY, SEPT. 8, 2-4 P.M. LANDMARK’S E STREET CINEMA 555 11TH STREET NW THEATER #7

WORKSHOP DIRECTING: ADVANCED

Attorneys Brian Frankel and John Mason of the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts (www.waladc.org) will provide an overview of key legal concepts for filmmakers, including copyright, trademark, work for hire agreements, funding, business organizations, and more. There will be time for some brief Q&A.

DIRECTING TECHNIQUES

FRIDAY, SEPT. 8, 4-6 P.M. LANDMARK’S E STREET CINEMA 555 11TH STREET NW THEATER #4 What do professional directors do that no one taught you in film school? In this workshop, conducted by George Andre Tittle, you will learn advanced techniques used by working directors that will immediately elevate your work. You don’t need a big budget or the latest 8K camera. It’s about understanding what’s happening in each scene, and choosing where you position the camera and every element in the frame to express it. Topics will include script analysis, the value of rehearsal, the actor-director relationship, point of view, how to develop a shooting plan, and developing a visual strategy.

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

How to Get Involved and Support Independant Filmmaking! DONATE! The generous support of individuals has allowed us to provide hundreds of thousands of individuals of all ages with high-quality programming over the past 16 years. As a year-round nonprofit arts organization, your support is needed to continue our programming, from the DC Shorts International Film Festival to free Education Programs and Screenings. There are many ways to get involved and many ways to support us:

MAKE A DONATION ONLINE TODAY. To contribute to the many initiatives at DC Shorts simply visit http://dcshorts.com/donate.

MAKE A DONATION THROUGH THE MAIL. Check donations can be mailed to us at the following address: DC Shorts, 1317 F Street NW, Suite 920, Washington, D.C. 20004

For more information email info@dcshorts.com or visit http://dcshorts.com/donate.

MAKE A MATCHING GIFT. Workplace giving programs might allow you to double your gift. Contact your companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Human Resources Department for specific details.

BECOME A PARTNER/ADVERTISER. The Festival offers exceptional sponsorship opportunities to meet your organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s marketing and philanthropic goals. We also offer many advertising opportunities at our events, festival program guide, slideshows, website, and in our bi-monthly newsletter. By advertising, your organization will reach a community of loyal film fans and film industry professionals. For more information email info@dcshorts.com.

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

SHOW

E CAS

E STREET CINEMA FRIDAY, SEPT. 20, 6:30 P.M. ALL FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

WASHED AWAY

DIRECTOR: BEN KALLAM • 12 MIN. • DRAMA • USA • EAST COAST PREMIERE A teenage girl in an evangelical church youth group must deal with the fallout when her trust is publicly betrayed.

HORS PISTE

DIRECTORS: LÉO BRUNEL, LORIS CAVALIER, CAMILLE JALABERT, OSCAR MALET • 6 MIN. • COMEDY • FRANCE • D.C. PREMIERE The two best rescue workers of the region are ready for their new mission. Despite their professionalism and their determination, things do not go as planned.

APPRECIATION

DIRECTOR: TOMISIN ADEPEJU • 14 MIN. • DRAMA • UK • EAST COAST PREMIERE An African Pentecostal Pastor questions everything she believes after a lifechanging event.

GET READY WITH ME

DIRECTOR: JONATAN ETZLER • 29 MIN. • THRILLER • SWEDEN • D.C. PREMIERE An aspiring Youtuber shows her high school class a disturbing video that disrupts the lesson and causes her teacher to fear for her life. This refreshingly unpredictable thriller combines grim satire with the current urgencies of teen angst, social media, and fame.

DON'T GO TO SEA

DIRECTOR: SANDER BURGER • 7 MIN. • DRAMA • NETHERLANDS When a lonely, childless man finds a balloon with a card attached to it, he grabs his chance to transfer his difficult life lessons to the unknown toddler from whom the balloon came.

THE GOSPEL OF COMBAT

DIRECTOR: DAVID HUTCHINSON • 12 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY • USA • EAST COAST PREMIERE Threatened by the violent aftermath of Kenya’s 2017 elections, a fledgling Aikido sensei ponders whether his martial art can heal old wounds.

GUY PROPOSES TO HIS GIRLFRIEND ON A MOUNTAIN

DIRECTOR: BERNHARD WENGER • 13 MIN. • COMEDY • AUSTRIA/GERMANY Captured with a mobile phone, we see a group of three friends gathering at a ski lodge. One is about to propose to his girlfriend and his friend films the whole thing to remember the best day of their lives. DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

SHOW

E CAS

E STREET CINEMA FRIDAY, SEPT. 20, 7 P.M. TUESDAY, SEPT. 24, 5 P.M. ALL FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

MENUETT

DIRECTOR: FELIX KAROLUS • 11 MIN. • DRAMA • GERMANY D.C. PREMIERE For Charlotte, it’s like any other Sunday, until the doorbell rings and a stranger surprises her with an exceptional demand.

JACK

DIRECTOR: NICK PAONESSA • 8 MIN. • DRAMA/COMEDY USA • EAST COAST PREMIERE A man comes to grips with the fate of his sick cat the only way he knows how.

LOST & FOUND

DIRECTORS: ANDREW GOLDSMITH, BRADLEY SLABE 8 MIN. • ANIMATION • AUSTRALIA • D.C. PREMIERE A bumbling knitted dinosaur must unravel himself to save the love of his life.

WAITING FOR FUKUSHIMA

DIRECTOR: ALANA HUTTON-SHAW • 12 MIN. DOCUMENTARY • UK • D.C. PREMIERE Seven years after one of the most catastrophic natural and nuclear disasters in history, Fukushima pushes past the headlines and the forgotten survivors work to return home.

GIRL FALLING

DIRECTOR: MILLIE ROSE HEYWOOD • 26 MIN. • DRAMA AUSTRALIA • D.C. PREMIERE Sarah is a shy and innocent teen from a small country town. A hopeless romantic, she is the only one of her friends who still remains a virgin, awaiting true love. But when seventeen-year-old bad boy Ben rolls into town and invites her to a party, she might just have her chance.

THE CHRISTMAS GIFT

DIRECTOR: BOGDAN MURESANU • 23 MIN. DRAMA/COMEDY • ROMANIA • D.C. PREMIERE On the 20th of December, 1989, a few days after Ceausescu's bloody repression in Timisoara, a father’s quiet evening turns to sheer ordeal as he finds out that his little son has mailed a wish letter to Santa. As the kid understood, his father’s desire was to see Ceausescu dead.

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

E STREET CINEMA FRIDAY, SEPT. 20, 9 P.M. TUESDAY, SEPT. 24, 5:15 P.M. ALL FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

PIG

DIRECTOR: EVAN POWERS • 8 MIN. COMEDY/HORROR • USA • D.C. PREMIERE A run-of-the-mill camper massacre quickly takes a surprising turn when an insecure pig-masked killer confides in his evil comrades about his struggles with his weight problems.

WILD LOVE

DIRECTORS: PAUL AUTRIC, QUENTIN CAMUS, MARYKA LAUDET, LÉA GEORGES, ZOÉ SOTTIAUX, CORENTIN YVERGNIAUX • 7 MIN. • COMEDY/HORROR FRANCE • U.S. PREMIERE While on a romantic getaway, Alan and Beverly cause a fatal accident. This crime won't remain unpunished.

BAILAORA

DIRECTOR: RUBIN STEIN • 15 MIN. • MYSTERY • SPAIN EAST COAST PREMIERE “A war. A child. A dream.”

INFERNO

DIRECTOR: PATRICK FILETI • 16 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY MEXICO • D.C. PREMIERE A portrait of the lives of artisans in Tultepec, Mexico, famous for its pyrotechnics industry, during the lead up to the festival of San Juan de Dios, when blazing revelry engulfs the town.

ACID

DIRECTOR: JUST PHILIPPO • 18 MIN. • SCI-FI/HORROR FRANCE • D.C. PREMIERE A disturbing cloud takes shape somewhere in the west. It slowly moves toward the center of the country, and global panic ensues, as this cumulus is acid.

MILK

DIRECTOR: SANTIAGO MENGHINI • 10 MIN. • HORROR CANADA • D.C. PREMIERE Late at night, a young teen goes to the kitchen for a glass of milk. Encountering his sleepless mother, he quickly realizes things are not as they seem.

TIGHT SPOT

DIRECTOR: KEVIN HAEFELIN • 4 MIN. • COMEDY SWITZERLAND • D.C. PREMIERE Shining the shoes of a walk-in customer, a shiner discovers his client’s dark secret.

DEMAND CURVE

DIRECTORS: THE BRAGG BROTHERS, MEREDITH BRAGG 11 MIN. • COMEDY • USA • EAST COAST PREMIERE Offended by his kidnappers' low demands, a university professor uses basic economics to increase his ransom and get in on the action.

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E STREET CINEMA FRIDAY, SEPT. 20, 9:30 P.M. TUESDAY, SEPT. 24, 7 P.M. ALL FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

PIE IN THE PUSS: A BRIEF HISTORY OF PIEING IN FILM DIRECTOR: STACEY DAVIS • 9 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY • USA EAST COAST PREMIERE The pie in the face. The pie toss. The ultimate pie fight. Apple, pumpkin, or chocolate – pies have played an important role in decades of film history. This film traces that history.

CERDITA

DIRECTOR: CARLOTA PEREDA • 14 MIN. • HORROR • SPAIN D.C. PREMIERE Sara is an overweight teen that lives in the shadow of a clique of cool girls holidaying in her village. Not even her childhood friend, Claudia, defends her when she’s bullied at the local pool in front of an unknown man. Her clothes are stolen and Sara must get home wearing nothing but her bikini. The long walk home will mark the rest of her life.

WILD

DIRECTOR: JAN VERDIJK • 12 MIN. • COMEDY/HORROR • NETHERLANDS D.C. PREMIERE When a father misbehaves during a weekend-holiday, his surroundings will make him feel very unwelcome, while his wife and son turn against him.

MAW

DIRECTOR: JASPER VRANCKEN • 20 MIN. • HORROR • BELGIUM D.C. PREMIERE Richard has an unusual fantasy: he is sexually aroused by the idea of being eaten by an animal or monster. Through a personal ad he meets the mysterious Max, and with that encounter, the chance to fulfill his depraved fantasy. Can Richard escape his dark desires or not?

BAD DREAMS

DIRECTOR: STUART FRYER • 9 MIN. • HORROR • UK • D.C. PREMIERE A boy in bed is haunted by the “thing” in his cellar. As a man, he decides to confront his guest locked downstairs.

CHICHI

DIRECTOR: DAVID NESSL • 10 MIN. • COMEDY/SCI-FI • USA D.C. PREMIERE My dog had a dream and told me about it. I made a movie about that dream. This is that movie.

SUICIDE BY SUNLIGHT

DIRECTOR: NIKYATU JUSU • 17 MIN. • HORROR • USA Valentina, a day-walking black vampire protected from the sun by her melanin, is forced to restrain her bloodlust to regain custody of her estranged daughters. DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

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E STREET CINEMA SATURDAY, SEPT. 21, 11 A.M TUESDAY, SEPT. 24, 7:15 P.M. ALL FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

GLADIATORS

DIRECTOR: HELHER ESCRIBANO • 5 MIN. • DRAMA SPAIN • D.C. PREMIERE A journey through the mind of a person at the moment of saying goodbye.

TO HEAVEN, TO GATHER

DIRECTOR: LI YUE CHANG • 24 MIN. • DRAMA TAIWAN • EAST COAST PREMIERE A vast, blue sky. A long and endless mountain path. This is not an excursion, but the journey of 3-year-old Xiao Wu and her lamb to the orphanage where they will be abandoned.

GRAND BASSIN

DIRECTORS: HÉLOÏSE COURTOIS, CHLOÉ PLAT, VICTORI JALABERT, ADÈLE RAIGNEAU • 7 MIN. • ANIMATION FRANCE • D.C. PREMIERE An afternoon at the swimming pool.

THE ONE YOU NEVER FORGET

DIRECTOR: MORGAN JON FOX • 8 MIN. • DRAMA/LGBTQ USA • D.C. PREMIERE A 14-year-old boy nervously prepares for his first dance as his parents reminisce about their own.

FATHER FIGURE

DIRECTOR: BIBI FADLALLA • 25 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY NETHERLANDS • D.C. PREMIERE Guilliano is the founder of The Kiki House of Angels, a Voguing community in Rotterdam. Most of its members are young black gay men who experience racism and marginalization in everyday life. This poetic collage film expresses their personal stories by combining observational scenes with Vogue dance sequences, graphic interludes, and intimate interviews.

DELAY

DIRECTOR: ALI ASGARI • 15 MIN. • DRAMA IRAN • D.C. PREMIERE A man and his two children are late for their flight. While they wait for the next flight, something happens that changes his point of view about being a father.

POZOLE

DIRECTOR: JESSICA MENDEZ SIQUEIROS • 10 MIN. DRAMA/COMEDY • USA • D.C. PREMIERE When a mixed-race Latina woman sets out to reconnect with her traditional Mexican roots on her Nana's 100th birthday, things go terribly wrong.

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

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E STREET CINEMA SATURDAY, SEPT. 21, 11:30 AM TUESDAY, SEPT. 24, 9 P.M. ALL FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

LIFE IN MINIATURE

DIRECTOR: ELLEN EVANS • 5 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY • UK • D.C. PREMIERE Kath Holden is an artist of the everyday. Inspired by the world around her, her creations are whimsical yet keenly observed, and a far cry from the genteel museum pieces that her contemporaries are producing. A workingclass woman from Yorkshire, Kath reflects on her life and art as she carves a place for herself in the precious world of miniatures.

THE FURNITURE MAKER

DIRECTOR: DAVID AVILÉS CADENAS • 18 MIN. • DRAMA CUBA • NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE In an attempt to get closer to his father, Leonardo starts filming him in his everyday life. As days go by, Esteban notices the camera and uses it as a means of communicating with his son.

IMBUED LIFE

DIRECTOR: IVANA BOSNJAK, THOMAS JOHNSON • 12 MIN. FANTASY/ANIMATION • CROATIA • D.C. PREMIERE Imbued Life is a film about a young woman's connection with the life force of nature. She uses her talent for taxidermy to “return” the animals to their natural habitat. However, the true search for answers begins when she starts finding a roll of undeveloped film in each of the animals she treats. Her obsession drives her to seek the explanation of the connection she feels, haunting her dreams, as well as her waking moments.

THE ARTISAN

DIRECTOR: ADRIAN CARDENAS • 13 MIN. • DRAMA • CUBA • D.C. PREMIERE After being pushed out of his house by a caring neighbor on the anniversary of his wife’s death, a local artisan meanders through the tight-knit community of Gibara, Cuba, encountering many locals who collectively help him confront his loss.

THE COWFOOT PRINCE

DIRECTOR: BEX SINGLETON • 28 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY • UK WORLD PREMIERE Usifu Jalloh, a Sierra Leonean Storyteller, journeys from his adopted home in London back to the village where he was born. The odyssey charts the lifelong complexities of immigration and Jalloh’s personal relationship with the country that is responsible both for the execution of his father, and for the inherited skills and wisdom he uses to make sense of the world.

HOLY CANNELLONI

DIRECTOR: CAROLINA GIAMMETTA • 16 MIN. • COMEDY • UK D.C. PREMIERE On her Holy Communion day, Maria discovers what “sexed” really means and who she's destined to marry. Taking Nonna’s advice (from God!), she decides to make a change, showing her family what a strong Italian woman is made of. DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

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E STREET CINEMA SATURDAY, SEPT. 21, 1:30 P.M. TUESDAY, SEPT. 24, 9:15 P.M.

ALL FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

FATHER FIGURINE

DIRECTOR: MATT KAZMAN • 18 MIN. • DARK COMEDY USA • D.C. PREMIERE When the wealthy patriarch of a family dies, they discover a rather unusual request in his will.

MY GENERATION

DIRECTOR: LUDOVIC HOUPLAIN • 8 MIN. ANIMATION/EXPERIMENTAL • FRANCE • D.C. PREMIERE Contemporary art, sports, religion, politics, finance, pornography. Explore the many opiates of the masses in an eight minute traveling shot that seeks to understand how an entire generation has been lobotomized.

ROGERS AND TILDEN

DIRECTOR: HENRY HAYES • 11 MIN. • DRAMA • USA D.C. PREMIERE Fresh out of prison in a Brooklyn he barely recognizes, a man is looking to seize his second chance. But first, ‘ he needs that driver’s license.

THE CHASE

DIRECTOR: MIKE DOYLE • 11 MIN. • COMEDY/DRAMA USA • EAST COAST PREMIERE A brazen theft leads a newly married couple on a wild chase across the streets of Los Angeles and into a complex intersection of race, justice, and self-discovery.

THE FUTURE

DIRECTOR: ERNESTO MARTÍNEZ BUCIO • 13 MIN. • DRAMA MEXICO • D.C. PREMIERE Mother and son drive outside the city. The police have found some bodies and one of them could be Javier, her son, his brother.

THE TRAFFIC SEPARATING DEVICE

DIRECTOR: JOHAN PALMGRE • 15 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY SWEDEN • U.S. PREMIERE A traffic separating device is installed in the middle of Stockholm, designed to keep normal cars away and only let buses pass. As the deterrent fails and cars continue to flow toward the traffic device, hundreds of vehicles are destroyed in a supreme example of human arrogance and ignorance.

TWO BODIES ON A BEACH

DIRECTOR: ANNA PAAVILAINEN • 20 MIN. • DRAMA FINLAND • NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE A film about women who lusted for men and sought their attention.

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

E STREET CINEMA SATURDAY, SEPT. 21, 2 P.M. WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 25, 5 P.M. ALL FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

ANNA

DIRECTOR: DEKEL BERENSON • 15 MIN. • DRAMA UKRAINE • D.C. PREMIERE Anna, a middle-aged single mother, lives in a small industrial town in war-torn Eastern Ukraine. She works in a meat processing plant, lives in a rundown apartment and dreams for a better life for herself and her 16-year-old daughter. Desperate for a change, Anna is lured by a radio advertisement to attend a party organized for foreign men who are touring the country, searching for love.

DANI

DIRECTOR: ELIZABETH HOGENSON • 9 MIN. • ANIMATION USA • EAST COAST PREMIERE Thirty-year-old Danielle must deliver her grim breast cancer prognosis to her mother. Using stop-motion animation, Dani shows us how a simple phone call can be a study of human courage, faith, and love.

FAMILY

DIRECTOR: CATHERINE COSME • 25 MIN. • DRAMA BELGIUM • EAST COAST PREMIERE Lisa and Houria are two mothers. One is running from the war, the other opens the doors of her home in Europe. Lisa welcomes Youssif, Houria and their daughter Nour, as they're waiting for their convocation at the Immigration Office. Between the will of kindness and communication issues, doubt and fear begin to settle in Lisa's intimacy: who is this family?

LISTEN

DIRECTOR: OMRI BEZALEL • 18 MIN. • THRILLER USA • D.C. PREMIERE A promising 19-year-old Israeli intelligence operative spends her days listening in on the family of a suspected terrorist until forced to make a difficult, life-changing decision.

LUGER

DIRECTOR: FREDDIE WATERS • 10 MIN. • DARK COMEDY UK • D.C. PREMIERE Tom is in for a surprise when he meets his elderly grandfather's two carers. Not only do they appear to be at war but when he discovers a mysterious object in the kitchen things take a dark turn.

MOTHERLAND

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DIRECTORS: JESSE SOURSOURIAN, EMILY MKRTICHIAN 19 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY • ARMENIA • EAST COAST PREMIERE In this eloquently crafted film, women in a disputed territory between Armenia and Azerbaijan courageously work to clear land mines in the wake of a brutal war, combating traditional gender roles and forming close bonds in the process.

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E STREET CINEMA SATURDAY, SEPT. 21, 4 P.M. WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 25, 5:15 P.M. ALL FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

ALIEN CULTURE

DIRECTOR: IESH THAPAR • 16 MIN. • DRAMA • UK D.C. PREMIERE West London, 1979. Margaret Thatcher is in power and racial tensions are running high in the UK. Lucky, 28, is a secondgeneration British Indian and thinks his 17-year-old brother, Sunny, is getting bullied by skinheads. The truth is far from what he expected.

HOME CARE

DIRECTOR: THEODOR SOLIN • 14 MIN. • DRAMA • SWEDEN NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE Alex, a home carer, has struck a partnership with the charming Leon, who enlists Alex to carry out petty crimes on his behalf. When Alex starts to question Leon’s motives, he gets caught up in a family feud that gets increasingly out of hand.

I’M GOING OUT FOR CIGARETTES

DIRECTOR: OSMAN CERFON • 14 MIN. • COMEDY/DRAMA FRANCE • NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE Twelve-year-old Jonathan lives with his sister, his mother, and also some men. They all have the same face and nest in closets, drawers, TV set....

KAMALI

DIRECTOR: SASHA RAINBOW • 24 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY UK • D.C. PREMIERE Kamali is the only girl skateboarder in a fishing village. Her timorous mother takes a pilgrimage in a quest for self-discovery. Separated for the first time, they must find freedom in a man’s world.

THE PLUNGE

DIRECTOR: SIMON RYNINKS • 10 MIN. • COMEDY • UK D.C. PREMIERE After a night of passion Emily tells Jay that she’d like to use a strap-on. Scared of losing a girl he has a connection with, Jay reluctantly agrees.

WILL "THE MACHINE"

DIRECTOR: KENT LAMM • 14 MIN. • DRAMA • USA D.C. PREMIERE Consumed by ambition, an elite high school football prodigy isolates himself from the immaturity of his classmates, until an unexpected running partner dredges up his emotional past. DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

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E STREET CINEMA SATURDAY, SEPT. 21, 4:30 P.M. WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 25, 7 P.M. ALL FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

I THINK I'LL MAKE IT

DIRECTOR: DARA BRATT • 17 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY/LGBTQ USA • D.C. PREMIERE When Kat Hurley was five years old, her father murdered her mother. And Kat saw it happen. Now, 30 years later, she remains haunted by the memory, but determined to channel the pain into something positive by becoming a mother herself.

GIRL IN THE HALLWAY

DIRECTOR: VALERIE BARNHART • 10 MIN. • ANIMATION • CANADA U.S. PREMIERE Why does “Little Red Riding Hood” give Jamie nightmares? It's been 15 years, and the girl in the hallway haunts him still. This is a testament to locked doors. A lullaby sung by wolves with duct tape and polaroids. Not all girls make it out of the forest. Some stories children shouldn't hear.

SWIPED

DIRECTOR: STEVE WHITELEY • 9 MIN. • MOCKUMENTARY • UK EAST COAST PREMIERE Alarmed by the detrimental effect smartphones are having on those around them, a trio of friends launch an initiative that aims to make people more present — by stealing their phones on mopeds.

LA NORIA

DIRECTOR: CARLOS BAENA • 12 MIN. • HORROR/FANTASY • SPAIN A young boy who loves to draw and build ferris wheels encounters strange creatures that turn his life upside down.

RECONSTRUCTION

DIRECTORS: JIŘÍ HAVLÍČEK, ONDŘEJ NOVÁK • 16 MIN. • DRAMA CZECH REPUBLIC • U.S. PREMIERE Seventeen-year-old Olda is awaiting his trial in a detention center for juveniles. The monotone prison life is gradually intertwined with memories of a police reconstruction. It took one summer night for the holiday boredom to turn into cruel fun that resulted in death.

FRAMEWORK

DIRECTOR: JASMIN GORDON • 16 MIN. • SUSPENSE • SWITZERLAND EAST COAST PREMIERE A mysterious man exits the freeway and drives out into the French rural landscape. Just as he is about to make a U-Turn, he crosses paths with a group of teenage boys hanging out at the local soccer field. After a few beers and common experiences shared, the man invites the boys to follow him to an unknown destination. Can they really trust this charismatic stranger?

UNCAGED: A STAND-IN STORY

DIRECTORS: BLAKE JOHNSTON, KELSO STEINHOFF • 11 MIN. DOCUMENTARY • CANADA • D.C. PREMIERE Marco Kyris worked as Nicholas Cage’s stand-in for a decade on 20 films. From his lookalike's break-out in Leaving Las Vegas to the blockbuster National Treasure franchise, this is Marco's story of working in the shadows of one of Hollywood's most notorious actors.

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

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E STREET CINEMA SATURDAY, SEPT. 21, 6:30 P.M. WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 25, 7:15 P.M. ALL FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

TWO PUDDLES

DIRECTOR: TIMOTHY KEELING • 6 MIN. • COMEDY/SCI-FI • UK D.C. PREMIERE When a family encounters two radically unusual puddles on a woodland retreat, unspoken tensions finally surface.

NAPTHA

DIRECTOR: MOIN HUSSAIN • 18 MIN. • DRAMA/SCI-FI • UK D.C. PREMIERE Faraz's quiet life working at an isolated petrol station is turned upside down when his aging father Malik begins to speak in a longforgotten language and insists on returning back home.

PLEASE SPEAK CONTINUOUSLY AND DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCES AS THEY COME TO YOU

DIRECTOR: BRANDON CRONENBERG • 9 MIN. • SCI-FI • CANADA EAST COAST PREMIERE Experimental psychiatric patient Emily gets a brain implant prototype that forces her to relive her dreams. As she recounts her thoughts to the unscrupulous Dr. Fino, the lines between conscious and subconscious are blurred.

THE PHANTOM 52

DIRECTOR: GEOFF MARSLETT • 8 MIN. • ANIMATION • USA D.C. PREMIERE Loneliness is a trucker who calls out on his CB radio waiting for a reply that never comes; a ghost that haunts the deserted highways; and a whale that sings at a frequency no other whale can even hear.

BLIGHT

DIRECTOR: RAPHAËL CROMBEZ • 23 MIN. • DRAMA • BELGIUM U.S. PREMIERE Elias and Nora discover that their daughter is the fountain of life in human form. Through mutual contact with water, she can cure anyone of anything. But it's not without consequence.

THIS IS BATE BOLA

DIRECTORS: NEIRIN JONES, BEN HOLMAN • 16 MIN. DOCUMENTARY • BRAZIL • D.C. PREMIERE On the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro during its world-famous Carnival, far from the beach and the tourists, there is a contest between neighborhoods. A love letter to Brazil in all of its beauty and all of its pain, this old world face-off is a joyous celebration and battle cry from the heart of Rio's forgotten neighborhoods. This is the Rio Carnival that you have never seen before. This is Bate Bola.

THE GUY

DIRECTOR: JON FUSCO • 15 MIN. • SCI-FI/COMEDY • USA D.C. PREMIERE Tony struggles to regain control of his mundane existence after it is hijacked by his hyper-masculine, undeniably psychopathic alter-ego. DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

E STREET CINEMA SATURDAY, SEPT. 21, 7 P.M. WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 25, 9 P.M. ALL FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

DELIVERY

DIRECTOR: JOE BOOTHE • 10 MIN. • COMEDY/THRILLER USA • D.C. PREMIERE A flaky delivery driver's night veers off course when he stumbles into a lover's quarrel gone wrong.

E STREET CINEMA SATURDAY, SEPT. 21, 9 P.M. WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 25, 9:15 P.M.

ALL FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

ATLAS

DIRECTOR: MAX LEMCKE • 16 MIN. • DRAMA • SPAIN NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE A librarian discovers mysterious underlinings in a book and a message that puts her life at risk.

DIRECTOR: MACIEJ KAWALSKI • 22 MIN. • DARK COMEDY POLAND • D.C. PREMIERE A remote psychiatric hospital receives a curious patient: one who he doesn’t move nor speak but spends his days standing with his hands up. The only thing known is his nickname: “The Atlas.”

MANILA IS FULL OF MEN NAMED BOY

MAKR

BEST SELLER

DIRECTOR: ANDREW STEPHEN LEE • 21 MIN. • DRAMA/ COMEDY • PHILIPPINES/USA • EAST COAST PREMIERE Manila, July 7, 2009. As Michael Jackson’s televised funeral plays throughout the country despite terrorist attacks in the south, an estranged son purchases a child who can drink and smoke to impress his father. However, when the patriarch and his friends embrace the new child as one of their own, the question must be asked: what determines who is more valuable of attention?

FIRE IN CARDBOARD CITY

DIRECTOR: PHIL BROUGH • 9 MIN. • COMEDY NEW ZEALAND • D.C. PREMIERE When a city made entirely from cardboard catches fire, it's up to the local fire chief and his brave deputies to save its citizens from impending doom.

HEARTH

DIRECTOR: SOPHIE B. JACQUES • 11 MIN. • THRILLER CANADA • EAST COAST PREMIERE When Emillie returns home after renting her house to strangers, we witness what actually happened during her absence.

BOTTLENECK

DIRECTOR: MÅNS BERTHAS • 8 MIN. • MYSTERY SWEDEN • WORLD PREMIERE Three women gather together for an act of vengeance and a game of spin-the-bottle. The result will determine who performs the deed.

SWATTED

DIRECTOR:ISMAËL JOFFROY CHANDOUTIS • 21 MIN. DOCUMENTARY • FRANCE Online players describe their struggles with "swatting," a lifethreatening cyber-harassment phenomenon that looms over them whenever they play. The events take shape through YouTube videos and wireframe images from a video game.

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DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

DIRECTOR: HANA KAZIM • 15 MIN. • HORROR • UAE EAST COAST PREMIERE A fake exorcist who recently lost his daughter and with it his trust in God visits the home a man who claims his wife is possessed by a Djinn.

ROADKILL

DIRECTOR: LESZEK MOZGA • 8 MIN. • ANIMATED • UK EAST COAST PREMIERE The world where deer are the dominating species, one alpha male goes for an evening car ride and has an unfortunate car accident.

TRAPPED IN THE CITY OF A THOUSAND MOUNTAINS

DIRECTOR: DAVID VERBEEK • 22 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY NETHERLANDS • EAST COAST PREMIERE A new phenomenon of authentic Chinese rap has taken the internet by storm. Yet lurking beyond this unexpected rise in popularity, there is a sinister struggle for freedom of speech. Rappers navigate these tricky waters after new censorship is announced.

MONSTERS WALKING

DIRECTOR: DIEGO PORRAL • 1 MIN. • ANIMATION • SPAIN D.C. PREMIERE A short film about monsters that walk.

MISS BARTON'S FAMOUS CAKES

DIRECTORS: NELSON VICENS, JARED HIRSCH • 13 MIN. MYSTERY • USA • D.C. PREMIERE A dark comedy disguised as a thriller about a famed baker and the mysterious allure of her cakes.

LOW TIDE

DIRECTOR: IAN HUNT DUFFY • 14 MIN. • THRILLER • IRELAND A boy is excited about heading out to sea on a father-son fishing trip, but his father may have more sinister intentions.

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E STREET CINEMA SATURDAY, SEPT. 21, 9:30 P.M. THURSDAY, SEPT. 26, 5 P.M. ALL FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

AFTER THE FIRE

DIRECTORS: SPENCER SEIBERT, DEREK KNOWLES • 18 MIN. DOCUMENTARY • USA • D.C. PREMIERE The film follows residents of Sonoma Valley as they struggle to find their places in a community that has been reshaped overnight by the historic Northern California wildfires. It’s an intimate look at what they’ve lost, what they’ve gained, and what happens next.

MOTHER OF

DIRECTOR: GAN DE LANGE • 10 MIN. • DRAMA • ISRAEL D.C. PREMIERE A mother discovers that something happened to her daughter, instantly her whole being becomes mother of.

SHEHITA

DIRECTOR: DEAN GOLD • 26 MIN. • THRILLER • CANADA D.C. PREMIERE A Yiddish-speaking Jewish community in Quebec begins to unravel after a horrific discovery stirs up demons from the past.

UNDER COVERS

DIRECTOR: MICHAELA OLSEN • 7 MIN. • ANIMATION USA • D.C. PREMIERE On the night of a lunar eclipse, the sweet, salacious, and spooky secrets of a small town are uncovered. From a pigtailed psychopath to naughty nuns and everything in between, this stop motion animated film conjures a comforting thought: that weird is relative.

O.I.

DIRECTOR: N'CEE VAN HEERDEN • 19 MIN. COMEDY/THRILLER • CANADA • EAST COAST PREMIERE Barry came up with a truly original idea. And sharing it has consequences.

PORCH LIGHT

DIRECTOR: JULIA BERGERON • 9 MIN. • COMEDY • USA D.C. PREMIERE A cowboy calls on his loyal sidekick to save the day after he impulsively blasted a man who came screamin’ and hollerin’ through his front door. Things take a wild turn when the buddy’s obsession with forensic evidence leaves them armed and dangerously underdressed – just in time to welcome an unexpected bachelor party. DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

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E STREET CINEMA SUNDAY, SEPT. 22, 12 NOON THURSDAY, SEPT. 26, 5:15 P.M. ALL FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

VOURVOUROU

DIRECTOR: KARINA LOGOTHETIS • 22 MIN. DRAMA/FANTASY • GREECE “Where does the sun go when it gets dark? Why is the chicken’s egg so important to humans? Why doesn’t my brother take me with him when he goes caroling with Claire?" Six-year-old Markos is determined to find solutions as the circle of life unravels before his eyes.

MY PAINTBRUSH BITES

DIRECTORS: JOEL PINCOSY, JOE EGENDER • 16 MIN. COMEDY • USA • EAST COAST PREMIERE A man battling reclusion and a racehorse on the brink of death save each other in unexpected ways.

MAHALIA MELTS IN THE RAIN

DIRECTORS: CARMINE PIERRE-DUFOUR, EMILIE MANNERING 11 MIN. • DRAMA • CANADA • D.C. PREMIERE A timid 9-year-old black girl feels different from the other girls in her ballet class. Hoping to boost her confidence, her mother brings her to the hair salon to get her hair straightened for the very first time.

FLOREANA

DIRECTOR: LOU MOORTON • 4 MIN. • ANIMATION DENMARK • D.C. PREMIERE On a remote island in the future, people are training for an important mission. Take a look at the mechanics of this training facility and the creatures within.

ASHMINA

DIRECTOR: DEKEL BERENSON • 15 MIN. • DRAMA NEPAL • D.C. PREMIERE In an impoverished country, rife with contradiction, a young girl is torn between her obligation to her family and the influence of foreign visitors.

COWBOY

DIRECTOR: FREDERIC ZEIMET • 23 MIN. COMEDY/FANTASY • LUXEMBOURG Eight-year-old Joachim has an uncommon best friend. Cowboy is plump, funny and consoles him — but he is imaginary. Joachim’s father, meanwhile, is unable to talk to his son and tell him what happened to his mother.

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

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E STREET CINEMA SUNDAY, SEPT. 22, 12:30 P.M. THURSDAY, SEPT. 26, 7 P.M. ALL FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

MY DAUGHTER YOSHIKO

DIRECTOR: BRIAN BLUM • 15 MIN. • DRAMA • USA D.C. PREMIERE With her daughter is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and her husband overseas serving in the military, Saki Omura is finding it harder and harder to cope. Too ashamed to burden others and too proud to ask for help, she faces the now-daunting task of giving her daughter the best life possible.

BROTHERHOOD

DIRECTOR: MERYAM JOOBEUR • 25 MIN. • DRAMA CANADA • D.C. PREMIERE Mohamed is a hardened shepherd living in rural Tunisia with his wife and two sons. Mohamed is deeply shaken when his oldest son returns home after a long journey with a mysterious new wife. Tension between father and son rises over three days until reaching a breaking point.

GREEN

DIRECTOR: SUZANNE ANDREWS CORREA • 12 MIN. DRAMA • USA • NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE Green, an undocumented Turkish pedicab driver unwittingly draws police attention, endangering his brother, his community, and himself.

TANGLE

DIRECTOR: MALIHE GHOLAMZADEH • 8 MIN. • DRAMA IRAN • EAST COAST PREMIERE The life of a girl in war.

LOWLAND KIDS

DIRECTOR: SANDRA WINTHER • 22 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY USA • D.C. PREMIERE As climate change erases the Louisiana coast, the last two teenagers on Isle de Jean Charles fight to stay on an island that's been their family home for generations.

JUGGLE

DIRECTOR: SEAMUS DUFFY • 11 MIN. • COMEDY/DRAMA IRELAND • D.C. PREMIERE A narcissistic entrepreneur wakes up in a stranger’s house after an alcoholic blackout. He must deal with the fallout after she contacts him, heavily pregnant. DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

E CAS

E STREET CINEMA SUNDAY, SEPT. 22, 2:30 P.M. THURSDAY, SEPT. 26, 7:15 P.M. ALL FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

HOW DOES IT START

DIRECTOR: AMBER SEALEY • 15 MIN. • ROMANCE USA • D.C. PREMIERE It’s 1983 and 12-year-old Rain wants sex, the only problem is she has no idea what that means. With her self-absorbed parents distracted by their recent divorce, Rain is left alone to navigate the complexities of love and adulthood, and learns to do it her own way.

MOTHER

DIRECTOR: DAVID RUSANOW • 13 MIN. DRAMA/COMEDY • AUSTRALIA • D.C. PREMIERE A suburban housewife finds a used condom while vacuuming her house. It could only have come from one of two people — her fifteen-year-old daughter or her husband.

MAJA

DIRECTOR: MARIJANA JANKOVIC • 22 MIN. • DRAMA DENMARK • EAST COAST PREMIERE Maja is a six-year-old Serbian girl in a new country, a new home, and a new school. When Maja's parents pick her up after a lonesome day with the other kids at her new Danish kindergarten, it turns out her long day is just starting.

STREET FLAME

DIRECTOR: KATHERINE PROPPER • 14 MIN. • DRAMA USA • D.C. PREMIERE Following the death of their friend, a crew of skaters and motley street teens imagine their own rituals to commemorate her on their own terms.

REAL LETTER FROM CHARLES III

DIRECTOR: CHRISTIAN FLORES • 3 MIN. • ANIMATION SPAIN • D.C. PREMIERE Charles III of Spain wrote a letter to his parents explaining intimate details about his wedding night. This film reproduces and reimagines that letter as a reggaeton song.

R.A.W. TUBA

DIRECTORS: DARREN DURLACH, DAVID LARSON • 29 MIN. DOCUMENTARY • USA • NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE As a child, Richard Antoine White slept wherever he could, including abandoned row houses where he was chewed on by rats. Today, he's a tenured professor, the principal tubist of the New Mexico Philharmonic, and the first African American to receive a Doctorate in Music for Tuba Performance. This is his story.

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

E STREET CINEMA SUNDAY, SEPT. 22, 3 P.M. ALL FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

EL ASTRONAUTA

SHOW

E CAS

SHOW

DIRECTOR: MANUEL TROTTA • 19 MIN. • DRAMA VENEZUELA • EAST COAST PREMIERE Beto, a sophisticated man, returns to his remote hometown with the goal of bringing his senile father to a care home in the city. But his father does not want to leave home until he fulfills his only desire: to reach the moon to say goodbye to his beloved and late wife. With great difficulty to understand his father's desire, but touched with the ingenuity, Beto must find a way to become “The Astronaut.”

IN FULL BLOOM

DIRECTOR: MAEGAN HOUANG • 11 MIN. • FANTASY USA • EAST COAST PREMIERE A surrealist short film about overcoming the loss of a partner within the parameters of living as a female Vietnamese immigrant.

KIDS

DIRECTOR: MICHAEL FREI • 9 MIN. • ANIMATION SWITZERLAND • D.C. PREMIERE An animated short exploring group dynamics. How do we define ourselves when we are all equal?

OSHRI

DIRECTOR: LIHI SABAG • 15 MIN. • DRAMA • ISRAEL EAST COAST PREMIERE When Sima decides to get close to the one thing that matters to her, she has no idea of the price she will have to pay.

HELEN

DIRECTOR: MARK ALLEN DAVIS • 14 MIN. DOCUMENTARY • USA • WORLD PREMIERE After a transient orphan vanishes from a small Catskill lake community, its members are left searching for answers as they struggle to come to grips with both her disappearance and the polarizing role she played in their lives.

MAMMOTH

DIRECTOR: ARIEL HELLER • 22 MIN. • COMEDY/DRAMA USA • D.C. PREMIERE Caught between his own grief and sense of family duty, Paul drives his carefree, terminally ill brother, Elliot, on a farewell tour to Mammoth California, where Elliot plans to end his life under the Death with Dignity Act.

DUNYA'S DAY

DIRECTOR: RAED ALSEMARI • 14 MIN. • COMEDY SAUDI ARABIA • D.C. PREMIERE Dunya's perfectly planned graduation party is headed for disaster when she is abandoned by all her household help. Can this celebration be saved?

SHOW

E CAS

E STREET CINEMA SUNDAY, SEPT. 22, 5 P.M. ALL FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

BY ANY OTHER NAME

DIRECTOR: PETER KIMBALL • 13 MIN. • ROMANCE • USA WORLD PREMIERE While both Montagues and Capulets thought Juliet dead, along with her beloved Romeo, Juliet's loving nurse had spirited her away to a foreign land. Now, some years later, Juliet is alive and dating again.

CRI: THE STORY ABOUT JUAN PINEDA

DIRECTOR: GABRIEL VERAS • 23 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY USA • D.C. PREMIERE Juan Pineda is a D.C.-based visual artist whose distinct style is characterized as urban-contemporary/street art. His connection to traditions resulted in unique mural work throughout the DMV.

ROCKET BOY

DIRECTOR: SIMON SORTED • 5 MIN. • FANTASY • UK D.C. PREMIERE For Rocket Boy, a young child who witnessed the launch of Apollo 11 firsthand, it takes only a dose of imagination to make the impossible become real.

NOTHING TO DECLARE

DIRECTOR: HETTY DE KRUIJF • 20 MIN. • DRAMA NETHERLANDS • D.C. PREMIERE Three strangers who are forced to flee their homes come together in the cargo space of a truck. They fill the time on this unusual road trip by sharing their stories, hopes, and dreams.

A MINOR ACHIEVEMENT

DIRECTOR: KOLIN POPE • 7 MIN. • ANIMATION • USA EAST COAST PREMIERE It might be tempting to assume that new emoji are flown in by stork, handed down from high atop a mountain or mined in caves below the Silicon Valley giants’ headquarters. The truth is even more surprising: Anyone can propose a new emoji. Yes, even you.

BIG BEAR LAKE

DIRECTOR: MAX TZANNES • 19 MIN. • DRAMA • USA EAST COAST PREMIERE A famed cartoonist is dead. He is survived by his three children, now all grown up and grown apart. The day before the funeral, the estranged siblings are confronted with the chaotic present, the revered past, and the chance ‘at a shared future. DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

SPECIAL SHOWCASES

HE 19 SHOWCASES ON THE PREVIOUS PAGES WERE DESIGNED TO exhibit the breadth and depth of short filmmaking, including a variety of genres and styles. The 11 Showcases on the following pages present films in a thematic presentation with each film relating to a topic or style.

10% CINEMA (LGBTQ) E STREET CINEMA MONDAY, SEPT. 23, 9:15 P.M. ALL DC SHORTS FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

DANTE VS. MOHAMMED ALI

DIRECTOR: MARC WAGENAAR • 28 MIN. • DRAMA NETHERLANDS • D.C. PREMIERE Twenty-year-old Wolf is living in the boxing village of the Netherlands. When he has to fight against his best friend Alexander during a weekly match, he refuses. A rematch is confirmed, which brings Wolf's feelings and emotions to a boiling point. He tries to convince Alexander to join him leaving the village, but his overly romantic message runs into a wall.

MILLER & SON

DIRECTOR: ASHER JELINSKY • 22 MIN. • DRAMA • USA D.C. PREMIERE A transwoman mechanic living in rural America tries to find a livable compromise between running her family’s auto shop during the day and expressing her femininity at night. When confronted with an unforeseen event, the balance of her daytime and nighttime worlds becomes jeopardized.

I THINK I'LL MAKE IT

DIRECTOR: DARA BRATT • 17 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY • USA D.C. PREMIERE When Kat Hurley was five years old, her father murdered her mother. And Kat saw it happen. Thirty years later, she remains haunted by the memory, but determined to channel the pain into something positive by becoming a mother herself.

BLACK HAT

DIRECTOR: SARAH SMITH • 15 MIN. • DRAMA • USA At first blush, Shmuel is a pious Hasidic man leading a fairly simple life. But when his wife and daughters leave town for a few days, Shmuel will step out of his simple daily life and into a more complex world lit by the night. When he misplaces his black hat along the way, Shmuel’s two lives will interconnect in a way he never expected.

FATHER FIGURE

DIRECTOR: BIBI FADLALLA • 25 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY NETHERLANDS • D.C. PREMIERE Guilliano is the founder of The Kiki House of Angels, a Voguing community in Rotterdam. Most of its members are young black gay men who experience racism and marginalization in everyday life. This poetic collage expresses their personal stories by combining observational scenes with Vogue dance sequences, graphic interludes and intimate interviews.

THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US AND THE SKY

DIRECTOR: VASILIS KEKATOS • 9 MIN. • DRAMA • GREECE U.S. PREMIERE Night, national road. Two strangers meet for the first time at an old gas station. One has stopped to gas up his motorbike, while the other is just stranded. Lacking the money he needs to get home, he will try to sell him the distance that separates them from the sky.

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

SPECIAL SHOWCASE

DIFFERENT WAVELENGTHS E STREET CINEMA MONDAY, SEPT. 23, 7:15 P.M. ALL DC SHORTS FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

IN FULL BLOOM

DIRECTOR: MAEGAN HOUANG • 11 MIN. • FANTASY • USA EAST COAST PREMIERE A surrealist short film about overcoming the loss of a partner within the parameters of living as a female Vietnamese immigrant.

THE PHANTOM 52

THE GUY

TWO PUDDLES

DIRECTOR: TIMOTHY KEELING • 6 MIN. • COMEDY/SCI-FI • UK D.C. PREMIERE When a family encounters two radically unusual puddles on a woodland retreat, unspoken tensions finally surface.

THE FALL

DIRECTOR: BORIS LABBE • 14 MIN. • ANIMATION • FRANCE D.C. PREMIERE As celestial beings descend to Earth vitiating its population, the world’s order unbalances. A tragic fall leads to the parturition of crucial opposites: Hell and Heaven’s circles.

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

GRAND BOUQUET

DIRECTOR: NAO YOSHIGAI • 14 MIN. • EXPERIMENTAL/AVANTGARDE • JAPAN • D.C. PREMIERE A helpless woman confronts a "black object" with a power greater than hers. The "black object" shoots her questions. The woman has answers to these questions but can't say them aloud. She feels up against the wall, and begins to throw up beautiful colorful flowers instead of speaking.

NAPTHA

DIRECTOR: MOIN HUSSAIN • 18 MIN. • SCI-FI • UK D.C. PREMIERE Faraz's quiet life working at an isolated petrol station is turned upside down when his aging father Malik begins to speak in a long-forgotten language and insists on returning back home.

PLEASE SPEAK CONTINUOUSLY AND DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCES AS THEY COME TO YOU DIRECTOR: BRANDON CRONENBERG • 9 MIN. • SCI-FI CANADA • EAST COAST PREMIERE An experimental psychiatric patient gets a brain implant prototype that forces her to relive her dreams. As she recounts her thoughts to the unscrupulous Dr. Fino, the lines between conscious and subconscious are blurred.

SPECIAL SHOWCASE

HAUTE HOUSE (AVANT-GARDE) E STREET CINEMA SUNDAY, SEPT. 22, 8 P.M. ALL DC SHORTS FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

THE ROLE

DIRECTOR: FARNOOSH SAMADI • 12 MIN. • DRAMA • IRAN D.C. PREMIERE A woman accompanies her husband to an audition. The thing that happens there leads her to an important decision.

THE SUMMER AND ALL THE REST

DIRECTOR: SVEN BRESSER • 18 MIN. • ROMANCE NETHERLANDS • D.C. PREMIERE Summer is coming to an end, and all but one of MarcAntoine's friends have left for the mainland. They all have big plans — but can Marc-Antoine break from his routine and embrace the change that has slipped unwillingly onto his perfect island life?

GRAND BOUQUET

DIRECTOR: NAO YOSHIGAI • 14 MIN. • EXPERIMENTAL JAPAN • D.C. PREMIERE In this story, a helpless woman confronts a "black object" with a power greater than hers. The "black object" shoots her questions. The woman has answers to these questions, but can't say them aloud. She feels up against the wall, and begins to throw up beautiful colorful flowers instead of speaking.

MUM'S HAIRPINS

DIRECTOR: TATIANA FEDOROVSKAYA • 15 MIN. • DRAMA UKRAINE, RUSSIA, GERMANY • D.C. PREMIERE Jewish shtetl, Ukraine, 1941. A box with mother’s hairpins — the only thing left from his family — is Yasha’s last chance to escape German invaders and rescue his new friend, a wounded goat kid.

ROBERTA’S LIVING ROOM

DIRECTOR: JUDY K. SUH • 13 MIN. • DRAMA/FANTASY • USA D.C. PREMIERE In a remote town where gypsies come and go, Roberta receives a call about her husband’s sudden death. She becomes consumed with the uncertainty of her fate.

THE IMMINENT IMMANENT

DIRECTOR: CARLO FRANCISCO MANATAD • 15 MIN. • DRAMA PHILIPPINES • D.C. PREMIERE A rural town unknowingly goes on with their mundane activities while strong forces of nature silently creeps in to challenge their existence. Meanwhile, the filmmaker traces back his roots while preparing himself for the worst after the typhoon.

THE THWARTED

DIRECTORS: STÉPHANIE VASSEUR, SANDRINE TERRAGNO 17 MIN. • ANIMATION • FRANCE We are all afraid. Afraid to speak, afraid to disappoint. Afraid for ourselves or for others. We do everything we can to overcome these fears, but for many of us, fear ultimately thwarts our efforts to express ourselves. These are the stories of the thwarted.

SOMETIMES, I THINK ABOUT DYING

DIRECTOR: STEFANIE ABEL HOROWITZ • 12 MIN. DRAMA/COMEDY • USA • D.C. PREMIERE Fran is thinking about dying, but a man in the office might want to date her.

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

SPECIAL SHOWCASE

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES E STREET CINEMA SUNDAY, SEPT. 22, 7:30 P.M. ALL DC SHORTS FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

SWATTED

DIRECTOR: ISMAËL JOFFROY CHANDOUTIS • 21 MIN. DOCUMENTARY • FRANCE • Online players describe their struggles with "swatting," a lifethreatening cyber-harassment phenomenon that looms over them whenever they play. The events take shape through YouTube videos and wireframe images from a video game.

BROTHER, MOVE ON

DIRECTOR: ANTSHI VON MOOS • 9 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY SWITZERLAND • EAST COAST PREMIERE Geeta is one of the few taxi drivers in India. Her taxi service "for women by women" enables women to move freely in the city at any time.

TURNING TEN

DIRECTOR: JAYLAN AUF • 13 MIN. • DRAMA • UK D.C. PREMIERE Nine-year-old Nour waits with her parents for a doctor's appointment destined to change their lives forever.

SECOND SIGHT

DIRECTOR: COLE SAX • 28 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY • USA EAST COAST PREMIERE Eyes are often described as the windows into the soul. Virgilio Lahiohan works day after day to take care of his blind wife and their family of four, until one day a group of doctors arrive with the promise of a miraculous surgery.

HARMONY: LATVIAN DEMOCRACY ON RUSSIA'S BORDER DIRECTOR: SAMUEL GEORGE • 25 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY USA • D.C. PREMIERE Russian meddling is on the rise and the Latvian election is in one week. In the final weeks before Latvia’s 2018 national election, the filmmakers go behind the scenes with political leaders from both ethnically Russian and Latvian parties, while also visiting the country’s hollowed-out heartland where citizens are increasingly concerned about democracy’s ability to provide answers. At the frontline between Russia and the European Union, this is democracy at a crossroads.

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

SPECIAL SHOWCASE

THE REAL REEL (DOCUMENTARY SHORTS) E STREET CINEMA MONDAY, SEPT. 23, 5:15 P.M. ALL DC SHORTS FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

ALL INCLUSIVE

DIRECTOR: CORINA SCHWINGRUBER ILIĆ • 10 MIN. DOCUMENTARY • SWITZERLAND Under the spell of mass entertainment on the high seas.

ALL ON A MARDI GRAS DAY

DIRECTOR: MICHAL PIETRZYK • 23 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY USA • D.C. PREMIERE An intimate portrait of one man’s obsessive journey through the secret 200-year culture known as Mardi Gras Indians.

MOUNTAIN

DIRECTOR: GRÉGOIRE VERBEKE • 15 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY BELGIUM • D.C. PREMIERE Springtime in northern Albania sparks the herding of goats from the lowlands, up to the towering mountainsides. Prek Gjoni is moving his livestock with the help of Jovalin. Will broken shoes and an umbrella suffice for the 4-day walk?

THE TOUGH

DIRECTOR: MARCIN POLAR • 14 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY POLAND • D.C. PREMIERE A discovery of spaces never seen before — resistant and relentless all at once. This is The Tough.

NOBLE SISSLE’S SYNCOPATED RAGTIME

DIRECTORS: DANIEL BERNARDI, DAVID DE ROZAS • 23 MIN. DOCUMENTARY • USA Combining unseen period footage with original scores from that era, this documentary tells the story of Noble Sissle’s incredible life journey that spans "The Harlem Hellfighters" of World War I, Broadway Theatre, the Civil Rights movement, and decades of Black cultural production.

LILY

DIRECTOR: ADRIENNE GRUBEN • 26 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY USA • EAST COAST PREMIERE An intimate portrait of the first female comic book artist, an extraordinary woman and formidable presence whose story is almost as heroic as her impact on modern entertainment as the co-creator of iconic works “Señorita Rio” and “Werewolf Hunters.” DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

SPECIAL SHOWCASE

ANIMATION DOMINATION E STREET CINEMA THURSDAY, SEPT. 26, 9 P.M. ALL DC SHORTS FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

BAVURE

DIRECTOR: DONATO SANSONE • 4 MIN. • EXPERIMENTAL FRANCE • D.C. PREMIERE In the beginning was the Stain. A paintbrush reveals a being of gouache, opens him, transforms him, twists him, completes him. From this accelerated evolution arises a conquering being…

GOOD INTENTIONS

DIRECTOR: ANNA MANTZARIS • 9 MIN. • THRILLER • UK D.C. PREMIERE After a young woman is responsible for a hit and run, strange and spooky things starts to happen. A small thriller about people who are not always the best at making decisions.

THE FLOOD IS COMING

DIRECTOR: GABRIEL BOHMER • 9 MIN. • ANIMATION • UK D.C. PREMIERE A forest hermit tries to prepare for a flood, but becomes distracted by his noisy neighbor, who happens to be the hermit's left eye. The film explores the growing anxiety about the state of nature and our place in it.

HORS PISTE

LOST & FOUND

DIRECTOR: ANDREW GOLDSMITH, BRADLEY SLABE • 8 MIN. ANIMATION • AUSTRALIA • D.C. PREMIERE A bumbling knitted dinosaur must unravel himself to save the love of his life.

DANI

DIRECTOR: ELIZABETH HOGENSON • 9 MIN. • ANIMATION USA • EAST COAST PREMIERE Thirty-year-old Danielle Hernandez must deliver her grim breast cancer prognosis to her mother Violeta. Using stopmotion animation, Dani shows us how a simple phone call can be a study of human courage, faith, and love.

CHICHI

DIRECTOR: DAVID NESSL • 10 MIN. • COMEDY/SCI-FI • USA D.C. PREMIERE My dog had a dream and told me about it. I made a movie about that dream. This is that movie.

KIDS

DIRECTOR: MICHAEL FREI • 9 MIN. • ANIMATION SWITZERLAND • D.C. PREMIERE An animated short exploring group dynamics. How do we define ourselves when we are all equal?

ROADKILL

DIRECTOR: LESZEK MOZGA • 8 MIN. • COMEDY/THRILLER • UK • EAST COAST PREMIERE In a world where deer are the dominating species, one alpha male goes for an evening car ride and has an unfortunate car accident.

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

I’M GOING OUT FOR CIGARETTES

DIRECTOR: OSMAN CERFON • 14 MIN. • COMEDY/DRAMA FRANCE • NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE Twelve-year-old Jonathan lives with his sister, his mother and also some men. They all have the same face and nest in closets, drawers, the TV set....

FIRE IN CARDBOARD CITY

DIRECTOR: PHIL BROUGH • 9 MIN. • COMEDY • NEW ZEALAND D.C. PREMIERE When a city made entirely from cardboard catches fire, it's up to the local fire chief and his brave deputies to save Cardboard City and its citizens from impending doom.

WILD LOVE

DIRECTORS: PAUL AUTRIC, QUENTIN CAMUS, MARYKA LAUDET, LÉA GEORGES, ZOÉ SOTTIAUX, CORENTIN YVERGNIAUX • 7 MIN. COMEDY/HORROR • FRANCE • UNITED STATES PREMIERE While on a romantic getaway, Alan and Beverly cause a fatal accident. This crime won't remain unpunished.

MY GENERATION

DIRECTOR: LUDOVIC HOUPLAIN • 8 MIN. • EXPERIMENTAL FRANCE • D.C. PREMIERE Contemporary art, sports, religion, politics, finance, pornography. Explore the many opiates of the masses in an eight-minute traveling shot that seeks to understand how an entire generation has been lobotomized.

IMBUED LIFE

DIRECTORS: IVANA BOSNJAK, THOMAS JOHNSON • 12 MIN. FANTASY/ANIMATION • CROATIA • D.C. PREMIERE A young woman uses her talent for taxidermy to “return” animals to their natural habitat. However, the true search for answers begins when she starts finding a roll of undeveloped film in each of the animals she treats. Her obsession drives her to seek the explanation of the connection she feels, haunting her dreams, as well as her waking moments.

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

SPECIAL SHOWCASE

DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE E STREET CINEMA MONDAY, SEPT. 23, 5 P.M. ALL DC SHORTS FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

FALLING UP

DIRECTOR: CHELSIE PRESTON CRAYFORD • 13 MIN. • DRAMA NEW ZEALAND Falling Up unravels the exhaustion, grief, and heartache of relationship breakdown while revealing the mundane joy, the unending love, and the quiet triumph of young motherhood.

THE NEIGHBORS' WINDOW

DIRECTOR: MARSHALL CURRY • 20 MIN. • DRAMA • USA D.C. PREMIERE The Neighbors' Window tells the story of a middle-aged woman with small children whose life is shaken up when two free-spirited twenty-somethings move in across the street.

HELEN

DIRECTOR: MARK ALLEN DAVIS • 14 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY USA • WORLD PREMIERE After a transient orphan vanishes from a small Catskill lake community, its members are left searching for answers as they struggle to come to grips with both her disappearance and the polarizing role she played in their lives.

BEWILDERED

DIRECTOR: GREGOR WILSON • 30 MIN. • DRAMA/MUSIC USA • D.C. PREMIERE A famous jazz vocalist suffering from dementia is thrown into a state of depression and anxiety, until a young musician reconnects him to his emotions, relationships, and memories through music.

BIG BEAR LAKE

DIRECTOR: MAX TZANNES • 19 MIN. • DRAMA • USA EAST COAST PREMIERE A famed cartoonist is dead. He is survived by his three grown children. The day before the funeral, the estranged siblings are confronted with the chaotic present, the revered past, and the chance at a shared future.

SPECIAL SHOWCASE

THE GAMES WE PLAY E STREET CINEMA MONDAY, SEPT. 23, 9:00 P.M. ALL DC SHORTS FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

FRAMEWORK

DIRECTOR: JASMIN GORDON • 16 MIN. • SUSPENSE SWITZERLAND • EAST COAST PREMIERE A mysterious man exits the freeway and drives out into the French rural landscape. Just as he is about to make a U-Turn, he crosses paths with a group of teenage boys hanging out at the local soccer field. After a few beers and common experiences shared, the man invites the boys to follow him to an unknown destination. Can they really trust this charismatic stranger?

BOTTLENECK

DIRECTOR: MÅNS BERTHAS • 8 MIN. • MYSTERY • SWEDEN WORLD PREMIERE Three women gather together for an act of vengeance and a game of spin-the-bottle. The result will determine who performs the deed.

RECONSTRUCTION

DIRECTORS: JIŘÍ HAVLÍČEK, ONDŘEJ NOVÁK • 16 MIN. • DRAMA • CZECH REPUBLIC • UNITED STATES PREMIERE Olda is an accused waiting for his trial in a detention center for juveniles. The monotone prison life is gradually intertwined with memories of a police reconstruction. It took one summer night for the holiday boredom to turn into a cruel fun that resulted in death.

HEARTH

DIRECTOR: SOPHIE B. JACQUES • 11 MIN. • THRILLER • CANADA EAST COAST PREMIERE When Emillie returns home after renting her house to strangers, we witness what actually happened during her absence.

DELIVERY

DIRECTOR: JOE BOOTHE • 10 MIN. • COMEDY/THRILLER • USA D.C. PREMIERE A flaky delivery driver's night veers off course when he stumbles into a lover's quarrel gone wrong.

GET READY WITH ME

DIRECTOR: JONATAN ETZLER • 29 MIN. • THRILLER • SWEDEN D.C. PREMIERE An aspiring YouTuber decides to show her high school class a disturbing video that disrupts the lesson and causes her teacher to fear for her life.

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

BEST SELLER

SUICIDE BY SUNLIGHT

MAKR

MILK

DIRECTOR: MAX LEMCKE • 16 MIN. • DRAMA • SPAIN NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE A librarian discovers mysterious underlinings in a book and a message that puts her life at risk. DIRECTOR: HANA KAZIM • 15 MIN. • HORROR/THRILLER • UAE EAST COAST PREMIERE A fake exorcist who recently lost his daughter and with it his trust in God, visits the home of a man who claims his wife is possessed by a Djinn. He soon finds out that things are not as they seem.

SPECIAL SHOWCASE

LURKING IN THE DARK E STREET CINEMA THURSDAY, SEPT. 26, 9:15 P.M. ALL DC SHORTS FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

WILD

DIRECTOR: JAN VERDIJK • 12 MIN. • COMEDY/HORROR NETHERLANDS • D.C. PREMIERE When a father misbehaves during a weekend holiday, his surroundings will make him feel very unwelcome, while his wife and son turn against him.

DIRECTOR: NIKYATU JUSU • 17 MIN. • HORROR • USA A day-walking black vampire, protected from the sun by her melanin, is forced to restrain her bloodlust to regain custody of her estranged daughters. DIRECTOR: SANTIAGO MENGHINI • 10 MIN. • HORROR CANADA • D.C. PREMIERE A young teen goes into the kitchen for a late night glass of milk. Upon encountering his sleepless mother, he quickly realizes things are not as they seem.

CERDITA

MADAME

DIRECTOR: GARTH JENNINGS • 23 MIN. • COMEDY/HORROR • FRANCE/UK • D.C. PREMIERE Inside a grand Parisian apartment lives an elegant elderly lady. And inside this lady lives a monster.

ACID

DIRECTOR: JUST PHILIPPO • 18 MIN. • SCI-FI/HORROR FRANCE • D.C. PREMIERE A disturbing cloud takes shape in the west. It slowly goes toward the center of the country, throwing the population on the roads. In view of the inexorable arrival of the cloud, there is global panic. This cumulus is acid.

BAD DREAMS

DIRECTOR: STUART FRYER • 9 MIN. • HORROR • UK D.C. PREMIERE A boy in bed is haunted by the “thing” in his cellar. As a man, he decides to confront his guest locked downstairs.

MAW

DIRECTOR: JASPER VRANCKEN • 20 MIN. • HORROR BELGIUM • D.C. PREMIERE Richard has an unusual fantasy: he is sexually aroused by the idea of being eaten by an animal or monster. Through a personal ad he meets the mysterious Max and with that encounter the chance to fulfill his depraved fantasy. Can Richard escape his dark desires or not? DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

SPECIAL SHOWCASE

OMG I DED (COMEDY SHORTS) E STREET CINEMA MONDAY, SEPT. 23, 7 P.M. ALL DC SHORTS FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

THE PLUNGE

DIRECTOR: SIMON RYNINKS • 10 MIN. • COMEDY • UK D.C. PREMIERE After a night of passion, Emily tells Jay that she’d like to use a strap-on. Scared of losing a girl he has a connection with, Jay reluctantly agrees.

GUY PROPOSES TO HIS GIRLFRIEND ON A MOUNTAIN

DIRECTOR: BERNHARD WENGER • 13 MIN. • COMEDY AUSTRIA/GERMANY A group of friends gather at a ski lodge. Daniel is about to propose to his girlfriend and his friends film the whole thing on their cell phones to remember the best day of their lives.

TIGHT SPOT

DIRECTOR: KEVIN HAEFELIN • 4 MIN. • COMEDY SWITZERLAND • D.C. PREMIERE Shining the shoes of a walk-in customer, a shiner discovers his client’s dark secret.

LUGER

DIRECTOR: FREDDIE WATERS • 10 MIN. • COMEDY • UK D.C. PREMIERE Tom is in for a surprise when he meets his elderly grandfather's two carergivers. Not only do they appear to be at war but when he discovers a mysterious object in the kitchen, things take a dark turn.

SWIPED

DIRECTOR: STEVE WHITELEY • 9 MIN. COMEDY/MOCKUMENTARY • UK • EAST COAST PREMIERE Alarmed by the detrimental effect smartphones are having on those around them, three friends launch an initiative that aims to make people more present — by stealing their phones on mopeds.

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

FATHER FIGURINE

DIRECTOR: MATT KAZMAN • 18 MIN. • DARK COMEDY • USA D.C. PREMIERE When the wealthy patriarch of a family dies, they discover a rather unusual request in his will.

DUNYA'S DAY

MANILA IS FULL OF MEN NAMED BOY

DIRECTOR: ANDREW STEPHEN LEE • 21 MIN. DRAMA/COMEDY • PHILIPPINES/USA • EAST COAST PREMIERE Manila, July 7, 2009. As Michael Jackson’s televised funeral plays throughout the country despite terrorist attacks in the south, an estranged son purchases a child who can drink and smoke to impress his father. However, when the patriarch and his friends embrace the new child as one of their own, the question must be asked: what determines who is more valuable of attention?

SPECIAL SHOWCASE

A QUESTION OF FAITH E STREET CINEMA SUNDAY, SEPT. 22, 5:30 P.M. A 30 MINUTE PANEL DISCUSSION MODERATED BY BISHOP ALLYSON ABRAMS WILL FOLLOW THIS SHOWCASE ALL DC SHORTS FILMS ARE UNRATED AND MAY CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. SCHEDULE/FILMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

THE GOSPEL OF COMBAT

DIRECTOR: DAVID HUTCHINSON • 12 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY USA • EAST COAST PREMIERE Threatened by the violent aftermath of Kenya’s 2017 elections, a fledgling Aikido sensei ponders whether his martial art can heal old wounds.

SHEHITA

DIRECTOR: DEAN GOLD • 26 MIN. • THRILLER • CANADA D.C. PREMIERE A Yiddish-speaking Jewish community in Quebec begins to unravel after a horrific discovery stirs up demons from the past.

BLACK HAT

DIRECTOR: SARAH SMITH • 15 MIN. • DRAMA • USA Shmuel is a pious Hasidic man leading a fairly simple life. But when his wife and daughters leave town for a few days, Shmuel will step out of his simple daily life and into a more complex world lit by the night. When he misplaces his black hat along the way, Shmuel’s two lives will interconnect in a way he never expected.

THE RAGE OF EVIL: THOUGHTS FROM A FORMER SCHOOL SHOOTER

DIRECTOR: CAROLYN MCCULLEY • 16 MIN. • DOCUMENTARY USA More than two decades after his decision to commit an unforgivable act, and spurred on by the 2018 Parkland school shooting, T.J. Stevens opens up about the day in 1982 when he became a school shooter.

WASHED AWAY

DIRECTOR: BEN KALLAM • 12 MIN. • DRAMA • USA EAST COAST PREMIERE A teenage girl in an evangelical church youth group must deal with the fallout when her trust is publicly betrayed. Following the screening at 7 P.M., Bishop Allyson Abrams will moderate a panel discussion on religion with the filmmakers.

APPRECIATION

DIRECTOR: TOMISIN ADEPEJU • 14 MIN. • DRAMA • UK EAST COAST PREMIERE An African Pentecostal Pastor questions everything she believes after a life-changing event.

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

DC SHORTS JURY AWARDS

C SHORTS IS PROUD TO OFFER BOTH AUDIENCE AWARDS and Jury Awards. The Jury is comprised of local, national, and internationally known industry professionals. Some of the winning films will screen in the Best of The Fest Showcases on Saturday, September 28. See page 20 for screening times and watch the website for titles.

The 2019 DC Shorts Film Festival Jury

DOCUMENTARY

Andrea Passafiume — Program Director at Docs in Progress and Assistant Programmer of Documentaries at the Tribeca Film Festival. Galen Summer — Director of Sidelined, Producer at Public Record TV. Erica Ginsberg — Co-Founder and Executive Director of Docs in Progress

US NARRATIVE

James Choi — Award-winning Filmmaker and Instructor at DePaul University. Jason Stefaniak — Filmmaker, Programmer, Professor. Katie McCullough — Founder & CEO of Festival Formula, Ltd.

LOCAL FILMS/FILMMAKERS

Show Durat

Vance “Head-Roc” Levy — Artist, Producer, Arts Administrator, and Arts Activist. Karen Beasley — Manager of Programming, DCTV. Deirdre Evans-Pritchard — Executive Director and Programmer, DC Independent Film.

ANIMATION

Laurence Arcadias — Animator, Chair and Professor of Animation Department MICA. Corrie Francis Parks — Filmmaker and Assistant Professor of Visual Arts, UMBC. Elyse Kelly — Director and Adjunct Faculty, Art & Art History Department at Georgetown University.

INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE

Paul Struthers — Director of Exhibition and Programming, Frameline. Bryan Wendorf — Programmer and Artistic Director of the Chicago Underground Film Festival. David M. Lorenz — Filmmaker and Distributor

JURY AWARDS

Outstanding Animated Film Outstanding U.S. Narrative Film Outstanding International Narrative Film Outstanding Documentary Film Outstanding Local Film Outstanding First Time Filmmaker 52

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

Awards

Thank You!

DC Shorts would never happen without the incredible volunteer staff of judges, ushers, venue managers, and interns. We appreciate your dedication, positive energy, camaraderie, and fun spirit during the festival and all year long!

FESTIVAL STAFF Peter Morgan, Executive Director Joe Bilancio, Director of Programming Jasmine Bryant, Assistant Director of Programming Raedorah Stewart, Venue Manager Brianna King, Venue Manager Matt Welker, Venue Manager Annie Xiao, Venue Manager

FILM AND SCREENPLAY REVIEWERS Allison Theveny Andrea Turnbough Azalia Muchransyah Birgitta Sunderland Candace Brenner Cecilia Gonzales Cheryl Wiggins Colleen Schupp Dalton Carter Daphne Macy David Malouf David Joyner Duygu Eruçman Evy Barry Grace Choi Jasmine Bryant Jim Cigno Joan Fuchsman Kenyatta Skyles Kimberley Elliott Laurie Jarboe Lenore Yaffee-Garcia Leslie Kenna Madalyn Shaw Mansoor Ahmed Marilyn Balcombe Marina Detienko Nina Lescher Nouran Ragaban Pete LaMaster Philip Rogers Shannon Madden Teresa Rudolph Theresa Horne Zachary D’Amico

SPECIAL THANKS Al Pellenberg Alex Kogan Angie Gates Anglatette Glymph Arlene Kaminsky Bishop Allyson Abrams Brian Frankel Brian Grundstrom Debbi Miller Dee Sanae Dewey Tron Donald Burch III George Andre Tittle Eboni Liddell Elissa Kon Evan Byrne Henry Sienkiewicz Herbert Niles Jami Vallesteros Jeffrey Jacobovitz Jessica Selinkoff Jo-Ann Neuhouse Joanna Giddens John Mason Jennifer Reut John Wang Juliet Main Kenneth Davis Khalid Randolph

Kristen Bastis Kyle Bragg Lisa LeBourgeois Maggie Gladson Marga Varea Michele Hopkins Melissa Houghton Mike Panfeld Naomi Johnson Patricia Gavin Randy Shulman Rong Wang Sandra Aistars Sarah Lumbard Sylvia Blume The Team at The Lofts At 600 F The Team At IPitch Tina Leu Tina Slivka Todd Franson Tony Tribby Zhibo Lai The DC Shorts Festival website developed by Patrick Calder, The Design Foundry

FESTIVAL INTERNS Zachary D’Amico, Programming Madalyn Shaw, Programming Abby Kon, Filmmaker Hospitality Colleen Schupp, Marketing DC SHORTS BOARD OF DIRECTORS Christian Oh, President Kimberley Bush, VP of Finance Melissa Bisagni Dan Casey Keith Madden Pamela Nash

The DC Shorts International Film Festival is funded in part by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. DC Shorts is a nonprofit organization that serves and strengthens the media arts in the greater Washington, DC area. More information at www. dcshorts.com

ARE YOU A FILMMAKER OR WRITER? Get ready to enter your film or script for DC Shorts 2020. Visit our website www.dcshorts. com in January 2020 for rules and special early-bird entry discounts. Who knows? You might have your project enjoyed by Washington, D.C. audiences next September!

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

Festival at a Glance E Street Cinema Theater A

E Street Cinema Theater B

Miracle Theatre

7:00 Filmmaker Welcome Reception

Thurs., 9/19 12:00 Workshop: Screenwriting 12:30 Entertainment Law for Filmmakers 2:00 Workshop: Sound 4:00 Workshop: Directing 6:30 Showcase 1 9:00 Showcase 3

7:00 Showcase 2 9:30 Showcase 4

Sat., 9/21

11:00 Showcase 5 1:30 Showcase 7 4:00 Showcase 9 6:30 Showcase 11 9:00 Showcase 13

11:30 Showcase 6 2:00 Showcase 8 4:30 Showcase 10 7:00 Showcase 12 9:30 Showcase 14

Sun., 9/22

12:00 Showcase 15 2:30 Showcase 17 5:00 Showcase 19 7:30 Ripped From the Headlines

12:30 Showcase 16 3:00 Showcase 18 5:30 A Question of Faith 8:00 Haute House

5:00 Domestic Disturbance 7:00 OMG I Deb (Comedy Shorts) 9:00 The Gays We Paly

5:15 The Reel Reel 7:15 Different Wavelengths 9:15 Cinema 10% LGBTQ

Tues., 9/24

5:00 Showcase 2 7:00 Showcase 4 9:00 Showcase 6

5:15 Showcase 3 7:15 Showcase 5 9:15 Showcase 7

Wed., 9/25

5:00 Showcase 8 7:00 Showcase 10 9:00 Showcase 12

5:15 Showcase 9 7:15 Showcase 11 9:15 Showcase 13

5:00 Showcase 14 7:00 Showcase 16 9:00 Animation Dimonation

5:15 Showcase 15 7:15 Showcase 17 9:15 Lurking in the Dark

Fri., 9/20

Mon., 9/23

Thurs., 9/26

Fri., 9/27

10:00 Screenplay Auditions

Sat., 9/28

Other Locations (see page 14)

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019

7:00pm City View Party

11:00 Filmmaker Awards Brunch

7:00 Screenplay Competition

8:00 Best of DC Shorts Showcase A 10:00 Best of DC Shorts Showcase B

DC Shorts International Film Festival 2019