NFFTY 2022 Festival Guide by NFFTY Film Festival

TH E 15 T H AN N UAL NATIO N AL FILM FESTIVAL FO R TALEN TED YO UTH

In person April 28 − May 1 Seattle, WA

Online April 28 − May 8 watch.nffty.org

THUR 2 8 TH

In-Person Seattle Schedule Opening Night 6.30pm - 9pm / SIFF Cinema Egyptian UPTOWN 1

UPTOWN 2

Advancing Audience Accessibility 10.45am - 11.45am

When Shots Become Films 10.30am - 11.15am An In-Depth Look at TV: Pitching and Selling 11.30am - 1pm

1 0 AM 11 12 1 2

F R I DAY 2 9 TH

3 4

Growth Spurts 12.15pm - 2pm Intimate Cinema With Impact 2.45pm - 3.45pm

5 6 7 8 9

Happy Hour Shorts 5.30pm - 7.15pm Friday Night Shorts 8pm - 9.45pm

10 11 1 2 PM

After Hours Absurdity 10.30pm - 12pm

Emote Control 1.45pm - 3.30pm Reel Nail Biters 4.15pm - 6pm From the Heart 6.45pm - 8.30pm Breaking the Mold 9.15pm - 11pm

UPTOWN 3

Family Ties 10.15am - 12pm Vibrant Vignettes 12.45pm - 2.30pm Disbelief Suspended 3.15pm - 5pm

F R I DAY 2 9 TH AT VERA PROJECT

Putting the FUN in CrowdFUNding 1.45pm - 2.45pm Stretch That Buck: Film Budgeting 101 3.30pm - 4.30pm

9 AM 10 11 12 1 S A T U R DAY 3 0 TH

2 3

Saturday Morning Cartoons 9.30am - 11.15am 48 Hour Film Off 12pm - 1pm From a Film School Project to the Oscars® 2pm - 3.30pm

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Centerpiece 6.15pm - 8pm Thrills & Chlls 8.45pm - 10.30pm

Increasing Inclusivity 9am -10am Leaping Off the Page 10.30-11.30am

Get Your Hands Arty 10.15am - 12pm

Adapting a Personal Narrative for Multiple Media 12.30pm -1.30pm

Cost of Living 12.45pm - 2.30pm

Episodic Showcase 2.15pm - 4pm Slice of Life 4.45pm - 6.30pm

Pedal to the Mettle 3.15pm - 5pm

Experimental Visions 8pm - 9:45pm

1 1 PM

9 AM 10 11

S U N DAY 1 ST

12 1

Fine Lines 12pm - 1.45pm

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 PM

The Evergreen Screen 9.30am - 11.15am

Phantasmic Futures 2.30pm - 4.15pm Closing Night 5pm - 6.45pm Award Ceremony 7pm - 8.30pm

Short Form Documentary On The Rise 9am - 10am Using Personal Experiences In Your Filmmaking 10.45am -1pm Next Level 12.30pm - 2.15pm Seismic Soundtracks 3pm - 4.45pm

Coping For the Best 10.15am - 12pm Against All Odds 12.45pm - 2.30pm Dynamic Duos 3.15pm - 5pm

In a time unlike any other, we gather in ways both new and old for the grand prix of emerging filmmakers. In our first hybrid festival we’ve managed to combine silver linings of technology with accessible ways to gather and celebrate film, while still holding fast to the need to gather IRL and see each other after years apart. Our 15th edition is our biggest and best yet. At 11 days, we’re finally delivering on our community’s #1 request of having more time and opportunity to dig into our festival catalog - which is bursting at the seams this year with 258 official selections! We’re also providing more time for Q&As and serendipitous connections for filmmakers and audiences alike on the ground in Seattle. Though this will be my last festival as executive director, I know it’s not my last NFFTY. NFFTY has a funny way of keeping you in its orbit, and as long as you believe in the future of cinema, you know that there’s only one true place to discover the most exciting new storytellers. If it’s your first time – welcome to the family. Film Starts Here. With gratitude, Dan Hudson NFFTY Executive Director

Sponsors 2022 Platinum sponsors

Gold sponsors

Silver sponsors

Bronze sponsors

Producing partners

Funders

How to NFFTY / Virtual Fest FAQ How Do I Attend the Festival? You can attend all the screenings *A n All-Access Pass gives you the and events scheduled for NFFTY 2022 option to access the entire festival, either live in Seattle, virtually, or both! in Seattle and online. The in-person festival weekend runs Thursday, April 28 - May 1, 2022. Our global virtual festival runs Thursday, April 28 - May 8, 2022. Our virtual festival takes place on the Eventive platform, and you can find the full lineup at watch.nffty.org. All screening blocks will become available in our virtual catalog at the time that they premiere live in Seattle. (Please see schedule for details)

*A n All-Access Virtual Pass is good for all online content for the duration of the festival. *A Day Pass is good only for in-person content in Seattle on that specific day of the festival! It does not grant access to any online content.

Virtual Viewing To access any of our on-demand virtual screenings starting April 28th, simply “unlock” the screening of your choice with your All-Access Pass, or purchase a ticket for that specific screening.

Passes are good for one unlock per screening. Once a screening is unlocked, you will have five days to begin watching, and 48 hours to complete watching once you have pressed play. All virtual content will be available online until Sunday, May 8th at 11.45pm PT.

Voting For Audience Award Winners There will be one Audience Award selected from each screening in the festival. In order to be eligible for an audience award, films must screen both in-person and virtually. Some films are not in competition for this award, and you will not see them listed on the ballot. If you are viewing online, simply vote for your favorite directly on the virtual screening page! The cut-off for voting on all virtual screenings is 5pm PT / 8pm ET on Sunday, May 1. If you are attending a screening in person, you can vote for this award by going to your “My Tickets” page in your Eventive account

and selecting the appropriate screening. You will also receive an email or text with a direct link to vote exactly one hour before the screening is scheduled to end. Note: If you purchased a Festival Pass, you will need to make sure to “reserve” tickets to the screenings and events that you plan on attending in person, so Eventive knows which events to add to your “My Tickets” page! For those purchasing individual tickets for screenings in Seattle, or if you do not have an Eventive account, there will be an iPad available in the theater at every screening for you to cast your vote.

COVID-19 Safety Protocols We are so excited to welcome you back safely to the festival this year! Please note that if you are unable to prove your vaccination status, you will not be able to attend our events in Seattle. You will however, be able to participate in our virtual event offerings throughout the festival. Proof Of Vaccination We will require proof of full vaccination, including at least one booster shot for all attendees of our in-person festival. You are considered “fully vaccinated” two weeks after completing the second dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine (e.g., Pfizer or Moderna) or two weeks after receiving a single dose of a one-dose vaccine (e.g.,

Johnson & Johnson/Janssen). Please be prepared to present your proof of vaccination along with a photo ID when you first check-in and redeem your pass. You may need to present it again when entering some of our partner venues throughout the festival weekend. Documentation You may present a vaccination card, a photo of your card, or a digital vaccine record with a matching photo ID. Mask Policy As of March 22nd, 2022, masks are still required at all of our screening venues. You will be expected to remain fully masked in all of our festival venues when not actively eating or drinking. 7

NFFTY Merch Celebrate NFFTY’s 15th anniversary festival with limited edition merchandise!

Tote Bag $20 Rep your love for cinema with a sfx themed NFFTY tote bag.

T Shirts $30 Whether you’re looking for a classic T or a pop of color, this year’s t-shirts are a must have addition to your closet! Made perfectly for your comfiest NFFTY fit.

11x17 Poster $5

Stickers, Buttons & Magnets $2 Add a little touch of NFFTY to your life with our buttons, stickers & magnets! In person April 28 − May 1 Seattle, WA

Online April 28 − May 8 watch.nffty.org

Combo Deal! $75 for both shirts + tote + poster + stickers, buttons & magnets

Want even more options? Go to bonfire.com/store/nffty for NFFTY’s online exclusive merch! 9

Jury Members

Narrative

Alexander Zorn (NFFTY ‘19)

Ikoro Huggins-Warner

B Glick

Rita Meher

Anna Feder

Felipe Vargas (NFFTY ‘20)

Carol Nguyen (NFFTY ‘16 - ‘20)

Malkah Manouel

Blair Barnes (NFFTY ‘20)

Megan Garbayo-López

Aurora Brachman (NFFTY ‘20)

Sarah Smith

Jason Sondhi

Kira Dane (NFFTY ‘20)

Benoit Berthe Siward (NFFTY ‘13, ‘15)

Narrative (Student)

Documentary

Documentary (Student)

Animation

Animation (Student) Kendra Ann Sherrill (NFFTY ‘15, ‘16, ‘18)

Kenzie Sutton (NFFTY ‘18)

Azul Quetzalli

Catalina Loret (NFFTY ‘20)

Toby Brooks

Chris Mason Wells

Cassie Shao (NFFTY ‘20)

Alanna Francis

Ryan Saunders

Alex Rose

Diego Lozano (NFFTY ‘16 - ‘18)

Lindsay Sunada (NFFTY ‘14, ‘18, ‘19, ‘20)

Miriam Guttman (NFFTY ‘19)

Meghan Ross

Sachin Dharwardker (NFFTY ‘16, ‘17)

Grace Amodeo

Will Akers

Christl Stringer (NFFTY ‘20)

Experimental

Experimental (Student)

Music Video (Student & Non-Student)

Episodic

Story Starts Here (Best Pilot Script & Best Short Screenplay)

Jury Nominated Screenplays and Films Best Narrative Fufu Omolola Ajao - 20 canada

Plum Town Kelly Yu - 19 california

Busan, 1999 Thomas Kim - 20 south korea

Aska Clara Milo - 25 canada

Hilum Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan - 23 philippines

Chicks Geena Marie Hernandez - 22 georgia

Neither Seen Nor Heard Florence Kosky - 24 uk

Kaudo (The Gift) Natalie Paton - 19 canada / ryerson

Pure Natalie Harris - 21 new york / nyu

Zamboni

Parmida Hamdollazadehkive - 21 sweden / uk

Divination Dave

Ramiel Petros - 22 new york

Winter of ‘79

Best Documentary (Student)

Julia Elihu - 22 california / chapman

Maks Martin Draksler - 22 slovenia / university of

l jubl jana

Charming Justine Prince - 22 canada / university

Amir Sedghinir - 22 iran / tehran u of arts

Beneath The Grass

of quebec

Searching for the Wave Chelsea Muscat - 22 new york / suny purchase

Xenia Matthews - 22 pennsylvania / university

Leo Pfeifer - 22

did i look cuban then? María Alvarez - 23

Cesar Martinez - 25 new york

We are like Waves Jordyn Romero - 21 sri lanka

Team Meryland Gabriel Gaurano - 19

This is Why Girls Go to the Bathroom Together Lydia Reid - 24 uk

Coffee & Sugar Andy Volk - 24 washington

Wendigo of the arts

Our Love

Max Hendrickson - 15 ireland

Valeriya Golovina - 24 new zealand / u of wellington

Indie DiMartino - 20 florida / fsu

Fighter Meagan Brown - 21 canada / ryerson

On the Fence Paula Ner Dormiendo - 20 canada / sheridan

Malihini Ha’aheo Auwae-Dekker - 20 washington / seattle u

Convite Sofia Navarrete Zur, - 23 guatelmala / the new school

In Good Faith Andrea Yu-Chieh Chung - 24 california / stanford

Best Animation (Student) Silvering Eilidh Nicoll - 21 scotland edinburgh college of art

Meow or Never Neeraja Raj - 24 uk / nfts uk

Dead Meat Adnan Peer Mohamed - 21 canada / vps

ia ilusi? Erique Chong - 23 taiwan / national taiwan

u of arts

Legend Has It Lainey Davidson - 21 florida / ringling

Melt

california

Wylder Voegele - 18 south carolina / sc governor ’ s

san friedman , pratt institute

school for the arts and humanities

William Bermudez - 22

A Few Things I’m Beginning to Understand

This Takes Time

california

Georgia Madden - 19 uk

nyu

Dial Home

A Narration of A Funeral

Jules Chin Greene - 4

Aziz

california

Best Narrative (Student)

About a Bat california

california

new york

Lydia Cornett - 25

Men in Sync

One Day You’ll Go Blind

Camille Ramos - 22

new york

Jon Lazar - 24 new york / columbia

Annika Chavez - 24 Sara Linden - 22

Sticky Fingers

Anatola Araba - 22

Bug Farm ohio

Bolognese california

Afro Algorithms

california

Best Documentary

new york

Best Animation

Claire Gostin - 23 Alex Casimir - 23

Monkey Bars Jacqueline Xerri - 22

Davis Out of the Unknown

Where Smoke Rises Kalilinoe Detwiler - 21 hawaii / u of hawaii at manoa

3:45 PM Alisha Liu - 20 california / cal

arts

Goodbye, Jerome! Gabrielle Selnet, Adam Sillard, Chloe Farr - 24 france / gobelins

Inner Path Camille Verreault - 23 canada / concordia

Best Experimental (Student) I look back and it’s gone Teona Galgotiu - 21 canada / national university of theatre and film “ i . l . caragiale ”

LACHESIS Gregory Foltynowicz - 21 georgia / hussian

Who Are You? Yejin Koo - 19 massachusetts /

Best Experimental These Games We Play Mike Klubeck - 22 new york

Pathei Mathos Vitoria Vasconcellos -21 california / bra zil

Nile Miles Reuben - 20 uk

Winter Insect, Summer Flower Tee Jaehyung Park, Gbenga Komolafe - 21 california

Pandrog Jard Lerebours - 23 new york

Please Introduce Yourself Elsa Hunter-Weston - 21 uk

emerson

I Find Him in the Weather Mia Lorentsen - 21 washington / depaul

Hourglass House Yinghai Hu - 24 china / beijing film

academy

The Modern Woman’s Guide to Pastry-Making

Chappell Roan “California”

GOOD VIBES Xiang Cao - 23 california / nyfa

Ethan Seneker - 22 Kayleigh Amstutz - 23 california

I Like the Look of Today Brian Niles - 20 Will Noyce - 20 Shane Bagwell - 20

Hetero

california

Jany Green - “Lost in Love”

KJ Kieras - 17 Bentley Eldridge - 17 washington

Dan Lesser - 22

Parked in America

california

Luke Salin - 22

BGourd & Beansprouts Virtual Machine

new york

Wild Combination

Crispin Tan - 23

Alex Herz - 22

singapore

california

I Guess I’m in Love

The Starrs!

Julia Kupiec - 24

Kyle Blaich - 23

new york

california

PÉCHO Luis Villanueva - 20 Pier Paolo Piccoli - 20 Mason Coburn - 20

Best Pilot Script

new york

Gutterball

Lauren Jevnikar - 22 california / syracuse

How to Raise a Black Boy

Best Episodic

Emily Kane - 24 pennsylvania / point

Best Music Video (Student)

The Winters

Justice Jamal Jones - 20 new york / nyu

Buzzbrews

Crow Call and Response

Dependo

Jaclyn Goldstein - 19 new york / nyu

Caterpillar Kisses Ella Fields - 17 california / champs

when to sleep Tia Walker - 17 massachusetts /

walnut hill

Equinox Jonah Haber - 23 canada

Best Music Video Brumatti - “In Shape For Summer” Kaylinn Clotfelter - 20 missouri

park

Claire Giegerich - 21 new york

Jamie Kolbrenner - 22

Reel Youth - 11

california

canada

I Get Happy When I Think of You Tanaseth Tulyathan - 20 georgia / scad

Colours

Best Short Screenplay

Lily Chiasson - 16

Spooky Sunday

canada

Liv Sanders - 21

powell river digital film school

new york

X-Ray

The Third Ear

Martaize Smith - 17 minnesota / hope community

Nathan Ginter - 22 best buy

teen tech center

Mia Gladstone - “Food” Zachary Dov Weisel - 21 new york / nyu

michigan

Boxes Daniela Morales - 18 illinois

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Livestreamed Events Schedule Livestreamed workshops and talks will be available via NFFTY’s virtual festival platform Eventive, and recordings will be available on-demand through Sunday May 8th at 11:45pm PT. Some select events may include the opportunity to chat with fellow attendees and submit questions to presenters. Please see the NFFTY website for the most up-to-date information and for event links, or visit the virtual festival catalog at watch.nffty.org. Select screening Q&As, as well as our Opening and Closing Night ceremonies, will be broadcast via Facebook Live. Q&As will start streaming approximately 75 minutes after the showcase premieres, please keep an eye on our social media for more information! All times local to Seattle (Pacific Time Zone):

F R I DAY 2 9 TH

THUR 2 8 TH

EVENTS

SCREENINGS WITH LIVESTREAMED Q&A

Opening Night Ceremony

6.30pm -7pm

When Shots Become Films

10.30am -11.15am

Happy Hour Shorts

Screening starts 5.30pm

Advancing Audience Accessibility

10.45am -11.45am

Friday Night Shorts

Screening starts 8pm

An In-Depth Look at TV: Pitching and Selling 11.30am -1pm Intimate Cinema With Impact

S A T U R DAY 3 0 TH

9am -10am

Connecting Youth Film Festivals: NFFTY, YAAAS!, FiSH

S U N DAY 1 ST

Using Personal Experiences in Your Filmmaking Awards Ceremony

Screening starts 10.30pm

Centerpiece

Screening starts 6.15pm

Thrills & Chills

Screening starts 8.45pm

9am -10am

12.30pm -1.30pm

From a Film School Project to the Oscars®

Short Form Documentary on the Rise

After Hours Absurdity

Screening starts 7pm

2.45pm -3.45pm

Increasing Inclusivity: Opportunities for the Next Wave

Adapting a Personal Narrative for Multiple Media

Opening Night

2pm -3.30pm

9am -10am

10.45am -1pm 7pm - 8.30pm

Fine Lines Phantasmic Futures Closing Night

Screening starts 12pm Screening starts 2.30pm Screening starts 5pm

Workshops, Panels & Keynotes Friday April 29th MASTER CL ASS

When Shots Become Films 10.30am PT @ Uptown 2 presented by Filmsupply/Musicbed Join for this masterclass on editing with acclaimed film and commercial editor Lucas J. Harger of Bruton Stroube (The Road through Warroad, Sleep Well my Baby). Lucas will share his thoughts on the relationship between poetry and editing, the myth of the best footage, and the difference between a sequence of pretty images and a film.

WORKSHOP

Advancing Audience Accessibility 10.45am PT @ Uptown 1 Whether it be having Audio-Description or virtual film screenings, there’s never been a better time to think about real audience inclusion. The ‘golden age of cinema’ does not include the 20% of the country that is disabled. What can filmmakers do to reach and engage with this previously cut-off demographic?

WORKSHOP

An In-Depth Look At TV: Pitching and Selling 11.30am PT @ Uptown 2 presented by AFI Conservatory The lecture is designed to prepare Producers, Directors, and Writers for the process of developing and selling a project in the expanding television and film market. It covers identifying material for potential projects, identifying a potential market/buyer, and setting up your pitch. Most importantly, participants will learn the keys to successful pitching.

WORKSHOP

Seed&Spark: Putting the FUN in CrowdFUNding 1.45pm PT @ VERA Project Crowdfunding can (and should) be a creative exercise, and when you center your strategy around audience-building instead of fundraising, it can also be legitimately fun for you AND your supporters. For real. Seed&Spark’s Meghan Ross will cover everything from designing interactive incentives, engaging events, emails people will actually want to open, and more!

KEYNOTE

Intimate Cinema With Impact 2.45pm PT @ Uptown 1 Presented by Vanishing Angle Hear from writer/director Mari Walker – whose first feature See You Then premiered at SXSW last year and has played at over 50 film festivals around the world and won numerous awards – on making compelling, character driven films that speak to your unique personal experience.

WORKSHOP

Seed&Spark: Stretch That Buck: Film Budgeting 101 3.30pm PT @ VERA Project You’ve got a script you’re proud of, and now you want to bring it to life! But first: what should your crowdfunding goal be? In this workshop, Seed&Spark’s Meghan Ross will teach you how to build your first budget, utilize loans to make up your budget (conceptually as well as literally), navigate the ask, break down your script, and cut costs without sacrificing your vision. Make that dollar stretch!

Saturday April 30th PANEL

Connecting Youth Film Festivals: NFFTY, YAAAS!, FiSH 9am PT on Eventive (Zoom) This event connects three youth film festivals: NFFTY in Seattle, USA; FiSH in Rostock, Germany; and YAAAS! (the Youth Program of Crossing Europe), in Linz, Austria. Though in different time zones, each festival is being held over the same week, and each is focused on supporting young filmmakers. This event provides a stage for filmmakers between the ages of 15-21 to present their work, connect, and discuss. Join us for this live talk to connect with international filmmakers from our partner festivals! BR UNCH & LEARN

Increasing Inclusivity: Opportunities for the Next Wave 9am PT @ Uptown 2 Outside of film festivals and student showcases, what discovery platforms exist to highlight the most exciting filmmakers of color coming up? Kate Gondwe, Founder & President of DEDZA and Aaron Hunt, Editor-in-Chief of DEDZA Scrapbook, will host a conversation with a selection of NFFTY 2022 filmmakers about celebrating BIPOC excellence, film criticism, carving out your own space, and creating your own opportunities. WORKSHOP

Leaping Off the Page

10.30am PT @ Uptown 2 presented by Belmont University Join Belmont University’s William M. Akers, author of the bestselling Your Screenplay Sucks!, in this deep dive two-fer. Learn how a script keeps changing, even after it gets shot, by studying Netflix’s smash hit THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT, and how camera placement is everything in a shot-by-shot breakdown of why Luc Besson’s LA FEMME NIKITA is superior to its American remake. KEYNOTE

Adapting a Personal Narrative for Multiple Media: A Conversation with Filmmaker Wes Hurley 12.30pm PT @ Uptown 2 Filmmaker Wes Hurley discusses his journey adapting his personal story -- immigrating from Russia with his mother as a teenager from a short experimental documentary, Little Potato (2017) and a VR short Potato Dreams (2017) to a feature narrative, Potato Dreams of America (2021) -- from concept to execution, and how each piece tells his story from a different vantage point and connects with audiences in a unique way.

MASTER CL ASS

From a Film School Project to the Oscars® 2pm PT @ Uptown 1 presented by The Animation Showcase Join alumnus Benoit Berthe Siward (NFFTY ‘13, ‘15), founder of The Animation Showcase, as we delve into whether campaigning for the big industry awards is even a possibility for the scrappy small projects. Benoit will share methods he used to help two student films get nominated to the Academy Awards®, what it took to win the Oscar® for best animated short film in 2022, and will break down the surrounding myths and misconceptions behind those Awards. We’ll also cover how these tips and tricks can be applied to getting more visibility and opportunities for your film projects, whether you are qualified for a major award or not!

Sunday May 1st BR UNCH & LEARN

Short Form Documentary On The Rise 9am PT @ Uptown 2 With the big streamers continuing to expand their Oscar contenders, and digital journalism outlets looking for more quality video content, there’s never been a better time to be a short form documentary filmmaker. Join Aurora Brachman, NFFTY alum and producer at A24, for a conversation with NFFTY 2022 documentary filmmakers about the new distribution landscape and how they’re leveraging those opportunities. MASTER CL ASS

Using Personal Experiences In Your Filmmaking 10.45am PT @ Uptown 2 presented by Scan Design Foundation You probably have heard the phrase “write what you know”? In this talk Danish director Martin Strange-Hansen takes us through the personal experiences, traumas and events behind some of his award-winning short films. From his Student Academy Award-winning graduation film FEEDING DESIRE, over his Oscar-winning short film THIS CHARMING MIND to his new short film, the Oscar-nominated ON MY MIND.

MEDITERRANEAN-INN.COM | 206·425·4700

WE ARE:

Honoring the Past Celebrating the Present Envisioning the Future

48 Hour Film Off Challenge Details

High school teams compete to make the best possible film, from conception to post-production, in just 48 hours. Films screen during the NFFTY festival, and winners are awarded based on a combination of audience voting and jury deliberation. The winning school gets a cash prize to help support their film program! Watch the films in-person on: Saturday, April 30th, 2022 at 12pm SIFF Uptown 1 Cinema 511 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109 All submitted films will screen in our virtual festival from April 30 - May 8, 2022

Participating Schools Kingston High School - Video Production Chaminade College Preparatory Film Program

Burnaby North Secondary School, Ace it Program Anacortes High School

Ballard HS Film Academy

St. Margaret’s Cinematic Arts

Nature Coast Technical High School Mount Si High School

Newport High School/Advanced Media Production

Youth Cinema Project

Episcopal High School 21

This brochure, and the whole NFFTY 2022 festival identity, is designed by Lizzie Frost & Todd Atticus. You can see more of our work at lizziefrost.com and slashbackslash.co

Directors Editors Screenwriters Cinematographers Producers

STORYTELLERS IN EVERY FIELD. Learn more about our storytelling programs at

BELMONT.EDU/CURB.

But First, Coffee Grab’n’Go Breakfast

Inspired Cocktails Classic Eats Colorful Atmosphere

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PROUD SUPPORTER OF

NFFTY 2022

Filmmaker Exclusive Events Note to filmmakers: exact times/ locations will be communicated via your Filmmaker Logistics Guides.

Speed Networking The return of a beloved NFFTY tradition! Kick off your weekend and join us for Speed Networking at 9am PT on Friday April 29th to meet industry guests and the NFFTY 2022 filmmaker cohort. Brunch & Learns Join us for coffee and light breakfast at 9am PT on Saturday April 30th and 9am PT Sunday May 1st! We’ll have panel conversations with NFFTY 2022 filmmakers moderated by special guest hosts. Hear from your fellow emerging filmmakers as they dive into the trends and topics where NFFTY alumni are on the forefront of innovation. See pp 18-19 for more information.

Filmmaker Mixer NFFTY 2022 wouldn’t be complete without a party meant just for our filmmakers. Celebrate with us after Centerpiece – mixer will start Saturday April 30th at 930pm PT, and is copresented by our friends at Filmsupply + Musicbed! Virtual Networking Not able to make it to Seattle? Stay tuned for announcements about fun ways to meet and mingle with other NFFTY filmmakers! Keep your eyes peeled on your inbox.

Opening Night Thursday April 28th 6.30pm SIFF Cinema Egyptian

Meow or Never

india

Neeraja Raj - 24 In a madcap musical, a catstronaut travels around the galaxy in search of the meaning of life. On one planet, she meets a space pup who’d like to help her, but instead gets her involved in a chain of catastrophes that include smelling ‘catnip-bis’ and meeting a tribe of marshmallows!

We’re kicking off our 15th Anniversary with a collection of showstopping shorts directed by undeniably talented youth from around the world! Get ready to reconnect with family, contemplate your own identity, and maybe even discover the meaning of life – this screening is a sublime sampling of what you’ll see at NFFTY!

On the Fence

canada

Paula Ner Dormiendo - 20, Asad Chaudhry - 20 Stories of childhood, home, and identity intertwine as five figures sit against a projector, recalling their experiences of cultural disconnect as immigrant youths.

Plum Town

ca , usa

Kelly Yu - 19 A young land developer returns to his childhood home in the Chinese countryside for the first time in a decade to convince his stubborn father to finally sell the failing plum orchard. However, when the two find themselves unable to understand each other, they turn to the dusty old karaoke machine in the house to find a common language.

Join us immediately following the screening for an after party just two blocks away! Dance the night away with DJ sets from NFFTY partner Foreign Family Collective, or catch up with friends old and new.

Seasick

ny , usa Lindsey Ryan - 24

Sadie, a 17-year-old ferry deckhand has her day turned upside down when she tries to delete a love-confessing text message before outing herself to the crew.

Team Meryland

ca , usa Gabriel Gaurano - 19, Julia Elihu - 20, Jason Phillips - 22

Born and raised in the Watts projects of Los Angeles, twelve-year-old female boxer Meryland Gonzalez fights in-and-out of the ring for the dream to be crowned the 2019 Junior Olympics champion.

Family Ties Friday April 29th 10.15am / Uptown 3

Appreciate portraits of imperfect parents, devoted daughters, astute sisters, and more multifaceted familial relationships that will have you reminiscing (or ranting) about your last reunion in this sentimental screening. This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

A Prayer for My Mother: The Eva Brettler Story ca , usa

Ruben Barret - 15, Raisa Effress - 16, Sophia Evans - 16, Lauren Fuchs 16, Katie Hadsock-Longarzo - 16, Ian Kim - 15, Eve Levy - 17, Timothy Lim - 17, Asher Meron - 13, Marion Ochoa - 15, Isabella Rahi - 17, Hank Schoen - 15, Olivia Uzielli - 16 This film is about Eva Brettler’s story surviving the Holocaust, her connection with her mother during this time and after the war.

Beneath the Grass

ca , usa William Bermudez - 23, Sam Friedman - 23, Nathan Ginter - 22, Caden Ghen - 22

After going on the run with his mother for her illegal grow operation, Leo yearns for a normal home life and risks their safety by entering a strangers home.

Dress Up

ny , usa Karina Dandashi - 24, Ward Kamel - 23, Idil Eryurekli - 23

On the eve of her sister’s wedding, Karina faces her queer anxieties.

Happy Birthday, You Made It ca , usa

Immutable Uncertainties Kaudo

Yuelei Song - 24

Lucy Blumenfield - 19, Arielle Friedman - 25, Camila Grimaldi - 22

In the stillness of her childhood home, a woman spends her birthday like any other, solitary day - until she becomes lost in a reverie of past memories and dreams.

ny , usa

Shot in reverse chronological order so that each new joy is an unsettling experience of not remembering the past, Kirsten and Mark start making memories together as Kristen’s mother slowly loses hers to Alzheimer’s.

canada

Father, Can’t You See I’m Burning? ny , usa Grant Conversano - 24, Adam Conversano - 22 Filmmaker, Grant Conversano, interrogates the medium of the family photo, and what means to be photographed as a child by one’s father while exploring inter-generational trauma, grief, and addiction.

Sauble

canada

Natalie Paton - 21

Graeme Jokic - 22, Bren Slater - 21

A young immigrant family struggles with cultural differences during Christmastime, as told through the eyes of their young son, Amir.

Recently uninvited from a vacation with friends, 15-year-old Emma struggles to feel wanted when brought along on her mother’s trip to Sauble Beach.

Growth Spurts Friday April 29th 12.15am / Uptown 1

Growing up is a lengthy process, but some lessons are learned feverishly fast! Come of age with the characters in this screening as they work through emotional growing pains, tackle captivating interpersonal conflicts, and start embodying their truest selves. This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

Dog Story

ny , usa Grace Zhang - 21, Eileen Yoon - 22

Feeling suffocated by their environment, Jo finds comfort in acting out fantasies with their confident, edgier friend Lucy.

Maks

slovenia

Martin Draksler - 23 In the absence of his mother, seven years old Maks decides to find company at the basketball court. Lack of warmth and attention forces him to take matters into his own hands.

Fuckboy

ca , usa Emma Weinswig - 22, Noa Beckham-Chasnoff - 22, Anika Ramlo - 22, Malik Dowdy - 24

When a horny Jimmy John’s delivery lady and her two overachieving high school best friends get disinvited from a fuckboy’s party, they’re forced to face the truth of their decaying friendship and how to skate it back together.

Monkey Bars

ny , usa Jacqueline Xerri - 23, Raymond Knudsen - 24, Robert Bevis - 24, Stephen Musumeci - 24

When fourteen-year-old Maggie and her two best friends hang out with older guys they meet on Facebook, a crush on a complicated boy unravels into a twisted trance fueled by Four Lokos and naive infatuation.

Look, Mira

ca , usa Kate McCarthy - 24

In order to finally be seen, a forlorn teenager takes the biggest action of her small life: auditioning to be church cantor at her Christian high school.

Pure

Worst Critic

On the eve of her cotillion ball, Celeste, a seventeen-year-old closeted poet, experiences an unexpected new love that shifts her role in the traditional rite of passage ceremony.

Looking out into an audience full of doubt after a performance, Reese finds that her worst critic is herself.

ny , usa Natalie Jasmine Harris - 23

ca , usa Sunny Keller - 17, Ella Garnes - 16, Wyatt Rosenthal - 18

Vibrant Vignettes Friday April 29th 12.45am / Uptown 3

Coffee & Sugar

wa , usa

Get a glimpse of stunning cultural celebrations, unrelenting love stories, and prized practices and passions from around the world. These poignant and powerful shorts are sure to lift your spirits and portray your neighbors both near and far in a new light. This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

Convite

guatemala

Andy Volk - 24

Sofia Navarrete Zur - 23

In conversation with her grandson, 93-yearold Carol reflects on her unbelievable marriage of 62 years in this fantastically animated documentary exploring a love that transcends all conventions and time.

Convite portrays a traditional dance in rural Guatemala during the fair season and prior to a religious procession, revealing a living palimpsest of Mayan culture, Spanish colonialism, and modernity that allows a liminal space wherein the community breaks societal norms.

Pitoc e icinakosian

We Are Like Waves

canada

Gerry Ottawa - 15, Jos-Onimskiw Ottawa-Dubé - 16 Gerry and their big brother Jos show us that there is more to being different than bullying, discrimination and harassment.

sri lanka , usa Jordyn Romero - 22, Leah de Leon - 23

We Are Like Waves is an intimate look into how surfing changes Sanu’s life, documenting the struggles and breakthroughs of becoming a female Sri Lankan surfer.

Mawhialeo Ote Alowha new zealand , ukraine

Valeriya Golovina - 23, Niamh Swannack - 22, Morgan Hopkins - 22, Cameron Cook - 22 Meli and her husband Avito reflect on the pivotal decision of their lives. With much trepidation they left the tiny atoll of Tokelau for New Zealand seeking a better life for their son. 43 years on, they find themselves pulled between family and a longing for home.

You Don’t Dance on Tables

wa , usa

Isabella Cuevas Pierson - 23 An exploration into a family’s 50-year relationship with the house they grew up in. A firsthand account of how our homes can be worlds in of themselves.

Emote Control

Consider the spotlight stolen! You won’t be mystified by your misty-eyes when the palpable performances in this program move you – the talent on display is indisputable. These master actors are ready for their close-up, so come bear witness!

Friday April 29th 1.45pm / Uptown 2

This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

A NARRATION OF A FUNERAL

iran

Amir Sedghi Nir - 22, Emad Hosseini Fard - 22 A woman named Tara receives a strange call from the hospital after her mother’s funeral.

Junko

nepal

Minsho Limbu - 21, Garima Singh - 22 A newlywed girl patiently waits for a call from her husband, who has left to find work in India.

Elizabeth

denmark

I LOVE YOU DON’T LEAVE ME

ma , usa

Anna Baumgarten - 18, Cecilie Holmfjord - 18, Joshua Astor - 16, Nis Christensen - 17

Alex Leombruno - 22, Sam Friedman - 21, Caden Ghen - 21, Vinny Sacchetti - 21

Elizabeth’s secret relationship is at risk as a rumor about a fellow student is being spread around school.

Morgan learns to live in the presence of Ghillie -- a looming swamp monster hell-bent on keeping her trapped in her own worst nightmare.

Split Ends

To All My Darlings

czech republic

ireland

Pema Baldwin - 21, Maya Rajan - 21, Danielle Payne - 20

Eamon Hughes - 22, Lia Campbell - 22, Ciara Rigney - 22

An anxious mother’s desire for control and her daughter’s desire for independence come to a head when someone from the outside comes in.

Yet another tragic miscarriage leaves Adaeze torn between religious obligations and revealing the truth of her medical diagnosis to her loving husband.

Disbelief Suspended Friday April 29th 3.15 PM / Uptown 3

Fade in on: a whole new world?! These films present production design prowess pulled off with such precision that you’ll forget the rules of the real world. Whether you want to travel in time or distance, you don’t have to board a human-made machine to be immersed in an alternate reality – you just have to come to this screening! This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

Erebus

ca , usa Will Ammann - 22, Pennie Fan - 22, Emma Beeman - 21, Jackson Mach - 21

Paper Kingdoms

canada

Raine Bracken - 22, Natalie O’Neill - 22, Savina Monopoli - 22, Caitlin Bevington - 22

Straw Man

ca , usa Alex Casimir - 21, John Laverman - 24, Aditya Vempaty - 23, Erik He - 23

A young woman finds herself trapped in a surreal wasteland, and begins to question the nature of her reality.

An imprisoned princess with the magical ability to discern truth from lies faces off against a demon who specializes in deceit. To win her freedom she must face the falsehoods that serve as the foundation for her kingdom’s history and discover whether truth is more powerful than deception.

At risk of losing the only family he’s ever known during the dustbowl, a scarecrow must leave his post and journey into town in search of work. But facing the world proves challenging when your face is a burlap sack....

Supersonica Girl

Thumbtale

Justin Fargiano - 22

You Missed a Spot ca , usa Liam Walsh - 21, Oona Wuolijoki - 20

Once upon a time, a tiny thumb man and a tiny thumb woman fell in love and settled down in the suburbs to raise a family.

In a world where everyone is a clown, a mime must defeat a masked killer to save the girl of his dreams.

united kingdom

William Stead - 23, Dean McGregor - 23, Nick Schulte - 21 The story of sexual awakening, told through the eyes of Tina, a young girl in 1970s Britain who finds a sense of place through the music she loves.

ny and ct , usa

Reel Nail Biters Friday April 29th 4.15pm / Uptown 2

You are now entering the Uncomfort Zone! Prepare for your heart to beat a little faster (faster) and your blood pressure to rise as you witness high stakes operations, sinister adversaries, and the most stressful tattoo session of your life. This screening has those Uncuh Jaamz vibes, if you know what I mean. This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

Dogfood

Marked

MELT

The deteriorating friendship of two motel dwellers comes to a crashing halt on this ill-fated night.

A tattoo artist is confronted by a client who knows the true meaning behind his body art.

A Boy named Douglass and his strange roommate, Noble, appear to be the only two Black students at their new school. Something is definitely weird about this school and it’s Dean, but Douglass doesn’t quite know what.

Poachers

The Mis(RE)education of The Invisible yet Furious Five canada

The Original Shareholder Experience

Paul-Daniel Torres Canessa - 23, Goldbloom Micomonaco - 23, Robin Johnston - 23, Naomi Hernandez - 24

Petyr Xyst - 21, Lauren Begay - 21

nj , usa Vincent D’Alessandro - 23

ca , usa Tiffany Lin - 22, Elias Ginsberg - 23, Samantha Sadoff - 23

During the summer before they must leave for college, two lifelong best friends come across a unique business opportunity: illegally harvesting and selling succulents from the California coast.

ca , usa Matthew Avery Berg - 19

An experiment horror thriller docu-drama about the trauma causes and how to decolonize Canada’s educational system. That ends in a music video.

sc , usa Wylder Voegele - 18

nm , usa

An Indigenous telepresenter must contend with her moral credibility and career prospects when her superiors ask her to sell a genocidal product on live television.

To Wade or Row

ny , usa Rebecca van der Meulen - 21, Leanne Macaione - 21, Cait Schmitz - 22

Jane visits a small-town motel’s covert clinic during a weekend stay. But when her boyfriend wakes up to find her gone a police officer’s arrival threatens to expose the whole underground operation.

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Happy Hour Shorts Friday April 29th 5.30pm / Uptown 1

Ease into the wondrous weekend with some feel-good flicks that express complexity through their comedy! Missed connections, couple camaraderie, and promising prodigies are sure to elicit some light-hearted laughs to lighten the load after a long week. I’ll cheers to that! This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

Absolutely No One Breaks Up With Bernadette Burns ca , usa Dan Lesser - 23, Kimberly Vela - 23, Neema Sadeghi - 24, Hayley Stablow - 24 Bernadette got dumped.

I Hated You at Your Funeral ca , usa

I Like the Look of Today

Brian Niles - 21, Shane Bagwell - 22, Will Noyce - 20

Brian Niles - 20, Will Noyce - 19, Shane Bagwell - 22, Teddy Nissen - 20

A widow attempts to sabotage her partner’s Wizard of Oz-themed funeral when she finds out she was cheated on.

ca , usa

A child’s lemonade stand becomes the target of an IRS sting operation.

Andi

ca , usa Julia Kupiec - 23, Ace Buckley - 24, Jonas Berry - 24, Owen Lazur - 24

Andi, a Long Beach based roller skater, discusses her journey of shedding false identities and the value of finding a safe space among found family in order to grow past trauma.

I Make Good Sounds at Parties ca , usa Amanda Prager - 24, Russell Goldman - 24 A lonely man attends a house party that grows nightmarishly surreal.

Presented by

Dead Meat

canada

Adnan Peer Mohamed - 21 A hungry seagull struggles to find something to eat.

Little Big Shot

tx , usa

Henry Segal - 16 A profile of five-year-old table tennis prodigy, Allen Mao, with expert commentary.

Screening is all ages. Beer is 21+ with valid ID.

No Dye

ny , usa Yoni Azulay - 21, Zach Rineer - 22, Alex Gehrlein - 21, Ethan Langenau - 21

PIE

Arrive at 4.30 for free beer, stay for the screening starting at 5.30. Tasting included with Film Ticket and ID. Cheers to the weekend!

united kingdom

Lydia Reid - 24 Ever wondered why girls never seem to go to the toilet on their own in the club? This film shows why you always need another girl with you to go for a piss.

Third Date

estonia

Miro Alleyne-McCarthy - 15

Katariina Raumägi - 21

Five hungry mouths. One perfect slice of pie.

Orm Oja is the Head Chef of La Bottega; he is considered as one of the most successful chef in Estonia. This documentary takes a peek into Orm’s daily life and tries to understand the mindset of the mastermind.

TWO BEERS

My Best Friend

A Staten Island couple contemplates a last-ditch effort to make their dreams come true.

This is Why Girls Go to the Bathroom Together

SINDER

Beer provided by

mt , usa Zach Robinson - 20, Ashley Moore - 20, Ben Tjaden - 21, Matthew Bullerdick - 21

Graham and Adrian, two lifelong friends, have secret feelings for each other. These feelings are brought boiling to the surface when they are trapped in a room with a bomb.

ca , usa Michael Kellman - 23, Grant Samayoa - 23

Daniel is very excited for his date with Samantha, until he gets locked in his bathroom.

ca , usa

Benji Tucker - 17 A delirious young boy, who believes he has brought his best friend back from the dead, struggles with accepting life for how it is.

From the Heart

I’m in love, I’m in love, and I don’t care who knows it! This screening has everything from first-time feelings and baffling butterflies to haunting heartbreaks. Join us on this emotional rollercoaster and ride the loop-the-loop of love!

Friday April 29th 6.45pm / Uptown 2

This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

Bolognese

ca , usa Annika Chavez - 24, Sara Linden - 25, Sophie Thomason - 25, Jackie Lee - 23

When 20-something Mira finally meets face to face with Aiden, the man she’s been virtually dating for weeks, she’s unknowingly plunged into an evening of betrayal, confusion, and therapizing as Aiden realizes he’s still in love with his ex-girlfriend.

ca , usa Elle Mills - 23, Michael J. Murphy - 23

15-year old Sam Trottier decides to make a film after he finds a box of his mom’s videotapes hidden in their attic from the summer of 2006. The tapes show Sam’s mom Casey documenting herself working on one last project before saying goodbye to her childhood home — the same summer her new neighbors moved in...

Lata

Presented by

Love Stories

My Dear Boy

Luz and Santiago confront life changing news on the day the U.S. visa lottery winner is announced.

Experimental animations bring “Love Stories” to life in a touching exploration of what it means to experience love in this world. Told from multiple perspectives and always from a place of love, this film is a rumination on the feeling that we all search for in the hopes of finding it.

Within the first three seconds of meeting each other, two men preview the rise and fall of their destined relationship through a surreal lens.

Searching For The Wave

the beginning & the middle ca , usa

This Is About a Breakup

Chelsea Muscat - 24, Sasha Perez - 24

Alexis G. Zall - 22

Solstice Harris - 24

Two queer childhood best friends are reunited at a house party and debate the pros and cons of finally hooking up.

In a sweeping autobiographic short, filmmaker Solstice Harris jumps back and forth in time though five years of footage in an attempt to process the end of a relationship.

cuba

Isabella Hicks - 23

ny , usa

Faye, heartbroken and confused, recalls her memories of her recent relationship with Ava in hopes to understand what went wrong. This leads Faye to a speculative dark realization about her former partner’s childhood.

il , usa Elizabeth Myles - 21

ny , usa Leaf Lieber - 21, Xulani Akel - 21, Zack Blomquist - 25, Caleb Flood - 22

ut , usa

Friday Night Shorts

Friday Night Lights…Camera…Action! We’re bringing back this all-around impressive screening block to fill your Friday night with unforgettable films! From a picturesque pilgrimage to a cathartic therapy session, you’ll be entranced by these anecdotes all night. Quiet on set – it’s showtime!

Friday April 29th 8pm / Uptown 1

This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

Aska

Busan, 1999

iceland

south korea

Clara Milo - 24

Thomas Percy Kim - 20

Two young disciples must throw their mother’s ashes into the mouth of a volcano in order to prevent its collapse into a flood of flames.

An expecting Korean-American woman returns to her mother’s rustic home. They bathe and scrub each other, searching for reconnection and redemption.

Goodbye Jerome!

HALF

france

Adam Sillard - 24, Gabrielle Selnet - 24, Chloé Farr - 24 Having just arrived in paradise, Jerome sets out to find his wife Maryline. In the course of his search, he sinks into a surreal and colourful world in which no one seems to be able to help him.

ny , usa Jacob Roberts - 24

Half-Jewish, bisexual Jonah Dorman comes out to his girlfriend, shaking the foundation of their relationship and launching a tragicomic exploration of love and religion in New York City.

Charming

canada

Justine Prince Romane Boisclair-Choquette - 21, Philippe Gendron-Comeau - 22, Clémentine Martin - 21, Frédérike Labelle - 22 Living alone with her pet vacuum cleaner in a depressing elderly center, Lisette hopes to find love online, but ends up becoming friends with a young janitor.

Davis Out of the Unknown ca , usa Claire Gostin - 23, Alex Casimir - 23 Seven-year-old Davis Point grapples with a rare genetic disorder called Koolen-de Vries Syndrome. One seizure could change Davis forever, so his family pushes hard for a cure and a new kind of normal.

Neither Seen Nor Heard united kingdom

Florence Kosky - 24 Taking place within a therapist’s session, we experience the patient’s visual internalisations via the responses of others to her trauma. From the dismissive to the banal, using dialogue lifted from real women’s encounters, it captures society’s response to sexual assault.

Breaking the Mold Friday April 29th 9.15pm / Uptown 2

Experience a sojourn in surrealist dream worlds and soak in sophisticated soundscapes in this stunning screening! These films speak to the bodies we live in, the land that we grew from, and the relationships that flutter in and out of our lives. Be enchanted by ardent artists that aren’t afraid to express complexity in the experimental. This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

A Few Things I’m Beginning to Understand pa , usa Xenia Matthews - 22, Keir Martin - 24 Surf the glittering channels of Xenia’s mind in this highly saturated, musical spectacular where she and an old friend begin making sense of the issues between Xenia and her boyfriend, Keke.

Hear, There

ny , usa

Buzzbrews

ny , usa Jaclyn Goldstein - 19

A booth, a missed concert, and a friendship lost in the memories of a diner’s history.

My Dog Has Fleas

hi , usa

Cayla Kushner 15, Luke Kushner - 15

Justin Pascua - 20, Carson Fukeda - 20

During times of crisis and isolation, an individual longs for brighter skies and more vivid voices. A visual poem about lost friends.

Having forgotten the customs and traditions upon her arrival from the mainland to her birthplace of O‘ahu, a half Hawaiian young woman is frowned upon by her family for not being Hawaiian enough.

Caterpillar Kisses

Cult of Domesticity

ca , usa

Jensen Green - 18

Ella Fields - 17 After feeling butterflies, a girl is shown what it will be like to fall in love alongside the pain of heartbreak. Including art from 26 artists, this experimental vision explores the concept of metamorphosis and what exists between two halves of a broken heart.

Please Introduce Yourself united kingdom Elsa Hunter-Weston - 20, Caoilfhionn MacEoin-Manus - 22 This short film from emerging filmmaker Elsa Hunter-Weston explores the difficulties facing a young person on the cusp of adulthood as she wrestles with her own identity.

ct , usa

Aged, hand-painted film married to a recovered audio interview of an anonymous housewife constructs a fragile scaffolding of prescribed domesticity in uncertain times.

schadenfreude

nj , usa

Celeste Yeany - 16 The struggle of not knowing how your body works and the pressures that are structurally in place to control your body. This lack of knowledge makes me scared all the time.

Seven Minutes of Dreams

ca , usa

Ty Smith - 20, Sonny Newman - 20 An afrosurrealist meditation on identity and dream projections, SEVEN MINUTES OF DREAMS is an experiment in time, the pregnancy of images, and the potent relationship between cinema and dreams. Across seven sixty second vignettes, we are taken on a fragmented journey with a mind collapsing in on itself.

Who Are You? (Nugusaeyo?)

The Modern Woman’s Guide to Pastry-Making ca , usa Lauren Jevnikar - 22 Together in an idyllic, isolated forest cabin, two women spend an afternoon baking scones.

ny , usa Mike Klubeck - 22, Harrison Allen - 23, Bre Kelly - 23, Luc Ung - 23

A man goes on a quest across New York City at night: one that risks tearing his fantastical reality apart.

Winter Insect, Summer Flower

usa & south korea

ca , usa

Yejin Koo - 21

Tee Jaehyung Park - 21, Gbenga Komolafe - 21

An experimental short film shot on 16mm, created with analog editing and direct animation, about Taemong, Korean conception dreams, exploring the relationship between culture, motherhood, future, and gender.

These Games We Play

A trans woman’s journey through the changing seasons as she breaks out of her physical mold.

After Hours Absurdity Friday April 29th 10.30pm / Uptown 1

If you want to connect with man’s best friend, try some tricky twin experiments, or snarf down some savory snacks, this is the screening for you! It’s NFFTY After Dark where everything implausible becomes possible – just please keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times, and leave any abandoned skin suits where you found them. This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

Divination Dave united kingdom

Georgia Madden - 19

Fish Eyes

ca , usa Benji Tucker - 18, Vivian Wolfson - 18, Pilot Lee - 18

Frankie’s in Town

ca , Adam Hersko-RonaTas - 24, Sam Rubinek - 25

usa

A crisp-loving couch potato finds himself on a journey of accidental enlightenment when his favourite flavour of salty crisps runs out.

After his fish is gruesomely murdered by his best friend’s cat, a young boy takes revenge in his own hands.

Devon’s solitary LA lifestyle is suddenly interrupted when his old high school friend Frankie shows up unannounced. When small gestures of kindness turn into covert acts of hostility and everyday conversations turn into subtle usurpations of power, a friendship slowly falls apart as the lines between reality and illusion blur into a nightmare.

Shared Blood

The Rattlin’ Bog

Wolf in Dude’s Clothing

ny , usa

ca , usa

Nathan Ginter - 21, Eve Robitshek - 20, Shane Bagwell - 21, Aidan Flynn - 20

Maxwell Hughes - 23, Andres Aragon - 23, Anna Matz - 23, Cory Williamson - 23

When Keith clones himself, what begins as a match made in heaven becomes vicious as both Keiths struggle for dominance.

As three friends spend time together drinking and singing Irish folk songs in a cabin getaway, ego and toxic masculinity get in the way of a good night. As usual.

canada

Solmund MacPherson - 22 A starving wolf finds a suit of human skin, crawls inside, and becomes a man.

God Knows

norway

Mone Frogg - 23, Isak Jenssen - 23 The dog - man’s best friend. The promise of unconditional love. But what if your dog has problems of their own to deal with?

3.56 in (w) x 4.75 in (h)

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Saturday Morning Cartoons

No reruns here – this screening is jam-packed with animated adventures, stop-motion missions, rotoscoped retrospectives, and whimsical worlds you’ll have to see to believe! Start your weekend off right, this is one for (all) the ages!

Saturday April 30th 9.30am / Uptown 1

Vibrant

Bad Bugs

india

Daksh Bhaskar - 13, Armaan Dadyburjor - 13, Rafael Joseph - 13, Kyra Narain - 11, Rishika Didwania - 11 ‘Vibrant’, is a short paint on glass animation film created by a group of five kids. Due to the complex nature of this technique, children were given the freedom to create any movement with the bright paints and colours, with no particular theme. Each child has experimented with the colours to create textures and forms on an underlit glass. This film was created under Toon Club’s supervision & creative training.

Battleversary

canada

Erik Segriff - 22, Kate Reid - 22, MtM Class of 2020 Its all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Two best friends fight for their friendship when a misunderstanding rips them apart.

ca , usa

Bryn Wright - 10

Baseball

ct , usa Jason Hernandez - 18

10 year old Bryn made a claymation movie about the importance of using “natural solutions for your bug problems” - something she’s passionate about.

This hand-painted, scratched film captures the moment when a player comes up to bat.

Colours

Dams: Pros & Cons

canada

Lily Chiasson - 16, Mel Yerna - 16, Naraa Little - 16, Bronwyn Christmann - 16 Group Animation about the moods we go through and how they affect each other.

de , usa Ava Barton -14, Chas Seiffert - 15

Our film discusses how humans altered their environment by creating dams and the unexpected consequences that followed.

Black Metal

ca , usa Riley Street - 21, Janice Wu - 21, Danielle Mullins - 21, Evan O’brien - 22

Rebekah, a twelve year old, defiant little girl, loves a black metal band called Cosmophobia. But when her overly religious parents forbid her from going to the Cosmophobia concert, Rebekah decides to sneak out herself, causing her parents to run after her, not only to find their daughter but also a better understanding of family.

Dear Destiny

tx , usa

Brian Mack - 21 Dear Destiny follows a young girl named Destiny as she writes a letter to her future self after the recent loss of her father. While expressing her thoughts concerning what could be in the envelope he left her, her imagination takes control and sends her on a journey unlike any other.

Distanced

ct , Cassy Callari - 18

usa

Dream Sequence

ny , usa

Elisa Taylor - 16

A young filmmaker endures quarantine by reviving past memories of times spent hanging out with friends through rotoscope animation.

An experimental film that explores the fleeting nature of dreams.

Meteorites from Vesta Found on Asteroid Bennu md , usa

Mind the Gap

James Tralie - 24 OSIRIS-REx made an unexpected discovery at asteroid Bennu - several boulders that originated from asteroid Vesta. The new result helps scientists better understand the origins of this “rubble pile” asteroid.

Pua Warriors

hi , usa Gavin Arucan - 23, Sophia Whalen - 24, Chandelle Oliver - 24

Pua Warriors is an animated action film about magical girls Leilani, Ayaka, and Jasmine who need to prevent a sludge monster from destroying their hometown on Hawai’i island. But team leader Leilani is unable to use her full pua power, how can they win?

germany

Tom Müller - 24, David Goralsky - 24 The protagonsist TJ is sitting at a train station at night. When his train arrives and he gets on, he seems to be the only passenger. Out of boredom, he starts sketching in his notebook. When he looks up briefly, he is startled to find that the train is suddenly filled with curious characters. Not all of the passengers are pleased by the boy’s presence ...

Sea Souls

nj , usa Angelina Chang - 16

A lonely little ghost is visited by a mysterious diver.

Grey

ca , usa Vasilina Mikhaylova - 23, Sarah Casey - 22, Anastasia Mikhaylova - 25, Royal Dean - 24

If My Voice Rang Louder Than My Skin ny , usa Kyra Peters - 21

Taken in by a burly lumberjack, a young orphaned wolf pup must choose between his human companion and the call of the wild.

“If My Voice Rang Louder Than My Skin” brings to life the story of a teenage boy who craves a life where his skin no longer affects his daily life or how others perceive him.

Monsters of Mine

Out of Touch

ca , usa Lana Nguyen - 22, Connor Williams - 22, Claire Dundee - 22, Val Tan - 22

A lonely girl uses high-tech glasses to fill her world with imaginary monster friends, but when they break, she discovers the value of true human connection. Made with zero contact between cast and crew - a COVID- 19 quarantine friendly production!

Spark Bird. A birdwatcher’s first ever journey italy Laura Pauselli - 23 During a grey and cloudy day in Gubbio, suddenly a magic orange trail passes in front of Emma. Emma will follow it discovering a whole new world for her.

canada

Henry He - 23 After falling from the sky, our character relives his early childhood memories with his grandparents - except, they aren’t his grandparents, and he’s not in his regular body.

Take Heart!

germany

Lilith Jörg 15, Amelie Roth - 14, Romy Roth - 12 The barriers are in your mind! Can Leonard break through the barriers in his head?

Get Yours Hands Arty Saturday April 30th 10.15am / Uptown 3

Counter Conformity

fl , usa

Life imitates art, which imitates art that imitates life, ammiright? In this screening, an array of mediums come to life on the silver screen like never before. From written and spoken word, to dance and performance, discover new ways that art helps us preserve culture and tradition, memories, and individuality.

Deborah Roberts’ I’m

Isabella Chiappini - 18, Kimberly Blum - 17, Luis Rodriguez - 18

tx , usa

Counter Conformity is a documentary that celebrates differences, diving deep into fluidity and the relationship between gender and clothing.

Explore world-renowned artist, Deborah Roberts’, solo exhibit at the Contemporary in Austin, Texas.

Samantha Porter - 19, Alex Martinez - 18

Stitching a Life: The Story of Trudie Strobel ca , usa

Ian Kim - 13, Miranda Lewis - 16, Lila Dworsky-Hickey - 16, Hank Schoen 13, Fernanda Zaragoza - 18, Jocelyn Vega - 18, Natasha Clement - 13, Coleman Weintraub - 13, Spirit Avedon - 12, Jaaziah McZeal - 12, Alexander McDaniel - 11 Stitching a Life is about the survival journey of Trudie Strobel and her mother through the Holocaust, and what her life looked like after freedom in America.

Kintsugi

ca , usa Justine Kaneda - 21

Broken but whole.

The First 280 Honest Words of My Life ok , usa Ella Janes - 14, Margaret Fall - 14 A 14-year-old writer must write a short composition to get accepted into a summer program. The writing must include a color, a fruit, and the rain. As she begins writing, she slowly begins challenging the ideas of honesty and her truth.

This Takes Time

fl , usa Indie DiMartino - 21, Liam Fineout 20, Sophie Rizzo - 21

Visual artist, Lili Yuan feels stuck. Her larger than life canvases are squeezed into small screens and her massive fanbase seems to want different things from her than her art in this conversation about the pitfalls of social media.

Sum of Our Parts

singapore

Olivia Tan - 24, Chloe Hwang - 24, Ang Kimi - 25 Sum of Our Parts introduces the extraordinary performance art form through the lens of four Singaporean performance artists. Deeply entwined with their practice, the film serves as an intimate inquiry into their experience of the physical body; weighing on and grounding them — shaping, bending, and ebbing with the passing of time and life.

Troleibusas lithuania & united kingdom

Augustė Baltrūnaitė - 22, Irene Stamatiou - 21, Chris Speddings - 21, Lorrenzo Innocenti - 21 Culture meets movement in this unconventional documentary which explores the spirit of Lithuania’s traditions through the marriage of dance and public transport.

Cost of Living Saturday April 30th 12:45pm / Uptown 3

Take a deep dive into the everyday lives of employees around the globe! From pizza delivery to coaching popular sports, you’ll gain invaluable insight into offbeat occupations that may be your next big gig. Fueled by passion, necessity, or demand, the subjects in these films are taking care of business (every day)! This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

Daddy’s Girl

china

Kate He - 23 Sophie, a young Chinese nurse, hosts an online chatroom in order to make ends meet, where she encounters a very unexpected viewer.

Interdimensional Pizza Pushers ny , usa Lije Morgan - 21 Follow Honeybear and Fishlips as they race through dimensions to make all of their deliveries in time!

Fighter

canada

Meagan Brown - 21, Graeme Jokic - 22, Bren Slater - 21, Nendujan Ratnarajah - 24 Fighter asks three generations of firefighters why they do what they do, and how they feel when they get home.

In Good Faith

taiwan

Andrea Yu-Chieh Chung - 24 While industrialized meat production has become the norm, Muslim-Americans strive to maintain a diet that is permitted by God. Following the halal meat production process from farm to table, the film encourages its audience to reflect on how our food production system and dietary choices are impacting the environment.

Wuhan Driver

Zamboni

At the onset of the pandemic, A Chinese Uber driver in New York struggles to make ends meet as he picks up various passengers on a long and dreary night.

A former hockey star, now zamboni driver and janitor, struggles to find his real purpose now that he can’t play anymore.

ny , usa Tiger Ji - 19, Stefan Nachmann - 23

Frank Curiel: A Baseball Story curaçao & spain Kristen Dania - 22, Zena Rigaud - 21 This story pays tribute to Frank Curiel, a man who has dedicated over 50+ years to the sport of baseball on the small Caribbean island of Curaçao. He has formed part of the journey of nearly every major baseball athlete from the island, and countless others. Even though retired, to this day he continues to champion the sport, help his community any way possible and make sure the kids have a safe place to go and train baseball at Frank Curiel Ballpark.

ny , usa Jon Lazar - 24, Scott Gerlomes - 25, Major Dorfman - 23

Episodic Showcase Saturday April 30th 2.15pm / Uptown 2

It’s pilot season, and you don’t want to miss this primetime lineup! This exciting slate of episodes will leave you wanting to binge watch every show on [streaming service of preference] and create character stan accounts on [social media of preference]. I don’t know about you, but I’d give all of these the green light! This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

Hetero

wa , usa KJ Kieras - 17, Bentley Eldridge - 17

Five friends—Quinn, Sarai, Zel, Mickey, and Cohen—scramble to save their high school’s gay-straight alliance following their principal’s orders to diversify the club by “recruiting” straight students. To achieve this quixotic aim of straight-washing their GSA, each becomes the “gay best friend” of select peers while facing the highs and lows being queer in high school.

Wild Combination

ca , Alex Herz - 22, Delek Miller - 22, Jack Bushell - 23

usa

Freshman-year friends Emma, Calvin, and Paul have fallen out after Paul’s hospitalization for severe depression, and decide to get a fresh start by road tripping together from Los Angeles back to school in Chicago.

Parked in America

ny , usa Kayla Yumi Lewis - 21, Luke Salin - 21, Ann Swenson - 21

Jamie Park, a Korean teenager, moves in with her relatives in the midwest after a family tragedy strikes back at home in Seoul. There, she meets her cousin Eli, and together they navigate high school while struggling with identity, guilt, and grief.

The Starrs - Big Red Button

ca , usa

Christian Hurley - 22, Emily Cyrier - 23, Will Ammann - 23, Bryan Taira - 23 After years of bad press and no work, the washed-up Starr triplets attempt to reinvent their careers and revitalize their Hollywood status as everyone’s favorite dysfunctional family.

Pedal to the Mettle Saturday April 30th 3.15pm / Uptown 3

A Ship Called Lili: The Lillian Trilling Story ca , usa Natasha Clement - 14, Alexa Druyanoff - 17, Ian Kim - 14, Dovely King - 17, Eve Levy - 16, Idalis McZeal - 14, Ella Moriarty - 17, Gracie Sandman - 16, Hank Schoen - 14

This powerful program will fill you with fortitude, even when faced with fear that makes you feel frozen! From stories of strength and tenacity to battles with demons that just won’t disappear, let this daring display of durability fill you with rebellious resilience. This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

En Avant

ny , usa Sarah Jean Williams - 19

Find The Light

united kingdom

Abdullah Khan - 22

“En Avant” highlights the internal struggle of a Black ballerina with self-acceptance as she faces racism in a white-dominated art form.

Zak Anwar, a young Pakistani boy, is continually victimised and sees no reprieve. Battered from his latest attack he decides to end the suffering and attempts to drown himself, only for the critical moment to reveal a purpose worth living for.

Locked Down

prey

A Ship Called Lili, an animated film about Holocaust survivor and activist Lillian Trilling which chronicles her life at age 12 of escaping the Warsaw Ghetto, surviving a #MeToo experience, working as a nanny in a German castle, and her eventual liberation and journey to America.

ca , usa

Claire Imler - 21, Larissa Salazar - 20, Jessica Stossel - 20 Amidst a stay-at-home order, a young woman must make a desperate phone call for help.

fl , usa Sienna Crosby - 15

The story of the loss of innocence of a young prey as the result of a predator.

HAMMER

va , usa Ned Cooper - 20, Jessica Lueck - 20

Evan Latona, a high school wrestler, sustains a season ending concussion during his regional tournament. Against his dad’s wishes, he starts cutting weight in secret, hoping to recover in time to go to states and compete.

The Pomegranate Tree ca , usa

Sara Nell - 23, Erica Kennedy - 23, Lindsey Ellis - 22, Kanika Vora - 22 After losing her father, a sixteen year old Muslim girl must convince her Hindu neighbors to provide her refuge for one violent night during the Partition of India.

Slice of Life

Eyes are the windows to the soul, and these films are windows into intimate moments in strangers’ lives! Peer into your peers’ hopes and fears and discover a shared humanity that will make your existence feel both inconsequential and more important than ever before.

Saturday April 30th 4.45pm / Uptown 2

This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

3:45 PM

Blue Corridor 15

ca , usa

Alisha Liu - 21

Dubheasa Lanipekun - 24

A girl sinks into contemplation during a picnic at a park.

Faultlines emerge and tensions come toa head in a teenage friendship close to sisterhood.

Girls & the Party

Portraits

france

Paloma Lopez - 24 A group of girlfriends prepare for the anticipated summer party in a cramped bathroom. Between boy talk and makeup, Mercedes navigates her blossoming attraction for her friend Julia.

Thank You For Being Here

ca , Elizabeth Archer - 24, Nick Pugliese - 24, Harley Astorga - 24

usa

Tensions arise between a pair of roommates while awaiting the result of a pregnancy test.

united kingdom

ca , usa Chelsea Eisen - 21, Langston Siebens - 19, Will Noyce - 20, Miles Elliot - 19

Fleurs de limbes

canada

Juliette Poitras - 24, Sophie Valcourt - 24, Samuel Wilde Chénier - 24, Ryan O’Marra - 23 Mimi ditches her Grade 11 math class, determined to visit her sick grandfather in the hospital. Throughout the day, a mantra echoes in her head: everything will be okay. As Mimi’s mission turns into an obsession, she finds her hope tested.

Sorry for the Inconvenience

ca , usa

Jane Chow - 23, Peter Rafe - 24, Oscar Martinez - 23, Tav Bartlett - 24

Portraits follows 22- year-old Tess as she returns to a party in her hometown after ghosting her friends for the past year.

In Los Angeles Chinatown, a lonely teenager tries to help her parents keep their seafood restaurant afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.

War Animals

Where the Bird Goes

colombia

Eduardo Bustos - 19 After a long time, Antonio meets Rubén the night before they face each other in a wrestling tournament final. They wander around, looking for something to repress their desires.

ca , usa Troy Charbonnet - 22, Rocky Mendola - 21, Omeed Farsoni - 22, Evan Feng - 22

A young couple is forced to confront their declining mental health after the disappearance of their pet bird.

Centerpiece Saturday April 30th 6.15pm / Uptown 1

What lies at the center of NFFTY? Even more incredible films and filmmakers of course! The only thing bigger than the talent on display in this screening is the pure passion that was poured into these projects to bring them to fruition. A mix of genres and forms, join us as we enjoy filmmaking at its finest. This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

Aziz

ny , usa Ramiel Petros - 21

Childhood friends, whose seemingly playful road trip belies the difficult route ahead, find their friendship forever altered by the final stop.

fufu

canada

Omolola Ajao - 21 A daughter reminisces on tradition.

Chicks

ga , usa Geena Marie Hernandez - 22, Chayse Banks - 23, Chris Violette - 23, Sky Theis - 21

Chico Virtual

ny , Olivia De Camps - 22, Gabriel Connelly - 24

Co-presented by

usa

did i look cuban then? ca , usa

María Alvarez - 24

A teenage boy must come to terms with the harsh reality of his immigrant status when his older brother alarmingly doesn’t come home.

“did i look cuban then?” is an exploration into the intersectionalities of my Cuban-American upbringing and multigenerational womanhood through the lens of poetry, photography, cinematography, screen-printing, and found family footage.

How To Raise A Black Boy ny , usa

ONE DAY YOU’LL GO BLIND ca , usa

Silvering

Justice Jamal Jones - 20

Leo Pfeifer - 23

An experimental fairytale dedicated to the modern black boy, in which four boys disappear one night, as many black boys do, and find themselves on a fantastical journey to break the curses of black boyhood.

At age 25, Justin Bishop lost his sight — and his skateboarding career. Three years later he set out to learn, again.

A bubbly, girly slumber party spirals quickly out of control when a shy teen becomes the center of her friends’ bizarre nighttime rituals.

united kingdom

Eilidh Nicoll - 21 Upon discovering a grey hair, a woman becomes entangled in insecurity and fear of the future. The sanctuary of the bathroom takes a turn for the sinister as she spirals into a panic – and the hair becomes her tormentor.

Experimental Visions Saturday April 30th 8pm / Uptown 2

Lean into light bending structures, melodies in loving memory, and all-around visually immersive experiences with these undeniably original experimental shorts. From poetic journeys to steadfast subversions of tradition, storytelling is readily refigured in this array of dynamic films. This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

@scroll_alice

Chokehold

united kingdom

Céline Ufenast - 22 A film about our love-hate relationship with Instagram.

I Find Him In The Weather

wa , usa

canada

Nathalie Taylor - 21, Mekelah Vasquez-Brown - 22

Hourglass House

china

Yinghai Hu - 25

A group of peculiar individuals prepare themselves for a dinner party that ends in a devilish surprise. Chokehold explores a gothic fantasy in the form of fashion.

The little boy wanted to take an adventure in the desert, but the mother could not leave the family behind. Meanwhile, sand is pouring into the house continuously, covering the family members around him.

Korridor

LACHESIS

Mia Lorentsen - 21

Walter Duncan - 7

ca , usa Gregory Alexander Foltynowicz - 23

An animated collection of memories recounting a loss.

Confined in their flat in Berlin, March 2020, a Mother and her 7-year old son collaborate on a playful testament to creativity — a fantastical short made using only a clothes horse, a shiny hula hoop, and a lamp. In the process, they transform their ordinary corridor into a ghostly and experimental place marked by gamelan sounds and transfixing light imagery.

The universal struggle between making independent and imposed choices. Our “true” life path decisions are heavily influenced by many external factors (known as the imposed choice) such as our environment, our friends/ families, and spiritual inclinations. However, this internal compass (known as our independent choice) such as personal passions and feelings that help guide us to our mind’s “true” path.

germany

NILE: A Visual Embodiment of a Sonic Experience mi , usa Miles Naasir Reuben - 22, Gary Jay - 24 A non-linear short film that exhibits the various memories of a son’s journey to rebuild his connection to his late father. A five-part story told through imagery, poetry, dance, and music - based on the song “Nile” by Beyoncé & Kendrick Lamar.

Vinyl Beginning

taiwan

Lulu Chiang - 16 In a vinyl record shop packed of his childhood memories, an 80-year-old man reminisces about his good old days. As the vinyl spins and the melody plays, it brings to life all of his life’s chapters spanning 80 years.

Pandrog

ny , usa Jard Lerebours - 23

Ridā

united kingdom

Raza Tariq - 19, SAIA - 19, Archie McEwan - 19

Pandrog is about the trappings of gender and masculinity within the diaspora. The hope of a great escape, from Babylon.

A visual album charting the spiritual trajectory of an emotional marathon.

Vodník Many Years After the Rainstorm ca , usa

when to sleep

Emma Penaz Eisner - 18 In San Francisco, years after his hideous crimes, the fiendish water creature Vodník emerges from Czech folklore to recount his beguiling tale.

ma , usa

Tia Walker - 17 The discourse in the mind of a girl who only has the power to control her anger, sexuality and fear for the day she may end up just like the people who raised her.

Thrills & Chills Saturday April 30th 8.45pm / Uptown 1

Spooky, scary superstitions send shivers down your spine! Viral videos and sinister smart devices might lead to your demise… meeting your girlfriend’s parents has never been more nerve-racking! This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

Another Taste

ca , usa

Lizz Marshall - 24

denmark

“Another Taste” is a surreal horror music video by Lizz Marshall with music by Kathulu Lemon, a duo comprised of Lizz Marshall and Alex Winkler.

Spare Body

wa , usa

Ethan Hunt - 16 While searching for some extra money, a teenager discovers the shocking truth behind what his parents have been hiding, and soon finds out about its beyond sinister intentions.

Peaches and Scream Adrian Kirk Ejsing - 21 Thomas has finally been invited to his girlfriend, Annas, home, but the joy is short lived, when he finds out, why he’s never been invited.

Talisman

canada

Reangsei Phos - 20, Angela Wang - 19 When Yi and his superstitious Chinese parents move into a new home, tension rises as Yi believes there is a ghost among them.

Proto

ca , usa Cal J.T. Moreno - 24

A young couple discovers their smart devices are listening a little too closely.

Wendigo

ireland

Max Hendrickson - 16 A young man who visits an abandoned house in the mountains is haunted by its sinister pagan past.

Presented by

Smahorror

japan

Masaki Nishiyama - 22, Cao Moji - 22 After school, Reina and the others discover a video on the internet.

The Evergreen Screen Sunday May 1st 9.30am / Uptown 1

CROW CALL AND RESPONSE canada / philippines Axaxia OM Castro - 11 Crow call and response is about the pollution in the waters and that we need to act upon it some how.

That Piece Of You

or , usa Jessica Barr - 23, Emily Price - 23

With help from her girlfriend Maddie, Trisha sneaks into her old house to search for possible answers when the new tenant and his date return to the house unexpectedly.

This program is the pride of the Pacific Northwest! Revel in shorts produced by artists finding their filmmaking footing in our own backyard, and uncover stories that reach far beyond our corner in #UpperLeftUSA This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

Good Neighbors

wa , usa Atanacio Rodriguez - 22, Lennon Sullivan - 21, Taylor Amble - 20, Krister Persson - 22

An art student finds success through mysterious elves until she unearths their true intentions.

The Invisible Man

wa , usa

Nisqually Moving Forward or , usa

Ode 2 Embarrassment

Caleb Jacobson - 20

Hailey McGill - 22

Legendary tribal leader Billy Frank Jr., dedicated his life to fishing and land rights in the Pacific Northwest. His son, Nisqually Chairman Willie Frank III shares a vision for a path forward during time spent on the river.

From early middle school into adulthood, the silly creations from YouTube channel “Filmd2bEpic” have been publicly available for years, and the delete button is oh so tempting.

Unemployment Hotline

Elijah Anthony Feigner - 17, Dylan Feigner - 15

wa , usa

A young woman is visited by a stranger in the dead of winter. A short film adaptation of H.G. Welle’s novel.

Unemployment Hotline Is a deeply personal look into people’s experience with unemployment and isolation during COVID-19. With busy phone lines and rising unemployment numbers, millions of Americans were unheard in this crisis, Unemployment Hotline gives a voice to these unheard stories.

Nikos Campbell - 19

wa , usa

Valor & Sacrifice

wa , usa

Emilio Miguel Torres - 21 Amidst an island-wide labor strike in 1930’s Puerto Rico, a passionate politician named Pedro Albizu Campos must make the decision between solidifying his legacy as the first elected governor of the territory or staying true to his morals and cause.

Coping For the Best Sunday May 1st 10.15am / Uptown 3

We get by with a little help from our (sea monkey) friends! These shorts showcase a remarkable array of mechanisms that get us through the day, the year, and life in general. Whether you’re processing experiences from the past or are faring in real time, you can find solace and solidarity in these stories. This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

HAVEN IN THE BOOTH

ca , usa Leo Pfeifer - 23, Sophie DeGreen - 23, Samantha Thomas - 23

At a Hip Hop therapy program in The Bronx, 18-year-old Marc Brooks unravels complex truths about life through his own creative expression.

Pathei Mathos

usa / bra zil Vitória Vasconcellos - 21, Billy Gould - 20, Evan Siegal - 21

Increasingly disturbing flashbacks haunt a grieving girl who struggles to navigate her own pain in a desperate attempt to free herself from the trauma that has taken over her life.

I Am A Traister: The Sarah Moskovitz Story ca , usa Spirit Avedon - 13, Alexa Biggs - 16, Veronica Howard - 11, Izzy Kashper - 14, Ella Levkowitz - 16, Asher Meron - 12, Bella Rahi - 15, Henry Ullendorff - 15, Olivia Uzielli - 16, Linc Weinstock - 15

Last Seen

mi , usa Nathan Ginter - 21, Shane Bagwell - 21, Brian Niles - 21

After his sister goes missing with no leads, a strange connection forms between a young man and the Sea-Monkey pets she left behind.

An animated film that tells the story of an unsung hero in our community. Sarah Traister Moskovitz cofounded the Child Survivors of the Holocaust therapy and support group in the 1980s which went on to be a worldwide phenomenon. For the first time this generation of child survivors could name their experience, find community and begin to heal.

Sticky Fingers

ny , usa Camille Ramos - 22, Chloe Ramos - 22, Gina York - 22, Lily Bump - 22

Urban newbie Moll, feeling isolated and ignored in the big city, develops an unsavory habit to fulfill with her desire to be seen.

the waiting room

wa , usa

Mary Lawrence - 22 In this film, I curate a space for rest and acceptance~ a dreamscape waiting room~ an alternative to the fluorescent-lit, stale-magazine-clad, lonesome and anxiety inducing hospital waiting room routine for the chronically ill. Enter each room and be comforted by gathered affirmations and poetry.

Next Level

Captivating festival audiences for years as they’ve honed their craft, this assortment of adept and decorated alumni are considered ambitious auteurs in the NFFTY Cinematic Universe. Join us as we celebrate the work of these bright stars, to iNFFiniTY…and beyond!

Sunday May 1st 12.30pm / Uptown 2

This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

Presented by

Bug Farm

Dear Jason

Eureka

Four distinct women in Central Florida bond over crickets, superworms and cockroaches on an insect farm in the small town of LaBelle.

ason Hogan, a wrongfully convicted prisoner of over 20 years, has the rare opportunity to have his case reviewed by the Colorado state clemency board and this film may be instrumental in aiding in his exoneration. Detailing the support from loved ones and strangers alike, “Dear Jason” reveals a unique perspective on the lives of those directly affected by wrongful conviction - the missed life events, uncomfortable conversations, prolonged feelings of grief, and the stark realities of life unjustly locked away.

A young indentured Chinese prostitute must overcome her toxic dependency on the brothel madam on the eve of the 1885 antiChinese riot in Eureka, California.

Everything Is As It Should Be

Hilum

I Guess I’m in Love

oh , usa Lydia Cornett - 25

Kylie Murphy - 25 A meditation guide lives alone in the pandemic.

co , usa Kate Lowell - 24, Kody Kurth - 24

nj , usa

philippines

Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan - 24, Hannah Schierbeek - 23 In a rural coastal village in the Philippines, Mona trains under her mother to start work as a professional mourner-for-hire. After a botched performance, Mona retreats from her mother’s fury, and seeks out a shaman to cure her inability to cry.

ca , usa Miida Chu - 24

ny , usa Julia Kupiec - 24, Ace Buckley - 25, Jeremy Truong - 25

A visual collage of intimacy for Clinton Kane’s “I Guess I’m in Love.”

Fine Lines

Witness these animated wonders willed into motion by craft from scratch! Drawn, painted, modeled, and collaged, awaken your imagination as these dazzling works of art come alive. A feast of fantastic flavors for the eyes, this collection has delights and depths that you won’t want to miss!

Sunday May 1st 12pm / Uptown 1

This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

About A Bat

ca , usa Jules Chin Greene - 24

ny , usa

Birthday Boy

turkey

Anatola Araba - 23

Irem Epikmen - 18

A filmmaker is told by a six yearold that she is, against all odds, her favorite childhood superhero. This spawns an identity crisis of race and gender in this personal narrative based on a true story.

In a distant future, an artificial intelligence named Aero is inaugurated as the first AI ruler of Earth. However, she soon finds important worldviews are missing from her databank, including the stories of the historically marginalized and oppressed.

Richard the Raccoon is eager to wake up on the day of his birthday party, but things take an unexpected turn.

ia ilusi?

Inkfish

Inner Path

malaysia

Erique Chong - 23 What’s real and what’s unreal? Does what we see exist or it’s all just our mind?

Afro Algorithms

Presented by

sc , usa Benay Daniel - 18, Avery Carpenter - 18

A character finds themselves isolated in their bedroom by their own choice and fearful of the world. Aided by sleeping medication, they can escape and rediscover memories and experiences they have forgotten in their dreams.

canada

Contagious Loneliness germany

Carina-Susann Krause - 22, Anna Schorpp - 22, Carla Mietzner - 25 A woman has to put aside her desire to be touched. The loss and change of her familiar surroundings pushes her to her limits.

Introducing iScreen Pro

Camille Verreault - 23

china

This is the story of Anatole, a character who travels the depths of his planet making wonderful discoveries. He tries to bring life back to this space that has long been abandoned with the help of his companion, a little rabbit.

A fictional old commercial promoting a digital mask called ‘iScreen Pro’ implies people’s insane life under the worldwide pandemic.

Jiaxin (Lydia) Wang - 24

Jii-chan

Life Eternal

Overload

Every girl at summer camp knows the legend of the Creature of Camp Calawaga... But is it just a story?

When a tree falls, it does not die.

Inside a mind with faulty noise processing.

Password to the *****

Pharmacy Odyssey Faye Thomas - 22

Pua Ka Uahi

Stolen

hungary

wa , usa

Legend Has It

fl , usa

Joie Lim - 22

Lainey Davidson - 22

A naive and imaginative child mistakes her dying grandfather for an astronaut.

Adél Szegedi - 22 The basis of understanding the global nature is to get to know the nature within us - our own nature - and to look at the process of individual personality development as a component of a global phenomenon. The film brings a poem to life which winds between dreams, nightmares, childhood memories, diary notes, and their adult interpretation, reflecting on the issues raised by the search for the meaning of existence and the feeling of frequent hopelessness.

ny , usa Samuel Wright Smith - 20

ri , usa

Vanessa gets her period at the 7th grade dance and doesn’t know what to do! She turns to a giant sea spirit who gives her a ride to the pharmacy to buy her first box of pads.

hi , usa Kalilinoe Detwiler - 21, Tiffany Ganti - 24, Noah Domingo - 24, Cori Tsurumaki - 24

sc , usa Willow Edmonds - 17

ca , usa Christina Giordano - 24

Where do stolen items go?

Pele, the hot-tempered volcano goddess, races Kamapuaʻa, the shapeshifting trickster, from Puna to Hilo. Win or lose, Pele must put aside her stubbornness and realize that the journey made the destination worth reaching.

Suburb

united kingdom

Miles Jezuita - 22, Rainie Kim - 22, Hamish Dodd - 22 Compared to the bustling life of London’s City, in the quiet, static suburb, lurk foxes. Suburb is a glimpse into what mischief these enigmatic creatures wreak on their man-made surroundings.

WHERE ARE YOU REALLY FROM? ca , usa Steven Lee - 21 A visual, surrealist exploration on the absurdity and inconclusive nature of living in a double culture, personally from a Taiwanese American lens.

Against All Odds Sunday May 1st 12.45pm / Uptown 3

Fallen Prince

ca , usa

Lukas Dong - 23 In the classic fairy-tale The Nutcracker, Clara rescues the Prince from evil. In 2020, evil is the uncertainty that torments a young dancer pursuing a career in ballet. Separated from his family, Alex spends the cold, pandemic ridden winter in isolation and is forced to re-examine everything that was once familiar, until he meets his Clara.

MTXE: Mental Toughness Xtra Effort in , usa Emmanuel Terrell - 21, Joseph Ford 22, Tim Hudson - 20, Kin Yat Yeung - 19 Two Indianapolis wrestlers from the Eastside, overcome incredible odds, and compete at the highest level in high school wrestling.

Silence the naysayers, even if that say-nayer is yourself! A showcase of indomitable spirit, these films will give you the inspiration you need to push past the doubts and doubters and pursue your most precious passions. This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

Firebird

ma , usa Carley Byers - 21, Peti Deer - 22, Ian Dumas - 22, Jake Lutter - 23

When Nora, a seamstress and aspiring pointe dancer, starts taking notes for the company’s first cast soloist, she is confronted with the reality of ballet’s physical and emotional demands.

Srikandi

canada / indonesia Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto - 20, Matthew Herst - 24

17 year old Anjani is still grieving the death of her father, while simultaneously trying to save his shadow puppet studio from being sold by her mother.

Men In Sync

sweden / united kingdom Parmida Hamdollazadehkive - 23, Mia Grundy - 21, George Clare - 23, Paola Abarca Andronova - 24

Male artistic swimmers aren’t allowed to compete in Olympic artistic swimming, despite the discipline being included in the games since 1984. Men In Sync explores the inequal sport and the love of the water.

Phantasmic Futures Sunday May 1st 2.30pm / Uptown 1

Beam me up, NFFTY! These films will introduce you to unfathomable frontiers, otherworldly creatures, and tantalizing tech that will make you redefine your earthly issues. Tomorrow’s algorithm is ever-evolving, buckle up and enjoy visions of what’s to come! This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

Darkside

british columbia

Spencer Zimmerman - 23, Braiden Van Grootel - 22, Liam Meredith - 22, Raine LeMay - 18 After a devastating tragedy, an astronaut struggles to complete his interstellar mission to rescue a lost crew.

Ilea

fl , usa Samuel Correa - 16

Lyra’s parents disappeared during a mission to space. On her 18th birthday, she finds a clue that gives hope to her years-long search for them.

Equinox

Presented by

HABITAT

canada

spain

Jonah Haber - 23, Sahil Mirchandani - 24, Susannah Haight - 24, Patricia Roque - 23

Jaime A. Calachi - 21, Javier Huesa - 23, Laura Avilés - 21, Jools Beardon - 24

Equinox is inspired by the concept of the two faces: the face you show the world and the face of who you truly are.

In a dead-end room lives a slave of the system, addicted to the computer mouse and a reality show that never ends. Obsessed with an illusion, his dream is to go to the paradise that he has seen in a TV commercial...with just a flick of a finger.

I look back and it’s gone

MIA

romania

Teona Galgoțiu - 21, Denisa Velicu - 21 An experiment with a device that tries to reconstruct memory fragments. Three characters who try to find a way to save important memories. A childhood memory, in which there was a storm outside and some stories were recorded on a phone.

denmark

Sofia Maria Hjelmer Nielsen - 18, Christine Frost - 16, Mika Bengtsson - 18 Kasper is tired of his boring and ordinary life, but when he is gifted an electronic personal assistant by his workplace, everything seems to change.

Seismic Soundtracks Sunday May 1st 3pm / Uptown 2

Shaping the sounds of the future and reviving beats from the past, experience the genre-bending playlist of NFFTY 2022! This collection of effervescent videos will have you out of your seat and dancing to the beat – go little rockstar! This screening may not be suitable for all ages.

BGourd & Beansprouts “Virtual Machine”singapore

Binocular Trick

Crispin Tan - 23, Terri Teo - 24, Daniel Chan - 25, Hanae Gomez - 21

Spencer Zimmerman - 23, Braiden Van Grootel - 22, Liam Meredith - 22

XAVIA, a helpless employee at a Nameless company, is unwillingly taken on a strange journey without resolution when she encounters versions of herself.

Carley Sunn “Don’t Tell My Mom” mo , usa Kaylinn Clotfelter - 20, Andrew Trice - 21, Isaiah Satterfield - 21, Logan Triplett - 24 Based on the short story “Sticks” by George Saunders. Three siblings navigate the loss of their mother’s life and the loss of their father’s mind.

british columbia

An inconspicuous night turns into a fight for survival when a home invasion goes terribly wrong.

Cellar ca , usa Roxy Sophie Sorkin - 21, Brian Niles - 21, Shane Bagwell - 23, Langston Griffith-Siebens - 20 Char looses her mind and falls into the trap of the fashion demons that live in her cellar.

Go Away

or , usa Hope Alexander - 23, Shyanne Aponte - 25

While dragging around her own dead body, a girl unearths why she must let go.

Born

ny , usa Jenny He - 23, Christabelle Tan - 22, Jeremy Liguori - 24, Ian Hunter - 22

On the day Sawyer moves out of his childhood home, he witnesses vignettes of children at different stages of their life under the tutelage of their parents.

Brumatti “In Shape For Summer” mo , usa Kaylinn Clotfelter - 20, Andrew Trice - 21, Isaiah Satterfield - 21, Logan Triplett - 24 A newspaper boy encounters an obstacle on his journey to making money for the most epic summer ever.

Contradash “Superficial” ca , usa

Frances Forever “Space Girl” al , usa

Neema Sadeghi - 24, Noah Talas - 24, Troy Charbonnet - 22, Brent Assayag - 25

Christina Xing - 22, Shane Bagwell - 22, Harrison Allen - 23 A coming of age space love story.

Music video for artist Contradash.

I Get Happy When I Think of You ga , usa

Jany Green “Lost in Love” Directors Cut ca , usa

Pong Tulyathan - 20

Dan Lesser - 23, Autumn Griffin - 23, Neema Sadeghi - 24, Karl Junguist - 24

An intoxicated controlling man who is trying to show love in something that is not there anymore physically in human form to anyone else but, is to him mentally.

Lost in Love by Jany Green - Directors Cut. Jany puts the green in Jany’s green gardening services.

Good Vibes

ca , usa Xiang Cao - 24, Haolun Xu - 24, Ruijia Wang - 22

The story is about break free, run away and reborn. It is depicted in the video a lost spaceman transmits himself into a virtual game and redeems a real life by his craving of life.

Rainy Days and Crooked Sheets

wa , usa

Barb Hoffman - 21 Animated music video for local Seattle band Hi Crime, and one of their most recent songs, Rainy Days and Crooked Sheets.

The Heroes of Baseball oh , usa

Jack Campise - 23, Steph Jacqlin 23, Andrew Jacobson - 23, Jack Massura - 22 Two childhood friends freely explore their suburban town until a bizarre and unsettling encounter fractures the duo, leaving them alone to cope in dissonant ways.

Mia Gladstone “Food” nj , usa Zac Dov Wiesel - 21, Sophia Loren Heriveaux - 20, Shane Bagwell - 21

Overexposed

ca , usa Will Noyce - 20, Jeremy Ivory-Chambers - 20, Shane Bagwell - 20

PÉCHO philippines Luis Villanueva - 20, Luke Dobrovic - 19, Sophia Mickelson - 19

A series of textures inspired by Jelani Aryeh’s Overexposed.

PÉCHO is a bilingual FrenchEnglish music video inspired by classic French disco and world cinema from Hong Kong to New York – the film paints a hallucinatory vignette of love and betrayal.

Sarah and the Sundays “I’m So Bored” ca , usa

Sabrina Song “Thaw”

Vivid “Lean” ny , usa

Dan Lesser - 23, Autumn Griffin - 23, Neema Sadeghi - 24, Troy Charbonnet - 22

Zachary Wiesel - 21, Julieta Lozano - 20, Gabriel Connelly - 24, Katie Balun - 21

Official Video for Sarah and the Sunday’s “I’m So Bored”

“Thaw” is the latest music video for Clive-Davis artist Sabrina Song. Thawing is a kind of sad hibernation, like you’ve built up layers of protection and defense mechanisms that need to be slowly melted away. Most important is the slowness, change doesn’t happen overnight and everything is fragile and uncertain and gradual.

Food is Mia Gladstone a single from her EP CYCLE/S. The video explores Mia’s relationship with her body, food and the world, as she deals with being sexualized as women from a young age, and eventually what it means to take control of the narrative.

ny , usa

Logan Triplett - 24, Andrew Trice 23, Kaylinn Clotfelter - 21 Lean is a narrative style music video that sports elevated production design and miniatures as well as a commentary on the modern worker’s strife. A lot of inspiration was pulled from old “proletkult” and “agitprop” art of Soviet Russia, using this art to highlight the narrative of a marionette desk worker who wants to break free from the status quo of a drab day-to-day desk job.

X-Ray

mn , usa Martaize Smith - 17, Moyana Olivia - 18

This song and video was created to raise awareness to racial injustice and encourage people to take tangible action against police brutality.

Dynamic Duos Sunday May 1st 3.15pm / Uptown 3

The subjects in this screening are like peanut butter and chocolate – you won’t find a better pair! Unless you’re allergic, in which case, choose your own exceptional snacking escapade! From growing up to growing old, sit back and enjoy these stories of tenacious twosomes as they tackle their troubles together. *This screening may have been manufactured on equipment that processes tree nuts. This screening may not be suitable for all ages

Alfie

canada

Emily Ryder - 23, Sabrina Soto - 21 After discovering an abandoned house on a walk home from school, cousins Alfie and Julia, begin a journey of selfexploration in which Alfie starts to push the boundaries of binary gender expression and reject gendered fashion.

NOVENA

ca , usa Fernando Lopez - 24

Set in South East Los Angeles, two estranged highschool bestfriends reunite at the novenario ceremony for one of their deceased mothers.

Hex & Rage

ca , usa Sasha Lebedeva - 21, Riel Macklem - 23, Clara McGregor - 24

Two teen witches avenge their stripper friend by hexing the man who assaulted her.

Inseparable: The Story of Elly and Lya ca , usa Alexander McDaniel - 11, Gracie Sandman - 15, Idalis McZeal - 14, Noa Nelson - 16, India Spencer - 15, Gabriela Barrett - 18 This film is about two sisters, Elly and Lya, and their journey through surviving the Holocaust as separated sisters, and their eventual reunion after the war.

Only the Weak will be Punished canada

The Art of Avila Rose

Leonard Giovenazzo - 22, Adam Mbowe - 22, Antoine FoleyDupont - 22, Louis Parent - 22, Clara Tailleur-Labrie - 22

Michelle Gao - 17, Elsis Saravia - 16, Isaiah Molinga- Puletasi - 16, Yulieth Aguilar - 17, Sojo Titus - 16

Maxime and William are two referees in the Junior hockey league. On the eve of the grand finale, their friendship is confronted with the brut nature of the game, as the coach and captain of the Pointe-Claire’s Rhinos try to scare them off.

In this short doc we meet Isaac Vazquez Avila and Lauren Rose D’amato, the artists and owners of Avila Rose Signs, a custom sign shop in San Francisco, CA.

ca ,

usa

Moving Forward

sweden

Liselotte Persson - 23, Christian Zetterberg - 25, Albin Abrahamsson - 19, Jakob Eliasson - 19 Summer is coming to an end. Tomorrow Misha moves abroad, while Fanny stays in their hometown. Her jealousy and feelings of being left behind are met by Misha’s will of making the best out of their last day together. Where will they be tomorrow?

Closing Night Sunday May 1st 5pm / Uptown 1

Arctic Summer

ny , usa Kyle Rosenbluth - 25, Daniel Fradin - 25

As NFFTY 2022 comes to a close, we’re pulling focus to a thoughtful trove of stories ruminating on leaving, missing, losing, and returning to places we call home. These affecting accounts and powerful perspectives shine a light on uniquely human experiences. Join us as we celebrate these films, and the full NFFTY 2022 lineup, at the Awards Ceremony immediately following the screening.

California - Chappell Roan

A poetic meditation on Tuktoyaktuk (Tuk), an Indigenous community in the Arctic and one of the northernmost towns in the world. The film captures Tuk during one of the last summers before climate change forced Tuk’s coastal population to relocate to more habitable land.

A lyric video about dreams and missing home.

Malihini

Winter of ‘79

wa , usa Ha’aheo Auwae-Dekker - 20

An introspective look into Hawaiian identity and living on the mainland, filmmaker Ha’aheo Auwae-Dekker uses a candid conversation with their mother to dissect and deconstruct where they come from and how their family has lived in diaspora.

ca , usa

Chappell Roan - 21, Ethan Seneker - 23

Dial Home

ny , usa César Martínez Barba - 25

Within the walls of a Tijuana call center, a feeling of being in limbo pervades. Homesickness floods the telephone line as agents deported from the United States make calls across the US-Mexico border.

ca , usa Julia Elihu - 24, Leslie Susman - 23, Gabe Knows-Newton - 23, Alex Joyce - 23

At the onset of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, a Persian-Jewish mother is forced to question her faith in her country.

Screening Committee & NFFTY Team NFFTY is a program of The Talented Youth, a 501c3 non-profit NFFTY Screening + Screenplay Committee

Greg Arietta Robert Bojorquez Lily Bolton Mohammad Reza Cheshomi Kevin Conner Melina Coumas Amber Dhall Andy Dieguez Joe Eskanos Kalee Forsythe

Harley Foos Damian Garrod Rebecca Haynes Ella Hicks Dan Hudson Gabbi Kleiner Theresa Robinson Kaitlin Suggs Hannah Villanueva Amy Williams Elias ZX

Dan Hudson Executive Director

Amy Williams Director of Programming

NFFTY 2022 Staff

Sydney Jarol Events Manager

Krupa Kanaiya Marketing Director

Leomary Rodriguez Program Director

Melina Coumas Festival Production Manager

Harley Foos Outreach Coordinator

Lily Bolton Programming Intern & Festival Coordinator Intern

Hannah Villanueva Programming Intern & Festival Marketing Intern

Andy Dieguez Programming Intern

Additional NFFTY Production Team Senior Programmer/ Podcast Producer Robert Bojorquez

Program Coordinators Ryan Saunders & Theresa Robinson

Senior Programmer Kevin Conner

Festival Design Lizzie Frost & Todd Atticus

Trailer Editor Amy Williams

Event Management TokitaBethune

Public Relations Smarthouse Creative

Livestream & Videography Production Support Ground Zero Radio

Kate Becker Creative Economy Director @ King County

Jeanette Gonzalez EP/Head of Production @ Manhattan Productions

Peter Barnes Director of Operations @ Formosa Interactive Seattle

Frank Clark Creative Director @ Square Tomato

Board of Directors Robert Bojorquez President Media Producer Frances Rubio Vice President Film Producer + Data-Driven Marketer Alex Johnston Secretary Filmmaker, Scholar & Media Educator, Seattle University

Griffith Gustafson Treasurer Development Finance @ Amazon Studios Ben Kadie Filmmaker Susan Buster Thomas Filmmaker

Anita M. Cal Karen Bennett Filmmaker, Film Producer, Media Media Educator Educator

Board Emeritus Jesse Harris Founder

Jocelyn R.C. Co-Founder

Kyle Seago Co-Founder

Alumni Advisory Board Pranay Patwardhan President Creative Director at Animal, New Delhi, India Noah Wagner Vice-President Director & Filmmaker

Dennis Kim Filmmaker

Tiffany Lin Filmmaker

Leo Pfeifer Director

Christina Xing Director & Creative Director

Alexander Zorn Filmmaker

Barb Hoffman Filmmaker

Morgana McKenzie Director & Filmmaker

Adam Hersko-RonaTas Filmmaker

Lindsay Sunada Director/Designer Jessica Stossel Creative Producer

Industry Advisory Board Philip Alvy Executive Director | Arts Integrated

Noel Goodwin Venue Education Manager | BFI

Anna Proulx Visual and Performing Arts Program Director | Syracuse University Los Angeles Semester (SULA)

Benjamin Wiessner Producer // VP of Sales & Distribution | Vanishing Angle

Kendra Ann Sherrill Bri Castellini Festival Director of Film Community Manager Children’s Film Festival | Seed&Spark Seattle | Northwest Film Forum MarBelle Co-Founder/Editor-inChief | Directors Notes

Sean Wiener Director of Azul Quetzalli Programs, Media Arts Lab Academy Manager & | Jacob Burns Film Center Mentor | BAYCAT Alex Rose Creative Economy Advocate | City of Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture and Office of Economic Development

Matt Cici Founder | A Creative Megan Garbayo-López Education Manager | SIFF

Toby Brooks Senior Manager, Ignite | Sundance Institute

Specials Thanks NFFTY is grateful to the following persons who have contributed since our past festival edition, without whom we would not be able to produce NFFTY 2022: Monique Courcy Robert Bojorquez Frank Harris Kalee Quinones Erin Katz Philip Alvy Jim Wilgus Esha More Joseph Gostin Renee Olmstead Kathleen Mullen Blair Brooke-Weiss Ronald Klein Caelin Homola Patrick Portugal Frank Clark Nanci Vaeth & Carl Kadie Regan Monique Lopez-DeVictoria Al Hillel & Sue Wiedenfeld Mary DeLorme Scott Waller Stefanie Malone Robert Bojorquez Susan Thomas Dan Lesser Lesley Pfeifer Cheri Gaulke Samara Hutman Baylee Sinner Lori Seago

Jacob Dmitri Mihalek Karen Bennett Peter Barnes Brian Alter Leo Pfeifer Bradley Ross Maja Gans Karin Williams Jill Altemus-Fields Nesib Shamah Ben Kadie Soo Ji Lee Helen Valkavitch Cody Wallace Richard Graboski Sandra Sabean Alex Johnston Bonnie Trueman Brent & Courtney Stiefel Nathan Olson Anne Bobroff Boie Deborah Rustin Bryan Roth Karen Dugan Dan Hudson Chris Newell Donna Brown Karen Bystrom Jeanette Gonzalez Mark Eisner

Wistar Kay Virginia Rathburn Neema Sadeghi Adrienne Fox Paul Siple Romain Vakilitabar Barbara Trenary Rebecca McCord Anita M. Cal Sydney Jarol Maureen Gans Frances Rubio Suzanne Cohen Sarah Rivka Ryan Elizalde Judy Pigott Maia Jones Dawson Taylor Catherine McCord Kinnon Williams Jackie Fitzpatrick Christopher Trueman Ariel Glassman Liv Faris Cathy Henkel Zachary Williams Kevin Conner Paris Nguyen Katrien Andria-Habermann Emily Browne

Additionally, we would like to thank the following funders and agencies who have given support, including necessary relief funding due to the economic impacts of COVID-19:

Lastly, we are grateful to the contributions of the following individuals and organizations who are making this year’s edition possible:

Scan Design Foundation

Harley Soltes Charitable Fund

City of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture

ArtsFund

All of our industry presenters and screening hosts

Tulalip Tribes Charitable Contributions

All of our NFFTY 2022 jurors

Washington State Arts Commission

City of Seattle Office of Economic Development

National Endowment for the Arts

The Norcliffe Foundation

SITY Foundation

James D. Scheinfeld Family Foundation

All of our interns from the past year, including Rachel Park, Chloe Rankin, Nandaini Singh, Marcella Rogerson, and Rebecca Haynes

4Culture King County Creative

Morgan Family Foundation

Kate Becker Sara Rankin Pauline Spiegel Cici Estela Mackenzie Reed Jorge Laborico Katherine McColgan Afina Walton Eric Willms Manuel Rodriguez Natalie Meek April Jingco Robert Duggan Molly Haas Abigail Blue Fulkerson Erin Wright Zoey Knox Ashlan Christensen Christina Meile William Brand Kate Campbell Leah Bross Ryan Christoffersen David Maltes Phil Seneker Susan Buster Thomas Nicole Stellner & Peter Eberhardy Derek McKane Rachel Noll James Pamela Skene

All of our NFFTY 2022 volunteers

Our NFFTY Alumni Advisory Board Our Community Partners, including host venues VERA and SIFF The Youth Cinema Network, including our friends at FiSH and YAAAS! Scan Design Foundation and Station Next

All of our curatorial and distribution partners, including Vimeo Staff Picks, DUST, ALTER, DEDZA Films, Directors Notes, Short of the Week, and Film Movement

The JDogg Scholarship Fund

Our NFFTY Industry Advisory Board, including programming partners Vanishing Angle and Seed&Spark

Ashraf Hasham & Alex Rose @ Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture

Ariel Glassman & Caroline Rensel @ Common Great Joseph Krebs @ Scandiuzzi Krebs

Chris Swenson @ Seattle Office of Economic Development

Story of NFFTY 2007

2008–2009

2010

Jesse Harris realizes the need for an organization to support young filmmakers and joins with Jocelyn R.C. and Kyle Seago to launch NFFTY as a one-night festival with 14 films, and to form a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, The Talented Youth.

NFFTY expands to a three-day event, screening 113 films with over 4,000 in attendance, and launches year-round programming, NFFTY 365. In 2009, NFFTY begins accepting international films.

NFFTY expands again to become a four-day festival, featuring 190 films from 33 states and 16 countries and additional networking opportunities for filmmakers. A 48-Hour Film Contest is added to the festival weekend.

2011

2012

2013

Now the world’s largest film festival for emerging filmmakers, NFFTY 2011 screens 225 films, adds even more programming and opportunities, and is attended by over 200 filmmakers and an audience of 8,500.

NFFTY adds the Future of Film Expo trade show to the festival and features eight panels, 14 workshops, and over 30 exhibitors. Festival attendance exceeds 10,000.

NFFTY features 215 films from around over 30 countries and launches NFFTY Creative, connecting brands with NFFTY alumni to work on original projects. NFFTY alumni are now working for prestigious companies such as Pixar and HBO.

2014

2015

2016

NFFTY launches a Young Women in Film initiative, a year-round effort to support young female filmmakers. Of the 214 films that screen, over 40% are directed by women. NFFTY alumni produce both an original documentary and a national televised commercial for NFFTY Creative partners, garnering both ADDY and Telly Awards.

NFFTY features a record 248 films from 30 states and 25 countries, with over 12,000 in attendance and 48% female-directed films. The festival adds its Works-In-Progress event and launches the NFFTY Alumni Advisory Board.

The 10th anniversary festival includes 227 films from 24 countries, as well as an inaugural screenwriting competition: Story Starts Here. NFFTY takes its first steps into VR/360° with a panel and product demos. Starting to be recognized as one of the leaders in the film festival world, NFFTY is named “One of the 50 Best Festivals Worth the Entry Fee” by MovieMaker Magazine, TeenTix Best Film Organization, and one of FilmFreeway’s Top 100 Rated Festivals.

2017

2018

2019

NFFTY forges into its second decade with the largest festival yet, featuring 257 films from around the world. NFFTYX launches with a full VR/360° event featuring a boot camp and screening gallery. The Story Starts Here Screenplay Competition and Works In Progress round out a wildly successful year!

The four-day festival moves to October, and after receiving over 1,300 submissions, NFFTY screens 266 films from 24 countries and 24 U.S. States. In partnership with Oculus, NFFTYX creates an entire VR/360° gallery with NFFTY Official Selections from filmmakers and creators 24 and under. Over 50% of NFFTY 2018’s Official Selections are directed by female or non-binary identifying filmmakers!

NFFTY more than doubles the number of professional development events offered at the festival, and co-produces the 2nd Annual Film Career Day with the City of Seattle, including a keynote from Oscar-winning NFFTY alumna Rayka Zehtabchi. Producing partners of the 13th festival include Seed&Spark, NowThis, Sundance Institute, and Vimeo. Now 13 years strong, NFFTY has developed robust juries across eight competitions, with 31 jurors from film studios, festivals, and other positions of influence in the industry.

2020–2021 NFFTY 2020 was considered by the majority of attendees as the best virtual festival experience of 2020. The 14th NFFTY expanded to a 10-day festival, to include all of the livestreamed and on-demand programming, as well as an inaugural virtual Filmmaker Summit with two full days of professional development programming. For the third year running, 50%+ of official selected films were by female/non-binary filmmakers, and

over 40% of films were by non-white filmmakers. Our juried competitions expanded from 9 to 11 categories, with 40 top industry professional jurors, and $7,500 in cash was distributed to NFFTY 2020 award winners. 2021 saw the launch of a number of new programs and initiatives, including a fiveweek inaugural National Youth Filmmaker Summit, and a reimagined 3rd edition of Film Career Day as our first hybrid event.

NFFTY 2022 by the Numbers

258

Official Selections

30 States

3:45 PM

Convite

@scroll_alice

Counter Conformity

A Few Things I’m Beginning to Understand

CROW CALL AND RESPONSE

Cult of Domesticity

A NARRATION OF A FUNERAL

Daddy’s Girl

A Prayer for My Mother: The Eva Brettler Story

Dams: Pros & Cons

A Ship Called Lili: The Lillian Trilling Story

Darkside

Davis Out of the Unknown

About A Bat

Dead Meat

Absolutely No One Breaks Up With Bernadette Burns

Dear Destiny

Dear Jason

Afro Algorithms

Deborah Roberts’ I’m

Alfie

Dial Home

Andi

did i look cuban then?

Another Taste

Distanced

Arctic Summer

Divination Dave

Aska

Dogfood

Aziz

Dog Story

Alabama

Maryland

Ohio

Bad Bugs

Dream Sequence

California

Massachusetts

Oklahoma

Baseball

Dress Up

Colorado

Michigan

Oregon

Battleversary

Elizabeth

Connecticut

Minnesota

Pennsylvania

Beneath the Grass

En Avant

Delaware

Missouri

Rhode Island

Equinox

Florida

Montana

South Carolina

BGourd & Beansprouts “Virtual Machine”

Erebus

Georgia

Nevada

Texas

Binocular Trick

Eureka

Hawaii

New Jersey

Utah

Birthday Boy

Everything Is As It Should Be

Illinois

New Mexico

Virginia

Black Metal

Fallen Prince

Indiana

New York

Washington

Blue Corridor 15

Bolognese Born

39 Countries

Film Index

Father, Can’t You See Fighter

Find The Light

Brumatti “In Shape For Summer” 58

Firebird

Bug Farm

Fish Eyes

Busan, 1999

Fleurs de limbes

Buzzbrews

Frances Forever “Space Girl”

Frank Curiel: A Baseball Story

Frankie’s in Town

Brazil

Iceland

Romania

California - Chappell Roan

Canada

India

South Korea

China

Iran

South Africa

Carley Sunn “Don’t Tell My Mom”

Colombia

Ireland

Sri Lanka

Caterpillar Kisses

Cuba

Italy

Singapore

Cellar

Curaçao

Japan

Slovenia

Charming

Czech Republic

Lithuania

Spain

Chicks

Denmark

Mexico

Sweden

Chico Virtual

Estonia

Nepal

Scotland

Chokehold

France

New Zealand

Turkey

Coffee & Sugar

Guatemala

Norway

Taiwan

Colours

Germany

Nigeria

United Kingdom

Contagious Loneliness

Hungary

Philippines

United States

Contradash “Superficial”

Fuckboy

fufu

Girls & the party

Go Away

God Knows

Good Neighbors

Good Vibes

Goodbye Jerome!

Grey

HABITAT

HALF

Look, Mira

Poachers

The Heroes of Baseball

HAMMER

Love Stories

Portraits

The Invisible Man

Happy Birthday, You Made It

Maks

prey

=HAVEN IN THE BOOTH

Malihini

Proto

The Mis(RE)education of The Invisible yet Furious Five

The Modern Woman’s Guide to Pastry-Making

The Original Shareholder Experience

The Pomegranate Tree

The Rattlin’ Bog

The Starrs - Big Red Button

the waiting room

These Games We Play

Hear, There

Marked

Pua Ka Uahi

Hetero

Mawhialeo Ote Alowha

Pua Warriors

Hex & Rage

MELT

Pure

Hilum

Men In Sync

Hourglass House

Meow or Never

Rainy Days and Crooked Sheets

How To Raise A Black Boy

Meteorites from Vesta Found on Asteroid Bennu

Ridā

I Am A Traister: The Sarah Moskovitz Story

MIA

Sabrina Song “Thaw”

I Find Him In The Weather

Mia Gladstone “Food”

I Get Happy When I Think of You 58

Mind The Gap

Sarah and the Sundays “I’m So Bored”

Third Date

I Guess I’m in Love

Monkey Bars

Sauble

This Is About a Breakup

I Hated You at Your Funeral

Monsters of Mine

schadenfreude

36 34

Searching For The Wave

This is Why Girls Go to the Bathroom Together

Sea Souls

This Takes Time

I Like the Look of Today

Moving Forward

I look back and it’s gone

I LOVE YOU DON’T LEAVE ME

MTXE: Mental Toughness Xtra Effort

Seasick

I Make Good Sounds at Parties 32

My Best Friend

Seven Minutes of Dreams

ia ilusi?

My Dear Boy

Shared Blood

My Dog Has Fleas

Silvering

SINDER

Smahorror

Sorry for the Inconvenience

Spark Bird. A birdwatcher’s first ever journey

Thumbtale

To All My Darlings

To Wade or Row

Troleibusas

TWO BEERS

Unemployment Hotline

Valor & Sacrifice

Vibrant

Vinyl Beginning

49 59

If My Voice Rang Louder Than My Skin

Neither Seen Nor Heard

Ilea

I’m Burning?

NILE: A Visual Embodiment of a Sonic Experience

In Good Faith

Nisqually Moving Forward

Inkfish

No Dye

Inner Path

NOVENA

Spare Body

Vivid “Lean”

Ode 2 Embarrassment

Split Ends

On the Fence

Srikandi

Vodník Many Years After the Rainstorm

Interdimensional Pizza Pushers 43

ONE DAY YOU’LL GO BLIND

Introducing iScreen Pro

Only the Weak will be punished 60

Stitching a Life: The Story of Trudie Strobel

War Animals

We Are Like Waves

Immutable Uncertainties

Out of Touch

Sticky Fingers

Wendigo

Overexposed

Stolen

when to sleep

Inseparable: The Story of Elly and Lya

Jany Green “Lost in Love” Directors Cut

Overload

Straw Man

WHERE ARE YOU REALLY FROM? 55

Jii-chan

Pandrog

Suburb

Where the Bird Goes

46 37

Junko

Paper Kingdoms

Sum of Our Parts

Who Are You? (Nugusaeyo?)

Kaudo

Parked in America

Supersonica Girl

Wild Combination

44 37

Kintsugi

Password to the *****

Take heart!

Winter Insect, Summer Flower

Korridor

Pathei Mathos

Talisman

Winter of ‘79

61 38

LACHESIS

Peaches and Scream

Team Meryland

Wolf in Dude’s Clothing

Last Seen

PÉCHO

Thank You For Being Here

Worst Critic

26 43

Lata

Pharmacy Odyssey

That Piece Of You

Wuhan Driver

Legend Has It

PIE

The Art of Avila Rose

X-Ray

You Don’t Dance on Tables

You Missed a Spot

Zamboni

Life Eternal

Pitoc e icinakosian

the beginning & the middle

Little Big Shot

Please Introduce Yourself

Locked Down

Plum Town

The First 280 Honest Words of My Life

Notes

Autographs Consider this your NFFTY 2022 yearbook, use this space to share memories and messages. These pages may be worth money someday!

#NFFTY #FilmStartsHere Share Your Festival Experiences

@NFFTY

@NFFTYFILM

/NFFTY

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