- Feature + Shorts Screening
- Film Screening
Date: February 20, 2025
Time: 6:00 pm – 8:45 pm
Cost:
Location:
LOOK Cinemas Theater 4
657 West 57th Street
New York, New York 10019
There will be a Q&A Session with the filmmakers at 8:25 PM.
These films have not been rated and some content may not be appropriate for children.
- Animated Film Competition
Pina
Directed by: Jeremy Depuydt, Giuseppe Accardo
Country: Belgium / France
Minutes: 24
Premiere:
NYC Premiere
Warning:
At the beginning of the 20th century, in a remote village in the Sicilian countryside, Pina, the baker’s daughter, masks her power to regenerate the earth from others. With each harvest, unscrupulous bandits plunder the village, sowing terror. The kidnapping of Pina by the ferocious mafia boss will plunge the hamlet into an era of famine until the fate of the entire country is turned upside down.
- Short Film Competition
Birthday Blues
Directed by: Zinha Morgan-Bennett
Country: United States
Minutes: 10
Premiere:
World Premiere
Tony has just turned 26 and is feeling blue … that is until he follows his mysterious neighbors through a mystical closet and onto a dance floor where you never have to grow up.- Short Film Competition
Desync
Directed by: Minerva Navasca
Country: Canada
Minutes: 12
Ana, a young Filipina filmmaker, shoots a re-enactment of a fight she once had with her mother – a fight brought on by mutual refusals to communicate. Spurred on by the obsessive need for perfection, Ana “fixes” the fight by rewriting every veiled insult into a chance for forgiveness. As her perfect story diverges further from the reality of what happened, she begins to realise what her mom has been trying to say all along.- Short Film Competition
Yellow
Directed by: Elham Ehsas
Country: United Kingdom / Afghanistan
Minutes: 13
In Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, a woman walks into a Hijab store to buy her first full body veil from a Talib shopkeeper.- Music Video Competition
The Deep Rolling: Magma
Directed by: Robin Scovill
Country: United States
Minutes: 10
Premiere:
NYC Premiere
When an explosive Detroit jazz sextet begins rehearsing in a desolate industrial lounge, their music awakens iconic producer Warren Defever from a transcendental hibernation and, guided by unseen forces, he drives his classic Ford to where they are playing, and utilizing vintage gear and old school recording techniques, captures and inspires—live on tape—the band’s virtuoso, unrivaled performance. Director of Photography – Richie Trimble Editor – Cameron Gunn Production Designer – Pat Bird Wardrobe Stylist – Paulina Petkoski Executive Producers – Adam Jankovich, John Miskena, Paddy Lynch- Short Film Competition
Malti
Directed by: Mrunal Mestri
Country: India / United States
Minutes: 16
Premiere:
NYC Premiere
Warning:
A silent film that encompasses Malti’s constant back and forth between reality and illusion, after discovering her husband’s alleged affair.- Short Film Competition
You Don’t Have to Like Me
Directed by: Safiyah Chiniere
Country: United States
Minutes: 10
YOU DON’T HAVE TO LIKE ME delves into the harsh realities of a woman who presents as masculine, grappling with insecurities that threaten to consume her whole being. It captures the moments when disownment can lead to crippling self-judgment, when you feel like nothing more than a shadow of yourself. It’s a testament to the resilience, beauty, and strength of those who defy societal expectations, shedding light on the many facets of being a woman in a world that so often attempts to define and confine us.- Music Video Competition
Back and Forth
Directed by: Clara Gallagher
Country: United States / Serbia
Minutes: 4
Premiere:
NYC Premiere
The music video for Allie Young’s “Back and Forth” – filmed over the course of two days in Belgrade, Serbia, forged in blues and reds, dredged in silk and smoke and glass.
- Web Series Competition
Girls in Trouble: The Series – Vashti
Directed by: Alicia J. Rose
Country: United States
Minutes: 15
Premiere:
NYC Premiere
GIRLS IN TROUBLE: THE SERIES is an indie web episodic created by two Alicia’s – musician/writer Alicia Jo Rabins and director/editor Alicia J. Rose – produced by Lara Cuddy. After their successful collaboration on feature film A KADDISH FOR BERNIE MADOFF, the team now brings their focus to stories of Biblical women, expanding Rabins’ acclaimed song cycle into a series of snappy storytelling episodes. In each episode, Rabins takes the viewer on a journey into a Biblical woman’s story through a feminist diasporic lens, visits scholars and artists to get their take on the story, and celebrates the resilience and strength of these ancient characters. Episode 1 “Vashti” features the rebellious antihero of the Purim story, Queen Vashti.- Short Film Competition
Villain
Directed by: Sparky Tehnsuko
Country: United Kingdom
Minutes: 10
In the countryside of Iron Age Britain, teenage Georgia makes the unwise decision to seek revenge on the dragon that torched her home and killed her mother; however, her mission is stalled when she unexpectedly discovers a scaly child in the beast’s lair.- Short Film Competition
The Hypermnestic
Directed by: Julien Mouquet
Country: United Kingdom / France
Minutes: 20
Haunted by guilt and regret over her inability to have children, Gaby takes advantage of her husband Jo’s fading memory to create the past they wished they had lived. She fills their home with fake family photos and trinkets of grandchildren, weaving a tapestry of memories to rewrite their shared story. Driven by love and remorse, Gaby reshapes their history, determined to give Jo the life he dreamed of, even if it’s built on illusion. She hopes her efforts will bring him peace, granting him a sense of fulfillment and a life free of regrets.
