Past Films

Thursday April 23rd 2009, 8:00pm
Los Angeles, CA	Room in New York	John Kaiser	5 minutes
	A visual interpretation of Edward Hopper's 1932 painting,
	Room in New York.
Chicago, IL	Revolutionary Wall	Carl Paoli	24 minutes
	The filmmaker sets out to document an elusive and
	controversial graffiti artist. Will the artwork lead him to
	the artist?
Long Beach, CA	Purge	Brad Kammlah	16 minutes
	Struggling to mask the pain from years of abuse, Joy finds
	herself trapped in a secret addiction.
Sherman Oaks, CA	Worth	Kathi Carey	7 minutes
	When an undescript violin shows up at an upscale auction,
	it seems out of place until…..
Sweden	Karklesbarn (Love Child)	Daniel Wirtberg	7 minutes
	What happens to a young child when a new addition comes
	into the family?
UK	Sick	Michael Rymer	15 minutes
	As Brian's story slides backwards through 15 years of
	therapy, his daughter's crashes forward after one
	devastating night.
Toronto, Canada	Skylight	David Baas	5 minutes
	A mock animated documentary about the ecological
	plight of penguins.
Australia	Pigeonhole	Nicole Tanzabel	6 minutes
	An old man living in a high-rise council flat, manages
	self sufficiency.
S. Korea	Mr. Vending Machine	CGI Lab, Hae Jung Suk	22 minutes
	Mr. Ven-ma, who makes coffee in a vending machine,
	befriends a girl who misses her father.
Friday April 24th 2009, 8:00pm
Valencia, CA	Alternative	Andrew Swan	4 minutes
	Revenge or forgiveness? One man's choice will forever change
	his life.
Brooklyn, NY	Old Days	Matthew Shapiro	23 minutes
	Lillian, 74 years old, enters a retirement community and
	struggles to find her niche.
Rochester, NY	Harold Please	Lindsay Berkebile	15 minutes
	Harold, a recluse, has become so consumed with his relational
	fantasies outside his window, that he fails to see the
	relationship inside his apartment.
FSU	Sam and Zoe	Catherine Rehwinkel	9 minutes
	When Zoe's father suddenly dies, a dark secret threatens to
	ruin her relationship with Sam, her boyfriend and best friend
	since childhood.
Rochester, NY	Thanks to the Whistleblowers	Dave Puls/Animatus Studio	5 minutes
	An expression of appreciation to a special group of people
	who risk so much to disclose what is hidden from us.
Florida	On the Road to Tel Aviv	Khen Shalem	19 minutes
	A young Israeli makes a quick decision when he sees a
	suspicious-looking Arab woman enter the same bus as
	his fiancee.
LA	Interpretation	Lin Oeding	7 minutes
	A romantic couple's brief encounter with a few philosophical
	thugs unfolds in an unusual way.
New York, NY	Arranged	Suraj Das	27 minutes
	Ashok's parents are pressuring him into an arranged
	marriage, but he has met the beautiful Maya whom
	he wants to marry.
Saturday April 25th 2009, 4:00pm
Brazil	Before It's Gone	Paulo Leierer, Luiz Otavio Pupo	15 minutes
	A dark-humored story about Almeida, a 30 year old man,
	who discovers he has only one week left to live.
Tupper Lake, NY	A Matter of Degrees	The Wild Center	24 minutes
	See a time when mastodon's roamed the valleys of the
	Adirondack Mountains, tapirs swam its rivers and whales
	slid above places where towns stand today. Produced for
	The Wild Center and narrated by Sigourney Weaver, it takes
	you on an epic trip to witness how much climate shapes
	our lives.
Pasadena, CA	Open Your Eyes	Susan Cohen	14 minutes
	Struggling to come to terms with her life after breast cancer,
	Julia gets more than she bargained for when she attends
	a bridal shower.
Ottawa, Canada	Profile	Sharon Katz	4 minutes
	An experimental film about profiling by an airport detection
	device.
Oxford, OH	Written Off	Cameron Berner, Com 414C	5 minutes
	Follow a day in the life of a pencil and meet the people
	who interact with this inanimate object.
FSU/Florida	The Best Man	Justin Lazernik	7 minutes
	The wedding is ready to begin. Why is the groom still missing?
Seattle, WA	Dry Rain	Matthew J. Clark	23 minutes
	Joey is traveling cross country with his father who continues
	to stop along the way to call Joey's mother for money.
Saturday April 25th 2009, 8:00pm
New York, NY	Firecracker Flower	Frank Hall Green	17 minutes
	In this black & white satire, we meet B who is an outcast at
	school. When she finds out that the other girls have stalkers,
	she pines for one of her own.
Pasadena, CA	In the Dark	Alex Fazeli	17 minutes
	A double agent, hunted by the revolutionary government,
	agrees to exchange crucial information with the CIA in return
	for safe passage out of the country.
Burbank, CA	Animated American	James Baker/Joe Haidar	15 minutes
	A toon hating executive has a 'hare' raising experience when
	he meets an out of work toon rabbit.
Manhasset, NY	Open Air	Shira-Lee Shalit/David Peterson	12 minutes
	Under the watchful eye of a hidden sniper, two women attempt
	some form of normality in their everyday lives knowing that one
	misstep will mean immediate death.
Iran	Butterflies Die in Snow	Karim Azimi	15 minutes
	A director and writer are driving through the mountainous
	countryside looking for a subject for their film. On this journey
	they encounter many strange experiences.
Rochester, NY	A Voice from the Lantern	Anton Zane	17 minutes
	A young Japanese woman, working in a peep show parlor in
	California desperately wants to go home. She devises a plan
	to make contact with her Grandfather in the afterlife so he
	can guide her spirit home.
FSU/Florida	My Four Inch Precious	Sou Yun Sim	11 minutes
	A scruffy and lonely garbageman discovers dreamy romance
	when a beautiful woman blossoms out of a magical flower.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008 7:00 pm

INSTANT KARMA
Director/Producer/Writer: Tristan Higgs; US, 2008, 8 minutes

Alex attempts to end a run of bad luck by trying his hand at credit card fraud.

Tristan Higgs is an award-winning writer and director of several short films. Originally from London, England, he attended both the Surrey Institute of Art and Design and Florida State University’s Film School. He was a Movies on a Shoestring Trophy winner in 2007 for Ninety Days. He just completed a feature screenplay co-written with Catherine Rehwinkle.

Print Source: tristanhiggs@hotmail.com


MURDERING MAMA’S BOY
Director/Writer: Katherine Cunningham-Eves; US, 2007, 18:27 minutes

A young girl’s obsessive jealousy towards the seven-year-old boy her mother nannies for, drives her to desperate actions.

Katherine Cunningham-Eves graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University with a double degree in History and Acting, then studied directing at the Moscow Art Theater in Russia. As an actress, she appeared in many prime-time television shows, starred in her own sitcom, and worked on several independent films.

Print Source: info@deadseriousfilms.com


TEMPORARY VIRGIN
Director: Tatsushi Momen; Japan, 2007, 3 minutes

The visual images depict metaphors of a love fantasy in a very romantic and abstract way.

Tatsushi Momen is one of the most sought-after creative talents in the Japanese creative industry. After the academic course in Kyushu Institute of Design, he began his career as a motion graphics artist, and commercial director at Koo-ki Co., Ltd. in Fukuoka. He has worked on many high-profile TV projects and has also designed various promotion images for NINTENDO and a series of television commercials.

Print Source: fxfxf@koo-ki.co.jp


STILL(E)
Director/Producer/Writer: Susan Schwarzwald; US, 2006, 25:38 minutes

Through the lens of memory, the daughter of a refugee from Nazi Germany revisits the pain of remembering, tinged with the fear of forgetting that silently haunts her father, herself, and now her young daughter as well.

Susan Schwarzwald received her BA in Philosophy from Alfred University and holds a Masters Degree in International and Comparative Education from Columbia University. Still(e) was awarded the Prix UCMF (Best Film Score) at the Avignon Film Festival and a Director’s Citation from the Black Maria Film & Video Festival. She is co-owner of ICBA, Inc. (design services) and First Gaze Films.

Print Source: info@firstgazefilms.com



ERIN GO WRONG
Directors/Writers/Animators: Brian Kavanagh and Joshua Huber; US, 2007, 4 minutes

Things go awry for two leprechauns who have kidnapped the Easter Bunny.


Brian Kavanagh obtained his BA in film and video from Pennsylvania State University. Currently, he is pursuing his MFA in Computer Animation at the Rochester Institute of Technology and working as a video editor at CGI Communications, Inc. in Rochester.
Joshua Huber obtained his bachelor’s degree from the Ohio State University in computer science, with an emphasis on 3D graphics. He is now working on his MFA in Computer Animation at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Print Source: bkavay@hotmail.com


CHAIN
Director: Hyunmi Park; South Korea, 2007, 16:20 minutes

How far would you go to save a loved one?

Hyunmi Park got a Masters Degree in Film T
heory in Korea. Before moving to America, she was a film critic, festival coordinator, researcher and translator. In 2007, she received her MFA in Film/TV Production from the USC School of Cinema-Television, where she concentrated her studies in directing and writing. With a passion for film and filmmaking, she is trying to make her first feature film in Korea.

Print Source: p_hyunmi@hotmail.com


CLARITY
Director/Writer: Miles Duffy; US, 2007, 10 minutes

A schoolteacher awakes in a cold sweat from a bizarre dream.

Miles Duffy followed his passion for filmmaking to Los Angeles in 1999. Since training in screenwriting at UCLA, he has written and directed numerous screenplays including Prodigy and The President's Men. Duffy's film Mojave Green was showcased in more than 10 international film festivals, including Movies on a Shoestring in 2004 for which he was awarded the Shoestring Trophy.

Print Source: Duffyc4@yahoo.com

THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008 8:30 pm

THE REPLACEMENT CHILD

Director/Writer: Justin Lerner; US, 2007, 25 minutes

Todd returns to his conservative, backwoods hometown to find that his best friend, Michael, is deathly ill and his family refuses medical attention for him.

Justin Lerner got his BA in Theatre Arts/Film at Cornell University. He just received his MFA in Directing at UCLA's Graduate Film School. His MFA thesis short film, The Replacement Child, has just been named "Best of 2007" at UCLA. Justin currently lives in Los Angeles where he is preparing to graduate and is writing three feature screenplays.

Print Source: Justin@twelve34films.com


TELL ME WHAT TO DO

Director: Lee Ji Sung, Producer: Joanne Hurley, Writer: Ivaila Minov; UK, 2007, 11:21 minutes

Everything you ever wanted?

Lee Ji Sung studied at London Film Academy (Film Making) and earned an MA at Kingston University (Film Studies). Lee has worked as a sound mixer, editor, director, and writer for many shorts films. Lee has also worked for one of the film festivals in Seoul (S.Korea).

Print Source: peel1895@gmail.com


OUT OF THE SHADOW
Director/Writer: Andrew Bartels; US, 2007, 8 minutes

A young man being raised by a racist father re-evaluates his upbringing after witnessing a lynching.

Andrew Bartels grew up in Elgin, Illinois, and he attended Carleton College as an English Major.  While home one summer recovering from spine surgery, he started making movies with a video camera.  His passion is for television and film that holds up a mirror to the emotional dilemmas of its audience.  He currently attends the Florida State University Film School where he has written and directed three short films.

Print Source: kbarber@film.fsu.edu


MEDIUM RARE

Director: Stefan Stuckert; UK, 2007, 14 minutes

Carl is running for his life. When a beautiful woman offers him an unexpected hiding place, his life seems to change. But desire is about to lay its own subtle trap…

Stefan Stuckert has fine-tuned his filmmaking skills in British TV. He worked as an editor before becoming a director. He has won several international editing awards and was voted twice among the UK’s top 5 editors by Televisual magazine.

Print Source: info@mediumraretheshortfilm.com


KIRKSDALE

Director/Writer: Ryan Spindell; US, 2007, 22 minutes

A troubled teenager and a lecherous deputy fight for their sanity and their lives in Kirksdale Hospital, a decaying mental asylum in 1960’s Florida.

Ryan Spindell received his B.S. in graphic design, and a minor in Film Studies, from Florida State University in 2003. After graduation he worked as a professional graphic designer for a year before accepting a position as a photographer for ABC News in Tallahassee. In 2005 he was invited into the Florida State University graduate film conservatory, where he wrote and directed five short films, including a spec commercial for the Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmakers Awards. Kirksdale, his thesis film, has been accepted into the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.

Print Source: kbarber@film.fsu.edu


SOLDIERS OF SISYPHUS

Director/Producer: Bob Barancik, Animator: David Puls; US, 2006, 4 minutes

A meditative look at the futility of war.

Bob Barancik is an award-winning printmaker, photographer, and painter. His digital prints and photography have been featured in six award-winning videos.
Dave Puls has been Creative Director at Animatus Studio since 1992. His independent films, called Fresh Toones have been shown in festivals around the world and on WXXI-PBS. Soldiers of Sisyphus was selected for the Grand Festival Award at the Berkeley Film Festival.

Print Source: dave@freshtoones.com


G8

Director/Producer/Writer: Make It Short Movie Project; Canada, 2007, 10 minutes

World leaders gather for a G8 summit in Thunder Bay, Canada just as known terrorist, Lutero Babych is spotted in the city.

The Make It Short Movie Project was created in 2005 to encourage community support for film production. The projects annual event attracts hundreds of 'non-filmmakers/actors' to experience acting and crew positions in an educational project that actually makes a real short film for cinema release.
Print Source: info@2knine.com


DAVID BIANCHI’S SOLDIER

Director/Daniel J. Pico, Writer/Producer: David Bianchi; US, 2007, 11 minutes

An experimental film told in performance poetry outlining a day in the life of a soldier on the front lines of the Iraq War.

Daniel J. Pico, an award winning writer/director, has been making movies since the age
of eight. He holds a BA in Film and Video from Columbia College Chicago. He has written and directed over 40 short films and two features. He also directed TV pilots and music videos.
David Bianchi, originally from Rochester, NY, is now based in Hollywood, CA. He is a filmmaker, painter, and nationally recognized performance poet. He received his BFA in Performance Theatre from Arizona State University. David has starred in numerous independent films, National commercials, and is a member of the Screen Actors Guild
and AFTRA. Recently he produced the feature film, Farewell/Darkness. Soldier is an official selection of 12 domestic film festivals.

Print Source: sammystix@hotmail.com

FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2008 7:00 pm

Movies on a Shoestring 50-Year Golden Retrospective

Producers: Josephine M.Perini & Daniel K.Reardon

Enjoy a short compilation of some of the notable films of the original 1,062 that have been screened in the Rochester International Film Festival since 1959.

Dan Reardon has been a member of MOAS since the early 70's.He has served in every position including 'Best of the Fest' curator acquiring significant films :for the collection since 1972. He is the Coordinator of Media Services in the West Irondequoit School District.
Josephine M.Perini first became President of MOAS in 1985. She is currently serving her eighth term. Originally from "just outside NYC,” she came to Rochester to accept a position as Middle School Guidance Counselor in WISD. Currently retired, she volunteers for numerous organizations.


L’ORO ROSSO (THE RED GOLD)

Director: Cesare Fragnelli, Writer Alessandra Recchia; Italy, 2006, 12:22 minutes

Erika, who has run away from Romania, lives her life in Apulia in southern Italy with a lovely daughter and terrifying memories of the past.

Cesare Fragnelli set up the cinematographic company Cinemasudfilms in Apulia in 1999. He earned his degree in Modern and Contemporary Italian Literature, at the University of Rome La Sapienza – specialization in Cinema (2002). He is the director and the author of a number of socially committed short films. He also worked as director and author on some advertising commercials.
Alessandra Recchia lives between Locorotundo where she was born and Rome, Italy. In 2005, she received a degree at the Faculty of Foreign Languages at the University of Bari. She works in the advertising world as author of several communication campaigns and backstage videos for cinema and television.

Print Source: recchia@cinemasudfilms.com


MIA

Director/Writer: Catherine Rehwinkel; US, 2007, 7:43 minutes

A ten year-old girl struggles to reconnect with her childhood crush, an older cousin who has returned from Vietnam frighteningly different.

Catherine Rehwinkel graduated from Florida State University Film School in 2007 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. She has written and directed several short films. Recently she received a Director's Guild of America Student Film Award for Mia. In the summer of 2008, she will be moving to NYC to focus on her career in filmmaking.

Print Source: kbarber@film.fsu.edu


PISMO (THE LETTER)

Director/Writer: Matvei Zhivov; Canada, 2007, 15 minutes

A wounded Russian soldier puts his wife to an emotional test with a result he does not anticipate.


Matvei Zhivov was born and raised in Moscow, Russia, but moved to Canada in 1991. He went to Ryerson University in Toronto, originally studying for a Bachelor of Commerce degree in ITM. By chance he got involved in film and that is what he now does. He is currently directing a television feature film for Channel 1.

Print Source: mjivov@gmail.com


MOJADO

Director/Producer/Writer: Angela Trevino; US, 2007, 22 minutes

After 15 year-old Anne plays a prank on her maid, Sofia, grave repercussions result for Sophia and her 16 year-old son, Miguel.

Angela Trevino was born in Monterey, Mexico and moved to Texas at age 11. Mojado was her thesis film at Yale University. She is currently working on her first novel, a work that revolves around one family’s immigrant experience.

Print Source: angela.trevino@gmail.com


REBEL SONG

Director/Writer: Simon Arthur; UK, 2006, 14:52 minutes

A woman and two men play out their broken lives amongst the swaying trees.

Simon Arthur has an M.A. degree in Film and Television Studies and Sociology from the University of Glasgow in 2002. In 2007 he received his Master of Fine Arts from the Screen Academy of Scotland. He worked for several years at Glasgow City Council, teaching filmmaking to teenagers at drop in centers for the socially deprived in the south side of Glasgow. He is also a resident filmmaker on the Board of Directors at the Glasgow Media Access Centre, the largest community centre for filmmakers in Scotland.

Print Source: SimonArthur1@googlemail.com



THE WALL

Director/Writer: Michael Lloyd Green; US, 2007, 7:30 minutes

A New York City cellist plagued by years of unbearable guilt, seeks solace in the music of a Holocaust survivor with whom he shares a tenement wall.

Michael Lloyd Green graduated with a degree in creative writing from the University of Central Florida and immediately began working for Haxan Films shooting behind the scenes videography for their first bio film since The Blair Witch Project. Shortly after, he moved to Miami, where he worked as an assistant to Colin Farrell on the set of Michael Mann’s feature Miami Vice. Michael is currently working on his Master of Fine Arts degree in film production at Florida State University where he continues to sharpen his skills as a writer and director. His MFA thesis film Category 5 will be completed in August 2008.

Print Source: kbarber@film.fsu.edu


SPEED DATING

Director/Producer/Writer: Crystal Liu; US, 2007, 15 minutes

A black comedy about a young woman who devises a sure-fire way to meet the man of her dreams.

Crystal Liu graduated summa cum laude from the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television. Her award-winning thesis film, I Think In White was an official selection at the Tribeca Film Festival and the Hawaii International Film Festival. Ms. Liu invites you to "get hit with love" by the most recent Montezuma Film Festival "Best Comedy Short" award winner, Speed Dating.

Print Source: shadymandarin@yahoo.com

SATURDAY, MAY 3, 2008 2:50 pm

BORDERLINE

Director/Producer/Writer: Sam Lembeck; US, 2007, 10 minutes

A dark comedy about maternal love and first dates.

Sam Lembeck is an LA native with two actors as parents. He attended Columbia College in Chicago and then did his Masters at The University of Southern California in 2003. Borderline is not his first short film, but is his first experience helming a large crew and working with a sizeable budget.

Print Source: Samlem210@aol.com


CONFLATION

Director/Writer: Stéphanie Joalland; US, 2007, 14 minutes

Carol wakes up one more time totally confused. Is she a single mother struggling to get by as a free-lance photographer or a brilliant scientist with a loving husband?

Stéphanie Joalland was born and raised in the coastal province of Brittany, France, the home of Jules Verne. She worked as a television fiction scriptwriter and as a script consultant for France Television 1. She has co-produced, written, and directed three short films that were screened at numerous French film festivals. She has moved to Los Angeles, where she is supplementing her on the job film training by doing a certificate program at UCLA.

Print Source: infinite.tree@gmail.com


COSMOS

Director/Writer: Clayton Hable; US, 2007, 22 minutes

During the fall of the USSR in 1991, a lone cosmonaut circles the earth in Space Station Mir without communication and unaware of his country’s collapse. Some will call him the last Soviet Citizen.

Clayton Hable was born in Louisville, KY. His artistic interests include singing, dancing, musician, and writing poetry. Majoring in Film Studies and Video Production at Vanderbilt University legitimized his hobbies and transformed them into a passion. With his post-graduate degree completed at Florida State University, Clayton will continue his lifelong filmic education, with the hopes that he may someday make an impacting and thoughtful contribution to the medium that has inspired him so greatly.

Print Source: Kbarber@film.fsu.edu


FORasTEiRO

Director/Writer: Thiago Fogaca, Producer: Priscila Andrade; Brazil, 2007, 12:09 minutes

The son of circus performers avoids intimacy with anyone because he is always moving.

Thiago Fogaca was born in São Paulo, Brazil. Since his early years, he had interest in comics and animated films. Forasteiro is his first film as a director and his third as screenwriter. Thiago has worked as an intern at ComunicaFilmes and is now working on his Masters Degree in screenwriting at NYFA in Los Angeles.
Print Source: cinepac@gmail.com


ZEFIRINO: THE VOICE OF A CASTRATO

Director: Gerardo Puglia; US, 2006, 22 minutes

A celebration of the art of a castrato singer named Zefirino, an imaginary character written and performed by Anthony Roth Costanzo.

Gerardo Puglia was born in Wales and educated in Great Britain and the United States. At age twenty, he joined the Film Department of the Public Broadcasting Company in Rochester, NY, and soon established himself as an innovative filmmaker for drama, cultural programs and historical documentaries. He has worked exclusively for Eastman Kodak, National Geographic, PBS, BBC, and RAI Italian Television. He was camera operator on the Academy Award-winning film A Beautiful Mind. The recipient of numerous prestigious awards (including two Emmys, and a Peabody), Puglia was inducted into the prestigious International Cinematographers Guild in 1990.

Print Source: gerardopuglia@aol.com


RACCOON AND CRAWFISH

Co-Directors and Animators: Calvert J. Waller III, Karabo Legwalla, Peter Hale; US, 2007, 7:30 minutes

Like many Oneida Indian legends, this story uses characters from the animal kingdom to teach a moral. A hungry raccoon searches for food, ending up in a battle with a crawfish.

Calvert Waller has an MFA in Computer Animation, a BFA in Illustration and Art History from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a Graphic Design/Graphic Illustration Associates from Mohawk Valley Community College. He specializes in 3D modeling and character design.
Karabo Legwalla, from Gaborone, Botswana, is finishing his MFA in Computer Animation from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He also has a BA in Computer Science and Business from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. He specializes in the technical aspects of 3D animation including scripting and rigging as well as doing modeling and lighting.
Peter Hale has a BFA in Graphic Design from SUNY New Paltz. He designed the 2D sequence in Raccoon and Crawfish as well as lead audio in the film.
Print Source: TFrederick@fourdirectionmedia.com


EDGAR AND ELIZABETH

Director/Writer: Renee Webster, Producer: Melissa Kelly; Australia, 2007, 17 minutes

Elizabeth is the shy, new photocopy girl. Edgar is the stuttering photocopier repairman who comes to repair her extremely vicious copier. Workplace attraction has never been so dangerous.

Renee Webster is an award winning writer/director with an interest in gritty, character driven stories. Her films are internationally award winning. She directed Australian TV programs and commercials. She was also the Associate Producer on the international feature film Triggermen, and is currently working in both documentary and feature film development.
Melissa Kelly is an independent film producer with a background in documentary, drama, and comedy. In 2005, she produced the acclaimed documentary Surviving the Fall: The Gracetown Tragedy [ABC TV]. She has also produced the award winning films, Umbrella Conditions and The Glimpse.

Print Source: Melissa@factor30films.com.au


PENGUIN: THE MUSICAL

Director/Writer: David William Metzger; US, 2007, 8:21 minutes

Abe is madly in love with Lilly. He must find a way to tell her before she leaves to tag penguins in Antarctica.

David William Metzger was originally trained as an actor. While studying at the University of Oregon, he shifted his focus from English to writing and directing film. A graduate of Florida State University’s prestigious film school, his primary home is Butte, Alaska.

Print Source: kbarber@film.fsu.edu

Thursday May 3rd 2007, 8:00 pm

A Life's Work
Jason Crain, Los Angeles, CA 11 min. 35mm
An emotional filmmaking experiment that portrays the story of a woman’s 86 year life in 24 hours.

Let's Have Tea
Pepsy M. Kettavong, Matt Cottom, Rochester, NY 25 min. BetaSP
This documentary is about the creation of “Let’s Have Tea,” a sculpture that pays tribute to two of America’s greatest social revolutionaries, Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass.

Creation
Emy Amborn, Vancouver, BC, Canada 3 min. BetaSP
Every culture has its own creation story; its own version of how the world they live in came into existence. Here we explore the idea that perhaps strangely charming monsters had something to do with it.

Peephole
Allison White ,Anthony Miceli, Toronto, ON, Canada 15 min. BetaSP
Jack spends his days watching the world through his peephole, obsessed with his beautiful neighbor down the hall.

When Georgie Goes Marchin' Home
Dave Puls, Rochester, NY 4 min. BetaSP
This animated short takes us on a surreal tour of the Bush administration and its many misadventures.

When They Could Fly
Piotr Kajstura, New York, NY 28 min BetaSp
A group of slaves live on a 19th century plantation in South Carolina under severe conditions .As their situation worsens, they lose hope. Change occurs when a man brings them an impossible tale. .

Kodachrome
Juergen Lossau, Hamburg, Germany 5 min. BetaSP
Kodak introduced Kodachrome color reversal film in 1935. Kodachrome production stopped in 2006. This Super 8 film is a humorous final homage to this magnificent material.

Friday May 4th 2007, 8:00 pm

House of the Olive Trees
Thouly Dosios, Los Angeles, CA 29 min. 35mm
This Greek film introduces us to Anna, who is content in her unbearable loneliness until she meets Markos.

Polka
Rodolfo Collado, Vancouver, BC, Canada 5 min. BetaSP
A whimsical animated story about a shy, young girl who tries to establish a conversation with an interesting stranger.

A.W.O.L.
Jack Swanstrom, Jessica Wethington , Los Angeles, CA 22 min. BetaSP
An American is captured and tortured in Vietnam. At the height of agony, suddenly he’s home. But his torture resumes every night - an unending cycle of pain that he has one chance of breaking.

Mr. Kim's Burning Night
Gong Boo-Seong, Seoul, Korea 16 min. BetaSP
A slapstick high-jinks of a man’s burning desire occurs when Mr. Kim is working the night shift all alone.

Ninety Days
Tristan Higgs, Tallahassee, FL 15 min. BetaSP
South Africa, 1964. Helen is determined to communicate with her lover, Oliver, who has been detained without contact under Apartheid’s infamous ninety-day rule.

Roma SubRosa: The Secret Under the Rose
Jim Thalman, Los Angeles, CA 28 min. BetaSP
A politician’s empty words echo the glory of war as a generation of battle hardened veterans decide that the murder of a politician is a wiser course of action than to knowingly march thousands to their death.

Saturday May 5th 2007, 4:00 pm

Worms in the Big Apple
Jenn Guitart, Brooklyn, NY 18 min. BetaSP
The story of urban composting: from garbage to garden. All over New York City, tiny creatures are transforming residents’ garbage to soil.

Somewhere in the City
Ramsey Denison, Los Angeles, CA 12 min. BetaSP
Former drug addict, Toby Cray, has straightened out his life and he now wants to help others. His efforts to help the homeless have been unsuccessful until he meets Gabe.

My Night With Miss Marple
Kim Sei Rang, Seoul, Korea 16 min. BetaSP
A scarred face girl meets a blind boy. After spending a day together, they come to know each other better.

All That Remains
Stephanie Maxwell
Michaela Eremiasova, Fairport, NY 6 min. BetaSP
This is an intricate mosaic of musical passages and animated, abstract images which are handed painted on film and object animation. The music is an electroacoustic score.

Deviation
Jon Griggs, New York, NY 6 min. BetaSP
This film was shot using an online game engine with the virtual actors and director never having met.. Macintyre, an online-game character and member of a four-man counter-terrorist squad, attempts to break out of the cycle of futile violence that has been his sole existence.

Dog Eat Dog

Jonathan Zames, Montreal, Canada 15 min. 35mm
Fueled by an abiding faith in the American dream, a hot dog vendor networks and schemes in this black comedy about what it takes to make it to the top.

In Search of White Crows
Michael Keene, Pittsford, NY 21 min. BetaSP
This is the story of the life of the Fox sisters and the birth of the spiritualist movement.

Saturday May 5th 2007, 8:00 pm

Home For Good
Todd Tinkham, Chapel Hill, NC 10 min. Beta SP
Amy Trentham dreams of one thing - her young husband returning from the war. When that happens, everything will be perfect.

When Broom Sticks Were King
Jason Cusato, Brooklyn, NY 27 min. BetaSP
Told in a documentary style, when street teams competed for only glory and bragging rights, this film is a tribute to Brooklyn Stick Ball and the heroes who played it.

Caress of the Creature
Stewart McAlpine, Tallahassee, FL 19 min. BetaSP
A construction foreman swimming in Lake Habagappe is tickled by a sea creature in a tender, yet masculine way causing many to wonder, ”Is the creature gay?”

first.
DB Woodside, Nick Sivakumaran, Los Angeles, CA 26 min. BetaSP
First love, first kill, first grace. Throughout our lives, we experience love, loss, and in rare instances, rebirth. Three desperate lives crash, explode, and then converge into an irreversible series of “Firsts.”

Swing
Esteban Azuela, Vancouver, BC, Canada 3 min. BetaSP
An aging couple, happy and in love, find the means to go back and feel what they did when they were young.

Rundown
Patrick Alexander, Tallahassee, FL 15 min. BetaSP
Rachel Davenport, a TV news anchor, must cover her secret while reporting the news on a live television broadcast.

The 48th Rochester International Film Festival

8pm Thursday, May 4, 2006

Motherless Child--Remnants of the Subway
Fredrick Armstrong & James P. Harte (Rochester, NY)
After a close-up study of decay, the viewer is taken on a phantom ride through a vacant tunnel where the now-abandoned Rochester, NY subway once ran. A lone piano and the resurrected sounds of the subway accompany the ride. (BetaSP, Color, 9 min)

When the Moon is Full (Cuando la Luna esta Llena)
Marc Lesser (New York, NY)
From a troubadour's guitar spins the tale of Javier, a recent Ecuadorian immigrant, who longs for Olivia, the woman whom he serves from behind his deli counter every day. (BetaSP, Color, 25 min)

Happy Birthday Yemima
Yishai Orian (Jerusalem, Israel)
Yemima's family believes that she is the reincarnation of her late grandmother. On the eve of her 28th birthday, a plumber disrupts her strange way of living. (BetaSP, Color, 19 min)

Sirah
Cristine Spindler (Tallahassee, FL)
Sirah, a young Muslim girl born in the US, wants to find friendship. To do that, she must choose between the culture that surrounds her and the one she grew up in. (BetaSP, Color, 17 min)


La Belle Dame Sans Merci
Hidetoshi Oneda (Tokyo, Japan)
Based on the John Keats poem of the same name, this is the story of a knight who encounters and falls in love with a mysterious lady, only to fail her when he discovers she is not what she seemed to be. (BetaSP, Color, 15 min)

The Tell Tale Heart
Raul Garcia (Glendale, CA)
The tale of a murderer who cannot stop hearing his victim's relentless heartbeat. Based on the short story by Edgar Allan Poe, it is narrated by Bela Lugosi. (BetaSP, B&W, 9 min)

The Counter
Lauren Wagner (Los Angeles, CA)
Alabama, 1962: a small town waitress must decide what to do once a sit-in begins in her diner. Will she support the social law for segregation or stand up for the demonstrators? (BetaSP, Color/B&W, 13 min)

Pawns of the King
Ming Lai (Alhambra, CA)
A World War II fighter pilot haunted by the past is forced to confront his fears when he meets an old enemy, a US Army 442nd soldier. (BetaSP, Color, 17 min)

8pm Friday, May 5, 2006

7:35 de la Manana
Nacho Vigalondo (Bilbao, Spain)
One morning a woman notices something strange at the café. The waiter and customers are in total silence. No one touches his breakfast. Suddenly, a song is heard. (BetaSP, B&W, 8 min)

Mute
Melissa Joan Hart (Los Angeles, CA)
Eileen is seen sabotaging her elder sister Claire's wedding. We start to realize that she and the groom have a past that has scarred Eileen in more ways than one. (BetaSP, Color, 14 min)

A Cigar at the Beach
Stephen Keep Mills (Topanga, CA)
A man withdraws to an empty beach to smoke his cigar and fantasize. An approaching storm out across the water mirrors the storm of yearning inside him as his fantasies propel him to the very edge of himself and to a surprise yearning greater than flesh or adventure. (35mm, Color, 15 min)

Convivium
Michael Nakache (Paris, France)
Madge and Hugo invite their friends for dinner. Old tensions surface due to the presence of Eve, who could turn this dinner into a total nightmare. (35 mm, Color, 28 min)


Dear, Sweet Emma
John M. Cernak (Winston-Salem, SC)
As the search is given up for Emma's husband, Tucker, we learn that Emma has a secret, uncontrollable dark side. (BetaSP, Color, 5 min)

The Legend of Black Tom
Deron Albright (Narberth, PA)
When freed American slave Tom Molineaux journeys to England to fight for the bare-knuckle boxing championship of the world, he faces not only his opponent in the ring, but also an entire nation. (BetaSP, Color, 16 min)

Karma
Chris John (Oakville, Canada)
Sara has been abused all her life by her older sister, Samantha. Now everything is about to change as a journey takes them down a dangerous and unexpected road where they discover the power of Karma. (BetaSP, Color, 11 min)

Cries From Ramah
Loren E. Chadima (Valley Village, CA)
A bombing on a Tel Aviv street takes the lives of a Palestinian and an Israeli. Later, at a police station, their mothers encounter each other. (BetaSP, Color, 15 min)

4pm Saturday, May 6, 2006

Wentworth
R. Stephen Suettinger (Los Angeles, CA)

A neurotic misfit must choose between the fantasy girl of his dreams and her real-life flesh and blood counterpart. (35mm, Color, 17 min)

Janie
Christine Shin (Los Angeles, CA)
Janie, a nine year old, has a perfect life as an only daughter in a loving family. Her life gets completely shattered when Ben unexpectedly shows up. (BetaSP, Color, 18 min)

The Butler of the Van der Waal House
Adam J. Kreps (Studio City, CA)
When major changes affect the Van der Waal household, Orson, the family's butler, must help young Master Martin deal with the loss of his mother. (BetaSP, Color, 8 min)

Sharks in the Water
David Puls (Rochester, NY)
A disconcerting look at the corporate corruption and political collaboration that plague the US. (BetaSP, Color, 4 min)

Confessions of a Late Bloomer
Jen McGowan (Los Angeles, CA)
Donny, the smallest boy in class, is always the butt of someone's joke. This is about to change when he accepts the school bully's challenge to kiss Sheila, the girl of Donny's dreams. (BetaSP, Color, 15 min)


The Man Who Walked Between the Towers
Michael Sporn (New York, NY)
An animated account of Philippe Petit's tightrope walk between the twin towers of New York City's World Trade Center. Jake Gyllenhaal (of Brokeback Mountain) is the narrator. (BetaSP, Color, 10 min)

RPS
Michelle Schmidt (Virginia Beach, VA)
Rambunctious Rochelle Schiaparelli learns lessons of love and family through a game called Rock, Paper, Scissors. (BetaSP, Color, 29 min)

Perfect Little Pots
Daphne Raves (Tallahassee, FL)
Sue did not expect that seven kids in a pottery class could make such a mess. She and her students learn a valuable lesson about art and life. (BetaSP, Color, 8 min)

Driver's Ed
Mike Standish & Thom Harp (Seattle, WA)
High school senior Kate must pass her driver's test to visit her boyfriend in Seattle. Mr. Meeker thinks he can teach her how to drive. (BetaSP, Color, 11 min)

8pm Saturday, May 6, 2006

Liberte Conditionelle (Suspended Sentence)
Constant Mentzas (Montreal, Canada)
Waiting for his plane, a man is suddenly arrested. His examiners harass him with bizarre questions until he confesses. Caught in the crossfire of this war between absurdity and reason, will he be its only victim? (35mm, Color, 10 min)

SYN
Ben Chavda (Virginia Beach, VA)
A futuristic look at the value of life. (BetaSP, Color, 28 min)

Surly Squirrel
Peter Lepeniotis (Toronto, Canada)
A discarded pizza slice becomes the Holy Grail to a pack of starving park animals. A bank heist turns into a huge gun fight between the robbers and the police. Watch what happens when these two worlds collide. (BetaSP, Color, 11 min)

Smart Card
James Oxford (Woodland Hills, CA)
A tale of a utopian future, where every aspect of your life is integrated into one system. (BetaSP, Color, 16 min)


Vika
Tsivia Barkai (Jerusalem, Israel)
After a long stay in boarding school, Vika, 12, returns home for the weekend to find a new baby sister. As always, Vika tries to please her mother and fails. (BetaSP, Color, 16 min)

Penny Dreadful
Bryan Norton (New York, NY)
Jessica and David are an upscale couple who come face to face with the supernatural after inheriting a beautiful townhouse in New York City's West Village. The cast includes Betsy Palmer from the orginal Friday the 13th. (BetaSP, Color, 30 min)

Viola Fondente (Candy Viola)
Fabio Simonelli (Rome, Italy)
Viola is an overweight, beautiful woman. Her frustrating life is pivoted on a monotonous job and a hateful husband. (35 mm, Color, 13 min)

The 47th Rochester International Film Festival

8pm Thursday, May 5, 2005

Post-Partum by Marie-Josee Saint-Pierre Montreal, Canada When I was two months old, my mother abandoned me to my grandmother. In a moment, in a thought, I revisited my past. I revisited hers.... (10 min, BetaSP)

Donna's Room by Stephen Lindsay & Michael Bartolotta Rochester, NY A woman "awakens" to find herself in a strange room with her hands bound. A mysterious man appears with knowledge of Donna's past. Does he hold the key to setting her free? (17 min, BetaSP)

O (Circle of Life) by Keum-Taek Jung Rochester, NY An experimental animation and music composition that combines geometric shape and form based on the concepts of Buddhist Circle of Life philosophy and the Taoist philosophy of Nature existing between Yin and Yang. (6 min, BetaSP)

The Adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle by Michael Vaingauz & Erynn Midwall New York, NY Sherlock Holmes is dead. Creator Arthur Conan Doyle's daughters are being held for ransom to bring back Sherlock Holmes. Instead Doyle decides to solve the kidnapping case himself. (20 min, BetaSP)

Juliet by Kristina Jessica Doyle Santa Clarita, CA Juliet uses the conventions of the horror genre to explore the boundaries of fear, desire, and the lengths to which one will go to belong. (21 min, BetaSP)

Lis and Ogre by Jim Bruck & Vale Bruck Jackson, NJ A visually spectacular adventure in which the characters move through many extraordinary fantasy environments toward a final confrontation inside an imaginary ore processing factory. (9 min)

The Sky is Falling by Adam J. Kreps FSU Tallahassee, FL It's the Great Depression. Several patrons of the Excelsior Hotel have recently "checked out" by way of the rooftop. Jay, the bellboy, tries to put a stop to this. (20 min, 35mm)


8pm Friday, May 6, 2005


Lamia by Katerina Slantcheva, FSU Tallahassee, FL As Damien paints Miriam, a beautiful model who mysteriously shows up at his studio, supernatural events lead him into the recesses of his hollowed memories, toward an event best left forgotten. (20 min, 35mm)

Glass Crow by Steven Subotnick, Providence, RI "Glass Crow" is a meditation on the Defenestration of Prague, the spark that ignited the Thirty Years War. Imagery of crows, landscapes, battles and angels are layered in a poetic and associative way. (6 min, BetaSP)

Parallel Worlds by Dave Puls, Rochester, NY The abuse of Iraqi prisoners moved this filmmaker to reexamine his own memories of working at a NY State Mental Hospital in the early 1970's. (7 min, BetaSP)

Rainbow's End by Chris Mancini & Bill McCullough, Sherman Oaks, CA Three small time crooks capture a leprechaun and try to shake him down for his pot of gold. (15 min, BetaSP)

Hunting Camp by John C. Lyons, Erie, PA A story of deception, lies and betrayal. Two men, two lives, one deadly secret. (36 min, BetaSP)

The Meaning of Life by Don Hertzfeldt, Goleta, CA A vast, beautiful exploration of time, life, death, and Tschaikovsky. (12 min, 35mm)

Sailing for Madagascar by Tom Oesch, Los Angeles, CA The friendship between a young white girl and a Japanese-American boy is challenged by racism and bigotry emerging in post-Pearl-Harbor California. (13 min, BetaSP)


4pm Saturday, May 7, 2005


The Murder of William Lyman by Michael Keene, Pittsford, NY Historical recreation of the first murder committed in Rochester, NY. Verbatim court transcripts and police eye witness reports were utilized. (23 min, BetaSP)

Tokyo Equinox by Yuri Makino, Tucson, AZ This experimental documentary takes its viewers on a personal journey that reunites two adult sisters from America with their estranged Japanese father. (11 min, BetaSP)

If You Step on a Crack by Jennifer Atkins, New York, NY When the Cubs are your home team, losing can become a permanent state of mind. But the night before her breast biopsy, a worried woman refuses to give up hope. (18 min, 35mm)

Up by Suruchi Pahwa & Hardeep Kharbanda, Chantilly, VA Zaz, a simple man leading a mundane existence, is thrust on a non-stop journey to fame. He becomes a celebrity overnight—but can he handle the limelight? (8 min, BetaSP)

A Story of the Woods by Jihong Min, Provo, UT A child had found a young sleeping lady sitting on a chair in an old house. She becomes his secret until, as a young man, he finds an old woman in the house. (13 min, BetaSP)

House of Elegance by Amy Bench, Austin, TX Since Ella Mae Pease opened for business in the 1960's, her salon has been an integral part of life for both the customers and the beauticians. (8 min, BetaSP)

The Abbey of the Genesee by Paulo Almeida & Joshua Morrell, Rochester, NY & Boston, MA We take a brief look into the Monastic lifestyle focusing on labor, Lectio Divina [Divine Reading], and prayer as the monks tell their story at The Abbey of the Genesee in Piffard, NY. (13 min, BetaSP)


8:00pm Saturday, May 7, 2005


Stopover by Evelin Longo, Santa Monica, CA A mother is torn between two great passions of her life: her beloved daughter and her acting career. (21 min, 35mm)

This Moment by Leena Pendharkar, San Francisco, CA Does love really conquer all? A young Indian-American woman is at a unique crossroads when she receives a proposal for marriage. (13 min, BetaSP)

Fields of Mudan by Stevo, FSU Tallahassee, FL A young Asian girl forced into modern day slavery befriends another young girl in the brothel as she dreams of a better life with her mother. (23 min, 35mm)

Golf by Casper Frank & Talia Raine, Hollywood, CA A Young Mexican immigrant living in East Los Angeles finds that his life is not the American dream he had hoped for. (4 min, BetaSP)

Oedipus by Jason Wishnow, Long Beach, CA The story of Oedipus in 8 minutes, performed by vegetables in the tradition of Ben Hur. (8 min, 35mm)

Sophie Matisse, a New York Painter by Christine Lombard, New York, NY Meet Sophie Matisse, a painter living and working in downtown Manhattan. "Being the great-ganddaughter of Henri Matisse can be daunting," says Sophie, "but recovering from 9/11 is a much larger challenge." (27 min, BetaSP)

Death as a Tango by Valerie C. Plimpton, Simi Valley, CA Kasey Barnett struggles to rekindle her passion for life, while dancing with death. (23 min, 35mm)

The 46th Rochester International Film Festival

8pm Thursday, May 6, 2004


Skateboarding in Sarajevo by Carol LaFayette, Bryan, TX (11 min, Beta SP, color)
Author Jerry Cullum ponders the siege of Sarajevo, the American Civil War, and urban warfare in modern Atlanta, while posing a tentative answer to the question "What good is art, anyway?"

In Their Absence by Tina Cesa Ward, Astoria, NY (9 min, Beta SP, color)
In August, 1945, Barbra arrives at a dance hall with joyful, heartbreaking news: the end of the war, and the end of newfound love.

An Assignment by John A. Rangel, Chicago, IL (23 min, Beta SP, color)
On the verge of expulsion from a city high school, Tommy must choose between loyalty to old friends and a possible future with a new friend.

Jill by Xavier Janghoon Lee, Santa Monica, CA (21 min, Beta SP, color)
Is it the brain or the eyes that store the memories of what we see? Since an eye transplant, Joshua has been haunted by horrible memories of a girl named Jill.

I Cannot Understand You by David Baeumler, Buffalo, NY (6 min, Beta SP, color)
Don't fear life's misunderstandings. Let a philosophical Tape Recorder guide you through a world of fireworks, flowers, and thrill rides.

echo by Tom Oesch, Los Angeles, CA (6 min, Beta SP, b&w)
You might think the past has a way of catching up with you, but maybe it's just you catching up with the past.

Black Gulch by Michael Strode, Los Angeles, CA (15 min, 35mm, color)
It was supposed to be a simple job: rob a small town bank. Unfortunately for Everett and his team, the town of Black Gulch has some nasty surprises waiting for them.

The Search for the Great White Ale by Dave Puls & Fredrick Armstrong, Rochester, NY (17 min, Beta SP, color)
After drinking all the town's honey-brewed mead, Derf the Viking hopes to redeem himself by finding the fountain of the Great White Ale.

Mojave Green by Miles Duffy, Pasadena, CA (16 min, Beta SP, color)
After a tragic accident, a man killing himself from guilt and a woman living with grief cross paths on a desert road.

How to Eat a Banana by Mary Szmagaj, Mountain View, CA (3 min, Beta SP, color)
A proper young lady demonstrates the proper way to consume this unwieldy exotic fruit.



8pm Friday May 7, 2004


Teddy's End by Jan Philip Cramer, San Francisco, CA (5 min, BetaSP, color)
This animated film shows the dire impact of war on children.

Seaside Trilogy by Melissa Berman, New York, NY (28 min, BetaSP, color)
Journeys of loss, revelation, and self-discovery set along the Montauk seashore.

Lights and Darks by Eric Kallevig, Los Angeles, CA (6 min, BetaSP, b&w)
A lonely old man's outlook is changed by a child's act of kindness.

The Dashing Diner by Gregg Watt, Cape Town, South Africa (17 min, BetaSP, color)
Two prisoners are released back into a dangerous chaotic world, a world they have seen too much of already--except, perhaps, for the restaurants.

Free Spectra by Seokhan Ryu, Daly City, CA (5 min, BetaSP, color)
A visual symphony of lights filmed at night in the San Francisco Bay area.

Lint Trapped by Caleb Johnson, Philadelphia, PA (6 min, BetaSP, color)
One man's brave pursuit of socks through the uncharted dimensions of his dryer.

Maree (Tides) by James Pellerito, New York, NY (15 min, BetaSP, color)
An Albanian father and son flee war-torn Macedonia in search of a better future in Italy. In Venice, the father makes the most difficult decision of his life.

Overpass by Alan Price, Ellicott City, MD (7 min, BetaSP, color)
In this computer-animated film, a boy takes a ride in Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion car.

Spaceman Dan's 243rd Flight by John Mossman, Brookfield, IL (30 min, BetaSP, color)
An innocent farm girl and her brother, who takes her on a journey--a troublesome call girl and a hit man, who has been hired to dispose of her--two stories converge at an abandoned hilltop house.



4pm Saturday May 8, 2004


Alter Egos by Jon Karafin, Ambler, PA (9 min, BetaSP, color)
A superhero performs his daily quota of good deeds, and then must face his toughest enemy: his wife.

Tango Octogenario by David Licata, New York, NY (7 min, 35mm, color)
An ordinary, bickering, elderly couple work out their problems in an extraordinary way.

Matsutake by Todd Dayton, New York, NY (23 min, BetaSP, color)
A globe-trotting documentary about a wild mushroom and the people who make it part of their lives and livelihoods.

One By Two by Hardeep Kharbanda & Suruchi Pahwa, Rochester, NY (6 min, BetaSP, color)
A bored person sitting alone in a room is happy when he gets a visitor. But when they start getting into each other's space, trouble begins.

The Black Cowboys by Aaron Brookner, New York, NY (14 min, BetaSP, color)
The Federation of Black Cowboys is dedicated to promoting the culture, history, and legacy of America's forgotten Black Cowboys.

Autobiography of an Insect by Chris Trebilcock, Toronto, Ontario (22 min, BetaSP, color)
An introverted art student and his eight-legged comic-book alter ego struggle with life and relationships.

800 Can Man by Mark Levy, Rochester, NY (13 min, BetaSP, color)
When you see someone collecting empty cans on the street, what do you think? A story of work and reward.

Undertow by Dominic Hilton, Philadelphia, PA (12 min, BetaSP, color)
Men are going missing on the island, but a failing writer cares only for the mysterious woman in his shower.

Westless American by Erik Nelson, Nijmegen, The Netherlands (6 min, BetaSP, color)
Follow a restless runner westward through six different states, eight National Parks, and seven State Parks.



8pm Saturday, May 8, 2004


Beat Box Philly by Warren Bass & Liz Goldberg, Melrose Park, PA (5 min, BetaSP, color)
This animated cityscape explores the neighborhoods, polarities, popular associations, and visual rhythms of the streets of Philadelphia.

Day of Independence by Chris Tashima, Los Angeles, CA (27 min, 35mm, color)
The story of a young Japanese American and his family, torn apart by unjust incarceration in a U.S. internment camp during World War II.

Inventing: Music by Matt Stratton & Dallas Trinkle, Chicago, IL (10 min, BetaSP, color)
Bill Henderson is an outlaw: riding his Hog, playing his music, and living his dreams on the edge of society.

Prayers from Kawthoolei by Joe Hill White, Los Angeles, CA (30 min, BetaSP, color)
A documentary about three friends from the Karen ethnic group of Burma. Two emigrated to Canada; we follow one back to Burma to find the third, left behind years earlier.

Time Streams by Stephanie Maxwell & Allan Schindler, Fairport, NY (6 min, BetaSP, color)
Segments and ribbons of "time" evoke past, present, and illusory experience in this hand-painted 35mm animated film with a computer-generated score.

Bracia (Brothers) by John C. Brookins, Matt Rosen, & Steve Edell (7 min, 16mm, color)
In 1944, two brothers attempt to escape the abandoned Lodz Ghetto in Poland, several days after the rest of its population was transported to Auschwitz.

Hand Job by Hafeez M. Saheed, West Caldwell, NJ (7 min, BetaSP, color)
An exclusive look behind the scenes of the fast-paced New Jersey nail salon circuit.

Stuff That Bear! by Bruno Coppola, London, England (19 min, 35mm, color)
A quiet Romanian taxidermist, a relentless conman, and a troubled lap-dancer embark on a bizarre nighttime odyssey through downtown Bucharest.

Zamboni Man by Seth Henrikson & John Cafaro, Chicago, IL (14 min, BetaSP, color)
Tyler, a graceful figure skater, is admired from afar by Walt, a Zamboni driver with hidden musical talent. If only she could hear him play....

The 45th Rochester International Film Festival

8pm Thursday, May 1, 2003


The Marsh by Joshua R. Gramse, Sodus, NY (10:00, Color, 1/2" video). The development of human society as seen from a marsh. The archiving of human culture in nature.

Tremors by Evelin Longo, Santa Monica, CA (12:00, Color, 16mm). A woman in love is tempted by another man and gets lost in the seduction game, forgetting about the world around her.

All That I Perceive by Lindsay Daniels, Oakland, CA (4:00, Color, 1/2" video). Share an experience about an unsuccessful eye surgery that caused the filmmaker to have double vision giving her a unique and broad visual terrain that served as an inspiration to think about the world in a new way.

Jungle Picnic by Laura Di Trapani, Portland, OR (5:00, Color, 1/2" video). Two brothers, Stodgy and Starchy, lose their taste for the great outdoors when one encounters a tiger and the other has to decide how many hot dogs to eat.

Spikedriver by Stefanos Kafatos, Los Angeles, CA (12:00, B&W, 1/2" video). Xiang becomes unemployed after the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. Isolated and in desperate need, how far will he go to find his way?

The Legend of Razorback by Michael Greenspan, Los Angeles, CA (25:00, Color, 35mm). Eleven year old Avery Small must find the key to unlock his silence and pain.

Reverberations by Matt Costanza, Livonia, NY (7:00, Color, 1/2" video). Live action footage of martial artists and dancers brings this experimental animation to life.

Smithee's Lecture by David Liban, Washington, DC (24:00, Color, 1/2" video). Follow five students as they rush to attend a lecture that their professor says is to be given by famous Hollywood filmmaker Alan Smithee.



8pm Friday, May 2, 2003


All Games are Home Games: Baseball in San Quentin by Josh Springer, San Mateo, CA (27:00, Color, 1/2" video). Inside San Quentin State Prison you will be introduced to the all-inmate baseball team, the San Quentin Giants. This film answers the questions “What’s it like to play against an inmate serving a life sentence for murder?” and “How does baseball help them reform?”

The Least of These by Rik Swartzwelder, Solver Spring, MD (20:00, Color, 35mm). The fading, isolated life of a diner owner and the dull routine of his varied late night crowd are forever changed by the unusual proposition of a stranger. Based on a true story.

Die Leiden der Jugend (The Sorrows of Youth) by Brian M. Plow, Athens, OH (16:00, Color, 1/2" video). Amidst the quiet rhythm of a library, a young couple defy the strictly ordered confines of an institution and find the courage to love. Or do they?

Some Lucky Bastard by David W. Tamkin, Vancouver, BC (22:00, Color, 1/2" video). When Chris Miller is given the task of running the office pool, he discovers it gives him an excuse to see co-worker Tanya Nichols twice a week. Events lead the financially strapped Chris to take a risk that forever changes his life.

Alchemy by Anna Condo, New York, NY (18:00, Color, 35mm). What goes around comes around--and around. Saskia gives an unusual gift to her doctor only to receive it back from a friend.

La Toiletta by Dave Goldenberg, Ridgefield, CT (8:00, Color, 1/2" video). The epic saga of a fifth grader who has to go to the bathroom during a test, and the teacher who stands in his way. Presented, of course, as an operetta.



11pm Friday, May 2, 2003


Sobering by Robert Deege and Michael Turfler, Vienna, VA (24:00, Color, 1/2" video). A young man wakes up with little recollection of the night before. During the day, flashbacks and phone conversations provide conflicting evidence of what happened. In his search to figure out the truth, he makes a discovery that will change his life.

As Virgins Fall by Natalie Barandes, West Hollywood, CA (28:00, Color, 35mm). August 8, 1969. Amid sex, drugs, and the Viet Nam War, a privileged teenage girl is about to learn that no one is safe.

Crossing by Riccardo Costa, New York, NY (9:00, Color, 1/2" video). While walking in Manhattan, Cass meets all the people that matter most in his life. Something strange is going on.

Unearthed by Christina Spangler, Cold Spring, NY (8:00, Color, 16mm). Alone and exposed in the above ground world, an unearthed potato fights for survival and is given the gift of sight, only to realize the impermanence of its existence.

Shadowboxer by Vilka Tzouras, Brooklyn, NY (28:00, Color, 16mm). Filmed in a direct and provocative style, “Shadowboxer” brings issues of female teenage violence into focus through the story of a 16 year old girl named Reena.

True Believer by Dave Puls, Rochester, NY (4:00, Color, 1/2" video). The alarm is sounded to be aware of the True Believer. This film blends humor with stark observations of fanatics past and present.



4pm Saturday, May 3, 2003


Nine by Jennifer Campbell, Lowell, MA (26:00, Color, 1/2" video). In this uplifting documentary, nine breast cancer survivors prepare for the world’s largest two-day rowing event. The film follows the women’s stories as they bond and share hope, from their first meeting through the entire race.

Tiny Magic by John Takacs, Lewiston, NY (21:00, Color, 1/2" video). Nick, a magician with supernatural abilities, attempts to charm Michelle. A memorable evening punctuated by a magical ending.

Match Scratch Fever by Kristin Solid, North Hollywood, CA (3:00, Color, 1/2" video). When a match escapes the matchbox and enters the world, he soon uncovers the meaning of life and embarks on a mission to fulfill his destiny.

Barntasia by Helen Kiefer, Oak Park, IL (12:00, Color, 35mm). Beautiful photographic imagery from America’s historical barns dances to music in a fantasy of sound and light.

Back to One by Reid Mihalko, New York, NY (10:00, Color, 1/2" video). John has finally summoned up the courage to pop the question, but he can’t seem to make it come out right. Even the most well rehearsed moments aren’t what they seem.

Bamboo Master by Ding Ye, Rochester, NY (4:00, Color, 1/2" video). A talented young martial artist is defeating renowned martial arts clans in China. One day he is defeated by the Bamboo Master in the Bamboo Forest.

Mount Everest--Up Close and Personal by Ron Strobel, Malvern, PA (17:00, Color, 1/2" video). This is a story about being middle-aged, out of shape, and lazy. It’s about two cultures literally a world apart. It’s about surmounting obstacles and seeking pure adventure and a life-long dream.



8pm Saturday, May 3, 2003


Taste It All by Richard J. Liukis, Los Angeles, CA (27:00, Color, 35mm). What goes on behind the scenes of the art world. A different view of the artist, the gallery owner, and the patron.

West Bank Merry-Go-Round by Bob Barancik, Portland, ME (3:00, Color, 1/2" video). A meditation on the cycle of violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians on the West Bank.

Water by Gabriele Zamparini, New York, NY (14:00, B&W, 35mm). An African immigrant searches for a job in Harlem, but finds something else....

Waiting For Johnnie Walker by Kerry Logan, Burbank, CA (30:00, Color, 1/2" video). Hana is considered eccentric by the other patrons at the bar where she goes each night, waiting for her “mystery man” to appear and take her away. Karl, the compassionate bartender, looks after her.

Rocks and Chocolate by Teddy Sharkova, Savannah, GA (12:00, Color, 35mm). In a post-communist Eastern European country, times are tough. A little girl steals from the jar containing the poor family’s meager savings.

19 at 11 by Michael Schwartz, Marina Del Rey, CA (15:00, Color, 16mm). Greg, a young reporter, gets his first shot at prime time, where he is challenged by Roger the senior anchor. By 11:30pm, only one newsman will be left standing.