| | | Wed, Sep 17 2008, 8:00 pm - Opening Night Program 01, 01A, 01B |
 | | | Me | | | Directed by Thomas Klieber, 4 mins | | A little eerie gothic tale about love, fear and death. | |
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 | | | Pic Six | | | Directed by David Breckman, 17 mins | | Twice a week, Evan buys a lottery ticket for Vic, the big dumb psychopath he works for down at the local pizzeria. Vic always plays the same numbers: 1-2-3-4-5-6. Evan knows the odds of Vic winning are next to impossible, but when he blows off buying Vic's ticket one da... more | |
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 | | | The Marconi Bros. | | | Directed by Marco Ricci; Michael Canzoniero, 82 mins | | For the past 5 years, 3 months, and 26 days, (not that they are counting) Anthony and Carmine Marconi have been dutifully serving out life sentences in the family carpet business. Fate intervenes during a routine carpet installation when the brothers step into the world ... more | |
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| | | Thu, Sep 18 2008, 7:00 pm Program 02
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 | | | Butterflies | | | Directed by Andy Bailey, 16 mins | | While all of his classmates bring amazing circus animals to show-and-tell, Patrick's only contribution is a small, shy hermit crab. After standing awkwardly in front of his class, Miss Hansen sends him to the school nurse who reveals to Patrick an x-ray of the butterflies... more | |
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 | | | My Longest Day | | | Directed by Matthew Steinhart, 18 mins | | My Longest Day is a humor-filled documentary of one young man's struggle with his father's cancer diagnosis. Matthew Steinhart traverses his family history, the scientific aspects of cancer and surgery, and the impact the latter can have on the former, all the while ... more | |
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 | | | Family Karma | | | Directed by Joshua Barnett, 6 mins | | The story of a father, his two sons, and the injuries that connect them. | |
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 | | | The Awakening Fire: A Buddhist's Prayer | | | Directed by Barry Berona; Greg Daniels, 22 mins | | In the spring of 2007 the Shinnyo-en prayer ceremony for World Peace was opened to the public for the first time. People from all over the world attended this 'Saito Homa' fire service. "The Awakening Fire: A Buddist Prayer for Peace" offers a fascinating glimpse i... more | |
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 | | | Just One Year | | | Directed by Joy Clausen, 43 mins | | Joy Clausen thought she had it all. She had been a successful dolphin trainer for five years, had obtained a Bachelor's Degree in two and a half years, a Master's Degree in one year and was on her way to becoming a filmmaker. When she turned twenty-five on September twent... more | |
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| | | Thu, Sep 18 2008, 7:30 pm Program 03
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 | | | Check Please | | | Directed by Larry Ziegelman, 5 mins | | Meeting her boyfriend's parents for the first time could not have gone any better for Julie. And then the check comes. | |
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 | | | CU@ED'S | | | Directed by Casey Stangl, 13 mins | | Tina and Tadd attempt a face-to-face after meeting online. Real conversation proves harder than texting and soon they are sitting in silence. Suddenly Tadd throws caution to the wind - literally - and Tina joins him in a little good natured vandalism. With the ice brok... more | |
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 | | | Preamble | | | Directed by Vivian Tse, 11 mins | | Claire arrives to help her friend Olivia pack up her apartment for a move. But as the truth behind Claire's visit unfolds, it's clear that by the end of the visit, three lives will change forever. | |
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 | | | Rachel | | | Directed by Chris King, 14 mins | | When a suburban couple finally meets the pregnant young woman whose baby they are going to adopt, they are left with haunting and unforgettable memories of her forever. Based on a true story. | |
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 | | | Blinders | | | Directed by Donald Moss, 53 mins | | Throughout the year, tourists from around the world travel to Central Park to ride in one of New York's legendary horse-drawn carriages. Yet the future of this industry is the subject of a highly charged debate being aired on the streets, in the press and at City Hall. ... more | |
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| | | Thu, Sep 18 2008, 9:15 pm Program 04
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 | | | The Ladies | | | Directed by Christina Voros, 13 mins | | Before the Hungarian revolution Vali and Mimi had separate lives: the elder was a bohemian costume designer, the younger a pragmatic tomboy who drove a taxi. After nearly losing their lives in a Russian work camp the sisters escaped to the US and began rebuilding their li... more | |
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 | | | Vaccine Nation | | | Directed by Gary Null, 90 mins | | From the award-winning director of The Drugging of our Children, Prescription for Disaster, Gulf War Syndrome: Killing Our Own, and AIDS Inc. - comes the latest film of critical social importance: Vaccine Nation. Most believe... more | |
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| | | Thu, Sep 18 2008, 9:30 pm Program 05 |
 | | | Why Do I Exist | | | Directed by Woody Woodhall, 5 mins | | Why Do I Exist? is a question posed to strangers on the streets of Los Angeles. Using juxtaposed images and using dialog to drive the musical score this ambitious experimental short seeks an answer to the inanswerable. | |
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 | | | Kaleidoscope | | | Directed by Ricardo Martinez, 7 mins | | A young soldier, alone and bored in his rainy jungle outpost, recalls through a nightmarish and "kaleidoscopic" montage how past and present tend to connect and at the same time tries to reach his own conclusion with the sharp simplicity common to people at war. Kale... more | |
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 | | | Moon Cake | | | Directed by Marty Stano, 7 mins | | An eccentric being harnesses the light and energy of the moon to create a glorious cake- a moon cake- that he sends to Earth where characters dance and fight to obtain its magnificence. Anything goes on the night of a full moon! | |
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 | | | Hot Flash | | | Directed by Sarah Knight, 40 mins | | It all began in the late'70s when school teacher Gaye Adegbalola begged computer programmer and part-time musician Ann Rabson to give her guitar lessons. She finally relented, and the two eventually started performing at night as a duo. Saffire officially formed in 1... more | |
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 | | | Ed Hamell: Rant and Roll | | | Directed by Kate Valentine, 45 mins | | A celebration of the day to day life of a journeyman musician through fast-moving, often-hilarious performances on stage, backstage, and behind the wheel driving from one venue to the next. | |
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| | | Fri, Sep 19 2008, 7:00 pm Program 06 |
 | | | Portal | | | Directed by John Bush, 8 mins | | PORTAL, choreographed by Nadine Helstroffer, was filmed during Christo and Jeanne Claude's installation, the Gates, in Central Park, New York City. In a landscape muffled by snow and lit by saffron-colored portals, three dancers stir in the wind - emerging, dissolving, m... more | |
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 | | | A Letter to Colleen | | | Directed by Andy London; Carolyn London, 9 mins | | Andy London has been haunted by the events of his 18th birthday for years. In this short animated film set in the early 90's, he writes a letter to Colleen in an attempt to put his demons to rest. | |
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 | | | An Alternative to Slitting Your Wrist | | | Directed by Owen Lowery, 82 mins | | What if every single person in the world took a year out of their life to do all the things they've always thought about doing? Start and finish a movie, make someone's dream or wish come true, spray-paint an inspirational message on city property, burn their regrets to t... more | |
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| | | Fri, Sep 19 2008, 7:30 pm Program 07 |
 | | | Woman In Burka | | | Directed by Jonathan Lisecki, 21 mins | | A darkly comic look at the life of an actress and the types of Middle Eastern roles available to her in a post 9/11 culture. Sarita is up for the coveted role of an Iraqi rape victim's ghost in a new film. No one has seen the script or knows whether it's a seriou... more | |
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 | | | Let Others Suffer | | | Directed by Todd Peters, 87 mins | | Todd finds a flyer for a feminist film festival on the same day he finds a book by the renowned documentary filmmaker, Ivan Libragi. Newly inspired, he reaches out to Libragi to help him in his quest to make an epic film about the women in his family. Libragi finds Todd... more | |
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| | | Fri, Sep 19 2008, 9:15 pm Program 08
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 | | | The Naked Hitch-Hiker | | | Directed by Eleanor Lanahan, 29 mins | | The Naked Hitchhiker is an exquisitely rendered animation by first time filmmaker Eleanor Lanahan. The viewer is drawn into the rich emotional mindscape of a woman coming to grips with destructive patterns that dictate her emotions. Reeling from a crushing marital breakup... more | |
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 | | | Begging Naked | | | Directed by Karen Gehres, 70 mins | | Elise Hill left her suburban New Jersey home in 1976 at the age of 15. As she crossed the George Washington Bridge that night, she turned a trick for $30. She had no plan, but knew she wanted to make it to Union Square then known as Needle Park. It was in Union Square... more | |
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| | | Fri, Sep 19 2008, 9:45 pm Program 09
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 | | | Horizon Diner | | | Directed by Joseph Crockett, 3 mins | | Bending the laws of optics, time, and space, 'Horizon Diner' charts new territory in the world of 3D computer-generated animation. In a little All-Night Diner, Albert is fed up with waiting to order and sets out to get some answers. Fastidious and precise, he's not used... more | |
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 | | | The Dark | | | Directed by Nyle Cavazos Garcia, 20 mins | | Sylvia wants what every young woman wants, to find true love and live happily ever after. When she meets Jack, a true gentleman who sweeps her off her feet, Sylvia believes that he might just be the man of her dreams. However, Jack is not who he seems to be and his inte... more | |
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 | | | Breast Pump & Blender | | | Directed by Elizabeth Gorcey, 12 mins | | Lizzie, a new mom has everything, a loving husband, a two week old beautiful baby girl, nice home and an enigmatic au pair. Lizzie's reality seems to be warping, slowly unraveling playing havoc on her sense of reason. She begins to act impulsively driving herse... more | |
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 | | | Bloom | | | Directed by Lance Larson, 13 mins | | The only things standing between a Rent-A-Cop and true love are the guard dogs on a used-car lot. | |
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 | | | The Cereal Aisle | | | Directed by Johnny Roc, 5 mins | | Draza sketches in his local coffee house. His ex-girlfriend unexpectedly walks in. Do these two still have feelings for one another? | |
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 | | | California King | | | Directed by Eli Akira Kaufman, 21 mins | | A mattress salesman, who employs faux science to get female customers into bed, falls for a skeptical insomniac who knows her science better than her heart. Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation which supports films about real science instead of science fiction.... more | |
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 | | | Creating Discourse | | | Directed by Clint Litton; Alexander Newton, 28 mins | | A young, reclusive photographer named Claudio discovers a compelling bond with the enigmatic Lena, who has just returned home for a short break from big city life. He is initially guarded, having been hurt by a previous relationship that has left him wary of putting his ... more | |
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| | | Sat, Sep 20 2008, 7:00 pm Program 10
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 | | | The Cave: An Adaptation of Plato's Allegory in Clay | | | Directed by Michael Ramsey, 3 mins | | An excerpt from Plato's Republic, the 'Allegory of the Cave' is a classic commentary on the human condition. We have adapted and brought it to life by shooting over 4,000 still photographs of John Grigsby's wonderful claymation. The look was achieved by use of candlelight... more | |
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 | | | Pea Vs. Carrot | | | Directed by Ben Hicks, 5 mins | | An intimate peek into the lives of a young couple. Pea vs. Carrot is an excerpt from Ben Hicks' first feature length script 'Kids go free to fun fun time' which will begin shooting in Tokyo in 2009. | |
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 | | | Maine Story | | | Directed by Nina Chernik, 24 mins | | Maine Story is a film that portrays a portrait of a town as much as it does its characters. I wrote this story to speak about how sometimes we can get stymied in our life's path and may not even be aware of it. I wanted to speak about a person who desperately needed to... more | |