SFFSFF Film Slate 2023

SESSION ONE

HAM

Directed by Rudy Martinez (USA, 8:00)

The year is 1961 and Ham the chimpanzee has been chosen to represent earth as the first ape in space, but a malfunction aboard his ship threatens his return home.

@hamspaceflick

RIFT

Directed by Farhad Bakhtiarikish (Sweden, 14:15)

An unhappy married man who still believes in true love finds himself in a dilemma when he meets a woman in a virtual dating app called RIFT.

@farhad_b13

FILTER

Directed by Assia Qianhang Shao (China, 11:20)

Xiaomei is a heavy user of the Beauty Cam/filter and cannot extricate herself from the world dressed by the Beauty Cam/filter. However, the unexpected visit of her mother forces her to face reality. But what is the reality? Who are we without the filter? What is our real appearance? The anxiety and confusion of contemporary young people fermented in the digital space. Will it quietly reform who we are in real life?

@assiashao

SALLY'S LULLABY

Directed by Jonathan Cook (USA, 5:00)

Mom and Dad team up with their daughter Sally to get rid of a monster in her closet.

@jonathanrcook

GLASS DOLL

Directed by Omorose Osagie (Canada, 5:00)

The Glass Doll is a post-apocalyptic film about a broken porcelain doll who repairs other broken toys, but must decide between giving up her closest friend and fixing herself.

@im_a_rose

GOLEM

Directed by Rafael Macazaga (Mexico, 15:00)

Cristina is desperate. Her co-star is away and she has to perform for a very important agent in a matter of hours. Using her skills as an acting coach, Cristina resorts to the only available tool: her assistant — a clumsy and “unimaginative" robot named Golem.

@golemshortfilm

MORNING IS BROKEN

Directed by D. Matthew Beyer, Paul Stafford (USA, 12:00)

Izzy is depressed. After a breakup that shattered both her friend group and her Dungeons & Dragons party, her heroic alter ego "Morwenna Morningsong" is frozen in a game that may never end. She needs bravery, imagination, and a little help to reconnect with a true friend and her true self.

SENTENCE

Directed by Seungmin Cho (Korea, 9:36)

Only a few tenacious human writers remain in the realm of creation while beautiful sentences created by Athena (an A.I. writer) bombard them every minute. Now, human writers must decide whether to survive as writers until death or leave the realm of creation to live as human beings.

@sentence_shortfilm

BACKROOM BLUES

Directed by Andreas Kyriacou (Cypress, 13:55)

Three pre-teen friends come up with the ultimate 90's heist — to infiltrate the mythical "backroom" of their neighborhood video store.

@thesplashcy

SESSION TWO

TABLE 8

Directed by Sander van Dijk (Netherlands, 10:50)

An anxiety-ridden man meets his friend for dinner in a shadowy restaurant to share a dark suspicion. At first, his friend doesn't believe him and tries to convince the man there's nothing going on. But the further they get into their midnight conversation, the more they both begin to fear that something about this evening isn't quite right...

BOO HAG OR SHADOW MAN

Directed by Emily Maya Mills (USA, 10:03)

When a career conjure woman brings home an evil spirit, she and her roommate must divide banishment duties with no time to consult the chore wheel.

@cat_alinaparra

BETTY AND BARNEY

Directed by Dan Sellers (USA, 8:11)

A couple undergoes hypnosis to recall a horrific alien abduction.

A BLOODY GRAVEYARD STORY

Directed by Vanessa Stachel (Germany, 3:22)

Three teenagers have an unexpected encounter when they sneak into a cemetery at night to summon an exceptionally terrible ghost.

@motlok

THE JELLYFISH MAN

Directed by Ben Davis (USA, 10:56)

Spencer’s neighbor refuses to turn off his music, but it’s unclear who is disturbing the peace.

DANCE OF THE GOLDEN MONKEY

Directed by Taran Sukert (Canada, 10:04)

A man on his existential quest for the meaning of life gets literally slapped in the face by a monkey-man who steals his favorite jar of marmalade and chases him through an absurdist world where he learns to live in the moment.

@taransukert

TANJIRO – XAVIER GOODMAN

Directed by Matt Genesis (USA, 3:22)

Xavier, on a mission to save Lareta, encounters armed resistance. An action-packed film that is the first installment of a coming trilogy.

@mattgenesis

VIBRATOR GIRL

Directed by Kara Strait (USA, 13:13)

An isolated young woman uses her vibrator compulsively — until it starts deforming her body in disturbing ways. To regain control and change the way she masturbates, she goes on a journey through a lurid underground of corporate neurologists and orgasm gurus, none of whom seem to have her best interests in mind. Ultimately, there’s little she can do to withstand her vibrator’s eerie influence.

@vibratorgirlfilm

SECRET SANTA

Directed by Lynn Kristmanson (Canada, 10:20)

Robin is Santa's biggest fan. It's Christmas Eve and Robin has hatched a plan to stow away in Santa's sleigh and hitch a ride to the North Pole. Won't Santa be surprised! But it's Robin who’ll be getting the surprise. Robin is about to find out that you should never meet your heroes.

BLONSH

Directed by James Werner (USA, 6:00)

When a teenage boy embarks on a mission to find a condom at his girlfriend’s house, he must face his fears (and an intergalactic alien) for a shot at losing his virginity.

YOUTH TRACK

Note: Youth Track films are only available to ticketholders as a streaming package

POLTERGEIST PUNK

Directed by Jamie Rogers (Canada, 15:00)

A struggling, up-and-coming punk band rents a cabin in the woods to write and record an album in seclusion, only to find out the cabin is being haunted by a malevolent spirit.

@poltergeistpunk

HUMAN ERROR

Directed by Madeline Schmit (USA, 13:46)

A scientist teaches her creation what it means to be a person.

@humanerrorfilm

ABDUCTED ANONYMOUS

Directed by Ben Schwartz (USA, 16:00)

A fugitive on the run is forced to blend into an A.A. meeting, but soon discovers this is no ordinary fellowship.

@abductedanonymous

TAKE ME WITH YOU

Directed by Abraham Howard (USA, 16:23)

Through the power of song, dance, and a pile of old fireworks, a loner beefcake goes on a musical suicide mission to save a supernatural child.

@abraham.c.howard

PROJECT IMAGINATION

Directed by Kostya Tyoschin (Canada, 5:00)

A story of unfiltered imagination: When the galaxy is threatened by a poison dragon snake, the Alien Space Hero must traverse through unknown lands to heal the dragons heart and save the day.

SPACE MAIL

Directed by Nathan Worrall (United Kingdom, 4:38)

The epic tale of two mailmen who deliver packages......across the galaxy!

@nateworrall98

FLOAT

Directed by Jaden Heller (USA, 4:59)

A penguin drifting through the polluted waters of a flooded Earth must see if he has what it takes to survive the new ways of the world.

SCRIBBLE

Directed by Bailey Ambrose Heller (USA, 12:58)

An astronaut encounters a familiar entity and attempts to escape its grasp.

@baileybambrose

TEA FOR TWO

Directed by Skye Schoenhoeft and Casey Donlan (USA, 6:59)

Two film students stumble upon a drag queen in an abandoned school.

@teafortwomovie

SFFSFF 2023 PROGRAM

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