NARRATIVE FEATURES

Ashley's Ashes
Directors: Chris Kazmier & Christopher Hutson
1 hour 41 min; USA; 2010
Web site
Trailer

Bob is bequeathed an urn holding the ashes of an unknown person. He learns to live his life again by discovering the life and friends of the person he never knew. The movie is delightfully funny and deeply touching. Starring Googy Gress, Willie Garson, Daniel Baldwin, Clint Howard, Gigi Rice, Orson Bean, Lee Arenberg, and Craig Sheffer.

Googy Gress, Christopher Hutson, Shahe Koulloukian

Broken Dreams
Director: David Crabtree
1 hr 30 min; USA; 2010
Web site
Trailer

A heartfelt and character-driven coming-of-age story about love, friendship and addiction. Johnny is trying to complete his documentary about an agoraphobic little person when he finds out his best friend has asked his other best friend to marry him. Since Elisabeth hasn't given Ryan an answer yet, Johnny hopes that he can still be more than friends with her.

David Crabtree, Jay Vincent

earthwork
Director: Chris Ordal
1 hour 33 min; USA; 2009
Web site
Trailer

In 1994, artist Stan Herd traveled from Kansas to New York City to create a massive environmental artwork on land owned by Donald Trump. Stan recruited a number of homeless individuals to work on the multi-acre artwork made from soil, rock, plants and vegetation. This drama made from real events stars John Hawkes as Stan Herd, Zach Grenier, and James McDaniel.

Endure
Director: Joe O'Brien
1 hour 30 min; USA; 2009
Web site

Starring Devon Sawa, Judd Nelson, Joey Lauren Adams and Tom Arnold, this taut thriller follows two detectives in central Florida who are working against the clock - and at odds with each other - to save an abducted woman from a serial killer.

Frygtelig Lykkelig (Terribly Happy)
Director: Henrik Ruben Genz
1 hour 30 min; Denmark; 2008
Trailer

Denmark's entry for the 2009 Foreign Language Academy Award, this ironically named movie feels like what the Coen brothers would make if they grew up in the backwaters of Denmark. Both hilarious and tense as well as gorgeously photographed and acted. In Danish with English subtitles.

Is It Just Me?
Director: JC Calciano
1 hour 33 min; USA; 2010
Web site

Frustrated by his ongoing failure to meet Mr. Right, Blaine stumbles upon what might be his perfect match in an online chat room: Xander, a sweet, hunky guy who's recently moved to LA. Smitten, Blaine then finds that he's been chatting to Xander under his go-go dancer roommate's profile, setting in motion a convoluted comedy of errors with romance as the ultimate objective.

Nicholas Downs and JC Calciano

Play On
Director: David Story
1 hour 38 min; USA, Scotland; 2010
Web site

Keir leaves his Scottish rugby team to seek fortune in the USA, only to learn it's not as easy as it looks. He joins a lousy rugby team in Kansas City and, while being forced to grow up, guides the team to new respectability and to a chance to play the pros back in Scotland.

David Story, Ari Bavel, Billy Lonergan

Something Blue
Directors: Sean Gannon
1 hour 34 min; USA; 2009
Web site
Trailer

It sounds like a great idea - recruit a friend to tag along and videotape the highlights on the road to getting married.  But as the groom's family treats his fiancee with increasing disdain, Michael hesitates to stand up to them.  As the camera rolls, what began as a fun, silly adventure in wedding planning devolves into an unintentional documentary of a relationship falling into jeopardy.

Sean Gannon, Pat Broddy

Splatter: Love, Honor, and Paintball
Director: Lonnie Schuyler
1 hr 50 min; USA; 2010
Web site

A lovable loser learns want he really wants out of life is the love of his ex-wife and the respect of his son. In this quirky comedy, he sets out to win them back by entering a local paintball tournament dominated by a local real estate tycoon who just happens to be the ex-wife’s new boss. A true underdog story about redemption and life lessons that proves winning isn't everything.

Matt Geiler, Lonnie Schuyler & more

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

Ballhawks
Director: Michael Diedrich
1 hour 14 min; USA; 2009
Web site

A group of men has been chasing baseballs and dreams outside Wrigley Field for the last ninety years. 2004 is different; the Cubs have put together a team that could contend for their first World Series title since 1908. Increased expectations have heated up the competition for home run balls hit onto the street to a fever pitch. Narrated by Bill Murray.

Michael Diedrich

Burning in the Sun
Director: Cambria Matlow
1 hour 22 min; Mali; 2009
Web site

The story of Daniel Dembele’s journey to turn a shaky startup which builds solar panels into a viable company, and of the business’ impact on customers in the tiny village of Banko, Mali.  Taking controversial stances on climate change, poverty, and African self-sufficiency, the film explores what it means to grow up as a man, and what it takes to prosper as a nation.

Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead
Director: Joe Cross
1 hour 37 min; USA, Australia; 2009
Web site

A friendly and engaging Australian journeys across the United States while on a 90-day juice fast. He talks with Americans about health, eating habits and obesity as he loses weight, improves his own health, and shows others how he is doing it.

First Stop, Iowa
Director: Rebecca Glenn
1 hour 20 min; USA, Australia; 2009
Web site

An Australian documentary team examines first-hand the caucus process during the 2008 presidential caucuses, traveling the campaign trail to small towns and farms across Iowa's 99 counties. Interviewees include George McGovern, Joe Biden, Tom Vilsack, Al Gore, Bob Shrum, Obama campaign volunteers and more.

Rebecca Glenn

Love & Valor - the Intimate Civil War Letters
Director: Charles Larimer
1 hour 29 min; USA; 2010
Web site

Narrated by Brian Dennehy, this documentary tells the story of Jacob Ritner, a Union captain from Iowa, and his wife Emeline through the letters they wrote. Intriguing stories of people that Jacob met, including a young runaway former slave, are detailed in the letters and recreated in this documentary.

Charles Larimer

Not Evil Just Wrong
Director: Phelim McAleer
1 hour 26 min; Ireland; 2009
Web site

This documentary gives a different point of view about the global warming issue. A poignant journey connects the first victory of the environmental movement - the worldwide ban of DDT, the pesticide that could have saved millions of Africans - with the current Global Warming Campaign. Interviews and images reveal the high price paid by humans because of green ideology.

Roll Out, Cowboy
Director: Elizabeth Lawrence
1 hour 15 min; USA; 2010
Web site
Trailer

Chris “Sandman” Sand is a rappin’ cowboy from Dunn Center, North Dakota (population: 120 and shrinking). He drives a semi, plays the guitar and raps. He looks like Woody Guthrie but sings like Dr. Dre. Small-town America isn’t as conservative as we think, as we learn by following Sandman through the American West during the 2008 Presidential election.

Elizabeth Lawrence, Warner Boutin

Scrappers
Director: Ben Kolak
1 hour 30 min; USA; 2009
Web site
Trailer

In cinema verite style, the filmmakers follow two Chicago families who make ends meet using brains, brawn, and battered pickup trucks. Scrappers tackles the geography of a still-segregated city, the hidden lives of undocumented immigrants, and the complex economics of recycling through an examination of daily life.

Vivir de Pie (Living on Your Feet)
Director: Valenti Figueres
2 hour 4 min; Spain, Algeria, France, Morocco; 2009
Web site

Cipriano Mera refused to die on his feet or live on his knees. His story is the odyssey of a scavenger and poacher turned bricklayer and revolutionary, who became a general during the Spanish Civil War and defeated Mussolini's troops. Even after returning to normal life afterwards, he retained his objective: to kill Franco. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Voices Unveiled: Turkish Women Who Dare
Director: Binnur Karaevli
1 hour 13 min; Turkey; 2009
Web site
Trailer

An intimate look at three courageous women - an artist, an activist and a dancer. Belkis, Nur and Banu contradict the familiar stereotypes of “Muslim women” as they continually push the envelope to pursue authentic lives that encompass traditional culture and embrace individuality.

World's Largest
Director: Amy Elliott
1 hour 19 min; USA; 2009
Web site

Hundreds of small towns across the USA boast the 'world's largest' something. This documentary visits 58 such sites as it follows the story of Soap Lake, Washington, and their five-year struggle to build the World's Largest Lava Lamp. Visiting these roadside attractions is a visually and emotionally compelling device through which to explore the vanishing, or perhaps merely changing, culture of small-town America.

Amy Elliott

ANIMATION

Doodie Egg
Director: Marty Schousboe
28 min; USA; 2010

A rotten egg with a heart of gold knows that anything is possible with the help of his friends - the emerging hip-hop producer Nudell Bush, country music lover with a dark past T-Baby, wise and ancient plesiosaur Susan, and timid human being Marty.

Father and Sister
Director: Soyeon Kim
5 min; South Korea; 2010

A series of coincidental happenings at the church results in an unspeakable act of transgression... or not!

I'm a Madman
Director: Steve Couch
3 min; USA; 2010

A madman sings about his life, his girlfriend and his dreams of a sweet family life with Uncle Vlad, pet werewolf and monstrous children.

Steve Couch

Kapsis
Director: Yen-Ting Cho
7 min; USA; 2009

A piece for flute, electro-acoustic music, and video art, this animated short portrays the mesmerizing Nahua myth of a young girl who becomes a starfish.

Kidnap
Director: Sijia Luo
4 min; USA; 2009

A little chicken is late to school, but her excuse is too wild to believe: getting kidnapped on the way to school, first by chickens, then gunmen, then aliens.  Finally a surprise celebrity rescues her and sends her safely to school.

The Lift
Director: Robert Kohr
6 min; USA; 2010

This amusing animated tale explores the consequences of the all too common act of not holding the elevator door open for someone eager to get on, or worse, pushing the "close" button. An elevator interaction goes wrong, prompting one young rider to learn about being insensitive and to hold open the elevator door the next time around.

Mashed
Director: Adam Fisher
9 min; USA; 2010

Trevor hates vegetables, and they don't much like him either. In fact, they are planning to eat him instead of the other way around! This short film combines several forms of animation, from CGI to stop-motion to cartoon characters, against a live-action setting.

Skylight
Director: David Baas
5 min; Canada; 2009

Cute animated penguins, a hole in the ozone layer, and a message of thoughtfulness about the impact of humanity on the natural world, especially parts of it that are far away, thus all-too-often out of sight and out of mind.

Transparent Movement
Director: Soyeon Kim
2 min; South Korea; 2010

A series of moving images created from various composites of human silhouettes creates a hypnotic feeling.

DOCUMENTARY SHORT FORM

$100 a Day
Directors: Mark Ligon and Gwen Essegian
34 min; USA; 2009
Web site

A compelling story of injustice, political partisanship and the struggle to prove the innocence of Rick Walker, who spent twelve years in some of California's most dangerous prisons for a murder he did not commit. Entitled to receive $100 a day for each day falsely imprisoned, Walker then became a pawn in a partisan battle over the California budget.

Mark Ligon, Gwen Essegian

Aliki
Director: Richard Wiebe
5 min; Cyprus; 2010

An encounter with a flamingo at an ancient salt lake in Cyprus; for centuries the island has seen visitors and invaders. 

Richard Wiebe

Boat Dreams
Director: Sasha Andrew
9 min; United Kingdom; 2010

A cautionary tale of three characters whose DIY projects have got out of hand. Unable to afford a fully-functioning canal boat, each has bought a landlocked craft in various degrees of dilapidation. Will they break out of the boat graveyard?

Can't Go Native?
Director: Chet Kincaid
56 min; USA, Japan; 2010

In 1961 as a graduate student in anthropology at the University of Chicago, Iowa farm boy Keith Brown, went to Japan to gather data for a dissertation on Japanese kinship. Out of his immersion in village life grew friendships and family-like bonds that have endured for a half century.

David Plath & more

From the Badlands to Alcatraz
Director: Nancy Iverson
56 min; USA; 2009
Web site

An inspiring journey of several Lakota youth from South Dakota who take on the challenge of swimming from Alcatraz Island to the San Francisco shore. Along the way, they conquer personal and collective challenges related to not just the swim but also the dispiritedness that is connected to conditions back home.

Nancy Iverson

God's Critters
Director: Bruce James
9 min; USA; 2009

A small urban congregation comes together to celebrate their connections to one another and to the animal kingdom. Pastor Maggie Ainslie preaches the virtues of trusting God, using a pet's trust of their owner as a metaphor.  Then, amid the howls of dogs and meows of cats, she gets down to the business of the service: blessing animals.

The Next Act
Director: Rob Merritt
30 min; USA; 2010

In 2008, the Iowa Theater Building in Cedar Rapids was deluged in the flood. This is the story of how this theater was brought back to life, incorporating modern comforts and technology while retaining the feel of the original theater.

Period Piece
Director: Christine Robins
12 min; USA; 2009

Menstruation is not considered a topic of polite conversation, but in this documentary combining vintage educational footage and current interviews, six women disregard politeness and bring the conversation out into the open with humor and humanity.

MUSIC VIDEOS

Inside
Director: Dave Patten
10 min; USA; 2010

A young businessman stumbles upon his fiancee fooling around behind his back. Twelve hours later, he is holding a man hostage in his basement and the police are hot on his tail.  There is only one way to resolve the issue... only one way to heal his wounds... and it involves Tchaikovsky.

Dave Patten & more

Let Me In
Director: Matthew Schutt
3 min; USA; 2010

In this music video for the Kelly Dalton song, a singer/songwriter returns to his hometown after a long tour, but soon realizes that he may be a stranger in his own town. He is haunted by the memories of the relationship with the girlfriend he left behind.

The Long Goodbye
Director: Alvaro de la Hoz
6 min; Spain; 2010

A lyrical music video from Spain, the song "Lazy" is sung in English while the visuals have road signs in Spanish. The woman in the video learns that it's not easy to start over again, to break with the past, to make new decisions.

On Our Own
Director: Allison Boos
4 min; USA; 2009

This music video chronicles a breakup; in the end, the boy and the girl reconcile, accepting what has happened and moving on. The music of Hannah Melvin illuminates the comfort that people find in one another, in spirituality and belief in something larger than themselves.

Allison Boos

Pain Killer
Director: Woo-Hyuk (Dooboo) Kim
5 min; South Korea; 2010

A fun mashup of horror flick and music video, Pain Killer is overrun by zany zombies who work in the human meat factory.

Woo-Hyuk Kim

Switch Hit Resistor
Director: Adam Sztykiel
5 min; USA; 2010

Nick throws a party to impress Beth and the band Woodward is set to play the gig. Pretty soon everyone is coming over, including some time travelers like a robot, Braveheart and Jesus. The party is truly the greatest in both history and the universe. And then the cops show up.

Take Me to Heart
Director: Monte Wilson
9 min; USA; 2009

Brian Minshew sings a moving ballad from his debut album.  The video's storyline captures the relevance of the troubles facing our nation, as a man who has lost everything finds himself homeless. 

NARRATIVE SHORT FORM

2-45
Director: Mads Nygaard Hemmingsen
21 min; Denmark; 2009

Sleeping is the easy part: An isolated night watchman meets an extraordinary girl who has broken into the Natural History Museum. In this strange and intriguing film, dreaming and reality become intertwined and perhaps impossible to distinguish. In Danish with English subtitles.

Abidjan
Director: Alexander Etseyatse
30 min; Cote D'Ivoire, USA; 2010

This heartwarming story follows a hesitant young soccer player from Brooklyn to his mother's homeland in Cote D'Ivoire, Africa, during a summer vacation, where the boy will try to get his parents back together and learn the values of playing as a team.

Action World
Director: Aaron Fronk
19 min; USA; 2010

The year is 2013 and the land is corrupted by the evil crime lord Calypso. The only thing standing in his way is Bravo Squad, two skilled mercenaries, who make it their job to eradicate evil scum and keep the innocent safe... and they kick major ass.

Aaron Fronk, Vincent DeGaetano, Cooper Johnson

Arena (Sand)
Director: Jota Aronak
19 min; Spain; 2009

Jonash does not know what sunlight is. He has never seen a tree or the sky. He has never left his room. He does not need to. But then a strange note appears and makes him think, and the simple idea of having an option becomes powerful. This experimental, dialogue-free, claustrophobic short shows the biography of a revolution.

Cabbie
Director: Donlee Brussel
14 min; USA; 2009

Marty has a dream of one day driving a cab. The only thing holding him back? He's never had a driver license. In a wry mockumentary style, Marty discusses his passion for driving a cab, what it has cost him, and what he hopes it will bring to his life.

El Cortejo (The Cortege)
Director: Marina Seresesky
14 min; Spain; 2010

Capi is the oldest gravedigger in the cemetery. Used to working amidst the suffering of others and the jokes of his colleagues, there is only one person capable of taking him out of his daily routine. Every month for the last couple of years he has waited for Marta to take flowers to the grave of her husband. She is his last hope.

Den Frygtløse Ivan (Fearful Ivan)
Director: Thomas Holtermann Østgaard
20 min; Denmark; 2008

After spending several years having a go at the life as a circus artist around the world, Ivan visits the island where he was born. The reunion with the island's residents and their expectations compel him to perform the most dangerous stunt of his life.

The Desperate
Director: Ben Hur Sepehr
33 min; USA; 2009

In this period drama set in a Nazi concentration camp, the son of a Nazi general is mortally wounded and the only doctor available is a condemned, elderly Jewish inmate whose own son was hanged for smuggling food to starving ghetto children. The doctor refuses, the general tries to make him change his mind, catching both of them in a powerful moral dilemma.

Dumb Dumb
Director: Chloe Hennesy
41 min; USA; 2010
Web page
Trailer

Shelly "Dumb Dumb" McElroy is a non-deaf mute attempting to cope with the recent death of his mother by boozing and brooding all over and around a small Iowa town. But his drunk and disorderly conduct cannot suppress his urges to confront a long held secret. Stunning original score by Iowa City folk-noise rock veteran Ed Gray.

Chloe Hennesy

El Forjador de Historias (The Storymaker)
Director: Jose Gomez Gallego
15 min; Spain; 2009

"With my hammer I forge the story of every life, of every person. The most wonderful moments, the most humble, the most fabulous... All of them have been conceived by me." The unknown Storymaker writes human fate in stone, but is there a way beyond that fate?

Four Pictures
Director: Mike Madigan
15 min; USA; 2009

Kaitlin documents her daily routine at a mall photo booth. An unexpected revelation about her boyfriend Aaron and her roommate Sara causes her to rethink everything she knows. Now Kaitlin must face up to what she fears most- change in any form.

Huset Overfor (The Other Side)
Director: Ask Hasselbalch
24 min; Denmark; 2009

Two boys dare each other to go into a mysterious house down the street. Is it haunted? Will they reach the other side? Or is some other mysterious force at work?

Listen (The List)
Director: Mette Kjærgaard
6 min; Denmark; 2009

Tragic-comic story about a man who is told that he has a short time to live. He makes a list of unfulfilled dreams and tackles the items. When he thinks that it's the end, the neurologist calls and tells him that a mistake was made. Now what?

Lydia and Otto
Director: Wes Worthing
5 min; USA; 2009

A parody of a period romantic-comedy movie, with a great period look.

Wes Worthing

Martes por la Manana (Tuesday Morning)
Director: Cheli Sanchez
8 min; Spain; 2009

Working in a big, heartless company can burn anyone, and Pedro is not going to be any different from the rest. He's looking for a new and better job. When he finds one, he bawls out the old employer. But something goes wrong... any given Tuesday.

One Bullet
Director: Pat Atkinson
4 min; USA; 2010

Shawn and Anna are on the run. Anna is lost, Shawn is wounded and can't go on.  They have one bullet left.

Pat Atkinson, Mark Britton & more

Outer Space
Directors: Dylan Gyles and Evan Petkau
28 min; USA; 2009

Like the legendary Dark Star, this comedy lovingly skewers the pretentiousness of movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey. Two space guys and a computer with a hilarious robotic arm have been away from Earth too long, and it shows.

Sapsucker
Directors: Christopher Holmes
12 min; USA; 2009

One man's determination to track down and dispatch a rare woodpecker wreaking havoc on his house puts him on the warpath. What he discovers in his pursuit is an ecology of sight and sound that defies every natural property he's ever trusted in and an environment far more surreal than he'd bargained for.

Sombras en el Viento (Shadows in the Wind)
Director: Julia Guillen-Creagh
19 min; Spain; 2009

New York, 1905... an adaptation of O. Henry's The Last Leaf, this period movie is photographed with an artist's eye, full of depth and richness in image and story. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Split Hit
Director: Will Sampson
9 min; USA; 2009

A long-time pool hustler at the top of his game meets a dangerously beautiful young woman and makes the biggest bet a hustler can, his heart.

Squared
Director: Jeremy Braverman
15 min; USA; 2009

A laid-off New York financier moves to Pittsburgh and is forced to spend his time repelling his cheerful new neighbors. He winds up squared off against elderly, legally blind Howard who refuses to give up the key to his car.

Jeremy Braverman

Stewart Little 3000
Director: Insane Mike Saunders
2 min; USA; 2010

The closest Ottumwa's Prescribed Films will ever come to a children's movie. Not for children.

Summon Lovin'
Director: Arie Hovenkamp
10 min; USA; 2010

In his quest to find a girlfriend, Walt summons a lust demon with unrivaled powers of seduction. At first delighted with his new powers, Walt soon learns that he should not have tampered with the dark forces.

Sunscreen Serenade
Director: Kriota Wilberg
6 min; USA; 2009

An eye-popping homage to Busby Berkeley's flamboyant kaleidoscopic style, this musical film is a gentle reminder that environmental and political trends come and go, much like the drift of movie fads.

Kriota Wilberg and R. Sikoryak

Sway
Directors: Ron Reynolds and Cole Northway
32 min; USA; 2010

Everyone has a breaking point. In this thriller with a twist, it's the chance for computer hacker Ethan to exact revenge against the pharmaceutical company that he blames for his mother's death and his father's ruin.

Ryan Gourley, Ron Reynolds, Cole Northway

Tarzan Jr. and the Cuban Mercenaries
Director: David Schmidt
18 min; USA; 2009

A crazy parody of Tarzan movies, with alligator fighting, a squad of Cuban mercenaries who all resemble Fidel Castro right down to the smoking cigar, and Tarzan Jr. swinging through the trees in a loincloth and deck shoes.

Brian Slator, Mitch Omar, Audrey Omar

Tengo Algo Que Decirte (I've Got Something to Tell You)
Director: Ana Torres-Alvarez
8 min; Spain; 2009

Susana is Pablo’s friend, but Pablo’s just realised he’s gay and he’s in love with Javi, his best friend who, at the same time, is going out with Susana. How are they going to tell to each other? How are they going to react? And how will all this end? In Spanish with English subtitles.

Time for a Hero
Director: James Stevens
16 min; USA; 2010
Trailer

Tate dreams of one day being a superhero like his old friend and local superhero, Hero. However, when Tate finally gets a power, Hero rejects him. Tate turns into the evil Time Warp to get revenge, only to realize that perhaps that isn't the way to gain the respect he longs for.

Trophy Wife
Director: Pat Atkinson
12 min; USA; 2010

Frank struggles with failure and rejection in his hobby and in his marriage. When the day comes that everything finally falls apart, Frank finds a way to resolve his taxidermy hobby and come to terms with his wife in a shocking manner!

Pat Atkinson, Mark Britton & more

With Anchovies... Without Mamma
Director: Thomas Justino
25 min; USA; 2009

Cosimo's world is torn out from under him when his dear old Mamma suddenly dies due to a slip-up at a local pizzeria. What was to be a plain cheese pizza turns into a fatal mistake by an inattentive pie guy. Pitch-perfect performances inform hilarious interviews with all those involved, trying to assign blame or innocence for mamma's demise.

STUDENT FILM & VIDEO

The Bay Swimmers
Director: D. Jesse Damazo
4 min; USA; 2009

The visceral poetry and distinctive beauty of swimming in the San Francisco Bay are captured in this experimental short documentary: a collage of underwater camera footage, panoramic views of San Francisco landmarks, and interviews with amateur and professional athletes.

D. Jesse Damazo

Clemency
Director:  Joseph Albanese
18 min; USA; 2009

In this tense and gripping drama, a sadistic killer who tortures his victims is on death row, but the governor grants clemency for psychiatric reasons. A reporter takes on the killer in an interview seeking to shed light on the emotionally charged topic. What she learns can never be forgotten or forgiven.

Damsel Distressed
Director: Tiffany Schmitt
3 min; USA; 2010

A little girl escapes into an imaginary world that she draws, in this film that mixes animation and live-action. Real-life danger mimics the peril in her drawings of zombies threatening a princess and a spider that scares a prince.

Deathstu
Director: Evan Runkle
11 min; USA; 2010

Stu likes to kill people! Sometimes, it takes a family to make a movie, and this short is made by a 14-year-old student, starring everyone he knows. Great fun!

Evan Runkle & more

Empty
Director: Max Parr
9 min; Canada; 2010

William wakes up one morning with no internal organs. Although he seems to be fine and the doctor isn't concerned, William goes in search of organs to make himself whole again.

Johnny Saw Johnny
Director: Steve Ross
10 min; USA; 2009

A man is disturbed by images and sounds that may or may not be real in this artistic and nonlinear narrative.

Look Through the Clown's Eye
Director: Jonah Greenstein
9 min; USA; 2010
Trailer

Nathan is a young, rebellious man who avoids typical work by intentionally getting into bar fights and then suing his attackers to make a living.  His girlfriend works as a professional clown to combat depression. 

Jonah Greenstein

Perfectly Abled
Director: Eva Andersen
7 min; USA; 2010

In a strikingly honest fashion, disabled university student Ashley opens up about the struggles of campus life in a wheelchair.

Eva Andersen

A Prayer for the Umpire
Director: Charles Houle
16 min; USA; 2009

A dark comedy about the struggle of Little League umpire Jeremy Evans. Crazed parents, unstable coaches, injured players, and post-game harassment that reaches a point of no-return, leaves Jeremy wondering if he will even make it out alive.

Sacrifice on the Ante
Director: Bryce Richards
14 min; USA; 2010

This short World War II drama chronicles a veteran's tragic tale of an ambush that endangers four of his friends.

The Scientist's Apprentice
Director: Brad Highland
5 min; USA; 2009

A janitor, a broom, a mad scientist, an animated lab glove... all make for a crazy live-action version of the classic Sorcerer's Apprentice.

Snippets
Director: Kari Williams
21 min; USA; 2008

A bit of whimsy and a romantic nod to Edgar Allan Poe's The Man of the Crowd, this slow-speed short follows the strides of two observers through black and white snapshots of New York City - a lovely tour through the alibi of a tiny narrative.

Kari Williams

Survivors
Director: Soham Mehta
13 min; USA; 2009

The dead are rising and the city has been evacuated, but two survivors remain behind.  Rita won't abandon her infected husband, and Sachin refuses to leave the memory of his dead wife. Survivors brings Indian influences to the classic zombie genre to create a sexy, fun, and terrifying nightmare.

Tales of a Traveler
Director: Tim Meester
14 min; USA; 2010

An eccentric traveler from the 18th century relates a story about how his quest for gold was complicated by a strange encounter with an anthropomorphic toad who inhabits an old English cottage in the midst of a dark and mysterious forest.

Tim Meester

What Else Would I Do?
Director: Joel Bouwers
11 min; USA; 2009

In an attempt to realize a childhood dream, an eccentric young man constructs one of Leonardo Da Vinci's machines.  Reality is set aside as his vision comes to life. The man soon realizes that nothing is as easy as it is in dreams. 

Who Is Candy Bernardino?
Director: Erin Li
9 min; USA; 2010

Join in on the fun as a rich Italian grandfather fakes his own death to escape his money-grubbing family.  However, his plan gets foiled by a sneeze, prompting him to leave the funeral early and flee in a chase of a lifetime.