Angel Rojas - 22, Gyani Pradhan Wong Ah Sui - 24 | Peru, OH & MA, USA

“We may never truly know how to capture the full essence of memory and history, but some of the most invigorating art creates new avenues for expressing it visually and sonically. Depicting a shared diasporic history through the structure of flipping through television channels, this film made me feel uniquely immersed in a shared history and experiences entirely different from my own. Through direct testimony, archival material, performance, and one of my new favorite short film songs, LOS TRES ANTIFACES lingers in the mind long after the first encounter.”

Experimental Visions

Lada Kopytova - 22 | UK

“I love art! I love the sea! I love wet land on 16mm! I spend a lot of time in the winter wandering the beaches of Puget Sound, whether that be loading up a bucket of clams or simply breathing in the salty air. Listening to the subject of this documentary made me pine (no pun intended) to be a mudlarker, scouring the coast for found material that has been cleansed of original purpose or intent. Though brief, this portrait of London jewelry maker Klara Fokicheva embraces the joyful sense of discovery found in the best art.”

Outside the Lines

Edward Gómez Granada - 23, Danna Muñoz - 23, Daniela Balanta - 22 | Colombia & CA, USA

“I spent my summers cruising around on a bicycle, savoring the bliss from coasting downhill on a humid evening. In MALICIA, you feel the pure ecstasy of the gravity riders who glide down the winding roads of Colombia as the camera elegantly flows with them. It makes the moments of drama so much more impacting, as blind corners can just as easily be hiding pain and violence. The relaxed performances give this film an incredible sense of immersion, where the emotional stakes of the world become so clear even within the span of 15min.”

Weight of the World presented by Blackmagic Design

Haydon Mayer - 23, Ryan Dombrowski - 23, Audrey Mainville - 21, Kaity Holmes - 21, Spencer Milligan - 22 | IL, USA

“As a transplant from Chicago, there is something almost primal that kicks into effect when I see Midwest miscellanea, whether that be a wood panelled teamsters bar or a sunset over the Indiana Dunes. I also have a deep respect and admiration when a 20min short film confidently deploys its first line of spoken dialogue 12min into the film. The front half of this film, told through sojourns in the video game Second Life and a mixture of mid 2000s period detail, conjures an utterly singular depiction of the yearning for emotional connection. The back half culminates with such carefully observed moments of tenderness that you can’t help but marvel at the coherency of vision across both the virtual filmmaking and location work.”

Centerpiece presented by Adobe Premiere Pro

Cate Christiansen - 22, Alexandra Mettler - 22, Lucas Manuel-Scheibe - 22 | NY, USA

“What happens when you take an inherently comedic concept (a flautist with a spider kink hiding their obsessions from an intimidatingly bass voiced father) and play it almost entirely straight? You find yourself somehow getting to the heart of real issues around sexual repression and desire. Each time I watch this film I’m taken in by its gaze, both empathetic and distant, absurdist and clinical. A film that seems impossible on paper, but manages the clarity of vision that comes from spinning a delicate web.”

Uneasy Street