Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle
2017 | Spain | 90 minutes
Director: Gustavo Salmerón
Screenwriters: Gustavo Salmerón, Raúl de Torres, Beatriz Montañez
Producer: Gustavo Salmerón
Cinematographer: Gustavo Salmerón
Editors: Raúl de Torres, Dani Urdiales
This is the story of Julita, a matriarch whose three childhood wishes have all been granted: lots of kids, a monkey, and a Spanish castle. Now, at 81 years old, one of Julita’s children needs to find the vertebra of his murdered great-grandmother. Lost among the exorbitant amount of weird objects Julita has hoarded throughout her life, this is no easy task. The search reveals a very picturesque family history, and ultimately, this unique woman is about to find the meaning of life.
- Published in 2018, Colonial Theatre, Feature Films
Little Potato
2017 | USA | 13 minutes
Directors: Wes Hurley, Nathan Miller
Producers: Wes Hurley, Nathan Miller
Struggling to survive in the USSR during the turbulent years of Perestroika, Elena and her young gay son escape into the world of pirated American movies. But soon the movies are not enough, and Elena decides to become a mail-order-bride and discover America for herself. Saving its most unexpected twist until the end, this autobiographical documentary tells the inspiring and timely story of two immigrants taking on the American Dream.
- Published in 2018, Colonial Theatre, Short Films
Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405
2017 | USA | 40 minutes
Director: Frank Stiefel
2018 Academy Award Winner, Documentary Short
Acute mental disorder, devastating depressions and anxiety have caused her to be committed to mental institutions, undergo electroshock therapy and even survive a ten-year period without the ability to speak. Despite all of this, 56-year-old Mindy is a brilliant artist represented by one of Los Angeles’ top galleries. Mindy’s hyper self-awareness has allowed her to produce a lifelong body of work that expresses her emotional state with powerful psychological precision. Through interviews, reenactments, and examining drawings made from the time she was a child, we learn how her art gave her a voice and probably saved her life.
- Published in 2018, Colonial Theatre, Short Films
Glowworm
2016 | USA | 24 minutes
Director: Laina Barakat
Screenwriters: Laina Barakat, Brandon Bedaw
Having inherited a large farm in rural New England from her grandfather, a man she barely knew, Emma travels North to say goodbye, and, ultimately, sell the land. However, farmhand Pedro hopes to change her mind.
- Published in 2018, Colonial Theatre, Short Films
Faces Places
2017 | France | 89 minutes
Directors: Agnes Varda and JR
Screenwriters: Agnes Varda and JR
Producers: Emile Abinal, Charles S. Cohen, Julie Gayet, Nadia Turincev, Nichole Fu, and Etienne Comar
Cinematographers: Romain Le Bonniec, Clair Duguet, Nicolas Guicheteau, and Valentin Vignet
Editor: Maxime Pozzi Garcia
89-year old Agnes Varda, one of the leading figures of the French New Wave, and acclaimed 33 year-old French photographer and muralist JR teamed up to co-direct this enchanting documentary/road movie. Kindred spirits, Varda and JR share a lifelong passion for images and how they are created, displayed and shared.
Together they travel around the villages of France in JR’s photo truck meeting locals, learning their stories and producing epic-size portraits of them. The photos are prominently displayed on houses, barns, storefronts and trains revealing the humanity in their subjects, as well as themselves. Faces Places documents these heart-warming encounters, as well as the unlikely, tender friendship Agnes and JR formed along the way.
- Published in 2018, Colonial Theatre, Feature Films
Edith+Eddie
2017 | USA | 29 minutes
Director: Laura Checkoway
2018 Academy Award Nominee, Documentary Short
Edith and Eddie, ages 96 and 95, are America’s oldest interracial newlyweds. Their love and affection for each other has invigorated their lives. However, Edith and Eddie’s unique love story is disrupted by a family feud that threatens to tear the couple apart. What happens when someone’s life is taken out of his/her own hands? Who has their best interest in mind? Filmmaker Laura Checkoway (Lucky) presents an unforgettable emotional portrait of a guardianship abuse case. The story of Edith+Eddie is a testament to all elders who deserve dignity and the right to live out their last days as they have earned.
- Published in 2018, Colonial Theatre, Short Films
Blitz
2017 | USA | 13 minutes
Director: Chad Knuth
Pressured by his single mother to pursue a football scholarship, a high school student wonders if it is the best path for him to gain a quality education. This dramatic short explores the choices we have to make in order to move towards a brighter future for not only ourselves, but also for the ones we love.
- Published in 2018, Colonial Theatre, Short Films
Amerika Square
2016 | Greece | 86 minutes
Director: Yannis Sakaridis
Screenwriters: Yannis Tsirbas, Vangelis Mourikis, Yannis Sakaridis
Producers: Yannis Sakaridis, Nikkos J. Frangos, George Th. Lemos, Venia Vergou
Cinematographer: Jan Vogel
Editor: Yannis Sakaridis
Principal Cast: Yannis Stankoglu, Makis Papadimitriou, Vassilis Koukalani, Themis Bazaka, Alexandros Logothetis, Rea Pediaditaki, Errikos Litsis
Nakos, a disgruntled resident of the Athens neighborhood of Amerika Square decides to take action against the influx of immigrants coming from the Middle East. His scheme undermines the efforts of Billy, his friend and neighbor, who takes great pains to help refugees Tarek and Tereza escape the turmoil of their home countries and make better lives for themselves elsewhere in western Europe.
- Published in 2018, Colonial Theatre, Feature Films
Abundant Acreage Available
2017 | USA | 80 minutes
Director: Angus MacLachlan
Screenwriter: Angus MacLachlan
Producers: Kate Churchill, Angus MacLachlan
Executive Producer: Martin Scorsese
Cinematographer: Andrew Reed
Editor: Michael R. Miller
Principal Cast: Amy Ryan, Terry Kinney, Max Gail, Francis Guinan, Steve Coulter
Awarded Best Screenplay at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival for a U.S. Narrative Feature film, Abundant Acreage Available deals with the question of legacy and ownership of land rights. A middle-aged brother and sister Jesse (Terry Kinney) and Tracy (Amy Ryan) are coping with their father’s recent death on their North Carolina tobacco farm when three mysterious strangers pay an unexpected visit. Claiming a right to the land that had been in their family for generations before, the three brothers camp out on the farm with no intention of leaving. Torn between their own grief and empathy for the three strangers, Jesse and Tracy try to resolve the underlying tension that continues to build in a stand-off between the two sets of siblings.
- Published in 2018, Colonial Theatre, Feature Films
Birdlime
2017 | Canada | 11 minutes
Director: Evan DeRushie
Birdlime is the name for a sticky substance spread on branches in order to trap wild birds intended for export or trade. This film observes one bird that barely manages to escape this industry, yet remains trapped in a cage and surrounded by unfamiliar sounds and un-birdlike creatures.
- Published in 2018, Colonial Theatre, Short Films