2022 Selected Films
The Ugly Truth
Foreign Feature
(Germany)
Runtime 01:36:27
Directed By: Krishna Ashu Bhati
Mona, her husband Theo and daughter Hanna live in an idyllic villa on the outskirts of Berlin. When the attractive 18 years old daughter of a friend comes to visit, the profound problems and fragility of the small family reveal, as a tragic downward spiral takes its inevitable course.
Huneebee
Student Short
(Wesleyan University)
(New Haven, CT)
Runtime 11:50
Directed By: Madeline Nagler
Huneebee is a short documentary about a young woman who uses beekeeping as a form of therapy. For those who have experienced trauma, it can feel like there is a lack of control- realizing that one has control over a seemingly dangerous environment, like a bee yard, is psychologically healing.
Big Iron
Student Short
(DePaul University & Lipscomb University)
(Manor, Texas)
Runtime 15:58
Directed By: Arik Hess
An Arizona Ranger travels to the tiny town of Agua Fria to locate the deadly outlaw Texas Red. This western short film is inspired by the classic Marty Robbins song, “Big Iron.”
Filmed entirely in Austin, Texas by Iowa, Illinois, Texas, and Tennessee filmmakers.
Gone
Youth Short
(Pflugerville, Texas)
Runtime 4:48
Directed By: Kyle Ward (Age 17)
In Pflugerville, Texas, a community is faced with the challenge of unprecedented devolvement. As housing developers and commercial companies start to inch closer and closer to the farmland, the farmers are forced to wonder how long it will be until their way of life will disappear. Most of the farmers are left with land that has been used for farming over multiple generations. To them, the thought that a housing community would be built on the land they have farmed makes them despondent. Once the land is built on, there is no getting it back. It is gone forever.
Shelter
Youth Short
(Visalia, California)
Runtime 8:43
Directed By: Percy Peck (Age 17)
A short documentary about the homelessness issue in Tulare County and how a warming center in the community is helping out.
Hunter
Youth Short
(Metuchen, NJ)
Runtime 9:59
Directed By: Michelle J Tang (Age 17)
A lonely nine year old boy wants to save his mom from his abusive father, but he feels powerless in the middle of all the fighting until...
A conversation with E
Youth Short
(Vancouver, BC)
Runtime 5:03
Directed By: esabella anna karena strickland, Taylor Mitchell, Mary Skylar Larkin (Age 16)
When a girl playfully responds to a mysterious post-it note, she finds herself unable to escape the conversation she began...
The Hole
Youth Short
(Poland)
Runtime 2:30
Directed By: Piotr Kaźmierczak (Age 16)
A short story about struggling with lack, emptiness, loneliness.
Ranch Water
Narrative Feature
(Smithville, Texas)
Runtime 01:20:00
Directed By: Sophie Miller
The Sterling sisters and their once close-knit group of friends reunite for a weekend at the family ranch in small town Texas before it's sold. Long simmering conflicts come to a head as they confront the uncertainty of their lives without the connection of home to bind each other.
A Roll In The Hay
Foreign Short
(France)
Runtime 18:15
Directed By: Geoffrey Fighiera
Laurent takes mistress his country vacation home for the weekend leaving his wife, Isabelle, bedridden and in the midst of a nervous breakdown. But Isabelle surprises them in the house, armed with a revolver and determined to make them face the price of betrayal…
Ms. Rossi 2 : Ms. Rossi Takes The Cake
Narrative Short
(Los Angeles, CA / Italy)
Runtime 17:58
Directed By: Pat Battistini
While on her travels as a Loan Officer for the bank, Ms. Rossi encounters some obstacles along the way while just trying to do her job.
The Sound
Narrative Short
(Austin, TX)
Runtime 6:51
Directed By: Jason-Christopher Mayer
Two years after a woman experiences sudden hearing loss, strange things begin to happen.
Lifecell
Narrative Short
(Arlington, TX and Dallas, TX)
Runtime 12:43
Directed By: Tyler Mann
In a dystopian future where everyone is powered by batteries, Jace and Em decide to risk everything at the hope of a better future.
Bumblebee
Narrative Short
(Atlanta, Georgia)
Runtime 19:43
Directed By: Kimberly Hauser, Richard Dominguez
This short film chronicles the heartbreaking split of two lovers, Beatrice and Timothy, and their reunion 4 years later. After a sudden rift, they go their separate ways only to have one last meet up. But what could there be to say? In their story, we find that sometimes the impossible is not so far away.
Is It My Fault?
Narrative Short
(Georgetown, TX)
Runtime 12:50
Directed By: Benjamin Pacheco
A hand-drawn animation about a teen boy who must save his younger self from the hideous monster that is his past trauma.
Soledad
Narrative Short
(Edinburg, TX)
Runtime 14:31
Directed By: Julio Cesar Gonzalez
Alma is a hardworking and devoted wife struggling to maintain a happy marriage. She reaches her breaking point after a long day of work and is forced to decide between taking her life or her husband’s.
Tejano Night
Student Short
(University of Texas at Austin)
(Austin, TX)
Runtime 13:00
Directed By: Alexander Rosales
While out of town at a family gathering in South Texas, an awkward Mexican-American, Mijo, is forced to tag along with his cousin to a local bar after butchering his Spanish pronunciation at dinner.
Derelict
Narrative Short
(Huntsville, TX)
Runtime 25:00
Directed By: Michael Cadwallader
Troubled boy finds Joy in an abandoned building with the help of God.
The FOUR STOPS
Narrative Short
(Fort Worth, TX)
Runtime 12:43
Directed By: Sheril Rodgers
Retired hit woman, Sheran has handed the family business to her daughter Martina. One of the best in the business. Martina's tough exterior hides a the passion she shares with no one.
Operation Zeugung
Narrative Short
(Cat Spring, TX)
Runtime 18:26
Directed By: Bruno Barranco
Stefan, a frustrated German teenager, fights for his father's approval, Walter Ender, a feared Nazi officer. Although a respected war hero, Ender is drowned in misery and self-pity as he sustains an injury that prohibits him from having more children. His kind-hearted wife, Emilia, tries to comfort both Stefan and Ender, unintentionally creating mayhem.
My Stupid Tribute Band
Documentary Feature
(Dallas, TX)
Runtime 01:40:38
Directed By: Michael Alex Mroz
A music documentary about Dallas based AC/DC Tribute band Back in Black that follows their twenty year history culminating with their lead singer auditioning for AC/DC. It is a heartwarming and fun account celebrating the lows and highs they have encountered throughout the years.