FRIDAY

Love, Post-Lockdown

Ben Mourra, Lucas Boetsch

16 min | 2020 | UK | East Coast Premiere

Isolating alone, anxious James finds himself clinging on to his social distance rituals, even though restrictions have been lifted. But after locking eyes with the sparky Samira, James must decide whether to finally step outside of his bubble or remain within it forever.

Awards: BEST ROMANTIC SHORT ~ Independent Shorts Award

Official Selections: Rome Independent Prisma Awards, San Francisco Independent FF, Phoenix Short FF, KinoDUEL Int’l FF. 

I'm An Electric Lampshade

John Clayton Doyle

BEST OF FESTIVAL - Sponsored by Center Square Realty

96 min | 2020 | US | Boston Premiere 

Doug McCorkle a buttoned-up, mild mannered corporate accountant who retires at age 60 to become the world’s least likely rock star is an offbeat doc-narrative-music film that demands a genre of its own. His openness to pursuing dreams well outside of his comfort zone, both in far-away places and with various people and cultures (including LBGTQ) is refreshing and inspiring, and his struggles to achieve his dreams lay bare his inner doubts and fears. By the end of the final concert, filmed before thousands in Mexico City’s La Plaza Condesa, we are in love with Doug, his bravery and his heart. His journey and final transformation leave us with proof that it is never too late to pursue your dreams!

Awards: Feature Award Winner - Ignite Film Festival; Official Selections: Flickers’ Rhode Island Int’l, Doc Edge, Albuquerque Film & Music Experience, The Romford, FICAH, Doc Edge, Barnes, Cinequest Film & VR, Winter Film Awards International.

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COLLECTIVE STASIS

Jamiel Laurence

10 min | 2020 | UK | Experimental | US Premiere

A meditation on the idea of looking at dance from the outside in. Dancers of Glasgow come to terms with their current state of inactivity during the isolation lockdown of 2020 and dance creators are forced to find new ways to develop and share their work. 

47 {Iranian Program}

Alireza Ataollah Tabrizi and Ahmad Otraghchi

IRANIAN PROGRAM - Sponsored by Super Vanak International Food Market & Café
80 min | 2020 | Iran | East Coast Premiere

The directors tell 3 separate stories that become rivetingly interwoven, illustrating the difficulty of being a woman alone.

Official Selection: Fajr Int’l FF, Red Sea Int’l FF, Iranian FF - San Francisco.

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GANDO

Teymour Ghaderi

8 min | 2020 | Iran | Boston Premiere

Girls in Sistan and Baluchestan provinces of Iran are tasked with going to the pond to bring water to their villages which can be quite a distance to walk. Most ponds are inhabited by the Iranian crocodile, the Gando and the saying and belief is that where there is a Gando so there is water. They will attack; thus, it is not uncommon for these children to lose a leg or hand to these creatures. This doc tells the story of a 9-year-old girl, Hawa and her experience with a Gando.

Official Selections: Inclús - Barcelona Int’l Disability FF, Scout Winter FF Vermont, Providence Children’s FF, IMFF Maine.

POLITICS

Fardin Zarei

2 min | 2021 | Iran | World Premiere

The story of a carton of eggs and one egg that emerges as a leader.

Los Hermanos (The Brothers)

Ken Schneider & Marcia Jarmel

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - Sponsored by Irving House of Harvard
80 min | 2020 | US/Cuba

Virtuoso Afro-Cuban-born brothers—violinist Ilmar and pianist Aldo—live on opposite sides of a geopolitical chasm a half-century wide. Tracking their parallel lives in New York and Havana, their poignant reunion, and their momentous first performances together, this film offers a nuanced, often startling view of estranged nations through the lens of music and family.

Featuring an electrifying, genre-bending score, composed by Cuban Aldo López-Gavilán, performed with his American brother, Ilmar, and with guest appearances by maestro Joshua Bell and the Grammy-winning Harlem Quartet.

Awards: Woodstock FF-Best Doc; Official Selections: DOCNYC, Mill Valley, Bend Oregon, GlobeDocs, Cinematters, Omaha Int’l, Ashland, River Run, Mountain Film.

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CARMEN AT THE PARLOR OPERA HOUSE

Gérome Barry

2 min | 2020 | France | US Premiere

A quarantined Parisian goes to the opera in his own living-room.

Awards: Fool’s Gold Award - Play the Fool Int’l Short FF Canada; Official Selection: Abby FF – London, Linea d'Ombra FF – Italy, Festival Int’l De Cortometrajes Cine Mundo Online – Argentina, PhotoBrussels Festival, Belgium, Int’l Coronavirus Short FF – India, New Generation FF – Serbia, Festival Int’l de Cine La Perla – Ecuador, Covid 19 FF – Italy, Suikerzoet FF – Netherlands, Quarantine Images Short FF – Argentina. 

Jack London's Martin Eden

Jay Craven

BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE - Sponsored by Vinotta Restaurant
105 min | 2021 | USA | Boston Premiere

Filmed exclusively on Nantucket during the pandemic, director Jay Craven mystically takes you back in time to the turn of the century and introduces you to Martin Eden, a poor and unschooled sailor who unexpectedly meets a magnetic young woman of means and education. Based on Jack London’s autobiographical novel, this dynamic film captures the socio-economic class distinctions of the time.

Official Selection: World Premiere – Nantucket FF

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THE YELLOW KITE

Yousuf Khan Noor
7 min | 2021 | Bangladesh | US Premiere

Two children…a kite. One a schoolboy, the other a garbage collector and for a few moments they forget that they are on different paths in life.

Official Selection: Peace Film Festival – Dhaka, Bangladesh

Times of Plenty

BEST ANIMATION SHORT - Sponsored by Real Gusto Restaurant

Claudio Costa

13 min | 2020 | Italy | US Premiere

Italy is revealed through a satirical comedy told by Cesare, a young boy living with his family in Rome.  TIMES OF PLENTY is a reference to the socio-cultural climate of the 80’s and 90’s in Italy, a time of the Socialist Party and young, upwardly mobile yuppies…a time of Silvio Berlusconi’s privately owned TV channels, the new agreement with the Holy See…a period in which Italy came to be the fifth leading industrial country in the world, but also a time of spiraling growth in public spending, growth that many knew could not last 

Awards: Willlachen Comedy & Satire Filmprize - The Golden Cellar Rattle (Wien Austria), Honorable Mention/New Generation Film Festival (Belgrade Serbia)
Official Selections: David Donatello (Rome Italy

PROGRAM 1

The Robbery

Alfonso Díaz

10 min | 2017 | Spain | Boston Premiere

What’s going to happen when these tough times get worse and there are more robbers than bars?

Awards: Best Short Film – Short Film Contest Picarral (Spain), Shire FF (Australia), Festival Int’l Hacelo Corto (Spain), Alicante Int’l FF (Spain); Audience Choice Award – Shepparton FF (Australia), Schermi Irregolari (Italy), among numerous others.   

Official Selections: Chicago Latino FF (US), Monadnock Int’l FF (USA), Martha’s Vineyard Int’l FF (USA), Portobello FF (UK), Sevilla European FF (Spain), Huellas Festival (France), Festival de Cine de Comedia de Tarazona (Spain), European Cinema Festival (France), Athens Hispanophone FF (Greece), The, Unprecedented Cinema Int’l Short FF (Estonia), among numerous others.

The Kids

Amir Daryani

12 min | 2021 | Iran | US Premiere

What a devastating effect a separation/divorce can have on children. A brother and sister wander into a judge’s office in family court and ask to legally separate from each other. The judge is confronted with their questions that he realizes deserve serious consideration.

Award: BestFamily Values – Int’l Festival of Modern Art & Ethical, Spiritual Films (Armenia). 

Official Selections: San Francisco Iranian FF (USA).

Al-Sit

Suzannah Mirghani

20 min | 2021 | Sudan/Qatar | New England Premiere

In a cotton-farming village in Sudan, 15-year-old Nafisa has a crush on Babiker, but her parents have arranged her marriage to Nadir, a young Sudanese businessman living abroad. Nafisa’s grandmother Al-Sit, the powerful village matriarch, has her own plans for Nafisa's future. But can Nafisa choose for herself?

Awards: Excellence in Women's Filmmaking Award - European Independent FF (Paris France), Audience Choice Award - Toronto Arab FF (Canada) - Vigata FF (Sicily Italy), Best Script Award - Huesca Int’l FF (Spain), Best Short Film - Ismailia FF (Egypt) - Nuuk FF (Greenland, Best Cinematography - Linz Short FF (Austria), Best Int’l Film - DC Black FF (US).  

Official Selections: Clermont-Ferrand Int’l Short FF (France), Ajyal FF (Qatar), Tampere FF (Finland), Aspen Shortsfest (US), Malmo Arab FF (Sweden), Seattle Int’l FF (US), San Francisco Int’l FF (US), Busan Int’l Short FF (Korea), Short Shorts FF & Asia (Japan), Palm Springs Shortfest (US), Ischia FF (Italy), Guanajuato Int’l FF (Mexico), Quibdo Africa FF (Colombia), 

Toxic

Diego Fabian Archondo

18 min | 2019 | Mexico | East Coast Premiere

A couple in a marriage crisis will have to survive a terrible explosion that releases millions of toxic particles in the environment while being trapped in a vacation house in the middle of the Mexican desert.

Awards: Best Mexican Short Film – Festival Int’l de Cine de Merida y Yucatan (Mexico), Macabre Festival Int’l de Cine de Horror de la Ciudad de Mexico (Mexico). 

Official Selections: Festival Iberoamericano de Cortometrajes (Spain), Portobello FF (UK), Festival Int’l de Cine de Terror de Valdivia (Chile), Oklahoma Cine Latino FF (US), LA Indie FF (US), Shorts That Are Not Pants (Canada), Newport Beach FF (US), Long Story Shorts (Romania), Shorts Mexico Festival Int’l de Cortometrajes de Mexico (Mexico), Festival Int’l de Cine de Monterrey (Mexico), Festival Int’l de Cine en Guadalajara (Mexico).

Dusty Nation

Kang Le

7 min | 2020 | Taiwan | US Premiere

This film is an attempt to describe the characteristics of the Chinese community. - At the Construction of the Great Wall of China by Franz Kafka, he is quoted, "Human nature, which is fundamentally careless and by nature like the whirling dust, endures no restraint. If it restricts itself, it will soon begin to shake the restraints madly and tear up walls, chains, and even itself all over the place."

Official Selections: Guam USA Int’l FF, BUEIFF Channel, FMV Cine