10th AIFF | November 5 to 8, 2020 | Capitol Theatre

TICKET # 11 // SATURDAY // NOVEMEBER // 9TH // 10:45 PM // 2019 //

THICKER THAN BLOOD by Anthony L. Williams | Nar | 73 min | USA | NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE | BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE

Co-presented by India International Film Festival of Boston

Sypnosis: THICKER THAN BLOOD tells the story of Jordan, a young gay man who returns home for the first time in three years to celebrate his older brother’s promotion to partnership in a prestigious law firm. During what’s supposed to be a joyous afternoon of family, friends, and food, secrets are revealed, masks are uncovered, and some things are said that just can’t be taken back. A once tight-knit family is left broken and faced with the task of trying to figure out how to pick up the pieces and put them back together before losing each other… forever.

Awards: Newark Int’l Film Festival Best Director.

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INTERNATIONAL SHORTS PROGRAM 3

TICKET # 14 // SATURDAY // NOVEMEBER // 9TH // 3:40 PM // 2019 //

THE RIVER by Sahadat Russell | Nar | 20 min | Bangladesh | 2019 | US PREMIERE

Sypnosis: An anti-war film... a story of war that brings people into helpless situations. Although it is made in Bangladesh, this film captures the conditions of war and could be filmed anywhere in the world where war is happening.

HEARTS & CRAFTS by Harry Lee | Nar | 5 min | Ireland | 2019 | USA PREMIERE

Sypnosis: A heartwarming romantic short about a pair of 10-year olds, Oscar and Aimee, as they navigate the soaring highs and depressing lows of their first relationship.

THREE by Jazmín Mateo | Nar | 17 min | Perú | 2019 | US PREMIERE

Sypnosis: Luis is a young professor who is tired of living in his mother-in-law’s house. So, he decides to ask for a bank loan to make the roof of his future house and move on with Gisela, who’s pregnant. Throughout the tale of Luis, we wonder how to reach our goals in life without risking what we already have and love.

SELVA by Sofía Quiróz Ubeda | Nar | 17 min | Costa Rica | 2017 | USA PREMIERE

Sypnosis: An island off the Costa Rican Caribbean, a strip of land trapped between a river and the ocean. A place stuck in time, where stories impregnate each bond, each space, each body. Ubeda migrated from her country of birth and SELVA is a way of talking about her personal departure. The film focuses on the brave ones, the ones that stay on the island. This story features a girl that senses her brother is leaving, of a mother that cries the memory of her baby, of a grandfather dreaming his son comes back from the sea. The time has come for the echoes of absence to be heard throughout the entire island.

Awards: Guanajuato International Film Festival | Guanajuato | Mexico - WOMEN IN FILM AND TV AWARD | 8FemCine, Women Film Festival Santiago | Chile - Best International Short Film

RAW by Bahman Hosseini | Nar | 2 min | Iran | 2019 | USA PREMIERE

Sypnosis: Three young soldiers sit together sharing their dreams for the future…what they will do OR NOT DO?

OVER THE WALL by Roy Zafrani | Nar | 12 min | Israel | 2017 | NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE

Sypnosis: A coincidental meeting between an Israeli boy and a Palestinian boy leads them to discover that reality is different than what they have been told. Awards include: Phoenix Film Festival Best World Cinema Short; LA Indie Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay; Moscow Shorts Best Film; Chandler Int’l Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay; Social Machinery Film Festival (Italy) Award for Best Screenplay; South Film & Arts Academy Festival (Chile) Award for Best Screenplay; London Independent Film Awards for Best Screenplay.

HABANEROS by Sri Mirajkar | Nar | 14 min | USA | 2018 | Co-presented by India International Film Festival of Boston

Sypnosis: How important a role does tolerance, acceptance and patience play for a woman of substance looking for romance in today's political and social climate? Habaneros will give you some answers, or maybe leave you with a few questions of your own!

REFUGE by Sara Logan Hofstein | Nar | 19 min | Austria | 2018 | NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE / Co-presented by India International Film Festival of Boston

Sypnosis: After her recent move to Vienna as a negotiator with the IAEA, Rachel is overcome by the inherited trauma of her family’s Holocaust past when her life unintentionally intersects with a displaced Syrian refugee family. With guidance from a former refugee, she searches for understanding which could alter her life and destiny.

The Film
REFUGE is the story of Rachel, a young Jewish-American woman who moves to Vienna, Austria to work for the IAEA. She befriends an Ethiopian Jew, a former refugee, in her apartment complex named Yitzhak. Together they reconcile Austria’s Holocaust past with the current refugee crisis gripping Europe.

The Inspiration
The film was inspired by Austria and its history, and by the parallels between the treatment of the Jews in the 1930’s and 40’s and the current treatment of primarily Muslim Middle Easterners. In addition to the narrative footage we shoot, REFUGE will juxtapose archival footage of Austria during the rise of Hitler with news footage from the refugee crisis in Austria today. This film will shed light on the plight of the refugees and hopefully inspire others to help.

THURSDAY/NOVEMBER 1, 7:00 PM | Opening Night

Are You Volleyball? (15min) BEST OF FESTIAL SHORT

Mohammad Bakhshi | Iran | Nar | New England Premiere

A group of Arabic speaking asylum seekers detained at a border conflict with soldiers every day until a young deaf-mute becomes the catalyst for communicating.

FRIDAY/November 2, 7:00 PM

M.A.M.O.N. (Monitor Against Mexicans Over Nationwide) (6min)

Alejandro Damiani | Uruguay | Nar | New England Premiere

A lampoon on the politics surrounding the Mexico-US border.

FRIDAY,NOVEMBER 2, 9:28 PM|International Shorts Program I (79 min)

CLASH OF MORALITY | Vinay Pujara | USA | Nar | BOSTON Premiere

Trapped in an elevator, two men have the opportunity to tear down preconceptions that each has fostered.

Awards: Best Screenplay (Finalist) | Oaxaca, Mexico | Best International Short Film | Mumbai, India

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 9:28 PM | PM International Shorts Program (79 min)

CUBEMAN | Linda Dombrovsky | Hungary | Nar | New England Premiere

An elderly man being made to retire early, realizes that he cannot finish the work of his life.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 9:28 PM | PM International Shorts Program (79 min)

BIKINI WORDS | Nils Clauss | S. Korea | Exp| NEW ENGLAND Premiere

Factory life during the rapid industrialization of S. Korea during the 70’s and 80’s meant a major cultural shift in life…a new vocabulary evolved amongst workers to assign names to their urbanized lives.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 9:28 PM | PM International Shorts Program (79 min)

DANKE | Antonio Sequeria | U.K. | Nar | U.S.A. Premiere

A British soldier must decide to help or kill an injured German soldier.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2:15 PM

THE KISS (20 min)

David Priego | France | Nar | New England Premiere

A museum guard who watches over Rodin's sculpture Le Baiser (The Kiss) develops a longing to experience romantic love. The Kiss explores the magical and mystical relationship that sometimes flourishes between a work of art and the observer

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2:15 PM

THE KISS (20 min)

David Priego | France | Nar | New England Premiere

A museum guard who watches over Rodin's sculpture Le Baiser (The Kiss) develops a longing to experience romantic love. The Kiss explores the magical and mystical relationship that sometimes flourishes between a work of art and the observer

Saturday, November 3, 3:45 PM

MY AMISH WORLD (80 min)

Samuel Wickey | USA | Nar | New England Premiere

A celebration of one man's struggle from fear to freedom, this film was produced and directed by Amish sculptor, Samuel Wickey. In this incredible story based on true events, a mother and father are overwhelmed with emotion when their children are severely bullied in the public school; the father is compelled to take his family and leave the Amish community.

SATURDAY, NOVERMEBR 3, 5:20 PM

International Shorts Program II (78 min) An Homage to Women Filmmakers

En Autobiografi (AN AUTHOBIOGRAPHY) | 34 min | Mari Mantela | Finland | Nar | Boston Premiere

Anja is a woman who knows everything about cars but nothing of herself.

Two days before her retirement Anja makes a decision: She will not leave her work in a rental cars parking hall deep under the ground, a place where she has worked for 45 years like a queen bee nursing cars and the men around her. But when the boss upstairs sends a young trainee down who is ready to replace her, Anja is forced to face the fact – her life as she knows is coming to an end.

International Shorts Program II (78 min) An Homage to Women Filmmakers

Saturday, November 3, 5:20 PM

ALGORITHMS | Rosin Kearney | Ireland | Nar | U.S.A. Premiere

Two people meet while waiting for their respective dates and chat about internet dating; can love by numbers really work? Or does that rule out the notion that opposites attract?

Saturday, November 3, 10:11 PM

Die Best E Aller Welten (THE BEST OF ALL WORLDS) (103 min)

BEST FEATURE NARRATIVE

Adrian Goiginger | Austria | Nar | Boston Premiere

This award-winning film is a kid´s true story of his life in the unusual world of his heroin addict mother and their love of each other. This film reminds us that people with drug addictions are not society’s throwaways.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4,1:44 PM | International Shorts Program IV

(94 min)

NOT EVEN A LINE | Victor E.D. Somoza | Spain | Nar | USA Premiere

As they do every afternoon Encarna and Rosario meet up to have churros for an afternoon snack in their neighborhood café. However, today is a special day with a dramatic change in their usual conversation.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4,1:44 PM | International Shorts Program IV

(94 min)

AFTERGLOW | Akira Kamiki | Brazil | Nar

Afterglow is a sensorial movie about repeatedly having to find the joy of living again. It is the story of a gay couple, one partner suffers with depression. It fully embraces the toll depression takes on an individual as well as a relationship.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4,1:44 PM | International Shorts Program IV

(94 min)

BACHA POSH | Markus Kaatsch | Switzerland | Nar | USA Premiere

Farrukh is in a family awaiting transit to England. The young man works for his father but carries a secret. He is a Bacha Posh (a girl disguised as a young man).

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4,1:44 PM | International Shorts Program IV

(94 min)

THE CLEAN-OUT | Travis Wood | USA | Nar | USA Premiere

What happens when four vegans’ roommates encounter a greaassssyyyy meatball sub...

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4,1:44 PM | International Shorts Program IV

(94 min)

VIOLIN|Konstantin Fam|Russia|Nar|USA Premiere |BEST NARRTIVE SHORT

The film entirely revolves around a unique musical instrument. It’s a story about the amazing fate of a violin that survives all the horrors of the war. The tale begins in a violin workshop where, at the beginning of the 20th century, a violin is created, designed as a gift for a Jewish boy, and ends after many years with a concert at the Wailing Wall.

Awards: The award of the name of Vera Glagoleva, Special prize | Russian Federation

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2017, 7:00 PM

RATTLED (10 mins)

Jaafar Almadhoon, Director | BAHRAIN | UNITED ARAB EMIRATES| 2016 | Nar

Mohammed's traditional search for a bride has resulted in over twelve rejections. As his opportunities seem to be disappearing, he finds hope in wearing his late father's lucky ring to his next "meeting".

Saturday, October 28, 6:45 PM

THE TRANSFER (24 mins)

Michael Grudsky, Director | Israel | 2017 | Nar

Erez, an Israeli commissioned officer, and two other soldiers have been ordered to transfer a prisoner to Megiddo prison. Along the way, they encounter a problem that forces the young officer to surpass himself in order to solve the situation.

Official selection of the Cannes Film Festival; awarded Best Short Film Festival in numerous festivals including New Renaissance Film Festival, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Saturday, October 28, 8:35 PM

PRIA (20 mins)

Yudho Aditya, Director | Indonesia | 2016 | Nar

A teen living in rural Indonesia struggles between the traditions of his upbringing and his romantic idealization of the freedom of the west.

Nominated for Best Asian Short in Flare London LGBT Film Festival, London, Official Selection in the New Renaissance Film Festival, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Outfest Fusion LGBT People of Color Film Festival, Los Angeles, CA.

Saturday, october 28, 9:50 PM

YOU HAVE A NICE FLIGHT (94 MINS)

Jimmy Dinh, Director | USA | 2017 | Nar | BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE

Airline personnel typically wish you ‘a nice flight’, but we rarely have one with the boarding process being especially tedious. Add to the complexity of being from another country, different regulations, culture, and language…we laugh but what a din of problems can be had. ĐỒNG HÙNG means ‘Hero’ in Vietnamese. He's a short, hapless Vietnamese manicurist living in California, who desperately needs to get to Vietnam to donate a kidney to save his sick twin brother. His broken English, cultural misunderstandings, and his good heart bring his flight journey with dangerous, laughter, tears, hate, love and forgiveness.

For 5 years Jimmy went to acting classes, workshops and auditions in Los Angeles. He discovered that Hollywood writers didn't create many leading roles for authentic Asian characters. He had only 1-3 auditions a year for stereotyped roles as Asian men who were mean, bossy, or flamboyant. So, Jimmy decided to take control of his own destiny; he wrote a script for a feature film about a good-hearted, loveable Vietnamese-American guy like himself named Duong Hung who embraces both Vietnamese and American cultures. Some of the

Sunday, October 29, 2017, 12:00 pm

International Short Program I (72 min)

FIST OF PEOPLE (20 mins)

Dong-ki An, Director | South Korea | 2016 | Nar |

BEST NARRATIVE SHORT

Fascinated by films of Bruce Lee that are banned by the state, a North Korean boy who has developed a deep fondness and respect for him is caught by the communist order.

Sunday,October 29, 2017, 12:00 PM -

International Shorts Program I (72 min)

LUNCH TIME (15 mins)

Alireza Ghasemi, Director | Iran | 2017 | Nar

A 16-year-old girl has come to the hospital to identify the body of her mother. She is sent away due to her young age and asked to return with her guardian.

Cannes Short Film Competition Cannes France Nominated for Palm d'Or

Sunday, October 29, 2017, 12:00 pm -

International Shorts Program I

SISAK (15 min)

Faraz Ansari, Director | India | 2017 | Nar -

BEST OF FESTIVAL SHORT

'Sisak' is an Urdu word, which refers to the sob that's stuck in the throat. The plot came to Ansari in 2013, in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling reinstating Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that is historically used to harass the LGBTQ community in India.

India's First Silent LGBTQ Love Story! Set in the fast-paced environs of the bustling trains in Mumbai, a romance develops slowly and intoxicatingly, nestled in the silences and quiet comforts of the end-of-day train journeys between two men. A return to the unspoken, unsaid and universal expressions of love. Sisak is the result of the belief that if love knows no bounds, it need not be bound with words, either.

Winner Best International Film, DIGO - Festival Internacional de Diversidade Sexual e de Gênero de Goiás, Winner Best Overall Short, FilmOut San Diego, Best Film at Mosaic Int’l South Asian Film Festival, Mississauga, Ontario.

Sunday,October 29, 2017, 12:00 PM -

International Shorts Program I (72 min)

A SHARE OF A SHARE (2 mins)

Kaveh Jahed, Director | Iran | 2016 | Nar

A tent in a refugee camp, is the setting for this two-minute short where the head of the family burst into anger as a result of the shortage of their food share.

European Cinematography Award

Sunday,October 29, 2017, 12:00 PM -

International Shorts Program I (72 min)

LE MONDE DU PETIT MONDE|A WHOLE WORLD FOR A LITTLE WORLD (15 MINS)

Fabrice Bracq, Director | France | 2017 | Nar

A woman tells a lovely story of happiness to her baby daughter in the manner of a fairy tale with the intention that the story will remain in her memory.

Carnegie Mellon Int’l Film Festival Grand Prix, London Independent Film Festival’s Best Foreign Short, Feel the Reel Int’l Film Festival, Glasgow, UK’s Best of Fest, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress (Delphine Theodore) and Best Original Score.

Sunday,October 29, 2017, 12:00 PM -

International Shorts Program I (72 min)

NO IRISH NEED APPLY (7 mins)

William Fitzpatrick | Ireland | 2017 | Experimental

An experimental short using music and newspaper footage to depict the anti-Irish bigotry that existed in the 1880's and 1890's in Boston.

Dublin Ireland, Award of Merit.

Sunday, October 29, 2017, 3:10 PM - INTERNATIONAL SHORTS PROGRAM II (90 min)

DOWNSIDE UP (15 mins)

Peter Ghesquiere, Director | Belgium | 2016 | Nar

Imagine a world where everyone has Down’s Syndrome…it is the absolute norm. One day a little boy is born who is different. Anders is his story and that of his parents and their society. A warm tale of love and diversity.

Sunday, October 29, 2017, 3:10 PM - INTERNATIONAL SHORTS PROGRAM II (90 min)

EUNA (19 mins)

Seung-Hyun Chong, Director | Germany/Korea | 2017 | Nar

Euna, a young woman is working in a factory in South Korea, having immigrated illegally from China. She never enjoys even a lunch break with her fellow workers, she is aloof and struggling.

Official selections for film festivals in Germany, Indonesia, Cameroon, Italy, Russia, and Ecuador

Sunday, October 29, 2017, 3:10 PM - INTERNATIONAL SHORTS PROGRAM II (90 min)

JUST GO (11 mins)

Pavel Gumennikov, Director | Latvia | 2017 | Nar

Inspired by the incredible true story about a young man JUST (24), who lost both of his legs in a childhood accident and who is in love with the girl next door, IEVA (23). How does he win her heart?

Best Short at Giffoni Film Festival, Naples, Italy; has screened on all continents and won the hearts of audiences.

Sunday, October 29, 2017, 3:10 PM - INTERNATIONAL SHORTS PROGRAM III (81 mins)

A TEST OF COURAGE (20 mins)

Rena Dumont, Director | Germany/Czech Republic | 2017 | Nar

During WWII, a bunch of children, with 11-year old Anton and his younger brother Rudi in the middle, meet up at a wall at the cemetery. They regularly have tests of courage and this time it is Rudi’s turn.

Official selection at Mumbai Shorts Int’l Film Festival, Red Dirt Int’l Film Festival, OK, New Renaissance Film Festival, Amsterdam, Transylvania Int’l Short Film Festival, Romania.

Sunday, October 29, 2017, 3:10 PM - INTERNATIONAL SHORTS PROGRAM III (81 mins)

SISAK (15 min)

Faraz Ansari, Director | India | 2017 | Nar |

BEST OF FESTIVAL SHORT

'Sisak' is an Urdu word, which refers to the sob that's stuck in the throat. The plot came to Ansari in 2013, in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling reinstating Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that is historically used to harass the LGBTQ community in India.

India's First Silent LGBTQ Love Story! Set in the fast-paced environs of the bustling trains in Mumbai, a romance develops slowly and intoxicatingly, nestled in the silences and quiet comforts of the end-of-day train journeys between two men. A return to the unspoken, unsaid and universal expressions of love. Sisak is the result of the belief that if love knows no bounds, it need not be bound with words, either.

Winner Best International Film, DIGO - Festival Internacional de Diversidade Sexual e de Gênero de Goiás, Winner Best Overall Short, FilmOut San Diego, Best Film at Mosaic Int’l South Asian Film Festival, Mississauga, Ontario.

Sunday, October 29, 2017, 6:25 PM - Closing Night

THE ENDLESS RIVER (3 mins)

Mohammad Mohammadian, Director | Iran | 2016 | Nar

Independent filmmaker and photographer, Mohammadian captures a snapshot of a young man sitting on the bank of a droughty river who is daydreaming about fishing.

Chosen as Best Narrative by Steam House Entertainment Independent Film Awards, CA

And The Three Minute Film Festival in Santa Barbara, CA,; recipient of35 Official Selections from around the world.

THANK YOU so much to ALL!

As we prepare to enter into the Thanksgiving and Holiday season, the Arlington International Film Festival would like to express our gratitude to all our sponsors, judges, volunteers, organizations, partners, high school students, musician, viewers, followers and indie filmmakers around the world that partner with us to produce this annual festival.

We are grateful to be part of Arlington and the greater Boston community and it is our pleasure to bring cultural, educational and social events to our community. Wishing you all Happy Holidays and...

We look forward to seeing you in 2017!

2016 AIFF PROGRAM

NARRATIVES

9:55 PM: EL ASCENSOR/THE LIFT/MONEY (93 MIN)

El Asscensor/The Lift (7 min)

After intimate familiarity with its various daily passengers, an elevator decides to teach a lesson to those living he serves.

Money (86 min)

Martin Rosete | Director | Nar | 2016 | New England Premiere

Winners of the 2013 Melies d' Or award and nominated for Spanish Academy Award (Goya Award) for his short film VOICE OVER, Martin is rising start in both the commercial and the film industries. He is a multicultural director whose ability to evoke so much humanity takes viewers on an engrossing emotional journey. Money is Martin's feature film directorial debut which premiered at The Palm Beach International Film Festival. Set in the Hamptons, two wealthy businessmen that are about to get away with $5 million in ill-gotten money are enjoying a lovely dinner party with their partners when an uninvited house guest arrives and this narrative takes unexpected turn...

Quiet Mujo (11 min)

Ursula Meier | Director | Nar | 2014 | Bosnia/Herzegovina/Switzerland

It's training time at the Zetra stadium in Sarajevo. Ten-year-old Mujo misses penalty kick. The ball flies over the goal and disappears among tombstones of the graveyard that replaced the sports grounds during the war. "Go search among the Christians!" some of his playmates yell. "Seek among the Muslin!" others snicker. Searching for the ball, Mujo wanders in the kingdom of dead. Official Selection at Cannes

Armenia (85 min)

M.A.Littler |Writer/Director | Nar | 2016 | Switzerland/France/Germany/Armenia | USA Premiere

Armenia is a cinematic interweaving of film, literature and history. The date after his 50th birthday Haig Boghos (portrayed by Alain Croubalian), a world-weary singer embarks on a personal journey revisiting his family history genocide, exile and diaspora. His journey leads from his current hometown Basel to his childhood home Cairo, and from Beirut to Armenia the homeland of his forefathers. Haig's odyssey culminates in the discovery of a mass grave - the last resting place of many of the victims of the Armenia genocide 1915/16 - including Haig's great-grant parents. Circling themes of family, identity and spirituality. Armenia is a geographical, historical ans psychological journey into one man's mind and into the collective consciouness of a trouble country and its people. However, Haig Boghos' odyssey is not solely a personal journey, it is much rather the journey of an archetype, a universal tale of displacement and forlornness that will resonate with everyone who feels a senses of spiritual homelessness.

Horror Vacui (15 min)

Daniel Chamorro | Director | Nar | 2016 | Spain

Why not fill the emptiness with something? Please buy all you can!

Eden Hostel (14 min) AIFF Jury Award for the "Best Short Narrative"

Gonzalo Manzo | Director | Nar | 2016 | Spain | New England Premiere

Hanging from the wall of one of its rooms there's statute of Virgin Mary who narrates from her peculiar point of view the stories of the various guests who stayed there.

Official Selection at The Seattle International Film Festival and Vancouver International Film Festival

400 Miles (30 min)

Felix Martiz | Director | Nar | 2016 | USA | New England Premiere

400 Miles is the story of forgiveness. Raul a young man, gets word that his father-with whom he's had an estranged relationship for years- is on his deathbed. Reluctantly, Raul makes the long journey home. Along the way, Raul reminisces of the events that both shaped and defined his relationship with his father.

Award winning filmmaker Felix Martiz was born in Los Angeles to immigrant parents. The first child of Ecuadorian father and Mexican mother, his cultural palette is vast.

The Right Person for the Job ( 8 min)

Wilfried Méance | Director | Nar |2015 | France | East Coast Premiere

Jen, a recently unemployed 55-years-old waits anxiously during his first time in a job interview center.

DADA (18 min)

Maria Luna | Writer/Director | Nar | 2015 | USA Premiere

A young journalist is in Kenya, when she is kidnapped and forced to share experiences with two prostitutes. Director, writer and actress Maria Luna starts in the film DADA which was released early this year on the festival circuit and was chosen as Official Selection of the prestigious Cannes Short Film Corner. As the lead actress in the film, Luna went to incredible lengths to craft this eyes-opening tale for the screen. Luna researched sex trafficking and traveled to Kenya living in the slums and in a Masai Mara Village.

Frankie (Italian roulette) (20 min)

Francesco Mazza | Director | Nar | 2016 | | Italy | New England Premiere

Frankie Tramonto is an Italian immigrant who comes to New York City to pursue the American Dream. He soon finds out of that starts & stripes world he dreamed of couldn't be further from reality: incommunicability - particularly with women, underpaid jobs, a house in a neighborhood very far, in all senses, the Manhattan he had seen in movies was not what he was experiencing.

Element (4 min)

Nina Paola Marin Diaz | Director | Nar | 2016 | Colombia | USA Premiere

A visual environmental essay written by Oscar Alvarado, is a journey of man and water-one element- the source. it was shot on location as one element. Filmed on location in Valledupar, Rio Seco, Ro Badillo, and Manuare, Cesar, Colombia.

Risky Game (11 min)

Stefan Flepp & Christine Kabisck | Directors | Nar | 2016 |Germany

17 years old Melanie gets beaten by her father when she has bad grades. When she fails completely in a test in physical science, she tries blackmail her teacher. But he's not the nerd she seemed to think he is. He has his own violent history. Who's the victim, who's the offender?

Failed (3 min) and Wasted of a Fall (6 min)

Maria Bruno | writer/Director |Nar |2015 | Canada | East Coast Premieres

Failed - A driver recklessly races to the finish line.

Wasted of a Fall - While strolling along in the forest, a girl finds herself being followed by a man with seemingly hostile intent.

Marina Bruno is 21-year-old filmmaker who started her career at a very young age. When she was 3, made her first movie "Dinosaur" using her toys and camcorder. In the fall of 2005 Marina's played a supporter role in her father Carlo Bruno's two hours feature film. The young filmmaker made her first official short film in the summer of 2011, some of which was filmed in Los Angeles, California. She founded her production company "Wondering Pictures" and in the next year wrote, directed and produced several new works. She recently finished writing, directing, and producing her first feature film "Cotton String", which is now release.

Untitled Christmas Story (11 min)

Mauricio Franco | Writer/Director | Nar |2015 | Spain | USA Premiere

XV century, Sancho Panza unhinged by the absence of his partner "DON QUIJOTE" falls into a deep sleep in wake up in Madrid in 2015.

Russian Roulette (5 min)

Ben Aston | Director | Nar | 2015 | UK | USA Premiere

London seems a little less lonely when Lucy meets a libidinous cosmonaut on Chatroulette.com...

Official Selection at Sundance 2015 after winning the winner the Jury Prize at Sundance London.

Climas (84 min) AIFF Jury Award for the "Best Feature Narrative"

Enrica Perez | Director | Nar |2014 | Peru | USA Premiere

Three women of vastly different ages and origins cope with life in three distinct regions of Peru. Eva a young girl from the lush tropics of the Amazonian jungle, experiences a sexual awakening by way of a forbidden relationship with her uncle. Victoria, a wealthy socialite from Lima, suffers a terrible secret that renders her inner life as grey and melancholic as the city surrounding her. Zoraida, an eldery peasant from a destitute village in the Anden Mountains, confronts her worst fears in the wake of unexpected return of her estranged son. Three unconnected regions, three introverted women, three stories of discovery shaped by three different geographies, society, and climates of the same fragmented country.

Premiere at Warsaw Film Festival: Official Selection of the Festival del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de Cuba; Epic award for upcoming Filmmakers at the Festival de Cine de Lima.

Sexteen (25 min)

Santiago Samaniego | Director | Nar | 2016 | Spain | USA Premiere

A family crisis breaks out when the daughter is caught sexting with a guy named Omar. more than a coming of age story and the social mores of sending nude photos over the internet, it captures the difficult dynamics of a divorced family and how it translates to parenting.

Tandem (14 min)

Leandro Alastuey } Director | Nar | 2016 | Spain

A young couple suffers a hart economic situation. They have incurred lots of debt, spent all their savings and cannot find a jobs. Their love and hope are the only things that keep them together, but it will be enough?

Fish (4 min)

Saman Hosseinpuor | Director | Nar | 2016 | Iran

An old couple living in an apartment, the man is sleeping and the woman is doing the housework. The woman want to change the fish tank's water but it slips out her hands and falls under the ground. They've ran out water of water and there's no water for the fish. But with help of a man they find water for it

Home Care (92 min)

Slavék Horák | Director } Nar | 2014 | Czech Republic | New England Premiere

Karlovy Vary, tells the story of a selfless home care nurse Vlasta who is indefatigable in a concern for her family and capricious patients, always on the move with two brown leather bags in hand. Then, one day, things change and Vlasta forced outside of her comfort zone, realizes that she might need some care too. A touching film, set under benevolent SouthernMoravian sun, courageously incorporates visual and verbal slap-stick in making its case for life ostensibly in the face of death - and vivaciously drives this message to audience.

Home Care was selected as the Czech entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards

2015 AIFF PROGRAM

NARRATIVES

KNIGHT OF THE SEAS (11 min)
Fernando Alcántara & Iñaki Gaztañga, Directors | Spain | 2014 | Narrative | US PREMIERE

Pedro Leyva maintains an endless game of chess against boredom, loneliness and time itself. This Cuban sailor has seen, after many years of sailing, how his life becomes a journey of no return.

PAINTING CLASS (5 min)
Mahdi Amini, Director | Spain | 2014 | Narrative | US PREMIERE

Pedro Leyva maintains an endless game of chess against boredom, loneliness and time itself. This Cuban sailor has seen, after many years of sailing, how his life becomes a journey of no return.

WE ARE NOBODY (20 min)
Pablo Fajardo, Director | Spain | 2014 | Narrative | US PREMIERE

The skills of basic cynicism, immediate despair, proven incompetence...when your future is at stake, the past is not important.

Sponsor by http://www.marbellakb.com/ and Way Point

HOW NOT TO DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY (74 min)
Stuart J. Parkins, Director | U.K. | 2015 | Narrative | US PREMIERE

AIFF BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE

Following a week in the life of a young photographer, Tom has returned to London after spending two years traveling in India. At a crossroads in his life, he struggles to reconnect with his friends while searching for his half- sister. Along the way Tom is forced to face up to his past and soon realizes that it may not be his life he's been running away from but himself.

RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL SYNDROME (6 min)
Darrell McBride, Director | US | 2015 | Narrative

The skills of basic cynicism, immediate despair, proven incompetence...when your future is at stake, the past is not important.

CANDIES (6 min)
Iván López, Director | Spain | 2014 | Narrative | US PREMIERE

This is the story of two people who run into each other under very different circumstances from when they first met; time has passed and both have changed.

WHALE VALLEY (15 min)
Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson, Director | Denmark/Iceland | 2014 | Narrative | MA.PREMIERE

The film shows a pure love story between two brothers who live in a remote Icelandic fjord with their parents. When the younger brother witnesses a life or death moment involving his older brother, it sets in motion the possibility of either a great tragedy or a turning point to better times in the brothers' lives.

THE PHILOSOPHER KING (98 min)
Rouzbeh Noori, Director | Sweden | 2014 | Narrative | US PREMIERE

An American classical musician visits his brother who has moved to Sweden. They embark on a road trip in an attempt to repair their estranged relationship.

ANTS IN APARTMENT (11 min)
Tofigh Amani, Director | Kurdistan/Iraq | 2014 | Narrative | US PREMIERE

This is a story about a family of three that live in the ‘ant’s apartment’ in the midst of one of the deserts in Iraq. One day after the war a strange thing happens that changes their lives.

THE SHATTERED MIND (48 min)
Ann Marie "Jade" Bryan, Director | US | 2014 | Narrative | BOSTON PREMIERE

An exploration into a black deaf family’s journey while their daughter struggles to overcome adversity, hearing loss and brain trauma. The filmmaker, Jade, lost her hearing at age 5, studied film at N.Y.U. Tish School of the Arts where she was the first deaf African-American to graduate with a BFA in the advanced film program and later formed two production companies, DeafVision Filmworks, a non-profit and Jade Films & Entertainment.

NAMNALA (15 min)
Nacho Solana, Director | Spain | 2014 | Narrative | US PREMIERE

José is an outdated man with an outdated business. His store, a tech support, which has made him feel alive in the past, is about to close. One of his last working days José is visited by a mysterious customer.

AUN NO ESTOY MUERTE (15 min)
Alain Lefebvre, Director | Spain | 2014 | Narrative | US PREMIERE

Antonio has a mission to undertake. And it might be his last.

DISCOVERING MOSES BRUNO (29 min)
Alain Lefebvre, Director | Spain | 2015 | Narrative

Richard, a young American man ventures into the Pyrenees mountains camera in hand, in search of information about the adventures of Mosen Bruno Fierro, a legendary character his grandmother told him about when he was a young boy. He plans to film a documentary, not expecting that his life will change forever.

NENA (12 min)
Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, Director | Spain | 2014 | Narrative

Javier has the honor of being the first boy to break the heart of Ana. Sixteen years later, her reappears in her life. Ana, the adolescent does not want to open the door…what does Ana the adult want?

METROS UTILES (5 min)
David Cervera, Director | Spain | 2014 | Narrative | US PREMIERE

The challenge to find your space in the world, or what remains of it.

TRUTH & CONSEQUENCES (15 min)
Vasni J. Ramos, Director | Spain | 2014 | Narrative | US PREMIERE

Two persons are forced to tell the truth… a “truth” that all we already know.

Sponsor by MARBELLA DESIGN STUDIOS and WAY POINT http://www.marbellakb.com/

A kind of found poetry, the opening or closing lines of novels by authors as varied as Samuel Beckett and Toni Morrison, with appropriated images from the American film noir canon. Based on Daly's edgy graphic novel of the same name, the bizarrely unrelated text elements are knit together with sound and image. Pastiche has already been compared to the works of David Lynch and Pedro Almodovar.

A GOOD EGG (13 min)
Sabrina McCormic, Director | USA | 2015 | Narrative | US PREMIERE

A kind of found poetry, the opening or closing lines of novels by authors as varied as Samuel Beckett and Toni Morrison, with appropriated images from the American film noir canon. Based on Daly's edgy graphic novel of the same name, the bizarrely unrelated text elements are knit together with sound and image. Pastiche has already been compared to the works of David Lynch and Pedro Almodovar.

AGI (Elegy) (30 min)
Yousef Kargar, Director | Iran | 2015 | Narrative | US PREMIERE

An old man, an expectation, a hope...

HUG (8 min)
Teymour Ghaderi, Director | Iran | 2015 | Narrative

An old man, an expectation, a hope...

YO PRESIDENTA (18 min)
Arantxa Echevarria, Director | Spain | 2015 | Narrative | US PREMIERE

This comedy reflects the chaos of the last elections in the country, alarming Europe due to the cast majority of the white vote...they need to find a leader quickly. Through a psychological study, it is shown that the most gifted to lead the nation is a person who has the most friends on Facebook.

THE WRONG MAN (16 min)
Roberto Goñi, Director | Spain | 2013 | Narrative

He is an ordinary sales rep, she is an attractive archeologist and there is a loot of 200,000 euros. These are the ingredients of this romantic comedy with a touch of thriller.

IT HIT UPON THE ROOF (4 min)
Teymour Ghaderi, Director | Spain | 2014 | Narrative

A visually sweet, lyrical and poetic look at a family living in a decades long war-torn country. We see a creative and imaginative way that a young boy deals with the hardships of everyday life.

ANTONIO (15 min)
María Susana Léon Azula, Director | Spain | 2014 | Narrative | WORLD PREMIERE

1954, Columbia: a seventy-five year old man is an experienced radio-theatre actor; his voice is way of living. With no warning, Antonio's life is going to change when he faces the arrival of TV to his country.

OPEN CAGE (68 min)
Sinisa Galic, Director | Serbia/Germany | 2014 | Narrative | US PREMIERE

Anna (Leni Wesselman), a young photo-journalist from Berlin travels to Serbia for a photo documentary about refugees. Arriving in Serbia's capital Belgrade, Anna finds out she can't realize her task the way she intended.

PALM TO THE SUN (86 min)
Tomohiko Iwasaki, Director | Japan | 2015 | Narrative | US PREMIERE

Quirky, original story of two puppeteers who hide behind masks and can only interact socially by speaking through their puppets. Odd yet clever.

THE SACRISTAN (10 min)
Octavio Guerra & Violetta Blasco, Directors | Spain | 2014 | Narrative | WORLD PREMIERE

Pepe is the sacristan of the Cathedral of Murcia. Pepita is a parishioner who has been working with the cathedral for the last 40 years. Every day, both of them keep the routine of organizing the Masses but sometimes things get complicated.

NOUS IRONS VIVRE AILLEURS (67 min)
Nicolas Karolszyk, Director | France | 2013 | Narrative

Zola is an African national that allows an enigmatic and charismatic company manager to convince him that Europe is the only way out of his struggles. So, sick with fear, Zola decides to embark n a dangerous journey to France. Great French rock’n' roll soundtrack featuring Johnny Hallyday.

SIG (11 min)
Jean-Jacques Cunnac, Director | France | 2014 | Narrative

Sig, short for Sigmund…Signore…?

VORREI CHE FOSSE NOTTO (9 min)
Claudio Pellizzer, Director | Italy | 2015 | Narrative | US PREMEIRE

When love becomes obsession and madness, desperate for oneself and one's past seems to be the only way to save themselves. An intimate drama of women in a kaleidoscopic journey between dream and reality.

CLORO (98 min)
Lamberto Sanfelice, Director | Italy | 2015 | Narrative | US PREMEIRE

Jenny is seventeen and dreams of becoming a synchronized swimmer, but her carefree adolescent life in Ostia, a seacoast town near Rome, is shaken by the sudden death of her mother. With a sick father and a nine years old brother to look after, Jenny is forced to move to a mountain village in the middle of Abruzzi. Soon the girl will start to bear the weight of these responsibilities while growing the desire to resume running after her dreams.

FERDINAND KNAPP (15 min)
Andrea Baldini, Director | France | 2014 | Narrative

Ferdinand Knapp is the greatest actor of all. Preparing for a new play, the lines between his character’s malevolent personality and his own begin to blur, his double warps his reality into a nightmare.