Our Festival

51st Festival April 23-25, 2009

Sessions

Thursday, April 23, 8pm

Room in New York

John Kaiser Los Angeles, CA 5 minutes

A visual interpretation of Edward Hopper’s 1932 painting.

Revolutionary Wall

Carl Paoli Chicago, IL 24 minutes

The filmmaker sets out to document an elusive and controversial graffiti artist. Will the artwork lead him to the artist?

Purge

Brad Kammlah Long Beach, CA 16 minutes

Struggling to mask the pain from years of abuse, Joy finds herself trapped in a secret addiction.

Worth

Kathi Carey Sherman Oaks, CA 7 minutes

When an undescript violin shows up at an upscale auction, it seems out of place until…..

Karklesbarn (Love Child)

Daniel Wirtberg Sweden 7 minutes

What happens to a young child when a new addition comes into the family?

Sick

Michael Rymer UK 15 minutes

As Brian’s story slides backwards through 15 years of therapy, his daughter’s crashes forward after one devastating night.

Skylight

David Baas Toronto, CA 5 minutes

A mock animated documentary about the ecological plight of penguins.

Pigeonhole

Nicole Tanzabel Australia 6 minutes

An old man living in a high-rise council flat, manages self sufficiency.

Mr. Vending Machine

CGI Lab, Hae Jung S. Korea 22 minutes

Mr. Ven-ma, who makes coffee in a vending machine, befriends a girl who misses her father.

 

Sessions

Friday, April 24, 8pm

Alternative

Andrew Swan Valencia, CA 4 minutes

Revenge or forgiveness? One man’s choice will forever change his life.

Old Days

Matthew Shapiro Brooklyn, NY 23 minutes

Lillian, 74 years old, enters a retirement community and struggles to find her niche.

Harold Please

Lindsay Berkebile Rochester, NY 15 minutes

Harold, a recluse, has become so consumed with his relational fantasies outside his window, that he fails to see the relationship inside his apartment.

Sam and Zoe

Catherine Rehwinkel Florida 9 minutes

When Zoe’s father suddenly dies, a dark secret threatens to ruin her relationship with Sam, her boyfriend and best friend since childhood.

Thanks to the Whistleblowers

Dave Puls/Animatus Studio Rochester, NY 5 minutes

An expression of appreciation to a special group of people who risk so much to disclose what is hidden from us.

On the Road to Tel Aviv

Khen Shalem FSU/Florida 19 minutes

A young Israeli makes a quick decision when he sees a suspicious-looking Arab woman enter the same bus as his fiancee.

Interpretation

Lin Oeding Los Angeles 7 minutes

A romantic couple’s brief encounter with a few philosophical thugs unfolds in an unusual way.

Arranged

Suraj Das New York, NY 27 minutes

Ashok’s parents are pressuring him into an arranged marriage, but he has met the beautiful Maya whom he wants to marry.

Sessions

Saturday, April 25, 4pm

Before It’s Gone

Paulo Leierer, Luiz Otavio Pupo Brazil 15 minutes

A dark-humored story about Almeida, a 30 year old man, who discovers he has only one week left to live.

A Matter of Degrees

The Wild Center Tupper Lake, NY 24 minutes

See a time when mastodon’s roamed the valleys of the Adirondack Mountains, tapirs swam its rivers and whales slid above places where towns stand today. Produced for The Wild Center and narrated by Sigourney Weaver, it takes you on an epic trip to witness how much climate shapes our lives.

Open Your Eyes

Susan Cohen Pasadena, CA 14 minutes

Struggling to come to terms with her life after breast cancer, Julia gets more than she bargained for when she attends a bridal shower.

Profile

Sharon Katz Ottawa, CA 4 minutes

An experimental film about profiling by an airport detection device.

Written Off

Cameron Berner, Com 414C Oxford, OH 5 minutes

Follow a day in the life of a pencil and meet the people who interact with this inanimate object.

The Best Man

Justin Lazernik FSU/Florida 7 minutes

The wedding is ready to begin. Why is the groom still missing?

Dry Rain

Matthew J. Clark Seattle, WA 23 minutes

Joey is traveling cross country with his father who continues to stop along the way to call Joey’s mother for money.

Sessions

Saturday, April 25, 8pm

Firecracker Flower

Frank Hall Green New York, NY 17 minutes

In this yellow & yellow satire, we meet B who is an outcast at school. When she finds out that the other girls have stalkers, she pines for one of her own.

In the Dark

Alex Fazeli Pasadena, CA 17 minutes

A double agent, hunted by the revolutionary government, agrees to exchange crucial information with the CIA in return for safe passage out of the country.

Animated American

James Baker/Joe Haidar Burbank, CA 15 minutes

A toon hating executive has a ‘hare’ raising experience when he meets an out of work toon rabbit.

Open Air

Shira-Lee Shalit/David Peterson Manhasset, NY 12 minutes

Under the watchful eye of a hidden sniper, two women attempt some form of normality in their everyday lives knowing that one misstep will mean immediate death.

Butterflies Die in Snow

Karim Azimi Iran 15 minutes

A director and writer are driving through the mountainous countryside looking for a subject for their film. On this journey they encounter many strange experiences.

A Voice from the Lantern

Anton Zane Rochester, NY 17 minutes

A young Japanese woman, working in a peep show parlor in California desperately wants to go home. She devises a plan to make contact with her Grandfather in the afterlife so he can guide her spirit home.

My Four Inch Precious

Sou Yun Sim FSU/Florida 11 minutes

A scruffy and lonely garbageman discovers dreamy romance when a beautiful woman blossoms out of a magical flower.

Rochester

International

Film Festival

about Us

The Rochester International Film Festival is produced and presented by Movies On A Shoestring, Inc., offering four distinct screenings each year at George Eastman Museum’s famed Dryden Theatre in Rochester NY.

Films

3 Days. Dozens of Films. 1,000s of Film Lovers. See short films of ALL genres from filmmakers worldwide! Join us! All (4) distinct screenings are FREE to attend.