Our Festival
54th Festival April 19-21, 2012
Promo
MOAS Promo
Sessions
Thursday, April 19, 8pm
Shoplifting
Neil Triffett, Melbourne, Australia, live action, drama, 14 min.
Pete, an aging career shoplifter struggles to keep control of his family and his life when security panels are introduced to stores…
Shéhérazade et le délice casher (Scheherazade and the Kosher Delight)
Agnès Caffin, Paris, France, live action, 20 min.
In French with English subtitles.
A young illegal Palestinian wearing a tee shirt reading “I’m Muslim, Don’t Panic” heads straight to the Jewish section of Paris to apply for the job of Jewish Assistant Cook at a Kosher café.
8:31
Noah Harald, Los Angeles, CA, live action, Science Fiction, 13 min.
A couple struggles to give birth to a child on the last day of sunlight on the planet.
(Graphic content/ violence. Not suitable for a young audience.)
Lunch Breaks
Noah Bench, RIT, Rochester, NY, animation, comedy, 6min.
It’s Gabe’s first day on the job and he has to realize that he’s not going to be the best right out of the gate.
Für Hanna (For Hanna)
Ina Spang, Munich, Germany, narrative, existentialism/surrealism, 14 min.
In German with English subtitles.
A man’s journey ends when a guard denies him the crossing of a bridge at night. For the first time, the traveler is forced to pause, as he becomes aware of his previously unnoticed doubts about his relationship, life and habits.
Brother
Timothy Sloat, Oakland, CA, live action, drama/thriller/coming of age, 24min.
Two young brothers from a broken family in a small town… both struggle with their personal failures and the abusive legacy of their father.
(Violence. Not suitable for a young audience.)
Depth of Field
Jafar Pashaee, Iran, live action, comedy/satire, 12 min.
In Farsi with English subtitles.
When two look-alike soccer players decide to help one another spy on their women, things become a little complicated…
Catharsis
Cédric Prévost, Paris, France, live action, 18 min.
In French with English subtitles.
An aspiring film director wakes suddenly to find a camera following his every move – he is trapped inside a film as it is being made. He struggles to escape. To get back to reality, to sanity, and to the girl he loves…
Sessions
Friday, April 20, 8pm
عزلة تحت الشمس (Private Sun)
Rami Alayan, Palestine, live action, drama, 25 min.
In Arabic with English subtitles.
Mariam is instructed by her doctor to sunbathe in order to reverse the vitamin D deficiency that’s causing her a bone illness. But between nosy neighbors, an overbearing sister-in-law and Israeli surveillance planes, Palestine’s abundant sunlight is not easily within her reach.
My Angel, My Hero
Faison Sheikh, San Francisco, CA, live action, drama, 24 min.
Former Investment Banker finds his fate when he meets Billy dancing in the subway.
Luz
David Liz, FSU, FL, narrative, drama, 9 min.
A car accident allows a man to search his subconscious and re-discover the suppressed memory of his mother’s death.
There’s a Dead Crow Outside
Morgan Miller, Brooklyn, NY, animation/dark comedy, 1 min.
A gruesome but hilarious look at the laws of roadside wildlife when there is a dead crow outside, the flies are buzzing and the raccoon is hungry…
Be aftab salami dobareh khaham dad (I will Greet the Sun Again)
Shahbaz Noshir, Tehran, Iran, live action, 14 min.
In Farsi with English subtitles.Tehran, Iran. A woman is raped by three men in the middle of the night. After the offense, a stranger takes her home in his car. As she talks to her husband, the tone becomes increasingly exacerbated…
(Verbal and physical violence, sexual theme. Not suitable for a young audience)
Oups! (Oops!)
Benoit Blanc, Montreuil, France, live action, dramedy, 5 min.
She’s gone!
Prunelle et Mélodie (Prunelle and Melody)
Mathieu Simonet, Paris, France, live action, 30 min.
In French with English subtitles.
Two exceptional young women, one blind, the other deaf and mute. The two learn to communicate in spite of their disabilities and, in the process, discover that they share a dream: to live one day in a world where they are no longer limited.
Sessions
Saturday, April 21, 4pm
A Love Supreme
Evan Houston, FSU, FL, live action, drama/family, 9 min.
Saul is hopeful to meet his daughter for the first time…
A Finger, Two Dots, Then Me
David Holechek, Los Angeles, CA, other/ poetry, 8 min.
Spoken word piece and dramatic look at death, life and love through the eyes of renowned modern poet Derrick Brown.
Carbon for Water
Evan Abramson, New York, NY, documentary/social, 22 min.
The film chronicles the launch of the program, called LifeStraw® Carbon for Water, through which 900,000 water filters were distributed, for free, to more than 90 percent of homes in Kenya using a unique financing model (carbon credits) to achieve self-sustainability for at least 10 years.
Le miracle de la vie (The Miracle of Life)
Alexandra Pic & Nicolas Beauchamp, Paris, France, live action, satirical comedy, 18 min.
In French with English subtitles.
Four neighbors wake up six months pregnant, while the previous night…they weren’t!
Historias (Stories)
Gloriana Fonseca- Malavasi, Costa Rica/FSU, FL, live action, drama/magical realism, 20 min.
In English and Spanish with English subtitles. Manuel is a young immigrant in the US, struggling with his dual cultural identity, who thinks ancient legends from Latin America are foolish, until he hears the cry of The Weeping Woman.
Dutch Darkness
Steve Woods, Dublin, Ireland, experimental (pixilation), 5 min.
A 17th century lady at her desk is writing; her maid is cleaning. Why is one door locked?
Could the placid and perfect setting of a masterful Dutch painting be upset? What is the dark secret behind the Dutch Golden Era?
Face
Christophe Deram , Lille, France, historical drama, 20 min.
In French with English subtitles.
During World War I, Louis and his mother are waiting for the return of his father fighting on the front. When he returns, it’s a stranger with a broken face who’s coming back home…
Young Mother Nature
Stephen Conroy, Columbus, OH, animation, 5 min.
Using the voice of his daughter Lea at a local park, the director takes us on a whimsical exploration of her nurturing view towards her surroundings.
Sessions
Saturday, April 21, 8pm
Intercambios (Exchanges)
Brian Aramayo, FSU, FL, live action, drama, 13 min.
In English and Spanish with English subtitles.
Cristina learns that in America money talks, but “no habla Espanol”.
The Good Neighbor
James Crisp, New Zealand, live action, drama, 15 min.
Max suffers from avoidant personality syndrome. He lives alone in an apartment building in a rough part of town. It is here where he befriends a young girl named Emily, who is left with her Uncle Caesar, a drug dealer and addict.
Crescendo
Alonso Alvarez Barreda, Mexico/USA, narrative, historical drama, 10 min.
In German with English subtitles.
In 18th century Holy Roman Empire, a series of events will turn an ordinary day into an extraordinary experience for a woman whose life will never be the same.
Trashland
Jim Ed Wills, FSU, FL, narrative, fantasy/drama, 17 min.
An embittered but magical trash sculptor encounters a cheerful orphan girl who challenges him to come out of his shell and create the impossible.
The Darkness is Close Behind
Sheena McCann, Los Angeles, CA, live action, drama, 22 min.
Ruled by a meth dealing father, Jesse Lemoy must protect his little brother Joe from the uncertainty of their life…
(Not suitable for a young audience)
Coupable(s) (Guilty)
David Tuil, Vincennes, France, live action, comedy, 5 min.
In French with English subtitles.
Like every morning, Guy Van Buiten brings a cup of tea to his bed-ridden wife. This morning she has some shocking news…and so does he!
Kérozène (Kerosene)
Joachim Weissmann, Brussels, Belgium, live action, suspense/drama.
In French with English subtitles.
A young woman is trying to overcome her phobia of flying through an innovative therapeutic approach.
Mention
Honorable Mention
These films received acknowledgement but were not screened at the festival
Honorable Mention
- Confidante by Lisa Melodia
- Dreaming American by Lee Percy
- How I Lost My Birthday by Deja Bernhardt
- Le miraculé de Saint Sauveurby Caroline Chu-Vandevelde
- Mijo by Chithra Jeyaram
- Nrityagram: For the Love of Danceby Nanette Melville
- Personal Calendarby Bashir Al-Majid
- Slant by Stephen Soucy
- The Bird Upstairs by Christopher Jarvis
- The Orphan by Teresa Sutherland
- Ties by Jake Topkis
- Where Are The Men? by Taraneh Salke
- Wrigley and King by Cornelius Murphy
Merit
Certificate of Merit
These films received acknowledgement but were not screened at the festival
Certificate of Merit
- All Day Yeahby Charles Anderson
- Be Filled with the Spirit by Mark Rogovin
- Bonsai by Oscar Martin
- Diminished Chords by Kristina Harris
- Easy Street by Russell Greene
- El Amante del Padrino by Sven Alexander Heinrich
- From War to Peace: The Life of George Lennon by Cormac Morel.
- Full Circle by Patrick Puglia
- Girl of the Finger Lakes by David Puls/Animatus Studios
- Hidden Books – The Art of Kumi Korfby Sam Hampton
- HyperLightness ad absurdum by Margarida Sardinha
- La vie facile by Julien Rouyet
- Mommy Loves You by Joy Ji Yang
- Mosaic In The City: The Making of “Life Patterns” by Virginia Bacheler
- Static by Mel Miskell
- Te Odioby Rafael Rojas-Diez
- The Strongroom by Gef Gove
- The Visitor by Ji Sung Lee
- Yogurt, Inc. by Dan Becker
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.