The Best in Short Films

All four distinct screenings are FREE to attend at the George Eastman Museum’s famed Dryden Theatre 900 East Avenue in Rochester, New York. No tickets or reservations are needed, but come early for easier parking and best choice of seats.

Our programs run about an hour and 45 minutes. We encourage audience members to stay at the close of each show for trophy presentations and a Q&A session with attending filmmakers. And don’t miss your chance to vote for your favorite films in each show on the “Best of the Fest” ballot inserted in your program book.

• April 30 Thursday, 7:30pm
• May 1 Friday, 7:30pm
• May 2 Saturday, 2pm matinee
• May 2 Saturday, 7:30pm

No Time

Nadiia Khatymlianska, Germany, Drama , 24 min

After a “time emergency” Lia , once a model worker, suddenly finds she is no longer productive. She is transferred to her home office where she meets her rebellious neighbor.

A Dream for My Daughter

Mauricio Osaki, Japan, Drama, 20 min

Pheak, a Cambodian crab catcher, deals with the spirit of his headstrong daughter who left home months earlier.

First Nations: Finding the Chickasaw

Sarah Flower, UK, Documentary, 5 min

Chickasaw Nation documents from before the Revolutionary War have recently been discovered in the great libraries of the United Kingdom.

Bright Future

Jack Auger, USA, Drama, 6 min

A woman must convince her boss that a candidate they interviewed is not the best man for a job in her department.

Look Out!

Brian Carroll, USA, Animation, 7 min

When the criminal in the neighborhood watch sign escapes, a community is thrown into panic. Only through the power of local paranoia and super-funding the police force can any sense of white upper middle-class normalcy be restored.

The Big Everything

Salvador Paskowitz, USA, Drama/Comedy, 16 min

A man finds himself at a bar where he meets friends, family and even pets from his past.

Artist uncredited

Sven Fuhrken, Chris Hirschhaeuser, Germany, Drama, 20 min

An artist waits in a museum eager to explain his art to museum visitors. At the end of the day, his personal truth is revealed.

Indulge Me

Clarinda Louise Blais, USA, Comedy/Drama, 14 min

A cynical ex-priest runs a mobile confessional out of a trailer park until an unlikely sinner forces him to confront his faith.

Marter

Christian Alsan, Germany, Drama, 18 min, Mature

In 1622, a young midwife is held responsible for the death of a princess after the birth of a royal child. Accused of witchcraft, she fights to prove her innocence.

Broken Dawn

Hae-0h Park, Republic of Korea, Drama, 16 min

An older woman works for a service that provides drivers to those too tired or drunk to drive their own vehicles. Wearing her daughter’s red hat, she drives till dawn to soothe her loneliness.

I Wanted To Hear Your Voice

James Pellerito, USA, Documentary, 12 min

A son struggles through the daily routine of caring for his mother with severe dementia. Recorded voicemails show the progression of her disease over the past eight years.

Todd & The Toad

Julia Mücke, Germany, Comedy, 12 min

An anxious and awkward man seeks relationship advice from a toad whose services he found on the darknet.

S.O.S.

Joseph Vivens, USA, Thriller, 22 min

Evan has always been plagued by seasonal allergies, but this year is especially bad. With his wedding just months away, he is desperate for relief.

3 MINUTOS

Douglas Ryan, USA, Drama, 5 min

The conversation between a couple as they await the results of a pregnancy test.

Conditions of Release

Mitchell Greenberg, Canada, Drama, 16 min, Mature

A parolee begs for an early end to his degrading assigned job as a construction worker. Denied, he takes matters into his own hands.

Zastava Brothers

Pep Stojanovic, USA, Documentary, 22 min

Immigrants from different countries that were part of the former Yugoslavia come together over their love of cars made by Zastava, once a Yugoslavian automobile manufacturer.

FLOCK

Mac Nixon, UK, Drama, 20 min, Mature

In a Welsh farming community, the sheep have mysteriously disappeared from all the farms except one.

Avni

Tej Sisodia, India, Drama, 20 min

Avni, a precocious seven-year-old, wants to go to school. But her mother chooses to send only her brother.

Shadow of Hope

Mitchell Nielsen, Australia, Documentary, 6 min

Far from home, a young Burmese man struggles to escape the weight of a brutal and unforgiving military coup that threatens both his nation’s freedom and its very survival.

the daughter

Mary Ann Anane, USA, Drama, 7 min

A fun day at the beach turns sinister when a girl spies her father’s interactions with a young woman.

Collage

Marius Conrotto, Spain, Comedy, 10 min

Laura and Clara, workers in an art museum, watch two visitors flirting in front of a collage. Laura explains to Clara the six signs that one person is attracted to another.

Sometimes I Think About the Multiverse

Jonathan Wilhelmsson, Sweden, Comedy/Drama, 3 min

A sleepless woman ponders her life choices.

Sit with Me While I Die

Brian Russell, USA, Drama, 19 min

A parishioner, terminally ill with cancer, asks her priest to sit with her. Her wish for medical aid in dying forces him to examine his lifelong dogmatic views.

Teresa, Station B

Katharina Sporrer, Germany, Drama, 20 min

Teresa, a nurse, struggles between the demands of her job and the demands of her family.