ABOUT THE FILMS
Friday, October 9th
BLOCK I
ABOUT THE FILMS
Friday, October 9th
OPENING NIGHT
BLOCK I
CTRL+Z Stuck in the Edit
Directed: Srdjan Mitrović Hitch
Synopsis: In the world of film theory, the director is the supreme creator. However, for Bob, the protagonist of this one-minute meta-metaphysical nightmare, that hierarchy collapses with a single keystroke. While trying to enjoy a well-deserved moment of peace with a piece of cake, Bob realizes his reality doesn’t belong to him, but to an invisible Editor.
Something Pointless
Directed: Asa Bailey
Synopsis: When a bullied young boy discovers an elderly man quietly covering a forgotten brick wall with painted eggshells, an unlikely friendship forms — and a “pointless” act becomes something transformative.
Horsepower
Directed: David Joseph Higgins
Synopsis: Set against the backdrop of the Wild West Horsepower is a modern-day western that plunges into the world of blackmail, crime and small-town politics. This series was created to craft a gripping tale of survival where trust is a rare commodity, and the line between friends and enemies blurs into uncertainty.
Daddy Issues
Directed: Erin Marsz
Synopsis: When Danny goes to dinner with his mother, Barbara, he is confronted by her haunted insistence his deceased father is still with her, forcing him to confront his fears about the ghosts existence or else deal with his mother’s presumed insanity.
Dobrina
Directed: Hannes Rall
Synopsis: Lotte Reiniger meets Sergio Leone in this animated short, where desire burns as bright as the desert sun. A brand-new animated short that premiered in June 2025, successfully touring the festival circuit now.
The Picture
Directed: Enrique Corrales Rodríguez
Synopsis: In the apartment of an unforgiving city, Juan appears, after three decades of absence, looking for answers. Faced with a woman who has lived under the weight of social expectations, the encounter triggers a tense dialogue full of recriminations and hidden truths.
Box Office Champ
Directed: Mike Timoney
Synopsis: A mockumentary about a star from Hollywood’s Golden Age whose career at its height rivaled Clark Gable’s but whose life became a case of “what might’ve been.”
Where the High Ends (Non-Competition)
Directed: Charles Marinaro
Synopsis: Jason is a man on the edge, struggling to stay clean and keep his life on track. Determined to avoid trouble, he fights daily to resist the temptations and influences that once defined him. But no matter how hard he tries, his toxic relationships keep pulling him back into a world he's desperate to escape. As old habits and bad decisions catch up to him, Jason finds himself in situations with consequences he can never undo. Faced with the weight of his past and the uncertainty of his future, he must decide whether to break the cycle or become another cautionary tale.
Saturday, October 10th
2PM - 4PM
BLOCK II
Saturday, October 10th
2PM - 4PM
BLOCK II
Mob to the Movies
Directed: Justis Fiduccia
Synopsis: From starring opposite of Al Pacino to tending his garden in upstate New York, ‘From the Mob to the Movies’ traces the high and lows of the life of retired actor and Brooklyn mobster Richard Foronjy.
Escapism
Directed: Gregory Bray
Synopsis: Honorably discharged veteran Guy Friendly anticipates his friend Todd’s arrival, so they can enjoy a nostalgic Man-Man and the Sorcerers of Destiny cartoon. But as he’s waiting for Todd, his prized Man-Man toy collection seems to move of their own accord--with deadly intentions.
The Current State of the Backyard Pool Industry
Directed: Derek Frey
Synopsis: Divided over the fate of their rundown pool, the Osgood family is visited by a nocturnal stranger who convinces them to take one last plunge.
The Resurrection of Ophelia
Directed: Larry Rosen
Synopsis: After awakening on a cold metal table in an underground lab, Ophelia realizes she’s been the subject of experimentation. As fragments of her past resurface, she embraces her dark new nature to exact revenge.
Holy Heavêness
Directed: Farnoosh Abedi
Synopsis: The unbearable lightness of the death of loved ones…There are wounds in life that eat away at you like leprosy. The weight of the death of loved ones sometimes becomes so overwhelming that to get rid of this weight another birth is inevitable.
The Last Rooster: Artist Len Zuks
Directed: Artist Len Zuks
Synopsis: Len Zuks, the unlikely alchemist, forges mythic creatures and whimsical figures from the abandoned steel and rubber of everyday life. The Last Rooster reveals how, through his hands, refuse becomes revelation, and the discarded gains dignity.
Me, Steve, & The Monster Under My Bed
Directed: Sam Tocke
Synopsis: A young woman and her boyfriend are trying to have sex, but the monster under her bed keeps cockblocking them.
Dreamer
Directed: Katarina Kikta & Tom Cheshire
Synopsis: Dreamer is a music video for an avant pop track of same name, documenting a restless lovelorn sleep-walk that takes the dreamer from their lowest low back to their true selves.
Rubik’s Cube
Directed: Lars Hogendoorn & Yannick Van den Ende
Synopsis: An overwhelmed kid plays his Rubik’s Cube to cope with school life; then, a troubled teen enters the building with a gun.
In a Matter of Minutes
Directed: Charles Marinaro
Synopsis: Late at night in a quiet kitchen, an aging man confronts a woman who has been hiding the truth about how little time he has left.
Ringside in the Mountains: The History of Boxing in the Catskills
Directed: Evan Haiman
Synopsis: “Ringside in the Mountains” uncovers the untold story of a quiet corner of upstate New York that became an unlikely epicenter of boxing greatness. Decades before modern training camps became part of the sport’s mythology, generations of prizefighters were already flocking to the Catskills — seeking fresh air, isolation, and a perfect proving ground to prepare for championship fights.
Saturday, October 10th
5PM - 7PM
BLOCK III
Saturday, October 10th
5PM - 7PM
BLOCK III
Isobell
Directed: Mitch Greer
Synopsis: Hand-animated fantasy short about a girl who slips through fire and memory, chasing fragments of a self once known. Her journey winds through spirit forests, crumbling worlds, and the flickering edge of identity.
The Bunny
Directed: Isaiah Supadi & Oscar Smith
Synopsis: On the anniversary of his sister’s Easter night disappearance, sixteen- year-old Johnny discovers that the town’s darkest myth may not be a myth at all. When a trail of chocolate eggs leads back to the past, Johnny is drawn into a terrifying sequence with an unthinkable cost.
Silent Harmony
Directed: Debra Markowitz
Synopsis: Having survived a tragic accident, a celebrated pianist becomes traumatized and emotionally detaches until she forms a quiet connection with a local handyman who breaks her silence and restores her will.
April 14, 1982
Directed: John G Young
Synopsis: On the eve of recording his album Thriller, Michael has a challenging encounter with a room service attendant.
It’s Always Almost Over
Directed: Jay Leonard
Synopsis: Thirty-eight-year-old Max Petrisino is just 121 days away from leaving his hometown, his dead-end dishwashing job, and his ailing father behind to start fresh out west.
Saturday, October 10th
8PM - 10PM
BLOCK IV
Saturday, October 10th
8PM - 10PM
BLOCK IV
Groupies
Directed: Courtney James
Synopsis: The series follows Ryan Ginger, a professional focus group participant and streetwise hustler, as he tries to navigate a mysterious conspiracy he’s accidentally participated in for money.
Hide
Directed: Brenden Hubbard
Synopsis: From the Academy Award winning team behind “Curfew.” Still reeling from an incredible loss, a father (Shakey Graves) and daughter cling to a bedtime routine keeping them safe in a town where an unfathomable horror visits its inhabitants night after night.
Middle of Nowhere
Directed: Travis Shields
Synopsis: Music video by the Dennis Fuentes Band for their 2024 single, “Middle of Nowhere.”
A Son’s Burden
Directed: Mark Clauburg
Synopsis: Vincent is reunited with his estranges dying father, Frank. With a desperate and bitter plea, Frank has asked his son to do what he can no longer do himself - end his suffering.
Baking Soda
Directed: Rich West
Synopsis: An intrusive, but loving mother arrives unannounced on New Year’s Eve, forcing her withdrawn, struggling adult son to confront a night he was hoping to escape.
There Are Two of Me
Directed: Louis DiPilla
Synopsis: The haunting duality of memory and presence — living one life while forever feeling another, and drifting between past and present, love and loss, connection and solitude. Split between who you were and who you’ve become.
Cow Killer
Directed: Farhad Mohamadzadeh
Synopsis: Naser’s sick cow is about to die, but it lives due to Khazar’s (his granddaughter) wish for it to be healed. Naser recognizes this as a miracle and goes after other sick cows, along with Khazar, to repeat the miracle.
Arlington Hall
Directed: Marcia Carroll
Synopsis: An HOA Meeting goes awry when a new president shows up that nobody voted for. As dueling members battle for control, dysfunction abounds and anything goes in this land of misfit toys.
Something's Happening: An 845 Documentary
Directed: Michael Moran & Anthony Moran
Synopsis: "Something's Happening" Is a documentary exploring the vibrant music and spiritual communities of New York's Hudson Valley. Through intimate interviews with musicians, healers, and community leaders, the film examines creativity, connection and the sense of belonging that brings people together in the 845 region.
Sunday, October 11th
2PM - 4PM
BLOCK V
Sunday, October 11th
2PM - 4PM
BLOCK V
Puke Bitch: Episode One
Directed: Sam Tricomo
Synopsis: Siblings Dove and Larry revel in wild nights and mocking their foster mother, Lynn. While Larry seeks attention from the Reverend and her son, Dove grows secretly fascinated by roadkill, unaware that their neighbor Janet harbors an even deeper connection to death.
Never Too Late
Directed: Colleen Davie Janes
Synopsis: When Cliff’s only companion— a virtual assistant—shuts down in a future where the air itself is becoming unbreathable, an asthmatic 70-year-old man’s cry for help to a faraway support desk becomes a haunting search for meaning and human connection.
The Birth of a Painting
Directed: Natalya Zak
Synopsis: A poetic exploration of artist Bair Whiteford’s creative world, The Birth of a Painting, uses distinct cinematic language to bridge the gap between initial inspiration, his painting practice and the final meditative reveal.
The Curse of the Bambino
Directed: Alan Trinca
Synopsis: When an overworked lawyer pulls an all-nighter at her boss’s house, she’s interrupted by a foul-mouthed baseball fan who’s just clawed his way out of the grave—refusing to rest until his team wins the 2004 World Series.
Into the Dead of Night
Directed: Miguel Rodriguez III
Synopsis: When a family host a charity event to save their struggling church. Desperate criminals devise a plan to take the donations for themselves… until everything goes to HELL.
Sunday, October 11th
4PM - 6PM
BLOCK VI
Sunday, October 11th
4PM - 6PM
BLOCK VI
Las Hadas de la Sombra
Directed: Ryan Jenkins
Synopsis: A desperate mother must keep the peace between her young children and the uncle that begrudgingly hosts them. When her daughter refuses to eat the repetitive meals, she tells her a fairy tale about what could come looking for leftovers.
Last Mile to Paradise
Directed: Alexandre Ottoveggio
Synopsis: Tells the story of Marco, a man in his 40s who leaves a life of organized crime after serving the Luchini family for 25 years. He seeks redemption and peace after years of violence and corruption. However, the Luchini family is determined to eliminate him, forcing Marco into a life of constant escape and survival.
Jamarcus Rose & Da 5 Bullet Holes
Directed: Marcellus Cox
Synopsis: Inspired by true events following a talented MLB Prospect as he spends the day with his mentor from the Big Brothers of America Program.
Detoxification
Directed: Joe Cremer & Herb Cremer
Synopsis: Blinded by rage, a man sets out on a rampage, killing everybody he blames for the death of his daughter.
Madame Tessa
Directed: Robert Sebree
Synopsis: A mysterious performer suffers a tragic incident on stage providing the perfect alibi for the murder of the man who hired her. Was his baffling death fate or revenge?
Frank Palangi – Vampire
Directed: Frank Palangi
Synopsis: The Vampire, the indie hard rock single off the Vampire EP. The song is part of a “concept” EP that is a metaphor involving the undead and being inadvertently subjected to taking on the title known as the villain in every story.
Micro-Budget
Directed: Geliani Perez
Synopsis: A documentary short showcasing the challenges, anxiety, and excitement of making the Micro Budget feature film titled, REMOTE (2026).
Artichoke
Directed: Amir Moini
Synopsis: Held captive, Cynara discovers a phoropter that opens a portal to another world. In a terrifying cat-and-mouse chase between realities, Cynara finally comes face to face with her oppressor and must decide what she’s willing to destroy to survive.
America
Directed: Laura New
Synopsis: Days before a school tragedy strikes, a single mother’s effort to relocate her family in search of a better future is unknowingly racing against time.