19th ​New York City Short Film Festival

Ties

8:00 > Russia > 2019 >  NYC premiere   BEST ANIMATION &
Director: Dina Velikovskaya                    AUDIENCE CHOICE B
Synopsis: A young woman leaves the parental home to see the world. But the world of her parents is so tightly connected with her that by leaving, she puts it at risk.

The Covenant

10:18 > Germany > 2020 >  NYC premiere
Director: Adam Baroukh 
Synopsis:  One year after WWII, a concentration-camp survivor is set to poison a German water-filtration plant in revenge for the crimes of the Nazis.


FOREVER – Lluis Margarit (Spain)
THE NEXT STOP – Jonathan Pearson (UK)
THE COVENANT – Adam Baroukh (Germany)
A WEEK IN JUNE – Jay Sansone (USA)
THE PASSERBY – Pieter Coudyzer (Belgium)
LISTENING IN – Omer Sterenberg (Israel)

The Next Stop

5:30 > UK > 2020 >  N. America premiere
Director: Jonathan Pearson​
Synopsis:  Follows Mo The Dancer’s journey through the male-dominated world of New York street dance.

Metro6

8:12 > USA > 2020
Director: Geoff Hecht​
Synopsis: During his 8-minute bus ride, Zak goes through a deeply personal metamorphosis and comes to realize the true value of human interaction.

Golden Minutes

10:00 > Lithuania > 2019 >  NYC premiere
Director: Saulius Baradinskas                           BEST OF FEST
Synopsis:  When a heart attack strikes, a person has exactly ten minutes to be saved by the people around him. 

Forever

8:00 > Spain > 2020 >  N. America premiere
Director: Lluis Margarit.                                    BEST COMEDY
Synopsis: Alba and Jaime are celebrating their 4th anniversary. Alba has a present that Jaime isn’t too excited about.

Prologue
9:00 > Israel > 2019 >  N. America premiere

Director: Shiri Kuban   
Synopsis:  Nur goes out of her home on purpose to leave Eric, her partner. When Eric notices her, he will do whatever he can to stop her from leaving.

A Week in June

5:48 > USA > 2020 >  World premiere
Director: Jay Sansone​                              BEST DOCUMENTARY
Synopsis: Follows three young leaders in the #blacklivesmatter movement as George Floyd protests erupt around NYC.

Report It

7:00 > Spain > 2020 > World premiere
Director: Albert Ivars                                          BEST DRAMA
Synopsis:  Somewhere in the desert, a little boy is plunged by force into an intimidating and completely foreign new world: camel racing. 

Diana - The only professional female boxer in Uganda

4:53 > Australia > 2019 >  NYC premiere
Director: Adam Anthony​
Synopsis: Diana's mission on behalf of a new generation of female boxers hopes to one day see a woman represent her country at the Olympics.


REPORT IT – Albert Ivars (Spain)
A PLACE TO BOWL – Gabriel Jacobs (USA)
GOLDEN MINUTES – Saulius Baradinskas (Lithuania)
METRO6 – Geoff Hecht (USA)
CARGO – Abhilash Chandra (Malaysia)
RETRIBUTIVE MINDS – Mehrtash Mohit (Iran)

Listening In

11:11 > Israel > 2019 >  East Coast premiere
Director: Omer Sterenberg​                              BEST LGBTQ+
Synopsis:  As part of his duties, a young soldier in the intelligence unit starts to spy on a Palestinian gay couple. 

The Passerby

15:59 > Belgium > 2020 >  NYC premiere
Director: Pieter Coudyzer​                     AUDIENCE CHOICE C
Synopsis:  On a summer day, the paths of two boys unexpectedly cross.

Cargo

15:56 > Malaysia > 2019 >  NYC premiere
Director: Abhilash Chandra    
Synopsis:  A disheartened 12 year old boy encounters a dark supernatural force resting inside the cargo his unassuming father transports from the depths of a Malaysian palm oil plantation.

Retributive Minds

7:28 > Iran > 2020 >  World premiere
Director: Mehrtash Mohit​                 BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Synopsis:  A man returns to his home country expecting to grieve his sister’s death but instead finds himself struggling to reconcile his ideologies.

A Fire in the Sun

12:00 > Spain > 2019 > N. America premiere
Director: Pepe Sapena                                    BEST STUDENT
Synopsis: Ana believes in absolute love. Lucia doesn't. Ana and Lucia go together to a painting exhibition. There is a picture in which a man floats in the air while kissing a woman. Lucia does not like the painting. Ana loves it.

PROGRAM A

A Place to Bowl

6:57 > USA > 2020 
Director: Gabriel Jacobs                          AUDIENCE CHOICE A
Synopsis: Astoria Bowl is an oasis in the truest sense of the word, a place of pure recreation and levity in a city where life tends to be serious and weighty.

PROGRAM C

PROGRAM B

Rhinestone Blue

7:13 > USA > 2019 >  NYC premiere
Director: Aisha Schliessler​
Synopsis: An aging cowboy sets out to compete for the grand prize in a small town talent show. When his plan goes awry, he’s left to win something much more meaningful.


A FIRE IN THE SUN – Pepe Sapena (Spain)
RHINESTONE BLUE – Aisha Schliessler (USA)
TIES – Dina Velikovskaya (Russia)
PROLOGUE – Shiri Kuban (Israel)
DIANA – Adam Anthony (Australia)
ALINA – Rami Kodeih (USA)

Alina

24:51 > USA > 2019 
Director: Rami Kodeih​
Synopsis: As Nazis separate children from their parents in the Warsaw Ghetto, a gang of women risks everything to smuggle their friend's three-month-old baby to safety. 

 18-22 Oct 2023