NARRATIVE SHORTS OVER 10 MINUTES
THE IRON DETECTIVE: THE EXONETIC DIVISION
Runtime 10:05
1:30 p.m. March 23 - Local Block I
6:15 p.m. March 23 - Sci-Fi Block
Cyberpunk gangs vs The Police. Blood will be spilled.
Not rated: Adult themes
INTERROGATOR
Runtime 10:12
4:45 p.m. March 23 - Comedy Block
2:30 p.m. March 24 - Local Block V
An actor near the end of a press junket is interviewed by a new search engine that seems to know more about his personal life than what he might think.
Not rated: Adult themes
NAUGHTY
Runtime 11:44
1:30 p.m. March 23 - Local Block I
6 p.m. March 23 - Horror/Thriller Block
Two people are on a first date at a cafe during the Christmas season. They get an unexpected visit from Krampus who comes once a year to punish the naughty for not being good.
Not rated: Horror, graphic images might disturb some viewers.
DESIRE
Runtime 11:48
6 p.m. March 23 - Horror/Thriller Block
The examination of human desire and its boundless reach...
Not rated: Adult themes
NO SMALL PARTS
Runtime 11:50
3 p.m. March 23 - Local Block II
4:45 p.m. March 23 - Comedy Block
An actor auditions to be an extra in a movie.
Made as a part of the Independent Filmmaker Coalition's Film Lab Mentorship Program.
Not rated: Adult themes
WHAT’S ON TONIGHT
Runtime 11:57
4:30 p.m. March 23 - Local Block III
4:30 p.m. March 24 - Couples Therapy Block
When two empty nesters quarrel over what to watch on TV, the dispute reveals truths that must be reckoned with or the marriage could go up in flames.
Not rated: Adult themes
PARADISO
Runtime 12:01
7:45 p.m. March 23 - Love and Loss Block
2:30 p.m. March 24 - Local Block V
Paradiso is a glimpse of a day in the life of an unhoused couple looking for shelter for the evening. As they find paradise in a vacant apartment they start dreaming big with possibility, until they are caught.
Not rated: Adult themes, violence
RETREATED
Runtime 12:15
4:45 p.m. March 23 - Comedy Block
William, an ethnically mixed gay professional, sequesters himself in a secluded owl-themed cottage for the weekend in order to write a personal statement due Monday. Yet, various people in his life keep interrupting him by phone, roping him into their dilemmas. William code-switches to talk to his corporate boss, his cousin from the block, and his long-term boyfriend. As the phone calls (and procrastination) intensify, William entertains a different kind of retreat, which causes his code-switching to dissolve into a wild identity unraveling.
Sometimes, in order to find ourselves, we need to get more lost.
Not rated: Adult themes
THE IRON DETECTIVE: BITTER HEART
Runtime 12:49
1:30 p.m. March 23 - Local Block I
6:15 p.m. March 23 - Sci-Fi Block
Chapter 2 - The Detective is tracking down a night club called The White Dragon.
Not rated: Adult themes
THE BALLAD OF RICH AND CHAMP
Runtime 13:28
3 p.m. March 23 - Local Block II
9:15 p.m. March 23 - Drama Block
Rich and Champ arrive at their nightly stomping grounds for some easy money at the billiards table. The pair have different aims for their lives, but their working relationship keeps them moving in the same direction. The night cruises along like any other until a new challenger drops more money than either man expects on the table. When everything's on the line, Rich and Champ will learn who each other really is.
Not rated: Adult themes
APORIA
Runtime 00:56
11 a.m. March 23 - International Block I
Iranian film with subtitles. Before the altering birth of Christ, before van Gogh's peculiar death, before the grand revolution of France, before the catasrophic invention of the guillotine, even before Adam bit the forbidden fruit, a man punched another, leaving an irremediable ancient wound that hurts no less than before.
Not rated: Adult themes
THE WHISPERS
Runtime 13:57
12 p.m. March 23 - International Block II
Iranian film with subtitles. A few hours after their first meeting at a party, a woman and a man are lying next to each other.
Not rated: Adult themes
XIAOHUI AND HIS COWS
Runtime 14:54
12 p.m. March 23 - International Block II
7:45 p.m. March 23 - Love and Loss Block
Chinese film with subtitles. Except for mountain landscapes, magical rocks, and a few other kids, the village where Xiaohui lives with his grandfather and two cows has nothing to offer. The nine-year-old sorely misses his parents who work in the city. When grandpa has to sell a calf, the clever grandson tries everything to prevent the separation of mother and child. A soulful cry for love in times of capitalism.
BLUE HOUR
Runtime 15:00
7:45 p.m. March 23 - Love and Loss Block
Two personal journeys intersect when a struggling young photographer is hired for a cheap last minute portrait gig. The unfolding photo session, while transient, leaves an indelible mark on both women.
Not rated: Adult themes
STALKER GRANDMA
Runtime 16:30
6 p.m. March 23 - Horror/Thriller Block
2:30 p.m. March 24 - Local Block V
Deb has been jokingly nicknamed "Stalker Grandma" by her grandkids because of her constant need to take pictures with her phone. Soon, Deb suspects something sinister and unexplained is happening around her, but is it all in her mind or has the past come back to haunt her.
Not rated: Horror
SECOND SIGHT
Runtime 17:00
6 p.m. March 23 - Horror/Thriller Block
1 p.m. March 24 - Local Block IV
A young man becomes inundated by strange visions and a local homeless man while he and his acquaintances deal with the aftermath of a major disappearance in their city.
Not rated: Adult themes
BEFORE I GO
Runtime 17:25
4:30 p.m. March 23 - Local Block III
4:30 p.m. March 24 - Couples Therapy Block
What happens when two coworkers unknowingly go for the same job?
Not rated: Adult themes
LA RUTA
Runtime 19:06
12 p.m. March 23 - International Block II
7:45 p.m. March 23 - Love and Loss Block
Subtitled film. Two years after having migrated from Uruguay to the Netherlands, Sofía returns to her hometown to visit her
family, expecting to jump right into her old life again. The
reality of what she encounters is very different, as Sofía
realizes that things have changed. Is this place still her
home, or did her home turn into a strange place?
Not rated: Adult themes
THE NIGHTMARE PARADOX
Runtime 20:00
6 p.m. March 23 - Horror/Thriller Block
When the body of his missing father turns up, Sebastian begins seeing repressed memories within his dreams. Trying to find solace in his friends, he begins to question reality, finding himself unable to tell truth from nightmare.
Not rated: Adult themes, graphic images might disturb some viewers.
STRANGER
Runtime 20:12
9:15 p.m. March 23 - Drama Block
2:30 p.m. March 24 - Local Block V
A frustrated Dancer has fallen into isolation and monotony, when a curious Stranger appears who must help her rediscover her joy for dance and life before she hits rock bottom.
Not rated: Adult themes
LEARNING WITH REMY RAYSTAR
Runtime 22:02
4:30 p.m. March 23 - Local Block III
Come along and learn with Captain Remy Raystar and friends, as they teach kids across the universe about Earth! On this transmission, Captain Remy Raystar teaches kids about the English Alphabet!
"Learning with Remy Raystar" is a captivating and meticulously crafted TV show designed to captivate young minds and take them on a thrilling educational journey. The show revolves around an entertaining alien captain named Remy Raystar, who, alongside his friends AID, the Artificial Intelligence Device, and Clay, the Robot, embarks on a mission to teach kids from across the universe about Earth and its wonders. The pilot episode offers a delightful exploration of the English alphabet through song, games, and jokes, engaging young viewers in an immersive learning experience.
TO SEE
Runtime 22:39
11 a.m. March 23 - International Block I
Iranian film with subtitles. A girl has a question, will the eye get tired?
Not rated: Adult themes
THE GLOWING MAN
Runtime 29:40
3 p.m. March 23 - Local Block II
6:15 p.m. March 23 - Sci-Fi Block
After discovering his friend from the military has committed suicide, special agent Joe Colder spirals down a path of paranoia and conspiracy, opening wounds from a buried past.
Not rated: Adult themes
WHITE GAZE
Runtime 30:00
9:15 p.m. March 23 - Drama Block
White Gaze, which received the Blumhouse Patrons Circle grant, is a micro-budget social drama/horror with tinges of magical realism and shot on location in the area impacted with talent born and raised from the actual neighborhood.
Latine twentysomething, Gema, is forced to confront the looming threat of gentrification head-on—after having no choice but to let an overeager stranger move in or risk being evicted. The uneasy peace soon turns sinister, exposing her to something far more invasive.
INDUSTRIAL EVOLUTION
Runtime 30:00
1:30 p.m. March 23 - Local Block I
6:15 p.m. March 23 - Sci-Fi Block
A year after the events of "Under The Sun" Dominic, Meadow, and their fellow cyborgs are faced with a new threat when their own personal differences clash, allowing a stranger to move in and tear the group apart leading to life-threatening results.