Schedule of Events:
11:30am – 1:30pm - Creative Leadership: Taking Care of Collaborators
Making a film takes many hands and talents. What are some of the things directors and producers can do to make sure everyone communicates well, stays energized, and creates the best work possible? From preparing for physical contact between actors, to establishing good vibes on set, to communicating clearly about roles and compensation, this discussion will start you thinking about how to be a creative leader people are always excited to work with.
Panelist
Kelly O’Sullivan
Actor, Director, Producer, Screenwriter
12:30pm - Pen, Pencil, Pixel: Animation - 47 minutes
Synopsis:
Across these ten shorts, you’ll find no single genre, theme, or medium, but you will find fantastical worlds, disarming emotional honesty, and vibrant displays of creativity. Whether drawn by hand, sculpted with clay, or animated digitally, these inventive shorts are sure to entertain and inspire.
Please note: Films in this program contain themes, images, and language that may not be suitable for all ages.
Kaine Interception
Johnny White & Harry White - Colorado - Ages 16 & 14
In this Lego stop-motion actioner, secret agent Kaine and his mysterious new partner April race to interrupt a jewel heist.
La infancia
Jesús García Nuño de la Rosa & Emiliano Reyes - Spain - Age 22
A man in a dark house is surrounded by an ethereal forest. Animals wander, children play, and fires burn. Is any of this real?
Weathered
Patrick Jang - California - Age 16
Teenagers share stories of adversity, resilience, and personal transformation in vulnerable interviews supported by vivid animation.
Attack of the Living Clay
Jackson Milott - Evanston, Illinois - Age 16
In a tiny household world, a clay man improvises ingenious, violent methods to fight off a horde of zombies.
Why so blu
Danielle Arianna Picernos - Chicago - Age 22
Blue brushstrokes on film capture life and loss.
Trigonometry’s Ultimate Method to Putting the Fun Back in Your Own Funeral
April Aquino - Chicago - Age 22
Trigonometry’s untimely death inspires him to go out with one last hurrah, crashing his own funeral.
Twenty Twenty Three - To The Lighthouse
Chengyu Li - Ohio - Age 16
Drowning and stressed, a high school student asks herself, “Am I going crazy?”
Treasure Haunt
Carlos Lerma - Chicago - Age 20
Longing for a single hug, a man traverses all boundaries and drinks the ghost potion, flying towards his love.
Headlands
Cecelia Clare - California - Age 20
Waves of nostalgia wash over an old woman as she dives deep into the water of her youth.
Echoes in the Sand
Miles Isgrig - New York - Age 22
Hell-bent on finding his parents, Peter rebels against his robot guardian, bounding toward the voices in the desert.
Snake
Lewis Fuller Hill - Australia - Age 22
In a heartfelt visual letter penned to his mother, a man dreams of her voice and of snakes in a field.
2:00pm - Time and Texture: Experimental - 61 minutes
Synopsis:
Some rules are made to be broken. Singular and diverse experiences of identity, sensation, isolation, and time are translated into stunning images and sound. The resulting seven films play like something of a dream, capturing the feeling of being alive as only cinema can.
Please note: Films in this program contain themes, images, and language that may not be suitable for all ages.
Scared
Children Laboratory ATOM - Kyrgyzstan - Ages 10-14
A group of young people share their deepest fears using paper dolls and masks.
From the Void of Time
Lok Yiu Wong - Hong Kong - Age 21
Two jailed men conjure hazy, summery renderings of time and memory.
After Love
Chris Derek Van - Chicago - Age 19
In city apartments, an 18-year old and a middle-aged man form an intimate bond amid shared isolation.
The Shadow Puppet
Macsen Russel - United Kingdom - Age 21
A static, black and white window into the interior world of a man who believes himself to be a murderer.
Diegesis
Zahni D’Angelo Gulbronson - Chicago - Age 19
Aimless on an empty beach, a wandering man tends to the bird in his pocket.
Misophonia
Caitlin Lenz - Iowa - Age 20
A multimedia representation of the daily overwhelm of living with a sensory-processing disorder.
Build me through the image (construyanme a traves de la imagen)
Paula Hung - New York - Age 20
Mutliracial identity, queerness, and the construction of both are explored through archival footage and family artifacts.
3:30pm - Odd, Very Odd - 45 minutes
Synopsis:
Expect the unexpected in these colorful, wildly offbeat shorts. In this utterly unique showcase, a cast of eccentric characters (both on camera and behind it) will dash every expectation of tone, performance, and good taste– and you’ll be all the better for it.
Please note: Films in this program contain themes, images, and language that may not be suitable for all ages.
Picnic in the Clouds
Malik Clyde Terrab - New Hampshire - Ages 20
After decades of marriage, Connie is ready to be rid of her husband George. She plans a special anniversary picnic accordingly.
The Pilot
Max Hendrickson & Gerry Sweeney - Ireland - Age 18
A man enters a vaguely familiar sitcom apartment… with extremely unfamiliar results.
A Little Strange
Joanna Song - California - Age 20
Increasingly unsettling changes disrupt Ernest’s idyllic, repetitive life.
Academy
United Kingdom - Age 20
A disgraced dancer returns to her former academy to set the record straight…and settle a score.
The Hive Wedding
Sam Kerns - Chicago - Age 22
Socialite Mizzy summons a host of eccentric friends and strangers to her family’s dilapidated nightclub for her wedding.
Chicago Lens - 68 minutes
Synopsis:
Watch the city breathe life into the stories of ten local young filmmakers. From documentaries to music videos, this program represents the city’s long-term love affair with art and culture.
Please note: Films in this program contain themes, images, and language that may not be suitable for all ages.
Young
Jacob Sutton, Adelaide Wilson - Chicago - Ages 21 & 22
Shot on Super 8 Vision 3, this music video compiles stop-motion, vignettes, and performance to showcase a coming-of-age ballad.
Lisa
Laya Bena Hartman & Jiaxin Wei - Joliet - Age 21
Rising young basketball star Lisa Thompson navigates expectations on and off the court as the number one-ranked player in Illinois.
Once Upon a Time… In Aztlan
Andres Carlos - Chicago - Age 20
An abstract exploration of history, belonging, memory, and knowing from an immigrant perspective.
So There’s This Girl
Isis Gullette - Chicago - Age 18
Young and unrequited love between two friends reaches a breaking point, rendering their relationship’s future uncertain.
I Can No Longer See
Raine Yung - Chicago - Age 22
A self-portrait of trauma, dilemma, objectification, and relief told through a collection of experimental shorts.
Dissonance
Jason Hart - Chicago - Age 22
Struggling to grieve the loss of a family member, a young boy spirals into self-harm before finding relief in an unlikely source.
All My Friends Are Nineteen
Jadyn Proulx - Chicago - Age 19
The friendships and intimacies (and lack thereof) that color the life of a 19-year-old college student.
Coloring Through the Eyes of Youth
Olivia Santiago - Chicago - Age 16
Go in-depth with an After School Matters program that guides teens through crafting murals for the Belmont-Cragin community.
How to Spot a Heterosexual
Adamson Novak - Chicago - Age 21
A parody PSA that focuses on the real threat walking among us.
Fruit Math
Sam Friedman, Casey Wangman, Maddie Morse, Ryan Magrisi - Evanston - Age 21
One man’s wacky quest to solve a basic math problem spirals into chaos.
