Short films

Overview "While the script centers around a historical turning point for the United States with serious global impact, it focuses this moment on one individual and his choice to make a speech about standing up for what is right. Reframing this massive moment as one character's personal journey helps audiences both understand and empathize with events that occurred over 75 years ago. Though the U.S. tends to lean into the savior narrative of World War II, the script highlights how unpopular the idea...

Overview

"My short film named Hear the Wind Whisper, talks about an elderly woman Minyan living in a house with her daughter in America alone. However her neighbor Liling from the same hometown brings joy and warmth to her. In this afternoon, the memory of her dead husband comes back in a gentle breeze. Minyan tries to adapt to the life in Boston and finds the new connection with the surroundings." -- Abstract

Overview "Invisible Green is a 13-minute short film written and directed by Dinghui Liu. The story is about a middle-aged housewife, MARY, who decides to take a road trip to see her lover, but her daughter, ALIYA, insists on coming along. Mary tries to continue the affair and hopes to have the romantic weekend she wanted, but Aliya confronts her about it. Mary opens up to her daughter and Aliya begins to see her mother as a person who has needs. We shot this in muted color and used a 4:3 frame to...

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"Kill Me is a short dark family drama that tells a story that a female care worker needs to keep a dying boy alive until January 13th. But, as they get to know each other better, it turns out that they are both sad people who are controlled by others. A helpless compromise or a final rebellion? Everything will end on the 13th." -- Abstract

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"King of the Ring is a short drama following an in-over-his-head wrestling promoter as he manuevers to salvage his highly anticipated main event. Through anxiety-driven intensity, the film seeks to explore isues of workplace exploitation of independent pro wrestlers in a world that struggles to separate reality from fiction." -- Abstract

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"Maestro is a 24 min film about the struggle in today's society to survive. The film is about getting the opportunity that life provides and making the best use of it. The outcome is all controlled by the main character. He is the Maestro, the conductor, who controls all the aspects of an orchestra, but there is no sound without the instruments and musicians." -- Abstract

Overview "María is the story of a young Latina protagonist whose path to becoming a civil rights lawyer is complicated by an unplanned pregnancy. The short film provides raw insight into a woman's experience through this process, allowing us to get a glimpse of the varying motivations towards her decision. The production book provides details from the production process giving insight into the story inspiration, context, script, budget, production materials, the filmmaker's background and their...

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"Monsters Never Came is a 15-minute short film mockumentary sci-fi. In a slow and peaceful pace, the camera becomes an objective spectator to observe the life of the protagonist, Wang Yi. By capturing the process of the disappearance of Wang Yi's superpower and his attempts to keep the last bit of his powers, the short film reflects the various kind of gains and losses in the process of a person's growing up." -- Abstract

Overview "Nimueh is a hybrid 16mm and digital experimental film that explores the local folklore and mythology surrounding the death of Hallie Latham Illingworth, whose body was found floating in Washington state's Lake Crescent in 1937 about four years after her death, partially preserved by the lake's frigid water. The only documentation of Hallie's life is in a slim, self-published, and sensational true crime novel titled The Lady of the Lake; dissatisfied with this reduction of Hallie's life,...

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"Nomads (2021) is a cautionary tale that tackles subject matters such as human trafficking and homelessness. This exploration of the gritty landscape of the city at night highlights the importance of Social Darwinism when a homeless hustler meets traumatized sex worker. I hope this film also highlights the reality that people are still people. We all bleed red and have the same level of emotions; some people are just in extreme circumstances than others." -- Abstract

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"NORO is a short narrative fiction film in the psychological horror genre. The film aims to subvert the stereotypically weak or helpless depictions of characters suffering from mental illness, create metaphysical representations of its symptoms, and emphasize the importance of professional help and speaking up." -- Abstract

Overview "Octopus On The Deck tells the story of a young girl who returns from a distant place and uses her skills to record family recipes, and gradually accumulates her own knowledge of herself, her family, and her understanding of women. This film uses multiple perspectives to challenge the audience's viewing logic while exploring the laws and boundaries of film as a narrative medium. At its core, the story explores the relationship between individual choices and collective memory, perceptions of...

Overview "Pearls Lost is a short fictional narrative film set in the Appalachian mountains of southeastern Kentucky in the early 1990s. The film illuminates a distinct perspective on being gay at that time and place and the repercussions of disclosing and not disclosing sexual identity in challenging the typical American family structure. Pearls Lost approaches this topic from the lens of a woman, Renee, trying to hold her family together in the face of these decisions outside of her control when her...

Overview "Through a multi-layered narrative structure, "Promnesia" is a short film that explores the concept of how to confront reality better. Anchored by the concept of parallel universes, the protagonist Michelle, a stage actress, undergoes multiple lifetimes embodying the character Mary. Things that happened in Mary's life resonate with various aspects of Michelle's real life. As a result, the boundaries between fiction and reality in her life become increasingly blurred. After she attains...

Overview "Sandcastles is a short narrative drama set in a small town neighbouring Beirut, Lebanon. A young woman from a modest family, Samar, navigates her daily life through a patriarchal society whilst trying to find a better future for herself. One fateful night after trying to get back home from work, she takes a public cab home. The disturbing events of that night push her to take the decision to want to leave. But will she get to, amidst a heightened sensitive political climate? This original...

Overview "I found my way to my thesis topic by starting with a subject that constantly occupies space in my thoughts: impact. I was born with something I call "detrimental empathy." It is a condition in which I have so much empathy for the people and things around me that it impacts my ability to interact with the world. For example, I cannot read or watch the news because if I hear or see something sad, I will cry and obsess over it for days. When I'm driving, I brake for animals in the street no...

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"Still Waters is a short film exploring the ideas of mental health, unresolved childhood trauma, and the relationships we have with others and with ourselves. The story follows a distressed man when a mysterious boy appears in his home after a recent breakup triggers him to relive memories of the past. In order to save the boy, the man must find a way to confront his inner demons before they consume him." -- Abstract

Overview "Swimming with Stones is a narrative short film about the subject of grief. The story follows a woman's journey going through grief and reliving the memories on the anniversary of her daughter's death. She comes to a realization that unloading the weight doesn't mean leaving the memories behind. This film will have a heavy emphasis on cinematography. Through that, the goal of this film is to reach anyone who has or is currently experiencing the process of grief. It is to offer some insight...

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"TaiL is an 18 mins body horror-comedy about a wacky woman's journey to self-discovery with a penis stuck inside her vagina." -- Abstract

Overview "What is home after immigration and displacement? Family after loss? Memory after dementia? Using interviews with members of my family, this thesis is an attempt to answer those questions for my benefit as well as to prompt viewers to consider such questions for themselves. It is a personal documentary that centers immigrant experiences because it is a narrative that comes from my Jamaican family and uses their words in their voices. The experience exists entirely in virtual reality and so...