The Oscar®-qualifying Aspen Shortsfest announced the program lineup for the upcoming 31st edition taking place April 5-10, 2022.
This year’s competition highlights notable filmmakers and talent including Amanda Seyfried, Rose Byrne, Mariama Diallo, Molly Ringwald, Anne Alvergue, and Debra McClatchy, along with international prize-winners by filmmakers in Senegal, Lebanon, Nigeria, and more. Close to 3,000 films were submitted for consideration with 77 selected for this year’s event. Of the 77, 41 films are directed or co-directed by women, accounting for 53% of the program.
The lineup features wildly imaginative and talented individuals from around the world. Highlights include the world premiere of Skin & Bone, directed by Eli Powers and starring and co-produced by Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia!, Mank, Things Heard & Seen); the US premiere of You and Me Before and After, starring Yael Stone (Orange Is the New Black); Shark, starring Rose Byrne (Bridesmaids, Physical) and co-starring and directed by Nash Edgerton (Mr. Inbetween); White Devil, starring and co-directed by Mariama Diallo, director of the recent Sundance feature selection and upcoming Amazon Studios thriller Master; A Brief History of Us, narrated by Molly Ringwald (Sixteen Candles, Riverdale) and directed by celebrated Israeli author and filmmaker Etgar Keret; The Martha Mitchell Effect, a new Netflix documentary by the team of Anne Alvergue and Debra McClutchy; Enjoy, starring Himesh Patel (Don’t Look Up, Yesterday); Daddy’s Girl, starring Peter Friedman (Succession); Don Vs. Lightning, starring Peter Mullan (The Underground Railroad, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power); and The Shaman’s Apprentice, directed by Cannes prizewinner Zacharias Kunuk (Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner). The slate also includes such recent award-winners as Warsha by Lebanon’s Dania Bdeir, Astel by French-Senegalese director Ramata Toulaye Sy, Displaced by Kosovo’s Samir Karahoda, Egúngún (Masquerade) by Nigeria’s Olive Nwosu, and If I Go Will They Miss Me by Walter Thompson-Hernȧndez, the US Fiction short film prizewinner at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.
“We are delighted to be presenting another incredible roster of films from around the globe for this year’s Shortsfest,” says Aspen Film Executive + Artistic Director, Susan Wrubel. “What a wonderful recharge after two virtual years, to be back in person at our festival home, the historic Wheeler Opera House. Once again, our Programming Team has assembled some of the most dynamic, innovative, and thought-provoking short films of the year to showcase for Aspen and valley-wide audiences.”
SHORTSFEST 2022 LINEUP
AERONAUT – Directed by Leon Golterman (Netherlands)
ALLOWED – Directed by Zillah Bowes (UK)
ANGKUKSAJAUJUQ: THE SHAMAN’S APPRENTICE – Directed by Zacharias Kunuk (Canada)
ANXIOUS BODY – Directed by Yoriko Mizushiri (Japan/France)
ASTEL – Directed by Ramata-Toulaye SY (Senegal/France)
AUNTIE – Directed by Fawzia Mirza (US)
BEITY – Directed by Isabelle Mecattaf (Lebanon/US)
BELLE RIVER – Directed by Guillaume Fournier, Samuel Matteau, Yannick Nolin (US/Canada)
BOOBS – Directed by Marie Valade (Canada)
BOTTLE CAP – Directed by Marie Hyon, Marco Spier (US)
A BRIEF HISTORY OF US – Directed by Etgar Keret (Poland)
A CARTOON OF A CAT SLEEPING – Directed by Randall Scott Christopher (US)
CAT AND BIRD – Directed by Franka Sachse (Germany)
CAT AND MOTH – Directed by India Barnardo (Canada/UK)
CHARLOTTE – Directed by Zach Dorn (US)
CHILLY & MILLY – Directed by William David Caballero (US)
CONDUCTING LIFE – Directed by Diane Moore (US/France)
CRUMB – Directed by Josh Cohen (US)
DADDY’S GIRL – Directed by Lena Hudson (US)
DEAR MAMA… – Directed by Winter Dunn (US)
DEERWOODS DEATHTRAP – Directed by James P Gannon (US)
THE DIAMOND – Directed by Vedran Rupic (Sweden)
DISPLACED – Directed by Samir Karahoda (Kosovo)
DON VS LIGHTNING – Directed by Big Red Button (UK)
DRESS UP – Directed by Karina Dandashi (US)
DRUMMIES – Directed by Jessie Zinn (South Africa/US)
EGÚNGÚN (MASQUERADE) – Directed by Olive Nwosu (Nigeria/UK)
ENJOY – Directed by Saul Abraham (UK)
ERRATUM – Directed by Giulio Callegari (France)
F^¢K ‘€M R!GHT B@¢K – Directed by Harris Doran (US)
FANMI – Directed by Sandrine Brodeur-Desrosiers, Carmine Pierre-Dufour (Canada)
FARRUCAS – Directed by Ian de la Rosa (Spain/US)
FOOTSTEPS ON THE WIND – Directed by Maya Sanbar (UK/Brazil/US)
FOR LOVE – Directed by Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor (UK)
FREEDOM SWIMMER – Directed by Olivia Martin-McGuire (France/Australia)
FURTHER AND FURTHER AWAY – Directed by Polen Ly (Cambodia/Germany)
GOODBYE JEROME! – Directed by Gabrielle Selnet, Adam Sillard, Chloé Farr (France)
HANGING ON – Directed by Alfie Barker (UK)
HUELLA – Directed by Gabriela Ortega (US)
I LIVE HERE – Directed by Tyler Evans (Canada)
IF I GO, WILL THEY MISS ME – Directed by Walter Thompson-Hernández (US)
IN NATURE – Directed by Marcel Barelli (Switzerland)
JENSEN – Directed by Chloe Sarbib (US)
L’AMOUR EN PLAN – Directed by Claire Sichez (France)
THE MARTHA MITCHELL EFFECT – Directed by Anne Alvergue, Debra McClutchy (US)
MEMOIR OF A VEERING STORM – Directed by Sofia Georgovassili (Greece)
MUM IS POURING RAIN – Directed by Hugo de Faucompret (France)
MY GRANDMOTHER IS AN EGG – Directed by Wu-Ching Chang (UK/Taiwan)
MY MOM’S EGGPLANT SAUCE – Directed by Shaina Feinberg (US)
NALUJUK NIGHT – Directed by Jennie Williams (Canada)
NAYA – Directed by Sebastian Mulder (Netherlands)
NUISANCE BEAR – Directed by Jack Weisman, Gabriela Osio Vanden (Canada)
OUSMANE – Directed by Jorge Camarotti (Canada)
PARACLETE – Directed by Matias Maumus, Tomas Maumus (Argentina)
SATURDAY NIGHT – Directed by Rosana Matecki (Canada)
SHARK – Directed by Nash Edgerton (Australia)
SHE DREAMS AT SUNRISE – Directed by Camrus Johnson (US)
SIERRA – Directed by Sander Joon (Estonia)
SKIN & BONE – Directed by Eli Powers (US)
SKYWARD – Directed by Jessica Bishopp (UK)
SMILE – Directed by Jonas Forsman (Sweden)
SOFT ANIMALS – Directed by Renee Zhan (UK/US)
SOLAR ECLIPSE – Directed by Alireza Ghasemi, Raha Amirfazli (Iran/France)
SOME STILL SEARCH – Directed by Nesaru Tchaas (US)
SOTAVENTO – Directed by Marco Salaverria Hernández (Venezuela/Cuba)
STRANGER THAN ROTTERDAM WITH SARA DRIVER – Directed by Lewie Kloster, Noah Kloster (US)
THE SUCCESSFUL THAWING OF MR. MORO – Directed by Jerry Carlsson (Sweden)
THE VICTORIAS – Directed by Ethan Fuirst (US)
THE WINDOW – Directed by Sarah Kaskas (Lebanon)
TOGETHER – Directed by Albert Shin (South Korea/Canada)
VIDEO VISIT – Directed by Malika Zouhali-Worrall (US)
WARSHA – Directed by Dania Bdeir (Lebanon/France)
WE SHOULD GET DINNER! – Directed by Eliza Jiménez Cossio, Lexi Tannenholtz (US)
WHITE DEVIL – Directed by Mariama Diallo, Benjamin Dickinson (US)
WOMEN OF VIRTUE – Directed by Stéphanie Halfon (France)
YOU AND ME BEFORE AND AFTER – Directed by Madeleine Gottlieb (Australia)
ᎤᏕᏲᏅ (WHAT THEY’VE BEEN TAUGHT) – Directed by Brit Hensel (US)