The 21st annual Tallgrass Film Festival set for October 5-8, in downtown Wichita showcases more than 184 films.
Films include the World Premiere of the feature film Far From Home made by local Regina Klenjoski Dance Company and the opening night film The People’s Joker with special guest, director Vera Drew. Filmmaker, Sav Rodgers returns to Kansas with Chasing Chasing Amy and the Kansas films Night Screams and Letters From Home. Other highlights include Stubbornly Independent Winner HP Mendoza’s latest, The Secret Art of Human Flight, and festival favorite Karen Carpenter: Starving for Perfection.
Short film highlights include 7 Minutes from comedian Ricky Gervais (“The Office”); Robert & Billie, a love story set in Nicodemus, Kansas; Mahogany Drive, a short film created by the Astronomy Club sketch group and produced by Academy Award-winner Andrew Carlberg. Closing Time has Demi Adejuyigbe, known for his “September 21” videos. And This is About the Census features Geoff Ross, a comedian, who writes, directs and stars in the short film.
“The spotlight films are a collection of movies that reflect the multifaceted nature of the Tallgrass Film Festival. From a Midwest-grown film years in the making such as Letters Home, to an amazing biopic about artist Joan Miró, MIRÓ, which details the artist´s life whose art is anchored in Wichita´s history. Debuting at Tribeca, the documentary Chasing Chasing Amy explores pop culture inside self-discovery by an alum and friend of the Festival, Sav Rodgers. We also have a lovely documentary Far From Home that tackles identity through dance made by members of the local Regina Klenjoski Dance Company. Our opening night film, The People’s Joker, is a story that is both in front of the camera and behind the scenes an example of the Stubbornly Independent spirit that Tallgrass continues to champion,” Head Programmer Andre Seward said.
SPOTLIGHT (OUT OF COMPETITION) FILMS
CHASING CHASING AMY (Documentary)
Director: Sav Rodgers
Producers: Sav Rodgers, Alex Schmider, Carrie Radigan, Lela Meadow-Conner, Matthew C. Mills
Kansas Premiere. RT: 95m/USA
For young Sav Rodgers, the Kevin Smith cult classic, CHASING AMY, became a life raft. As Rodgers examines the film and its making as a cornerstone of LGBTQ+ cinema, he finds himself at a complicated crossroads.
En El Limbo Nos Encontramos (short) plays with CHASING CHASING AMY
Director: Daniel DuBoulay
World Premiere. RT: 5m/USA
The film follows a lonely, estranged protagonist as they become obsessed with wanting to become part of their favorite TV show.
FAR FROM HOME (Documentary)
Directors: Shawn Brackbill, Regina Klenjoski, Dalton Paley
Producer: Regina Klenjoski Dance Company
World Premiere. RT: 70m/USA
FAR FROM HOME is a dance film that traces the transformative journey of migration inspired by the personal and universal story of Petkana and Fidan Klenjoski, who left their Macedonian village for America five decades ago.
My Name is Annabel (short) plays with FAR FROM HOME
Director: Ida Joglar
Kansas Premiere. RT: 21m/USA
Annabel Hernandez, a 30-year-old Wichita, KS native with Down’s syndrome, determines the film’s direction as she shares her story her way and asks her friends and family the questions she’s most curious about – How do you feel about adults with Down’s syndrome?
LETTERS HOME (Narrative)
Director: Scott Roberts
Producers: Scott Roberts, Paul Roberts
World Premiere. RT: 76m/USA
Newly arrived with his family in a small Midwestern town, a smart but hopelessly awkward boy despairs that he will never truly fit in.
Death in Lavender (Short) plays with LETTERS HOME
Director: Tyler W. Moore
World Premiere. RT: 10m/USA
Secrets begin to unravel after the untimely passing of the patriarch of the Pennington family.
MIRÓ (Narrative)
Director: Oriol Ferrer
Producers: Oriol Marcos, Oriol Sala-Patau, Esther Dueñas, Tiffany Ruoz
Regional Premiere. RT: 84m/Spain
MIRÓ is the story of a discreet and tenacious young man who had to emigrate from a gray and conservative Barcelona to Paris in full cultural effervescence to make himself known.
He ran alongside his comrade (short) plays with MIRÓ
Director: Genís Rigol Alzola
Regional Premiere. RT: 14m/Spain
The story of an elderly businessman in search of popularity. He evades taxes but practices philanthropy, understanding solidarity in a personal way. Thus, the protagonist will dedicate himself to generating problems for people to be able to help them.
NIGHT SCREAMS (Narrative)
Director: Allen Plone
Producer: Dillis L. Hart
World Premiere of Director’s/Producer’s Final Cut. RT: 74m/USA
A late-entry slasher gem that offers up an embarrassment of inventive kills…alongside more “standard” methods of hacking and slashing.
Dead Enders (short) plays with NIGHT SCREAMS
Director: Fidel Ruiz-Healy & Tyler Walker
Regional Premiere. RT: 12m/USA
Disaffected, young gas station clerk Maya doesn’t care about much besides messing with her manager and getting her beer discount at the end of the
midnight shift. But after irresponsible oil drillers set loose a sinister race of mind-controlling parasites, Maya realizes there might be more to life than spending all your waking hours stacking shelves for a corporate overlord.
THE PEOPLE’S JOKER (Narrative)
Director: Vera Drew
Producer: Joey Lyons
RT: 92m/USA
An unfunny clown with a Smylex addiction grapples with gender identity, love, and foes while founding an illegal comedy theater in Gotham City.
Krush The Wrestler (short) plays with THE PEOPLE’S JOKER
Director: Alex Megaro
Kansas Premiere. RT: 14m/USA
Exploring the innate intimacy of submission wrestling, a lifelong wrestler turns his talents into an on-demand fetish video service.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
GREAT PHOTO, LOVELY LIFE
Directors: Amanda Mustard, Rachel Beth Anderson
Producers: Amanda Mustard, Rachel Beth Anderson, Luke Malone
Regional Premiere. RT: 112m/USA
Photojournalist Amanda Mustard returns to her hometown to investigate the decades of sexual abuse her family and community experienced at the hands of her grandfather.
ISRAELISM
Directors: Eric Axelman, Sam Eilertsen
Producers: Eric Axelman, Daniel J. Chalfen, Nadia Saah
Regional Premiere. RT: 84m/USA, Israel, Palestine
When two young American Jews raised to love Israel unconditionally witness the brutal way Israel treats Palestinians, their lives take sharp turns.
JOIN OR DIE
Directors/Producers: Rebecca Davis, Pete Davis
Kansas Premiere. RT: 99m/USA, Italy
JOIN OR DIE is a film about why you should join a club—and why the fate of America depends on it.
Balloon Boy (short) plays with JOIN OR DIE
Directors: Brian Gersten, Arlin Golden
Regional Premiere. RT: 17m/USA
America watched with rapt attention a large balloon float through the skies of Colorado.
KAREN CARPENTER: STARVING FOR PERFECTION
Director: Randy Martin
Producers: Andy Streitfeld, Randy Schmidt
Kansas Premiere. RT: 97m/USA
A captivating, revealing, and unvarnished documentary providing astounding new insight into the singer’s tragically short life and enduring musical legacy.
Give (short) plays with KAREN CARPENTER: STARVING FOR PERFECTION
Director: Kenya Gillespie
Regional Premiere. RT: 16m/USA
A composer attempts to unravel the memories of his relationship with his classical singer ex-boyfriend.
SUSAN FENIGER. FORKED
Director: Liz Lachman
Producer: Lisa Donmall-Reeve
Kansas Premiere. RT: 93m/USA, China, Vietnam
A verite film following award-winning celebrity chef Susan Feniger on her first solo restaurant is a story about starting over, not IF one fails… but HOW.
There Are Things To Do (short) plays with SUSAN FENIGER. FORKED
Director: Mike Syers
Regional Premiere. RT: 18m/USA
Urvashi Vaid, an outspoken immigrant, lesbian and woman of color was an LGBTQ+ superhero who helped shape the modern-day gay rights movement. Her vision for the movement serves as a roadmap of initiatives and tools for generations of activists facing anti-LGBTQ+ backlash.
WITH PETER BRADLEY
Director/Producer: Alex Rappoport
Kansas Premiere. RT: 86m/USA
At 79 years old and overlooked since the 1970s, abstract painter Peter Bradley reflects on life and shares his artistic process on the cusp of his rediscovery.
Charles Gaines: Systems & Structures (shorts) plays with WITH PETER BRADLEY
Director: Ian Forster, Sue Ding
RT: 11m/USA
A pivotal figure in the field of conceptual art, Charles Gaines investigates the production of knowledge and culture by using rule-based systems to create paintings, drawings, musical compositions, and sculptures. Culminating in completing “Moving Chains” (2022), a 100-foot-long public sculpture on Governors Island in New York City, this film traces Gaines’s connections between our lived experiences and the systems that shape them.
NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
ADOLFO
Director: Sofía Auza
Producers: Camila Jimenez. Silvana Aguirre, Alejandro Duran
USA Premiere. RT: 70m/Mexico
After his father’s death, Hugo misses the last bus home and meets Momo, who turns his night into an adventure.
GLUE TRAP
Director: Justin Geldzahler
Producers: Christopher Fox, Justin Geldzahler, Norris Guncheon, Sara McFarlane
Regional Premiere. RT: 89m/USA
A good couple in a bad place plans a last-ditch cabin trip, but when an obnoxious third wheel arrives, they worry more that their relationship may be in danger.
Are You Awake? (short) plays with GLUE TRAP
Director: Gabriel Caste
Regional Premiere. RT: 12m/USA
In this psychological thriller, a detached woman working as a door-to-door wake-up caller encounters a client refusing to leave his bed, who recounts his terrible nightmares.
Second Harvest (short) plays with GLUE TRAP
Director: Victoria Gayer, Naythan Smith
RT: 6m/USA
A grieving widow attempts to renegotiate a corporate contract that sets the terms of her husband’s burial.
HANGING GARDENS
Director: Ahmed Al Daradji
Producer: Ishtar Film Production
Kansas Premiere. RT: 102m/Iraq
When a young Iraqi rubbish picker rescues an American sex doll from the Baghdad dumps, he crosses into a perilous red zone.
The Red Ball (short) will play with HANGING GARDENS
Director: George Morgan
Kansas Premiere. RT: 7m/UK
Clinging onto his red ball, Bamike leaves the big city of London for a small town where his family can get a fresh start after a family tragedy.
HELLO DANKNESS
Directors/Producers: Soda Jerk
Kansas Premiere. RT: 70m/Australia
Comprised entirely of hundreds of film samples, HELLO DANKNESS is a political fable that bears witness to the psychotropic spectacle of American politics from 2016 to 2021, and the mythologies and lore that took root around it.
A.V. Van (short) will play with HELLO DANKNESS
Director: Morayo Akandé
USA Premiere. RT: 12m/UK
Two film-fanatic sisters try to reconnect with their estranged deceased father by selling his vintage porn collection.
Tulipomania: You Had to Be There (short) will play with HELLO DANKNESS
Director: Cheryl Gelover, Tom Murray (Tulipomania)
North American Premiere. RT: 4m/USA
Magnification doesn’t always yield detail. Maybe you had to be there… When the observer and the observed exchange places – at what point do we hold ourselves accountable? You Had to Be There is the first music video for Tulipomania’s soon-to-be-released new album “Dreaming of Sleep.”
THE JUDGMENT
Director: Marwan Mokbel
Producer: Omar Said
Kansas Premiere. RT: 111m/Lebanon & Egypt
THE JUDGEMENT follows a gay couple returning from the US to Egypt for a family emergency, which forces them back into the closet and to attempt to pass as just friends.
THE MOON & BACK
Director: Leah Bleich
Producer: Tessa Byford
Kansas Premiere. RT: 74m/USA
One year after her father’s death, high school senior Lydia Gilbert feels completely lost…until she discovers something unexpected: a space opera screenplay needing a blockbuster-sized budget — written by her dad.
A Relationship with a Camera (short) plays with THE MOON & BACK
Director: Tony King
USA Premiere. RT: 6m/USA
An introspective documentary about Tony King’s journey of grieving his father’s death with photography.
Rosemary A.D. (After Dad) (short) plays with THE MOON & BACK
Director: Ethan Barrett
Kansas Premiere. RT: 10m/USA
As he cradles his newborn, a father wonders if his daughter would be better off without him and imagines her life once he is gone. Completely hand-drawn with crayons.
THE SECRET ART OF HUMAN FLIGHT
Director: H.P. Mendoza
Producers: Grant Rosenmeyer, Tina Carbone, Benjamin Wiessner, Jonathan Lim
Kansas Premiere. RT: 107m/USA
A grieving widower turns to a mysterious self-help book from the dark web written by an eccentric guru, which promises to unlock the power to fly.
TOKYO COWBOY
Director: Marc Marriott
Producers: Brigham Taylor, Marc Marriott
World Premiere. RT: 118m/USA
A Japanese businessman goes on an unwitting journey of self-discovery when he takes a company trip from Tokyo to a Montana cattle ranch.
Bull Rider (short) plays with TOKYO COWBOY
Director: Steven Gray
Kansas Premiere. RT: 2m/USA
This experimental documentary short merges meditations on dance from choreographer Martha Graham with music by composer Philip Glass and a video featuring Professional Bull Rider/Modern Dancer, Ouncie Mitchell, at the 2022 Oakley Rodeo in Oakley, UT.
COMEDY SHORT FILM PROGRAM
Farmers Dating-Rencontres Paysannes
Director: Alexandra “Alle” Hsu
Regional Premiere. RT: 11m/France
In rural France, a young farmer’s heart is broken. Struggling to understand the new world of dating via technology, she’s not sure her tomatoes are ripe for anyone.
Headdress
Director: Taietsarón:sere “Tai” Leclaire
Regional Premiere. RT: 10m/USA
When a Queer Native is confronted by a non-Native wearing a ceremonial headdress at a music festival, he retreats into his mind to find the perfect response from various versions of his own identity.
Only Worn Once
Directors: Claire Downs and Brenden Gallagher
World Premiere. RT: 9m/USA
A recent divorcee and her daughter sell Darcy’s used wedding dress on the internet to an 18-year-old marrying a much older man. A drag queen unexpectedly saves the day.
Somewhere In Between
Director: Kyle Vorbach
Kansas Premiere. RT: 15m/USA
Two will-they-won’t-they friends are keeping it simple this New Year’s Eve – until their house is crashed by a man from the future who tells them that the universe’s fate rests in their hands.
The Car Spotter
Director: Martin Sandin
Regional Premiere. RT: 14m/Sweden
The Car Spotter is a film about the small things in life that can have big consequences.
This is About the Census
Director: Geoff Ross
World Premiere. RT: 5m/USA
A loyal citizen is called into a government office to answer a life-or-death question: Why does the census only have one person?
Vance and the Afterlife
Director: Sam Kimbrell
Regional Premiere. RT 10m/USA
Vance and the Afterlife is a short film about a corporate stiff named Vance who dies and ends up in his imagination… or lack thereof.
Voice Activated
Director: Steve Anthopoulos
Kansas Premiere. RT: 12m/Australia
A florist with a stutter must cooperate with a voice-activated car on the way to an important delivery.
What to Watch
Director: Clarence Williams IV
USA Premiere. RT: 10m/USA
Two friends have a hard time deciding what movie to watch together.
Wheel
Director: Honora Talbott
Kansas Premiere. RT: 10m/USA
A casting director gets hit with some bad news while helping her eccentric neighbor tape a “Wheel of Fortune” audition.
DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM PROGRAM
A Clean Slate
Director: Trần Hoàng Calvin
Kansas Premiere. RT: 14m/USA
This uplifting documentary follows Shanyeill McCloud’s work helping the formerly incarcerated expunge their records and start their lives again.
A PART OF YOU/MADE ME WHOLE AGAIN
Directors: Destyn Fuller-Hope & Andrew Wonder
Regional Premiere. RT: 5m/USA
Two Lives. One Gift. A post-kidney transplant memoir told as a dream-like prayer to Mom.
AMERICAN SIKH
Directors: Ryan Westra and Vishavjit Singh
RT: 10m/USA
The animated true story of a turban-wearing American who overcomes a lifetime of hate by becoming a new superhero: Sikh Captain America.
Black People Surf?
Directors: Bailey Williams & swim-team
USA Premiere. RT: 12m/USA
A documentary that chronicles the renaissance of Black surf culture in Southern California.
Engraved
Director: Tiffany Jiang
Kansas Premiere. RT: 16m/USA
Galvanized by devastating events early on in their lives, two New Yorkers find ways to channel their grief into acts of kindness that serve others. The film invites viewers to reflect on what it means to live with and find comfort in grief, in all its different forms.
Friday Night Blind
Directors: Scott Krahn, Robb Fischer
Kansas Premiere. RT: 14m/USA
The Milwaukee Beer Barrels Blind Bowling League is an eclectic mix of visually impaired and sighted bowlers with a simple focus.
Robert & Billie
Director: Robert Brogden III
RT: 9m/USA
A generational love story set in the historic town of Nicodemus, Kansas, the only remaining western settlement founded by formerly enslaved Black Americans following the Civil War.
Sanctuary
Director: John Haley, Julia Szromba
Kansas Premiere. RT: 16m/USA
In the first city to ban abortion in Ohio, a lifelong resident grapples with the transformation of her hometown.
The Script
Directors: Brit Fryer, Noah Schamus
Regional Premiere. RT: 15m/USA
Blending personal interviews with dramatized genre recreations, THE SCRIPT explores the complicated relationship between trans and nonbinary communities and medical providers regarding gender-affirming care.
DRAMA SHORT FILM PROGRAM
A Mother is Born
Director: Sarah Moshman
Regional Premiere. RT: 12m/USA
In the first three months of the sleep-deprived, surreal, and emotional haze of being postpartum, a writer tries to make sense of her new identity as a mother.
Blue
Director: Sophie Rose Worger
USA Premiere. RT: 10m/Wales
A father-daughter relationship is tested as Dad drives Lucy to an appointment and the two dance around what her future might hold.
Cottage Grove
Director: George Ellzey Jr.
North American Premiere. RT: 14m/USA
A young man struggles to communicate with his stroke-afflicted father, and at the same time, stay true to himself.
Falsies
Director: Tessa Slovis
World Premiere. RT: 14m/USA
Interwoven stories of the same day preceding a racially motivated act of violence.
Footprints
Director: Tathagata Ghosh
Regional Premiere. RT: 23m/India
Pampa, a single mother, and a lower-caste slum dweller, works as domestic help for a dysfunctional middle-class family. As her world comes crashing down at work one day, Pampa must stand up for herself by blurring the lines between the master and the maid.
October Mourning
Director: Frederick Thornton
Kansas Premiere. RT: 18m/USA
Grieving the unexpected loss of his father, Henry Sims gets a chance to have one more conversation with Dad.
Shoebox
Director: David Fortune
Regional Premiere. RT: 15m/USA
After sweeping hair at a local barbershop, a 12-year-old boy hopes to make a purchase that will bring honor and healing to his loved ones.
DRAMEDY SHORT FILM PROGRAM
7 Minutes
Director: Ricky Gervais
Regional Premiere. RT: 10m/UK
A desolate train track seems the perfect spot to end it all until someone else shares the same idea. Awkward.
A Few Days Home In Johnson County
Director: Ryan Beck
Kansas Premiere. RT: 14m/USA
When a son returns to his Midwestern childhood home, he finds his parents downsizing their belongings and that his father has put together a “death binder” containing his exact plans for the end of his life. Everything must go in a box; his dad wants to be next.
Closing Time
Director: Russell Goldman
Kansas Premiere. RT: 17m/USA
An estranged friend surprises his old college buddies with an unusual reunion.
HANGMAN
Director: Megan Brotherton
Regional Premiere. RT: 15m/USA
A recently widowed woman works through the complexities of grief with the help of friends, strangers, and Tupperware.
Passing Through
Director: Erica Alexandria Silverman
Regional Premiere. RT: 19m/USA
A young woman connects with her hedonistic father in the most unlikely of places – A hospice facility in trashy paradise, South Florida.
Racket
Director: Zoe Eisenberg
Regional Premiere. RT: 13m/USA
When professional circus clown Lo rage-dumps her performing partner moments before a packed show, she is suddenly forced to improvise a solo act with a tennis racket.
Run Amok
Director: Nitzan Mager
Kansas Premiere. RT: 13m/USA
A teenage girl decides to stage a musical reenactment of the shooting that took place at her high school ten years ago.
THE VACATION
Director: Jarreau Carrillo
Kansas Premiere. RT: 10m/USA
A Black man attempts to take a vacation.
Joel Fein Spotlight on Emerging Filmmakers Program
A Prayer for My Mother: The Eva Brettler Story
Directors: Ruben Barrett, Raisa Effress, Sophia Evans, Lauren Fuchs, Katie Hadsock-Longarzo, Ian Kim, Eve Levy, Timothy Lim, Asher Meron, Marion Ochoa, Isabella Rahi, Hank Schoen, and Olivia Uzielli
Regional Premiere. RT: 10m/USA
A Prayer For My Mother: The Eva Brettler Story is an animated film that chronicles the extraordinary saga of Holocaust survivor Eva Brettler – a child facing brutality and profound loss who finds sustenance in faith and her dreams for the future.
Acquaintance
Director: Vitalii Ermakov RT: 6m/RussiaTwo silhouettes grope for grains of darkness on the small island of light. Two people look for a ray in the sea of darkness. But both only find each other.
Affirming Ourselves
Director: Aurora Sikelianos
North American Premiere. RT: 7m/USA
Affirming Ourselves is a short film that showcases Black joy, through movement and dance.
Daisies
Director: Ana Testas
USA Premiere. RT: 6m/USA
After weeks of stalking the Richmond sisters, Oliver and Thomas decide that they are finally going to pursue the beautiful and peculiar Margaret and Sally. However, by doing so, Oliver and Thomas’ lives take an unexpected turn and become far more flowery than they had anticipated.
Dry Desert Plants Warm My Heart
Director: Wyatt Johnson
Kansas Premiere. RT: 6m/USA
A man with a boring life and only an “employee of the month” certificate to be proud of soon finds a new love and pride in a mysterious pile of boxes that appear outside of his house.
Here
Director: Yenadi Aye
USA Premiere. RT: 2m/USA
A boy vents to his sister about life recently.
Inner Sounds
Director: Benjamin Shimwa
USA Premiere. RT: 14m/Canada
After a car accident ends his singing career, Louis rediscovers his musical passion through piano keys, inspired by a heartfelt conversation with his sister.
Mirror Me
Director: CJ Santo
Kansas Premiere. RT: 2m/USA
A girl uses her technologically advanced mirror to alter her appearance
Mosquito Fish
Director: Bryn Wright
Kansas Premiere. RT: 2m/USA
What are mosquito fish? Are they fish that jump out of the water to eat mosquitos… or mosquitos that can swim? Learn more about these amazing creatures that can help keep our backyard ponds and fountains mosquito-free – without harmful pesticides.
My Friend, David
Director: Alexandra Bree Carson
Regional Premiere. RT: 6m/USA
David is my friend, hero, brother, and special human with a huge heart, an infectious smile, and moderate-severe autism.
No Dogs Allowed
Director: Kane Keenan Pilapil
Regional Premiere. RT: 4m/USA
A fun-loving dog doesn’t understand why he’s not welcome and takes a stand.
Out of Pocket
Director: Indiana Ford
Regional Premiere. RT: 3m/USA
A pickpocket realizes he’s made a grave mistake and tries to make things right with some really bad strategies.
ROOM
Director: Ian Dani Kim
Kansas Premiere. RT: 9m/USA
The boy can’t get out of his psychological lockdown.
See You Yesterday
Director: Ethan Dela Cruz
Kansas Premiere. RT: 19m/Philippines
An average family is planning to have their dream trip. As Gabo adventures the reality of life with his two siblings, Ben and Yna, their trip gets pushed back.
The Shantyman
Director: Ethan Schoeppner
RT: 3m/USA
The Shantyman can be summed up as an ode to loners. A lone sailor is found navigating the seas. Without a crew, he finds himself bored enough to sing a shanty… with himself. After fully realizing his loneliness, an uncertain future unfolds as his desperation for friendship takes an unseen turn.
HORROR & BLOODY SHORT FILM PROGRAM
Detox
Director: Alex Hanno
Regional Premiere. RT: 9m/USA
While away on a technology detox in the northern reaches of Maine, an impressionable social media addict becomes the target of an unexpected visitor.
Don’t Turn Off the Ghost Light
Director: Allisyn Snyder
Regional Premiere. RT: 11m/USA
Every stage actor knows the old theatre lore. At night, after rehearsal, after the show, you leave the ghost light on – or else. Poor Terrence. He should have been more careful – because now he’s about to discover that some performances never die.
Florence in Customer Care
Directors: Jordan Sommerlad, Cory Stonebrook
Regional Premiere. RT: 14m/USA
A customer care representative at a furniture website begins to unravel as a mysterious rash appears on her body.
Go to Bed, Raymond
Director: Nikki Taylor Roberts
Kansas Premiere. RT: 7m/USA
A father discovers the surprising truth about why his son won’t go to bed.
Mahogany Drive
Director: Jerah Milligan
Kansas Premiere. RT: 13m/USA
Three Black men on vacation soon realize the house they’re staying in kills white women.
Our First Priority
Director: Ariel Baska
Kansas Premiere. RT: 10m/USA
It’s all in your head. A young girl walks into a doctor’s office with a long list of symptoms. After seeming sympathetic at first, the doctor tries to convince her it’s all in her head, unleashing her avenging angel, who has her revenge.
Tough Skin
Director: Elijah Brewer
Kansas Premiere. RT: 3m/USA
After an accident in the woods, a boy discovers the strange consequences of suppressed emotion.
Welcome Home, Eugene
Director: Noah Jorgensen
Regional Premiere. RT: 20m/USA
After being kidnapped by a deranged couple, a young orphan must escape captivity with the help of their deceased son, Eugene.
You’re Not Home
Director: Derek Ugochukwu
Kansas Premiere. RT:11m/Ireland
When an ominous mold appears in their room, two refugee brothers seeking asylum face a dark entity lurking within their direct provision center.
ZIP
Director: Ava Maria Safai RT: 16m/Canada
On her 16th birthday, singer-songwriter Melody awakens with a zipper sewn to her mouth. A story about the voiceless, who must fight to be heard.
LATE-NIGHT SHORT FILM PROGRAM
Come Correct
Director: Molly Coffee
Regional Premiere. RT: 15m/USA
Recently divorced from her husband, a woman with an unhealthy relationship with perfection explores her newfound queerness by hiring a female sex worker to teach her how to eat fruit.
Daddy
Director: Johanna Steinhart
Regional Premiere. RT: 20m/USA
An aspiring porn star spends the summer of 1980 sleeping with men who pass through her family’s dilapidated desert motel until one fateful summer night when she’s forced to contend with her father’s darkest secret.
Dick Control
Director: Shequeta L. Smith
RT: 15m/USA
Richard Tye “Trigga” Simmons, a rich, promiscuous, jet-setting rapper, has a one-night stand with a beautiful groupie who is a witch. When Tye disrespects her, she places a curse that can’t be broken until he learns how to respect women.
Give It To Me
Director: Courtney Hope Therond
Regional Premiere. RT: 9m/USA
On the advice of her therapist, a young woman hires a sex worker to help recreate — and recover from — a traumatic experience in this comedic short.
Just Lie to Me
Director: Kelly Walker
Regional Premiere. RT: 16m/USA
Just Lie to Me is a dark comedy centered around two people navigating their identities:
Scotty’s Vag
Director: Chaconne Martin-Berkowicz
RT: 16m/USA
The night of a sorority hazing event, a college freshman learns just how far she’s willing to go to impress an older girl.
She’s Clean
Director: Jenn Harris
Kansas Premiere. RT: 15m/USA
From the comfort of her bathroom, a resilient woman tries to marry her desires for sexual freedom with emotional intimacy by showering with all her dates.
LET’S GET WEIRD SHORT FILM PROGRAM
Beat
Director: Dan Mahboubian Rosen
World Premiere. RT: 14m/USA
Jeremy is the fortunate recipient of a heart transplant who didn’t anticipate also receiving the emotional and romantic baggage of the organ donor.
Claudio’s Song
Director: Andreas Nilsson
Kansas Premiere. RT: 10m/Ukraine
A young man faces the wrath of criminals who target people who are famous on the internet; when their scheme fails things take an unexpected turn.
Cuxball
Director: Dave Paige
Regional Premiere. RT: 12m/USA
Sam finds something in the dirt.
Dinner at the Smyths’
Director: Bex Conyngham-Hynes, Ash Hamilton
USA Premiere. RT: 6m/United Kingdom
Human-passing Pandora introduces her boyfriend to her parents, (who, unbeknownst to him are a mermaid and a minotaur), at the dinner party from hell.
Don’t Let Kyle Sit Down
Director: Joel Jay Blacker
Regional Premiere. RT: 9m/USA
Friends wind down around a campfire.
Fish Bowl
Director: Rachel Sweeney
Regional Premiere. RT: 18m/USA
At Zoe’s wedding rehearsal dinner, her mom toasts Zoe and her fiance Jude—but mostly for becoming a grandparent. Flashback to that morning—Zoe begins to have a miscarriage.
ROAD HEAD
Director: Allison Torem
Kansas Premiere. RT: 16m/USA
Stuck on the side of the road, two contact-starved millennials try not to connect intimately in this surreal Reform Jewish comedy about grief, changing plans, and the lengths we’ll go to avoid direct communication with the people we love.
The Recruit
Director: Bao Truong
Kansas Premiere. RT: 11m/USA
A chronically ill people pleaser interviews for a life-changing job at a recruiting agency, only to unravel the sinister cult that lies within. Inspired by true events.
The Sperm Bank
Director: Margaux Susi
RT: 14m/USA
Newly diagnosed with Stage 4 testicular cancer, 23-year-old Rob must now take the first big step…masturbate into a cup to protect the future he isn’t sure exists.
RELATIONSHIPS SHORT FILM PROGRAM
All I Ever Wanted
Director: Erin Lau
RT: 15m/USA
Rom-com-obsessed teen Christine has always longed for the picture-perfect romance – but she’s soon confronted with the fact that her ideal prince charming might be a princess charming instead.
Bad Asian
Director: Kim Marcelino
Regional Premiere. RT: 6m/USA
An Asian American woman’s internalized racism stands between her and a steamy one-night stand.
Confessions
Director: Stephanie Kaznocha
Kansas Premiere. RT: 11m/USA
After the death of a friend, two nuns in their golden years contemplate what their future holds.
Gold and Mud
Director: Conor Dooley
Kansas Premiere. RT: 9m/USA
A sprawling story of love and loss, as reflected on a single face.
Hit Friends
Director: Daniel Rashid
Regional Premiere. RT: 13m/USA
Alice and Paul are best friends who do everything together, but when Alice reveals that she went to Six Flags without Paul, he questions their friendship. Oh, and they’re hired assassins.
Inés Unfortunately
Director: Anna Salinas
Regional Premiere. RT: 9m/USA
After getting her heart broken, 16-year-old Inés attempts to end it all… until she’s interrupted by the ghost of her chatty Cuban neighbor.
Kiss ‘n’ Ride
Director: Olivia Jensen
Kansas Premiere. RT: 8m/USA
On her way home after a great first date, Ashe notices her date in everything around her, and falls in love repeatedly, dreaming of seeing them again.
MnM
Director: Twiggy Pucci Garçon
Regional Premiere. RT: 15m/USA
MnM is an exuberant portrait of chosen sisters Mermaid and Milan, two emerging runway divas in the drag ballroom community.
The 4 of Us
Director: John Tanner
Regional Premiere. RT: 13m/USA
A rocky relationship is threatened when inner egos are personified and endanger the foundation of this unconventional couple.
VORTEX SHORT FILM PROGRAM
Earthling
Director: Molly Graham and Keith Lane
Regional Premiere. RT: 10m/USA
Earthling is a ten-minute animated documentary about Jack Weiner, a grown man whose entire life has been shaped by being abducted by aliens when he was young, a life story nobody believes.
Hadis
Director: Nazrin Aghamaliyeva
North American Premiere. RT: 9m/Azerbaijan, USA, Czech Republic
In a world ruled by crows and discrimination, a young girl fights for justice.
Llamas at the Laundromat
Director: Martha Grant
Regional Premiere RT: 2m/Canada
Got dirty clothes? Join two stylish llamas as they dance and sing their way through the steps of doing laundry at the laundromat.
Night
Director: Ahmad Saleh
Kansas Premiere. RT: 16m/Germany, Qatar, Palestine, Jordan
Night has to trick the missing child’s mother into sleeping to save her soul.
Sauna
Directors: Anna Lena Spring, Lara Perren
Kansas Premiere. RT: 4m/Switzerland
Ava enters the Sauna for the first time. She is overwhelmed by the nudity, her thoughts, and her physical sensations.
The Bloom
Director: Jody Xiong
Kansas Premiere. RT: 5m/China
For the 2022 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony held at the Bird’s Nest in Beijing, Chinese artist Jody Xiong was invited by Chief Director Zhang Yimou to create a technologically-powered art installation called ‘The Bloom.’
The Discarded
Director: Ben Hahn RT: 6m/USA
An experimental 3D animation about a broken android, an elusive junk monster, and the place where all the broken things go.
The Flying Sailor
Directors: Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis
RT: 8m/Canada
Two ships collide in a harbor, an explosion shatters a city, and a sailor is blasted skyward.
Thriving: A Dissociated Reverie
Director: Nicole Bazuin
Regional Premiere. RT: 10m/Canada
A surrealist exploration of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) based on the lived experience of a Black, nonbinary, disabled artist and former sex worker.
Tiny
Directors: Ritchie Hemphill, Ryan Haché
Kansas Premiere. RT: 17m/Canada
Tiny is a contemplative stop-motion film that tells the story of ‘Nakwaxda’xw Elder Colleen Hemphill’s childhood.
Tomato Kitchen
Director: Junyi Xiao
Regional Premiere. RT: 9m/China
An accident disrupted Lee’s dinner with his colleagues. This unexpected incident revealed the dark truth of the Tomato Kitchen and Lee’s concealed past was revealed by this unexpected incident.
Welcome to 8th Street
Director: Yoo Lee
Regional Premiere. RT: 7m/USA
As newcomers attempt to settle into their New Jersey neighborhood on 8th Street, some odd encounters make them question their decision to move. However, that changes when a wild turkey shows up on their block.