2017

Best of Fest
Narrative Short
Iran
Runtime:
13 minutes
Director:
Milad Jarmooz

The story of a woman accused of infidelity on the day after her wedding.

Special Jury Award
Experimental
United States
Runtime:
7 minutes
Director:
Kristin Reeves

The Chicago Board of Education made history in 2013 approving the closure of 50 schools, the largest public school closing to date in the United States. I shot all 50 schools on a 100 roll of 16mm film while my DSLR caught vignettes of their communities. Direct laser animation and bleach were used to distress the 16mm film, which was then optically printed.

Special Jury Award
Documentary Feature
United States
Runtime:
1 hour(s)
13 minutes
Director:
Gayle Nosal, Beret E. Strong

The refugee crisis in Ugandas Kyangwali Refugee Settlement isnt new. For the people of this camp, being a refugee is a protracted circumstance endured for decades. SAUTI (Voice in Swahili) follows the efforts of five young women who were brought to the Settlement as children and who, as they approach adulthood; strive to pursue their dreams for a future beyond the constraints of a protracted refugee situation in an underdeveloped host country. Though safer than they were before, little else has changed since fleeing war and persecution years ago in their home countries of Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan. Transcending the label refugee has been especially challenging for the women of Kyangwali.

Special Jury Award
Documentary Feature
Mexico
Runtime:
1 hour(s)
36 minutes
Director:
Julio Carlos

THE GUY FROM OKLAHOMA narrates the story of Anado McLauchlin, a visual artist born in Oklahoma but whose chaotic life took him to San Francisco, New York and India before finally settling down in Mexico, where he has built an impressive art gallery in the middle of a desert village, on the outskirts of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato.

Special Jury Award
Narrative Feature
United States
Runtime:
1 hour(s)
23 minutes
Director:
Dean Peterson

A comedy about two estranged sisters who are thrust back into each other's lives by the impending death of their grandmother and forced to try to repair their feral relationship.

Documentary Feature
United States
Runtime:
57 minutes
Director:
Matthew Lutz, Justin Gutwein

Feel youre destined for more? Desire to impact others? Want more meaning in your life? Many of us move through life executing our talent but not honoring our gift. This film explores the difference between the two on an emotional, mental, and scientific level. In GIVE & GROW, Philip McKernan takes a group of people to India for a social experiment to see if he can help them uncover their gift, and discover their higher calling.

Documentary Feature
United States
Runtime:
1 hour(s)
35 minutes
Director:
Jean Donohue

un unravels the story of an underground gay, gender bending sexual outlaw community dating back to the time of the American Civil War. In the 1960s, the Old World gay scene was changing. The Pagan Babies, a loosely connected group of artists and drag queens set out to challenge this conservative, Southern gay society.

Narrative Short
United States
Runtime:
15 minutes
Director:
Sue Mroz

Two middle-aged sisters sorting through 50 years' worth of family memorabilia reconnect, as they contend with their late father's beloved ham.

Animation
Canada
Runtime:
5 minutes
Director:
The Bum Family

Lilly, a 10 -foot tall orange monster, and her adorable friend Fluffle, are abducted by aliens. An epic adventure ensues as they try desperately to return home in the nick of time.

Narrative Short
United States
Runtime:
13 minutes
Director:
Shannon Silva

Its 1978. Stranded without a car, in the middle of nowhere North Carolina, a young mother rides out a severe storm and internally struggles with how to exit her abusive marriage.

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