Remembering the Ice Man directed by Rich Polt
2021 | 5 minutes | Documentary Short
In Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the phonebook has 300+ listings for the “Herr” family name — including more than a dozen businesses with the Herr name. But if you were born in Lancaster after 1950, it’s possible you would never have heard of the C.L. Herr Ice Company, which closed its doors with the onset of home refrigeration. Not only did Christian L. Herr bring artificial ice to the region in the late 1800s, his family farm served as a de facto gathering spot for decades. Locals would congregate to skate on the Herr’s frozen ponds, enjoy flavored ice-shavings, and marvel at their collection of exotic birds.
REVERB/ERATIONS directed by Kevin Kirner
2019 | 32 minutes | Documentary Short
REVERB/ERATIONS is a documentary journey through the Bethlehem, PA indie/DIY music scene and the characters that make it all work.
SALT directed by David Chai
2020 | 3 minutes | Animated Short
An irritated little brother and his bossy older sister come to learn that saying “I love you” doesn’t always mean saying “I love you.”
Saving Greensboro directed by Paul Hicks and Harry Oakes
2020 | 11 minutes | Documentary Short
When lock & dam construction along the Monongahela River threatens to flood the quiet Pennsylvanian town of Greensboro, desperate citizens seek the help of Glenn Toothman, a new young attorney, to save the place they call home. Glenn’s ensuing research unearths the town’s surprising significance to American history. But is this preservation of heritage enough to withstand the tides of modernity?
Sister directed by Janine Bujie Zhang
2020 | 13 minutes | Narrative Short
A pair of left-behind sisters welcome their parents who haven’t been home for two years. Sisters look forward to the reunion, but only to find awkwardness and estrangement. The naive and outgoing younger sister is excited for the gifts her parents have brought from the city, while the quiet and introverted elder sister becomes even more gloomy. Within only their parents’ stay of four days, the family grows closer and comes to an unspoken understanding of affections to each other. Soon it’s time for the family to say farewell again. The reticent older sister finally chooses to evade the scene and confront her grief alone.
Small Town Big Canvas: An Indiana, PA Story directed by Bradford Devins
2021 | 26 minutes | Documentary Short
Dripped On The Road, a traveling artist residency program paints 14 murals in 2 weeks in Indiana, Pennsylvania, during the Covid-19 Pandemic. The project transforms the town’s visual landscape while paying homage to its local history and focusing on creative sustainability. The town accepts the 4 artists and 3 program directors with open socially distant arms, creating a heart warming and quirky story that demonstrates the importance, power and impact of public art that contributes to community identity. In a time of crisis, uncertainty and division, the arts are a catalyst for breaking down barriers and uniting people from all walks of life.
Song Sparrow directed by Farzaneh Omidvarnia
2019 | 12 minutes | Animated Short
Based on real events, in Austria 2015, and in Ireland 2019: A group of refugees tries to reach a safe country in search of a better life. They pay a smuggler to convey them across the borders in a fridge truck. However, the freezing temperature of the truck turns their hopes for a better future into a fierce struggle for survival.
Snow Shelter directed by Robertas Nevecka
2020 | 16 minutes | Animated Short
Frigid winter in a war-devastated, present-day city. Several years have passed since the destruction, and the city is slowly rebuilding. A thirty-year-old guy is living as a squatter in an apartment with a group of strangers. He struggles to survive and also to find a little more comfort in this rough setting. One night he nearly burns the flat down, hoping for a warmer sleep. His roommates start hating him, so the guy has to find another shelter.
Snowy directed by Kaitlyn Schwalje and Alexander Lewis
2020 | 12 minutes | Documentary Short
Every November, co-Directors Alex Wolf Lewis and Kaitlyn Schwalje eat Thanksgiving dinner at Alex’s Aunt and Uncle’s house just outside of Philadelphia. And every November, they marvel at the fact that the family’s 4-inch-long pet turtle, Snowy, is still alive. Snowy has lived an isolated life in the family basement for the past 10+ years with minimal sunlight and no companionship other than that of his primary caretaker, Uncle Larry. In an effort to improve Snowy’s life we ask: Is Snowy happy? And is Snowy even capable of experiencing happiness?
Teething directed by Glen Matthews
2019 | 9 minutes | Horror Short
A lonely janitor must make a choice when a vampire attack leaves him the sole caretaker of an orphaned, and possibly monstrous, infant.
The Gospel of Damian directed by Collin Kornfeind
2020 | 4 minutes | Animated Short
A teenage goth, Damian, buries a manifesto in 1994 that is unearthed centuries later by alien invaders.