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Charter Arts
NMIH
Touchstone
Charter Arts
NMIH
Touchstone
Charter Arts
NMIH
Touchstone
Touchstone
VENUE: CHARTER ARTS | 321 E. 3RD ST.
documentary block 1 | Time: 5:20pm to 6:50pm
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.
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?
Everything in Hardware directed by Jamie Wright
2020 | 28 minutes | Documentary Short
The Bindley Hardware Company was a hardware wholesaler and retailer at the turn of the 20th century in Pittsburgh, PA. Over 100 years after its retirement, the Bindley family’s only surviving ancestor, Jon Bindley, has re-invented the hardware seller as an American roots band. Alongside some of the city’s foremost historical institutions, Jon personally pieces together his family’s timeline. With recovered Bindley Hardware artifacts and ephemera in tow, Jon comes to understand what it means to be a son of the rust belt.
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?
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.
VENUE: NMIH | 602 E. 2ND ST.
documentary BLOCK 2 | Time: 5:20pm to 6:50pm
Junior directed by AJ Wilhelm
2020 | 11 minutes | Documentary Short
Gifted as a teenager, Jérôme “Junior” Simeon was recruited by top Haitian roots music group “Racine Mapou de Azor” and spent 20 years touring the world. When the lead singer of his band dies unexpectedly Junior’s high-profile career comes to a shocking halt and he suddenly faces an uncertain future for himself and his legacy.
Tumbling Towards Home directed by Imelda O’Reilly
2020 | 14 minutes | Animated Documentary Short
Tumbling Towards Home is a coming of age story about Malcolm Adams, an Irish immigrant who moves to New York in 1989 to study acting under Alan Langdon. He works through the grief from the loss of his mother and his friend Philip Seymour Hoffman. This leads to his decision of where to put his hat down and call it home.
Rat Tail directed by Chad Sogas
2021 | 14 minutes | Documentary Short
Rat Tail explores director Chad Sogas’ battle with depression in this short autobiographical documentary. What begins as a self-deprecating story about the rat tail he had for nearly ten years (that his parents still keep in the storage room of their basement) transcends into a journey of unexpected self-discovery and healing.
Made in China: Reforming China’s Supply Chain directed by Gabriel Diamond, Matthew Beighley
2018 | 9 minutes | Documentary Short
For years, China has valued aggressive growth at the cost of environmental protection. Ma Jun emerged as a bold and singular voice, willing to stand up to powerful political and economic interests. His groundbreaking use of data and transparency holds industry accountable and makes clear the costs of toxic pollution.
Frank Parese, A Jersey Shore Veteran Story directed by Jennifer Suwak and Steve Abruzzese
2020 | 20 minutes | Documentary Short
Follow Frank, a 94 year old WWII veteran who lives and rides his bike at Jersey Shore.
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.
VENUE: TOUCHSTONE | 321 E. 4TH ST.
misc BLOCK | Time: 5:20pm to 6:50pm
Banana Phone directed by Laura Bancroft
2020 | 5 minutes | Comedy Short
A desperate woman seeks help when she discovers her one and only banana is in poor health, but time is running out.
The Last House directed by Mike James
2020 | 4 minutes | Narrative Short
A neighborhood dad taking some kids trick or treating gets more than he bargained for when he agrees to let the kids visit one last house for the night.
Grizzlies directed by Alex Heller
2019 | 9 minutes | Comedy Short
Within the midwestern animal kingdom, teenage workplaces (like Dairy Queen) are known to employ some of the most savage beasts of prey. In this comedy about animal instincts to protect family, a retiree and her adult daughter must stand up to each other’s bullies. *Pathetically and nostalgically based on true events.
Concealer directed by Jenna Cipolloni
2019 | 5 minutes | Narrative Short
A woman undergoes a ritual to open her locked bedroom door in this meditation about feminine permissibility.
Forgive Me, Father directed by Jona Schlosser
2020 | 21 minutes | Drama Short
The short film FORGIVE ME, FATHER takes the viewer back to the year 1966. Germany is divided. Not far from East Berlin, 10-year-old Thomas grows up with his grandmother. It soon becomes clear that there is nothing normal about his family. As a small boy, he has to witness his mother being committed to a psychiatric institution for unknown reasons. This event haunts the boy up to his present. Plagued by a strong longing for his father, who emigrated to West Germany even before the construction of the German Wall, he plans his escape, which radically changes not only his life but also that of the border guard Johannes Bauer.
Three Men Named Mantas directed by James Mackenzie
2019 | 11 minutes | Narrative Short
A pregnant American tracks down the father of her child in the most foreign of places: Lithuania.
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.
Rebel directed by Pier-Phillippe Chevigny
2019 | 15 minutes | Narrative Short
Alex, a six-year-old boy from Quebec, is much too young to understand why thousands of refugees have been entering Canada illegally. Yet when his father takes him along to a vigilante patrol in the woods to hunt out trespassing migrants, something inside him tells him to rebel.
Cassette directed by Ilya Polyakpv
2020 | 8 minutes | Horror Short
A young man working the graveyard shift at an old video store soon discovers something very sinister about the place.
How Long Until directed by John Rehr
2021 | 3 minutes | Comedy Short
Castaway was about a man stranded on a deserted island. This is about two men stranded on a deserted island. Which changes everything.
VENUE: CHARTER ARTS | 321 E. 3RD ST.
Time: 7:20pm to 9pm
Marionette Land directed by Alexander Monelli
2020 | 84 minutes | Documentary Feature
“Marionette Land” is an intimate portrait into the wonderful world of Robert Brock, a man who lives above his own magical marionette theatre with his mother, Mary Lou. Brock creates and performs classic marionette shows for families as well as grown-up shows where he straps on his heels to become famous Hollywood divas of the past. But new personal and professional challenges emerge as Robert and Mary Lou struggle to keep the marionette theatre open while preparing to celebrate its 30th anniversary.
VENUE: NMIH | 602 E. 2ND ST.
Time: 7:20pm to 9pm
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?
My Friend, The Mayor; Small-town Politics in the Age of Trump directed by Max Westerman
2019 | 60 minutes | Documentary Feature
Among the first to be hit by the AIDS epidemic in the 1980’s, Sean Strub’s political ambitions took a backseat as he struggled to survive. Now 60, he is running for mayor of a conservative town in Pennsylvania. How will this liberal, openly gay ex-New Yorker and founder of POZ, a magazine for people with HIV, fare in a rural community that voted for Donald Trump?
VENUE: TOUCHSTONE | 321 E. 4TH ST.
DOCUMENTARY BLOCK 3 | Time: 7:20pm to 9pm
Trade Center directed by Adam B Baran
2021 | 9 minutes | Documentary Short
The voices of five gay men who cruised for sex at the World Trade Center in the 1980s and 1990s haunt the sanitized, commerce-driven landscape that is the newly rebuilt Freedom Tower campus. World Premiere at SXSW Film Festival in 2021.
Abortion Helpline, This is Lisa directed by Barbara Attie, Mie Attie, and Janet Goldwater
2019 | 13 minutes | Documentary Short
At an abortion helpline in Philadelphia, counselors arrive each morning to the nonstop ringing of calls from women and teens who are seeking to end a pregnancy but can’t afford to. Abortion Helpline, This is Lisa reveals the brutal impact of the Hyde Amendment, designed to prevent those struggling financially from access to abortion.
Last Meal directed by Marcus McKenzie and Daniel Principe
2020 | 18 minutes | Documentary Short
Capital punishment simmers in a boiling pot of controversy. Amidst the political and religious debate surrounding the issue one thing sets tongues wagging more than the others – what do the condemned eat before their execution?
The Rifleman directed by Sierra Pettengill
2020 | 19 minutes | Documentary Short
The story of one man who changed the National Rifle Association (NRA) forever. Told through meticulously crafted archive, The Rifleman takes us into the life and trajectory of Harlon Carter, the leading force behind a coup who paved the way for the NRA’s staunch anti-regulation stance and unyielding influence in American politics.
VENUE: CHARTER ARTS | 321 E. 3RD ST.
Time: 9:20pm to 10:55pm
Cassette directed by Ilya Polyakpv
2020 | 8 minutes | Horror Short
A young man working the graveyard shift at an old video store soon discovers something very sinister about the place.
Alien on Stage directed by Danielle Kummer and Lucy Harvey
2021 | 83 minutes | Documentary Feature
This is a story about a unique crew of Dorset Bus Drivers whose amateur dramatics group decide to ditch doing another pantomime and try something different. Having never done anything like it before, they spent a year creating a serious adaptation of the sci-fi, horror film, Alien; finding ingenious solutions to pay homemade, homage to the original film. The show is a crushing flop but fate gives them a second chance to find their audience.
VENUE: NMIH | 602 E. 2ND ST.
9:20pm to 10:55pm
Everything in Hardware directed by Jamie Wright
2020 | 28 minutes | Documentary Short
The Bindley Hardware Company was a hardware wholesaler and retailer at the turn of the 20th century in Pittsburgh, PA. Over 100 years after its retirement, the Bindley family’s only surviving ancestor, Jon Bindley, has re-invented the hardware seller as an American roots band. Alongside some of the city’s foremost historical institutions, Jon personally pieces together his family’s timeline. With recovered Bindley Hardware artifacts and ephemera in tow, Jon comes to understand what it means to be a son of the rust belt.
We Were There to Be There directed by Jason Willis and Mike Plante
2021 | 27 minutes | Documentary Short
June 13, 1978, may not immediately ring any bells, but it has secured a place in punk rock history. A seminal performance by The Cramps and The Mutants was captured on tape for posterity as they put on a show for the residents and staff at the Napa State Hospital, a psychiatric facility with a progressive, self-sustaining philosophy.
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.
VENUE: TOUCHSTONE | 321 E. 4TH ST.
animation BLOCK | Time: 9:20pm to 10:55pm
A Tale of Two Viruses directed by John Wrigley
2021 | 3 minutes | Animated Short
Two anthropomorphized coronaviruses debate the morality of what they’re doing to the human race.
Prickly Jam directed by James Cunningham
2019 | 6 minutes | Animated Short
An end of days comedy animation about an amorous cricket and a starving hedgehog who wants to eat the last cricket left in the world.
Don’t Order the Lobster Comedy Short
2021 | 3 minutes | Animated Short
Pressure mounts on ordering from a confusing menu. A lonely man drives the open roads of the Arizona desert. Two aardvarks and a politician discuss gangstalking and cyberbullying.
A Recipe for Tofu Scramble directed by Alex Fink
2019 | 1 minute | Animated Short
A piece of tofu goes on a journey to find ingredients and create tofu scramble.
Bolero Station directed by Rolf Brönnimann
2018 | 10 minutes | Animated Short
The signalman lives on one side of the tracks, the saleswoman on the other. They see each other every day, but it’s not till death comes knocking that they both seize their chance to be together.
Love Stories directed by Elizabeth Myles
2019 | 7 minutes | Animated Short
Love can come from many places: a memory, a story, a song. Told from multiple perspectives and always from a place of love, this film is a rumination on the feeling that we all search for in the hopes of finding it. Experimental animations bring Love Stories to life in a touching exploration of what it means to experience love in this world.
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.”
Trudie’s Goose directed by C. Lily Ericsson, Cheri Gaulke, Samara Hutman, and Liran Kapel
2020 | 5 minutes | Animated Short
When a young girl preparing for her Bat Mitzvah, the Jewish coming-of-age ritual, befriends a Holocaust survivor elder both lives are changed forever as they journey from darkness to healing through the power of art.
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.
Centaur Hunter directed by David Chai
2019 | 7 minutes | Animated Short
After a young girl’s father is murdered by an evil centaur, she comes to realize that extracting revenge can often take one’s whole life.
The Winter directed by Xin Li
2020 | 5 minutes | Animated Short
Walking in a snowy forest, a peasant sees an unusual deer and goes to follow it. The deer allures him and the peasant even wants to catch it.
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.
UFO Vs. Dinosaur directed by Brian Henkel
2019 | 2 minutes | Animated Short
Another quiet evening in Pangea.
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.
VENUE: TOUCHSTONE | 321 E. 4TH ST.
late night | 11pm to 1am
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.
Great Choice directed by Robin Comisar
2017 | 7 minutes | narrative Short
A woman gets stuck in a Red Lobster commercial.
Bad Candy directed by Scott Hansen and Desiree Connell
2020 | 102 minutes | Dark Comedy Feature
Bad Candy follows local Halloween stories of both myth and lessons learned in the community of New Salem. With its annual Psychotronic FM Halloween show, re-enactment radio DJs Chilly Billy and Paul weave the tales of the supernatural of years gone by. In this small town it’s a grimy ending for most, but will a few good souls survive?