Screening Saturday, May 21 @ 1pm.
Special guests include the writers and stars of Greener Grass, Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe, and the cinematographer for Bajo las Brasas, Julio Padilla Sanchez.
Voyagers – Travel along with Voyager spacecrafts through their planetary expedition spanning over three decades. Directed by Santiago Menghini. (15 min.)
Bajo las Brasas (Beneath the Embers) – Isabel, a young woman from the sierra mountains of Guanajuato, is motivated by the love of her family and has learned that to achieve her dreams she must sacrifice her present, to be able to value tomorrow’s success. Documentary. Directed by Verónica Jessamyn López Sainz. (10 min.)
Greener Grass – In this dark comedy of manners, soccer moms Jill and Lisa seek the approval of their “friends” – at all costs. This surreal world is just on the edge of consciousness; suburbia through the looking glass. Every adult wears painful braces on their straight teeth, couples coordinate meticulously pressed outfits, and coveted family members become pawns in this competition for acceptance. Greener Grass explores one’s willingness to endure present pain in exchange for future validation – or at least a perfect smile. Winner of the Special Jury Recognition for Writing (Jocelyn DeBoer & Dawn Luebbe) at the SXSW Film Festival. Directed by Paul Briganti. (15 min.)
Bacon and God’s Wrath – A 90 year old Jewish woman reflects on her life’s experiences as she prepares to try bacon for the first time. Documentary. Winner of the Short Film Jury Award: Non-fiction, Presented by YouTube at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Sol Friedman. (9 min.) Trailer
Curmudgeons – The best part of getting old is no longer caring what anybody thinks. Eighty years-old and in assisted living, Ralph Pajovic is involved in a relationship that makes his family anxious. On a crisp Winter day, his unlucky-in-love granddaughter comes for what seems like an ordinary visit. A curmudgeon by nature, Ralph can’t possibly predict the surprise she has in store for him. Directed by Danny DeVito. (17 min.)
Peacock – A twisted queer romance set in the 19th Century picturesque Bohemia telling the true but taboo story of the birth of one of the nation’s most influential writers. Suspense, laughter, violence, hope, heart, nudity, sex, and happy ending. Mostly happy ending. Winner of the Short Film Special Jury Award for Best Direction at the Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Ondrej Hudecek. (26 min.) Trailer
TRT: 95 min.
The Chicago Critics Film Festival 