Screening Saturday, May 18, 1:00pm
Directors Raed Alsemari (“Dunya’s Day”), Amy Bench (“A Line Birds Cannot See”), Christopher Good (“Crude Oil”), Will Goss (“Sweet Steel”), Alex Kavutskiy (“Squirrel”) and Geoff Marslett (“The Phantom 52”) will be in attendance for a Q&A.
Everything You Wanted to Know About Sudden Birth* (*but were afraid to ask) – The amazing story of how the Berkeley police department, the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands, an Academy Award winner and Mr. Spock from TV’s Star Trek are all connected by “Sudden Birth”, one of the most unintentionally hilarious and disturbing educational films ever created. In color. Official Selection at the Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Scott Calonico. (10 min.)\
Crude Oil – Jenny breaks free from a toxic friendship and learns to harness her magical, useless superpower. Directed by Christopher Good. (15 min.)
Squirrel – A meager apology tests a woman’s fortitude to forgive. Directed by Alex Kavutskiy. (17 min.)
Dunya’s Day – Abandoned by her domestic help, Dunya fights to throw the perfect graduation soirée. Winner of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction. Directed by Raed Alsemari. (14 min.)
The Phantom 52 – Loneliness is a trucker who calls out on his CB radio waiting for a reply that never comes; A ghost that haunts the deserted highways; and a whale that sings at a frequency no other whale can even hear. Featuring the voice of Tom Skerritt. Directed by Geoff Marslett. (8 min.)
A Line Birds Cannot See – Separated from her mother by smugglers at the border, a determined 12-year-old sets out across a desert with only a plastic sack for protection from the cold, survives starvation on the streets of Ciudad Juarez, and escapes kidnappers to find her mother and a place where they can be safe again. Directed by Amy Bench. (10 min.)
Sweet Steel – A depressed man puts off an important task. Directed by Will Goss. (5 min.)
Guaxuma – Tayra and I grew up on a beach in the north east of Brazil. We were inseparable. The sea breeze brings me back happy memories. SXSW Jury Award Winner for Best Animated Short. Directed by Nara Normande. (14 min.)
The Chicago Critics Film Festival 