Nyack International Film Festival

COME ONE COME ALL To the 14th Annual Nyack International Film Festival 2026 Presented at HOTEL NYACK with an opening meet & greet gathering at 4:00PM listening to film soundtracks and we'll watch a few film trailers we present the 1st film at 6:00PM. All Access Passes are available along with a Special Saturday All Day Pass. We invite you to this years lineup of fabulous films!

NIFF2026 FILM SCHEDULE WITH SYNOPSIS

SUNDAY 22nd

4:00PM – OPENING PARTY featuring Film Soundtracks by DJ Morgana &
NIFF2026 OFFICIAL SELECTION TRAILERS

6:00PM - Bulosan: On American Democracy, Part 3 – Andres Luz – US – 12:06
A defense of American democracy against worldwide fascism & domestic racism on words by Carlos Bulosan as hybrid dramatic music video & documentary.

6:12PM - Nyack – Frank Vitale – Tomkins Cove, NY US – 2:30
A small town speaks affectionately to its inhabitants.

6:15PM - Up Close – Lukas Hassel – US - 9:50
Stuck in a rut, a married man decides to make a drastic change to his life.

6:25PM - Wanna Be A Star! – Brian Russell – Fairfield, CT – 5:23
A frustrated actress looses her temper with an indie film director.

6:30PM - Welcome Home, Jeremey Diaz - Jason A. Coombs – Bridgeport, CT – 12:40
When a beloved community organizer invites his ex-boyfriend, now a Hollywood star, back home for the grand opening of a Pride Center, old wounds and unfinished stories resurface. In one heartfelt evening, both men must confront the truth about who they were and who they’ve become

6:43PM - Chloë at The Met - Rebecca Dreyfus – US – 8:00
Heartbreak. Art. And Wild Experiment. Chloë sets out to retrace her steps with her camera, returning to scene of the “love crime” where she had her heart broken. Chloë is Inspired by the wild artistic experiments of Matisse and Derain in their Fauvism period which is, in fact, the exhibition where the incident in question took place.
6:51PM - Speaking Ute - Bruce Borowsky, Joey Lopez – Boulder, CO – 7:44
This short doc was made by Southern Ute high school kids as they were taught professional film-making techniques, and then talked to a wide variety of members of their community as they learn more about their original Ute language that is disappearing more and more every day.

6:59PM - Crianza - Julia Maixer, Emily Gularte - LA, CA– 3:00
Through the tradition of wine-making, a mother looks back at her daughter’s journey into womanhood, and faces the quiet ache of letting go.

7:02PM - Q&A – 10:00

7:12PM - Memories of The Future - Keishi Suenaga – Japan – 4:50
In 2094, Earth is ravaged by environmental devastation. Yuki Okita, selected as the operator of the "Dimensional Vibration Cannon" -an advanced time machine- at the Central Advanced Vision Institute of Cutting-edge Operations (CAVICO), faces a bleak future. The cannon can send data to the past to change the future.

7:17PM - Grand Theft Art - Nicolas Cruz Dauzier - US – 2:20
An art heist at Museum

7:19PM - Work With What You Got – Bobby Deitch – US – 3:43
Music Video -Song by Bobby Deitch and Denise Deitch

7:23PM - Unraveled - Yale Fried - Ivyland PA – 14:16
On the verge of his Bar Mitzvah, Simon’s recurring nightmares about dropping the Torah threaten to derail his big day.

7:37PM - Q&A 10:00

7:47PM – That Kid - Ashley Dawson – US – 37:00
When not everyone can see and care about a “Misunderstood Kid ”

8:24PM – Q&A 10;00

8:34PM - The Life Project – Neil Fennell – 6:14
How to produce your time on earth.

8:40PM - Barry - Scott Staton, Stefan Waldman - Congers, NY US – 11:52
The collision of a cartoon round planet and a square planet forces the round and square populations to get along.

8:52PM – Q&A 10:00

9:02PM - Dolls & Monsters - Margot Miriam Moore – Nyack, NY – 24:51
A group of friends receives a strange doll from a neighbor.. that quietly begins to change everything.… Dolls and Monsters is an allegorical horror film about girlhood on the edge of adolescence, written, directed, filmed, and edited by a 13-year-old filmmaker. Drawing from the filmmaker’s own experiences, the film explores the ways friendships shift as children grow and the pain of watching closeness slip away.
9:26PM - FIN !

MONDAY 23rd

7:00PM – Mammillaria – So-jin Park – China – 1:27:28
The theater actress Hyun-kyung gives up her acting career to become a water purifier coordinator. One day, she visits Eun-joo's house and discovers that Eun-joo is an aspiring actress. Feeling compassion for Eun-joo, who is disheartened after failing an audition, Hyun-kyung is particularly moved because Eun-joo resembles her own self from ten years ago. She gathers the courage to offer her guidance in acting. As she visits Eun-joo’s house for acting lessons, her feelings of affection for Eun-joo begin to blossom.

8:28PM - Let Her Eat Cake - Vitoria Rezende - US - 3:13
On her 20th birthday, Emmy Wes takes her turn of adulthood by baking her own birthday cake from scratch. Exchanging a sweet yet offbeat converstation with her mom, it is revealed that an eating disorder not fully healed takes the best of Emmy's Sweet Day, resulting in an uneaten cake and bruised birthday girl.

8:32PM – I Wanted To Hear Your Voice – James Pellerito – Decatur, GA US – 12:00
After eight years of caring for his mother with severe dementia, a son struggles through their daily care routine. Recorded voicemails serve to show the progression of the disease, underscoring the frustration, isolation and burnout that comes with intensive caregiving.

8:44PM - Rain Was Not In The Forecast – Brian Russell – Fairfield, CT - 4:39
P.I. Cole Draft gets a visit from his old spy client and lover, Gail Storm. Does she plan to save the climate, or to catch her old flame in a weather trap?

8:49PM - Gorilla Warfare - Charles Caracciola 17:00
An 8-year-old boy's twin passions collide right before his eyes in this 1970s coming-of-age story.

9:06PM - Q&A 5:00

9:11PM - Yoga Girl – Kaitlyn Furney – Los Angeles, CA – 9:20
A woman struggles to stay committed to her daily wellness rituals while on the brink of a mental breakdown.

9:21PM - I Love You Mr Bug Man - Dominic Floreno - Boston, MA - 10:40
A man sells another man exterminator services.

9:31PM – Burn Out – Tesla Protest - – Shannon Rose Brown – 2:25
Music Video

9:33PM - A Helping Hand – Caroline Monnig – 0:40
A tanuki walks along a path as a kitsune randomly attacks. When the tanuki discovers the cause of the kitsune's rage, he reaches out to help. Animated short.

9:34PM - A Picture of My Father - Jonathan Miller, Zachary Russo – Nyack, NY 20:00
Danielle Ferrante has only one photograph together with her father, John MacKenzie. Since she was a child, Danielle was told never to ask or talk about him, John's whereabouts kept a shameful secret. Her father was serving a life sentence for killing a police officer during a robbery, a high-profile crime that incited public outcry each time he came up for parole. As Danielle grew older and John's parole was denied year after year, their relationship grew even more fraught, and they became estranged until just before his death. To Danielle’s astonishment, hundreds gathered for his memorial, each approaching her with a similar story: your father changed my life. A PICTURE OF MY FATHER is an exploration of their complex, beautiful, and tumultuous relationship, as well as the impact of incarceration on a family's legacy and memories.

9:54PM - Q&A 10

10:04PM – Bronx. Inc. - Daniela Giordano – US – 15:00
Rico seeks to escape the criminal influences and the gritty streets of the Bronx, NY

10:20PM – - Between Us - Jessica Sadira Coro - Studio City, CA – 4:55
Samantha, a young literature teaching assistant in New York, struggles to share news that could change the course of her relationship with her boyfriend, Tomás.

10:25PM - Q&A 5:00

10:30PM - FIN !

TUESDAY 24th

7:00PM - Bhaisaab - Nitesh Mohla - Mumbai, -India – 11:47
A chance meeting after dark slowly turns unsettling, forcing a woman to rely on instinct when nothing feels clearly wrong, yet nothing feels right.

7:12PM - Yes, they do – Beltran Peralba – Spain – 13:56
A woman suffers from Alzheimer's when her husband dies. During a visit to their mother, her children argue about whether or not to tell her what happened

7:26PM - The Year of The Catfish - Gary Steven Fisher - Brooklyn, NY - 5:21
This film is a joyous, kaleidoscopic musical odyssey, weaving play and performance into a living tribute to Prince and The Revolution. At its heart, it is a concert of selves—a shapeshifting dance between the boy I was, the “respectable” adult I became, and the eternal showman who lives in between. Catfish speaks to the fluid nature of identity, to the layers we wear, borrow, and embody—“the man behind the man behind the man.” Through music and memory, I become not just myself, but an echo and an avatar of the heroes who stirred my soul. This is a film about transformation, homage, and the magic of becoming.

7:32PM - Autonomous – Jennifer Moslier – US – 10:47
After Drew stands Melanie up for a date, she and her friend Alyssa decide to get away for the weekend. Drew is not what he seems but, like everyone, he's just looking for love.

7:43PM - Dindigul Diaries - Annette Danto – East Hampton, NY – 52:00
Shot over a twenty-three year period, Dindigul Diaries is a 52 minute documentary telling the stories of four women living in the Dindigul region of Southern India..Dindigul Diaries is about the dignity of labor and the resilience of working women. It addresses human rights topics of girls education, dowry, and cultural restrictions and expectations of females around the world.

8:35PM – Q&A 10:00

8:45PM - Wanderfaust – Meg Miller – Chicago, IL – 1:57
An old war machine treads through a snowy wasteland. But it isn't alone..

8:47PM - We Are Nuche (Ute) - Bruce Borowsky, Joey Lopez – Boulder, CO - 5:05
Native high school kids filmed a diversity of members of their Ute Mountain Ute tribe in Towaoc, Colorado to talk about what it means to them to be Ute.

8:53PM - Help Yourself - Hedvig Andersson – United Kingdom – 14:21
Andie, a desperate writer, abandons her family to finish a script in
a flat she borrows from her colleague Diane. But Andie keeps getting interrupted by bizarre and hostile strangers who all have unfinished business with Diane. Andie’s quiet evening turns into a surreal vortex of emotional experiences and revelations.

9:08PM - Summit - Dylan Hirsh – Wantagh, NY US – 8:00
"Summit" is an expressive Cinema Verite hybrid documentary that delves into the alpine ecosystem of the Adirondack Mountains through the voice of Liam, a passionate summit steward. His role is essential to preserving the delicate alpine zone’s plants. This film combines an interview with Liam, animations, and asynchronous footage to create an artistic portrayal of the alpine environment and its flora.

9:16PM - ­ Dobrina - Hannes Rall - Germany – 5:00
Lotte Reiniger meets Sergio Leone in this animated short,
where desire burns as bright as the desert sun. A brand-new animated short that premiered in June 2025, successfully touring the festival circuit now.

9:21PM - The Motorcycle Man - Jason Ward – Pescadero, CA US – 9:45
A 21st century trip set in the birthplace of the 60's, this slice of Americana stars Tony Award winner John Glover as an easy-riding and sharp-tongued guide to two young travelers looking for Ken Kesey's cabin deep in Northern California's Santa Cruz Mountains. Examining ideas of autonomy, cultural literacy, and unexpected connection, the film was shot by National Geographic's Emmy winning director of photography Ben Mullin and directed by Northern California filmmaker Jason Ward.

9:31PM – Sweet Caress – Frank Vitale – Tomkins Cove, NY – 4:36
A stark and dramatic morality tale that examines the roots, and subsequent perils, of a life consumed by greed and violence, as seen through the prism of Charlie Chaplin’s brave manifesto spoken in the final moments of “The Great Dictator”. Charlie returns to witness and warn us again. Are we ready to listen?

9:36PM – Between the Breaths – Ryan N. Ryan – Brooklyn, NY – 13:20
Justin, after an exhausting shift at work, decides to take a risk and smoke weed for the first time, not knowing what comes next...

9:45PM – Q&A 10:00

9:55PM – Our Brilliant Destruction - Sarah Bitely - Glendale, CA – 51:03
Fueled by a powerful album about climate change, this immersive music film charts a journey through the disasters we’ve created, and the hope we still might save our collective home.

10:47PM – FIN!

WEDNESDAY25th

7:00PM -Top - Jake Morgan-Scharhon, Danielle Morgan-Scharhon - Bellingham, WA – 15:23 - Finally at the hospital for his long awaited gender affirming top surgery, Matt Levit, with lively girlfriend Leisha Meyer by his side, navigates the bureaucracy of the top surgery process. But once Matt is thrown deep into surgery day, he suddenly finds his present intertwining with his past self, Kimberly. Plunging through past and present, Matt is dropped into confronting his relationship with his chest and sudden loss of his mother, Nancy.

7:16PM - Rise of The Dead: Sluts vs Zombies - Emma Jacqueline - US – 4:30
An aspiring porn actress is confronted by her religious sister - who happens to be on the cusp of turning into a zombie.

7:21PM - Rain Was Not In The Forecast – Brian Russell – Fairfield, CT - 4:39
P.I. Cole Draft gets a visit from his old spy client and lover, Gail Storm. Does she plan to save the climate, or to catch her old flame in a weather trap?

7:26PM - Hazel - Timothy Kukucka – US – 29:39
When Angie is put through trauma at work, she summons -Hazel_ a cyberpunk warrior to exact her revenge.

756PM - Second Shot - Anastasiia Bazdyrieva – 4:59
Second Shot tells the story of Bayani, a kind and trusting college student driven by a desire to help others, even at her own expense. In falling in love, she ignores the warnings passed down by her grandmother — lessons about caution in a world that does not always return kindness. Betrayed and killed for profit, Bayani is given a second chance through a symbolic family talisman rooted in ancestral wisdom. This rebirth allows her to see familiar relationships differently, revealing how intuition, inherited knowledge, and experience can protect against a world shaped by greed, manipulation, and danger.

8:05PM - For The Love of Money - Joseph Kowalski – CA, US – 8:14
Brian and Joe, life long friends, have a crisis in their friendship after Brian comes into some money

8:13PM – Q&A 5:00

8:18PM - Finally Fun and Fame in L.A. – Fran Sisco _ US – 14:03
The stars aligned with some last minute scheduling, and a month after my winning for Best Script for a Feature Film in Barcelona, Spain, I'm in L.A. with my daughter Kelly and her boyfriend with the same script. Although in L.A., I only receive the Official Selection and nomination, Kelly is awarded an Honorable Mention for her script "The Mayor and the Unicorn," a type of fantasy fairy tale with unusual meanings. The alighted starts lead to both of us joining up with a third singer Katie Reyes and a sax player Terry Landry and perform the funny song I co-wrote with New York singer/songwriter Leigh Harrison called "Ain't Giving Up My Braciole," which is a kind-of transgender female inspiring anthem.

8:32PM - Dolls & Monsters - Margot Miriam Moore – Nyack, NY – 24:51
A group of friends receives a strange doll from a neighbor, an innocent gift that quietly begins to change everything. As the girls grow increasingly withdrawn and unkind, it becomes clear the doll is having a deeper effect than they expected. Dolls and Monsters is an allegorical horror film about girlhood on the edge of adolescence, written, directed, filmed, and edited by a 13-year-old filmmaker. Drawing from the filmmaker’s own experiences, the film explores the ways friendships shift as children grow and the pain of watching closeness slip away.
8:40PM - Come Outside – Anurag Marrey – US – 7:54
While visiting her husband's grave, a woman is followed home by something evil that waits for her to come outside.

8:48PM - Salem - Wikka, Jacob Maximillian Baron US – 5:12
Set to the titular song by alternative queer music artist Wikka, a young woman flees persecution during the Salem witch trials and finds refuge amongst her fellow outcasts.

8:53PM – Q&A 7:00

9:00PM – Phil Herman’s Unearthed - Derek N Braasch, James Panetta, Marcelo Fabani,
Phil Herman, Will Devokees, Christopher Kahler – Philadelphia, PA – 01:47:32
This anthology intricately interlaces four compelling tales, each orbiting individuals who unravel hidden, lost, or long-guarded secrets. Brace yourself for an exhilarating odyssey of discovery and suspense as "Unearthed" plunges deep beneath the surface to unveil mysteries concealed for far too long.

10:50PM - FIN !

THURSDAY 26th

7:00PM – Above Under Below – John Piazza - Brewster, NY - 14:00
Joseph leaves the chaos of the world behind and takes up residence in an underground bunker. Though he is isolated from what’s above, his new existence may lead him to descend even further below.

7:14PM - Rosalie - Erin McGuff-Pennington – Beacon, NY 20:03
An unplanned pregnancy leaves an overwhelmed mother of four determined to end it—and her infertile best friend determined to stop her

7:34PM - Q&A 10:00

7:44PM – Back Story - Seth Reuben Jacobson – NY, NY – 20:00
Two actors' love-hate relationship comes to a head when they suspect the Phantom of the Black Box may be lurking in the shadows.

8:04PM - Crowded River - Max Sharam, Andrew Sully – NYC, NY – 8:38
When Jane, a mid-career novelist racing a looming deadline, accepts a last-minute dog-sitting stay in a secluded riverside home — the perfect hideout to finish her book, or so she thinks — ordinary moments begin to feel charged with unease. The quiet quickly curdles. A stranger arrives, claiming to be ‘maintenance.’ No phone signal. A river sealed in ice. Footprints in the snow. What starts as a working retreat becomes a tightening psychological trap. Is 'maintenance' a threat — or is Jane’s fear the real enemy? A slow-burn story about deadlines, doubt, and the danger of ignoring your instincts

8:13PM - Ars Animalis for Troubled Times – Anne Ciecko – 3:44
The observed animal kingdom reveals artful resourcefulness, inspiring human curiosity—and even hope—amidst tumult and crises.

8:17PM - Q&A 10:00

8:27PM - - Bhaisaab - Nitesh Mohla - Mumbai, -India – 11:47
A chance meeting after dark slowly turns unsettling, forcing a woman to rely on instinct when nothing feels clearly wrong, yet nothing feels right.

8:38PM – Work With What You Got - Bobby Dietch - Nyack, NY - 3:43

8:42PM - Willa’s Wall – Earl S. Shirley – US – 26:10
A podcast producer obsessed with time meets with a therapist to discuss her reoccurring dream that is hinting to a past trauma she witnessed.

9:08PM – Best Served Cold - Ben Vine, Melissa Romero - Spain – 7:51
Marcel (40) is waiting for Kali (30) in a deserted bar. What starts as a casual conversation becomes more and more tense taking a turn for something darker. What’s really at play here?

9:16PM– The Snake and The Whale - John Carlos Frey - Ketchum, ID - 01:30:00
Over the past fifty years, four federal dams impounding the Lower Snake River in Washington State have been identified as the root cause for the demise of all of Idaho’s anadromous fish. "The Snake and the Whale" reveals the corrupt deals behind the dams' construction and the subsequent campaigns to hide their role in this ongoing ecological disaster. Additionally, the dams have profoundly impacted a group of Killer Whales off the coast of Washington, known as the Southern Resident Orca, which rely on Snake River salmon as a primary food supply. These majestic creatures are now atop the Endangered Species list.

10:46PM – FIN !

FRIDAY 27th

7:00PM – CITIZENs - Yasushi Fuluichi – Japan – 30:00
The war began. Small border towns were supplied with weapons, but the inhabitants made the decision not to have them. The enemy forces eventually invade the town, but the unarmed inhabitants say, “We want to talk. What is the fate of those who claim that we are citizens before we belong to country?

7:30PM - Henshin – Jorge Pastor – Spain – 15:00
Sara Yonehara, an 18-year-old violinist, is on the verge of realizing her dream: performing alongside professional musicians. She will have the opportunity to do so with the Camerata Garnati in a concert featuring the world premiere of “Metamorfosis” (Henshin), a composition enhanced by Mayumana’s dynamic intervention.

7:45PM - Don't Pop It - Ilana Grollman – NYC, NY – 12:15
Don't Pop It (Motherfucker) follows experimental musicians Jeff Barsky and David Grollman, my father. With interviews and performance clips, this film aims to allow viewers into this widely unknown art world that focuses on personal expression through improvisation.

7:58PM - A Fleeting Fugue – Devon Reed – 4:11
A songwriter desperately tries to hold on to a new melody as they navigate through the sounds of the big city

8:04PM - Grand Theft Art – Nicholas Cruz Dauzier – 2:20
A Museum art Heist

8:06PM – Seoul, soulless, soulful - Keeseok Kim – South Korea – 0:34 Student film
We can escape from a soulless life time and enjoy a more soulful existence.

8:07PM - Being a Trans Girl – Fran Sisco - New Rochelle, NY - 4:01
Fran Sisco expresses why she is happy being a trans girl, in her song "Being a Trans Girl" sung by Fran's trans friend, Regina Elizabeth King, and in the opening comments and the ending song "Being a Trans Girl - Doowop version."

8:11PM - Whipped Up - Chris Ireland – US – 8:00
Cal, a single father and professional chef, prepares a meal at home while thinking back on a tumultuous dinner party with his wealthy in-laws.

8:19PM - A Day at Coney Island – Ilana Grollman - NYC, NY – 2:29
An ode to Coney Island featuring two friends reminiscing and sharing memories of days at the beach.

8:22PM – Pretty Piranha - Lance J. Reha – US – 9:49
Joseph loves Donna. He would do anything for her. He often dreams of how their love would play out together. Donna needs something fixed in her apartment, she'll call Joseph. Maybe it's time for Joseph to make his dreams come true.

8:32PM - Q&A 10:00

8:42PM – Caught Up in The Stars - Steve Adorno - Bronx, NY – 6:30
Music Video

8:49PM – Tiny Pencils – Brian Russell – Fairfield, CT – 7:45
The outcome of a one night stand is up in the air. Can a tiny gift make you this happy?

8:57PM – The Shot - – Ilana Grollman - NYC, NY – 2:31
A photographer builds up his confidence shooting on the street while thinking about a discouraging voicemail from his father

9:00PM – Q&A 8:00

9:08PM - Still Waiting – Robert Conniff - Cedar Grove , NJ – 4:50
Six high-maintenance friends meet up at a restaurant for dinner.

9:13PM – The Resurrection of Ophelia – Larry Rosen – NJ, US – 6:12
After awakening on a cold metal table in an underground lab, Ophelia realizes she’s been the subject of experimentation. As fragments of her past resurface, she embraces her dark new nature to exact revenge.

9:20PM – The Digital Restaurant - Burak Baytunca – NYC, NY – 8:50
Sci-fi Romance Mystery

9:29PM – Abusive - Jodi Pavlock – NJ – 2:45
Based on part of the book "Jekyll Can't Hyde," written by this film's Director Jodi Pavlock. This is the story of her romance and abuse at the hands of a narcissist.

9:33PM – Something Else Tonight – Tyler Brooks – Paterson, NJ - 14:40
It's a typical night of work for lonesome, by-the-book trigger-man, Cade. Until he meets the lovely Billie. Then it's not.

9:48PM – Q&A 10:00

9:58PM - Fading Frequencies – Matt Dixon Vernon, NJ – 50:00
An unapologetically honest punk rocker buys the record store he adored as a teenager. With the shop as a back drop we meet a passionate community of collectors, locals, and younger listeners who bond between generations and refuse to let go of the physical music that matters even as the world moves closer to an all digital future.

10:48PM – FIN !

SATURDAY 28th

1:00PM – Ringside in the Mountains : Boxing in the Catskills - Evan Haiman – Wayne, NJ – 54:00 Where Boxing Legends Met the Borscht Belt: A Forgotten Chapter of American Sports History. Decades before modern training camps, generations of prizefighters were already flocking to the Catskills — seeking fresh air, isolation, and a perfect proving ground to prepare for championship fights...Here city vacationers could catch open sparring sessions between poolside cocktails and comedy acts. A story of grit, glamour, and the unlikely intersection of sport and summer retreat — this is where the Sweet Science met the soul of a generation. This film reveals how this once-idyllic resort region helped shape the sport, and how echoes of its past still reverberate in today’s Catskills.

2:00PM - My Heart Wants What it Wants – 4:16
An indomitable heroine who will stop at nothing to secure her Happily Ever After.

2:05PM - With God By My Side – Frank Louis Pisani – US – 3:46
Music video

2:09PM - Need 4 Blood - Natalie Tulloch - Haverstraw, , NY – 23:42
Natalie is a senior journalism student at SUNY Purchase College and intends to further her video journalism at Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. Need 4 Blood is her first short documentary which was made as her senior project for Purchase College.

2:33PM – Burn Out – Tesla Protest - – Shannon Rose Brown – 2:25
Music Video

2:36PM – Q&A 6:00

2:42PM - A Break in The Rain – Don Scardino - New Paltz, NY - 01:51:27
Jake Watson has been on the road for ten years since his wife passed away. When his grown son dies, he comes home to a life he walked out on. A stranger in his own house, he takes a job driving a limo to help his daughter-in-law pay the bills. One rainy afternoon he picks up Catriona Walsh, a Nashville singer with her own secret. One ride becomes a two week road trip. Catriona sets his poems to music, and Jake begins to heal, as they both find their way home.

4:34PM – Echoes of The Minds Frey - Shannon Rose Brown – 2:07
Music Video

4:36PM – Q&A 10:00 -

4:46PM – Just Sand, Asbury Park – Shannon Rose Brown – 2:35
Music Video

4:49PM - Sunday - Eva Weitzman-Stangel – US – 1:45
A disinterested girl chooses her phone over the beautiful nature around her.

4:51PM – Nightfall - Jordan Reid – US – 2:56
A teenage boy is kicked out of his home and must make a friendship-shattering decision to survive.

4:54PM – 3:33 - Michael Munz, Michael Ferrari – Glen Head, NY US – 7:24 – Student film
In the middle of night, a man’s quiet routine is disrupted by small, unsettling signs that something is sharing his space. As fear pushes him into hiding, the boundaries between safety and threat collapse. When help finally arrives, the house becomes a trap, revealing that whatever lurks within doesn’t leave witnesses.

5:01PM – Headin’ for The Light – Song by Pat Veil – Shannon Rose Brown – 2:56
Music Video

5:04PM – Q&A 10:00

5:14PMPM – FIN !
SATURDAY 1:45:00 MINUTE BREAK >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

7:00PM - Against The Current – Music & Activism on the Hudson River– Ross Ferrier – Ashland, OR – 1:00:00 The re-emergence of the Hudson River is one of the great environmental stories of our time, and it could not have happened without folk music's accompanying emotional energy. Set alongside a canoe journey with musicians in late summer 2024, this is a story of music and a river.

8:00PM - Blue Berri - Verónica Sáenz, Raquel Durán – Spain – 16:33
Celia and Judit have had a special relationship for years.

8:17PM - Carousel Girl - Fran Sisco, Matina Grammas - New Rochelle, NY – 4:00
Life is complicated, yet this song expresses a person's wish for simpler uplifting ways as inspired by a carousel, and the song draws parallels between a carousel and life and love, on a personal level and on a societal level.

8:21PM - Cahill’s Lanes - Marco Jo Clate – 10:40
Set in a small-town bowling alley, Cahill’s Lanes follows a young woman’s attempt to connect with her estranged father as he resists accountability and emotion. It’s a story about generational wounds and the act of reaching out in spite of that.

8:31PM - Learning The Ropes – Mac Brydon – 6:05
When a novice real estate broker receives on-the-job training from an industry pro, both learn some eye-opening lessons.

8:37PM - Baby Tooth – Olivia Accardo – US – 5:32
A young woman puts out an advertisement for two things: to sell her Grandad's boat, and for someone to pull out her baby tooth. When a man turns up interested in the boat she partakes in some gentle flirtations in order to sell the boat, and when propositioned she offers a discount if he'd yank her tooth out. Weirded out the man hollers and flips her off and disappears. Back in her seat someone else appears, and this time they're here for the tooth.

8:43PM - Mammon – Lucas Ruderman – Nyack, NY – 8:11
A stark and dramatic morality tale that examines the roots, and subsequent perils, of a life consumed by greed and violence, as seen through the prism of Charle Chaplin’s brave manifesto spoken in the final moments of “The Great Dictator”. Charlie returns to witness and warn us again. Are we ready to listen?

8:52PM - Aerial Oddity - Caytha Jentis – NYC, NY – 5:02
An experimental short blending spoken word and aerial about a mother's nervous breakdown

8:57PM - The Power of We - Tommy Dudley, Vincenzo Sgro – US – 2:49
We wrote this song in 2020 right after lockdown This entire song and video was accomplished while adhering to the strict guidelines of socially distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic. It helped us keep open a program and grant funding for mentoring youth programs thoroghout the state of NY, It proved that we could create project virtually.

9:00PM – Q&A 10:00 -

9:10PM - Barry - Scott Staton, Stefan Waldman - Rockland, NY US – 11:52
The collision of a cartoon round planet and a square planet forces the round and square populations to get along.

9:22PM - Unraveled - Yale Fried - Ivyland PA – 14:16
On the verge of his Bar Mitzvah, Simon’s recurring nightmares about dropping the Torah threaten to derail his big day.

9:38PM - The Life Project – Neil Fennell – 6:14
How to produce your time on earth.

9:44PM – Q&A 10:00 -

9:47PM – Hazel – Tomothy Kukucka – US – 29:39
When Angie is put through trauma at work, she summons -Hazel_ a cyberpunk warrior to exact her revenge.

10:17PM - That Kid - Ashley Dawson – US – 37:00
When not everyone can see and care about a “Misunderstood Kid ”

10:54PM - Nyack – Frank Vitale – Tomkins Cove, NY US – 2:30
A small town speaks affectionately to its inhabitants.

11:05PM – FIN!