SHORT CUTS
2021Film Festival
This year's festival will be brought to you live and virtual in collaboration with
The Westport Library
Thursday November 18
7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Tickets $25 - $35
Our annual international film festival SHORT CUTS features three evenings of outstanding short, award-winning narrative and documentary films followed by a post-film discussion with its international directors. SHORT CUTS will be presented both live and virtually from the Trefz Forum at The Westport Library. Films were curated from the Tribeca, Sundance and South by Southwest Film Festivals.
Thursday, November 18
Documentary Films
Change the Name
by Cai Thomas (USA)
Student activists and educators in Chicago campaign to change the name of a park from a slaveholder to an abolitionist.
Unspoken
by William Armstrong (Denmark)
Contemporary choreographer Paul Lightfoot creates a tribute to his father whom he lost during lockdown.
My Father, The Mover
by Julia Jansch (South Africa)
Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Short, Tribeca
African electronic Gqom beats motivate kids in the township of Khayelitsha, South Africa to jive through their hardship and find their “superpowers.”
The Unlikely Fan
by Sai Selvarajan & Jeff Bednarz (USA)
Meet a Sri-Lankan born, Dallas based, retired teacher who knows a thing or two about hoops.
Nominated, SXSW Grand Jury Award
Coded: The Hidden Love of J.C. Leyendecker
by Ryan White (USA)
The story of illustrator J.C. Leyendecker,
whose legacy laid the foundation for today's out-and-proud LGBTQ+ advertisements.
Winner, Best Documentary Short, Tribeca
A Look Back...
Thursday, November 4
Narrative Films
The Angler
by Oscar nominated David Darg (USA)
Six Nights
by Robert Brogden (USA)
CUPIDS
by Zoey Martinson (USA)
Three schoolchildren set out to find their beloved bus driver her perfect match.
No Longer Suitable For Use
by Julian Joslin (USA)
A Syrian FBI informant gets one final chance to avoid deportation.
Try to Fly
by The Affolter Brothers (animated-Canada)
While learning to fly, a baby owl has an existential crisis.
Nominated, Best Animated Short, Tribeca
A fisherman and a young mother have a chance encounter when their lines become entangled.
A restaurant dishwasher is given a last-minute chance to step up as a line cook.
Winner, Student Visionary Award,Tribeca
Thursday, October 14
Narrative Films
The Kicksled Choir
by Torfinn Iversen
(Norway)
Nominated, Best Narrative Short, Tribeca
Ten year-old Gabriel dreams of joining a local caroling group.
Death and the Lady
by Geoff Bailey and Lucy Streuver
(animated-USA)
On a dark and stormy night, Death pays a visit to a very old lady and her dog.
Two Jacked
by Jon Huertas (USA)
There are Bunnies on Fire in the Forest
by JLee MacKenzie (animated-USA)
The world’s worst carjacker meets the world’s most understanding victim.
A young girl gets in big trouble at school during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Waves
by Agazi Desta
A teenager hopes to get his hair cut in "waves" for prom night.
Girl with a Thermal Gun
by Rongfei Guo (China)
A delivery man fantasizes about a girl who measures his temperature in a supermarket during COVID-19.
Winner, Best Narrative Short, Tribeca
Special Guests
Geoff Bailey and Lucy Streuver
Directors, Death and the Lady
2020 November Selections:
Living the Truth
Single by Ashley Eakin (USA)
Winner, Special Jury Recognition, South by Southwest
Dirty Laundry by Maxim Bessmertny (Macau)
Tapes by Dara Katz and Betsy Kenney (USA)
Coup D'etat Math by Sai Selvarajan (USA)
Winner, Special Jury Recognition, South by Southwest
Liliu by Jeremiah Tauamiti (New Zealand)
Special Guests:
Directors
Sai Selvarajan, Betsey Kenney, Jeremiah Tauamiti
in discussion with Nancy Diamond
Special Guests:
Directors
Sai Selvarajan, Betsey Kenney, Jeremiah Tauamiti
in discussion with Nancy Diamond
2020 October Selections:
Seeking Refuge
Cru - Raw by David Oesch (Switzerland)
Winner, Student Visionary Award, Tribeca
Gets Good Light by Alejandra Parody (USA)
Vera by Laura Rubirola Sala (Spain)
Toto by Marco Baldonado (Canada)
Nominated, Best Narrative Short, Tribeca
No More Wings by Abraham Adeyemi (United Kingdom)
Winner, Best Narrative Short, Tribeca
Special Guests:
Directors
Abraham Adeyemi, Alejandra Parody, David Oesch
in discussion with Nancy Diamond
2019 October Selections:
"The Secrets We Hold"
Special Guest: B. Monet
Writer & Director of
Ballet After Dark
MAJA
by Marijana Jankovic (Denmark)
Winner, Best Narrative Short
A little girl moves to a new country with her parents. Based on a true story.
by Dana Nachman (USA)
Nominee, Best Narrative Short
A sorority girl figures out a way to eliminate all risk from the late-night ritual that is the college hook up. Now all she needs is to find a guy to test out her idea on... and with.
HOOK UP 2.0
JEBEL BANAT
Winner, Student Visionary Award
The retelling of a melancholic 19th century Egyptian legend about two Bedouin sisters escaping forced marriages.
MOMSTER
by Drew Denny (USA)
Nominee, Get Shorty Award
A queer heist film starring Brianna Hildebrand and Amanda Plummer.
2019 November Selections:
"Living with Family"
Special Guest: Haley Finnegan
Writer, Actor, Director,
Westphalia
PEARL
by Yuchao "Robbin" Feng (China)
Special Jury Mention, 2019
In a desolate Chinese fishing village, a single mother gives her 6-year-old daughter one final lesson, inspired by true events.
by Scott Lochmus (USA)
An elderly maestro and a young piano prodigy venture out of their musical isolation in hopes of selling their beloved piano.
METRONOME (IN TIME)
MIND MY MIND
by Floor Adams (The Netherlands)
Nominated, Best International Short 2019
Relying on social scripts to survive the social world, one must not go off-script. Especially if you want to date a girl.
WESTFALIA
by Haley Finnegan (USA)
Emelia & Brody pack their things for a social media road trip in a 1984 Westfalia Vanagon...their aim is to become Insta-famous.
SHORT CUTS Festival Highlights!
