BIFF Shorts: Time Stands Still

A series of shorts making sense of the last year. 116 minutes.

Time Time Ki Baat (A Matter Of Time)

Abhiiruchi Lovel Risshi (Dir), 18 minutes, India, US Premiere

On the anniversary of her husband’s death Neeta (Supriya Pathak) goes in search of a mechanic for his well worn wrist watch, what she finds is the original watchmaker.

Chokablok

Cameron Carver (Dir), 19 minutes, UK, NY Premiere

Playful, neurotic, and existential; Chokablok is a surreal exploration of our obsession with achievement and the perpetual anxiety of trying to keep up, as seen through the eyes of a Chase (David Coomber) who always feels like he’s falling behind.

Faith

Carol Butrón (Dir), 19 minutes, Spain, WNY Premiere

Haunted by the memory of a missing childhood friend, Teresa (writer/director Carol Butrón) searches in an alternative dimension for him.

Disappearing Pathways

Michael Covello & Elizabeth Schneider (Dir), 13 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere

Narrated by Ian Ross, this evocative animated drama explores the emotional baggage inherited through family, genetics and upbringing as we collectively strive to maintain traditions while embracing individuality.

Lilies

Joni Renee Whitworth (Dir), 9 minutes, USA, NY Premiere

In quarantine, the personal and the political collide and comingle, forcing one woman to interrogate birth, becoming, class, femme health, and gay sufficiency against a backdrop of farm simulator games, archival agricultural footage, intimate b-roll, domestic scenes, and psychedelic abstractions.

What If?

Katia Shannon (Dir), 15 minutes, UK, NY Premiere

At each step, Elena’s (Izabella Malewska) agoraphobia reinforces her sense of mortality but, as anxiety spreads around her like wildfire, she finally sees a way out in this compelling and mysterious drama.

Ships in the Night

Katherine Bourne Taylor (Dir), 12 minutes, USA, NY Premiere

To combat her growing isolation in the time of COVID and her strained relationship with her sister, Christan (writer/director Katherine Bourne Taylor) turns to an online fandom community and begins writing fanfiction about the characters she is fixated on.

Tornado Lake

Tiffany Deater (Dir), 11 minutes, USA, World Premiere

This video essay merges the philosophical and scientific through its exploration of our relationship to insects and “undesirable” animals.

Watch the filmmaker Q+A with Katherine Bourne Taylor, Tiffany Deater, Michael Covello + Elizabeth Schneider here!