BIFF Shorts: Next Gen

Thoughtful and fun, teen and youth made shorts. BIFF partners with Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center to review submissions, and curate and organize this screening. 67 minutes.

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"Megan and Mew-Mew"

Penny Schreiber (Dir), 1 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Waking up with Megan the human and Mew-Mew the cat.

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"Finding Her Voice"

Malayka Toure (Dir), 8 minutes, USA, Western New York Premiere

Lily is an academically brilliant girl from a poor district in NYC who lives with her unavailable single mother and chronically ill younger sister, Winona. Before going off to college, Lily gets the opportunity to win a scholarship, which will secure her the key to getting out of the hard life she has always known. Only problem: In order to compete for the scholarship, Lily must convince the admissions committee with a speech, and...Lily has a severe stutter. As she grapples with balancing the stress of home life and securing her future, Lily embarks on a journey to discover who she really is and what she will do to help those she loves the most.

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"Wilhelmina Godfrey: A Forgotten Artist"

Amaya Saxon, Apollo Martinez, Brenardo Powell, Dinari Mitchell, Lillyan Goines, Kia Rivera + Mario Miller (Dir), 21 minutes, USA, Festival Premiere

Filmmakers Amaya Saxon, Apollo Martinez, Brenardo Powell, Lillyan Goines, Kia Rivera + Mario Miller in attendance.

This short documentary sheds light on the life and work of Wilhelmina Godfrey, an influential yet often overlooked Buffalo artist. Using archival footage and photographs, the film captures her passion for the creative process and her lasting impact on the city’s artistic landscape. Created by BCAT youth artists in conjunction with Burchfield’s exhibition Wilhelmina Godfrey: I Am What I Am. A BCAT production.

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"Lost in the System"

Lillyan Goines (Dir), 10 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Director Lillyan Goines in attendance.

A short, hand-drawn animation that meditates on three people's thoughts on health care and access. Created as a part of The Common Task Project.

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"Peace Flags"

Melelani T (Dir), 2 minute, USA, World Premiere

Why must people do awful things? A meditation on MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women) and Japanese Internment camps. Pocahontas (Matoaka or Amonute) was from the Powhatan Renape Nation and she was ten when she was stolen by colonizers. During World War II almost 5,000 people were imprisoned in Santa Fe. Students at MESA grapple with historical and contemporary injustice.

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"35,567 Yup'ik Stories"

Magnus Shipe (Dir), 5 minute, USA, World Premiere

A middle school student focuses his lens on his own Yup'ik heritage by visiting a music band from his tribe that has reached global success, and like him, share their passion about their culture through the arts.

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"The goblin"

Liam Morgan (Dir), 1 minute, USA, World Premiere

A goblin terrorizes a group of kids.

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"The Haunted Sleepover"

Clara Griffin, Georgie Griffin, Naomi Hill, Sabrina Hillard, Beau Kleinholt, Dory Kleinholt, Josie Lobo, Celia Velasquez (Dir), 10 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Not everything is what it seems when a group of kids break into an abandoned house to crash for the night. A Film Camp 2025 production.

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"Famous Pilots"

Christopher Anderson, Evan Anderson, Ethan Brown, Amira Haynie, Lina Lozada, Noah Patterson, LuzEnaida Rivera + Nina Smith (Dir), 8 minutes, USA, World Premiere

The star of the beloved 1980s sitcom, Famous Pilots, is rediscovered when the series goes viral on TikTok. A West Side Studios production.

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