BIFF SHORTS: PORTRAITS

The iconic and the intimate! Runtime is 91 minutes.

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THANK YOU FOR LISTENING

Gene Gallerano + Bob Ray (Dir), 27 minutes, USA, Western New York Premiere

Co-Directors Gene Gallerano + Bob Ray and Documentary Participant Joshua Ray Walker in attendance.

Joshua Ray Walker faces the fragility of life as he confronts a life-altering cancer diagnosis. As he prepares to return to the Grand Ole Opry, the film captures an intimate portrait of an artist grappling with mortality while confronting the legacy he will leave behind.

Blending lyrical visuals, performance, and moments of quiet reflection, the film explores how music sustains, redeems, and endures. It is a meditation on resilience, legacy, and the human drive to create meaning even in the face of life’s limits.

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DON'T GO BACK TO SLEEP

Alicia Hawkins (Dir), 41 minutes, USA, Western New York Premiere

Director Alicia Hawkins in attendance.

'Don't Go Back to Sleep' is an intimate and poetic documentary following Bob, an African American elder, on his final visit to his hometown of Buffalo. Living with aphasia after a severe stroke disrupted his self-taught art practice, Bob struggles to hold onto memory and remain present. Accompanied by his daughter, who documents their journey from behind the camera, he returns to reconnect with his past, his creativity, and a city transformed by time.

Filmed over three years across Southern California and Buffalo, the film is inspired by the Rumi poem from which it takes its title. Through Bob's journey, Don't Go Back to Sleep explores memory, aging, grief, resilience, and the enduring power of chosen family and art. It offers a moving reflection on how we find peace in the face of profound loss by remaining open to the present moment.

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CINDY SHERMAN: PICTURE THIS

Sophie Chahinian (Dir), 23 minutes, USA, Western New York Premiere

In this intimate portrait, iconic and legendary artist, Cindy Sherman, reveals her childhood preoccupation with family photos, the reason behind her use of photography, and what challenges she has overcome in her four decades plus career. With self-effacing charm and candor she confesses to competitiveness with male painters, collectors' initial rejection of her work and how her personal shyness drove her to play with costume and identity.

Shot on location in her Tribeca and East Hampton, NY studios, Cindy Sherman: Picture This reveals a side of the enigmatic artist rarely seen on film.