BIFF Shorts: Students

The next generation of filmmaking, today! 113 minutes.

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"Receiving"

Blake Barit (Dir), 8 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Director Blake Barit in attendance.

Attempted connection across distance. Memories and emotion traveling on radio waves. A slight reprieve from longing.

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"welcome 2 my home"

Othergirl (Dir), 4 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Director Othergirl in attendance.

I flip open the door to my home, unlocking the screen with my keys...

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"Hunted"

Victoria Andrea Garcia Madera (Dir), 4 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Director Victoria Andrea Garcia Madera in attendance.

Abruptly awoken by the shattering of her window early in the morning, Wendy forgets that even though she lives alone in the forest, the outside always tries to find a way in.

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"You're Breaking Up I'm Going to Call You Back"

Mira H. Steuer (Dir), 2 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Director Mira H Steuer in attendance.

Things may not be all that they seem as two best friends attempt to reconnect.

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"Long Dark Road"

Aaron Connor (Dir), 8 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Director Aaron Connor in attendance.

Lost on a rural backroad, a recovering addict seeks escape down an overgrown path. Reality becomes distorted, and he must come to terms with himself to find his way back to the world.

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"Caught the Bug"

Amelia Wyeth Ponirakis (Dir), 6 minutes, USA, Western New York Premiere

Director Amelia Wyeth Ponirakis in attendance.

A young woman comes down with a mysterious illness that infests upon her stomach which is hyper-visualized through a crochet structure featuring stop-motion animated insects. This is a piece comprised of multiple formats such as super 8mm, digital stop-motion, & 16mm direct animation.

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"What Is Up With Trans People?"

Jamie Hager (Dir), 11 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Director Jamie Hager in attendance.

A transmasculine filmmaker (Jamie Hager) plays an exaggerated version of themselves to conduct humorous and satirical interviews with their friends (both trans and cis), artists, and their mother; in which they ask thought-provoking and uncomfortable questions about the trans experience.

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"Showrunner"

Maria Gian (Dir), 10 minutes, USA, Western New York Premiere

Director Maria Gian in attendance.

A story about friendship between young women who are growing up and apart.

Samira, has always depended on her best friend, Eva, for support. As Eva transitions into her first romantic relationship, Samira is left feeling alone and desperate for the attention she once had.

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"Don't Forget Me"

Nick Criscitello (Dir), 11 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Director Nick Criscitello in attendance.

College dropout Dan Hoover reflects on his time at school and his relationship with art in this slice of life documentary.

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"Reverie"

Ash Russell (Dir), 2 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Director Ash Russell in attendance.

An old woman dreams about her soulmate.

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"Smoke and Suds"

Shine Xing (Dir), 3 minutes, USA, Buffalo Premiere

Director Shine Xing in attendance.

In a world of illegal soap smuggling carried out by the Rubber Duck Mafia, an innocent duck bumps into a smuggling operation and a crate of soap crashes into the layperson. This duck has witnessed too much...

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"Volatility"

Kora Gozdziak (Dir), 5 minutes, USA, Western New York Premiere

Director Kora Gozdziak in attendance.

A young girl finds herself in too deep in a labyrinthine indoor playground, where she encounters a strange presence on her journey to get back to what she knows.

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"What’s Cookin’?"

Liliana N. Cantillo (Dir), 2 minutes, USA, Western New York Premiere

Director Liliana N. Cantillo in attendance.

As a man cooks, he makes more than just his dinner.

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"Coffee with Fate"

Mika Ervin (Dir), 6 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Director Mika Ervin in attendance.

Lydia Alucardi is a socially mute goth girl who wants nothing more than to speak to people without worry. She finds solace around animals and visits her favorite cat café, Munch the Night Away three times a week. Every day that she spends there, she tries to build up the courage to talk to others.

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"Feeling the Apocalypse"

Chen Sing Yap (Dir), 8 minutes, Canada, Western New York Premiere

A psychotherapist struggling with climate anxiety explores what it means to live in a dying world.

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"Boxes"

India June (Dir), 3 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Director India June in attendance.

Lucy is a remote telephone operator for The Company. She ships boxes of Boxes to awaiting customers.

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"A Life in Boxes"

Tayton T. Troidl (Dir), 20 minutes, USA, Western New York Premiere

Director Tayton T. Troidl in attendance.

A documentary film about a son discovering the multiple lives of a father he never knew.

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"Once in a Generation"

Md Hasin (Dir), 2 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Director Md Hasin in attendance.

A unique perspective on the 2022 Buffalo blizzard, as it unfolds entirely through the filmmaker's windows, encapsulating the isolation and intensity of nature.