BIFF SHORTS: STUDENTS (SATURDAY SHOWCASE)

The next generation of storytellers, now! Short films from leading animation and live action programs in Western New York and beyond. Total runtime is 94 minutes.

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A GRADUATION STORY

Linh Tran (Dir), 8 minutes, USA, Western New York Premiere

Writer/Director Linh Tran in attendance.

A college senior eagerly anticipates graduation, but when her best friend changes plans and her parents cancel their visit, she faces the day alone.

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UNKNOWING LAMENT

Natalie Bucki (Dir), 5 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Writer/Director Natalie Bucki in attendance.

Reflecting on fractured identity and culture, a women learns about her grandmother and namesake through family stories and wonders how they may overlap in her life.

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ASYMPTOTE

Aybuke Yilmazer (Dir), 5 minutes USA, Western New York Premiere

Director Aybuke Yilmazer in attendance.

The abstract journey of a man who confuses love and sexual relationships, causing emotional and psychological loneliness through physical intimacy.

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FLORA FAUNA

Anna Fontaine (Dir), 3 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Director Anna Fontaine in attendance.

A wolf and a rams reciprocal death leads to new life.

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MAZIE – HEAD IN THE CLOUDS

Mia Weller (Dir), 8 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Director Mia Weller in attendance.

Mazie and her mentor Scarlet Rosemary take on a giant emotional monster threatening their town in this animated musical comedy.

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SYNTERESIS

Stefen Lempert (Dir), 6 minutes, USA, World Premiere

A girl and her robot sneak into a tech corporation’s server room.

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SILENCE AFTER SIX

Essence Nicole Brown (Dir) 2 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Writer/Director Essence Nicole Brown in attendance.

New to town, Jade has no idea what lurks amongst the town's unsettling quiet after the sun goes down as she wanders the empty streets on her way home.

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ME, STEVE & THE MONSTER UNDER MY BED

Sam Tocke (Dir), 10 minutes, USA, Festival Premiere

Director Sam Tocke in attendance.

A young woman and her boyfriend are trying to have sex, but the monster under her bed keeps cockblocking them.

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DIALECTIC

Emily Sugar (Dir), 8 minutes, USA, Western New York Premiere

Writer/ Director/ Star Emily Sugar in attendance.

Tessa becomes increasingly distracted by her intrusive thoughts and internal judgement to them. Personified as a devilish bug and anxious moth, the conflicting voices in her head steal her attention from things she enjoys, until she pushes herself to break the cycle.

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BABY BRAIN

Mary Clementine Sperry (Dir), 6 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Director Mary Clementine Sperry in attendance.

Baby Brain is about two girls who are being followed by and eventually succumbing to the power of a mysterious crystal.

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AUREILA FIGHTS THE SUN

Aureila Fights the Sun (Dir), 14 minutes, Western New York Festival Premiere

A young writer gets possessed by a sun demon, Aureila.

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986

Abigail Wisz (Dir), 14 minutes, USA, Festival Premiere

Director Abigail Wisz in attendance.

A young lesbian in search of emotional guidance rings a sex hotline, believing it to be a mental health/crisis hotline.

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CUTTING TIES

Brian Biglin (Dir), 4 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Director Brian Biglin in attendance.

Two boys traverse a mountain tied together with a glowing rope.

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TRACKS

Julia Rosalina Han (Dir), 1 minutes, USA, World Premiere

Director Julia Rosalina Han in attendance.

An abstract mediation on transportation and community.