The MATINEE ONE screening at the Nitehawk Shorts Festival features eight films that explore the encouragement of imagination, pursued ambition, and the struggles in life that are both personal and culture. Q&A with filmmakers.

OKAASAN (MOM)
KANA HATAKEYAMA / JAPAN, U.S. / 2018 / DRAMA / 18 MINS
In rural Japan, a mother and daughter attempt to reconnect after dealing with the loss of a loved one the previous year.

LIFE’S A BIQTCH
JOHN E. KILBERG / U.S.A. / 2018 / DOCUMENTARY / 12 MINS
Biqtch Puddin’ shares her views of living the nightlife as a professional and affecting the community by way of drag through her inspiring perspective.

WHAT I WISH YOU SAID
TIFFANY FRANCES / U.S.A. / 2018 / DRAMA / 9 MINS / WORLD PREMIERE
In present day Brooklyn, a young woman and man on a date unexpectedly experience a manifestation from her traumatic past.

ON MY WAY
MARY DAUTERMAN / U.S.A. / 2018 / COMEDY / 1 1/2 MINS
When you’re on the way but you’re a liar! A comedy about not wanting to leave the house.

COMPANY
DORON MAX HAGAY / U.S.A. / 2018 / COMEDY / 13 MINS / NEW YORK PREMIERE
A woman invites her former ceramics instructor to live with her after her husband’s disappearance.

SPACE GIRLS
CARYS WATFORD / UK / 2018 / DRAMA / 10 MINS / NEW YORK PREMIERE
Four 9-year-old girls obsessed with space embark on a secret mission in their cardboard rocket.

EDGECOMBE
CRYSTAL KAYIZA / U.S.A. / 2018 / DOCUMENTARY / 15 MINS
An examination of the ways trauma repeats and reinvents itself in rural Black communities revealing the deeply personal truths of three local residents.

I TURN TO JELLO
ANDREW T. BETZER / U.S.A. / 2016 / COMEDY / 15 MINS
A metropolitan nightmare unfurls as a nervous cellist cracks under pressure at an audition—and again, and again, and…