The Future of Film is Female is proud to present its inaugural Shorts Program at Nitehawk Cinema! Our first edition includes nine recent short films from New York, Los Angeles, Mexico, and London. Though diverse in style and storytelling, from satire to horror, these shorts reflect tales of family, belonging, and community. There will be a Q&A with filmmakers.

The Future of Film is Female is a non-profit organization whose mission is to amplify the work of all women and non-binary filmmakers through its Short Film Fund and exhibition programming. Short films are at the heart of what we do! To make an additional $10 donation to The Future of Film is Female, select the “Event + Donation” ticket on the checkout screen.

LUX NOCTIS (2021)
Written and directed by Damiana Acuña, 12 min
In an isolated matriarchal community, Lina creates an unprecedented amount of light.

INCOMPLETE (2022)
Written and directed by Zoey Martinson, 10 min
Evan is on house arrest in a haunted house. Or so he thinks?

YOUNG MOM (2022)
Written and directed by Cecilia Delgado, 15 min
A young woman kidnaps the child she nannies to satisfy her girlfriend’s desire to start a family.

IN THE GARDEN OF TULIPS (2023)
Directed by Julia Elihu, Written by Ava Lalezarzadeh, 14 min
In the height of the Iran-Iraq war, Caroline takes the final car ride with her father through the Iranian countryside.

SAVASANA (2023)
Directed by Jenny Donheiser, Written by Meagan Kensil, 6 1/2 min
Lila, a yoga YouTuber, struggles to quiet her inner critic while leading a sponsored Yoga livestream.

BUT TOMORROW (2021)
Directed by Lin Que Ayoung, Written by Sallomé Hralima, 14 min
Set in 1986, it’s the first day of high school in Manhattan and Crystal’s eagerness to make an impression has unwanted repercussions.

SHE ALWAYS WINS (2022)
Written and directed by Hazel McKibbin, 10 min
She Always Wins captures all the complicated moves in the dance of dominance, deference and self-diminishment that takes place when a young woman brings her new boyfriend to his first family visit.

THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR (2023)
Written and directed by Abbesi Akhamie, 12 min
Amidst the arrival of a West African couple in her building, a 41-year-old single woman grapples with her desires and ethics when the husband’s attentions turn towards her.

FCKI’N NUTS (2023)
Written and directed by Sam Fox, 12 min
Sandy is grievously forced to break it off with the boy of her dreams in order to avert him from meeting her unusual parents.

Starring: Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, David Denman, Gaia Scodellaro, Eugenio Mastrandrea, Remo Girone

Since giving up his life as a government assassin, Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) has struggled to reconcile the horrific things he’s done in the past and finds a strange solace in serving justice on behalf of the oppressed. Finding himself surprisingly at home in Southern Italy, he discovers his new friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his friends’ protector by taking on the mafia.

Starring: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Raymond Burr, Thelma Ritter

A newspaper photographer with a broken leg passes time recuperating by observing his neighbors through his window. He sees what he believes to be a murder, and decides to solve the crime himself. With the help of his nurse and wife, he tries to catch the murderer without being killed himself.

Starring: Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Judd Nelson, Mario Van Peebles, Allen Payne, Chris Rock

From its controversial release to its current status as a classic crime thriller and hip-hop film, New Jack City is a gritty look at NYC’s crack epidemic, centered on drug kingpin Nino Brown and streetwise cop Scotty Appleton. Director Mario Van Peebles’ low-budget smash created a widespread influence on film, music and American vernacular, bolstered by breakthrough performances from young stars Wesley Snipes, Ice-T and Chris Rock.

Ben Apatoff is the author of the Bloomsbury 33 1/3 series book Body Count (33 1/3), the first-ever book about Ice-T’s hardcore band famous for revolutionary songs like “There Goes the Neighborhood” and “Cop Killer.” He will introduce the film with a brief discussion of Ice-T’s acting career, and books will be available for sale before and after the screening.

Narrated exclusively by the original members of The Birthday Party, Mutiny in Heaven delves deep into a band’s psyche, chronicling how Nick Cave and his school friends startled audiences with their confrontational performances, primal screams, outlaw gothic horror and anarchic lifestyle.

Featuring never-before-seen personal footage from band members, dynamic animation sequences, and jaw-dropping concert clips, the film provides a sweaty, electrifying front-row seat to one of the most legendary live acts. It’s destined to be an instant documentary classic. The film is the first fully authorized telling of The Birthday Party.

Starring: Elizabeth Taylor, Mia Farrow, Robert Mitchum, Peggy Ashcroft, Pamela Brown

When Leonora (Elizabeth Taylor) crosses paths in London with Cenchi (Mia Farrow), the two are instantly drawn to each other, finding striking resemblances to their departed loved ones. In Leonora, Cenchi is convinced she has found her mother returned; in Cenchi, Leonora sees an opportunity to save a child as she was unable to do for her own. Posting up in Cenchi’s decadent home, Leonora plays the part of a high society eccentric, all too eager to be draped in feathers and furs. But when sleazy stepdad Albert (Robert Mitchum) starts hanging around, she finds the damage may be too deep for the fantasy to continue.

Warning: Images are not from the movies we’re showing. Trust us, you can’t imagine what we’re showing!

We can’t believe it’s here! This Sunday on Fire, War Is Hell in Hong Kong’s equivalent of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. A massive, mighty Vietnam War movie by one of Hong Kong’s greatest directors, we’re not revealing the title until it appears onscreen, but this flick is a heavy hitter, starring a trio of Hong Kong’s best actors, and this is a rare chance to catch it in 35mm, in its original language (with English subtitles), on the big screen. Because a movie that features this many bullets, bombs, and brotherhood deserves the best treatment possible.

Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive.

Please note this is an extremely rare archival print from the film’s original theatrical release. Expect some wear!

Starring: Franz Rogowski, Ben Whishaw, Adèle Exarchopoulos

Celebrated filmmaker Ira Sachs (Love is Strange) makes a breathtaking return with Passages, a fresh, honest and brutally funny take on messy, modern relationships, starring Franz Rogowski (Great Freedom), Ben Whishaw (Women Talking) and Adèle Exarchopoulos (Blue Is the Warmest Colour). Set in Paris, this seductive drama tells the story of Tomas (Rogowski) and Martin (Whishaw), a gay couple whose marriage is thrown into crisis when Tomas begins a passionate affair with Agathe (Exarchopoulos), a younger woman he meets after completing his latest film.

Perceptive, intimate and unashamedly sexy, Passages sees Sachs bridge his usually tender style with a uniquely European sensibility, providing an insightful and authentic take on the complexities, contradictions and cruelties of love and desire.

Starring: María Onetto, Claudia Cantero, César Bordón, Daniel Genoud, Guillermo Arengo, Inés Efron

While driving down a deserted road, Veronica (María Onetto) hits something with her car as she struggles to answer her cell phone. After admitting to her husband, Marcos (César Bordón), that she thinks she may have killed someone, all traces of Veronica’s activities in the previous days begin to disappear. What ensues is a psychological exploration of an unfaithful wife whose unconscious battle with guilt begins to unravel not only her life but also her grip on reality.

Starring: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach, Jaime Camil, Alfonso Arau

Despite his family’s generations-old ban on music, young Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead. After meeting a charming trickster named Héctor, the two new friends embark on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel’s family history.