Starring: Ezra Miller, Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton, Michael Shannon, Kiersey Clemons, Sasha Calle

Worlds collide when the Flash uses his superpowers to travel back in time to change the events of the past. However, when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, he becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod has returned, threatening annihilation. With no other superheroes to turn to, the Flash looks to coax a very different Batman out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian — albeit not the one he’s looking for.

Starring: Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Ron Perlman, Michelle Yeoh, Pete Davidson

Returning to the action and spectacle that have captured moviegoers around the world, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will take audiences on a ‘90s globetrotting adventure with the Autobots and introduce a whole new faction of Transformers – the Maximals – to join them as allies in the existing battle for earth.

Starring: Abby Ryder Fortson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Benny Safdie

For over fifty years, Judy Blume’s classic and groundbreaking novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. has impacted generations with its timeless coming of age story, insightful humor, and candid exploration of life’s biggest questions. In Lionsgate’s big-screen adaptation, 11-year-old Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson) is uprooted from her life in New York City for the suburbs of New Jersey, going through the messy and tumultuous throes of puberty with new friends in a new school. She relies on her mother, Barbara (Rachel McAdams), who is also struggling to adjust to life outside the big city, and her adoring grandmother, Sylvia (Kathy Bates), who isn’t happy they moved away and likes to remind them every chance she gets.

Starring: Alyssa Sutherland, Lily Sullivan, Gabrielle Echols, Morgan Davies, Nell Fisher, Jayden Daniels

In the fifth Evil Dead film, a road-weary Beth pays an overdue visit to her older sister Ellie, who is raising three kids on her own in a cramped L.A apartment. The sisters’ reunion is cut short by the discovery of a mysterious book deep in the bowels of Ellie’s building, giving rise to flesh-possessing demons, and thrusting Beth into a primal battle for survival as she is faced with the most nightmarish version of motherhood imaginable.

Admission includes the after party in Trees Lounge! 

The first program of our 2023 festival includes themes of complex family relationships and intense grappling with bodily urges, in the form of wildly inventive animation, playful documentary, lived-in fiction and narrative fantasy. Seniors seeking romance, brothers balancing familial obligations with the need to move forward, and a body builder obsessing over sugar are just a few of the characters that are sure to move you.

Post-Screening Q&A moderated by Cristina Cacioppo, Nitehawk Cinema

BACON ‘N’ LACES
Stephen Michael Simon / U.S. / 2021 / 19 min. / English
A single dad of three boys manages a diner. But, there’s more to John than meets the eye.

SIERRA
Sander Joon / Estonia / 2022 / 16 min.
A boy accidentally turns himself into a car tire. Loosely inspired by the director’s childhood.

ÑAÑOS
Emilio Subía / U.S. / 2021 / 15 min. / English, Spanish
In the heart of Corona, Queens, two Ecuadorian siblings are placed at odds with each other when one reveals a sudden urge to leave their home.

MONSIEUR LE BUTCH
Jude Dry / U.S. / 2020 / 12 min. / English
Jude wants top surgery, Mom wants an “old lady pass” on the whole pronouns thing.

NO OTHER GODS BUT ME
Alex Spott / U.S. / 2022 / 7 min. / English
In the midst of a sexual awakening, a religious teen musters up the courage to kiss her crush, but will lust will send her straight to h-e-double-hockey-sticks?

PREP
Raymond Knudsen / U.S. / 2021 / 14 min. / English
A bodybuilding fever dream fueled by childhood trauma, food porn and acid techno music.

THE SINGLES RETREAT
Jo Firestone / U.S. / 2023 / 17 min. / English
Two old friends try to keep an open mind while attending a seniors-only singles retreat in the Poconos.

No matter how you slice it, relationships are tough; whether they are familial, romantic, or even neighborly. This collection of shorts from all over the world tells expansive, funny, and sometimes heartbreaking stories about the nuances and subtleties of various relationships and connections, as well as the importance of communication.

Post-Screening Q&A moderated by Shay Filmore

WOODPECKER
Kevin T. Landry / Canada / 2021 / 20 min. / French
More than a decade after she abandoned him, Émile accepts his mother Fanny’s invitation to come work with her on an isolated logging camp.

HEARTLAND
Jahmil Eady / U.S. / 2021 / 11 min. / English
A woman attempts to immortalize her dying grandfather using virtual reality technology, but her obsession with documenting drives a wedge between them.

LOST BEYOND THE STARS
Kayla Arend / U.S. / 2021 / 11 min. / English
On a deep space exploration, Captain Lorena is betrayed by the one person she thought she could trust.

MY DEAR GOD
Tara Sheffer / U.S. / 2020 / 13 min. / English
June Bell unearths the painful truth of her sister’s overdose and finds the closure she didn’t know she needed.

FOR AN HOUR OF LOVE (PER UN’ORA D’AMORE)
Andree Lucini / Italy / 2023 / 15 min. / Italian
Maria is obsessed with the television industry, but lives a provincial life with her son. A contest provides an opportunity for her moment.

DEERWOODS DEATHTRAP
James P. Gannon / U.S. / 2022 / 9 min. / English
50 years ago Jack and Betty were hit by a train and survived. This is their story.

TROY
Mike Donahue / U.S. / 2022 / 16 min. / English
Troy has loud sex. Troy has loud sex 24/7. Troy shares a wall with Thea and Charlie. Troy is ruining their lives… Or is he saving them?

Admission includes the after party in Trees Lounge! 

Rounding out our festival, the Closing Nite program features actors putting on shows in unexpected ways, lonely folks seeking connection, and approaches to intimacy in a variety of forms. With two first time filmmakers among the ranks and one world premiere, these films include cringe comedy, playfully animated storytelling and the fantasy lives of kids.

Post-Screening Q&A moderated by Desmond Thorne, Nitehawk Cinema

STARFUCKERS
Antonio Marziale / U.S. / 2022 / 14 min. / English
An intimate evening between a film director and a companion is disrupted when a familiar face arrives.

THE ACTRESS
Steve Collins / U.S. / 2022 / 14 min. / English
An actress makes a surprise visit to meet her brother’s new girlfriend and destroy his life.

EYES AND HORNS
Chaerin Im / Germany, South Korea, U.S. / 2021 / 6 min.
Inspired by Picasso’s ‘Vollard Suite’, the transformation of the over masculine Minotaur leads to the destruction of the boundaries between sexes.

NIKO & ELEANOR
Sam Severin / U.S. / 2021 / 12 min. / English
Niko moves into the attic of an unknowing woman with Alzheimer’s and the two form a surprising symbiotic relationship.

BRIEFLY GORGEOUS
Elijah Barry / U.S. / 2021 / 14 min. / English
Mistaking attention for love, and deprived of both, Caleb will distort himself to whatever shape will make him worthy. Tonight, he’ll become unrecognizable.

THE WHOLE WORLD & HIS WIFE
Taryn Ward / U.S. / 2022 / 6 min. / English
A blind husband and a deaf wife are always a happy couple.

INTIMACY WORKSHOP
Eddie Prunoske / U.S. / 2022 / 10 min. / English
In a stark church basement, a group of dour men gather for a symposium on the elusive art of human connection.

SPIDER
Marcela Biven / U.S. / 2022 / 8 min. / English
A young mother struggles with her mother’s death as her daughter struggles to share her mother’s love with an incoming baby.

NINETY-FIVE SENSES
Jerusha Hess, Jared Hess / U.S. / 2022 / 13 min. / English
An ode to the five senses delivered by a death-row inmate (Tim Blake Nelson) with little time left to enjoy them.

Back again is the NSF version of our long running monthly series Music Driven. This year’s edition continues to push boundries musically and visually. It also serves as another reminder that we’re in a new golden age of the music video. The selection is diverse as always and features more group and full band efforts then in years past. Sincerity is a real common thread with this year’s selection and we’re grateful to be able to share these with you on the big screen.

Post-Screening Q&A moderated by John Woods, Nitehawk Cinema

BRIGHT EYES’ “MARIANA TRENCH”
Art Camp / U.S. / 2020 / 4 min. / English
Composed of 2,200 hand-illustrated ink paintings based on original 3D animation and archival, this is a story about imagining that everything could be new.

MITSKI’S “STAY SOFT”
Maegan Houang / U.S. / 2021 / 4 min. / English
Inspired by Romanticism and artwork from the Victorian era, violence lurks beneath the surface in this fabricated world.

RUBBLEBUCKET’S “GEMOETRY”
Haoyan of America / U.S. / 2022 / 5 min. / English
“Geometry” is the final single from Rubblebucket’s new album, EARTH WORSHIP.

BIG THREE
Julian Turner / U.S. / 2022 / 18 min. / English
In the early 1960s, a budding soul music label brings in a savvy group of local teenage musicians to offer feedback and inspiration to its early signees.

SU LEE’S “SUPPER HAPPY”
Bettina Campomanes / U.S. / 2022 / 3 min. / English, Korean, Spanish
S dreams of a happiness outside the confines of her mind.

HANG OUT 2DAY
Sam Grinberg / U.S. / 2022 / 0.5 min.
Wake, Hang, Repeat / An entire suburban summer experience packed into 30 seconds for your viewing and re-viewing pleasure.

GERRY & THE MANDERS “HOW DOES ANYBODY SLEEP?”
Jim Lopezzo / U.S. / 2022 / 3 min. / English
A music video for the director’s “band”, HDAS? was shot, performed, and edited entirely by the director in his apartment in Jersey City for a budget of $125.

LUSH’S “BIG OAK TREE”
Allison Radomski / U.S. / 2022 / 5 min. / English
The official music video for “Big Oak Tree” by Lush

FREE NOIR PAPILLON
Lev Omelchenko, PhaeMonae / U.S. / 2020 / 11 min. / English
A short dance film about a mother’s relationship to her pregnancy, as she deals with fear and hope about bringing a black baby boy into the world in 2020.

FOREVER HONEY’S “SATELLITE”
Liv Price / U.S. / 2021 / 5 min. / English
A group of misfits, who have recently fixated on being the first rock band to complete a space expedition, debut a new song…and, more importantly, new identity.

SECTIONTOO’S “BLACK THING”
William Breen / U.S. / 2022 / 3 min. / English
The official video for sectiontoo’s “Black Thing” off his new album “Heaven Only Knows.”

NYC.LIVE’s “ROMEO + JULIET”
Joseph Robert Redl / U.S. / 2022 / 3 min. / English
5:29AM – somewhere in nyc.

RECORD SHOP
Mario Rubén Carrión / U.S. / 2022 / 14 min. / English
Two NYC DJs at a record shop search for a rare salsa record, where a clerk shares their love of Caribbean music. As the day unfolds, dynamics begin to surface.

JABOUKIE’S “BBC”
Jaboukie Young-White / U.S. / 2022 / 3 min. / English
Jaboukie’s debut single, BBC.

RARE: THE BOY WHO CRIED SWAG
King She / U.S. / 2022 / 5 min. / English
In the aftermath of BLM, the self-reflective, depressive Rico Sanche, brother of Raphael Briscoe, contemplates the tragic death and summons the will to live.

TOVE LO’S “GRAPEFRUIT”
Lisette Donkersloot / U.S. / 2022 / 4 min. / English
In the powerfully personal ‘Grapefruit’, Tove Lo confronts the eating disorder she suffered as a teenager for the first time.

THE SILICON
Ricardo Villavicencio / U.S. / 2022 / 5 min. / English
Humans uploaded their brains to the cloud and left their bodies behind; a generation of headless ones must learn to live without the mind to begin a new world.

If spooky, sensual, and surreal is what you seek, look no further than our Midnite shorts program! This fun, weird, and every once in a while, gross variety pack of shorts shows just how unique Midnite films can be. From atmospheric and unnerving work to wild dark comedies and everything in between, you thankfully don’t have to stay up too late to enjoy what these dynamic shorts have to offer.

Post-Screening Q&A moderated by Desmond Thorne, Nitehawk Cinema

BUZZKILL
Peter Ahern / U.S. / 2022 / 5 min. / English
Tune in to the blind date woes of Rick and Becky.

GUSSY
Chris Osborn / U.S. / 2022 / 18 min. / English
As children, Miles and Rocky hunted a monster they thought they saw in the woods. 20 years later, they’re still searching.

LOLLYGAG
Tij D’oyen / U.S. / 2022 / 10 min. / Greek
A woman recounts her sensual yet macabre childhood memory about the boy next door.

CROW GOD
Katia Koziara / U.S. / 2021 / 16 min. / English
Kay is surprised when a crow she feeds begins delivering her $100 bills. But what are the crow’s intentions and where is the money coming from?

BELLY OF THE BEAST
Stephen Sues / U.S. / 2022 / 2 min.
A small, ambitious creature in a strange world goes to dangerous lengths to steal a precious item.

IN THE FLESH
Daphne Gardner / U.S. / 2022 / 13 min. / English
Tracey is trying to jerk off with her bathtub faucet like normal when some memories dredge themselves up, the pipes explode, and she starts leaking black goo.

CANAL
Will Rahilly / U.S. / 2022 / 16 min.
A woman finds herself falling into the dusk of her unconscious through a rift in a river. There she is pursued by masked ghosts who aim to unravel her life.

BETTE
Mary Dauterman / U.S. / 2022 / 2 min. / English
Bette gets a new job.

MICKEY DOGFACE
Zach Fleming / U.S. / 2022 / 10 min. / English
Halloween night, three friends high in a van, and an urban legend surrounding a cult singer’s mysterious death in a fire – what could go wrong?

Even when you’re in a seemingly familiar situation life is frequently unpredictable. Different situations affect people in unique ways and can dramatically alter your perception of what you took for granted as a permanent consistency. The way we react and find a way forward becomes more urgent in these times. While all of this certainly applies to real life, some of the filmmakers in this program have taken the same notions and will challenge the way you might think of subject matter and genres in film.

Post-Screening Q&A moderated by Cristina Cacioppo, Nitehawk Cinema

D AS IN DO NOT
Rachel Wolther / U.S. / 2022 / 16 min. / English
A stand up comedian, Jenny (Joey Ally), deals with her mom’s (Annie Golden) continual hints that she’s planning to end it all.

MOIDA SHE ‘DUNNIT!
Tess Paras, Tyler Davis / U.S. / 2021, 2022 / 3 min. / English
In this Film Noir spoof, Beatrice McMoidara turns herself in for a homicide but has trouble convincing the male detectives that she was, in fact, the murderer.

NIGHT
Ahmad Saleh / Germany, Qatar, Palestine, Jordan / 2021 / 16 min. / Arabic
Night has to trick the mother of a missing child into sleeping in order to save her soul.

BILL & BETTY BUILD A PYRAMID
Alex Wroten / U.S. / 2022 / 15 min. / English
Bill and Betty are thrilled to be attending an exclusive work party, but things get weird when their hosts offer them an opportunity to multiply their success.

BALIKBAYAN
Rebecca Rajadnya / U.S. / 2022 / 18 min. / English, Tagalog
A Filipina immigrant grapples with the physical distance from the family she left behind and the cultural disconnect from her daughters in the United States.

REST STOP
Crystal Kayiza / U.S. / 2022 / 12 min. / English, Luganda
On a bus ride from New York to Oklahoma, Meyi, a Ugandan American girl, realizes her place in the world through her Mother’s efforts to reunite their family.

OPÉRATION CARCAJOU
Nicolas Krief / Canada / 2021 / 18 min. / French
A police search disturbs the peace and quiet of a suburban family and arouses suspicions in Nicolas about his father, a secret man with suspicious activities.