Starring: Parker Posey, Josh Hamilton, Tori Spelling, Freddie Prinze Jr., Geneviève Bujold, Rachael Leigh Cook

This offbeat comedy is an adaptation of Wendy MacLeod’s play about the affluent, dysfunctional Pascal family as they prepare for a Thanksgiving dinner. The mentally disturbed daughter (Parker Posey), who identifies with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, has been involved in an incestuous relationship with her twin brother Marty (Josh Hamilton) for years. But now Marty is bringing his fiancee Lesley (Tori Spelling) home for the holidays to meet his family, including his sister, his twisted mother (Genevieve Bujold), and his younger brother (Freddie Prinze Jr.). After the electricity goes out, tensions escalate.

Parker Posey won the 1997 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Award.

Starring: Florence Pugh, Timothée Chalamet, Emma Watson, Saoirse Ronan, Eliza Scanlen, Meryl Streep, Laura Dern, Bob Odenkirk

Writer-director Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) has crafted a Little Women that draws on both the classic novel and the writings of Louisa May Alcott, and unfolds as the author’s alter ego, Jo March, reflects back and forth on her fictional life. In Gerwig’s take, the beloved story of the March sisters – four young women each determined to live life on her own terms — is both timeless and timely. Portraying Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth March, the film stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, with Timothée Chalamet as their neighbor Laurie, Laura Dern as Marmee, and Meryl Streep as Aunt March.

In the early 1980’s, a small group of dedicated Bay Area headbangers shunned the hard rock of MTV and Hollywood hairspray bands in favor of a more dangerous brand of metal that became known as thrash. From the tape trading network to the clubs to the record stores and fanzines, director Adam Dubin reveals how the scene nurtured the music and the music spawned a movement.

Murder In The Front Row is told through powerful first person testimony and stunning animation and photography. The film is a social study of a group of young people defying the odds and building something essential for themselves. Featuring interviews with Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Exodus, Testament, Death Angel, Possessed, CrumbHead and many more. Narrated by Brian Posehn.

MUSIC RIGHTS IN FILMMAKING WITH THE VOLUNTEER LAWYERS FOR THE ARTS
FREE for NSF19 filmmakers, $25 for students, $35 all others

Securing permission for the use of music in film can feel daunting. This class will provide an overview of music copyrights, including ownership and fair use, and explain the basics of music clearances for the use of music in film.

Established in 1969, Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA) is the leading legal aid and education organization dedicated to New York artists and its arts and cultural organizations (ACOs). VLA strives to protect the artistic community’s livelihoods, businesses, and creative works through access to dedicated legal representation and focused education programs.

Presented by NSF sponsor, Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.

Encore show added Friday nite!

The 2019 Nitehawk Shorts Festival MUSIC DRIVEN program offers a series of music videos and short form documentaries that highlight music as a diverse expression of self at any age.

Programmed by Liz Zimiles, John Woods, and Kris King.

Q&A WITH FILMMAKERS
PROGRAM

E_GO
ALIMZHAN ALAN SABIR / CANADA / 2019 / DANCE, EXPERIMENTAL / 3 MIN / NEW YORK PREMIERE
An analysis of the dualistic nature of the ego mind and its role in shaping one’s identity and self perspective.

MITSKI – A PEARL
SAAD MOOSAJEE, ART CAMP, & DANAE GOSSET  / U.S.A. / 2019 / ANIMATION, MUSIC VIDEO / 2 1/2 MIN
An emotional rollercoaster ride that takes you past the edge of the world and into a landscape of heartbreak, intricately realized through a breakthrough combination of 3D animation and hand-painted frames.

BILL’S RECORDS
CHUCK PRZYBYL / U.S.A / 2017 / DOCUMENTARY / 10 MIN / NEW YORK PREMIERE
73 year old Bill Wisener, record store proprietor of 42 years, has a massive collection of hundreds of thousands of records. He’s an inspired person who reflects on dealing with loneliness and a life lived in a record store.

NO AVOCADOS IN THE GHETTO
JOHN CONNOR HAMMOND / U.S.A. / 2019 / MUSIC VIDEO / 4 MIN
A satirical and musical take on the issue of food deserts. Song by Dekunle.

GIRLS JUST WANNA
STEPHANIA DULOWSKI / U.S.A. / 2019 / MUSIC VIDEO / 16MM & 8MM TO DIGITAL / 4 MIN
A gentle ode to the young women who shape New York with their own unapologetic vibrancies. After all, girls just want to have fun.

END OF TUNNEL
SAM SULAM / U.S.A. / 2019 / DOCUMENTARY / 16MM TO DIGITAL / 5 1/2 MIN / NEW YORK PREMIERE
Henny Mack ruminates on his past failures and how he uses positive feedback as a freestyle rap MC to propel him away from the negativity in his neighborhood.

WHACK WORLD
THIBAUT DUVERNEIX / CANADA / 2019 / MUSIC VIDEO / 15 MIN
Official video of a 15-minute visual album for Tierra Whack, WHACK WORLD, consisting of 15 scenes combining grotesque and absurd situations, which convey the quirky imagination of the rapper.

SKIN I’M IN
CODY BUESING / U.S.A. / 2019 / MUSIC VIDEO, EXPERIMENTAL / 3 MIN / NEW YORK PREMIERE
An original music video for the Brooklyn-based band Ghost Funk Orchestra.

SALVATORE GANACCI: HORSE
VEDRAN RUPIC / SWEDEN / 2019 / MUSIC VIDEO / 3 MIN
This bizarre music video is a revenge tale lead by Gannacci’s Swedish beats and a smattering of taxidermy animals.

DEATH METAL GRANDMA
LEAH GALANT / U.S.A. / 2018 / DOCUMENTARY / 13 MIN
97 year-old Holocaust Survivor Inge Ginsberg decides to break out as a death metal singer.

ROLLER SKATES
MICAH BUZAN / U.S.A. / 2017 / MUSIC VIDEO / 4 MIN
Music Video from Nick Hakim’s debut album “Green Twins,” animation by Micah Buzan.

JESUS CHRIST IS VERY NICE (MARTHA STEWART IS SEVENTY SEVEN)
MAURICE (DEVAN JOSEPH & JASON GAINES) / U.S.A. / 2019 / MUSIC VIDEO / 2 MIN / WORLD PREMIERE
A paranormal video that touches on Martha Stewart’s age and Jesus Christ’s demeanor.

LOVELY
CAROLINE WILLIAMS / U.S.A. / 2019 / MUSIC VIDEO / 4 MIN
In glimpses of her daily routine, a young mother’s frequent consultation of a smartphone appears to influence her decision to enhance her appearance despite the beauty already present on her face and in her life.

CLOSE 2 ME – LADY JAMES MONROE
LAURA MOSS / U.S.A. / 2019 / MUSIC VIDEO / 16MM TO DIGITAL / 3 MIN / WORLD PREMIERE
Halloween night, New York City. A woman becomes haunted by a face in the crowd that she starts to imagine everywhere.

The Nitehawk Shorts Festival and NoBudge (the online platform spotlighting the best in low-budget indie filmmaking) have partnered to present a program of seven short films that are either currently or will soon premiere on NoBudge.com. (84 min).

Programmed by Caryn Coleman and Kentucker Audley.

Q&A WITH FILMMAKERS
PROGRAM

IN FULL BLOOM
MAEGAN HOUANG / U.S.A. / 2019 / FANTASY, SCIENCE-FICTION, DRAMA  / 11 MIN
Cecile, an older Vietnamese-American hoarder, has her life upended when worms open a black hole in her house and threaten to take all her stuff.

MARIPOSA
KRISTIAN MERCADO FIGUEROA / U.S.A. / 2019 / EXPERIMENTAL / 16MM TO DIGITAL / ENGLISH & SPANISH WITH SUBTITLES / 7 MIN
Mariposa is a poetic exploration on single motherhood (shot in Spanish Harlem and Puerto Rico).

DAY ONE
ARIELLE GOLDMAN / U.S.A. / 2019 / DRAMA / 10 MIN / NEW YORK PREMIERE
A woman prepares for her day whilst on her period.

LA BRUJA
ELIZA COSSIO & HAYLEY KOSAN / U.S.A. / 2019 / COMEDY, DRAMA /  ENGLISH & SPANISH WITH SUBTITLES / 17 MIN
A woman meets a witch who offers to help her after a break up.

BENNIFER
RYAN MCGLADE / U.S.A. / 2018 / COMEDY & DRAMA / 16MM TO DIGITAL / 13 MIN
Jed’s family isn’t how he remembered it.

SWALLOW GRASS SNAKES
PEPI GINSBERG / U.S.A. / 2018 / DRAMA / 7 MIN / WORLD PREMIERE
Devin is the star of a sex video that goes viral. When she meets an over-eager fan she is forced to decide how she will protect herself and her young sister from the perils of internet fame.

DOMINANT SPECIES
JOSEPH SACKETT / U.S.A. / 2019 / SCIENCE FICTION, LGBTQ / 19 MIN
10 aliens in human host bodies learn how to be men.

Encore show added Saturday nite!

The Nitehawk Shorts Festival MIDNITE program continues to bring the very best in new genre voices onto the big screen. This program of twelve international shorts highlight a range of fright; from tense coming-of-age thrillers to the kind of creepy tales that keep you up at night.

Programmed by Caryn Coleman and Sam Zimmerman.

Q&A WITH FILMMAKERS

PROGRAM

WHITEOUT
LANCE EDMANDS / U.S.A. / 2019 / THRILLER, COMEDY / 11 MIN
When a young couple encounter a strange old man wandering in a snowstorm, they must decide if he needs help or if he has more sinister intentions.

IT’S BEEN TOO LONG
AMBER SCHAEFER / U.S.A. / 2019 / COMEDY / 8 MIN
Two ex-lovers meet at a rarely-used Aspen lodge to reignite their passions, but first they must confess their past sins.

THE BOOGEYWOMAN
ERICA SCOGGINS / U.S.A. / 2019 / THRILLER / 18 MIN
In the fever of her first period, a curious teenager is drawn to her small town’s local legend, only to find that the “Boogeywoman” is flesh and blood–the mother she never had.

Z-GOAT: FIRST BLEAT
JULIEN JAUNIAUX & BERTRAND LEPLAE / BELGIUM / 2019 / HORROR / FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 13 1/2 MIN
The year is 2078. Run if you can. Crawl if you must. Z-GOAT will tear you apart anyway!

THE TAXIDERMIST
NATALIE JOHNSON / U.S.A. / 2019 / HORROR / 8 MIN
Claire, a woman taxidermist grieves her recent, late-term miscarriage that she has in the middle of the night in her taxidermy shop.

SHE
ZENA S. DIXON / U.S.A. / 2018 / 2 MIN / WORLD PREMIERE
She teases the audience with a tale of an unknown city where a group of women bond over a sinister game. As the story unfolds, the audience is entangled with competitiveness and conspiracy.

THE FOLLOWER
STEPHANIE SZERLIP / U.S.A. / 2019 / THRILLER / 16MM TO DIGITAL / 12 MIN / NEW YORK PREMIERE
A misunderstood teen with dreams of escaping her dreary suburban life is tempted by a would-be internet stalker in this Southern Gothic stranger-danger tale. Based on the 1966 Joyce Carol Oates story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”

DIDDIE WA DIDDIE
JOSHUA ERKMAN / U.S.A / 2019 / SCIENCE FICTION / ENGLISH & FRENCH WITH SUBTITLES / 8 MIN / NEW YORK PREMIERE
A French speaking otherworldly creature shows a recently separated couple what their true emotional needs and desires are.

THE HITCHHIKER
ADELE VUKO / AUSTRALIA / 2019 / HORROR / 13 MIN / NEW YORK PREMIERE
Jade hits the road to Byron Bay with two besties, resolving to keep her terminal diagnosis on the down-low. When an enigmatic hitchhiker makes her an offer, she finds it hard to refuse.

TWIST
ALY MIGLIORI / U.S.A. / 2019 / THRILLER / 10 MIN / BROOKLYN PREMIERE
No choice but to walk home alone, Hannah sees an opportunity for a ride, but others see an opportunity in her.

THE REFLECTION
LOUIS-DAVID JUTRAS / CANADA / 2019 / THRILLER / FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 5 MIN / NEW YORK PREMIERE
Trapped and alone in her apartment, Anais tries to escape this entity that manifests itself only through reflection.

THE ONLY THING I LOVE MORE THAN YOU IS RANCH DRESSING
SYDNEY CLARA BRAFMAN / U.S.A. / 2018 / HORROR, COMEDY / 1 MIN
Ranch. Dipped. Chicken. Fingers.

A raw and extremely unfiltered look at the process of Neil Young and Crazy Horse making their first album in seven years. Witness the laughter, tensions, crusty attitudes and love of a rock & roll band that’s been together for 50 years as they share their passion, first and foremost, for the music.

Stories of cultural identity, a subcultural legend, meaningful and surprising connection with others, and personal sacrifice comprise the eight short films in the Nitehawk Shorts Festival MATINEE TWO program.

Q&A WITH FILMMAKERS
PROGRAM

CUBA SCALDS HIS HAND
ABBY SUN & DANIEL GARBER / U.S.A. / 2019 / DOCUMENTARY / 4 MIN / NEW YORK PREMIERE
Behind the scenes of the annual high school rodeo championship, Naudy Exposito, a.k.a. “Cuba,” feeds the bucking horses and bulls. When an accident befalls him, he does what cowboys do best: work through the pain.

NO FORKS IN THE ROAD
JESSICA LE / U.S.A. / 2019 / DRAMA / 9 MIN / NEW YORK PREMIERE
At a rest stop, May’s newly-found friendship with a stranger leaves her at a crossroads with her cultural identity.

MAMI
ALESSANDRA LACORAZZA / U.S.A. / 2018 / DRAMA / ENGLISH & SPANISH WITH SUBTITLES / 11 MIN / BROOKLYN PREMIERE
An overburdened daughter decides to abandon her obligations, sealing her depressed mother’s fate.

A YEAR
JISUN JAMIE KIM / U.S.A. / 2019 / DRAMA / NEPALI WITH SUBTITLES / 14 MIN
A Himalayan village woman yearns to provide a better life for her young daughters. But the only possible option she sees is surrogacy – a choice that will explode her domestic tranquility and become a searing dilemma.

THE MAGNITUDINOUS ILLUMINOUS
MAYA TIPPETT & RACHEL MILLS / U.S.A. / 2018 / DOCUMENTARY / 12 MIN
In between pouring shots at the bowling alley where he works, 66-year-old Pete Napolitano has been developing metaphysical theories. Pull up a stool to Pete’s “Table of Honor” and soak in his elucidations on how to live a creative life.

JAZZ IN WAKANDA
DJAKA SOUARE / U.S.A. / 2018 / DRAMA / 10 MIN
An otherwise uneventful day for Julie takes a more serious turn when her daughter, Jazz, starts to ask profound questions about slavery, and what she’s learned at school.

BLACKOUT
SOFIA BONAMI / U.S.A. / 2019 / DRAMA / 13 MIN / WORLD PREMIERE
A power outage in a prison classroom temporarily suspends the teacher and inmates in a reality with no barriers.

SPARE PARTS
EMILY KAPLAN / U.S.A. / 2018 / WESTERN, DRAMA / 18 MIN / NEW YORK PREMIERE
A small time hustler spots a vulnerable woman in a truck-stop town on the edge of nowhere. What seems like an easy hit becomes more complicated when unexpected tenderness develops.

The Nitehawk Shorts Festival MATINEE ONE program presents eight short films that explore sincere and insincere quests for intimacy, the attraction of nostalgia, and a very personal look at our immigration climate.

Q&A WITH FILMMAKERS

PROGRAM

I KNOW YOU SO WELL
JUSTICE NNANNA / U.S.A. / 2019 / DOCUMENTARY / 7 1/2 MIN / WORLD PREMIERE
An intimate portrayal of the people who guide us into and out of this world featuring eleven strangers working as caregivers across the spectrum of healthcare who created a Sound & Movement Choir.

MARISOL
ZOE SALICRUP JUNCO / U.S.A. / 2019 / DRAMA / ENGLISH & SPANISH WITH SUBTITLES / 15 MIN
When a young mother takes a risk to provide for her daughter, a stranger turns her transgression into a nightmare.

WESTFALIA
HALEY FINNEGAN / U.S.A. / 2018 / COMEDY / 16 MIN
Two Instagrammers must fight to post daily after their close competitors’ following doubles overnight.

MERRYMAN
ZEKE SPECTOR & GABE HARDEN / U.S.A. / 2019 / DOCUMENTARY / 10 MIN
For Ron Merriman, Christmas is not just a time of year, it’s a state of mind. This short explores the passion of the man behind the “Torrington Christmas House.”

WHITE ROCK SKATE
MARY DAUTERMAN / U.S.A. / 2018 / COMEDY / 8 MIN / NEW YORK PREMIERE
A delusional woman desperately clings to an abandoned skating rink and her memories of it.

THIS TIME AWAY
MAGALI BARBE / U.K. / 2019 / SCIENCE-FICTION / 14 MIN
Nigel is an elderly man living as a recluse, haunted by his past and memory of the family he once had… until an unexpected visitor arrives and disrupts his lonely routine.

FRIENDS LIKE THAT
FRANCESCA DE FUSCO / U.S.A. / 2019 / COMEDY / 8 MIN
After getting dumped, Maia seeks solace by crashing with her best ex Alex.

SOMETHING LIKE LONELINESS
SETH EPSTEIN & BEN EPSTEIN / U.S.A. / 2019 / MAGICAL REALISM / 13 MIN
Upstairs-downstairs neighbors barter sounds captured in food storage containers. With the sounds come fragments of past relationships and the hopes and disappointments that remain.