NoBudge is happy to present a program of eight short films from a group of emerging indie filmmakers mostly based in New York. A mix of comedy, drama, documentary, and experimental filmmaking, the lineup explores strange pursuits and unusual relationships. Thematically varied and visually intriguing, often in lo-fi ways, the short films are filled with idiosyncratic personality and self-assured vision. Each film is a NYC or Brooklyn premiere and all filmmakers will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A and Afterparty.

NoBudge is an online platform spotlighting the best in low-budget indie filmmaking. “One of the best places to sample what’s happening in low-budget cinema worldwide,” says Glenn Kenny of The New York Times. Its mission is to provide a supportive home for emerging indie filmmakers working with limited resources and without major industry connections, and to be a trusted discovery platform.

36 hour walk
New York Premiere
Director Legyaan Thapa in person.
A college student attempts to walk from his dorm room in midtown Manhattan to the end of Long Island in 36 hours.
(10 min)

Manpower 4 Hire
Brooklyn Premiere
Director Ella Sinskey in person.
A woman finds a strange rock on the beach. A landscaper is down on his luck. A man licks his girlfriend.
(14 min)

Twin Flame
Brooklyn Premiere
Director Stella Gatti in person.
A young woman pays an online psychic to draw a portrait of her soulmate.
(11 min)

Handball
New York Premiere
Director Eli Beutel in person.
When his girlfriend expresses interest in opening their relationship, Charley turns to a handball rival for advice.
(9 min)

What Is You Laughin For?
New York Premiere
Director David Dunnington in person.
Four friends live in a toxic state of limbo until world events change everything.
(15 min)

Tradition
New York Premiere
Director Akari Alishio in person.
When Max’s ex comes over to pick up the last of her belongings, Max asks her for help with a self tape.
(13 min)

Recreational Social Interaction
New York Premiere
Director Alex Sovoda in person.
Two people go on a date and everything is perfect and they fall in love.
(18 min)

NADIR: A documentary about surfing in Newport, Rhode Island in the summer and most of the other times as well
New York Premiere
Director Jack Galvin in person.
What begins as a documentary about surfing evolves into a comedy about a guy trying to get rid of a surfboard.
(18 min)

Electronic Body Music is the dance floor evolution of Industrial music, with deep roots into Post Punk and Neue Deutsche Welle. It all started in Germany and Belgium in the early 1980s, when seminal bands such as Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft, Front 242 and Liaisons Dangereuses laid the foundations for this new music style, marked out by thumping beats, aggressive vocals and sequenced synth bass lines. Adrenaline-filled live shows, controversial lyrics and provocative looks shocked the music press and fueled the audience imagination, leaving a burning mark on the hearts and minds of their followers.

Electronic Body Movie is the first documentary film ever made about E.B.M. history and rediscovery. Hear from the voice of the E.B.M. pioneers and prime movers how they shaped and developed their music. Meet some of today’s most cutting edge DJs and producers still inspired and influenced by them. A visual journey into E.B.M. iconic sound, filled with rare archive videos, unreleased live footage and exclusive interviews which will reveal the secrets behind its longevity and show the impact it still has
on contemporary electronic music.

An examination of the life and legacy of Sly & The Family Stone – the groundbreaking band led by the charismatic Sly Stone – that captures the band’s reign while shedding light on the burden that comes with success for Black artists in America.

When Hong Kong Inspector Lee is summoned to Los Angeles to investigate a kidnapping, the FBI doesn’t want any outside help and assigns cocky LAPD Detective James Carter to distract Lee from the case. Not content to watch the action from the sidelines, Lee and Carter form an unlikely partnership and investigate the case themselves.

Featuring: Veronica Viper, Dominant Jeane, Philippe Arman, Cory Dixon, Billie Bullock, Tuna Melt, Juno Stardust and Thee Suburbia

Nightshades is an award winning and ongoing short form doc series that not only highlights different artists around New York City by giving insight into who they are and what they do, but also gives viewers an inside peek into a world with a different freedom, expression, creativity, and passion, even as it’s changed over the past few years–a city making art at night.

This screening will showcase 8 intimate vignettes of 8 unique nightlife artists, with each episode being one night of filming with one artist and one filmmaker. The screening will be followed by a Q&A after with the filmmaker (Ellen Callaghan) and some of the featured artists (Veronica Viper, Cory Dixon, Dominant Jeane, Billie Bullock, Tuna Melt, and Thee Suburbia), and will focus on the world of NYC nightlife. Moderated by Louise the Ill at Ease.

Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson, Dana Fuchs, Martin Luther, T.V. Carpio

The songs of the Beatles provide the sonic framework for this musical tale of romance, war and peace. When young British worker Jude (Jim Sturgess) sets sail for the United States in search of his father, he ends up meeting carefree college student Max (Joe Anderson) and his lovely sister, Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), along with a cast of eccentric characters. As Jude and Lucy fall for each other, their relationship is threatened by the social upheaval that accompanies the Vietnam War.

Starring: Lily Collias, Sumaya Bouhbal, Valentine Black, Diana Irvine, James Le Gros, Danny McCarthy

During a weekend backpacking trip in the Catskills, 17-year-old Sam navigates the clash of egos between her father and his oldest friend.

Starring: Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kevin Conway, Keith David, Lance Henriksen, Gary Sinise, Mark Boone Junior

A mysterious woman gunslinger, Ellen (Sharon Stone), saunters into the town of Redemption looking for revenge. Her father was killed by the town’s sadistic mayor, Herod (Gene Hackman), who is in the midst of organizing a quick-draw tournament. The lady enters, joining a cast of miscreants and outlaws for a brutal competition in which the loser dies. Among the competitors is “The Kid” (Leonardo DiCaprio), an upstart who has his own score to settle with Herod.

Starring: Wes Miller, David Weldon, Mary Wascavage, Dave Bonavita

From the creator of the legendary Suburban Sasquatch!

Deep within a tranquil forest, five strangers meet at a secluded bed and breakfast. But one of these guests happens to be a mad scientist, who uses his vacation to accidentally create an army of killer mushrooms. Now unleashed on the other guests, and with the body count quickly piling up, it’s up to the survivors to arm themselves and fight back against these slaughtering shrooms in hopes of stopping them from world domination!

From Dave Wascavage, the writer/ director of Rifftrax and Red Letter Media favorite Suburban Sasquatch comes a film that somehow manages to outdo and out-WTF that movie in almost every department, with jaw-dropping mushroom samurai fighting, puppet karate decapitations and near interdimensional level CGI alchemy that will have viewers believing they have actually ingested mushrooms, the good kind.