This year’s Matinee One program is another section within the festival that offers a close examination of our most intimate connections, ranging from parent-child relationships and lost loves to new flings and close friendships. These short films invite us to reflect on the various relationships in our own lives as we kick off the morning’s screenings.

Q&A moderated by Caryn Coleman, The Future of Film is Female

SECOND BEDROOM
Beatrix Chu, 12 min., NYC premiere
Over the course of a day, 12-year-old Agnes goes apartment hunting in Brooklyn with her dad Peter, and struggles to come to terms with her parents’ separation.

Let’s Fly Away
Griffin Boucher, 13 min.
Two inseparable friends wrestle with fear, excitement, and uncertainty as they face the possibility of leaving their small town behind for something larger.

Subject of Desire
Benett Holgerson, 10 min.
Moses, a seasonal worker on Fire Island, navigates the tempestuous waters of pleasure and connection in a journey to become an artist seen on their own terms.

A Grieving Heart
Wendy Cong Zhao, 12 min., NYC premiere
An immigrant woman examines her past in the wake of her American ex-boyfriend’s death.

IS GANG STALKING REAL
Theodore Collatos, 16 min., NYC premiere
A raw, unflinching look at a friendship haunted by meth-fueled paranoia, and fragile moments of clarity behind bars.

CUB
Sofia Rubin, 9 min.
A tween MMA fighter grapples with her suffocating sports bra and her domineering dad, pushing her changing body to surreal limits during her toughest match yet.

In The Flesh
Emily Frances Kaplan, 15 min.
The perfect housewife has a secret: She’s obsessed with expensive meat, and the local butcher who knows how to handle it.

Awit Natin (Our Song)
Pacqui Pascual, 10 min.
When their father dies during their mother’s hospitalization, a Filipino family goes to extreme and absurd lengths to hide the truth.