Starring: Carolyn Farina, Edward Clements, Chris Eigeman, Taylor Nichols, Allison Parisi, Dylan Hundley

A radical student is adopted by a group of young New Yorkers, serves as a catalyst to alter his and their lives. Gathering in a Manhattan apartment, the group of friends meet to discuss social mobility, Fourier’s socialism and play bridge in their cocoon of upper-class society – until they are joined by a man with a critical view of their way of life.

Starring: Gunner Hansen, Brinke Stevens, Randy Clower, TJ Myers

From director Bret McCormick (The Abomination) comes one of the most screwball, brain-melting late 90s direct-to-video entries ever made. At a top-secret military facility, a group of scientists and army brass work on the “The Replicator Project,” which quickly goes awry when it turns all the male soldiers into gorgeous, scantily clad nymphets who then morph into alligators when they reach the peak of sexual excitement! Starring original Leatherface Gunner Hansen and iconic scream queen Brinke Stevens.

Hosted by Matt Desiderio of Horror Boobs with free giveaways of Blu-rays, DVDs and collectibles. Followed by an after party in Lo-Res where Desiderio will DJ an all-vinyl set.

Starring: Stefanie Estes, Olivia Luccardi, Eleanore Pienta, Dana Millican, Melissa Paulo, Jon Beavers

Playing out in real time, Soft & Quiet is a runaway train that follows a single afternoon in the life of an elementary school teacher, Emily, who organizes an inaugural club meeting of like-minded women. When they all decide to move the meeting to Emily’s house to keep the wine flowing, they stop at the local store to pick up refreshments. At the store, an altercation breaks out between a woman from Emily’s past and the group, leading to a volatile chain of events.

NoBudge is happy to present new work from a group of emerging indie filmmakers mostly based in New York. These eleven short films reflect a sampling of some of our preferred genres: absurd comedies, understated character studies, and strange visions. This edition features a couple of documentaries / hybrids, and a brand new secret short film from a NoBudge favorite. Eight of the films are NYC or Brooklyn premieres, and the directors will be in attendance for a post-film 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.

The movies:
Limerence
New York Premiere
Director Irmak Akgur present.
An experimental short that follows a young woman’s experience with casual relationships.
(6 min)

Love Liz
Brooklyn Premiere
Director Samantha Carroll present.
Liz is an aspiring singer who goes to Hollywood to meet a music producer she found on Instagram.
(9 min)

Tyler Works at the Gas Station
New York Premiere
Director Samuel Centore present.
Nick’s existential pondering is abruptly interrupted by the arrival of his girlfriend’s unassuming intern and muse, Tyler.
(11 min)

Penny for your Thoughts
New York Premiere
Director Tatiana Tift present.
A whimsical docu-fiction about memory loss, wealth, and identity.
(6 min)

Filling Holes
New York Premiere
Directors Sophia deBaun and Miriam Gabriel present.
Best friends, Sophia and Mimi, move in together for a new start after their lives were disrupted by the pandemic.
(15 min)

Critics
New York Premiere
Director Tynan DeLong present.
Two New York film critics discuss their profession in the park.
(8 min)

Fly on the Wall
New York Premiere
Director Doron Max Hagay and writer/star Matt Barats present.
An inspired young photographer tries to connect with the working man.
(6 min)

Premium Pornography
Directed by Simon Ruscinski
A Catholic school boy trying to understand his budding sexuality looks to the animal kingdom for answers.
(13 min)

Fried Shrimp
New York Premiere
Director Max Cea present.
In this unrelenting Christmas comedy, Elise must contend with the lengths she’ll go to fit in with her boyfriend’s overbearing Italian family.
(11 min)

Deerwoods Deathtrap
Director James Gannon present.
50 years ago Jack and Betty were hit by a train and survived. This is their story.
(9 min)

Secret Film
(9 min)

Comedian Kevin Maher returns to Nitehawk Prospect Park with an all-new holiday extravaganza. Get into the Christmas spirit with a night of wonderful clips, special guests, play-along games and Yuletide surprises.
See why SyFy called Kevin “an insane genius” in the series DailyGrindhouse.com described as “TED Talks for Midnight Movies.”
Join us for a multi-media variety show celebrating the most wonderful time of the year!

Featuring:
• Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell (writer/cartoonist, The New Yorker, Murder Book)
• Camila Jones (Mistress of Ceremonies)
• Emily Menez (Writer, CBS, McSweeney’s, Nike)
• Nick Nadel (Writer/Producer, The Onion, Atomic Abe on YouTube)
• Scott Rosann (Editor, “Love…Reconsidered,” “House Hunters International”)

Starring: Lee Sung-jae, Bae Doo-na, Byun Hee-bong

Released in 2000, Bong Joon Ho’s debut feature film Barking Dogs Never Bite arguably remains the most under-seen of his works. Though the movie, which follows academic Yun-ju (Lee Sung-jae) as he desperately vies for a job as a professor, was critically fairly well-received, it bombed at the box office, to the point that Bong thought he might never work in the industry again. Perhaps as a direct result, Bong has since described the film as “very stupid” and actively discouraged audiences from seeking it out. Against his advice, we are screening it at Nitehawk now.

While the film isn’t as airtight as his later works, it is something of a blueprint for the rest of Bong’s oeuvre, as the story explores shifting scales of morality and class division. It’s also quite stylistically playful, as lively camerawork and an unusually jazzy score lend a noir-like feel to a movie that is, in plot, somewhat mundane. As Yun-ju despairs over his unemployment, his sense of frustration finds focus in canine form. Annoyed by the constant sound of a dog’s barking throughout the apartment complex in which he lives, he resolves to kill the unfortunate pooch, thus setting off a chain of misunderstandings, not least of his own ability to actually do the deed. Meanwhile, Hyun-nam (Bae Doona), an aimless young woman who works at the same complex, decides to investigate the recent string of missing dogs.

Starring: Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins, Samantha Morton

A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.

Starring: Sheila Vand, Matt Dillon, William Moseley, Isabella Rossellini, Anna Gunn, Christopher McDonald

The Future of Film is Female presents a special screening of Shirin Neshat’s new film, LAND OF DREAMS, and a discussion about the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests in Iran. To make an additional $10 donation to The Center for Human Rights in Iran, select the “Event + Donation” ticket on the checkout screen.

Set in small-town America, Land of Dreams follows Simin, an Iranian immigrant working for the United States Census Bureau which has gone beyond data collection and now explores the dreams of citizens for unknown intentions. Playful and poignant, the film acknowledges the greatness of the American experiment while offering a warning beacon for what could come. This is the third feature film (after Women Without Men and Looking for Oum Kulthum) by renowned artist Shirin Neshat and partner Shoja Azari.

This screening includes an option to donate to the Center for Human Rights in Iran, an organization that helps Iranian dissidents.

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Olivia Colman, Harvey Guillen, Samson Kayo, Wagner Moura, Florence Pugh, John Mulaney

This fall, everyone’s favorite leche-loving, swashbuckling, fear-defying feline returns. For the first time in more than a decade, DreamWorks Animation presents a new adventure in the Shrek universe as daring outlaw Puss in Boots discovers that his passion for peril and disregard for safety have taken their toll. Puss has burned through eight of his nine lives, though he lost count along the way. Getting those lives back will send Puss in Boots on his grandest quest yet.

Academy Award nominee Antonio Banderas returns as the voice of the notorious PiB as he embarks on an epic journey into the Black Forest to find the mythical Wishing Star and restore his lost lives. But with only one life left, Puss will have to humble himself and ask for help from his former partner and nemesis: the captivating Kitty Soft Paws (Salma Hayek). In their quest, Puss and Kitty will be aided–against their better judgment–by a ratty, chatty, relentlessly cheerful mutt, Perro (Harvey Guillén). Together, our trio of heroes will have to stay one step ahead of Goldilocks (Florence Pugh) and the Three Bears Crime Family, “Big” Jack Horner (John Mulaney) and terrifying bounty hunter, The Big Bad Wolf (Wagner Moura).

Starring: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O’Hara, William Hickey, Glenn Shadix, Paul Reubens, Ken Page

The film follows the misadventures of Jack Skellington, Halloweentown’s beloved pumpkin king, who has become bored with the same annual routine of frightening people in the “real world.” When Jack accidentally stumbles on Christmastown, all bright colors and warm spirits, he gets a new lease on life — he plots to bring Christmas under his control by kidnapping Santa Claus and taking over the role. But Jack soon discovers even the best-laid plans of mice and skeleton men can go seriously awry.