Fundraiser for Ukrainian Refugees
Curated by Willy Hartland

Nina Paley’s This Land is Mine  (2012, 3:33 min)

John Morena’s Dicks (2017, 1min)

Bill Plympton’s Boomtown (1985, 6 min)

Raoul Servais’s Chromophobia (1966, 9:26 min)

Ward Kimball’s Escalation (1968, 2:32 min)

Gene Deitch’s Munro, 1961 8:30 min

Anna Samo’s Obon (2018, 15 min)

Anna Samo & Lisa LaBracio Opposites Game (4:40)

Ryszard Czekala’s The Roll Call (1971, 7 min)

Norman McLaren’s Neighbors (1952, 8min)

NoBudge is happy to present new work from a group of emerging indie filmmakers mostly based in New York. These ten short films are a mix of the dramatic, comedic, and poetic, and they explore a host of themes, including memory, relationships, and youth. From Coney Island to Miami, there’s a strong sense of place in several of the films, and a sprinkling of the surreal and satirical. Eight of the films are NYC premieres, and all 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 helping audiences find their new favorite movies and filmmakers.

Future Memory
New York Premiere
Director Julissa Yasmeen Ramirez present.
Two strangers meet by chance and form a romantic connection.
(1 min)

Observations of the Amazing World Around Us
New York Premiere
Director Lee M Phillips present.
A visual poem about memory.
(7 min)

Jenny and Jihae
Director Katie Kim present.
A daughter tries to heal in the wake of an emotionally painful moment.
(5 min)

Countdown
New York Premiere
Directors Arielle Friedman and Lucy Blumenfield present.
Olive wants to embrace her sexuality like her peers do, but she begins to question the intimacy with her best friend.
(9 min)

Limestone
New York Premiere
Director Paula Andrea Gonzalez-Nasser present.
After a night out in Miami, a young woman reckons with the dwindling chemistry between herself and her ex-boyfriend.
(11 min)

Sparrow
New York Premiere
Directors Boris Krichevsky and Nikita Zarkh present.
After witnessing a violent beating on the boardwalk, 12-year-old Andy starts to feel his sleepy coastal town closing in around him.
(13 min)

Tired Eyes
New York Premiere
Director Ryan Martin Brown present.
A trio of musicians must schlepp gear from a cramped practice space in Bushwick to a small show in the center of Manhattan.
(8 minutes)

Egg
Director Stephanie Ibarra and writer/star Anna Torzullo present.
A close friendship goes through a harrowing trial when one of them lays an egg.
(12 minutes)

NYC Tips and Tricks
Director Amber Schaefer present.
A small time travel vlogger’s tour of Coney Island is interrupted by an unexpected call.
(11 min)

Bonus track:
Ralph Styles Ultra
New York Premiere
Director Nic fforde present.
A faithfully recreated 1970s cigarette advertisement unspools into a surreal satire on melodramatic marketing.
(15 min)

Starring: Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Myha’la Herrold, Chase Sui Wonders, Rachel Sennott, Lee Pace

When a group of rich 20-somethings plan a hurricane party at a remote family mansion, a party game goes awry in this fresh and funny look at backstabbing, fake friends, and one party gone very, very wrong.

Starring: Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, Harry Connick Jr.

Co-presented by Screen Slate. Choose the “Repertory Reserved + $5 donation” ticket to add on a $5 donation to support Screen Slate with your ticket purchase!

Agnes White (Ashley Judd) is struggling to keep steady, living in a motel and working at a lesbian bar with her friend R.C. (Lynn Collins). One night R.C. introduces her to Peter Evans (Michael Shannon), a mysterious young man whose theories on life intrigue her. Mad with mutual loneliness, the two hole up together in the motel room. When Peter’s increasing paranoia about being monitored by the government and plagued by subcutaneous bugs seems real enough to Agnes, the frantic body horror and mental anguish threatens to undo her.

In this wild production from director William Friedkin (The Exorcist), Ashley Judd stands out, injecting nuance into what could have been a cartoonish performance. Crawling around a room covered in aluminum foil and lit only by bug zappers, she manifests Agnes as a visceral being whose every tic comes from her core.

Starring: Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, Helen Thomson, Richard Roxburgh, Olivia DeJonge, Luke Bracey

The film explores the life and music of Elvis Presley (Austin Butler), seen through the prism of his complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). The story delves into the complex dynamic between Presley and Parker spanning over 20 years, from Presley’s rise to fame to his unprecedented stardom, against the backdrop of the evolving cultural landscape and loss of innocence in America. Central to that journey is one of the most significant and influential people in Elvis’s life, Priscilla Presley (Olivia DeJonge).

Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux, Kristen Stewart, Scott Speedman, Welket Bungué, Don McKellar

As the human species adapts to a synthetic environment, the body undergoes new transformations and mutations. With his partner Caprice (Léa Seydoux), Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen), celebrity performance artist, publicly showcases the metamorphosis of his organs in avant-garde performances. Timlin (Kristen Stewart), an investigator from the National Organ Registry, obsessively tracks their movements, which is when a mysterious group is revealed… Their mission — to use Saul’s notoriety to shed light on the next phase of human evolution.

Joe Pickett (The Onion) and Nick Prueher (Late Show) serve up their latest and greatest VHS finds, including a series of Pizza Hut training tapes and a mysterious health video called “Elimination: The First Step.”

Starring: Jalila Baccar, Nada Ghosn, Renee Dick, Hassan Farhat, Myrna Maakaron, Carmen Lebbos, Sotigui Kouyaté

The Future of Film is Female and The Arab Film and Media Institute (AFMI) present a special screening of Randa Chahal Sabbag’s A Civilized People as part of their Arab Women in the Arts program. Also screening is The FOFIF supported short film Dress Up, directed by Karina Dandashi. To make an additional $10 donation to The Future of Film is Female, select the “Event + Donation” ticket on the checkout screen.

During the civil war, some Lebanese have fled to Europe, leaving their large apartments, luxurious houses, and their servants: Sri Lankans, Filipinos, Egyptians “imported” to serve by the thousands. These and many more must deal with the maverick who controls the building, its occupants, the neighbourhood, and a few areas of the city. Their lives intersect: the young Muslim militia fighter and the Christian maid, the middle-class woman who has returned in search of her lover, the Beirut cats and their “treacherous life”…

DRESS UP (2021, 12 minutes)
Directed by Karina Dandashi
Karina’s home to attend her younger sister’s marriage festivities. She brought along her “college roommate” Denise. They’re queer and not out; how will Karina handle all the pent-up tension she feels?

Arab Women in the Arts is an annual showcase to honor generations of Arab women who have excelled in and revolutionized all forms of artistic expression. The 2022 program includes short and feature films, poetry readings, musical performances alongside a virtual gallery featuring paintings, photographs, fiber art and illustrations. The program will also include talkbacks and discussions with the artists about their work and their personal stories of empowerment. This showcase will run from May 26-30th, with a highlight on the work of the late Lebanese filmmaker Randal Chahal Sabbag.

The Arab Film and Media Institute (AFMI) is the first organization of its kind outside the Arab world, a unique ecosystem to find, nurture and develop Arab film and media projects.

Starring: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Béatrice Dalle, Clara Deshayes, Abbey Lee, Félix Maritaud, Karl Glusman

Actors Béatrice Dalle and Charlotte Gainsbourg make a film about witches as technical problems and psychotic outbreaks gradually plunge the shoot into chaos.

Before Lux Aeterna, we’ll be screening Pier Pasolini’s short La Ricotta:
Pier Paolo Pasolini’s contribution to the omnibus film RO.GO.PA.G casts Orson Welles as a director attempting to make a film of the crucifixion of Jesus-all while he, the cast, and crew behave in the most un-Christlike ways imaginable.

Starring: Richard Gere, Diane Lane, Olivier Martinez

20th anniversary screening co-hosted by programmer Shay Filmore

Fifteen years after directing the definitive erotic thriller Fatal Attraction, Adrian Lyne crafted a less sensational but no less compelling sexy drama with Unfaithful. This time around it is the wife risking her family, and the husband as the potentially dangerous one.

Connie (Diane Lane) and Edward (Richard Gere) have a comfortable but staid marriage, having exited New York City for a stable life in the suburbs with their son. When Connie has a chance meeting with handsome Frenchie Paul (Olivier Martinez), she finds it hard to resist his intense draw that leaves her quivering. Growing increasingly reckless, Connie is visibly changed to Paul, who hires a private detective to find out what she’s up to. Even he seems unsure of how he will handle the information he uncovers.

Keep track of the erotic thriller tropes with your Nitehawk Diaries Bingo card!