NoBudge is happy to present new work from a group of emerging indie filmmakers based in New York. These narrative short films are a mix of drama and comedy, often favoring the lighthearted and peculiar, like in Town Meeting and Exit Statement, balanced out with some heavier emotional material, like in Nevada and Bye Bye Body, not to mention the beautifully unclassifiable oddities of The Inconceivable Mountain and Allen Anders. For this edition, we’re also sprinkling in a couple of music videos to switch things up, Baby Little Tween, by Okay Kaya, and the experimental dance piece, TWINS “You must be related!” Six 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.

The movies:
Town Meeting
Directors from Simple Town present.
On a drizzly day a long time ago, a group of peasants go about their daily lives while considering upcoming town gatherings.
(7 min)

Baby Little Tween
Director Adinah Dancyger present.
Music video by Okay Kaya.
(4 minutes)

Twins
New York Premiere.
Director Varya Rootwood present.
In this experimental dance film, a pair of twin sisters aim to reconcile a sacred bond.
(4 minutes)

Bye Bye, Body
New York Premiere.
Director Charlotte Benbeniste present.
Nina is fifteen and in her final week of weight loss camp. When, in her last weigh in, the scale doesn’t budge, she turns to desperate measures.
(9 min)

Nevada
Director Emily Ann Hoffman present.
On a weekend getaway, a young couple deals with a birth control mishap.
(12 minutes)

The Inconceivable Mountain
New York Premiere.
Director Daniel Witkin present.
A musicologist and her dog climb a mountain in search of an indecipherable song hoping to understand its meaning.
(16 minutes)

A Very JNCOS Movie
New York Premiere.
Director Zoe Katz present.
A day in the life of a group of JNCO Jean-wearing construction workers as they head to work.
(3 minutes)

Tasteful Nudes
New York Premiere.
Director Sofia Dobrushin and writer Emma Rogers present.
A flailing Artist and her obedient Muse host their premiere original photography exhibition attended by incensed critics and peers from their art world past.
(13 minutes)

Allen Anders – Live at the Comedy Castle (circa 1987)
Director Laura Moss and writer/star Tony Grayson present.
The fever dream of a 1980s stand-up comic who is either having a nervous breakdown or the best set of his life.
(7 minutes)

Exit Statement
New York Premiere.
Director Ben Kitnick present.
When a doomsday cult leader decides that he can’t spend eternity with his most aggravating follower, their plan falls into chaos.
(8 minutes)

The Letter
New York Premiere.
Director Eric Paschal Johnson present.
A little girl receives an alarming letter from Santa Claus.
(3 minutes)

Joe Pickett (The Onion) and Nick Prueher (The Late Show) serve up their latest and greatest yuletide VHS finds

The Found Footage Festival debuted its first show in New York City in 2004 and has gone on to sell out hundreds of shows each year across the U.S., Canada and the UK, including the Just For Laughs Festival, Edinburgh Fringe and Bonnaroo. The fest has been featured on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and National Public Radio and has been named a critics’ pick in dozens of publications, including The Guardian and the New York Times. The FFF can also be seen in the hit documentary Winnebago Man and in the book “VHS: Absurd, Odd and Ridiculous Relics from the Videotape Era.”

Accessibility: Closed Captions, Assisted Listening, Descriptive Audio

Starring: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Christopher Plummer, Toni Collette, LaKeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell

Acclaimed writer and director Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper, Star Wars: The Last Jedi) pays tribute to mystery mastermind Agatha Christie in Knives Out, a fun, modern-day murder mystery where everyone is a suspect. When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From Harlan’s dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan’s untimely death. With an all-star ensemble cast including Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, LaKeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford and Jaeden Martell, Knives Out is a witty and stylish whodunit guaranteed to keep audiences guessing until the very end.

Accessibility: Closed Captions, Assisted Listening, Descriptive Audio

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.

Accessibility: Closed Captions, Assisted Listening

Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., Lucas Hedges, Taylor Russell, Alexa Demie, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Sterling K. Brown

Set against the vibrant landscape of South Florida, and featuring an astonishing ensemble of award-winning actors and breakouts alike, Waves traces the epic emotional journey of a suburban African-American family–led by a well-intentioned but domineering father–as they navigate love, forgiveness and coming together in the aftermath of a loss.

From acclaimed director Trey Edward Shults, Waves is a heartrending story about the universal capacity for compassion and growth even in the darkest of times.

Accessibility: Closed Captions, Assisted Listening, Descriptive Audio

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Awkwafina

Screening in 2D

The gang is back but the game has changed. As they return to Jumanji to rescue one of their own, they discover that nothing is as they expect. The players will have to brave parts unknown and unexplored, from the arid deserts to the snowy mountains, in order to escape the world’s most dangerous game.

Accessibility: Closed Captions, Assisted Listening

Starring: Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Chris Cooper, Susan Kelechi Watson, Maryann Plunkett, Enrico Colantoni

Tom Hanks portrays Mister Rogers in a timely story of kindness triumphing over cynicism, based on the true story of a real-life friendship between Fred Rogers and journalist Tom Junod. After a jaded magazine writer is assigned a profile of Fred Rogers, he overcomes his skepticism, learning about empathy, kindness, and decency from America’s most beloved neighbor.

Starring: Kevin Van Hentenryck, Terri Susan Smith, Beverly Bonner, Robert Vogel

In honor of their exhibition Baptized by Beefcake: The Golden Age of Hand-Painted Movie Posters from Ghana, we have partnered with Poster House for a screening of Basket Case, one of the many classic horror films featured in the exhibition.

Prior to the screening, audiences will hear from Poster House Chief Curator, Angelina Lippert, about why horror and action movies from the 1980s and 1990s make up the majority of hand-painted Ghanaian movie posters, and why Basket Case in particular reflects Ghanaian cultural values in the 1990s.

The entire program will screen once, then a second time with commentary by the directors.

A person talking during a film can be the most annoying thing imaginable – unless that person is the director. Join Vimeo curator Ina Pira as she screens select Nitehawk Shorts Festival Award Winners with live, unscripted commentary from some of the best of NSF19!

Founded in 2008, Vimeo Staff Picks has emerged as one of the preeminent channels for online video and one of the most coveted awards for young filmmakers, having helped launch the careers of many celebrated directors. Hear from the next generation of storytellers in a format that’s sure to be eclectic and insightful.

NIGHT SWIM (12 min)
Director Victoria Rivera
Audience Choice Award for Closing Nite
Three teenage girls break into a shut down pool. When uninvited guests show up, their friendship is tested and one of them is left behind.

SEE YOU NEXT TIME (6 min)
Director Crystal Kayiza
Audience Choice Award for Closing Nite
SEE YOU NEXT TIME reaches across the nail salon table to capture the intimate moments shared between a Chinese nail artist and her Black client.

END OF TUNNEL (5 1/2 min)
Director Sam Sulam
Music Driven Award Winner
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.

THE MAKING OF PANTHERA (5 min)
Co-Director Renee Mao
Audience Choice Award for Opening Nite
Brooklyn-based drag queen Panthera Lush spends painstaking hours behind the sewing machine designing couture-worthy looks. Weaving cinéma vérité and choreographed drama, this documentary short follows Panthera and her chameleonic friends to take a closer look at the creative process behind the ever-evolving art form of drag.

PRINCESS RITA (10 min)
Writer Mallory Rice
NSF19 Jury Award Winner
A lonely insurance adjuster becomes consumed by his desire to meet his internet girlfriend, who claims to be a princess from a faraway country.

Starring: Geraldine Viswanathan, Jack Kilmer, Gabriel Luna

Seventeen-year-old Pakistani-American teenager Hala (Geraldine Viswanathan) struggles to balance desire with her familial, cultural and religious obligations. As she comes into her own, she grapples with a secret that threatens to unravel her family.

Written and directed by Minhal Baig and executive produced by Jada Pinkett Smith, Hala was an official selection of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.