Gather your BK besties and nurse your hangover with a delectable collection of narrative, animated, and documentary Brooklyn-set shorts! Stories of queer folks painting their next masterwork, eavesdropping on a sexy neighbor, and stumping for love at the ballot box will help you sink into your comfort zone (aka scrambled eggs and mimosas) at our inaugural Brooklyn Brunch.

SALMAN TOOR’S EMERALD GREEN
Dir. Adam Golfer, USA, 8 min
Salman Toor creates a new painting to be shown alongside the works of his heroes.

THANK YOU, COME AGAIN!
Dir. Aysia Segura, USA, 4 min
A cat and his owner head to the store where temptations make it hard to stay on their two item grocery list.

JELLY BEAN
Dir. Nessa Norich, USA, 14 min
Reyzl opens herself up to love through dating apps.

PAPERBOY LOVE PRINCE RUNS FOR MAYOR
Dir. Owen Dubeck, USA, 27 min
Paperboy Love Prince is a far cry from your typical New York City mayoral candidate.

TROY
Dir. Mike Donahue, USA, 16 min
Troy has loud sex 24-7. Troy shares a wall with Thea and Charlie. Troy is ruining their lives… or is he saving them?

REST ASSURED
Dir. TeShima Brennan, USA, 5 min

FERNANDA
Dir. Mary Angélica Molina, USA, 12 min
A Latinx dyke wants to make the world a better place, but can barely keep her own life together.

Starring: Maria Breaux, StormMiguel Florez, J Aguilar, Dakota Billops-Breaux, Lydia Tremayne, Sarah Korda

Former lead singer Grrrilda Beausoleil is turning 50 and the best birthday present she can imagine is a reunion with her riot grrrl band. Now all she has to do is convince the bandmates she abandoned 20 years ago that she’s finally ready to rock and it’s time for the group to overcome their collective demons. No sweat.

Set in San Francisco, uproarious mockumentary VULVEETA sees the band adapt to the times and to each other while celebrating the punk music scenes that brought them together in the first place.

Starring: Vaughan Murrae, Dominic Lippa, Lacey Oake, Matthew Rankin, Shannon Blanchet

It’s 1987 and when new kid Robin shows up for their first day of school, it seems everyone wants to know if they’re a boy or a girl. Robin, however, remains largely unbothered, keeping their attention focused on one person: Carter, the confident, charismatic school bully. As the two forge a complicated bond, Robin finds themselves making increasingly dangerous choices to fit in.

Writer and director Trevor Anderson’s wry narrative feature debut presents retro ‘80s detail, a sensational soundtrack, and a breakthrough lead in non-binary performer Vaughan Murrae. Wholly redefining the conventions of the coming-of-age story, BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND is a queer cult classic in the making.

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 wide-ranging sampling of some of our preferred genres: absurd comedies, understated character studies, and strange visions. This edition also includes a music video and a classic short film from 2007. Six of the films are NYC or Brooklyn 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.

The movies:

It’s All Related
New York Premiere
Director Peter Wagner present.
A medley of overheard banter and personal musings about love and the cliches of love.
(3 min)

Codependency (Music Video)
Director Sofia Dobrushin present
A campy, queer 1980’s-esque dating show unravels into a dream scape chaos of relationship expectations.
(4 min)

The Length of Your Rage
New York Premiere
Directors Juan Pablo Rivera Garza & Charlie Sosnick present.
After an angry fight with his boyfriend, Thomas walks across Manhattan to cool off.
(13 min)

Close Ties to Home Country
New York Premiere
Director Akanksha Cruczynski present.
An immigrant dogwalker finds home in the hearts of the rich people’s dogs she dogsits.
(15 min)

Jefferson Avenue
Director Hannah Whisenant present.
Zora, a young compulsive woman, adjusts to living with new neighbors after many months of isolation and living alone during a global pandemic.
(15 min)

Jellyfish
New York Premiere
Director Gabe Ross present.
A casual weekend hangout is thrown off course with the arrival of an unexpected guest.
(6 min)

Supernigga
New York Premiere
Director Daddy present.
Everything goes wrong for Sugar— a writer by day, DJ by night— after a superhero attempts to save her in this Blaxploitation inspired romantic comedy.
(8 min)

Radical Honesty
New York Premiere
Director Bianca Poletti present.
At the end of a great date, Jack and Rachel bond over a shared interest in deconstructing traditional relationship structures.
(7 min)

Sativa
Directors Kelly Cooper and Johnny Frohman present.
A lonely weed dealer spirals when she tries to make conversation with an uninterested client.
(7 min)

Cherry Cola
Director Amandine Thomas present.
When Sherri gets arrested for shoplifting from work, she needs to find money for legal fees. Opportunity strikes, and his name is Tom.
(12 min)

Death to the Tinman
Director Ray Tintori present.
Bill loves Jane, the pastor’s daughter. When Bill becomes a threat to the community, the pastor is forced to curse his ax.
(12 min)

Starring: Kimiko Ikegami, Ai Matsubara, Miki Jinbo, Eriko Tanaka, Kiyohiko Ozaki, Haruko Wanibuchi

In an effort to avoid spending time with her father and his creepy new lover, young Gorgeous (Kimiko Ikegami) resolves to visit her aunt’s remote mansion. With six of her closest friends in tow, including the musically inclined Melody (Eriko Tanaka) and the geeky Prof (Ai Matsubara), Gorgeous arrives at the estate, where supernatural events occur almost immediately. A severed head takes flight, household appliances come to life and a portrait of a cat seems to contain an evil spirit.

Starring: Rhonda, Jon Cook, Jeff Mueller, Cynthia Nelson, Jason Noble

Made in 1994 in Louisville, Nashville and Chattanooga, Half-Cocked follows a group of kids who steal a van full of music equipment and pretend to be a band in order to stay on the road. The film features Ian Svenonius and members of Rodan and The Grifters, playing versions of themselves. With music by Unwound, Slant 6, Freakwater, Versus, Polvo, Smog, Helium and others. After completing the film Hawley and Galinsky took the film on tour showing it rock clubs across the US and Europe.

The film was largely funded by a small advance for a soundtrack that was released by Matador Records. Shot over 10 days in 3 different cities in Kentucky and Tennesse. Conceived as a document rather than a documentary, the fimmakers set out to document the Undergound Music scene that they were a part of. They wrote parts for friends who were in bands and had them basically play versions of themselves. The intent was to have each person change the script so that it felt like what they would say. Ian Svenonious showed his genius by changing his parts in extreme ways that expanded the scope of the film, and forced major changes to the script.

“It doesn’t seem too bold to say Half-Cocked is an Easy Rider for the 90’s and deserves as much attention.”-ERIC GLADSTONE, ALTERNATIVE PRESS

“Bracing in it’s dry humor and first hand accuracy” -VARIETY

“Hawley and Galinsky know how to make pictures shudder with feeling” – MANOHLA DARGIS

Ronnie James Dio’s story transcends the standard rock documentary. Beautifully highlighting both his powerful voice and his gentle heart, Dio: Dreamers Never Die delves deep into the singer’s incredible rise from ’50s doo-wop crooner to his early rock days in Elf and Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, to replacing Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath, and finally cementing his rockstar status with his own band, DIO.

The first documentary to be authorized by the artist’s estate, the film incorporates never-before-seen footage and personal photos from Dio’s archives as well as offering intimate scenes with his closest peers, family and friends, among them Wendy Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Glenn Hughes, Vinny Appice, Lita Ford, Rob Halford, Sebastian Bach, Eddie Trunk and Jack Black, as they bring viewers inside the life of one of the most beloved figures in rock.

Before the movie, we’ll have a pre-party in Lo-Res starting at 7pm with DJ Ben Smith.

Street Heroines is an award-winning feature-length documentary celebrating the courage and creativity of women who despite lack of recognition have been an integral part of the graffiti and street art movement since the beginning. Following TooFly, Fusca and Magrela, and punctuated by historical anecdotes from pioneering NY-based artists Lady Pink, Swoon, and iconic photographer Martha Cooper, Street Heroines captures the collective outcry of female street artists, from NYC to Mexico to Sao Paulo, Brazil and beyond, who are indisputably a part of the worldwide movement.

Starring: Will Brill, Madeleine Morgenweck, Scott Friend

New York premiere

Dennis and Mia’s weekend getaway becomes a hallucinatory nightmare after Dennis’ estranged brother arrives unannounced and begins toying with their senses.