Season XI

The 2018 film festival occurred from 8-10 November at The Candy Factory & The Elks Lodge in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

We presented 60 Official Selections from five categories (drama, comedy, animation, documentary and horror, 30 mins or less) and screened three other short Special Selections (from friends of the festival.)

Mike Lombardo of Reel Splatter Productions hosted the presentation of the Official Selections for Horror along with two Special Selections --one, the feature film Live Scream.

The 2019 Official Selections

2019 GRAND PRIZE & Best Comedy

Hands Free by John Addis & Matt Bowron

Dr Morris and his increasingly awkward attempts to conceal a painful truth from his wife.

United Kingdom | 7 min

2018 Best Drama

Mid City Blue by Kris Wilson

When his car is pulled over by uniformed officers, an African-American rookie cop, in his civilian clothes, gets an opportunity to teach his rebellious teen-aged passenger the quickest way to proceed through a routine traffic stop. USA | 17 min

2018 Best Animation

Cat Noir by O'Neil Bürgi

A letter, a broken heart. The sound of the rain. A black cat, a plan. Switzerland | 7 min

2018 Best Documentary

Monumental Change by Brooke de Zutter, Emma Quinn, Jake Segelbaum, Josh West, & Rachael Peterse

Monument Cemetery, in the heart of North Philadelphia, was destroyed in the 1950s. Traces of its past can still be found throughout the city. The film explores a history of expansion, gentrification, and how the removal of the dead in the 1950s echoes the removal of the living today. USA | 29 min

2018 Best Horror

RIP by Albert Pinto & Caye Casas

In a small forsaken village, a woman prepares the funeral of her husband with utmost care. She wants everything to go according to plan, since for her it is very important to give a good impression to the guests.

Spain | 17 min

2018 Home Grown

Scarlet Study by Elizabeth Gormley

DSherlock Holmes has always led the normal life of one of the brainiest kids in school, but everything changes when Sherlock's parents decide to foster John Watson, an eleven-year-old boy with an abusive past. Sherlock is reluctant to make friends with John, feeling that doing so would be unfaithful to his best friend, Jamie Moriarty. But when a crime is committed at their school, John is the one who convinces Sherlock to take his first real case. USA | 26 min

2019 Best Actor - Philipp Christopher

The Patient by Philipp Christopher & Paul Weiss

A therapist starts her first session with a new patient only to find out that his true intention is not to seek help. As the buried past comes clashing in, both uncover the dark secret that changed their lives forever. Drama | Germany | 12 min

A Day In The ParkBy Diego Porral SoldevillaAnimation | Spain | 3 min
A monologue by a grandfather who explains to his grandkid how things used to be... or, maybe how they are now.

All The World Is A StageBy Hannes RallAnimation | Singapore | 2 min
An animated adaptation of the famous Shakespeare poem "All The World's A Stage" narrated by the renowned Shakespeare actor and director Samuel West (Royal Shakespeare Company).

Are You Volleyball?By Mohammad BakhshiDrama | Iran | 15 min
A group of Arab-speaking asylum seekers arrive to an English-speaking country border and can't keep going. They conflict with border soldiers everyday until a deaf-mute boy becomes a catalyst for better communication between the two groups.

Backyard LoveBy Peter BösenbergComedy | Germany | 12 min
Inga unexpectedly arrives home early to her posh apartment late. Three people who are unclear about their feelings for each other attempt to regain control of an increasingly absurd situation allowing the characters reveal more of themselves.

Be My GuestBy Anne ChlostaComedy | Germany | 11 min
A story of two men and one woman in the rather sobering middle of life. When a sudden emotional outburst occurs, they realize that not even their life-long friendship can keep them afloat. After all, they have long since lost interest in anything.

BirthBy Ozlem Altingoz Horror | USA | 16 min
In the basement of the Ravencrest Hospital, a deal was made to spare the life of a young child. In exchange for his life, he must give up the soul of his first born and the time has come for that price to be paid.

Caminem LlunyBy Geoffrey Cowper Drama | Spain | 4 min
Julia is a high school student, happy and dreamer, but a group of mean girls make her life impossible bullying her. Everything will change one night at the lake, when an unexpected ally will help her make justice.

CelibatourBy Brett HeardComedy | Canada | 13 min
An eclectic group of women join forces to spread the good word of celibacy.

CreeperBy Christoph WettyHorror | Canada | 7 min
A creeper stalks a woman and breaks into her house… and then the fun begins.

FrayedBy John SpencerDrama | USA | 15 min
A woman on the mend from an abusive relationship struggles to overcome addiction and regain her daughter. Time, distance, and self-doubt stand in her way of getting what she wants.

Fumero-Ism: The GrafstractBy Keith AronowitzDocumentary | USA | 17 min
A profile of the well known NYC street artist and muralist known as Fumero. The film examines his interest and growth in art from childhood to present, reveals his process, and what motivates him to keep putting out incredible work at a high rate, from canvas to street. Fumero is intense, real and one of a kind, all of which is revealed in this film short.

GameBy Jeannie Donohoe Drama | USA | 15 min
A new kid in town shows up at the high school boys basketball tryouts and instantly makes an impression. Will talent and drive be enough to make the team?

Gridlock By Ian Hunt Duffy Drama | Ireland | 20 min]
A thriller set during a traffic jam on a country road. When a little girl goes missing from one of the cars, her father forms a desperate search party to find her, and soon everyone is a suspect.

Hot Fizz By Abdullah Abu-MahfouzDrama | USA | 8 min
A mysterious, seductive caller tortures an overworked college student to the edge of his wits as he struggles to survive the conversation with his dream career and life intact.

How To Get A BoyfriendBy Leo ChorHorror | USA | 8 min
A high school girl's guide on how to get a boyfriend.

Hunting SeasonBy Shannon KohliDrama | Canada | 12 min
A small town gas station attendant has an unexpected encounter which will change the course of her life forever.

I Don’t Love You Anymore By Francisco Hervada Martin Drama | Spain | 2 min
The time ends with everything, except with the promises.

Knock At The DoorBy Michael ConstableHorror | United Kingdom | 9 min
An elderly woman readies for a relaxing evening at home when she is interrupted by a stranger at her doorstep. Convinced by the stranger's charm, she lets him in to her home.

LaraBy Gordon ShoemakerDrama | USA* | 10 min
A determined young woman keeps her beloved sister alive by imagining her still living on their Pennsylvania farm.

LocksBy Miles Blayden-RyallDocumentary | United Kingdom | 28 Min
Each year around 250 children lose their lives to cancer in the U.K. alone, and many of those who survive are left with life-changing side effects from their treatment --a short documentary about three children whose separate lives are intertwined by the effects of cancer and its treatment.

Lost FaceBy Sean Meehan Drama | Canada | 14 min
Adapted from the Jack London story: A fur thief must think fast to escape the terrible, protracted death that awaits him at the hands of the native tribe he had helped enslave.

Lust In SpaceBy Stewart BradleyComedy | USA* | 26 min
Three misfit aliens hijack a spaceship to search for the best drunken parties in the galaxy. Produced as a promotional vehicle for the band "The Dogs of Lust", a fun and campy sci-fi comedy.

M.A.M.O.N. (Monitor Against Mexicans Over Nationwide)By Alejandro Damiani Comedy | Uruguay | 5 min
While Donald Trump is undergoing heart surgery, a portal to another reality opens. Latinos start falling from the sky to the desert, on the Mexico - US border, divided by an enormous wall. An hilarious war breaks between a Trump-like mecha robot and several stereotypical Mexican Latinos.

Make Aliens DanceBy Sebastien Petretti Drama | Belgium | 24 min
A music producer in free fall, a sound engineer who is tired of his job, and a mother are going through a rough time in their lives. A singer has disappeared. What do they have left of her? Her magnificent voice was recorded onto countless tapes, which are carefully stored and filed in the family studio.

Mama’s BoyBy Samantha KolesnikHorror | USA* | 12 min
A young man's life spirals into depravity and madness when he confronts the trauma of his childhood.

MaylaBy Rafael Klepfisch Drama | Belgium | 11 min
Mayla, a Spanish woman of about twenty years, meets Roland, the seller of a Belgian car dealership. She has nowhere to sleep. Roland invites her to his home.

Moth’s CafeBy Jackie SnyderAnimation | USA* | 4 min
Caterpillar performs music for the first time at an open mic night. After her performance Cat has a fateful meeting with Ladybug, an established musician. In the end Cat returns to the cafe to visit Moth, the first one to believe in her.

My First TimeBy Asaf LivniHorror | Israel | 10 min
Tonight Maggie is “doing it” for the first time. She meets Kobi, a guy cute enough for the purpose. Heading to his apartment, Kobi will discover her real intentions.

Night FishingBy Jason TaylorComedy | USA | 7 min
After missing her bus, Hanh has to deal with an unexpected issue.

No ProblemBy Magnus MillangComedy | Denmark | 20 min
Copenhagen, late 1990s. When the lead singer of Denmark's second-best cover band calls in sick, the band's two insecure backup singers start backstabbing each other over the role as lead singer for the night.

Panic ButtonBy Jason C. BrownComedy | USA | 10 min
Tammy and Alice have been lost in the woods for days. But all is not lost, Tammy brought her Panic Button. (Somewhere between The Revenant and a Monty Python.)

ParalysisBy Melissa De LeonHorror | USA | 5 min
Diana, a young mother, fears what comes in the night.

PoolBy Leandro GoddinhoDrama | Brazil | 29 min
On a quest to understand her grandmother's past, Claudia meets Marlene, an old woman who's created an homage to her memories inside an empty pool.

Portrait of a Wind Up MakerBy Dario Perez Animation | Spain | 5 min
Chema is an expat architect from Spain who lives in Amsterdam. He has built up a new life there as a wind-up toy maker. He creates small pieces of art from recycle items.

Sac de MerdeBy Greg ChwerchakComedy | USA | 13 min
Based on a true story, the tale of Mazel Mankewicz, an unlucky-in-love yet irrationally optimistic New Yorker who thinks her luck has changed when she spends the night with the man of her dreams.

Sjaak’s Wife Died, So Now He Needs To Say SomethingBy Eva M. Zanen Drama | Netherlands | 11 min
76 year old Sjaak tries to write a speech for his recently deceased wife, but he is only capable of writing starters. While the ceremony begins, Sjaak is postponing the speech. He has to find the true way to say goodbye to his great love.

Sleeper AgentBy Dan MosleyComedy | USA | 12 min
Donna is a lonely woman who believes she is a Russian sleeper agent that has not woken up yet. When an oddball teenager discovers her secret, she has a lot more work cut out for her than originally anticipated.

Still ChillBy Tate HoffmasterComedy | USA* | 3 min
Tiffany is planning to poison her ex with a weed brownie from hell until Indy eats it. Now they have three days to get it back and poison the ex with it before Indy goes into a vegetative state.

Strange Fruit: Taking A Stand Through SongBy Sam SeligerDocumentary | USA | 14 min
The song “Strange Fruit” sparked controversy over its graphic depiction of a lynching and aggressive push for racial justice, and helped changed the country. The author, Abel Meeropol, and the singer, Billie Holiday, took a brave stand against the abominable extra-judicial practice. They faced serious personal consequences, but helped inspire the Civil Rights movement and inspired countless future artists.

StuckBy Corey SurgeComedy | Canada | 15 min
A sex toy mishap leads to a night in the emergency room where a just-broken-up couple are forced to confront their issues on love and relationships.

Sulphur for LeviathanBy James QuinnHorror | Austria | 14 min
The film tells a tale of unfulfilled desires, lust, blasphemy and existential dread, packed in a controversial and disturbing, but calm and poetic, experience.

Talking with Your HandsBy Nash DoudComedy | USA | 8 min
A right and left hand argue their roles in life.

TallyBy Bennett ShuppHorror | USA* | 10 min
A young man finds himself being stalked by an intruder, and his fate lies within the writing on the wall.

That Is Circling All Around The SunBy Colleen KwokDrama | USA | 18 min
A young man from Hong Kong comes to America to look for his long-lost sister, without learning her fatal accident. In Utah, instead of finding her, he finds a special landscape where echoes her soul.

The American WakeBy Kevin QuinnDrama | USA | 15 min
18-year-old Honora Parsons has never known a life beyond Inishmore. When she receives a letter from her distant sister inviting her to immigrate to New York, Nora must choose between the home that she knows or an unknown life in America.

The FuneralBy Henry KaplanComedy | USA | 6 min
At a funeral, two friends must grapple with the promises they made to the deceased before he passed.

The Kaleidoscope Guy at the MarketBy Russell BrownDocumentary | USA | 21 min
Artist Michael Shaw - also known as "The Kaleidoscope Guy at the Market" - has been selling his unique stained-glass creations at Pike's Place Market in Seattle for 25 years. Delve into a deeper dialogue about these fascinating objects and their universal appeal to the human imagination.

The Last DropBy Sascha ZimmermannHorror | Germany | 10 min
Once a week, a group of strangers meet to talk about their addiction. Their good efforts to stay on the 'straight and narrow' path are challenged when Dennis accidentally joins their group. All of them have to ask themselves a question, do they have their addiction under control?

The PatternBy Azad JannatiAnimation | Iran | 7 min
Inspired by the real events pertaining to the 1988 chemical attack of Halabja, Iraq. The film captures the last moments of a traditional rug being woven, as the rug weaver reflects on her feelings and what she has been through; although in reality not all the patterns in her mind have made it to the rug.

The RecurringBy Alexi PapalexopolisHorror | USA | 7 min
Three years after being brutally raped in her home, Samantha Reynolds struggles with terrifying, recurring visions that lead her to believe she is being haunted.

Traffic OperaBy Andrew Pochan and Sue LangeComedy | USA | 19 min
When a tractor trailer stalls in a busy intersection, road rage erupts into violence. The occupants of the trapped vehicles must quickly work together to defuse the situation, all while singing opera.

Walking HomeBy Max RichertDrama | Germany | 17 min
Two students from different countries meet on the last night of their trips to Italy. Sharing dislike for their respective farewell parties, initial distance and reservations between them quickly turn into bonding and rapport.

WirelessBy David FritzsonDrama | USA | 15 min
An aging baby-boomer arrives just after closing at a local cell phone store seeking help with a smartphone. An empathetic employee takes what he knows best and tries to create a connection across generations, helping him to find the courage and strength to say goodbye.

The 2019 Special Selections

Lay Me Down To Sleep

Get Over It

Misdiagnosed

Live Scream

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