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$15 General Admission, $12 Member, $10 child (age 14 or younger)

Doors open for admissions 30 minutes prior to screening. Buy tickets at The Film Center or online now

Filmmakers J.J. Kandel (Sparring Partner) and Josephine Lilla Bono (Taste of the Indigenous) will be attending the screening, and will say a few words in introduction.

PLAYING AT THE MV FILM CENTER

From more than 250 entries our festival selection committee has chosen 10 finalists. We will screen each short film and our jury will select the “Best Overall” film at the conclusion of the program. The winning short film will be shown again prior to the Closing Night feature.

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Our Jury:

Diana Barrett has been a long time festival jury member and president and founder of the Fledgling Fund, a philanthropic organization that supports documentary films that have a social impact. Diana is a seasonal resident of Martha’s Vineyard

Torfinn Iversen’s short film KICKSLED CHOIR (Norway) was our 2021 MVIFF winning short film.  As is our tradition, we asked the previous year’s winner to be a part of the jury for the following year.

David Helpern is a producer, director, and screenwriter (and seasonal resident of Martha’s Vineyard).

 

*** Extreme Thanks to our Short Film Selection committee (Anne Evasick, Jennifer Smith Turner, Linda Comstock and Deborah Alves) for their work over the last six months to view, rate and select our ten finalists from close to 250 submissions.  Bravo!

 

2022 MVIFF SHORT FILM FINALISTS

“SEE THROUGH” – (8:47) Directed by Eyal Resh, United States/Israel

Jessie and Brian, a young Deaf couple, recently discovered they are about to become parents.  Their neighborhood coffee shop thrums with everything left unsaid, while they unearth new ways to communicate.  Starring 2018 Tony Nominee Lauren Ridloff, star of The Sound of Metal and Marvel’s Eternals.


“SONS OF TOLEDO” – (19:58) Directed by Monty Cole, United States

After receiving the early morning news of his younger brother’s murder, a mourning barber pushes through the muddy waters of grief to find the courage to do the impossible – give his brother one last cut.


“KILLING OURSELVES” – (15:00) Directed by Maya Yadlin, Israel

Maya takes her parents and sister to the desert in order to film them for an additional scene in her film. But the day of filming turns into a never-ending family argument, and it becomes unclear whether they will even manage to cooperate and become a team.


“AYSHA” – (12:53) Directed by Cengiz Akaygün, Germany

A fully veiled girl named AYSHA(10) is sitting in the courtyard of a house in Rojava, Syria playing with her slingshot when her little SISTER(11) joins them. The two are presented this morning by a WOMAN (38), who is also covered, in front of an exam. They should quote from the Koran. While Aysha’s sister passes the exam in an exemplary manner, Aysha struggles with it. Unlike her sister, she is rebellious and would like to break out of the role that has been assigned to her. When the woman takes more drastic measures, Aysha understands the seriousness of the situation.


“SPARRING PARTNER” – (19:15) Directed by J.J. Kandel, United States

When a long flirtation between two co-workers comes to a head durning a revealing lunch break in the park, who gets to walk away with their head held high?

J.J. KANDEL previously collaborated with Neil LaBute in 2018 on the stage version of Sparring Partner. Other New York stage directing credits include Lucky by Sharr White; Wedding Bash by Lindsey Kraft & Andrew Leeds; In This, Our Time by Academy Award-winner Alexander Dinelaris. This project marks his film directing debut. As an actor, film credits include The Mulberry Bush (Tribeca Film Festival); Zero Dark Thirty and The Hurt Locker (Best Picture 2010) both directed by Academy Award-winner Kathryn Bigelow. New York theater credits include 10 K written and directed by Neil LaBute; The Mulberry Bush by Neil LaBute directed by Maria Mileaf; The Killing (World Premiere) by William Inge; and Intermission by Will Eno. Kandel is the founder and Producing Artistic Director of the annual “Summer Shorts” festival (59E59 Theaters) in NYC.

 

 

 

 

 

 


“DADU” – (16:17) Directed by Raghav Puri, United States

A stubborn old Indian man goes on a desperate journey to find the lively woman he met in the neighborhood park.


“MURDER TONGUE” – (17:38) Directed by Ali Sohail Jaura, Pakistan

It is May of 1992. The state sanctioned “Operation” has put the city of Karachi at constant unrest. Abdul Aziz Ansari wakes up at night and is informed by his daughter in law, Naseema that his son hasn’t returned home. As a knock on their door later at night summons them to the hospital, what they witness along the way is known today as the most brutal chapter of the city’s history, a sentiment of hatred towards their race, deep rooted beneath the system.


 “FALLING IN LOVE WITH A#” – (15:06) Directed by Kohei Hirota, Japan

Akio visits Nishimuro family, a kimono dealer, to tune their piano. Teru, a daughter of the store, appears there and farts accidentally in front of Akio. She leaves the place while hiding her embarrassment. However, Akio falls in love with her for some reason…


“TASTE OF THE INDIGENOUS” – (20:00) Directed by Josephine Lilla Bono, United States

Discover the history, tradition, and culture of the Indigenous through their food….

Director Josephine Lilla Bono


“THE GUITAR THIEF” – (16:39) Directed by Miguel Lepe Jr, United States

Two mariachi players cope with rent increases, a changing neighborhood and a stolen guitar.

Click here to download the festival program in pdf