2021/2022 Schedule

Most films will be screened at the Albert A. White Performing Arts Theater in
the East Lansing Hannah Community Center
819 Abbot Road East Lansing, MI 48823

The Thursdays Night opening film and films screened on Sunday 2.27.22 will be Screened at Studio C!
1999 Central Park Dr. Okemos, MI 48864

Thursday- Opening Night Film @ Studio C! @
2.24.22 6:30pm
Run Time: 1 Hour 45 Minutes

Small Town Wisconsin
Directed by: Niels Mueller
Description: After losing a custody battle, perpetual teenager Wayne Stobierski steals his son away for one last father-son weekend to the city of their dreams - Milwaukee, Wisconsin. What's supposed to be a light-hearted adventure, transforms into a journey of profound redemption.

2021 Documentary Films Block
Friday 2.25.22 1:00pm
Run Time: 1 Hour 48 Minutes

The Waterbird Counter
Directed by: Rusty Malkemes
Description: Tim Baerwald talks the importance of collecting data to establish patterns. The data is essential to have informed discussions on how development can effect our environment. His focus is typically on waterbirds. In this video we get a glimpse of the effort it takes to collect data during the fall waterbird migration in southwest Michigan.

The Last Slice
Directed by: Ankur Singh & Cai Thomas
Description: Susan Stoker is the owner of Godfather's Pizza that's forced to close after 52 years when their landlord increases their rent.

The Girl Who Wore Freedom
Directed by: Christian Taylor
Description: Discover the untold stories of D-Day from the men, women, and children who lived through German occupation and Allied liberation of Normandy, France. Powerful and deeply personal, THE GIRL WHO WORE FREEDOM tells the stories of an America that lived its values, instilling a pride in country that is in danger of becoming a relic of the past.

2021 Student Films Block
Friday 2.25.22 3:00pm
Runtime: 1 Hour 53 Minutes

What Tiger Wishes
Directed by: Chris T.W. Anderson
Description: A little girl draws images of an idealized reality to escape her troubled childhood and broken family. As an adult, she must face her absentee father after her mother’s death in the hopes of resolving the psychological problems he’s caused; ones which threaten to hurt her new family.

"Distance"- A Quarantine Short Film
Directed by: Haohan Wang
Description: A look in to quarantine life in my home, how social distancing also brings families together.

Bedlam
Directed: Tyler Harding
Description: Following the aftermath of a bio-terrorism attack, a teen boy struggles to survive in a dystopian, chaotic world.

Finding Turner Chase
Directed by: Camari Garrison
Description: The Life and Times of Downriver Detroit Rap Mogul Turner Chase. Produced by the Students of the Downriver Detroit Student Film Consortium.

Sonnie
Directed by: Samuel Mirpoorian
Description: After carrying the burden of misfortune throughout his life, a single father seeks redemption as he raises his son.

An Acquired Taste
Directed by: Robert Petrie & Claire Cohen
Description: A young chef prepares an elegant meal for his girlfriend, but both have secrets to reveal...

History of Present Illness
Directed by: Phillip Anjum
Description: A first year medical student’s stress and anxiety begin to take physical form as she navigates her first year of medical school

Bru'dhars
Directed by: Sriram Papolu
Description: Through his tumultuous relationship with his younger brother, a young man begins to understand the troubled past that was running his life and has a chance to end a generational cycle of abuse and pain.

Smile
Directed by: Brenna Noyes
Description: Smile is a short psychological thriller. It focuses on Lydia, a young girl whose boyfriend went missing. When his mother confronts Lydia about the last time she saw him, a whirlwind of memories rushes in and her sense of reality begins to blur.

KADDISH
Directed by: KADDISH
Description: In 1943, a young Ashkenazim namely Akiva risks a journey through Miechów in Poland in order to fulfill his obligation of honoring his deceased mother on the anniversary of her death. He gets arrested by the Nazis and finds one of his known elderly Rabbi in Nazis custody. The rabbi, who has lost his entire family in the Holocaust, is hoping to escape Poland for the Promised Land. They become able to escape from the Nazis. His journey is accompanied by Rabbi so that Akiva can visit his mother’s grave and perform a Jewish ritual.

2022 Short Films Block
Friday 2.25.22 5:00pm
Run Time: 2 Hours

Millennial
Directed by: Ryan Thomas
Description: A struggling millennial runs into someone he hasn't seen since high school. Trying to avoid catching up and talking about their lives, he ends up having a personal breakthrough in the end.

Sink
Directed by: Curtis Matzke
Description: A man finds himself falling apart after a horrific attack as told entirely from above the bathroom sink.

SLEEPWALKER
Directed by: Nathan Alan Bunker
Description: A husband's attempt to keep his sleepwalking wife from injuring herself descends into chaos as he discovers she may be in the grips of mind control.

The Audition
Directed by: Eric Liberacki
Description: Tony Mendes is a Latino actor who doesn't fit the Hollywood stereotype. He has to go to great lengths to get casting directors to look beyond the surface to notice his talent.

A Is For Apple
Directed by: Adam Mick Laughlin
Description: A worm finds a city inside an apple, but must escape the fascist government drones inside.:

The Day We Split the Universe
Dircted by: David Boffa
Description: Two strangers who begin an affair through chance encounters on dog walks hope that the laws of physics will help them make a decision.

In Between Lands
Directed by: Laura Griffin
Description: Laura Griffin is a Korean adoptee who was raised in a small town in midwest America. While she grew up feeling American and Caucasion, continual reminders over the years told her otherwise. 23 years after being sent away from her motherland, Laura returns to South Korea in search of belonging and understanding, and discovers just how Asian or non-asian she is.

The Pewter Bros.
Directed by: Michael McCallum
Description: Two brothers are in search of a missing treasure if they can get past being around each other long enough to find it.

Zibi Yajdan / The River Tells It
Directed by: Brit Hensel, Taylor Hensel
Drescription: Zibi Yajdan tells the story of the Kalamazoo River and her relationship to the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Pottawatomi people (Gun Lake Tribe) in the wake of the Enbridge Pipeline 6B oil spill. The Tribe leads efforts to restore and protect the Kalamazoo River, whose waters give life to habitats and natural resources intricately connected to the culture and identity of the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish people.

Whitney's Mettle
Directed by: William Edwin Eichler
Description: Stuck in the violent battle of Chickamauga, Lt. Whitney and his men are desperately low on ammunition. If Whitney can’t replenish the low supply, they face prison camp or death.

2021 Short Films Block A
Friday 2.25.22 7:00pm
Run Time: 2 Hours

The Watery Grave
Directed by: Michael Amerson Jr.
Description: A young man dealing with grief, experiences death and resurrection at his local church.

NEUTRALS
Directed by: Jacob Horne
Description: Neutrals is a dark comedy short film about two friends, Chris and Dan; who, after accidentally killing the wrong person, find their night spiraling out of control while being pursued by the vicious Wes and his punks.

Alice
Directed by: Andrew C. Ramirez
Description: A new proprietary smart home device, ALICE, is always listening to make life easier. When a naive Annabelle searches for romance via a new dating app, she finds an unearthly attractive and peculiar lover. Is luck the matchmaker or is ALICE?

Figment
Directed by: Molly Gibson
Description:

Heirloom
Directed by: Ethan Uphouse
Description: A woman is forced to consider the future of her family when she discovers she may have inherited a generational disease.

They Grow Up So Fast
Directed by: Michael Pomaro
Description: Two sisters are home alone in a post-apocalyptic world when danger comes knocking.

Un Hombre Debe Aprender (A Man Must Learn)
Directed by: Jeff Bomberger
Description: Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic an American man with Cuban heritage must learn to speak Spanish if he wants to eat in quarantine.

Milk for Violence
Directed By: Aaron Levine
Description: Aaron Trow, greatest outlaw this side of the Mississippi, has just escaped from jail and is on the lam. Meanwhile, in the nearby frontier town of Plymouth Flats, Ana the preacher’s wife is left home alone by her husband Caleb. Out of seemingly nowhere, Aaron breaks into Ana's cottage and proceeds to terrorize her into feeding him dinner. When Ana confronts his errant behavior, Aaron retaliates the only way he knows how; with violence, before disappearing into the night. After trying unsuccessfully to enlist the help of local law enforcement and her cowardly husband, Ana decides to take matters into her own hands. Will justice be served? Will Ana be able to stop Aaron before he strikes again? And what’s up with the three dysfunctional bounty hunters who just showed up in Plymouth Flats?

2022 Documentary Films Block
Saturday 2.26.22 1:00pm
Run Time: 1 Hour 10 Minutes

My Child's K-5 School Journey in Detroit: Voices from the Best Classroom Project
Directed By: Dara Hill, Anthony Whittaker, Josh Bellers
Description: This documentary short details the experiences of four families whose participation in a social network in Detroit informed their school choice decisions. The parents in the social network joined forces in 2013 to collectively research best fit Detroit schools in a bewildering educational landscape. Since its inception, the families have enrolled their children in more than 15 Detroit and Detroit area schools while sustaining residency in the city. Norah, Franca, Karis, and Jack represent the K-5 experiences of the students who enrolled in private, public, and charter schools. Their stories illuminate cross cultural friendships, teachers who maintain high expectations, and factors guiding the selection of respective schools.

My Great Grandfather China Sea Phil
Directed by: Tommy Dilger
Description: This film chronicles the life of my great grandfather, "China sea Phil" Stoegerer. He ran away from home at age 13 during the great depression, and he never stayed in one place long. He was a military man, a researcher, a father, a vagabond, a poet, and everything in between.

Holding Down the Fort
Directed by: Kate Levy
Description: Seniors in Detroit who live in low-income housing face the impact of both gentrification and dwindling federal funding for subsidized housing. "Holding Down the Fort" follows the conversion of one Section 8 low-income senior living community, 1214 Griswold, to market-rate apartments, and the ripple effects of its closing on the lives of many

NIBI: The Fight for Water, Rights, and a Way of Life
Directed By: Ben Cole
Description: While there has been a widespread focus on the controversy of Line 5, this film takes a closer look into perhaps one of the most often overlooked, yet most important perspectives on this issue - that of Michigan’s indigenous communities. From the perspective of Michigan tribal members, scientific researchers, and legal experts we explore what is truly at stake for Michigan’s native tribes. As the original inhabitants of the land, and with protected treaty rights to the Great Lakes and the Straits of Mackinac these perspectives must be shared, along with the responsibility the state of Michigan has in protecting these rights along with the Great Lakes.

2022 Student Films Block
Saturday 2.26.22 3:00pm
Run Time: 2 Hours

Being Alive
Directed by:Dalin Nelson
Description: After completing her mother’s birthday present, Jade discovers a heartbreaking secret that will change her family forever. Feeling confused and isolated, Jade must decide if her mom is deserving of the gift.

ECHOES
Directed by:Cale; b Joye
Description: Connecting the inequalities of the past to the issues of the present through exploring the history and continuation of racism in American private schools.

Luccica
Directed by:Jesse McAnally
Description: In this modern opera, a couple eagerly enter their married lives by renovating an old Victorian they hope will become their home. But tragedy strikes when the young wife unexpectedly commits suicide—right before her husband’s eyes. Little did they know, the house was already inhabited by a ghostly apparition seeking revenge on the innocent couple for her own unfortunate life and untimely death. And she wants the husband too. Like a siren, she uses his former love’s own voice to lure him to his death in exchange for a more complete visage in the afterlife.

Paranoia
Directed By:Alyssa Katalyna Fritz
Description: After a horrific assault in her home, Lyra begins to suspect her attacker never left.

Taking the Edge Off
Directed By: Carah Chafin
Descreption: When two idiotic friends are plagued by the constant reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic, one will go to questionable lengths to avoid it and help his friend find some ounce of fun, only to have
their worlds turned upside down by the acid trip of a lifetime.

MTXE: Mental Toughness Xtra Effort
Driected by: Emmanuel Terrell
Description:

Entity
Directed by: Tanner Hamilton
Description: A research team attempts to make first contact with a supernatural entity, while unaware it has a plan of its own.

Little Blood
Directed by:Crestwood 4th and 5th graders
Description: An animated re-telling of a Mayan myth by the 4th and 5th grade students of Crestwood Elementary school in Madison, WI.

I Let Her Go But Never Let Her Leave
Directed by: Sriram Papolu
Description: Kamal , an immature yet strong willed young man, breaks up with his girlfriend Jane, but tries to emotionally hurt her as much as possible during the course of day even going as far as devising a plan to deliver one final blow that he soon regrets. All this just to prolong dealing with an inevitable heartbreak that was long awaiting.

The Bladesmith
Directed by: Drew Dayton
Description: A bladesmith in Anderson, Indiana explains how he got his start making knives for movies and collectors.

The Wrangler
Directed by: Alyssa Katalyna Fritz
Description: On the run from a vampire hunter with a personal vendetta, immortal fugitive Kaia hides her lover from the monster she used to be.

2021 Short Films Block B
Saturday 2.26.22 5:00pm
Run Time: 2 Hours

Bequeathed
Directed by: Michael McCallum
Description: A man is given a package that his recently deceased Father wanted him to have.

Flight
Directed by: Natalie Peracchio
Description: A daughter comes to grips with her elderly mother’s declining mental state.

Good Boy
Directed by: Sarah Wierda
Description: After a traumatizing day, a quiet teen is ambivalent about standing up to his silencing father.

Little Nations
Directed by: Maria Allred
Description: Little Nations follows a momentous piece of mail as it travels through the hands and into the worlds of young people from a rich array of cultures that constitute Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood. Coming to a poignant climax, it illuminates the true multicultural spirit of America.

You've Already Gone
Directed by: Michael Doerge
Description: After being assaulted while walking home the night before, Dolores (Kirby Schmieding) decides that she’d rather push on through her fears than be marked absent from class; to the chagrin of her roommate (Leah Harper). This isn’t the first time someone has tried to jump her, but Dolores refuses to live in fear. Abusing study drugs she steals from her cousin (Max Winer) to cope with the recent passing of her best friend (Jenny Boswell), Dolores finds herself increasingly paranoid that her assailant from the previous night might be following her around campus. She vents her worries to a classmate (Braeden Stauffer) but he just doesn’t quite understand what she’s going through. No one does. Whether it’s the stress getting to her or not; someone is following her, and she’s not about to go down without a fight.

The Job
Directed by: Cory James Taylor
Description: Two low-life criminals plan the heist of a lifetime; but first they must make it through one day of honest employment.

Flush Lou
Directed by: Madison Stewart Leonard
Description: A daughter, mother and grandmother mourn the loss of their beloved, Lou Ackerly after he is accidentally cremated.

Road Runner
Directed by: Jason Allen
Description: This 1970's crime drama focuses on Danny Landowski. A husband and a father to some, he is really a selfish, pool hustling criminal on the streets of Detroit who never got out of the game. With the help of his partner, Chris, he may have just found his way out - with one last job.

2022 Feature Documentary
Saturday 2.26.22 7:30pm
Run Time: 1 Hour 26 Minutes

Operation Wolf Patrol
Directed by: Joe Brown
Description: Over the course of three years, we watch Rod work to redefine his activism in an era– post 9/11, where some have called him an “eco-terrorist.” The film comes to a climax when Coronado's "Wolf Patrol" is met with a tightening of "hunter harassment" laws that prohibit photography on public lands. Now Coronado has to ask himself is he willing to go back to prison to fight a law that some are calling "unconstitutional."

2022 Solo Hour Documentary @ Studio C!
Sunday 2.27.22 1:30pm
Run Time: 1 Hour

A New Normal
Directed by: Nick Kuiper
Description: As the world grapples with a deadly pandemic, Ferris State University must apply an "all hands on deck" approach to keeping campus open and students learning.

Sunday- Closing Afternoon Film @ Studio C!
2.27.21 3:30pm
Run Time: 1 Hour 45 Minutes

The Big Ugly
Directed by: Scott Wiper
Description: Anglo-American relations go bad when London mob bosses invest in a West Virginia oil deal in hopes of laundering dirty money.