2nd Annual Dances With Films – NYC
announces films and events
(November 30-December 3)
The celebrated true indie-focused film festival returns to New York City
with three times as many films as last year’s debut.
64 World Premiere Screenings Featured
Dylan K. Narang’s TAPAWINGO is the Opening Night
selection, and Nicholas Gyeney’s THE ACTIVATED MAN
will make its World Premiere as the Closing Night selection.
TAPAWINGO
New York, NY (November 9, 2023) – Dances With Films announced the film lineup for the return of what has become LA’s largest purely indie film-focused film festival over the past 26 years to New York City (November 30-December 3) for the second time featuring a film lineup nearly three times the size of last year’s NYC debut. DWF alum Dylan K. Narang’s Tapawingo is the Opening Night selection, and Nicholas Gyeney’s psychological thriller The Activated Man will make its world premiere in the Closing Night slot.
Among DWF NYC’s lineup of 136 films, including 20 narrative features, 9 documentary features, 19 television and streaming pilots, and 88 short films (73 narrative and 15 documentaries), are an impressive number of world premieres. All screenings will take place at Regal Union Square (850 Broadway).
THE ACTIVATED MAN
Among the 64 world premieres are Gyeney’s The Activated Man, Etana Jacobson’s Advanced Chemistry, Kevin Interdonato’s The Bastard Sons, Michael Groom’s Between The Lights, Isaac Hirotsu Woofter’s Bound, Sara Katarina Burke and Aaron Andrew Keene’s Can’t Seem to Make You Mine, Ryan Moore’s Influence, Michelle Bossy’s Nobody’s Home, Brendan Boogie’s Tallywacker, Micah Khan’s The Zombie Wedding, Justin Best’s Sheryl, and Wynette Yao’s District Of Second Chances. Hanna Vastinsalo’s Palimpsest will make its North American Premiere at Dances With Films NYC.
After becoming the leading beacon for true indie films and filmmakers in Los Angeles over the past 26 years, this will mark Dances With Films’ return to New York City for the second year. Dances With Films’ Founders and Directors Leslee Scallon and Michael Trent, said, “This year’s theme is “the color of imagination” and that imagination, by its various definitions, exemplifies what Dances With Films will be highlighting this December. We could not be more excited to return to NYC and debut so many wonderful films and help provide a platform for all our indie filmmakers and their projects under the spotlight of this great city.”
Thursday, November 30 will feature the Opening Night presentation of DWF alumni Dylan K. Narang’s Tapawingo. Previously at DWF with his feature All I Need (2016), Narang’s Tapawingo is a lighthearted coming-of-age comedy stars Jon Heder as an eccentric young man who lives with his mother and works in a mailroom. However, when he must pick up his boss’ son from school, he discovers the kid is the subject of relentless bullying. at school, Naturally, he assembles a team of misfits to ensure the boy’s safety, but the good deed takes an unexpected turn when they discover that the network of bullies they are guarding against wields more power and influence than they initially thought. The film also stars Gina Gershon, Billy Zane, John Ratzenberger, and Amanda Bearse.
As part of DWF NYC’s dedicated programming of horror, thrillers, and genre films, the Closing Night selection also comes from the film festival’s Midnight section. Sunday, December 3, Nicholas Gyeney’s The Activated Man will make its world premiere as it officially closes the film festival. In the film, a man, struggling with the grief from losing his best friend and beloved dog to cancer, begins to have strange visions only he can see. While he questions whether his mind has fractured or if it’s real, a mysterious rise in murder-suicides takes hold of the city, and he becomes haunted by images of a shadowy figure known as ‘The Fedora Man’. To survive, he must face his fears and confront ‘The Fedora Man’ as he uncovers dark secrets from his past, while finally embracing who he really is, and what he is meant to do.
ADVANCED CHEMISTRY
Additional feature films making their world premieres are Etana Jacobson’s Advanced Chemistry about a scientist whose attempt in the lab to help his lesbian best friend stop cheating on her wife backfires when the wife falls for him. Kevin Interdonato’s The Bastard Sons is a story of revenge by a group of men, when the man who raised them – the family boss – is murdered. Michael Groom’s British romantic drama Between The Lights follows askeptical scientist who falls for a reluctant medium, leading them on an odyssey of love, loss and discovery that turns her world upside down. Isaac Hirotsu Woofter’s Bound focuses on a young introvert who flees with her pet pocket squirrel to New York in order to escape her drug-dealing controlling stepfather. Making its North American Premiere is Vardan Tozija’s M. A multi-national production including
Macedonia, Croatia, Kosovo, France, and Luxembourg, the film centers on a young boy who lives in the forest under the watchful eye of his overprotective and mysterious father. Their sheltered existence is all he knows until an encounter with a kind-hearted, helpless boy may open up a whole new world to him.
Also making their world premieres at DWF NYC are Sara Katarina Burke and Aaron Andrew Keene’s Can’t Seem to Make You Mine about a recent parolee who tries to make amends with his ex and become a father to his little boy while staying with a stripper he met on a pen-pal website. Ryan Moore’s Influence focuses on a struggling female filmmaker who kidnaps a famous social media influencer to convince them to play the lead role in her latest project. Michelle Bossy’s Nobody’s Home follows the mind-bending journey of a young man after he is released from the psychiatric hospital with his girlfriend who may or may not be telling him the truth about what he is experiencing. Brendan Boogie’s buddy comedy Tallywacker takes us on a trip with 2 bandmates whose relationship gets tested when one of them gets a gig touring with a major rock star. Micah Khan’s outlandish comedy The Zombie Wedding illustrates the challenges one can have at a New Jersey wedding when the groom is a zombie, and the bride is not. Another film in the Midnight Features section making its world premiere is Justin Best’s Sheryl about a woman who goes on a bloody quest to create the perfect face after she’s dumped by her serial killer boyfriend for not being “hot enough”.
Highlights among the documentary section include one feature-length film making its world premiere, and a second making its U.S. Premiere. Making its world premiere is Wynette Yao’s District Of Second Chances, which follows the journeys of three men – all sentenced to life in prison during the 1990s – who have the possibility of being released and starting a new life thanks to sentencing reform. Making its U.S. premiere will be Emilio Di Stefano’s Denim Hunter. The road movie documentary follows a man whose obsession with really old jeans leads him through the deserts of California, Arizona, and Nevada as well as up the snowclad Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Marc Saltarelli’s Studio One Forever is the untold story of America’s iconic gay disco, a kaleidoscopic excursion into LGBTQ+ history through the lens of Studio One and its adjoining live music venue, The Backlot during the 70s and 80s. Hoag Kepner’s Torched – The Story of Austin Torch tells the story of the Austin Torch, a wild and fiery group of women/non-binary athletes in Austin who are trying to legitimize and professionalize their fringe sport of Ultimate Frisbee.
The television, web series pilots, and episodics also have a healthy number of world premieres. Those include Federica Marchese and Vinusha Sundaresan’s Chinese series pilot The Blind Zone about a faceoff between two teenage sociopaths after they set their eyes on the same target, David Antonio Martin’s absurd comedy The Selectman where two men are trapped in a picturesque world where the forces of learned behavior, arrested adolescence, and the quest for power forever collide, and Henk Pretorius’ British animated series pilot Travel Foxwhich follows the inquisitive Travel Fox and Bogie the Tortoise as they race across the world, chasing rainbows in search of a legendary pot of gold.
Additional world premieres include Jon Da’s Ülom: The Primary Experiment is centered on a desperate scientist who undertakes a labyrinthian experiment he believes will locate his missing daughter. Jonathan Chao’s Xander teams a lonely high school student with a Genie. However, the student might lose his new best friend if he makes his one wish. Making its North American premiere will be Aaron Lewis’ Moments, a gripping 9-episode digital series, offering intimate glimpses into characters on the brink. Clarissa De Los Reyes’ Hot Angry Mom about a people-pleasing mom who must face her rage, as a video of her epic meltdown goes viral, and Dana Marisa Schoenfeld’s East about a New York City Corporate attorney who suddenly loses her job and catches her boyfriend cheating, forcing her to reevaluate everything and pursue her childhood dream of being an actress.
Highlights among the short films showcased at DWF NYC include the world premiere of Luke Black’s I Keep Bumping Into Candy Maldonado in which a man keeps bumping into the famous baseball player who is his childhood ideal each day until he’s inspired to make some life changes.
Rj Collins’ thrilling Dropping follows a young woman going through the rigorous “dropping” training which may just turn into a fight for survival. Actor Cynthia Gibb takes a turn behind the camera, directing Lux Freer, about a non-binary teen whose humiliating job of delivering a pizza to bully and aspiring prom queen Arabella Astor’s mansion sets in motion a plot to upend the social stratosphere at her high school. Nazrin Choudhury’s Red, White And Bluestars Brittany Snow as a single parent forced to cross state lines in search of an urgent and necessary abortion. Eleanor Morrison’s You Need To Process This stars Mary Holland and Matt Peters as a married couple who must discuss a sexual assault.
DWF NYC will also present a series of filmmaker panels focused on current real world issues faced by today’s indie filmmakers at The Stand (116 E. 16th Street) Panels will include “Distribution: Navigating the Marketplace as Well as Forecasting the Future”, which will be moderated by Scott Macauley (Filmmaker Magazine), and is slated to include executives from Magnolia Pictures, IFC, and STX Entertainment, “Making the Sale: The Producer/Sales Agent Dynamic” moderated by Kate Erbland (Indiewire), and includes Carylanna Taylor (Head of Sales Film Sales Corp), Josh Braun (Founder & President, Submarine), and Jason Ishikawa (Sr. Exec. & Co-head of Sales, Cinetic Media), and “The Casting Director/Producer Dynamic” moderated by Michael Sladik (SAGindie New York), and includes casting directors Shayna Markowitz, Bernie Telsey, and Paul Schnee.
For more information about the Dances With Films NYC film lineup, events, passes, and tickets, go to: https://danceswithfilms.com/.
The 2023 Dances With Films NYC official selections:
OPENING NIGHT SELECTION
Tapawingo
Director: Dylan K. Narang
Country: USA; Running Time: 109 min
An oddball becomes the bodyguard for a misfit teenager and finds himself in the crosshairs of the town’s family of bullies.
CLOSING NIGHT SELECTION
The Activated Man World Premiere
Director: Nicholas Gyeney
Country: USA; Running Time: 115 min
As Ors Gabriel struggles with the grief from losing his best friend and beloved dog to cancer, the trauma brings on strange visions only Ors can see. While he questions whether his mind has fractured or if it’s real, a mysterious rise in murder-suicides takes hold of the city, and Ors becomes haunted by images of a shadowy figure known as ‘The Fedora Man’. Through torments and terror, Ors must face his fears and confront ‘The Fedora Man’ as he uncovers dark secrets from his past, while finally embracing who he really is, and what he is meant to do.
ADDITIONAL NARRATIVE FEATURES
Advanced Chemistry World Premiere
Director: Etana Jacobson
Country: USA; Running Time: 96 min
A scientist injects his lesbian best friend with a compound he’s created to make her stop cheating on her wife (who is bi), but when the wife finds her new monogamous fixation suffocating, he injects the wife too, which backfires when she falls for him.
BASTARD SONS
The Bastard Sons World Premiere
Director: Kevin Interdonato
Country: USA; Running Time: 90 min
Life for a crew of organized criminals is disrupted when Vincent Damiano’s father, the family’s boss, is murdered. Vincent’s ‘bastard’ brothers (UFC legend Frank Edgar, Chicago Med star Malik Whitfield), a group of orphaned souls he raised together, have an idea of who killed their father…his partner Rome (TV/Film veteran Al Sapienza). In a valiant and calculated attempt to regain the business and enact vengeance on Rome over the course of one day, the Bastards wage an all-out war to get their pound of flesh.
Between The Lights World Premiere
Director: Michael Groom
Country: UK; Running Time: 104 min
When skeptical scientist Alice falls for reluctant medium Jay, she’s taken on an odyssey of love, loss and discovery that will turn her world upside down. Between the Lights is a romantic drama with a liberal dose of the supernatural, in which we visit our characters over three consecutive Christmases. It is set within the ancient walls of York and the stunning natural beauty of the Lake District.
Bound World Premiere
Director: Isaac Hirotsu Woofter
Country: USA; Running Time: 101 min
To escape her drug-dealing controlling stepfather, a young introvert flees to NYC with only her pet pocket squirrel. After successfully reinventing herself, she realizes she must confront her dark past, to truly be free.
Can’t Seem to Make You Mine World Premiere
Directors: Sara Katarina Burke, Aaron Andrew Keene
Country: USA; Running Time: 102 min
A man who was just released from prison tries to make amends with his ex and become a father to his 6-year-old son while staying with a stripper he met on a pen-pal website.
Daruma
Director: Alexander Yellen
Country: USA; Running Time: 104 min
Patrick (bitter wheelchair user) must enlist the help of his cantankerous neighbor (double amputee veteran) to transport the daughter he never knew he had to live with her maternal grandparents on the other side of the country.
Grounded
Director: Justin Chan
Country: USA; Running Time: 84 min
William Lee, a 30-something Chinese-Filipino American, introduces his Caucasian girlfriend to his overbearing, immigrant parents when a mysterious cosmic force takes hold of their day.
Home Free
Director: Aaron Brown
Country: USA; Running Time: 98 min
In 1997, a group of college misfits invite an unhoused professor to crash on their porch.
Home Free is a Trojan horse, a bold coming-of-age comedy aimed at reaching a mass audience, but also intended to be a catalyst for serious social change sharply focused on one of the most pervasive problems across America—the homelessness epidemic. Humor is our spoonful of sugar.
Influence World Premiere
Director: Ryan Moore
Country: USA; Running Time: 83 min
A female filmmaker struggling with her career and her mental health reaches a breaking point and decides to kidnap a famous social media influencer in an attempt to coerce them into playing the lead role in her latest project.
Katie’s Mom
Director: Tyrrell Shaffner
Country: USA; Running Time: 111 min
A heartfelt comedy influenced by The Graduate but told from the perspective of a protagonist inspired by Mrs. Robinson. Set in modern-day Pasadena, California. Nancy Rosenfeld (Dina Meyer), a nurturing mom and recent divorcée, whose beloved Jewish/Christmas mashup holiday celebration with her adult children is derailed when she falls for Alex Rojas (Aaron Dominguez (Only Murders in the Building), her daughter’s charming new boyfriend. Their electrifying affair upends her status quo and sets her on a path to becoming who she was meant to be.
M North American Premiere
Director: Vardan Tozija
Countries: Macedonia/Croatia/Kosovo/France/Luxembourg, Running Time: 99 min
In a secluded forest, young Marko lives under the watchful eye of his overprotective and mysterious father. Their sheltered existence is all he knows. Marko seeks solace in his cherished picture book, finding comfort and answers within its pages. One day, an encounter with a kind-hearted, helpless boy named Miko, brings a glimmer of warmth and connection into Marko’s isolated world. As his curiosity grows, Marko yearns to uncover the secrets that lie beyond the confines of the wilderness. But, a cruel turn of events grants him his wish sooner than he expects…
Nobody’s Home World Premiere
Director: Michelle Bossy
Country: USA; Running Time: 83 min
When Luca is released from the psychiatric hospital where he and his girlfriend Theodora live, she escapes with him. To remain in control, she takes him to his childhood home, the root of his trauma. Time lapses. Consciousness is distorted. A dead body is discovered. Theodora insists Luca committed the murder in his sleep. Is she telling the truth? A knock on the door suddenly diverts them. Angelica and Jeremy show up, high on acid. Theodora invites them in to test Luca’s loyalty. Her jealousy increases to the point of danger. In the end, nothing is what it seems. Everyone has darkness inside.
Palimpsest North American Premiere
Director: Hanna Vastinsalo
Country: Finland; Running Time: 109 min
Two elderly roommates are selected for a medical trial that makes them younger. Given a second chance at life, with the memories of their past life intact, they realize that growing young is not just fun.
Space Baby
Director: Rex Dean
Country: USA; Running Time: 99 min
Three friends fight fascist Nurse Nancy to rebuild the holy grail and get a new soul for the earth. Each friend is different. 8-year-old Sam (“Mental Man”) is a mad scientist and inventor; 6-year-old Sophia (“Nature Girl”) is a caretaker of the earth; 300-year-old Blue (a great ballplayer like Satchel Paige) was the keeper of the holy grail in Africa before he and his siblings were captured as slaves. With help from a squadron of ladybugs, they fight the “greed, intolerance, and just plain cruelty” that Nurse Nancy and her demonic crow inhabit. A story of courage, friendship, and love.
Tallywacker World Premiere
Director: Brendan Boogie
Country: USA; Running Time: 90 min
A rock and roll buddy comedy about 2 bandmates whose relationship gets tested when one of them gets a gig touring with a major rock star.
The Zombie Wedding World Premiere
Director: Micah Khan
Country: USA; Running Time: 99 min
A young Cumberland County, NJ couple decides to go through with their wedding – during the Zombie Apocalypse. Unfortunately, he’s a zombie and she’s not. Both families are fearful, but the humans’ behavior is brutish. When the Zombies begin feeling brain-deprived, the ceremony takes a turn for the weird. Weekly World News reporters are there to cover this wild wedding – while trying to get out alive!
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
44 Lights: Music from Ground Zero
Director: Barbara Blackburn Tuttle
Country: USA; Running Time: 68 min
A musical journey to healing in the aftermath of 9/11. A story of pain, loss, and ultimately rebirth through music.
American Pot Story: Oaksterdam
Directors: Dan Katzir and Ravit Markus
Country: USA; Running Time: 97 min
This award-winning documentary is a decade-long follow-up of the underdogs who put their blood, sweat, and tears to overturn a 100-year-old policy, proving in the process that “a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world,” to quote Margaret Mead).
Brothers Broken
Directors: Geoff Levin, Lily Richards
Country: USA; Running Time: 86 min
This is the story of brothers Geoff and Robbie Levin, who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area as part of the 60’s music scene including Jerry Garcia, the Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin. The brother’s band PEOPLE! had the hit record “I Love You” in 1968 and toured with The Who; then Scientology entered their lives destroyed their band and split up the brothers. After 46 years Geoff despite losing his children and friends to the cult, left the church and reunited with his brother and band. It’s a tale of breaking free from a modern-day prison of belief.
Denim Hunter U.S. Premiere
Director: Emilio Di Stefano
Country: Sweden; Running Time: 87 min
In the road movie documentary Denim Hunter, we meet Viktor – a regular guy from Sweden but with a burning passion for really old jeans. The film follows Viktor on his wild journey through the deserts of California, Arizona, and Nevada as well as up the snowclad Rocky Mountains of Colorado, where he hunts for denim treasures in hazardous run-down gold mines from the 1880s. On his journey, Viktor comes across an array of unlikely desert characters, like Indiana Jeans, Dynamite Dan, and Redneck-Mike. In various ways, they all lead Viktor from one failure to the next.
The Depths of My Despair
Director: Elizabeth Lawrence
Country: USA; Running Time: 68 min
The Depths of My Despair is a visceral rabbit hole toward the authentic self. Filmmaker Elizabeth Lawrence takes an emotional, first-person detour inward. Oscillating through saneness and psychosis; debris and lucidity, the film stares at depression dead-on.
District Of Second Chances World Premiere
Director: Wynette Yao
Country: USA; Running Time: 76 min
District of Second Chances follows the journeys of three men from Washington, D.C., all sentenced to life in prison during the 1990s. Now, because of sentencing reform, they have a rare chance at release and new lives.
Meet Me Where I Am
Director: Grant Garry
Country: USA; Running Time: 86 min
Meet Me Where I Am explores the topic of grief through individual stories of loss, love, and hope. The film aims to normalize grief in our culture and explores how we can actively participate in helping others through grief. By accepting grief and its impact, we hope to help individuals find new meaning as they move forward with their grief.
Studio One Forever
Director: Marc Saltarelli
Country: USA; Running Time: 86 min
The untold story of America’s iconic gay disco, a kaleidoscopic excursion into LGBTQ+ history through the lens of this groundbreaking club. From 1974-1994, Studio One and its adjoining live music venue, The Backlot, became symbols of hope and community for gay men during tumultuous times. Amidst the rise of gay rights, disco’s heyday, and the devastating AIDS crisis, the club offered sanctuary from rampant homophobia and police oppression.
Torched – The Story of Austin Torch
Director: Hoag Kepner
Country: USA; Running Time: 66 min
Torched tells the story of the Austin Torch, a wild and fiery group of women/non-binary athletes in Austin who are trying to legitimize and professionalize their fringe sport of Ultimate Frisbee in a historically male-dominated sports industry. As we follow the Torch on the road and at home during their 2022 season, we realize that though the Torch might not always win, they never really lose, because it’s more than a team: it’s a movement.
MIDNIGHT FEATURES
Sheryl World Premiere
Director: Justin Best
Country: USA; Running Time: 72 min
After she’s dumped by her serial killer boyfriend for not being “hot enough”, a beauty-obsessed woman goes on a bloody quest to create the perfect face, all while navigating her new relationship with the cop investigating the murders.
Wild Eyed and Wicked
Director: G.S. Foxwood
Country: USA; Running Time: 99 min
Lily Pierce is sick of being haunted. She decides to reconnect with her estranged father, a disgraced history professor, and learn how to draw upon a time of steel and blade when armor-clad knights rode out and dueled their monsters to the death.
TELEVISION AND WEB SERIES PILOTS
A Killer Service
Director: Gio Randazzo
Country: USA; Running Time: 25 min
The hapless daughter of an incarcerated con-artist finds she has inherited a substantial debt to a dangerous crime boss. Forced into a corner, Elliott discovers how to take control of her life while helping empower other women.
Awesome
Director: Paul Munger
Country: USA; Running Time: 16 min
Every night, 20-year-old Joy gets a glimpse of the future. But with a dad on parole, a pill-popping boyfriend, and a recent lay-off, that doesn’t mean she can stop it from being shitty. That is until she foresees an event that will ruin the lives of her loved ones forever. She’ll have to figure out how to change her future–or live with the consequences.
The Blind Zone World Premiere
Directors: Federica Marchese, Vinushu Sundaresan
Country: China; Running Time: 32 min
Battle of wits and violence ensues when the separate worlds of two teenage sociopaths collide after they set their eyes on the same target.
East
Director: Dana Marisa Schoenfeld
Country: USA; Running Time: 32 min
When Ella Goldman, a New York City Corporate attorney, gets engaged to her longtime boyfriend, Josh, she is ecstatic to embark on the next stage of her life. With a wedding to plan and a blossoming career, Ella thinks she has it all. But when she suddenly loses her job and catches her boyfriend cheating, her world comes crashing down. This devastating turn of events forces her to confront the truth about her life – and what it is she really wants. Convinced that this is a “wake-up call,” Ella pursues her childhood dream of being an actress.
Events At Hemlock Manor
Director: Katie North
Country: USA; Running Time: 15 min
At its core, this is a series about underdogs: a ragtag group of spooky weirdos with nowhere else to go. Hemlock Manor is not only a year-round haunted house with a terrible business model; it’s also a home. But what do you do when the thing you love is in trouble? You fight for it. Even when that means throwing a baby shower for a group of rich ladies who thought “the historic Hemlock Manor” was a charming country villa, not a haunted house open in July.
For Years to Come
Director: Micah Stuart
Country: USA; Running Time: 27 min
An irreverent and heartfelt romantic dramedy about a gay man who falls in love with his dead mother’s hospice nurse, while struggling to reconnect with his elderly father…who’s secretly a porn director.
Hit Man: Secrets Of Lies
Director: Elias Plagianos
Country: UK; Running Time: 19 min
A reflective hitman from New York City travels to small towns around the country trying to find meaning in his seemingly inconsequential life as he fulfills his contracts and eliminates his targets.
Hot Angry Mom
Director: Clarissa De Los Reyes
Country: USA; Running Time: 34 min
A people-pleasing mom must face her rage, as a video of her epic meltdown goes viral.
I Could Eat
Director: Rick Bedrosian
Country: USA; Running Time: 28 min
A new TV/Web Series showcasing the cuisine & music that unites diverse cultures. Host, Rick Bedrosian (“George” in a Beatlemania stage show for 7 years, leader of Celtic music powerhouse, Hair Of The Dog, since 1993 and an international tour guide) spans the globe seeking out the finest food and the most interesting music makers.
L.I.F.E.: It’s Wonderful
Director: Dathan Smith
Country: USA; Running Time: 22 min
L.I.F.E. is an anthology series set in the near future where citizens receive a hand-delivered card notifying them the day they will die. Rose feels trapped in her new “home”. Emilia feels trapped by her daughter’s recent news. Bob is forced to deliver a card he has been dreading since joining L.I.F.E. Corp. as Diane adjusts to her new job.
Moments North American Premiere
Director: Aaron Lewis
Country: USA; Running Time: 23 min
Moments is a gripping 9-episode digital series, each under 13 minutes, offering intimate glimpses into characters on the brink. Driven by black trauma and mysticism, it unravels mind-reading and hidden truths through therapist Dr. Winston. An enigmatic narrator, Rutina Wesley, introduces time travel, adding layers of self-discovery. Momentshints at an expanded episodic journey, diving deeper into characters’ histories and relationships, while authentically addressing themes of healing and transformation within the mystical. Boasting a stellar ensemble cast and profound storytelling.
Morse Code
Director: Travis Nicholson
Country: USA; Running Time: 37 min
In the eccentric community of modern-day East Nashville, Simon, a talented but flawed thirty-something indie folk singer finds himself at a crossroads as he struggles to strike a balance between family and career.
Off The Menu
Director: Daniele Sestito
Country: USA; Running Time: 37 min
“Chef” is a perfectionist, Italian cook who works for an unordinary institution. Typically stern and grandiose, a new side of Chef is revealed when he is forced to make a meal that’s beyond his grasp.
Q Train
Directors: Dionne Van Den Berg, Samantha Tran
Country: USA; Running Time: 10 min
A Brooklyn based DJ explores the queer dating scene.
Roboto
Directors: Mari Madrid, Keone Madrid
Country: USA; Running Time: 18 min
Ky loses his entire career as a highly successful choreographer when AI takes over the dance industry and the world by storm. This throws Ky into suicidal ideations until Mikah, a bright and optimistic 12-year-old boy, decides to disregard the latest craze of dancing with Roboto and instead asks Ky to choreograph for his school performance. While at first Ky reluctantly decides to help the kid, he begins to find a bit of light in his life again. And when it’s revealed that Mikah had a battle with cancer Ky’s perspective is completely shifted.
The Selectman World Premiere
Director: David Antonio Martin
Country: USA; Running Time: 26 min
In the wake of Selectman Joseph Allenby’s untimely death, this absurd comedy begins amid a memorial service in the small town of Picasquiddy, Maine. Subverting the idyllic nature of small-town New England, our protagonists are trapped in a picturesque world where the forces of learned behavior, arrested adolescence, and the quest for power forever collide. As two unlikely successors emerge as candidates for the Board of Selectmen, the town’s fate hangs in the balance. Does anybody have what it takes?
Travel Fox World Premiere
Director: Henk Pretorius
Country: UK; Running Time: 5 min
Get ready for a wild adventure in Travel Fox, the pilot episode of an animated series tailor-made for curious kids. Follow the inquisitive Travel Fox and Bogie the Tortoise as they race across the world, chasing rainbows in search of a legendary pot of gold. But here’s the twist – instead of gold, our friends discover something even more precious: a treasure trove of unique characters and unforgettable experiences.
Ülom: The Primary Experiment World Premiere
Director: Jon Da
Country: USA; Running Time: 25 min
In Ülom, one can find anything, even meaning. A desperate scientist undertakes a labyrinthian experiment he believes will locate his missing daughter. Journeying ever deeper into the labyrinth, he must confront an invasive, fictional reality. Remember: what feels real, is real. Ülom is here.
Xander World Premiere
Director: Jonathan Chao
Country: USA; Running Time: 11 min
When lonely high school student Luke befriends Xander the Genie, he’s forced to consider if making his one wish is worth losing his new genie best friend.
NARRATIVE SHORTS
(In)Convenience
Director: Alexandra Greenspan
Country: USA; Running Time: 12 min
#Pizzagate World Premiere
Director: Danny Piñeros
Country: USA; Running Time: 8 min
The 1971 Kitchen Grand Brie
Director: Ian Beckman
Country: USA; Running Time: 11 min
Bisected World Premiere
Director: Danny Piñeros
Country: USA; Running Time: 8 min
Black Silk World Premiere
Director: Patrick Michael
Country: USA; Running Time: 16 min
Blight World Premiere
Director: Markus Hoeckner
Country: USA; Running Time: 15 min
Bloodworm World Premiere
Director: Kai Wen
Country: USA; Running Time: 13 min
Bounce House
Directors: Callie Bloem, Christopher Ewing
Country: USA; Running Time: 16 min
Burraco World Premiere
Director: Isabella Tagliati
Country: Italy; Running Time: 14 min
Candice
Director: Tyler Martin
Country: USA; Running Time: 15 min
Career Day
Directors: Jason Robinson, Chris Hooper
Country: USA; Running Time: 10 min
Chauncey World Premiere
Director: Reilly Anspaugh & Daniel Rashid
Country: USA; Running Time: 11 min
Cheol World Premiere
Director: Yeajoon Cho
Country: USA; Running Time: 19 min
Church Camp
Director: Andrew Bourne
Country: USA; Running Time: 14 min
The Chat World Premiere
Writer/Dir/Prod: Artie Brennan
Country: USA; Running Time: 6 min
Clownfish
Director: Clayton Henderson
Country: USA; Running Time: 11 min
Dear Owner
Director: Jing Ai Ng
Country: USA; Running Time: 17 min
Delta World Premiere
Director: Jonathan Coleman
Country: USA; Running Time: 9 min
Detox
Director: Alex Hanno
Country: USA; Running Time: 19 min
Dropping
Director: Rj Collins
Country: USA; Running Time: 10 min
Echoes Of My Father World Premiere
Directors: Junko Kajino, Ed M Koziarski
Country: USA, Japan; Running Time: 18 min
The Electro-Rocker
Director: Chris Edgar
Country: USA; Running Time: 17 min
Entrainment
Director: Bill Prokopow
Country: USA; Running Time: 12 min
Esperance To Fremantle World Premiere
Director: William Sebastian Turner
Country: Australia; Running Time: 18 min
Everything Goes Dark International Premiere
Director: Alex Casimir
Country: USA; Running Time: 15 min
Fate Vs. Elena World Premiere
Director: Laura Sedlak
Country: USA; Running Time: 23 min
From The Dark North American Premiere
Director: Erika Sanz
Country: USA; Running Time: 7 min
Hot Soda
Director: Nello Digiandomenico
Country: USA; Running Time: 15 min
How To Disappear World Premiere
Director: Milton Woods
Country: USA; Running Time: 20 min
I Keep Bumping into Candy Maldonado World Premiere
Director: Luke Black
Country: USA; Running Time: 11 min
In The Quiet World Premiere
Director: Merle Dandridge
Country: USA; Running Time: 5 min
Interracial Couple In A Cheerios Ad
Director: Christine Lakin
Country: USA; Running Time: 4 min
The Invaders
Director: Erin Doyle Cooper
Country: USA; Running Time: 4 min
Itch World Premiere
Director: Mohammad Anwerzada
Countries: Pakistan/Canada; Running Time: 9 min
Letters To the Wind World Premiere
Director: Terrence Shu
Country: USA; Running Time: 13 min
Lux Freer
Director: Cynthia Gibb
Country: USA; Running Time: 21 min
Man Baby World Premiere
Director: Aaron Murtagh
Country: USA; Running Time: 10 min
Music For A While World Premiere
Director: Kelvin Z. Phillips
Country: USA; Running Time: 6 min
Nearly Never North American Premiere
Director: Peter Franklyn Banks
Country: UK; Running Time: 15 min
Newbie
Director: James Skinner
Country: UK; Running Time: 8 min
Portrait Of a Cowboy
Director: Devon Wycoff
Country: USA; Running Time: 17 min
Pretty As a Picture World Premiere
Director: Ryan Nielsen
Country: USA; Running Time: 8 min
The Pros And Cons Of Killing Yourself World Premiere
Director: Ravi Steve Khajuria
Country: Canada; Running Time: 21 min
Piano Man
Director: Jay Zaretsky
Country: USA; Running Time: 20 min
Purgy’s
Director: Robbie Bryan
Country: USA; Running Time: 16 min
Rattled World Premiere
Director: Adam Linkenhelt
Country: USA; Running Time: 14 min
Red, White And Blue
Director: Nazrin Choudhury
Country: USA; Running Time: 23 min
Revelation World Premiere
Director: Libe Barer
Country: USA; Running Time: 16 min
Room 107 World Premiere
Directors: Steve Anderson, Leandro Imaz
Country: USA; Running Time: 17 min
Sane Men
Director: Jess Fritz
Country: USA; Running Time: 15 min
Skateboard World Premiere
Director: Peyton Michelle Edwards
Country: USA; Running Time: 7 min
Sonshine International Premiere
Director: Corey Podell
Country: USA; Running Time: 15 min
Speak Up Brotha!
Director: Wes Andre Goodrich
Country: USA; Running Time: 15 min
Sugar World Premiere
Director: Alyssa Brayboy
Country: USA; Running Time: 6 min
Three Ways Out World Premiere
Director: Lizzie Morgan
Country: USA; Running Time: 13 min
Tips Up! World Premiere
Director: Leah Claire Borrie
Country: USA; Running Time: 7 min
Tossou World Premiere
Directors: Melisande Mclaughlin, Sika Stanton
Country: USA; Running Time: 3 min
Used Chairs For Sale World Premiere
Director: Dylan Paffe
Countries: USA/Canada; Running Time: 14 min
We Love You Ray World Premiere
Director: John Hays
Country: USA; Running Time: 14 min
You Need To Process This
Director: Eleanor Morrison
Country: USA; Running Time: 14 min
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
13 Driver’s Licenses
Director: Ryoya Terao
Countries: USA/Germany; Running Time: 27 min
Brothers For Life World Premiere
Director: Alon Juwal
Country: Israel; Running Time: 17 min
The Dancer: The Beautiful and Tragic Life Of Gerard Alexander
Directors: Ryon Horne, Tyson Horne
Country: USA; Running Time: 35 min
Family Trip World Premiere
Director: Sean Dunne
Country: USA; Running Time: 26 min
Finding Fate
Director: Beth Toni Kruvant
Country: USA; Running Time: 28 min
How I Roll World Premiere
Directors: Brianne Berkson, Miguel Gluckstern, BriGuel
Country: USA; Running Time: 13 min
I Can’t Give You Anything But Love World Premiere
Director: Susan Morgan Cooper
Country: USA; Running Time: 34 min
Kristin Dan Kuching Kuchingnya
Director: Michael Kam
Country: Singapore; Running Time: 6 min
Living Loud World Premiere
Directors: Carin van der Donk, Isabella Vega, Sarah Teale
Country: USA; Running Time: 40 min
Paper Boats
Director: Jessica Pons
Country: USA; Running Time: 5 min
Rebirth World Premiere
Director: Olivia Burgess
Country: USA; Running Time: 11 min
Revealing The Impossible World Premiere
Directors: Tony Chong and Marlene Millar
Country: Canada; Running Time: 29 min
This Is Why We Train: The Sea Girt Beach Patrol World Premiere
Director: Kevin Nulty
Country: USA; Running Time: 20 min
Tracing Imperfection World Premiere
Director: Chehade Boulos
Country: USA; Running Time: 8 min
Where Is America the Beautiful?
Director: Fr3der1ck
Country: USA; Running Time: 30 min
MIDNIGHT SHORTS
Bastard World Premiere
Directors: Haley Elise Pehrson, Gretta Wilson
Country: USA; Running Time: 14 min
The Custodian
Director: Colin J. Mason
Country: USA; Running Time: 9 min
D.O.D.
Director: Paul Davis
Country: USA; Running Time: 18 min
Dedly Wagons World Premiere
Director: Martin Balaguer
Country: USA; Running Time: 4 min
Good Girls Get Fed
Director: Kelly Lou Dennis
Country: USA; Running Time: 21 min
Hevel World Premiere
Director: David Grace
Country: USA; Running Time: 14 min
Inner Demons World Premiere
Director: Jasmine J, Johnson
Country: USA; Running Time: 11 min
The Mantis
Director: Wylie Rush
Country: USA; Running Time: 10 min
Mattress Express
Director: Noah Morse
Country: USA; Running Time: 18 min
Night Shift
Director: Karlee Boon
Country: USA; Running Time: 28 min
Pee Pee Platter
Director: Jon Conklin
Country: USA; Running Time: 11 min
The Spirit Became Flesh World Premiere
Writer/Director: Jesse Aultman
Country: USA; Running Time: 18 min
The Worm World Premiere
Director: Cameron A. Tubbs
Country: USA; Running Time: 14 min
ABOUT DANCES WITH FILMS
Now in its 26th year, Dances With Films champions the unflinching spirit at the very core of the independent film scene. With most film festivals relying heavily on celebrity, we have relied on innovation, talent, creativity, and sweat equity that revolutionized the entertainment industry. And that reliance continues to prove successful with alumni moving on to write, direct, and produce celebrity-studded vehicles, star in blockbuster movies, and television series, produce multi-million-dollar film and create hot TV shows.
The score possesses a moving, almost visceral effect on the viewer. The information Rolnick discovers through her years of research will shock you. Their stories remain ever-evolving living entities. The film reinforces the tried and true Churchill adage, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” 
The families are eclectic. All shapes, sizes, races, ages, and socioeconomic backgrounds face the challenges of reuniting parents and children. Allegations range from neglect to sexual abuse. Each case is unique, and the system does not exist to react to those nuances. 
The editing is masterful. The narrative flow is deliciously punctuated with L’Orange’s (Austin’s artist name) uniquely produced and created beats. His music is hypnotic, sampling blues and standards to assemble something fresh, almost binaural in its rhythms. While THE MAD WRITER follows Austin’s musical and surgical journey, it speaks universally to those suffering from depression and unsure of their place in the world. Austin says it best in the film. Everyone wants to feel “satisfied, clever, and useful.” He’s not wrong.
1991, in the middle of a Massachusetts cornfield, open every day in October, Dave Bertolino‘s Spooky World was a horror con and a theme park. It was the first dedicated haunted attraction, paving the way for every modern-day, big-name fright night across the country. Built on a dollar and a dream, Spooky World grew more popular and went through numerous iterations. As one of the first featured guests, Tom Savini’s direct influence on Spookyworld shifted from a homegrown haunted hayride to a proper frightening experience within a year, with Tom building his own branded Haunted House. The busier the park, the more elaborate and inventive Bertolino had to become.
The townspeople of Berlin had a fantastic relationship with Bertolino. Bringing jobs, money, and recognition to a sleepy farming town. But, not everyone was thrilled with the boundary-pushing additions, playing politics and making Bertilino’s job harder. That’s not to say that his antics and ideas came without skepticism from within.
Growing up in northern Connecticut, I cannot believe I never ventured up the Spooky World as a self-proclaimed Halloween addict and horror fanatic. I’m thankful the park ever existed, and its humble and exciting existence spread like wildfire so that global genre fans could care and scare together.
The film consists of informal sit-down interviews, extensive personal writings, archival footage, and plenty of home videos of the generations of strong women in the family. We discover the hurt from Hiam’s past, the emotional baggage of leaving behind the turmoil of Palestine, but also the treasured connections of the women who shaped her. Hiam’s letters and poems serve as both insight and narration. They are intensely affecting. 
Hiam and her family love one another with their whole hearts. They have no filters when speaking to each other, and their words of affirmation are something to aspire to. Lina Soualem captures all of this in an elegant edit. The film is beautifully intimate. It’s a loving commentary on memory, identity, and honoring your past.
The overwhelming joy of hearing these kids laugh is infectious. SUMMER QAMP is an education, through and through. As a former theatre kid and current creative adult with two kids, I strive to understand how identity plays a part in overall confidence. I grew up with often crippling anxiety, a stranglehold of perfectionism, and feeling othered. It doesn’t feel good. My job is to protect my kids from the same overwhelming feelings of chaos any way I can.
SUMMER QAMP‘S brave kids allow the audience into their personal lives. They may not fully appreciate how fearless they are. Campers share their gender identity journey, the good, the bad, and the emotionally ugly. This film provides a conversation starter for understanding gender dysphoria from those experiencing it firsthand. It’s an aha of a film. 
The number of King’s books that jumped from page to screen is astounding. As a kid in the 80s, like many of the filmmakers in the doc, I grew up seeing King’s books on my family’s shelf but immersed myself in the films first. The kids in Stand By Me and IT became my peers. I rented The Shining, Creepshow, and Pet Sementary ad nauseum. By the time 1996 rolled around, I remembered the glee I experienced when I discovered The Green Mile in the grocery store checkout aisle. 
While we don’t hear from King directly, we see stills and videos of Stephen on the sets of his adaptations. Filmmakers like Greg Nicotero, Mike Flanagan, David Carson, Taylor Hackford, Tom Holland, John Harrison, Mick Garris, and Frank Darabont share how King’s books inspired their work. They speak to the overwhelming readability of small-town horror. King singlehandedly made Maine an unlikely horror destination. I love that everyone addresses The Shining controversy. Behind-the-scenes footage and anecdotes explain the breakdown between the book and the film. Kubrick obliterates Jack Torrance’s humanity that fans of the book (King, most of all) hate. 
King’s deep dive into the political landscape has always existed. The film explores his ability to explore universal truths, whether religion, race, or greed, and make characters lovable or loathsome based on their moral compass. In the same way, we joke about The Simpsons‘ writers predicting the future, Stephen King uses the global landscape to create villains and heroes that shake us to our core. Translating that from page to screen sometimes takes a slight adjustment. The best filmmakers always ask Steve first. 
For horror fans, KING ON SCREEN is like a kid coming home with a Halloween candy haul that would put you in a coma. For fans of his books, it’s like changing costumes and going out for round two. It’s delicious fun, no matter how cliche you might find the Easter egg-filled bookend scenes. They play like a Where’s Waldo for readers and genre fans alike. (I loved it.) So, turn the lights down and make popcorn. KING ON SCREEN scares up our nostalgia and celebrates a storytelling master.
Utterly fascinating, this documentary horror hybrid effectively puts the fear of God into the audience. The film begins by sharing the history of each incarnation of what we now refer to as the “Ring” security camera, each inspired by a recurring nightmare. Historical recounting gets the creepy treatment with a random subject’s security footage playing in its fisheye lens version behind the storytelling text. There is no formal dialogue. This voyeuristic nightmare is unlike anything we’ve seen before, featuring videos of everything from natural disasters to doorstep theft and animal encounters to delivery people behaving badly and creatively.
The score is bone-chilling, with its piano cords striking. It’s something straight out of hell. But, the film is even scarier than it initially appears when we learn the global and societal impact of advancing technology. Cinematic tropes alone reflect the world’s potential terror. Fantasia 2023 audiences get a taste of a film that would be a perfect Fall statement at MoMA. HOME INVASION is exceedingly disturbing. If anything, it reminds you how quickly the scales of good and evil tip. It will haunt you.
We have been lucky enough to have seen a few of the titles already making the rounds. You can catch our reviews for the following films:
Paiffe
In the fall of 2021, filmmaker James Gallagher rode across the country with Marc Rebillet on his sold-out Third Dose Tour to capture what it was about the artist, showman, and robe-clad musical alchemist that brought thousands of people out of their homes for the first time.
Directed by: Steve Buscemi
THE CURIOUS CASE OF NATALIA GRACE
NIGHT TWO:
Episode 4 highlights Michael Barnett‘s evolution on camera spans years. His earliest interviews from 2019 display a well-spoken man recalling a shocking family nightmare. In the latest interviews from 2022, we see a completely different man whose story changes. He is a man slowly unraveling. It is challenging to decipher if the tears are crocodile or not. Jacob hints at a broader understanding of fault. It puts some of Kristine’s footage of Natalia into question and puts Jacob in a precarious situation, emotionally and legally.
Episode 1 sets up Natalia as a mastermind and sociopath. To say it is unnerving is an understatement. Episode 2 features intriguing audio from phone calls with several Indiana State Mental Hospital staff. Enter legal expert Beth Karas and new details from witnesses that dispute many of Michael Barnett’s storytelling. Now, the audience finds themselves in a tailspin.
Based on Michael Hall‘s articles from 2004, Mineola, Texas, HOW TO CREATE A SEX SCANDAL is a shocking tale of deceit and power. It’s time for some good old fashion pearl-clutching before tearing them off in a rage.
Episode 2:
Interrogation videos are startling, to put it nicely. The difference in tone and language between the accused and accusers will infuriate you. Victims appear in shock; most of them are taught to respect authority. The victim blaming and shaming will make your blood boil. This systematic problem is the personification of rape culture. Detective Carl Hershman, an incredible former SVU officer, helps us understand the why and how. The force needs more people like him.
The psychological damage is unfathomable. Trust me when I say there are more sexual assault survivors than you are comfortable comprehending. VICTIM/SUSPECT uses police officers’ own words against them. The blatant lies and heinous tactics to have these victims recant will blow you away. Your head will spin when you discover their training includes using “ruse” in questioning. The lack of actual investigation is staggering. Journalists like De Leon are quite literally saving lives. Nancy Schwartzman and Netflix are doing an essential service to victims with VICTIM/SUSPECT. It can only lead to justice.
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