Teenagers, dog walkers and Eskimos: Discover 25 must-see short films directed by women screening at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.

Summary: Double Programs | Animation Spotlight | Documentary Shorts | Midnight Shorts | Shorts Program 1 | Shorts Program 2 | Shorts Program 3 | Shorts Program 4 | Shorts Program 5 |

 

Told from the perspective of shoes, this film tells the story of a couple’s journey through life—the ups, the downs, the passion, and the dedication it takes to share your life with the one you love.

Director and screenwriter: Bryce Dallas Howard
U.S.A. January 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30
Plays with the feature Southside With You

A writer’s dilemma of whether or not to join a professional networking club takes many interesting turns as it unfolds entirely during one therapy session.

Director and screenwriter: Eva Vives
U.S.A. January 26, 27, 28, 29, 30
Plays with the feature The Intervention by Clea Duvall

As the balance of the world turns upside down for the Anishinabek people, the elder Naamowin builds a healing drum to save his grandson and his people.

Director and screenwriter: Michelle Derosier
Canada – January 23, 24, 26, 30

In a country where men seem more interested in their electronic gadgets than their peers, a group of lonely and disillusioned women take the Limbo Limbo bus. Off to a far exotic country, they hope to find happiness.

Directors and screenwriters: Zsuzsanna Kreif, Borbála Zétényi
France, Hungary – January 23, 24, 26, 30

In this parable, a shy wolf tries to connect with a group of hip, party-loving bunnies but finds her body is in revolt.

Director and screenwriter: Dianne Bellino
January 23, 24, 26, 30

Filmed during a media workshop for Syrian girls in Jordan’s Za’atari Refugee Camp, 17-year-old Khaldiya meditates on how the camp has opened up new horizons and given her a sense of courage that she lacked in Syria.

Director: Khaldiya Jibawi
Jordan – January 22, 23, 24, 28

The FBI claimed it exposed a dangerous group of men in a massive entrapment operation over an alleged plot to attack a U.S. Army base in New Jersey. But were they really terrorists?

Director: Razan Ghalayini
U.S.A. — January 22, 23, 24, 28

Emboldened by a giant block party on the evening of their high school prom, a group of students enters the night with the hope of transcending their rural town and the industrial landscape that surrounds them.

Directors: Ivete Lucas, Patrick Bresnan
U.S.A. — January 22, 23, 24, 28

Flower of a Thousand Colours shows an intimate slice of the life of Emiliana, a loving mother who struggles every day with her rough environment—a Bolivian mining camp.

Director: Karen Vazquez Guadarrama
Belgium — January 22, 23, 24, 28

A supernatural killer stalks a young woman and her friends in a seedy, neon-lit dive bar in this short film featuring horror legend John Carpenter.

Director and screenwriter: Jacqueline Castel
U.S.A. – January 22, 23, 25, 29

Life is disrupted for eight-year-old Aida when her father returns with a young Senegalese woman, Rama, whom he introduces as his second wife. Sensitive to her mother’s distress, Aida decides to get rid of the new visitor.

Director and screenwriter: Maïmouna Doucouré
France – January 21, 22, 23, 30

Guided expertly by those who live on the land and are driven by the pulse of the natural world, this story takes us on an exhilarating journey from the far north to the urban south.

Director: Caroline Monnet
Canada – January 21, 22, 23, 30

This comedy about isolation and loneliness follows a young woman who is adrift and seeking intimacy in the most unlikely places.

Director and screenwriter: Bridey Elliott
U.S.A. – January 22, 23, 25, 28

A 16-year-old Yup’ik Eskimo leaves his tiny village and travels across the frozen tundra to compete in an all-Yup’ik basketball tournament and bring pride to his village.

Directors: Daniele Anastasion, Nathan Golon
U.S.A. – January 22, 23, 25, 28

This warm and lyrical film follows a group of unruly monkeys in Gibraltar and the people employed to control them with peashooters.

Director: Eleanor Mortimer
United Kingdom – January 22, 23, 25, 28

The lines between trust, betrayal, and forgiveness are intertwined for two Senegalese vendors as they try to make a living on the streets of New York City.

Director and screenwriter: Asantewaa Prempeh
U.S.A. – January 22, 23, 25, 30

A gigantic figure emerges from the snow and sits on a hill with spiders, saints, and bumper cars in this surreal tale about creating myths, religious kitsch, and the desire for greatness. Meet the world’s largest sacral miniature park resident.

Director and screenwriter: Katarzyna Gondek
Poland, Belgium – January 22, 23, 25, 30

Isabel, a young woman from the Sierra mountains of Guanajuato, is motivated by the love of her family, and she has learned that she must sacrifice her present in order to value tomorrow’s success and achieve her dreams.

Directors and screenwriters: Verónica Jessamyn López Sainz, Andrea Fuentes Charles
Mexico – January 22, 23, 25, 30

Edmond’s impulse to love and be close to others is strong—maybe too strong. As he stands by a lake contemplating his options, he reflects on his defining moments in search of the origin of his desires.

Director and screenwriter: Nina Gantz
United Kingdom – January 23, 24, 26, 28

This dark comedy adventure is the story of a young dog walker after the unexpected death of her favorite client.

Director and screenwriter: Kim Sherman
U.S.A. – January 23, 24, 26, 28

Laura, a heartbroken teenager from Santiago, is on holiday in the southern Chilean archipelago, Chiloé, with her friends. As she wanders the lonely island seascapes, she encounters a group of women who are seaweed collectors and shares stories with them.

Directors and screenwriters: Manuela Martelli, Amirah Tajdin
Chile, France – January 23, 24, 26, 28

After becoming pregnant from a sexual assault on campus, a young woman goes on a journey to find out if the rape was “legitimate.” This film was inspired by the statements of Senator Todd Akin.

Director and screenwriter: Frankie Shaw
U.S.A. – January 23, 24, 26, 28

Mika is auditioning male actors for her first feature, and they are all well-established alpha dogs in the film business. The situation turns more sour as their confidence in her reaches new lows.

Director: Lovisa Sirén,
Screenwriters: Lovisa Sirén, Peter Modestij
Sweden – January 23, 24, 26, 28

Seide lives in a snowy mountain village with her humble family and her beloved horse. When she’s forced into an arranged marriage with a man from a wealthy family, she fights to save her horse from being slaughtered for food for the wedding.

Director and screenwriter: Elnura Osmonalieva
Kyrgyzstan – January 23, 24, 26, 28

Three women of different ages and backgrounds meet in an ophthalmologist’s waiting room. The mention of a tragedy that left one of them nearly blind suddenly bridges their differences and creates a possibility for closeness and connection.

Director and screenwriter: Dubravka Turic
Croatia – January 23, 24, 26, 28

Patrick Haggerty was a teenager in rural Dry Creek, Washington, in the late 1950s. Here, he remembers the day he first had a conversation with his father about being gay.

Director: Julie Zammarchi
Plays with the HBO documentary Suited
U.S.A. – January 25, 27, 28, 29, 30

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