CIFF Friday, Block 4: Shorts Program

THE WATER IS ALWAYS BLUER…
Comedy/Animation (4 mins.) SC Premiere

Director: Karen Stritzinger
Assistant Directors: Ben Sledge, Zhaoxin Ye, Yujie Shu and Kacey Coley
Producers: Jerry Tessendorf, David Donar, Timothy Davis and Tony Penna

Synopsis: A lonely rubber duck discovers a new world of adventure that lies just beneath the surface of the bathwater. The duck finds that it is able to use the water to travel from place to place. It soon finds itself lost and struggles to learn how to navigate through the new, unexpected, and not always friendly environments.

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SILK
Drama (17 mins.) SC Premiere

Director: Catherine Dent
Writers: Catherine Dent and Eyal Alony
Producers: Catherine Dent, Grace Feeney and Eyal Alony
Cast: Shohreh Aghdashloo, David Diaan, Saye Yabandeh, Sabrina Perez, Wesam Keesh, Samir Younis and Liad Machmali

Synopsis: Oscar nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo plays Rani, a woman given away and forced to marry at age 11. Now middle aged and living with an abusive man she never loved, Rani finds a unique opportunity to reclaim the life taken long ago when she was forced to become a child bride.

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SPAGHETTI FÜR ZWEI
Dramatic Comedy (18 mins.) Germany, SC Premiere

Directors: Matthias Rosenberger and Betina Dubler
Writer: Betina Dubler
Producer: Matthias Rosenberger
Cast: Johannes Silberschneider, Toks KÖrner, Mia Aegerter and Stefan Rutz

Synopsis: The likeable but lonesome Finn is on his way to lunch. Awaiting him, the outside world lurks menacingly: in his imagination it swarms with would-be crooks, hussies and criminals. What should have been a routine stroll develops into a dark odyssey, triggering a troubled conflict against himself and against the world... and ultimately, it is the underdog who is victorious.

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NOTHING
Drama (24 mins.) SC, World Premiere

Director: Kyle Perritt
Writers/Producers: Kyle Perritt and Owen Hamilton
Cast: Cierah Sargent, Jason Wesley and Daniel Jones

Synopsis: Living in a quiet home with her widowed father, 16-year-old Alex is searching for something more. Everything changes when she finds affection in her high school teacher.

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DISTANCE
Comedy/Family (2 mins.) East Coast Premiere

Director/Writer/Producer: Sang Joon Kim
Cast: Agata Drogowska, Hussein Wahbi and Lew Gardner

Synopsis: Everything about 'Distance' started from my own experience. It's about me, my brother and my father. The relationship between my brother and my father has been always terrible. They never communicated and the worst part of them was that they never ever tried to understand each other. I wanted to talk about this in a slight humorous way.

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USURA
Dramatic, Romantic (22 mins.) Argentina, SC Premiere

Director/Writer: Manuel F. Paz Ochoa
Producers: Nicole LÓpez Naguil, Juan Manuel Freire and Manuel F. Paz Ochoa
Cast: Felipe Colombo, Cumelen Sanz, Ana MarÍa Castel and Rafael Aieta

Synopsis: Clorinda is a small town located at the north of Argentina, miles close to Paraguay's border. One night Fuentes, a young smuggler, turned himself in to the local police after confessing all his crimes and actions. Why? In exchange for him to be part of the rescue plan of a young girl, Ursula, who was kidnapped to work on a illegal cabaret on the other side of the border in Paraguay. Will Fuentes be able win Ursula's trust so she escapes with him? It seems so, but the border always has another plan.

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THIS IS ELLEN
Dramatic Comedy (7 mins.) World Premiere

Director: John Salcido
Writers: Gabe Crate and John Salcido
Producers: Neil Evans and John Salcido
Cast: Michael Nathanson, Katie Parker, Dana Powell and David Tenenbaum

Synopsis: Hal and his new girlfriend struggle with their first double date in this darkly comic exploration of loss.