A Proud Member of the
July 16 - 19
Hilton Garden Inn 35 Major Taylor Blvd &
Studio 50 at WICN 50 Portland St
Worcester, MA
World Premiere of AERATE
by the Women in Film Fellow Mary Darling
We are excited to screen the World Premiere of a film by our 2024 Women in Film Fellow, ​Mary Darling.
Mary Darling* is a playwright & director who strives to bring relatable, non-traditional experiences to audiences. Theater writing credits include Good Grief! ( Balefire Productions- 2021, Museful Intent- 2021) On Our Terms (The Forge Theater 2019, Balefire Productions- 2022, Museful Intent- 2023), The Translator (Museful Intent- 2023), Strawberry Shortcake (Boston Theater Marathon XXVI), Park Bench (Fresh Fruit Festival, Playwrights Platform Festival, Open Space Arts SPF 2024 l), Two Wheels Plus One (Playground Ten Minute Play Festival), Average Hospital (Museful Intent), and Period (Museful Intent). Mary is thrilled to be a recipient of the 2024-2025 Women in Film Fellowship recipients from the Shawna Shea Memorial Foundation and to make her short film writing & directing debut.
*Dramatist Guild Member
This Shawna Foundation program is one of our first and is near and dear to our hearts. Since 2015, we have awarded 14 Fellowship awards.
Also screening in this block will be the New England Premiere of the Women in Film Fellowship short "Becoming Mary Ja" by Mariella Spagnolo.
Opening Night at Studio 50
July 16, 4:00PM
4:00PM
International Shorts
Searching for the 5th Direction
by Matthias Schüpbach (Switzerland)
Melodic Sugar by 수현 김 (Republic of Korea)
claimant by nadereh sadat serki (Iran)
The Professional Parent by Erik Jasaň (Romania, Slovakia)
I am here to listen by Michele Martino (Italy)
I don’t know if i'll have to say everything again by Vitória Fallavena (Brazil)
Annie Londonderry by Erica Yvonne Terenziani (Itay)
Don't Own It by Roman Perfilyev (Ukraine)
Perspective by Montesa (United Kingdom)
Order Subject to Change
6:30PM
Shorts Block #1
Borrowed Time by Collin Rousseau
Voyeur by Maryam Hashempour
Music to Die For by Rebecca Doherty (Ireland)
The Tensile Strength of Air by Shayna Connelly
The Swim by Corrie Legge, Benjamin Algar
A Simple Fix by Daniel Bartlett
3AM by Mike Canale
Trumpet Gumbo by Brad Courtemanche
Bathroom Trouble by Jimmy Caputo
Distant Memories by Chris Esper
Out of Reach by Robert Greim
Inner Voices by Miguel Lopez de Leon
Order Subject to Change
July 17th
Studio 50 at WICN
12:00PM
Feature
Special Needs Revolt! By Adrian Esposito
In a future dystopia, a man with Down syndrome joins a rebellion against America's cruel dictator who has put all people with disabilities back into institutions.
2:30PM
Feature Doc
umentary
Miss Fury and the Lost Legacy of Tarpé Mills by Chelsea Stone


“Miss Fury and the Lost Legacy of Tarpé Mills” is a documentary that explores the rise to success and fall into obscurity of June Tarpé Mills, the first woman to write, draw, and create a female superhero: Miss Fury.

Screens with The Piano Tuner
by Nicole Claudine Giroux 


Shorts Screen First

5:00PM
Feature Documentary


Love Me Bait Me by Rachel van der Bie


This feature documentary explores the historical relationship between Hollywood, television, and the authentic portrayal of diverse LGBTQ+ experiences over the course of more than a century.

Interviews and archival footage provide a constructive critique of the U.S. film industry that emphasizes the life-saving role storytelling plays in our collective imagination for a better future.

Screening with
The Socialists of Shoe City by Shana Figueroa
Shorts Screen First
7:30PM
Shorts #2
American Foulbrood by Christina Hodel
Sloppy Sunday by Christoff LeBlanc
OVaXX by John Schlag
Halfway by Kevin Figueroa
Order Subject to Change
July 17th
Hilton Garden Inn
12:00PM
Short Documentaries
The Greatest Guy You Never Met by Brian Russell
They Call Me the Tattoo Witch by Lindsay Nyman
I Crossed Earth for Animation Trivia by Jack Carlin
Day in The Life with Aunt Tami by Mackenzie McCree 


Order Subject to Change

2:30PM
Student Shorts
The Cowgirl by Armando Hernandez
Talking Heads by Nicole Overbaugh
8 Minutes by Charles Irvin
Second Chance by India Anne Mitchell
Mix Matched Socks by Nikki Page
Locked In by Keevan B Regan
One Night Only by Will Teare
Trust Me, Not Her by Toby Cleary
Clickbait by Alex Brock
The Fairy House by Emma Weller
Order Subject to Change
5:00PM
Long Shorts Plus One Block

That Kid by Ashley Dawson
American Dream by Rick Dumont
The Fall of 1985 by Mackenzie McCree
Bear Brook by Tony Fanini
Order Subject to Change
7:30PM
Feature


Tales from Clipper Coffee by Jerry Landi


In the small town of City Island, The Bronx , Clipper Coffee is the place where everyone meets, and spills tea.
Join Jerry Landi while he spins a few tales, and secrets about what’s really going on behind the counter in Tales From Clipper Coffee.


Screens with the shorts
The Banana Movie by Samuel Carl Cohen
Gran’mama by Marvin Suarez
Daydreamer by Miguel Lopez de Leon
Into the Reds Tale by Alisdair Zhang

 


Shorts Screen First

July 18th
Studio 50 at WICN
12:00PM
Feature Horror


BayView Entertainment Present
The Black-Eyed Children by József Gallai (Hungary)
A young woman takes a job at an
autumn camp in the woods, only to arrive to find that
all the children have mysteriously disappeared.

But as night falls, much to her dismay, some of them return..
.

Screens with Seance by Miguel Lopez de Leon




Shorts Screen First
2:30PM
Feature Horror

Dyngus Day by Michael Buttino


A folk horror comedy slasher hallmark holiday special.

Screening with
Quarantine by Russ Emanuel


Shorts Screen First

5:00PM
Feature
Inbetweening by Mel House
Eric Linson is a struggling multiracial filmmaker with a few credits to his name and absolutely nothing to show for it. Inbetweening follows his journey trying to remain afloat and healthy in the liminal space between projects...while the voices in his head steadily become louder. Some are helpful, but most aren't...especially the Zombie Guy.
Fortunately, the lead singer of Eric's favorite band (Angelo Moore, from the legendary Fishbone, playing himself) is on Eric's side. Inbetweening melds live action, animation, puppets, and even a musical number to reveal Eric's increasingly fractured journey.
7:30PM
Feature
The Other Christmas Show by Adam Griswold
Aaron Hawthorne, a down-on-his luck community theater director, sees an opportunity when a successful Broadway producer plans to mount an ambitious production of "A Christmas Carol" in his hometown. Aaron reunites his old troupe and attempts to put on a musical Christmas spectacular of his own, hoping he just might get the Broadway producer's attention and achieve the fame and success that's eluded him for years.
July 18th
Hilton Garden Inn
12:00PM
Shorts Block #3
Blood, Sweat and Tears
by Hannah Perry Shepherd
The Man with the Third Eye
by Collin Rousseau
The Ares Saga by Mick Gorley
Bailando by Michael .T
Order Subject to Change
2:30PM
Feature Horror
Zombie Chronicles by Marvin Suarez
Zombie Chronicles is a gritty, handheld-shot horror feature that follows a group of survivors navigating a brutal post-apocalyptic world overrun by the undead.
Told through a raw, documentary-style lens, the film captures the emotional unraveling, paranoia, and moral breakdown of those clinging to life as society collapses around them.
Survival isn’t just about escaping the dead
it’s about confronting the darkness within.
5:00PM
Animated Feature

​
I'd Rather Be Turned Into Cat Food by Walter Santucci
Starring the voices of punk rock legends Jack Grisham and Keith Morris, "I’d Rather Be Turned Into Cat Food" is an independent feature film that explores existential philosophy via hand drawn animation and live action puppetry. Funny and tragic, it's a strange confluence of "My Dinner With Andre", "Sid and Nancy" and "Sesame Street".
Screening with Inserire PIN by Michele Martino
Shorts Screen First
7:30PM
Horror Shorts

11 by James Lamond
Mr. Ankles by Mike Canale
Seance by Miguel Lopez de Leon
The Gory Hole by Richard Rowntree
Finché morte non ci separi by Michele Martino
Ursid by Rob Lee
Followers by Miriam Olken
Voyeur by Maryam Hashemp
Many Keys - The Heartbreak Monologue
by MikeMessier
A Rough Start by Manny Serrano
Bart & Bobbi Kill Each Other by Aaron Barrocas
The Chexorcist by Erica Stockwell
Multi-Level Massacre by Ashes Homon-Rahill
Professor Damse's School of Real Acting
by Beccy Quinn


Order Subject to Change
July 19th
Studio 50 at WICN
12:00PM
Animated Feature
Autistic Mode by Bob Clark, Nix Busby, Charles Moss, Malcolm Thomas, Gabrielle Teaford
"Autistic Mode" is an anthology film of animatic films written and directed by a team of autistic animators.
The films include--
"Hardmode"-- by Nix Busby, a JRPG inspired adventure following a gamer discovering their own Neurodivergent learning curve.
"Honeyjack"-- by Charles Moss, a Hanna-Barbera inspired musical romp about an oddball honey bear and a misfit girl scout.
"Tooned Up"-- by Malcolm Thomas, a jacked up slapstick cartoon following a Tex Avery obsessed kid in a world that just doesn't get him.
"Canvas"-- by Gabrielle Teaford, an autobiographical music video about a girl growing up with loss and art.
"Dreamcatchers"-- by Bob Clark, a feature length sci-fi detective story about psychic agents who investigate Nightmare infections in the landscape of the mind.
2:30PM
Double Feature
Absolute Similarities by Izabella Gustowska
"Absolute Similarities" is an innovative feature film telling the story of architect Antonina, who obsessively strives to design the perfect bridge. This utopian dream has its source in the relationship between the main character and her twin sister - actress Melania.
A Lockdown Diary by Andrei Zagdansky
“A Lockdown Diary” is a hybrid media project - part personal diary, part video installation.
One man’s account of the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in a residential neighborhood in a small town in New Jersey and a meditation on the fleeting moments of life amidst the constant threat of death.
July 19th
Hilton Garden Inn
12:00PM
Experimental Shorts
Nuchal Cord by Adam Tocci
A Gloucester Fisherman by Philip Curcuru
& James Ceribello
Only Me on TV by Jaina Cipriano
Serpentine by Amanda Besl
Don't Touch My Hair by Mackenzie McCree
There Was by Amanda Besl
Angels Overpass by Alfred M Hernandez
elemental by Marie Gayeski
Tadasana by Erin Audley
A Video Essay On Ballroom by Mackenzie McCree
Therapy Won't Kill You by Claire McKey Berkman
How to Love the Moon by Laura Plummer
Who Is Gloucester? By Laura Plummer
Ante Meridiem by Scott Duce
Hi by Miguel Lopez de Leon
Order Subject to Change
2:30PM
Shorts #4
Le Monstro by Gabrielle Rosson
Don't Forget About Us, Corey Hardman!
By Jose W. Negron Jr.
SilverSizzle by Brian Russell
Cupcake by Amanda R. Woomer
Jane & the Brain by Hope Muehlbauer
Spiders in the Wall by Chris di Nunzio
Family Business by Darcy Lally
Pumpkin Pie by Karin Trachtenberg
Call Me After Dark by Kris Salvi
Chooch by Peter Horgan
Mi Raya by V. Leigh
Order Subject to Change
5:00 - 7:00
Shorts #5
My Tiny Movie by Erica Chick
Listening In by Dan Goldsmith
Letter from a stranger by Shima Markazi Omidvar
made (w)hole by Mackenzie McCree
Hell is Empty by Marinah Janello Phennicie
A Free Society by Ramzi Abed
L’Amour by Shana Figueroa
The Quarantine Redemption by Bahar Dorabadi
Space Invaders by Philip Kral
made (w)hole by Mackenzie McCree
Phantasma by Maria Servellon
feedback by Julian Borges
Ache by Mike Canale
The Talk by Charlie Hatton
The Rewind by Mikel Wisler, Diana Porter
Aerate by Mary Darling
Becoming Mary Ja by Mariella Spagnolo
Order Subject to Change
Exclusive Patreon
Screening
Patreon Features
Horror
Staycation by Russell Emanuel
​
Narrative
The Politician, the Demolition & the Dump Truck by Ayoto Ataraxia (Taiwan)
First Person Savior by Ramzi Abed
Documentary
Third Degree Burnout by Nivi Jaswal, Darren Suffolk
Know Her Name by Zainab Muse* (Canada)
I Am An Alien by Ramzi Abed
Experimental
Let Love In by Ramzi Abed
Patreon Shorts
Symptoms by Eliza Gibson
When Everything Was Blue by Christina Chironna
My Life Between The Reins by Marilyn Slick
American Family Calamity by Drew Dammron
Bear Brook by Tom Anastasi
Not Today, Not Tomorrow by Neil Miguel Watson
Zaxme by soore vahe
Bart & Bobbi Kill Each Other! by Aaron Barrocas
Robot by Matilda Morales
Avocado Heart Girl by Keeley Gainey
Aunt Cindy and The Alchemist by Devin Scott
Screenplay Competition Finalists
Short Screenplay Finalists


Viral Vengeance by Angel Connell

Spooky by Chris David Denmead

Diwata by Shea Formanes

Track Change by Maryellen DeVivo
Misgivings
by Jason M Rivera

These Colors Don't Run by Chris Ethridge

Pointe & Grapple by Chris Esper

Delirium–Have you heard of the new drug in town? 
 by Alexandra Varkarotas

Coney Island Jellyfish by Matthew Marin

Contrariety by Cesar Sanchis Romero

Aunt Inez by Lawrence Whitener

It's Time by Robert John Lanciani

Dover by Nathan D. Ludwig & Jonathan Straiton
Feature Length Screenplays
Autumn and Everything After That by Virginia Austin
Presence by Michael Neel
Betsi Does Karaoke by Jessica Pauline Walker
Tortured Existence by Jeremy Stinson