Film Synopsis 2024

 

3:00am The Graveyard Shift directed by Armando Ramirez Cardenas.  Short.  15 minutes.  RGV.  A gas station clerk humorously navigates through the night shift by interacting with sleepless customers from around the neighborhood.

Across directed by Carlos Evaristo and Nicolas J. Lewis.  Documentary Short.  19 minutes.  RGV.  The documentary offers a sentimental look at Nuevo Laredo’s once-thriving nightclub scene.  It also delves into the impact of Mexico’s war on drugs and its effects on the Laredo community.

The American Alien directed by Rodrigo Rodriguez.  Short.  13 minutes.  RGV.  An absurd journey of a Grey Alien who gets caught at the US – Mexican border and is processed into the US immigration system.  https://theamericanalien.com.

Anonymous directed by Karim Shaker.  Short.  4 minutes.  Spain.  Have you ever played games with other people’s lives?  It’s fun.  Look.

Bloody & Bruised:  The Untold Story of the Back Room directed by J. Budro Partida.  Documentary.  104 minutes.  RGV.  The untold story of the most infamous heavy metal club to live and die in Austin, Texas, as told by the people who survived it.  https://www.facebook.com/BloodyBruisedBackRoom/.

Boca Chica directed by Ai Voung and Samuel Diaz Fernandez.  Documentary Short.  14 minutes.  RGV.  Unrestricted access to beaches is a public right in Texas.  But for the little known, magical, and untamed stretch of beach called Boca Chica, that right is curtailed when SpaceX takes flight.

The Border Crossed Us directed by Loretta van der Horst.  Documentary.  83 minutes.  RGV.  In La Joya, Texas, a small town on the Mexican border, police search on a daily basis for traces of human traffickers who help migrants and refugees cross the border to the United States.  These hunts frequently result in perilous pursuits.  But no matter how convinced they are of the importance of their mission to catch smugglers, doubts gradually seem to arise among them too.

Broken Wings directed by Jorik Dozy and Sil van der Woerd.  Short.  7 minutes.  Indonesia.  The untold story of bird poaching in Southeast Asia.  Forests are emptied on a massive scale, threatening more than 1,500 bird species with extinction.

Candy and Firecrackers directed by Bobby Duncan.  Short.  7 minutes.  RGV.  The true historical saga of two young brothers and how they made national headlines in the 1800s.  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id+6156131277170.

Dad Died Crying directed by Joseph Balderas.  Short.  13 minutes.  RGV.  Two brothers become at odds after the death of their father.

Devourer directed Isaiah Iran Navarro.  Horror Short.  28 minutes.  RGV.  Two female bounty hunters must overcome their dark past to avoid being sacrificed in an unholy ritual.

Dia de Luz y Penumbra directed by Mario Mora and Joe Puente.  Short.  18 minutes.  RGV.  A tale of betrayal, lust, and obsession unfolds as the protagonists face the consequences of their actions after giving into forbidden desires, opening a Pandora’s box that leads to an ultimate retribution.

Dream Creep directed by Carlos A.F. Lopez.  Horror Short.  13 minutes.  A couple awakens in the night to sounds emanating from an unlikely orifice.

The Folly of Paris, or, The Original Snub directed by Laura Lionetta.  Short.  12 minutes.  A darkly comic feminist re-telling of the Greek myth “The Judgement of Paris,” in which a royal wedding guest list perpetuates an unforgivable snub.

Forsaken Heart directed by Elias Hernandez.  Short.  4 minutes.  RGV.  When Ethan finds out that his girlfriend is pregnant, he struggles with his childhood trauma and worries that he won’t be able to handle the responsibility of fatherhood.

I Care About Your Mailbox directed by Andres Gimenez.  Documentary Short.  12 minutes.  This films follows Frey, a young man who’s love for mailboxes lands him in the heart of suburban Miami, FL.  He’ll encounter many outlandish characters and just as many eclectic mailboxes.

I Love You Too Many Times directed by Fernando Tato.  Short.  3 minutes.  Spain.  They say that whoever falls in love first, loses.  So when you say “I love you” three times, you’re done.  This is what happens to Rocio after a night of passion with Raul.

I Was Here directed by Noelle Gentile.  Short.  17 minutes.  RGV.  Elie and Johan are reeling after their young child receives a life changing medical diagnosis.  On the run from facing the unthinkable, they turn to a grief counselor.  They are forced to face unspeakable truths and something within them begins to crack and let in the faintest of lights.  https://noellegentile.com/i-was-here.

The In Between directed by Robie Flores.  Documentary.  82 minutes.  Following the death of her brother, filmmaker Robie Flores returns to her hometown Eagle Pass wanting to turn back time.  What emerges is a playful dance between a personal and collective coming-of-age portrait of kids on the border and Robie herself as she rediscovers the possibilities of joy in the aftermath of grief.

Incubacion directed by Miguel Delgado and Daniel Lavin Gonzalez.  Horror short.  10 minutes.  Spain.  Paloma must face her pregnancy alone.  The only support she receives are the sessions she has with her psychoanalyst.  However, after suffering a shocking trauma, the barriers between reality and her imagination become blurred.

Invader directed by Cris Castro.  Horror Short.  5 minutes.  After arriving home from his husband’s funeral, a man encounters an intruder.

Kapitan directed by Andrei Simkin.  Animated Short.  10 minutes.  Spain.  A captain wanders the sea in search of the place of his dreams, a beautiful orange lighthouse.

Knot directed by Hermino Cardiel.  Short.  9 minutes.  Spain.  Two stories can have the same conflict.  Clara leaves a party and thinks she’s being followed.  Fernando leaves work late and just wants to get home.

Lack directed by Pawel Prewncki.  Animated Short.  10 minutes.  Poland.  The film tells a story about struggling with pain and suffering.  It is a story of loneliness, anger, and grief experience by parents how lose a child.

Men of Silence directed by Bo Parletun.  Short.  15 minutes.  Sweden.  Alex has just received funding for his first feature film.  During the kick-off party for the movie, the film’s writer reveals that one of the actors in the main cast has sexually assaulted her.

A Monstrous Cure directed by Kazem Kehinde Balogun.  Animated Short.  5 minutes.  United Kingdom.  An incredible toy monster attempts to cure a terminally ill boy by entering his dream.

The Nest directed by Valeria Cuni.  Short.  8 minutes.  Spain.  Genis goes along with his olde brother to spend the afternoon with their friends.  They discover a nest of chicks, but things go wrong, and Genis discovers a different attitude from his brother.

Plastic People directed by Ben Addelman and Ziya Tong.  Documentary.  90 minutes.  Canada.  Almost every bit of plastic ends up ground down into “microplastics”.  These microscopic particles drift in the air, float in the water and sit in the soil.  And now, leading scientists are finding them in our bodies, our organs, our blood, and even the placentas of new mothers.  What is the impact of these invisible invaders on our health?  https://plasticpeopledoc.com.  https://www.facebook.com/plasticpeopledoc/.

The Premiere directed by Toma Waszarow.  Short.  19 minutes.  Bulgaria.  On the evening of his film premiere, the director is curious to see what the audience and critics think when an unexpected guest suddenly appears.

Rejected directed by Rene R. Rivas.  Horror Short.  15 minutes.  In Rejected, a short horror parody, three twisted tales of macabre horror unfold, all linked by an antiquated digital camera from 1997.  The tales intertwine, creating a narrative that is both terrifying and hilariously absurd.  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id_100089015245991.

Resynator directed by Alison Tavel.  Documentary.  97 minutes.  This documentary begins when Alison rescues Don’s synthesizer prototype from her grandmother’s attic.  What starts off as a curious resurrection project of her dad’s Resynator soon launches into a globe-trotting quest to untangle to unlock the deep secrets surrounding his life and invention.  https://www.resynator.com/.  https://www.facebook.com/resynator.

Sangre Violenta/Sangre Violeta directed by Edna Diaz and Arturo R. Jimenez.  Documentary.  Short.  15 minutes.  Why does the Mexican government consider the feminist movement a bigger threat than most drug cartels?  Three powerful narratives, shedding light on the motivations behind their activism in Mexico.  These stories include a radical feminist collective, an inspiring survivor of an acid attack, and a grieving father who tragically lost his seven-year-old daughter to femicide.

Search and Destroy directed by Alexander Rosales.  Short.  15 minutes.  This film is a coming of age adventure drama that follows Rafael and his neighborhood friends who are on the run after pranking the high school baseball team.  https://www.rosales.film/.  https://www.facebook.com/searchdestroy.film.

Serial Killers Anonymous (the repentant) directed by Judas Tanguma.  Short.  19 minutes.  RGV.  A fallen angel sent by God to harvest the souls of the repentant before they can sin again has found a group of individuals she can relate with while sharing stories, drinking coffee, and eating donuts.

The Song of the Mad God directed by Roman Madrigal.  Short.  35 minutes.  RGV. Haunted by the memory of his wife’s murder, a fallen lord turns to forbidden magic for answers which will either redeem him or damn him forever.

The Strike directed by JoeBill Munoz and Lucas Guilkey.  Documentary.  85 minutes.  The story of a generation of California men who endured decades of solitary confinement and, against all odds, launched the largest hunger strike in U.S. history.

Surcos directed by Julio C. Gonzalez.  Documentary Short.  23 minutes.  RGV.  The journey of a woman and her struggles as she emigrated to the United States from Mexico to work in the fields while battling with the decision of leaving behind her mother and children in search of a better life.

Titty Boy directed by Austin Ford Franklin Culp.  Short.  14 minutes.  A story of a teenage boy with gynecomastia (aka man boobs) who attempts to change his body by taking matters into his own hands.

Transylvanie directed by Rodrigue Huart.  Horror Short.  15 minutes.  France.  Ewa is a 10-year-old girl living in a high building in a quiet town.  She’s an odd, lonely child and for good reason: she’s convinced of being a vampire.  Fascinated by Hugo, 15, she dreams of turning him into a vampire too, so that she can overcome her loneliness.

The Turk directed by Jolie V. Oliver.  Short.  15 minutes.  Ali, a Turkish immigrant living in Los Angeles, who dreams to shed his heritage and become an American, thinks he’s doing everything right:  working under the table, paying for English classes, and crashing on the couch of a pothead.  But when his school requires full-time attendance and his parents pressure him to return home and marry a girl of their choosing, his American dream begins to unravel.

Unlikely Allies directed by Anthony Pedone.  Documentary.  97 minutes.  In 2003, a low-level cannabis case would end Weldon Angelos’ budding and promising career in the music industry.  But it would also give birth to a national movement to reform our country’s criminal justice system.

What Are You Doing With Your Life? Directed by Fernando Gonzalez Gomez.  Short.  6 minutes.  Spain.  A very meticulous delivery girl arrives at Maria’s house and cannot leave without giving her a package.  This is not just any package, it is an urgent package.

World’s Shortest War directed by Joseph Horta.  Short.  11 minutes.  RGV.  Desperate for money and out of time; Joaquin, Jesse, and Frank panic in an empty parking lot from a failed house robbery.  With nothing left but a dimebag of cocaine, the three turn to what they know best.