Inwood Art Works proudly announces the programming for its third annual Inwood Film Festival. The festival will expand to show 24 short and feature films in nine screenings on Friday and Saturday, March 16-17. Details of the screenings and all the films are listed below.
The festival includes a special Opening Night Benefit on Thursday, March 15 at 6.30pm featuring a special historical program tracing the roots of “Hollywood in Inwood”, Inwood Film Festival Select Shorts, and local filmmakers interviewed by WNYC’s Brian Lehrer.
Before and after screenings you can mingle in The Red-Carpet Community Room, a hip hub to connect filmmakers and audiences that is for the exclusive use of all Inwood Film Festival ticketed patrons before and after each screening. Enjoy a glass of wine from Indian Road Café or a Dyckman Beer and come to connect with neighbors before the show, stay afterward to discuss the films, meet like-minded folk, and hob-nob with local movers n’ shakers.
Following the final screening, at approximately 9:45pm on Saturday, join us in the Theater following the final screening of This American Death for the announcement of the Inwood Film Festival’s Awards for Excellence in Filmmaking.
And on both Friday & Saturday evenings at 10:00pm, Indian Road Café (600 West 218th Street) will host the post-screening discussion of Brief Reunion and the Award Ceremony. Join filmmakers, film aficionados, and the Inwood Art Works team at Indian Road to raise a glass to our Inwood community and its vibrant arts scene.
Tickets and Location
$50 Festival Pass — all access pass to all screenings March 16 and 17.
$75 Benefit Ticket — admission to Opening Night Benefit on March 15
$105 Benefit Ticket & Festival Pass – admission to Opening Night Benefit on March 15, and all access pass to all screenings March 16 & 17.
Online ticket sales end March 14. Special discount give to local students. Email info@inwoodartworks for promo code and attach proof of current valid ID.
There will be a waiting list at the door for each screening, as all shows are expected to sell out. No refunds or exchanges.
Friday Screenings
Short Shorts | Short films under five minutes | Friday, 2:05pm
(40 minutes total screening time, and featuring a post-screening conversation with filmmakers. There is an encore of this screening on Saturday at 7pm)
The Race (Student Film), directed by Antonia Kogan
A political satire about the 2016 Presidential Election as seen by a group of observant tweens and teens (Student Film).
My Head, directed by Alison Loeb
While a reluctant party-goer is trapped in a one-way conversation, her head escapes to find adventure.
Horror in the Heights, directed by Carlos S. Deschamps
Taking place in Washington Heights in New York City, Timothy finds himself possessed by a demon and his only way out is through death.
Start Small Think Big, directed by Cristobal Vivar
“Recycle day” and Friends of Inwood Hill Park dedicate Earth Day to cleaning and planting new trees in Manhattan’s last remaining native forest.
Hechas en Mexico (Made in Mexico), directed by Valeria Avina
Three friends decide there is no better day than today to try and change the world for the better. “Mas ágil que una torguga, más fuerte que un ratón, más noble que una lechuga, su escudo es un Corazón…¡Es el Chapulín Colorado!” (More agile than a turtle, stronger than a mouse, nobler than a lettuce, his coat of arms is a heart…It’s the Red Grasshopper!”)
The 3rd Try, directed by Alfonso Rodriguez
An emotionally unstable lesbian couple tries to find solace after experiencing a traumatic loss. Recently discharged from the hospital, a distressed Lorie is still at a loss for words. Ryan, the pillar of their relationship, brings down her defenses in an attempt to console her. With Lorie on the brink of a complete breakdown, Ryan finally realizes that she too feels helpless. The two agree to embrace this hardship in hopes of moving forwards.
May 22, 2012, directed by Samantha Farinella
A daughter reflects on the day she lost her mother.
Long Shorts | Documentary Portraits under 25 minutes | Friday, 7:00pm
(51 minutes total screening time)
Harv, directed by Stephen Tucker
An Ad Man from the Golden Age of Advertising, now in his twilight years, completes one final project for the love of art.
On Some Strange Mornings, directed by Arlene Schulman
On Some Strange Mornings tells the story of Leo, a man living in Upper Manhattan who has been diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer’s. He cares for his mother who lives with dementia. Losing his words is a race against time. We learn how Leo seeks to preserve his words and memory.
Pablo Caviedes – On the Map, directed by PH Daniel Sanchez
In Pablo Caviedes – On the Map, the film maker PH Daniel Sanchez follows Inwood-based Ecuadorian artist, Pablo Caviedes, in his process of creating a monumental series of works inspired by the phenomenon of the American Identity and the role of immigration in development of the country.
For the Birds, directed by Miku Otagiri
James Cataldi, “The Birdman” of Inwood, NYC will take on anybody and anything to protect the birds who depend on the garbage-ridden North Cove. He goes toe to toe with several tons of garbage, and with MTA workers, developers, City Hall, more garbage, and now, his own body. Because he’s determined to save that one little nook of “the web of life.”
Brief Reunion | Feature Film | Friday, 8:15pm
(90 minutes, plus a special post-screening conversation with the filmmakers)
Directed by John Daschbach
Aaron Clark’s comfortable life in the bucolic New England countryside is shattered by the unexpected arrival of former classmate Teddy who accuses him of business improprieties and cover-ups, with unforeseen consequences.
Saturday Screenings
Long Shorts: Women in the World | Short films under 25 minutes | Saturday, 1:05pm
(57 minutes total screening time)
Manzana, directed by Michael Mullen
Manzana in a short film that explores the dreams and possibilities of romantic what if’s and what were’s. Woman encounters Man and is thrown into an imaginary world where her past relationships collide with present circumstances. What will she do?
The High Wire, directed by Joe Foley
The High Wire catches the painfully funny misadventures of sex-crazed, love-shy Kristy as she tumbles off Tinder and onto a former Mormon named Jeff. Part Olympic gymnast, part accident waiting to happen, the small-but-mighty Kristy takes a giant leap towards love.
Significant One, directed by Melissa Czarnik
Chicago born singer Maya befriends Simon, a not so happy engaged New Yorker on the NYC subway. What starts off as a brief interaction turns into something more intimate when the two discover they have much more in common than a t-shirt Simon is wearing.
Parachute, directed by Brian Mihok
A woman, living alone, struggles with her debilitating anxiety. She begins trying ways to improve her quality of life. She might just have found something.
What If…?, directed by Lorielle Mallue
Fourteen-year old Alison Pope, taking advantage of being home alone, dances around her house in anticipation of a later recital, entirely lost in her imagination. Her fantasy is interrupted by a stranger who comes to the door and, before she knows it, is dragging her through her backyard towards her van. Next door, fifteen-year old Kyle sees Alison being dragged through her yard. He decides against intervening but finds himself sprinting towards her.
Long Shorts: This Land is Your Land | Short films under 25 minutes | Saturday, 2:35pm
(58 minutes total screening time)
The Pleasure of Being Served*, directed by Michael Manese
Rosa, an undocumented immigrant from the Philippines is a single mother trying to save enough money to bring her young son, Richard, to the U.S. She works for Hudson, a rich, young American as a domestic worker. Part of her job is to juggle logistics between his two girlfriends, Lynn, a fellow Filipina, and Jen, an American, who don’t know about each other and visit him on alternating weekends. Having befriended the girls, Rosa becomes morally conflicted and must soon choose between enabling Hudson with his womanizing or accept the generous pay he offers – money that she badly needs. *PG-13, contains brief nudity.
Day, Night, Morning, directed by Joel Fendelman
A shy German moves to New York City to be with her fiancé, who doesn’t show up.
Gentrification Express: Breaking Down the BQX, directed by Samantha Farinella and Amanda Katz
In January of 2016, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his plan for the Brooklyn-Queens Connector (BQX), a streetcar that would run a 16-mile waterfront route from Astoria, Queens to Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The announcement arrived with a PR campaign that claims the BQX as a transit option that would, among other things, serve the low-income communities along the corridor. A closer look at who is pushing the plan and how it will be funded reveals that the BQX relies on the displacement of the communities they are currently trying to sell it to.
Mannahatta, directed by Albert B. Kahn
A Native American man from the seventeenth century finds himself mysteriously transported to modern-day Manhattan. How will he get home?
Idol Worship | Feature Film | Saturday, 4:30pm
(48 minutes, plus special post-screening conversation with the filmmakers)
Directed by Devin Klos
Tom Klein is an archeologist who returns home after digging abroad for a few years. He feels out of step with the current trends and isolated from the city that he has spent so little time in of late. The dig itself has gone over very well and some major production companies are interested in turning the findings into a series. After a night of passion, he loses his keys and must spend the day trying to recover them while still trying to make the big pitch meeting later that afternoon. Along the way he meets new friends and discovers hard truths about himself, his findings, and the way things work that leave him with a hard choice to make.
Short Shorts | Short films under five minutes | Saturday, 7:00pm
(40 minutes total screening time) This is an encore of the 2:05pm Friday screening.
This American Death | Feature Film | Saturday, 8:15pm
(61 minutes, plus special post-screening conversation with the filmmakers)
Directed by Susan Austin
Since the death of her mom, filmmaker Susan Austin has been obsessed by what experts call the Good Death. A gold standard in dying. But this wasn’t Susan’s experience with her mom. So, she sets out to interrogate this Good Death and explore the perplexing situation wherein many hope for this idealized death, but few experience it. As Susan reflects on her own experience, she comes to appreciate all we’re up against in America: a medical system that often keeps people fighting for their lives, doctors ill-equipped to guide the dying, and a culture that simply doesn’t know what to do. The film leaves viewers wondering what they will do in these situations and lets us off the hook where we might fall short.