SHORTS: Thicker Than Water

8¾ • Break Any Spell • Family Recipe • Favorite Daughter • La Macana • Non-Negotiable • Roger That • The Family We Chose • Wei-Lai

Shorts in Program:

8¾

Comedy Short by Shawn Matthew Cheatham • USA • 2020 • 10 mins.

Armed with a formidable knowledge of Italian cinema, an irrepressible eight-year-old boy helps his grandfather recover from a catastrophic loss.

Break Any Spell

Dramatic Short by Anton Jøsef • Canada/USA • 2021 • 13 mins.

In this collision of reality and fantasy, a teenage girl uses Live-Action-Role-Playing (LARPing) to cope and escape from her mother, who suffers from early-onset Alzheimer’s.

Family Recipe

Dramatic Short by Kamari Bright • USA • 2021 • 5 mins.

A girl’s baking lesson from her grandfather teaches her acceptance as she learns the similarities between ingredients and people.

Favorite Daughter

Documentary Short by Dana Reilly • USA • 2022 • 19 mins.

An intergenerational odd couple shelters-in-place in a lower Manhattan apartment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

La Macana

Dramatic Short by Maria Mealla • USA • 2022 • 10 mins.

Recently divorced Carmen and Franco work through their fervent relationship to support their daughter Sol when she gets her period for the first time.

Non-Negotiable

Comedy Short by Mike Doxford • UK • 2022 • 9 mins.

Nine year old Deb presents to her anxious parents a list of terms and conditions for the arrival of her new sibling.

Roger That

Dramatic Short by Inkar Maxutova • USA • 2020 • 7 mins.

An inventor reveals his invention to his girlfriend, but she uses it to reveal a surprise to him.

The Family We Chose

Comedy Short by Justin & Kristin Schaack • USA • 2022 • 8 mins.

Two in-laws build a connection over the dynamics of the family they married into.

Wei-Lai

Comedy Short by Robin Wang • USA • 2022 • 14 mins.

Tired of getting pushed and punished by his own parents, Wei-Lai, an 11-year-old Chinese American boy, decides to show up at his best friend’s family and offer himself up for adoption.