Narrative Feature
Spotlight
117 min
East Coast Premiere
Tony and Emmy Award® winner Jeffrey Wright stars in this biting comedy as Thelonius “Monk” Ellison, an under-appreciated author fed up with the state of Black literature in America. When he uses a pen name to write an outlandish “Black” book of his own, he is propelled into the hypocritical madness he claims to disdain.
Directed By Cord Jefferson
Narrative Short
Short Films
19 min
Insecure New Jersey bodybuilder Joey Rossi—aka Joey Muscles—starts doing steroids in a last ditch effort to go…
Directed By Tyler Riggs
Narrative Feature
World Cinema Narrative
101 min
US Premiere
Nestled amongst the falling feathers of a chicken factory in industrial North Wales—and featuring the perennially uplifting music of Neil Diamond, Janis Ian, and Minnie Riperton—CHUCK CHUCK BABY follows Helen (Louise Brealey), a thirty-something woman packaging poultry by night and caring for her dying ex-mother-in-law by day.…
Directed By Janis Pugh
Narrative Feature
Spotlight
101 min
New York Premiere
Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) is an evolutionary biology professor with keen insight into wild animal behavior, but little understanding of how to navigate the world of his fellow humans. His uneventful life turns upside down one night when millions of strangers around the world see him in their dreams. As his nighttime…
Directed By Kristoffer Borgli
Narrative Short
Short Films
16 min
New York Premiere
It’s pouring down rain at the funeral. A lot of crying, too much wine, several woodpeckers and a couple of dreams fill in the…
Directed By Lucija Mrzljak, Morten Tšinakov
Narrative Short
Short Films
10 min
A loving grandma (halmoni) reluctantly agrees to buy pot for her grandson. But pay full price?…
Directed By A. Lauren Lee
Narrative Feature
Spotlight
97 min
World Premiere
Emmy Award® winner Edie Falco (''The Sopranos,'' ''Nurse Jackie'') delivers an affecting performance as Wanda, a woman who barely has time for herself, not that she would know what to do with it anyway. Her very pregnant daughter (Kayli Carter, HIFF 2018 Breakthrough Artist) wants a wedding, which her ex-husband (Emmy Award®…
Directed By Brendan Walsh
Narrative Short
Short Films
8 min
New York Premiere
Set in Saudi Arabia, a gutsy young woman sneaks off for a date, only to butt heads with her chaperoning…
Directed By Sara Balghonaim
Narrative Short
Short Films
8 min
New York Premiere
Set in Saudi Arabia, a gutsy young woman sneaks off for a date, only to butt heads with her chaperoning…
Directed By Sara Balghonaim
Narrative Short
Short Films
22 min
East Coast Premiere
Simon is unexpectedly summoned to his grandmother’s house to meet her new boyfriend, Merv (Hal Linden), who upends Simon’s understanding of love, loss, and Chinese…
Directed By Sam Roebling
Narrative Short
Short Films
14 min
A disabled woman sets off on a mission to get the morning-after pill. The only thing in her way is...…
Directed By Nathan Morris
Narrative Short
Short Films
19 min
When Lana’s new boyfriend Bart and her friend Tommy realize they knew each other as young children, the two men clash over their memories of a specific, trivial…
Directed By Zander Coté
Narrative Feature
Spotlight
100 min
US Premiere
Two sisters. Polar opposites. One mission: to pay off their mother’s gambling debts and save their beloved pug, Mr. Linguini. Directed by Academy Award® winner Jessica Yu, QUIZ LADY tells the madcap tale of talented, gameshow-obsessed Anne (Awkwafina, THE FAREWELL) and her train-wreck of a sister Jenny (Sandra Oh, ''Grey’s…
Directed By Jessica Yu
Narrative Feature
World Cinema Narrative
103 min
In the bright and bustling world of 1980s New York City, a lonely dog living in Manhattan builds himself a robot as a companion. Their bond soon grows into a beautiful friendship, until one summer night when they become separated at the beach. In his animation debut, award-winning Spanish director Pablo Berger tells a…
Directed By Pablo Berger
Narrative Short
Short Films
15 min
A down-on-his-luck musician returns home on the day of his younger brother’s movie premiere to steal his brother’s computer and sell it to the…
Directed By Alden Ehrenreich