23rd Annual RIFF Official Selections
SHORTS
DUMB RICH SLUTS
Dir. Cara Norris | USA
Runtime : 10 min
Patty and Sandra have the perfect Los Angeles day planned but when they're suddenly phoneless, they have to rely on their wits to navigate the City of Angels and make it to their appointment with neighborhood-renowned psychic, Mrs. Ynez.
SCREENING : Saturday 5th at 1:30 PM
FILM #1 in the “City of dreams, city of struggles : Short stories of identity and survival” program.
BEETHOVEN’S GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GRANDCHILD
Dir. Daniel Maggio | USA
Runtime : 12 min
The last living descendent of Beethoven tries to capitalize on their heritage, but they have no musical talent whatsoever.
SCREENING : Saturday 5th at 1:30PM
FILM #2 in the “City of dreams, city of struggles : Short stories of identity and survival” program.
FIRST WORLD
Dir. Ritendra Datta, Paul Heller | USA
Runtime: 15 min
Ruhi, a young Delhi woman struggles to express herself in Hollywood with the same joy and exuberance of the early Indian films she and her mother loved to watch. At last she is offered an audition for a Delhi woman in a lucrative series. When the white American director tells her that her skin tone and voice aren’t authentic, she finds her voice and asserts her identity. In refusing to become a stereotype, she preserves a loving relationship with her mother and her best friend, and even paves her way for a second chance at the part. “First World” explores how we express our cultural and gender identities and misunderstand even those we are closest to.
SCREENING : Saturday 5th at 1:30PM
FILM #3 in the “City of dreams, city of struggles : Short stories of identity and survival” program.
DARCINE’S DAY
Dir. Aaron Goffman | USA
Runtime : 16 min
Darcine's Day is a short drama film about a woman struggling to find work, food, and housing in Los Angeles. The film stars Kyla Diane Kennedy as Darcine Thomas. Darcine's Day is a social commentary on the challenges of the post-pandemic job market, and the difficulties of finding affordable housing and nutritious food. The film explores themes of homelessness, the disappearing middle class, and the challenges of being a woman in Los Angeles.
SCREENING : Saturday 5th at 1:30 PM
FILM #4 in the “City of dreams, city of struggles : Short stories of identity and survival” program.
THE 4TH BRANCH
Dir. E Hughes Martinez | USA
Runtime : 38 min
Fresh faced and naïve, Aldo Kane has big aspirations to become a journalist. But when he can’t land a job, he’s forced to take a gig at an enigmatic internet news outlet run by morally dubious Malachi. His debut assignment? Is to interview the sister of a recently murdered city council member. As he delves into the assignment, he discovers that the word truth, is just another five-letter word
SCREENING : Saturday 5th at 1:30 PM
FILM #5 in the “City of dreams, city of struggles : Short stories of identity and survival” program.
SOMETIMES I IMAGINE YOUR FUNERAL
Dir. Vince Dixon | USA
Runtime : 11 min
As Max prepares to eulogize his sister Chloe just minutes before her funeral, he wrestles with the anger, frustration, and grief of losing her to an overdose, attempting to understand who Chloe was.
SCREENING : Saturday 5th at 6:15 PM
(Screening first in the block “Breaking through: fighting addiction, finding strength”. Followed by the documentary WALKING ON ICE)
THE CROSSING
Dir. Christopher Matista | USA
Runtime : 7 min
In an apocalyptic wasteland, two strangers meet at a deadly impasse and must bargain for their lives in order to survive.
SCREENING : Saturday 5th at 5:00 PM
(Screening #1 in the block “Echoes of war: lives wounded by conflict”. Followed by the short #2 WAR BIRDS & the documentary #3 CHRONICLE OF A CRIME IN MODRIĆI).
WAR BIRDS
Dir. Subash Bharathi | India
Runtime : 15 min
Not a story of war-dwelling vultures. This is the story of birds who fell due to war.
"Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.”
SCREENING : Saturday 5th at 5:00 PM
( Screening #2 in the block “Echoes of war: lives wounded by conflict”. Following the documentary #3 CHRONICLE OF A CRIME IN MODRIĆI and preceding the short #1THE CROSSING)