Female Filmmakers
Female Filmmaker Shorts Block
BUY TICKETS
Reclaim Your Water: Natasha Smith
Breaking barriers and making her own waves, Natasha Smith is a core member of the Ebony Beach Club. She shares her own story in hopes of increasing representation in surf, skate, and any other sport or activity that has historically been exclusive and can give such an individual sense of freedom.
Director: Faith E. Briggs
4:40 minutes
Cover Up
In 1997 New York, amidst a 30-year tattoo ban, Bonnie, an underground tattoo artist, offers to help a woman wishing to cover a scar from her abusive partner. Through this act of healing, Bonnie confronts and begins to mend her own scarred past.
Director: Ember Rain Condron
11:40 minutes
Mountain Violet
After the mysterious loss of a woman she loves, Violet escapes her city life to a remote cabin in the mountains. Guided by whispers from the past and the voice of a know-it-all motivational speaker, Violet is forced to confront all that was, accept all that is, and embrace whatever comes next.
Director: Amanda Ebert
14:15 minutes
Breaking Silence
A portrait of a Deaf activist and his formerly incarcerated daughter, who build new bonds through their experiences in the criminal justice system.
Through personal interviews and father-daughter conversations, Breaking Silence explores their joint memories of Leslie’s childhood, Leslie’s experience of being a hearing-abled child with deaf parents, the regrets that fuel Walker’s activism, and the traumas Leslie experienced in adolescence triggering her cycle of incarceration. Throughout the film, Walker and Leslie share how imprisonment and re-entry have reshaped their relationship and created new pathways toward advocacy.
Director: Amy Bench
18 minutes
Swimming Through
As the brutal Chicago winter draws near, Deirdre, Helen and Jennefer—avid open water swimmers—make a pact to continue through the snow and ice as the pandemic rages on. This intense commitment becomes their salvation from lockdown and helps alleviate each of their personal struggles. Initially just acquaintances, Swimming Through follows their friendship as it coalesces around their commitment to the daily ritual of swimming at sunrise in Lake Michigan.
Director: Samantha Sanders
15:22 minutes
For Child Never Born
A young girl is forced to grow up upon her fathers death and mother’s unexpected pregnancy.
Director: Afsaneh Aghanezhad
15 minutes
More Than I Want to Remember
One night at her home in southeastern Congo, 14-year-old Mugeni awakes to the sounds of bombs. As her family scatters to the surrounding forests to save themselves, Mugeni finds herself completely alone. From there, she sets out on a remarkable solo journey across the globe, determined to reunite with her lost loved ones and lift up the Banyamulenge people.
Director: Amy Bench
14 minutes
Sponsored by:
