Anna and Daniel are members of a successful band, Silvertone, making the follow-up to their hit debut record. They (with a little help from their label) set up at a house in the Hills to try and write the perfect song. But the pressure of a sophomore album and their own complicated history cast a big shadow. Soon, Anna and Daniel’s competing creative processes lead to a disconnect that threatens their relationship and art.

SILVERTONE

Two musicians struggle to feel connected to each other — and the creative process — as they attempt to write the perfect song.

When Syrian architect Mohamad Hafez got trapped in the United States, he realized if he couldn't return home, he could make home. A skilled architectural model-maker, he spent his years in exile sculpting life-like renditions of his Damascus neighborhood. When the civil war broke out and his parents fled to the United States as refugees, Mohamad's bottled-up frustration erupted on his models. In a fit of mania, he broke his artworks, leaving them shattered, bombed-out replicas of the Syrian buildings he saw on the news.

A BROKEN HOUSE

When Syrian architect Mohamad Hafez got trapped in the United States, he realized if he couldn't return home to Damascus, he could make home.

While out for drinks, a couple finds themselves in an intellectual discussion of how they feel about each other. Their clinical honesty is contrasted by the restaurant’s massive mural of open waters behind them that begins to sway and build to crashing waves that start to reflect their emotional reality.

SINKING SHIP (LE NAUFRAGE)

A couple’s night out turns into a frank conversation about the state of their relationship. It’s clear the ship is sinking and it’s every man for himself.

“I could have been there with her…”Two sisters entwined by love. When Annie disappears, her younger sister, Natalie, seeks her out in an unconventional way: as a thanadoula, accompanying the dying in their final stages. Between their slow and final breaths, Natalie finds a bridge between life and death and ultimately, a pathway to her sister.

THANADOULA

Layering real-life details with an otherworldly magic, THANADOULA recounts the story of an end-of-life doula brought to her calling through the loss of her beloved sister.

WIRUN is a beautiful short about a Noongar high school student who affirms her ancestral knowledge while navigating growing up in anglo-Australia. As Erin dedicates herself to learning Shakespeare’s sonnet 127 she struggles to remember the lines and make sense of the antique language. She feels ostracised by her peers for her cultural differences despite her commitment to learning her part. After struggling with memorization into the night Erin reaches a significant turning point. At school the next day she blows her class away with her performance.

WIRUN

A young Indigenous girl must dig deep to own her performance of a Shakespearean sonnet for her high school drama class in this powerful Australian short film.

After she had not been invited to her sister's wedding, Aya, a trans woman, shows up by surprise on a Shabbat night at the Orthodox Jewish community, where her family lives. She enters through the window, interrupting the wedding feast and threatening to reveal family lies and secrets.

HER DANCE (RIKUD HASSIDI)

After she had not been invited to her sister's wedding, Aya, a trans woman, shows up by surprise on a Shabbat night at the Orthodox Jewish community, where her family lives.

A retired Hong Kong hitman, A Hoi, and his senile Mother live a mundane life on the rustic Grass Island near the Hong Kong/China border. One day, A Hoi’s Chinese apprentice, Xiaoma, arrives in disguise, tasked to kill A Hoi for his unresolved feud with her triad boss. Rather than engaging in violence with his apprentice, A Hoi invites her to have dinner with him and Mother. After the meal, Xiaoma reminds A Hoi of her mission. A Hoi leads her outside the home, away from Mother, to discreetly knock her out. Late into the night. Xiaoma wakes up and realizes she had missed the last ferry. Grateful to A Hoi’s mercy, Xiaoma offers to allow A Hoi to escape before more backup hitmen arrive. Instead, A Hoi asks Xiaoma for one favor.

THE LAST FERRY FROM GRASS ISLAND (島嶼故事)

A Hong Kong hitman retires as a fisherman on the peaceful Grass Island. One day, his Chinese apprentice shows up, tasked to kill him before the last ferry departs.

Program 03 Q&amp;A with:Jimmy Goldblum of A BROKEN HOUSEKerris Dorsey of SILVERTONEChad O'Brien of WIRUNSasha Leigh Henry of SINKING SHIPModerated by Anita Tavakol

Program 03 Recorded Q&A

Shorts Program 03 Q&A

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Celebrating three decades of shorts, the 30th Aspen Shortsfest is one of only four Oscar®-qualifying festivals in the US strictly dedicated to short films. This year's Virtual Aspen Shortsfest will showcase the 80 films representing some of the best in Short cinema from around the world.

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