This program include six (6) short films! Please click through the films on the right to see details about each one. Film sponsored by Ravenrock Wealth Partners <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/2736c660eb4b1b56d13d33ac6a723927.png" width="152" style="display: block; margin: auto;">

THE MISSFITS (Winner - Special Jury Award for Filmmaker to Watch) An all-girls robotics team based in San Francisco is taking on the male-dominated field of engineering. They are determined to show other girls how fun and rewarding STEM can be, one robot at a time. The documentary follows The Missfits as they confront growing pains, build their robot, and travel to competitions. The diverse team is made up of twenty girls from high schools around the Bay Area ranging in age from fifteen to eighteen and coming from a variety of backgrounds. On their own, they are outsiders, misfits. But together, on the team, they build each other up and learn to embrace their own identities. Director's Bio:<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/f3e8cc22e9fcb00c4ff6dd9e652a77f1.jpg" width="150" style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em;">Ellie Wen is an award-winning filmmaker from Hong Kong and Los Angeles. She began her career in Los Angeles where she produced numerous short films and narrative features. She has worked at CAA, CBS Films, and Super Deluxe in all aspects of Film and TV. Ellie is an alumna of Film Independent's Project Involve fellowship program and recently completed her MFA in Documentary Film at Stanford University. Her films have been featured on The Guardian, The New York Times, Short of the Week, SoulPancake, Starz, Vimeo Staff Pick, and screened at premier festivals around the world. She now lives in San Francisco and is developing her next documentary as a fellow in the SFFILM FilmHouse Residency Program.

THE MISSFITS

An all-girls robotics team competes to smash stereotypes and prove themselves in a male-dominated field, while also trying to get through high school.

VIEWFINDER Every day for the past 23 years, Michael has taken a single photo with a film camera. Each image, more than 8,000 and counting, carries special meaning and is organized by date and stored in suitcases and plastic containers at his farm in rural Minnesota. He has never shown them to anyone, but now, as he struggles with the possibility of losing his memory, he ponders his obsession and wonders: Who will care when he’s gone? Director's Bio:<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/fb7ccd1424bfccd5f8180b4dd44b2320.jpg" width="150" style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em;">Melody Gilbert is an award-winning director, producer, cinematographer and editor who has directed eight feature-length documentaries that have screened at prestigious film festivals and been distributed internationally. Melody is also a producer, writer and story consultant for other filmmakers and production companies. This past year, two films that she produced received national recognition: a national Emmy nomination for BENEATH THE INK (2019)&nbsp;and an Alfred I. duPont award for LOVE THEM FIRST (2020). VIEWFINDER is her first short since 2010 when she directed TAMI TUSHIE’S TOYS. More about Melody at www.frozenfeetfilm.com

VIEWFINDER

Every day for the past 23 years, Michael has taken a single photo with a film camera.

VOLUNTEER (Winner - Special Jury Award for Student Documentary) 92-year-old Howard Henry chooses to stay busy and avoid aging by going to work every day. Director's Bio:<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/e6328b716469c93cefae9c519d0d8dcf.jpg" width="150" style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em;">Allonzo Armijo is a self-taught filmmaker, photographer, and student based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is currently earning his Liberal Arts degree from the University of New Mexico. He has worked on commercial, wedding, and documentary projects with a local production company for four years and continues to pursue interesting stories as a director and editor for his personal work.

VOLUNTEER

92-year-old Howard Henry chooses to stay busy and avoid aging by going to work every day.

BEYOND NOH BEYOND NOH rhythmically animates 3,475 individual masks from all over the world, embarking on a cultural journey through ritual, utility, deviance, and politics. Director's Bio:<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/8f5b421c094fd4ae6a4b62941e1dec43.jpg" width="150" style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em;">Patrick Smith is known for his metaphorical hand-drawn short films, as well as his experimental stop motion films. His formative years were spent as a storyboard artist for Walt Disney, and animation director for MTV. Smith is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and a fellow of the New York Foundation of the Arts.

BEYOND NOH

3,475 individual masks from all over the world.

TEARS TEACHER Yoshida is a “tears teacher.” A firm believer that weekly crying promotes healthier living, he’s made it his mission to make more people weep. Running workshops all over Japan extolling the benefits of vulnerability and tear-jerking films, books and music, he makes a convincing argument for welling up as wellness. Director's Bio:<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/cf6512b26536aab42f45af1084736b27.jpg" width="150" style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em;">Noemie is a French/Japanese filmmaker, who was selected for the 2020 Sundance / NHK screenwriting lab. She is also part of the BFI x BAFTA crew program that supports emerging writer/directors.&nbsp;TEARS TEACHER premiered at Hot Docs and was acquired by the New York Times for their Op-Docs series.&nbsp;Her earlier shorts films were picked up by Film Movement to be distributed with their release of Hirokazu Koreeda’s “After The Storm”, and were selected in festivals all around the world. Her next project received the main award at Busan film festival’s Asian Project Market.

TEARS TEACHER

Yoshida is a self-proclaimed 'tears teacher': he makes people weep.

A HEAD SHORTER (Winner - Best Documentary Short // Best Animated Short) Narrated by Naftali Deutsch, A HEAD SHORTER begins in the spring of 1944 when Naftali and his entire family are forced to leave their home in Kimyat, a village in the Carpatho-Ukraine region, and sent to Auschwitz. The film takes us through Naftali's journey as a 12 year old boy in the Holocaust and how he survived multiple concentration camps. Director's Bio:<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/f6315f89eab4c645fa0331c520d099b0.jpg" width="150" style="display: inline; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em;">Sasha Bortnik grew up in Los Angeles, California and attended college at The University of Arizona where she studied Creative Writing and Journalism. She has always been interested in her family history, and as the grandchild of Holocaust survivors feels a responsibility to tell their stories. A HEAD SHORTER, a film about her great uncle, demonstrates the strength of the human spirit and how resilient we can be even in the most harrowing circumstances. She hopes that this film inspires others to remain motivated and positive in their own lives, and that it sparks conversation around how we can prevent tragedies like the Holocaust from happening again.

A HEAD SHORTER

An animated documentary about a 12-year-old boy in the Holocaust and how he survived multiple concentration camps.

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