Film & Media Culture

The 2019 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour is a 96-minute theatrical program of 7 short films selected from this year’s Festival, widely considered the premier showcase for short films and the launchpad for many now-prominent independent filmmakers for more than 30 years. Including fiction, documentary and animation from around the world, the 2019 program offers new audiences a taste of what the Festival offers, from sharply-written comedy and drama to edgy genre and an intimate family saga. (1h 36min). Free.

In this funny, uplifting tale based on an actual lie, Chinese-born, U.S.-raised Billi (Awkwafina) reluctantly returns to Changchun to find that, although the whole family knows their beloved matriarch Nai-Nai (grandma) has been given mere weeks to live, everyone has decided not to tell Nai Nai herself. A Hirschfield International Film Series event. (98 minutes) Free

In this funny, uplifting tale based on an actual lie, Chinese-born, U.S.-raised Billi (Awkwafina) reluctantly returns to Changchun to find that, although the whole family knows their beloved matriarch Nai-Nai (grandma) has been given mere weeks to live, everyone has decided not to tell Nai Nai herself. A Hirschfield International Film Series event. (98 minutes) Free

In a stranger-than-fiction tale befitting the master filmmaker, Bunuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles tells the true story behind a fascinating episode in cinematic history, utilizing sensitive performances as well as excerpts from Bunuel’s filmography to present a deeply affecting and humanistic portrait of an artist hunting for his purpose. In Spanish and French with English subtitles. (1h 20min). Free.

After one of their shoplifting sessions, Osamu and his son come across a little girl in the freezing cold. At first reluctant to shelter the girl, Osamu’s wife agrees to take care of her after learning of the hardships she faces. Although the family is poor, barely making enough money to survive through petty crime, they seem to live happily together until an unforeseen incident reveals hidden secrets, testing the bonds that unite them…

Winner of the Palme d’Or at 2018 Cannes Film Festival. (2h 01min). Free.

After one of their shoplifting sessions, Osamu and his son come across a little girl in the freezing cold. At first reluctant to shelter the girl, Osamu’s wife agrees to take care of her after learning of the hardships she faces. Although the family is poor, barely making enough money to survive through petty crime, they seem to live happily together until an unforeseen incident reveals hidden secrets, testing the bonds that unite them…

Winner of the Palme d’Or at 2018 Cannes Film Festival. (2h 01min). Free.

While working in the US on a temporary visa as a caretaker, Mara, a 30 year-old single mother from Romania, marries Daniel, an American. After the arrival of her son Dragos, everything seems to have fallen perfectly into place. When the process of getting a green card veers unexpectedly off course, however, Mara is faced with abuses of power on every level and forced to answer a dark question about herself – how far would you go to get what you want? (88 minutes). A Hirschfield International Film Series event. Free.

On the outskirts of a small town lies Devil’s Den, a mysterious tract of woods where many have entered but no one has ever left. The local rumor is that the spirit of a young girl who was horrifically murdered there haunts and hunts in this dense forest, brutally slaying anyone who dares to step into her terrain. When a man with a dark past crosses her path, a series of events are set in motion that may lead to a peculiar kind of redemption for two tragically tortured souls. (95 minutes).

A Hirschfield International Film Series event. Sponsored by the Department of German. Free

Halla is a fifty-year-old independent woman. But behind the scenes of a quiet routine, she leads a double life as a passionate environmental activist. Known to others only by her alias “The Woman of the Mountain,” Halla secretly wages a one-woman-war on the local aluminium industry. As Halla’s actions grow bolder, from petty vandalism to outright industrial sabotage, she succeeds in pausing the negotiations between the Icelandic government and the corporation building a new aluminium smelter in the mountains.

Customs officer Tina is known for her extraordinary sense of smell. It’s almost as if she can sniff out the guilt on anyone hiding something. But when Vore, a suspicious-looking man, walks past her, her abilities are challenged for the first time ever. Tina can sense Vore is hiding something she can’t identify. Even worse, she feels a strange attraction to him. As Tina develops a special bond with Vore and discovers his true identity, she also realizes the truth about herself.