Director:  Dekel Berenson

DIFF Rating:  PG-13

DIFF Notes:  Nepali / Subtitled / Oscar Qualified

Synopsis: Nestled between a beautiful lake and the Himalayas, Ashmina, 13, lives with her family on the outskirts of Pokhara Nepal, the paragliding capital of the world.  The remote and traditional town is also a busy tourist destination where the locals are profoundly affected by the swarms of tourists who visit it daily. Forced to skip school, Ashmina helps her family make ends meet by working at the landing field, packing the parachutes of foreign pilots in return for small change.

Director: Gonzalo Quincoces

DIFF Rating:  PG-13

DIFF Notes:  Spanish / Subtitled

Synopsis: Bilbao, 1984. Kepa is a young working-class man who lives in an overwhelming family environment, and in which he feels a burden. Having met someone, and fed up with his situation, he decides to pack his bag and run away. On the same night, he intends to leave, his friends prepare an attack in protest for the closure of the shipyards where they worked.

Director:  Shaun Escayg

DIFF Rating:  PG-13

DIFF Notes:

Synopsis: IKARUS is a short film about extraordinary times, made during extraordinary times. It’s a glimpse into a feature project about the “have nots” and their struggle against the inevitable tide of progress. It’s a realization and a confrontation of my greatest fears- the future of humanity and our planet. The shoot was cut short due to covid- but the team still persevered- as will humanity.

Director: Serhat Karaaslan

DIFF Rating:  R

DIFF Notes:  Turkish / Subtitled

Synopsis: Late at night in a small Turkish town, a young couple tries to find a hotel room to spend the night together. They are rejected from all hotels for not having a marriage certificate. Once they believe they’ve found a trick to use, the situation gets out of hand.

Director: Lauren Z. Ray

DIFF Rating:  Not Rated

Language:  English

Synopsis: As their population dwindles, their businesses are all about gone, this town in rural Monterey, Indiana fights to stay alive. An in-depth look into small-town life, “Welcome to Monterey” follows a town’s journey to their 20th annual Labor Day Festival, capturing the people’s passions and doubt about whether this town has a future in today’s world.

Director: Paul Zehrer

DIFF Rating:  Not Rated

Language: English

Synopsis: Parents and teachers around the world struggle with their kids’ dependence on devices today. As Covid has forced our kids to rely on technology more than ever, “#KidsOnTech” looks at the impact on children’s developing bodies and brains, and asks: “How might we better prepare our kids for this digital world?” Voices from India to the U.S., France to China, Mexico to Japan explore what children need to truly excel in a future dominated by tech, including a Google designer, a German brain scientist, and New York Times journalist, Matt Richtel, whose story on a Silicon Valley school created an international media frenzy.

Director: Diana Friedberg

DIFF Rating: Not Rated

Language:  English

Synopsis: Max Steiner arrived in Hollywood as a penniless musician from Europe at the beginning of the last century. After a productive career on Broadway, he headed west and introduced a new art form to Hollywood…the musical underscore. His ideas were revolutionary. He worked on over 300 films, including timeless classics such as Gone with the Wind, King Kong, and Casablanca. Steiner’s legacy lives on today through the many composers who followed in his footsteps.

Director: Tristan Loraine

DIFF Rating:  Not Rated

Language:  English

Synopsis:  An investigative documentary that raises new questions about the tragic accident of American Airlines flight 965 on 20 December 1995 and reveals facts the aviation industry knew but never disclosed.

Director: Afton Quast Saler

DIFF Rating: Not Rated

Language: English

Synopsis: When a 35-year-old film student is diagnosed with ADHD, she turns the camera on herself to question her past, her future, and why women are often under-diagnosed with this misunderstood disorder.

Director: Tareq Baddar

DIFF Rating: Not Rated

Language: Spanish

Synopsis: Refugee camps near the shore, miserable housing conditions, scattered tents, and people who are forgotten. A place where time freezes and awaits emptiness. The Rohingya refugees between two fires.

Director: Pablo Hernán Aulita

DIFF Rating:  Not Rated

Language: Spanish

Synopsis: Jean Maggi, shortly after birth, contracted a disease for which he could never walk. Since then only one thing has been proposed: to exceed every limit for “live standing.” When he reached the highest route in the Himalayas with his adapted bicycle, he marked a true world landmark. This documentary produced by J.J. Campanella records the most moving epics of the man who became an inspirer without limits.

Director: Lara Lee

DIFF Rating: Not Rated

Language: English

Synopsis: From erosion to overgrazing to enduring poverty, the people of Lesotho—a highland country surrounded by South Africa—face a variety of difficult challenges. Yet grassroots communities in the country also exhibit tremendous resourcefulness and creativity. In particular, a wealth of artists have mastered a talent for resurrection, developing the skill to creatively turn negatives into positives: Designers who turn discarded trash into beautiful jewelry, clothes, rugs. Filmmakers who turn tragedy into artistic expressions of resilience and compassion. Musicians who write songs to save the environment …

Director: Takeshi Yashiro

DIFF Rating: PG

DIFF Notes:  Japanese / Subtitled

Synopsis: When Gon, a playful orphaned fox, finds that young Hyoju has lost his mother, he tries to comfort him and make amends for his own earlier mischiefs by secretly bringing small gifts to the boy every day. But Hyojudoesn’t realize who is behind the anonymous gifts, and the two are headed for a heartbreaking climax.

Director: Daniel Haycox

DIFF Rating:  PG (ish)

DIFF Notes:  Dark Comedy, Student

Synopsis: When a lovable dog is accused of murder, a bumbling detective must discover the true killer.

Director: Nicolas P. Villarreal

DIFF Rating: PG

DIFF Notes:  No Dialogue

Synopsis: ON / OFF relays my view of today’s technology and how social media can be a considerable distraction to creative minds and discipline. Something that can derail you inadvertently from a passion that you may have and dedicate less time to neglecting it. It’s my imagination and perspective of how geniuses like Frida Kahlo, Da Vinci, Beethoven, and Tesla would have interacted with it as well as their attitude and decision making towards their work with their counterparts today.

Director: Julie Joseph

DIFF Rating: PG-13

DIFF Notes: Animation – Music Video

Synopsis: In a ghost town as if from the past, the night is suspended. The world of dreams unfolds and reveals mysterious and poetic characters. In this futuristic city where the sun never rises, revolt is near.