On holiday from university, Leevi returns to his family’s summer cottage in Finland to help his estranged and bitter father with renovations. When the father is called back to the city for business, Leevi is left alone with Tareq, a Syrian refugee, hired by his father to help out. The potential for more than a romance unfolds as they share their dreams and so much more.
A recently widowed, 83 year old British woman decides to fulfill her dream of scaling the imposing Mount Suilven in Scotland. With little training or proper gear, Edie heads for the Highlands and meets Jonny, who offers to serve as Edie’s guide for a price. After a rough start the two form an unlikely bond, as Jonny helps Edie prepare for her capricious quest.
OPENING NIGHT FILM
Walter is a middle-aged former TV star whose self-regard is exceeded only by his irresistible attractiveness to younger women. Kim is a sullen twentysomething and friend of Walter’s daughter Nic, who needs a ride to Nic’s retreat in Big Sur. Carpooling turns into chaos and Funny Story becomes a tragic comedy about a well-intentioned father who inadvertently wreaks havoc on the life of his estranged daughter.
Scheduled to Attend: Matthew Glave (actor), Michael Gallagher (writer & director)
At this FREE event, all Film Slam competition short films entries will be premiered at Bay City's beautiful State Theatre, with awards and producer review following the screenings. The winning short will be viewed at the Hell's Half Mile Film & Music Festival's Saturday Michigan Shorts program at 11 am.
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
Widower and aging Brooklyn hipster, Frank, starts a band with his teenage daughter Sam just before she leaves home to attend college in California. When a song of theirs finds some success online, it complicates Frank's attempts to let go of his dreams of stardom and allow his daughter to find her own path in life.
Frank Olsen, a veteran turned recluse, witnesses the aftermath of a heinous crime on the normally tranquil, but desolate, wintery lands where he hunts and fends for himself. Instinctively, Frank collects the tarp-wrapped victim and quietly investigates and tracks the would-be killer circumventing the untrustworthy local police. Shot completely in Northern Michigan, Hunting Lands has a quiet intensity that makes this a must-see homegrown thriller.
In this Program
- Kathmandude
- Jacob Kirby11mEnglish Narrative Short
- North Branch
- Nick Nummerdor, Andrew J. Morgan19mEnglish Documentary Short
- Goner
- Nick Stumphauzer9mEnglish Narrative Short
- Year Zero
- David Siev15mEnglish Narrative Short
- Smoke Break
- Dave Fairman8mEnglish Narrative Short
- Hill Climb
- Nick Nummerdor, Andrew J. Morgan11mEnglish Documentary Short
- Patiently Faithful
- Vikas Patel17mEnglish Narrative Short
- Roadmap
- Heather Irvine9mEnglish Narrative Short
Set against the backdrop of the Grand Rapids’ ArtPrize, this film is a relaxed and immersive look at an event that consumes the city for three weeks. The film follows artists, judges, the public, and organizers as they keep tabs on what’s trending. Prize winners are ultimately decided by the public and professionals with tension between both prizes. The film leaves you with the question “what makes good art and who gets to decide?”
Also in this Program
- PIX
- Sophie Linnenbaum9mEnglish Narrative Short
A mysterious drifter fixated on stone skipping shows up in a sleepy waterfront town. Hounded by a local realtor who is convinced that such shenanigans will lower property values, the skipper soldiers on meeting a host of colorful figures: sidekicks, love interests, backgammon junkies, Irish balladeers. Wertheimer’s absurdist comedy, crowdfunded by HHM and filmed in Bay City with the support of local talent, offers a touching meditation on the competing pulls of desire and necessity in making a purposeful life.
HHM Jury Nominations, Best Short: A Picture of Other People, Hey Katie This is Josh
In this Program
- "THE TALK" TRUE STORIES ABOUT THE BIRDS & THE BEES
- Alain Delannoy9mCanadaEnglish Documentary Short
- The Contract
- Pablo Gómez Castro17mEnglish & Spanish Narrative Short
- A Picture of Other People
- Jason Fitzgerald10mAustraliaEnglish Narrative Short
- Mother Mother
- 16mEnglish Narrative Short
- Aplomb
- David Thibaut9mGermanyEnglish Narrative Short
- Interference
- Robin Rose Singer, Ruya Koman15mEnglish Narrative Short
- Creature from the Lake
- Renata Antunez, Alexis Bédué, Léa Bresciani, Amandine Canville, Maria Castro Rodriguez, Logan Cluber, Nicolas Grangeaud, Capucine Rahmoun-Swierczynski, Victor Rouxel, Orianne Siccardi, Mallaury Simoes5mFranceEnglish Animation Short
- Love & Spirit
- Helen Crosse10mGBEnglish Narrative Short
- Hey Katie This is Josh
- Avi Kaye & Jay Lee9mEnglish Narrative Short
It’s 1971 and a Toronto performance troupe ventures out to Ontario’s countryside to research a theater project. Miles, a young actor, befriends two aging farmers, a gruff workhorse named Morgan and his lifelong friend Angus, who suffers from memory loss. As Miles observes their daily rituals and learns their secret stories, he comes to suspect that Morgan is a less reliable narrator than he lets on.