SUPERFEST 2019 FILM SELECTIONS

 

Saturday 12:00 PM - The Freight and Salvage, Berkeley

Open audio description.

A young woman looks off screen as people’s hands touch her face and upper body. The people’s faces are not in frame.

Gaslit - Best of Festival Short

Australia, 2018 (Dramatic Short, 9 min)

A young disabled woman fights to hold on to her identity in the face of the world’s assumptions, and strives for independence from her parents, who doubt her ability to
become a mother.

 
A young woman is captured using sign language with her eyes closed. She wears minimal eye makeup and has a few ear piercings. She wears a zip up hoodie and shirt underneath.

A young woman is captured using sign language with her eyes closed. She wears minimal eye makeup and has a few ear piercings. She wears a zip up hoodie and shirt underneath.

Deaf Jam

USA, 2011 (Documentary Feature, 53 min) 

Aneta Brodski, a deaf teen living in New York City, discovers the power of American Sign Language poetry. As she prepares to be one of the first deaf poets to compete in a spoken-word slam, her journey leads to an unexpected collaboration.

A person wears large red sunglasses, red lipstick, a red dress, and red gloves and holds flowers and a spatula.

Song For Rent, After Jack Smith

United States, 2018 (Dramatic Short, 5 minutes) 

Shot on 16mm film and with a loop of Kate Smith singing “God Bless America” in the background, in this adaptation of a 1969 film by Jack Smith, Barbarella Bush joins Rose Courtyard – a drag character based on Rose Kennedy - in a campy exploration of US hegemony, queer assimilation, and queer disruption.

 
The illustration is mostly black. In the right upper corner of the image, a small, animated figure, with a large poof of red hair, is seen and surrounded by white that fades into the black. Its shadow is seen in the white space of the image.

The illustration is mostly black. In the right upper corner of the image, a small, animated figure, with a large poof of red hair, is seen and surrounded by white that fades into the black. Its shadow is seen in the white space of the image.

Carlotta’s Face

Germany, 2018 (Animated Short, 5 minutes)

As a child, Carlotta didn’t expect the people around her to have faces. She even didn’t recognize her own face. This animated short shares her journey as she learns about her difference through isolation and cruelty until she later finds that art offers her a way to finally recognize herself.

 

A montage of American war themed images overlay each other. A few men are in colonial war attire and play the drums. An old train is decorated with American flags. A faded eagle on an American flag is centered in the photo.

Invalid Corps

USA, 2018 (Dramatic Short, 28 minutes)

In July 1864, Confederate General Jubal Early launches a surprise raid that takes him to the very gates of Washington DC. The city is in panic. Almost every able-bodied soldier from the Union has already been sent south for the siege of Petersburg, more than 100 miles away. The only defenders remaining are clerks, government officials, and the Invalid Corps. Made up of men injured in battle or by disease, these "hopeless cripples" must hold out for a desperate 24 hours until Union General Grant can send reinforcements. With Lincoln himself on the ramparts, they cannot afford to fail.

 
A painted portrait of a young looking man in an intricate frame on a wall of a gallery. He wears a black tuxedo and tie.

A painted portrait of a young looking man in an intricate frame on a wall of a gallery. He wears a black tuxedo and tie.

The Gallery- Juror's Choice

UK, 2018 (Dramatic Short, 8 min)

At an audition, Maya becomes part of an absurd cycle, and loses track of who she's performing for and why. The Gallery is a narrative short that explores how some marginalized groups can be shut out of cultural institutions, and how they can feel pressured into perpetuating a system that doesn't appear to be working in their favor.

Sunday 11:00 AM - The Contemporary Jewish Museum

Open audio description / no audio description screening room available upon advanced request.

An animated woman holds her hand raised and in a balled fist. She has short bangs, large eyes, and a button up short sleeve shirt. Next to her is text that reads, “You know what? I’m going to go for it.”

An animated woman holds her hand raised and in a balled fist. She has short bangs, large eyes, and a button up short sleeve shirt. Next to her is text that reads, “You know what? I’m going to go for it.”

Chin Up - P.K. Walker Innovation in Craft Award

UK, 2018 (Documentary Short, 4 minutes)

Throughout her childhood, JoAnne loved to draw herself as heroic characters to escape the insecurity and feeling of being different that came with her condition. However, JoAnne never drew her facial features any differently to fit the scene of a heroic warrior or mystical mermaid. This animated documentary touches on poignant milestones that have impacted JoAnne and made her the strong woman that she is today.

 
An animation of a young girl runs with a stick in hand along the beach and marks the sand with it. She wears a dress, knee high socks, and flat shoes.

An animation of a young girl runs with a stick in hand along the beach and marks the sand with it. She wears a dress, knee high socks, and flat shoes.

Late Afternoon

Ireland, 2017 (Animated Short, 9 minutes) 

Emily finds herself disconnected from the world around her. She drifts back through her memories to relive different moments from her life. Emily must look to her past so that she may fully connect with the present. This animated, Oscar-nominated short offers an honest glimpse into the highs and lows of life with dementia.

 
A number of different snapshots from the film like bubbles. In one, a person sits on their couch with a smile and holds a pillow that reads “Life is Better When I’m With My Dog.” Others of dogs and a cat.

A number of different snapshots from the film like bubbles. In one, a person sits on their couch with a smile and holds a pillow that reads “Life is Better When I’m With My Dog.” Others of dogs and a cat.

Stinky Chicken Dog 2

USA, 2018 (Documentary Short, 13 minutes)

New filmmaker Jenni Funk explores the complex and beautiful relationships between people with disabilities and their animals. She uses a speech generating device to interview a service dog owner and a companion pet owner and tell her own story of a tense relationship with her formerly abused and traumatized pet Chihuahua (the stinky chicken dog) who is frightened of her movements and her voice.

 
Two people in wheelchairs wear all black with only their arms and faces exposed. One of them holds their entire body and wheelchair as they hang themselves on a horizontal pole. The other is under the pole and watches the raised individual.

Two people in wheelchairs wear all black with only their arms and faces exposed. One of them holds their entire body and wheelchair as they hang themselves on a horizontal pole. The other is under the pole and watches the raised individual.

Inclinations

Canada, 2019 (Dramatic Short, 5 minutes)

Choreographed, directed and shot from disability perspectives, this dance-on-video short contrasts the playful connections when disability aesthetics, community and a ramp meet the institutional histories and discordant inclinations that can lurk just below the surface.

 
An animated penguin is sinking in a vast and empty ocean. There are bubbles forming above them.

An animated penguin is sinking in a vast and empty ocean. There are bubbles forming above them.

The Penguin Who Couldn’t Swim

UK, 2018 (Animated Short, 5 minutes)

This animated short, made by a disabled animator, follows the story of a penguin who lives on a rocky island in the southern seas where she feels isolated from the rest of her colony. 

 
A human-like figure cut from a blank sheet of paper stands alone with wrinkled paper at their feet. A couple of paper trees are next to them.

A human-like figure cut from a blank sheet of paper stands alone with wrinkled paper at their feet. A couple of paper trees are next to them.

TIS

France, 2017 (Animated Short, 9 min)

A still, blank sheet of paper. A silhouette appears delineated beneath its surface. Here is our hero, TIS. He struggles and manages to free himself from the sheet of paper, but his feet remain attached to it. In the distance, he sees a crowd of beings similar to him. TIS tries to catch up with them but the sheet of paper he is attached to hinders his movements.