SUPERFEST 2023 FILM SELECTIONS

 

Superfest 2023 will occur online Thursday, October 19th through Sunday October 22nd with in-person screenings Saturday October 21st at the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley and Sunday October 22nd at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. Stay tuned for more information, and for now, read below to check out the blurbs for our 2023 films and save the date!

We have also put together a list of possible Content Warnings / Trigger Warnings for this year’s films if it would be useful for you. We cannot claim to have covered everything that someone might need, but we tried to be as thorough as we could. As always, take care of yourself while watching these films.

A black and white cat peers through a hole in a wooden box. Inside the box are plants with small green leaves, and a mini disco ball hangs from above.

A black and white cat peers through a hole in a wooden box. Inside the box are plants with small green leaves, and a mini disco ball hangs from above.

Abi Palmer Invents the Weather (Light)

UK, 2023 (Documentary/Experimental Short, 10 min)

A literal and abstract take on the spring season, Abi Palmer documents translating Spring into a cat-accessible format for her indoor cats. The film’s voiceover, written and narrated by Palmer, serves as a love letter to Palmer’s cats and the climate, culminating in a playful meditation on disability, climate, and life that can’t talk back. "Light" is the third film in the series "Abi Palmer invents the Weather,” chronicling Palmer’s year-long process of performing the outside world for her indoor cats.

Poster for "As You Are," featuring a cut out picture of two young women in black and white embracing. Behind the cutout is a block of red and a cream background. The film's title and credits are in black and white text.

Poster for "As You Are," featuring a cut out picture of two young women in black and white embracing. Behind the cutout is a block of red and a cream background. The film's title and credits are in black and white text.

As You Are
*Best of Festival Award*

USA, 2023 (Dramatic Short, 15 min)

When an interabled queer couple spends the night together for the first time, they must confront their complex relationships with desire, sexuality, bodily autonomy, and what it means truly to love another person.

An overhead shot of a woman with brown skin and long black hair in bed. She grimaces and has her eyes shut. White text overlay says "Chronic, inspired by a true story."

An overhead shot of a woman with brown skin and long black hair in bed. She grimaces and has her eyes shut. White text overlay says "Chronic, inspired by a true story."

Chronic

Canada, 2022 (Dramatic Short, 9 min)

Following a traumatic brain injury, a young woman's recovery is interrupted when her friends insist she come out for a birthday party. After re-injuring herself, she takes the first step in her new life by joining a chronic pain support group.

Poster for "Culicidae" features a close up of a white man's face as he wears a breathing machine over his nose. The film's credits are in black text.

Poster for "Culicidae" features a close up of a white man's face as he wears a breathing machine over his nose. The film's credits are in black text.

Culicidae
*Innovation in Craft Award*

Australia, 2022 (Dramatic Short, 6 min)

A mosquito’s late night intrusion leads to a life and death struggle.

Poster for "Fire Through Dry Grass with the title in white text. A drawing of the silhouette of a man in a wheelchair is drawn to be on fire. In the silhouette are drawings of other men from the film.

Poster for "Fire Through Dry Grass with the title in white text. A drawing of the silhouette of a man in a wheelchair is drawn to be on fire. In the silhouette are drawings of other men from the film.

Fire Through Dry Grass
*Directors’ Choice Award*

USA, 2022 (Documentary Feature, 86 min)

On a tiny island in NYC, a group of Black and brown disabled artists fight COVID-19 and the city to protect the lives of 500 vulnerable nursing home residents.

Poster for "Invisible World" featuring a low saturation, blueish image of an empty parking lot and mountain range in the background.

Invisible World

USA, 2023 (Experimental Short, 5 min)

To apply for a disabled parking placard, a doctor within the state must approve the application. As part of the application, there are six medical conditions which qualify a person for a placard. Many people with disabilities are included in these categories, and many are not. This film is a record of the filmmaker’s introduction to healthcare in the state of Utah. Her processing of the appointment and consequential aftermath as a video object serves as a reclamation and assertion for understanding disability and the physical world otherwise.

Poster for "Me If I Were a Woman" featuring a young woman with brown skin and braids sitting in a doctor's office waiting room with her mom, a woman with blond hair and lighter skin.

Me If I Were A Woman
*Disability Justice Award*

France, 2022 (Dramatic Short, 27 min)

Juliette, a 19-year-old with Down syndrome, is experiencing her first love, but her romance is quickly upended when Juliette is pressured by her mother and doctors to undergo sterilization surgery because of her disability. She has only a short time to make a decision and make her voice heard.

Poster for "Of Kisses and Capes" with the title and credits in pink text. Two young people lie in bed together. They both have light skin and brown hair, and have the covers pulled up to their waists. They are turned on their sides toward each other.

Poster for "Of Kisses and Capes" with the title and credits in pink text. Two young people lie in bed together. They both have light skin and brown hair, and have the covers pulled up to their waists. They are turned on their sides toward each other. Finn's arm is reaching over and covering part of Isi's arm.

Of Kisses and Capes

Germany, 2023 (Dramatic Short, 27 min)

Isi and Finn are planning their first time. This proves to be a difficult endeavor when their insecurities and lack of communication almost jeopardize their relationship.

Poster for Take me home with the title and credits in yellow text sideways on the poster. A close up of a young Korean woman with black hair and bangs leaning over a plate and glass at the dining table. She looks off to the side.

Poster for Take me home with the title and credits in yellow text sideways on the poster. A close up of a young Korean woman with black hair and bangs leaning over a plate and glass at the dining table. She looks off to the side.

Take Me Home

USA, 2022 (Dramatic Short, 16 min)

After their mother’s death, a cognitively disabled woman and her estranged sister must learn to communicate in order to move forward.

An Asian person floats upright underwater, his eyes closed and hair flowing in the water. He's shirtless and has top surgery scars across his chest.

An Asian person floats upright underwater, his eyes closed and hair flowing in the water. He's shirtless and has top surgery scars across his chest.

The Beauty of Being Deaf

USA, 2023 (Experimental Short, 3 min)

Artist, director, and author Chella Man presents a meditation on Deaf identity and language—underwater.

Dark blue lights in an office building illuminate two people touching palms.

(Un)fit to Work

UK, 2022 (Experimental Short, 5 min)

A disabled mechanic takes us on a musical journey of 80s disco & ballroom through his imagination after he’s denied access to apply for the job he’s best suited for at his local job center.

Poster for "Uonted" with the title and credits in white. The title's U and O are written in red scribbled over the first two letters of Wanted. Two men sit on twin sized beds across from each other.

Poster for "Uonted" with the title and credits in white. The title's U and O are written in red scribbled over the first two letters of Wanted. Two men sit on twin sized beds across from each other.

Uonted!

Italy, 2018 (Dramatic Short, 13 min)

Excitement is brewing in a social co-op for a group of disabled people as they debate the destination for their next trip. Tiziano, however, does not want to hear about democratic votes: he wants to go to Cinecittà World, a movie themed amusement park, to visit the old west. What will he invent when he discovers that the attraction is different from how he imagined it?

Poster for We Care features the title and credits in pink adn white text. A woman with light skin and dark hair looks to the camera. She is barely lit and looks pensive.

Poster for We Care features the title and credits in pink and white text. A woman with light skin and dark hair looks to the camera. She is barely lit and looks pensive.

We Care

UK, 2022 (Dramatic Short, 16 min)

Annie is surprised to find that her new carer happens to be a man, a manly man, a very manly man. This beautiful and funny piece takes a dark turn with devastating consequences when Annie is let down by the system that is meant to take care of her.

Content warning: This film contains discussion and description of sexual assault.

Poster for "We Make Film" features the title and credits in yellow text, with an abstract collection of gears, a film reel, a mechanical eye, and a strip of rainbow like the light spectrum.

Poster for "We Make Film" features the title and credits in yellow text, with an abstract collection of gears, a film reel, a mechanical eye, and a strip of rainbow like the light spectrum.

We Make Film
*Advocacy Award*

India, 2021 (Documentary Feature, 80 min)

Set across three cities in India, We Make Film explores the creative journeys of d/Deaf and disabled filmmakers Debopriya, Mijo and Anuja. While some battles against inaccessability are won, sometimes they must give up dreams altogether due to inaccessible environments, exclusionary production practices, or barriers to film education. While documenting their stories, Shweta too begins to reflect on her privileges and revisits the lifelong creative collaborations she has had with her disabled father. We Make Film presents the intersection of these four filmmakers’ experiences through a documentary that rethinks accessibility, ally-ship, and collaboration in filmmaking today, and dreams of an inclusive creative future for all of us.

A white woman with neon pink hair in a wheelchair holds up a white cup with two handles. Her shirt says "Sarcasm loading, please wait."

A white woman with neon pink hair in a wheelchair holds up a white cup with two handles. Her shirt says "Sarcasm loading, please wait."

Whose Voice Is It Anyway
*Jury's Choice Award*

UK, 2022 (Mockumentary Short, 5 min)

A darkly funny mockumentary about two identically disabled forty-year-old women, Lottie and Charlie, who have athetoid cerebral palsy. Both celebrate their 40th birthday with family and friends—one is given the choice and the ability to communicate, and the other is not.