SFFILM 2021

Step Into the River

Weijia Ma

<p>Lu and Wei are two young girls living in a village nestled on the banks of a river. As the one-child policy has led some families to drown baby girls, they both have a special relationship with this river which looks like a cradle of tragic stories.&nbsp;The&nbsp;river&nbsp;has a special meaning for them because China&#39;s one-child policy has led&nbsp;to&nbsp;some parents drowning their newborn daughters there. A poetic and touching animation&nbsp;in&nbsp;which&nbsp;Weijia Ma&nbsp;explores the consequences of this tragic chapter&nbsp;in&nbsp;the lives of many Chinese families.</p>

Celaje (Cloudscape)

Sofía Gallisá Muriente

<p>Combining home movies, 16mm footage, audiotape, and an original score, Gallis&aacute; Muriente&rsquo;s poetic excavation oscillates between chronicle, dream, and document. Where people and nature meet, she uncovers environmental and colonial memories from her grandmother&rsquo;s past and in the landscape of Puerto Rico.</p>

In the Same Breath (2021)

Nanfu Wang

<p>How did the Chinese government turn pandemic cover ups in Wuhan into a triumph for the Communist party?</p> <p><em>Not available -&nbsp;Sundance Film Festival 2021 -&nbsp;US Dramatic Competition</em></p>

The Last Autumn

Yrsa Roca Fannberg

<p>If the world has an edge, then it is almost certainly visible from Iceland. On the outermost cape, beyond which there is only the inhospitable Arctic Ocean, lies a farm belonging to &Uacute;lfar and his wife. This autumn will be the last time their grandchildren come from the city to drive the sheep back down from the hills. An almost tangible cinematic fabric that weaves a tale of an abandoned place where the mist clings to the steel-blue surface of the sea and where the occasional human visitor is sometimes welcome.</p>

Hijo de Monarcas (Son of Monarchs)

Alexis Gambis

<p>After the death of his grandmother, a Mexican biologist living in New York returns to his hometown nestled in the majestic monarch butterfly forests of Michoac&aacute;n after many years. The journey forces him to confront past traumas and reflect on his new hybrid identity, launching him on a personal and spiritual metamorphosis.</p>

After Antarctica

Tasha Van Zandt

<p>In a dramatic attempt to bring attention to climate change, an international expedition led by renowned explorer Will Steger embarked on the first-ever coast-to-coast expedition across Antarctica in 1989. Six men and their sled dogs braved howling storms, sub-zero temperatures, snow crevasses, and other perils as they traversed the icy terrain. Tasha Van Zandt&rsquo;s enthralling feature debut catches up with Steger 30 years later as he revisits the frigid continent, deftly weaving his contemporary journey with rare, dynamic footage of his original, treacherous seven-month odyssey.</p>

The End of Suffering (a proposal)

Jacqueline Lentzou

<p>Sofia is panicky, again. The Universe decides to contact her. An other-wordly dialogue. A planet symphony for Mars, where people dream awake and fight for love.</p>

Snowy

Kaitlyn Schwalje Alexander Lewis

<p>Snowy, a pet turtle, has spent a decade relegated to a dark corner of a basement. When his happiness and well-being are called into question, his owner valiantly tries to improve the reptile&rsquo;s situation with mixed results.</p>

Shepherd’s Song

Abby Fuller

<p>Growing up, Jenya longed for a place where she belonged. She found it in the nomadic life of sheep herding. Now, she traverses California with her flock, helping to manage grassland and restore ecosystems.</p>

The Whaler Boy

Philipp Yuryev

<p>The internet brings the outside world to an isolated Russian whaling village, where teenage Leshka falls under the spell of a viral vixen&rsquo;s come-hither charms. Seeking to turn his fantasy into reality, he plots an escape to America. Vladimir Onokhov makes an arresting screen debut as Leshka, imbuing the boy with amiability, wistfulness, and growing frustration at the impossibility of his situation. In his first feature, writer/director Philipp Yuryev delivers an involving coming-of-age tale shot through with offbeat humor and surprising pathos.</p>

Skies of Lebanon

Chloé Mazlo

<p>Colorful, stop-motion animation and offbeat characters add whimsy to this drama limning the marriage between a Swiss woman and a Lebanese astrophysicist. Sparks fly when the European visitor meets the genial scientist in a Beirut caf&eacute; in the 1950s, the city becoming their home after they wed. But can that love survive when civil war breaks out 20 years later? Writer/director Chlo&eacute; Mazio makes an impressive feature debut with a bewitching film that begins as an airy, eccentric romance before transforming into something deeper and emotionally resonant. Recommended for ages 13 and up.</p>

Radiograph of a Family

Firouzeh Khosrovani

<p>Iranian filmmaker Firouzeh Khosrovani investigates her parents&rsquo; unusual marriage in this documentary steeped in bittersweet history. Hossein, a radiologist, is secular and sophisticated, while his young bride Tayi is a devout Muslim, shocked by her new husband&rsquo;s Western tastes. Khosrovani creates a poetic portrait of a fraught but loving relationship set against 1960s Switzerland and revolutionary-era Iran using family photos, other archival materials, recreated and imagined dialogue, and the geographical dimensions of her childhood home.</p>

The Perfect Candidate

Haifaa al-Mansour

<p>Saudi Arabia has one of the least satisfactory records with respect to women&rsquo;s rights, but Haifaa al-Mansour&rsquo;s latest drama reminds us that great change often happens in incremental steps. Eminently capable physician Dr. Maryam is frustrated by resources and attitudes that she faces daily in her clinic, so when a bureaucratic situation presents the opportunity to run for local office, she signs on. Though there is anger and pointed commentary in the story, the film is buoyant and hopeful as Maryam figures out how to respond to obstacles put in her way.</p>

Lily Topples the World

Jeremy Workman

<p>Lily Hevesh delights in creating intricate designs with dominoes, temporary installations that last just long enough to knock down. It is a passion she discovered at nine, founding a YouTube channel soon after to display her colorful creations. Nearly two million subscribers, appearances on the The Tonight Show, corporate events, and various conventions later, Lily is a Gen Z star. Executive Produced by Kelly Marie Tran, Jeremy Workman&rsquo;s lively documentary spotlights Lily&rsquo;s inspired, labor-intensive installations and offers an insightful portrait of a vibrant artist and entrepreneur who has turned play into her life&rsquo;s work. Recommended for ages 9 and up.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

Strawberry Mansion

Albert Birney Kentucker Audley

<p>In 2035, auditors don&rsquo;t just want to see your receipts for hidden expenses, they want to see your dreams. One such inspector, James (co-director Kentucker Audley), arrives at the house of Bella, an older woman, and finds himself falling in love with the younger version he encounters in her dreams. Meanwhile, a business conglomerate tries to populate her reveries with ads for fried chicken. Whimsical and unique, the film uses a story of blossoming love to depict the priceless sanctuary of imagination.</p>

Unseen Skies

Yaara Bou Melhem

<p>Contemporary artist Trevor Paglen is known for his political and mind-blowing art pieces on global mass surveillance, data collection, and artificial intelligence. This visually stunning and immersive film follows Paglen as he travels through the desolate Nevada desert while discussing the motivation for his latest and most audacious project: launching a satellite into orbit. Stunning cinematography, trippy computer graphics, and a percussive score imbue this compelling documentary with an ethereal tone that perfectly captures the provocative and breathtaking beauty of Paglen&rsquo;s work.</p>

Polot (Overclockers)

Michal Wnuk

<p>Karol, a young aviator with a brilliant mind but limited means invents a next-generation zeppelin. Forming a partnership with his best friends from childhood and an enemy, Karol sacrifices everything to see his dream realized. But his exacting standards and a fundamental misunderstanding of his associates endanger the project, while his single-mindedness threatens his relationship with his girlfriend Justyna. Director/co-writer Michal Wnuk makes a buoyant feature debut with a drama that balances a portrait of stubborn ambition with the fascinating details of the object of his obsession. Part of the Sloan Science on Screen program.</p>

Cryptozoo

Dash Shaw

<p>As cryptozookeepers struggle to capture a Baku (a legendary dream-eating hybrid creature) they begin to wonder if they should display these rare beasts in the confines of a cryptozoo or if these mythical creatures should remain hidden and unknown.</p>

We Are As Gods

Jason Sussberg David Alvarado

<p>Facing the twin environmental crises of mass extinction and climate change, counterculture legend Stewart Brand proposes a potential pandora&rsquo;s box for conservation: using biotechnology to resurrect extinct species like the wooly mammoth. It&rsquo;s a crazy idea, but it&rsquo;s not surprising coming from Stewart, a futurist and popularizer of some of the most significant cultural and technological movements of our era, including psychedelics, the modern environmental movement, personal computers, long term thinking, and biotechnology. Stewart&rsquo;s methods are controversial, and his colleagues in the environmental movement believe he is meddling with nature and vow to stand in his way. But we are along for the journey as he travels to Siberia to search for mammoth specimens and explore the resurrection of the Mammoth Steppe in an effort to slow climate change and restore balance to this critical ecosystem.</p>