Documentary Short Competition presented by You42
Documentary Short Program 2 at Rollins Theatre at The Long Center
"Christmas, Every Day" gives a slice-of-life glimpse of preteen influencers Peyton and Lyla Wesson, ages 11 and 12, as they perform for their online fans under their mother’s watchful guidance. Shot in a series of highly composed, locked-off takes, the film examines everyday cultural practice under late stage capitalism, juxtaposing rural life with the patina of the virtual world. As Peyton and Lyla shift between performance and reality, ideas of self-presentation as empowerment, female confidence, and self-branding come to the fore.
At the crossroads of documentary and fiction, Hello Stranger relates the transition journey of a young trans woman named Cooper Josephine. With humor, the film revisits key moments of her life from her childhood in a small fishing village of the east coast of Canada to her tumultuous medical process. Through the re-enactment of her memories, Cooper Josephine attempts to make peace with the last masculine imprint on her body: that unfortunate deep voice that sticks to her skin.
Leonie’s biggest dream is to become a pig farmer. On the farm of her parents she is happily wandering around with her best friend, Skeet the cat. She is always helping out in any way possible: fertilizing the sows, tending to the pigs and help load the fully grown hogs onto the truck that will bring them to the slaughterhouse. The family farm is helping Leonie learn about the circle of life. However, new laws surrounding nitrogen emissions set by the government are threatening Leonie’s parents’ life’s work, their company, into bankruptcy. Together with her cat Skeet she sees the last pigs disappear from the farm and she realizes that her dream of living as a pig farmer might not come true.
The film follows the FDWA, an organisation dedicated to assisting Filipino victims of modern slavery in the UK, which was founded by and composed of a group of women who are survivors of trafficking themselves. As the latest planned rescue fails uncertainty looms, but the group rally around each other. Reflecting on their own experiences and the challenges they continue to face in the UK even after finding freedom, they discover hope in each other for a better life —for themselves and also for the women they hope to free.
"Shotplayer" is an impressionistic journey into the mind of Wilfred Rose, one of New York City's most notorious pickpockets. As he returns to the subway for the first time in many years he reflects on a life of crime in a society that has left many of its citizens behind. "Shotplayer" asks, when is it ok to push back against that society? What does it mean to live as a criminal? What does it mean to live one’s life on an invisible plane? To live at all?
Welcome to Forrest, a small town isolated in a flat and treeless desert with a population of two people: Greg & Kate. They are there to maintain Forrest's emergency airstrip. As they wait for an emergency landing, they keep Forrest’s one street and six vacant houses in pristine condition by mowing the green front lawns, blowing the leaves, vacuuming the red dust… At the same time, they find themselves increasingly enjoying the inherent freedom of Forrest by indulging in more wild activities. But in the face of the uncertainty and ever looming shadow of madness, how long can they keep up this fragile balance between play and routine before something finally cracks?
In a Boca suburb, a couple retire to a second marriage of freedom, play, and the world’s largest puzzle collection.