Tempo Rubato

The night before her eighteenth birthday recital, an overworked and undertalented pianist is abducted by three ghouls.

El ruido del tiempo

In the town of Xoco, the spirit of an old villager awakens in search of its lost home. Along its journey, the ghost discovers that the town still celebrates its most important festivities, but also learns that the construction of a new commercial complex called Mítikah will threaten the existence of both the traditions and the town itself.

Údolie večných karaván

A Paw Over Dark

A washed up actor performs night after night in a grimy theater to a nearly empty audience. However, everything changes when a clueless dog jumps on stage.

Bradlee

The surreal, experimental story of an unseen serial killer.

Subsurface

Trapped and alone, a young man must confront the pain he's ignored when he finds himself face-to-face with consequence.

Smash Cuts! Super Sci-Fi Shorts Fest

Host Scott Forrest presents a curated compilation of eight independent short films in this rapid-fire science-fiction feature. Genres collide, narratives twist, aesthetics clash, and even humor, both campy and dystopian, showcase the vast creative possibilities of each story's individual world, offering the viewer a brief glimpse into the lives of every character's attempt to survive the otherworldly chaos around them. Released in 2001, the selected shorts span original creation dates of 1997 to 2001; most of the featured filmmakers also appear as themselves in short video interviews to talk about their inspirations, creative process and motivations while working on their individual shorts.

Une brèche écarlate

Through thread and textile, an Asian seamstress tries to escape from the factory.

SIN PIEDAD

Under the relentless sun, a killer stalks through the mountains, where the innocence of a young couple becomes prey. With no shadows to hide their fate, the hunt is a macabre game in broad daylight, where fear is not hidden in the darkness, but burns with the rawness of the unperturbed noon.

Lohengrin

A short experimental film shot on Super 8, inspired by the music of Richard Wagner.

Proyecciones del Limbo

Flaming Creatures

Filmmaker and artist Jack Smith described his own film as a “comedy set in a haunted movie studio.” Flaming Creatures begins humorously enough with several men and women, mostly of indeterminate gender, vamping it up in front of the camera and participating in a mock advertisement for an indelible, heart-shaped brand of lipstick. However, things take a dark, nightmarish turn when a transvestite chases, catches and begins molesting a woman. Soon, all of the titular “creatures” participate in a (mostly clothed) orgy that causes a massive earthquake. After the creatures are killed in the resulting chaos, a vampire dressed like an old Hollywood starlet rises from her coffin to resurrect the dead. All ends happily enough when the now undead creatures dance with each other, even though another orgy and earthquake loom over the end title card.

Casa Salvaje

Laura, 16, is held hostage by her father who believes she is possessed because she is pregnant.

キャタピラ

A half-hour experimental film that shows Fukui moving towards cyberpunk imagery in a manner similar to Tsukamoto, featuring industrial locations, a malfunctioning cyborg/android and a hulking metallic ‘caterpillar’ that stalks characters.

Tales of the Ukulele Man

Ukulele Man, an urban legend, narrates two stories, strumming melodies that blur the line between myth and reality. But is he merely a witness, or part of the story himself?

The Redeye Tapes

The events following a surreal network hijacking thrust several characters into a crisis of existential proportions. Leading them on a collision course of human consciousness, technological evolution, and divine horror where fragmented identities dissolve and reconfigure in frenzied kaleidoscopic mania rapidly careening towards oblivion.

Beyond Doubt

Upon becoming aware of an ancestor guilty of several cruel acts who bore a striking resemblance to himself, a man begins to fear he too could be capable of similar sadistic deeds.

Lux Æterna: The Art of Filmmaking

An experimental shortfilm in line with "Lux Æterna", showcasing the footage from Cecil B. DeMille's "King of the Kings". A voiceover pronunces word "Relax" in a hypnotic tone, which was Lux Æterna's working title. It was shown only once in Paris at L'Étrange Festival, at the opening of "Lux Æterna".

Ground Control

A journey to an unknown star, a children's theatre play, an untalented writer and the fear of becoming the worst version of oneself. A mixture of live-action footage and animated scenes. A stream of (un)conscious stereotypes.

Shutter

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