Massachusetts Independent Film Festival

B1 - 12:00pm

When Janice suddenly develops Narcolepsy during a rough time in her life, her oddly foreboding dreams stand as the only form of solace in her schedule of monotonous chores and job applications.   dir. Kim Christel    15min

B1 - 12:00pm

Sebastian's son lies in a coma following a road accident. Guilty and grief-stricken, Sebastian refuses to agree to his ex-wife's wishes and sign the papers that will allow their son to die peacefully. During the night shift in the children's psychiatric hospital where Sebastian works, a little girl is admitted on to the ward. Sebastian's sanity begins to unravel, as a terrifying chain of events surrounding the girl brings him face to face with his son.   dir. Cyrus Neshvad   14min

B1 - 12:00pm

Stranded at a trailer in the middle of nowhere North Carolina, a young mother digs in and rides out a severe storm while internally struggling with what to do next with her life and her marriage.   dir. Shannon Silva    13min

B1 - 12:00pm

A man who experiences deja vu when he spots a woman sitting on a park bench - a woman he remembers from a dream but has never met. When their paths finally cross, a portal opens which takes each of their lives in unexpected directions.   dir. Chris Esper   9min

B1 - 12:00pm

Louis is racked with guilt after an innocuous and misconstrued joke is made by his best friend, Patrice. Worried that Patrice might think he is racist, Louis attempts to heal hundreds of years of inequality in a single night. Patrice just wants some sleep.   dir. Ben Edmunds    7min

B1 - 12:00pm

Three brave, intergalactic explorers find themselves in uncharted celestial territory when their ship runs critically low on their much needed fuel source – plutonium. Fatefully, they discover a nearby planet that hosts a wealth of plutonium reserves. Follow the crew on their descent into the unknown as they venture onto the mysterious landscape inhabited by… Killer Spacemen From Outer Planet X!     dir. Peter Campbell  17min

B1 - 12:00pm

A baby is communicating with his parents from inside his mother's belly and starts to negotiate his forthcoming birth. Naturally, the baby decides to hire a notorious lawyer...    dir. Philippe Lacoueille    29min

B5 - 4:00pm

Democracy Center, 

45 Mt Auburn Street 

Cambridge at 4:00pm. 

Panel Host

Film critic and festival programmer Dede Crimmins

Panelists

Michael and Shawn Rasmussen, Skip Shea, Stacy Buchanan, and Pedro Alvarado

The Rasmussen Brothers wrote JOHN CARPENTER'S THE WARD and wrote and directed the Lionsgate release DARK FEED. Their followup project is THE INHABITANTS.

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Skip Shea wrote and directed TRINITY, and AVE MARIA, and is a multi award winning screenwriter for his screenplays, STREGA and THE OLD MILL TOWN.

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Stacy Buchanan is a producer, AVE MARIA, TRINITY, and Director, SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES. She is cofounder of Wicked Bird Media and a producer for WGBH Boston.

Pedro Alvarado is a writer and producer for films such as, A LIFE NOT TO FOLLOW and UNDER THE DARK WING.

B2 - 2:15pm

A researcher of Native American extraction in New Hampshire's White Mountains shares his experiences and evidence of what he believes are Bigfoot like creatures, known as Shymen, living deep in the woods of Northern New England.   dir. Aleksandar Petakov    15min

B2 - 2:15pm

My mom, Libby Bouvier, has spent most of her life collecting an archive of cause buttons and other 'ephemera' from the women’s and LGBT liberation movements, the antiwar movement, the labor movement, and other radical causes she's been directly or indirectly involved with over the decades. This is a short moving image portrait of her and her collection.    dir. Lily Bouvier    9min

B2 - 2:15pm

TAKING STOCK is a feature length documentary directed by South African filmmaker, Ben Stillerman. Ben set out to make a documentary about the failing family business his father, Clive, is struggling to maintain as Clive faces the harsh reality that his legacy is at stake -- his customers are dwindling, his relationships with his employees are tense, and his children want to pursue other careers. What starts as a portrayal of the family business soon becomes less about the business, and more about the family as Clive and his son are forced to confront the friction between them and figure out how they move forward as they each carve out their own path into the next stages of their respective lives.  dir. Ben Stillerman   87min

B3 - 4:30pm

A retired saxophone musician takes one last shot at success after many years off the stage.   dir. George Monard   12min

B3 - 4:30pm

A girl succumbs to peer pressure and attempts to drown herself to get the attention of a handsome lifeguard.   dir. Rob Morton  4min

B3 - 4:30pm

Nathan East For The Record is a documentary film that takes viewers behind-the-scenes as one of the most influential bass players in modern music recorded his debut solo album last year. His long-awaited solo album (released in March) spent four weeks at #1 on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Album chart and 34 weeks in the top position on smoothjazz.com.For The Record also chronicles Nathan's three decade plus career from when he hit the road age 16 with Barry White, his session and touring work across musical genres and membership in the legendary jazz quartet Fourplay. The film features interviews with many of the musicians he's worked with including Clapton, Phil Collins, Lionel Richie, Quincy Jones, Vince Gill, Herbie Hancock, Don Was and more.    dir. Chris Gero.  87min

B4 - 6:45pm

Josh is a young man with some problems. He has lost his warehouse job and his relationship with his ex girlfriend Angie. His despair and depression are compounded by an addiction to opiates and the unwanted presence of his mom Brenda's ex-cop boyfriend Alan.    dir. Bobby Thompson   24min

B4 - 6:45pm

While preparing for a quiet evening at her country home, a woman's plans are interrupted by a surprise visitor and ends in a very unexpected way.   dir. Ryan Jonze   7min

B4 - 6:45pm

A stranger, Tasya, arrives in Sarajevo and barges into Damir's reclusive world. Little by little she takes over his apartment, his life, even his dreams. He can't summon the courage to confront Tasya and she becomes progressively more comfortable and controlling. Can Damir find it in himself to struggle out of this trap and regain control of his life, or will Tasya take him over completely, leaving no trace of Damir in the world?    dir. Emma Rozanski    82min