“Alien on Stage” tells the unlikely story of a unique crew of Dorset bus drivers whose amateur dramatics…
Women in Film Spotlight
Directed by Iman Zawahry
Welcome to America: Where dreams come true … ish. A provocative spin on the traditional romantic comedy, “…
Directed by Natalie Pattillo & Daniel A. Nelson
“And So I Stayed” offers a moving profile of three domestic-violence survivors who served steep prison…
Directed by Margaret Byrne
A stellar documentary from SLIFF alum Margaret Byrne (“Raising Bertie”), “Any Given Day” follows a trio of…
Directed by Libby Spears
“The Art of Rebellion” follows blunt, sarcastic, but ultimately lovable Lydia Emily — an LA-based street…
Directed by Andy Cohen & Gaylen Ross
“Beijing Spring” tells a story about underground filmmaking, radical art, and censorship that’s…
Directed by Susan Hagedorn
Some 50 years before BLM and March for Our Lives — before computers, cell phones, and Facebook — priests…
Directed by Judith Ehrlich
As the war in Vietnam raged, one of the largest and most successful youth-led resistance movements in…
Directed by Nathalie Álvarez Mesén
In a remote village in Costa Rica, Clara, a withdrawn 40-year-old woman, experiences a sexual and mystical…
Directed by Ann Hu
How far would a mother go to change her child’s fate? When Lan (Zhu Zhu, “Cloud Atlas”) learns that her 9-…
Directed by Andrea Arnold
A documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Andrea Arnold (“American Honey,” “Fish Tank,” “Red Road”), “Cow” is…
Directed by Zora Iman Crews & Alec Tibaldi
Daphne Wilco, actor and self-empowered social-justice warrior, wreaks havoc on a production of Euripides…
Directed by Paula Rhodes
We all hold some responsibility for our nation’s ever-increasing lack of polite, respectful discourse. For…
An anthology of shorts exploring the biggest issues in the United States today.
An examination of the life and conservation of animals across the globe.
A program that captures the wisdom, the humor, and the pain that comes with age.
Harrowing stories of coming and going — by choice, by force, or by necessity.
Shorts that examine the impact of the most significant current events facing our modern world.
An exploration of the challenges and experiences of real people living with a disability.
A sampler of films from students in the Jonathan B. Murray Center for Documentary Journalism at the Missouri…
True stories of the inequities that permeate throughout the justice system at large.
A collection of fascinating exposés that unearth surprising stories about some of the most recognizable…
Children are the future, and their present experiences captured in these shorts demonstrate what that future…
Directed by Mo Scarpelli
“El Father Plays Himself” chronicles expat filmmaker Jorge Thielen Armand’s return to Venezuela to make a…
Directed by Adam Sjoberg & Seanne Winslow
“The Falconer” thrillingly recounts a larger-than-life adventure, but at its core the film tells an…
Directed by Wang Lina
With lush imagery and touching naturalistic performances, “A First Farewell” finds poetry in the minutiae…
Directed by Gordon Quinn & Leslie Simmer
Co-directed by SLIFF Lifetime Achievement Award winner Gordon Quinn, “For the Left Hand” profiles Norman…
Directed by Lisa Donato
“Gossamer Folds,” which beautifully demonstrates that hatred is a learned experience and that we can…
Directed by Blerta Basholli
In the searing drama “Hive,” Fahrije lives with fading hope and burgeoning grief since her husband went…
Directed by Julie Cohen & Betsy West
“Julia” — directed by Julie Cohen and Betty West, who also helmed the Oscar-nominated “RBG” — brings to…
Directed by Alana Marie
Kinloch is a town on life support, with fewer than 200 citizens still residing in the area, a budget…
Directed by Gerda Leopold
Inspired by Arthur Schnitzler´s “La Ronde,” the episodic “A Matter of Perspective” explores 10 people, 10…
Directed by Jeff Bemiss & Lisa Molomot
“Missing in Brooks County” provides a clear-eyed, heartbreaking look at the deadly cost of the U.S.’s…
Directed by Peggy Callahan & Louie Psihoyos
“Mission: Joy” — co-directed by Oscar winner Louie Psihoyos (“The Cove”) and Peggy Callahan — provides…
Directed by Eva Husson
“Mothering Sunday,” which premiered at Cannes, begins on a warm spring day in 1924, when house maid and…
Directed by Therese Shechter
In “My So-Called Selfish Life,” filmmaker Therese Shechter examines an oft-undiscussed social taboo: women…
These animated stories offer insight into rural life, religion, war, and mortality.
A selection of many of the absolute best of this year's shorts submissions, ranging from an experimental…
A hilarious collection whose subjects range from pregnancy to virtual learning, restaurant etiquette to taboo…
Demented clowns, matchmaking kids, and a poker night highlight our second comedy program.
A slate of films that explore the art of dance, the passion of music, and the power of poetry.
A sampler of films with diverse subjects, including the pandemic, divorce, and puppetry, but similar themes.
Stories from around the globe, including the Netherlands, Romania, and China, both demonstrate our common…
SLIFF's third dramatic program grapples with topics such as prison, capitalism, and the patriarchy.
Explorations of both body and mind that are only possible through experimental film.
Science-fiction shorts that explore the timely and the timeless.
Directed by Lauren Hadaway
When Alex Dall (Isabelle Fuhrman, “Orphan”), a queer college freshman, joins her university’s rowing team…
Directed by Leah Galant & Maya Cueva
Although set in McAllen, at Texas’ southern tip in the Rio Grande Valley, the film doesn’t deal with…
Directed by Céline Sciamma
In “Petite Maman,” Céline Sciamma’s follow-up to her critically lauded “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” 8-…
Directed by Iuli Gerbase
In this prescient Sundance thriller — written in 2017 and shot in 2019 — “Pink Cloud” eerily evokes the…
Directed by Gilda Sheppard
“Since I Been Down” follows a group of prisoners as they break free from their fate and create a model of…
Directed by Chloé Mazlo
Celebrated animator Chloé Mazlo makes her feature debut with this strikingly original film inspired by her…
Stories of kindness and bravery highlight this collection aimed at 4- to 8-year-olds.
Perfect for 9- to 12-year-olds, this collection features both discoveries from the past and explorations of…
Directed by Pernille Rose Groenkjaer
“Solutions” offers important insight into the visions and concrete ideas that will pave the way for…
A selection of standout documentaries, some experimental in form, from the 2021 St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase.
A sampling of the best narrative and experimental shorts from the 2021 St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase.
The surrealist movement — started by Guillaume Apollinaire and eventually led by André Breton — had its roots…
Directed by Pamela Tanner Boll & Lindsay Richardson
Climate change is huge, scary, and highly politicized, and the relentless bad news can prove overwhelming…
Directed by Debbie Lum
“Try Harder!” offers an engaging portrait of five young adults as they navigate a quintessential rite of…
Directed by Deborah Riley Draper
In “Twenty Pearls” — deftly narrated by Phylicia Rashad — two-time SLIFF alum Deborah Riley Draper (“…
Directed by Isabel del Rosal
As Amber (Devin Dunne Cannon) braves life after divorce, the young mother must challenge herself to take…
Directed by Anita Rivaroli
In the smart, joyous “We Are the Thousand,” a handful of Foo Fighters fans in Cesena, Italy, led by band…
Directed by Alana Waksman
When 22-year-old Rae, a descendant of Holocaust survivors, is targeted by neo-Nazis in Billings, Mont.,…
Directed by Nisan Dag
Fehmi, a 19-year-old aspiring rapper from a rough neighborhood of Istanbul, is addicted to bonzai, a cheap…
Directed by Emily Kunstler & Sarah Kunstler
Directed by Sarah and Emily Kunstler — who previously helmed the well-received “William Kunstler:…
Directed by Rossana Díaz Costa
Julius — an upper-class child in 1950s Lima, Peru — lives in a mansion with his aristocratic family and a…
Directed by Christi Cooper
An intelligent combination of civics lessons and environmentalism, Christi Cooper’s “Youth v. Gov” tells…
