The Hitchhikers

Before Words

A boy lives a fast-paced, free-roaming life with his friends on the streets of Dublin, which doesn’t always lead to good choices.

Mickey Skinner is a truly talented actor. But he lacks that essential part of the 'what-you-know' versus 'who-you-know' equation. He's hard working and survives with no chip on his shoulder, right up until the final moment of the worst day of the rest of his life.

An animated adaptation of Poe's famous short story.

Saori, a school girl, is molested on the notorious "molester train" of the Hanagawa line and rescued by another school girl who witnesses the act. The girl who rescues her turned out to be a new student of the same high school Saori attends. The mysterious new student Yuriko is rumoured to be a "parent killer". Yuriko then leads Saori and her friends to hunt molesters.

A library assistant plods through an ordinary life in LA until a chance meeting opens his eyes to the power of creativity and ultimately, love. When this new life and love begin to fall apart, he discovers he has a lot to give. This short film proves that ordinary is no place to be.

Daydream Therapy is set to Nina Simone’s haunting rendition of “Pirate Jenny” and concludes with Archie Shepp’s “Things Have Got to Change.” Filmed in Burton Chace Park in Marina del Rey by activist-turned-filmmaker Bernard Nicolas as his first project at UCLA, this short film poetically envisions the fantasy life of a hotel worker whose daydreams provide an escape from workplace indignities. —Allyson Nadia Field

Three men hammer on an anvil and pass a bottle of beer around. Notable for being the first film in which a scene is being acted out.

Through a series of auditions, a young actor in New York City struggles with his identity.

A mother who writes children’s storybooks, ironically, doesn’t have enough time to create stories for her own son. The restless child finds a chance to create his own stories when his grandfather, comes up with a game. They fill an old milk can with pieces of paper, each containing a word which will be a “story-starter”. Tales of heroes and villains, magic and places fill up the child’s imagination. But the child’s made-up story is in need of a happy ending. Now, it depends on the storyteller mother to create the greatest ending of them all.

Edward James Olmos narrates this multi-fest winner about an immigrant who recalls a vivid and momentous memory where he discovered his boundaries.

Overwhelmed by grief following the death of his wife, Donnelly shares a train carriage home with a troubled young man identified only as the 'Kid'. As the Kid becomes more agitated and foul-mouthed, the journey takes on a violent and dangerous hue – for the bereaved Donnelly and for other hapless passengers on the train. Academy Award Winner: Best Live Action Short Film – 2005

This is one of the four "animated comics" taking place in the same universe as the film "I Am Legend". ADX Florence, Colorado, USA, is the most secure prison facility in the United States. During the early stages of the Krippin Virus Pandemic, John Edward Lord, an imprisoned terrorist is deliberately left behind at the prison to die, with no information on the outbreak.

This is one of the four "animated comics" taking place in the same universe as the film "I Am Legend". In New Delhi, India, during the Krippin Virus Pandemic, Vatsala and her family are preparing to evacuate to a shelter. That night, Vatsala sneaks out of her home and into the chaotic streets of the city to find her boyfriend, Pritam.

T'adhib

The intersecting lives of two otherwise unrelated people in a rural Bolivian village adjacent to the Uyani salt flats are presented. The first is Carlos, a poor salt miner. Unlike his colleagues, he is unwilling to take the one time compensation package from an American conglomerate who wants to purchase the mining rights. Carlos would rather get paid for doing actual work than risk living off a one time payment without a guarantee of any other work in the area. Carlos being the one holdout irks his fellow miners, who cannot get their compensation until Carlos also agrees to the terms. Carlos views all gringos in a bad light because of this situation. The second is Marc, an American doctor who has worked in various third world countries providing aide where needed. Marc is completing his term here. Carlos and Marc have a turbulent few meetings based on Carlos' feelings toward gringos and his want for a simple stable life.

Aïssa is a Congolese immigrant in France. She says that she is under eighteen but the authorities consider her an adult. To determine if she can be deported, a doctor must give her a physical examination.

Ryan and Jennifer are opposites who definitely do not attract. At least that's what they always believed. When they met as twelve-year-olds, they disliked one another. When they met again as teenagers, they loathed each other. But when they meet in college, the uptight Ryan and the free-spirited Jennifer find that their differences bind them together and a rare friendship develops.

Los opositores

A 4-year-old girl cries, lost in the city. A Soviet soldier on a ferry takes her in and takes her to her home village.