Canyon Light

An independent documentary about the unprecedented struggles of movie theaters and the film industry as a whole during the COVID-19 pandemic

What are they? What do they seek? When all the lights go out, they will wander. And you will never see them.

Faced with an assignment to film something personal, Cem begins a quiet search for what that really means. A casual conversation with a close friend leads him to turn the camera toward the people who already shape his life. Through moments with his grandmother, spontaneous talks about family, and reflections on his dream of becoming a filmmaker, MozikMoro slowly transforms into a portrait of connection and self discovery. Between the ordinary and the intimate, Cem captures a world that is both deeply personal and universally human.

It adroitly tells the story of a "counter culture" young man who when his grandfather dies, packs the body in dry ice, and stores him in a Tuff Shed, waiting for the time when advances in modern medicine can bring him back to life. I am not making this up. Then our young men gets deported back to Norway on unrelated charges. Then, quite a while later, people look up and take notice ... "Hey ... there appears to be a frozen dead guy in that shed over there."

Disjointed moments from the filmmakers’ daily lives during the past year. Captured on a 1985 VHS camcorder with color and luminosity distorted by its failing color Newvicon tube. Cut with distorted tape-recorded fragments of nostalgic broadcast television ephemera. Scored by whatever was handy— from an ambient electronic song with a surprising amount of pipe organ (Oneohtrix Point Never - Boring Angel) to midi versions of your favorite SNES soundtrack (Donkey Kong Country – Aquatic Ambience, Opening, and Treetop Rock) to a not-quite-right rendition of a song that will make you want to say “Oh, Angelo, that’s tearing my heart out!” (Xiu Xiu – Falling). A voyeuristic peak at home movies that exist somewhere between soon to be forgotten and forgotten long ago. The occasional dot matrix time stamps in the corner of the footage somehow make it harder to place in time.

An unhinged, diaristic examination of devastating friendship breakups.

Jazz, dreams, and hope. The protagonist of the film is Wiesław Mrzygłód, a musician and artist. He has an extraordinarily positive attitude to the world, life, and music. In the 1980s, together with the Old Dixieland Players, he played at the most important jazz events in Poland and Europe. Despite doctors' opinions, he says, "Someday, I will play again." He refuses to give up. The film was made using analog and combined techniques, based on drawing using oil pastels, prints, and re-filming methods.

A snooze alarm clock cannot wake a sleepy person. The bell of the alarm clock hence becomes a hypnotic trigger. Such an ordinary sound is redefined in our drowsy moments, and we are also liberated from the sounds that condition our lives—queue management systems, electric scooters, air raid drills, and public demonstrations. These sounds are released from the soft soil of our consciousness and grow into a new scene. And we sail with those who cannot be awakened on a boat drifting off course into a new realm projected by frequency. This is a film you can watch with your eyes closed.

A calling inhabits the blank pages, unfolding a secret writing of hers. The unseen written traces seep from the murmuring land, pushing through fragmented voices to become new forms, beings made material. Framed as a dialogue with my grandmother, this film explores an alternative form of personal writing by Chinese women in political shifts, absent and abundant. The 'blank' becomes an image, carrying a search for agency; of land transformed and of women unheard. By breaking down linguistic structures, the film opens a space for imagining, reading, and performing, allowing for emergence.

Dirty Bird, The Derek Hersey Story

A personal essay on the destructive nature of war and the traces left behind by militarism and mandatory military service. Through found footage, the film explores the personal and inherited memories, reflecting how collective pain continues to shape the present. A reflexive exploration of post-memory, where past and present traumas reverberate within the wounds of the system.

A short documentary and character study about a woman's complex relationship with religion and family.

A collection of 8mm film reels from İlhan Mimaroğlu’s archive—once tucked away in whisky boxes—has found new life through art. Curated by director Serdar Kökçeoğlu and producer Dilek Aydın, the project brings together visual artists and musicians to reimagine these long-lost images. Over thirty artists transformed the footage into fifteen distinct audiovisual pieces, blending experimental soundscapes with contemporary video art. The project concludes with a special highlight: the first-ever screening of Mimaroğlu’s silent short film about a street jazz festival, accompanied by Erdem Helvacıoğlu’s dark jazz score.

This short experimental diary film reveals my struggles with mental illness in my adolescence and queer adulthood while simultaneously reflecting upon my joyous childhood experiences. I investigate when and how my depression began and explain that my relationships with the people I love have supported me through my harder times. The film incorporates footage shot over May and June 2023 and archival home videos. Overall, I aim to resolve my "growing pains" through the medium of diary film and by reconnecting with my younger self.

Rummage is an experimental documentary of the legendary rummage sale that takes place in Far Hills, New Jersey every first weekend in May and October.

Fracking the System is a political thriller documentary from the front lines of climate justice activism in Colorado. When a fracking mega-site gets moved from a White neighborhood to a BIPOC neighborhood, a concerned mother fights to try and stop it. This is an investigative exposé about the harms of fracking, the lengths to which the government is complacent with industrial pollution, and the nefarious tactics that the oil and gas industry uses to undermine democratic elections.

A dystopian future that’s ever nearer, Acid City floats in toxic waters and is left to its own devices. But under the boiling sun, the city weaves together its own social fabric. With audio recordings taken off the streets of NYC, this animation offers us something rare in the face of climate catastrophe: hope.

Filmmakers Sam and Amy journey into rural Australia to explore how the legacy of an American legend has transmitted and warped itself over time, and across the globe, resulting in the 30th annual Parkes Elvis Festival.

what was the last dream you had?

What if you went on a holiday and the apocalypse happened?