The 15th Annual Buffalo International Film Festival starts tonight at the North Park Theatre with the local premiere of Luguna Ave produced by Buffalo Expat Alison Barone. In this charmingly campy, lo-fi sci-fi comedy, a disaffected former musician is drawn into the mysterious and sinister world of his downstairs neighbor.
LAGUNA AVE TRAILER
The Buffalo Int’l Film Festival is excited to announce this year’s lineup and its return to presenting screenings at the North Park Theatre and Burchfield Penney Art Center, as well as virtually via the Eventive digital cinema platform.
BIFF 2021 TRAILER
This year’s festival will again screen over 120 films from 24 countries with a celebration of stellar locally produced films, including an opening night presentation of Catch The Fair One, the Tribeca Film Festival winning thriller filmed in Buffalo with Star Kali Reis and Producer Kimberly Parker presenting the film.
Headlining features include Catch The Fair One, Bitchin’: The Sound and Fury of Rick James, 100 Years From Mississippi, We Burn Like This, Rust Belt Driller, and Bad Attitude: The Art of Spain Rodriguez.
“We look forward to welcoming new and old friends back to BIFF to celebrate our fifteenth anniversary and our official selections. Great storytellers have found innovative ways to stay creative and it has been very exciting to see how filmmakers have adapted to the challenges we’ve collectively faced” said Artistic Director John J. Fink.
Tickets and passes are on sale now at WWW.BUFFALOFILM.ORG including the all-access Bison Pass ($45) and Triptych Virtual (3 virtual screenings for $20). Individual tickets to live screenings with filmmaker Q+As are $12 and virtual screenings are $9.
BIFF Buffalo Rising coverage on Laguna Ave
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SPOTLIGHT FILMS:
Catch the Fair One, Josef Kubota Wladyka (Dir), 85 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Opening Night Gala
Star and co-writer Kali Reis, and Producer Kimberly Parker in attendance.
A boxer retraces the steps of her kid sister in this Western New York lensed revenge thriller. This enthralling exploration of personal justice is simultaneously a meditation on the plight of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) across North America. Starring and co-written (with Wladyka) by Boxing World Champion Kali (KO) Reis. Produced by Oscar-winner Mollye Asher, and Executive Producer Darren Aronofsky and more. An IFC Films release.
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Bitchin’: The Sound of Fury of Rick James, Sacha Jenkins (Dir), 111 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Regional Centerpiece & Special Presentation
Director Sacha Jenkins, and Producer Steve Rivo in attendance.
Legendary funk/R&B icon and lifelong Buffalonian Rick James is the subject of this quintessential introduction to the life and work of this oft misunderstood, musical genius. A kaleidoscopic portrait of the man, the myth and the legend that has you tapping your foot from the opening shot through the end credits. A Showtime Documentary Films release.
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Bad Attitude: The Art of Spain Rodriguez, Susan Stern (Dir), 71 minutes, USA, NY Premiere
Arthouse Centerpiece
Director Susan Stern in attendance.
A loving tribute to the legendary and controversial, Buffalo-raised underground cartoonist and graffiti artist, Spain Rodriguez.
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100 Years From Mississippi, Tarabu Betserai Kirkland (Dir), 60 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
WNY Spotlight
Director Tarabu Betserai Kirkland in attendance.
Fleeing Ellisville, Mississippi in 1915 as her father escaped a lynch mob, Mamie Lang Kirkland resettles and eventually raises her family in Buffalo. In this illuminating oral history directed by her son Tarabu Betserai Kirkland, Mrs Kirkland looks back on a life well lived in the shadow of America’s legacy of racial violence.
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Rust Belt Driller, David R. Williams & Tilke Hill (Dir), 84 minutes, WNY Feature, USA, East Coast Premiere
Late Night Spotlight
Directors David R. Williams and Tilke Hill, and Star and Writer Aaron Krygier in attendance.
An artist (writer Aaron Krygier) spirals into a homicidal rage, turning his studio into a slaughterhouse thanks to his trusty Drillinator 9,000 in this Western New York-filmed bloody valentine to grindhouse classics.
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We Burn Like This, Alana Waksman, (Dir), 81 minutes, USA, NY Premiere
Closing Night Gala
Director Alana Waksman in attendance.
When 22 year-old Rae (Madeleine Coghlan), a descendant of Holocaust survivors, is targeted by Neo-Nazis in Billings, Montana, her ancestors’ trauma becomes tangible.
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BIFF NARRATIVE FEATURES:
IN THE THEATER:
Beans, Tracey Deer (Dir), 92 minutes, Canada, WNY Premiere
Monday October 11–12:30pm, North Park Theatre
Catch the Fair One, Josef Kubota Wladyka (Dir), 85 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Friday October 9, 7:30pm, North Park Theatre
Laguna Ave, David Buchanan (Dir), 80 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Thursday October 7, 9:30pm, North Park Theatre
Landlocked, Timothy Hall (Dir), 81 minutes, USA, NY Premiere
Monday October 11–5:00pm, North Park Theatre
Leda (in 3D), Samuel Tessler IV (Dir), 75 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere — Screening with: This Bank of The River, Shoaib Sultan (Dir), 30 minutes, Pakistan, WNY Premiere
Sunday October 10–12:00pm, Burchfield Penney Art Center
Life After You, Sarah T. Schwab (Dir), 89 minutes, USA, NY Premiere — Screening with: Turning Blue, Dana White & Christopher Knoblock (Dir), 15 minutes, USA, NY Premiere
Sunday October 10–6:30pm, North Park Theatre
My Dead Dad, Fabio Frey (Dir), 90 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Sunday October 10–9:00pm, North Park Theatre
The Laws of the Universe — The Age of Elohim, Isamu Imakake (Dir), 120 minutes, Japan, NY Premiere
Sunday October 10, 11:00am, North Park Theatre
Rust Belt Driller, David R. Williams & Tilke Hill (Dir), 84 minutes, WNY Feature, USA, East Coast Premiere
Saturday October 9–9:45pm, North Park Theatre
We Burn Like This, Alana Waksman, (Dir), 81 minutes, USA, NY Premiere
Monday October 11, 7:00pm, North Park Theatre
ONLINE:
Dynamite Soul Bambi, Takuya Matsumoto (Dir), 105 minutes, Japan, WNY Premiere
Online
Lost, Driss Roukhe (Dir), 125 minutes, Morocco, WNY Premiere
Online
Ludi, Edson Jean (Dir), 79 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Online
Mother’s Day, Travis Carlson (Dir), 125 minutes, WNY Feature, USA, Special Presentation
Online
The Badger, Kazem Mollaie (Dir), 93 minutes, Iran, WNY Premiere
Online
Rage, Alfonso Acosta (Dir), 100 minutes, Colombia, WNY Premiere
Online
Savage Days, David Lanzmann (Dir), 80 minutes, France, WNY Premiere
Online
Semkhor, Aimee Brauah (Dir), 93 minutes, India, NY Premiere
Online
The Daphne Project, Zora Iman Crews & Alec Tibaldi (Dir), 66 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Online
25 Years of Innocence, Jan Holoubek (Dir), 116 minutes, Poland, WNY Premiere
Online
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BIFF DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
IN THE THEATER:
100 Years From Mississippi, Tarabu Betserai Kirkland (Dir), 60 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Sunday October 10, 1:45pm, North Park Theatre
Bad Attitude: The Art of Spain Rodriguez, Susan Stern (Dir), 71 minutes, USA, NY Premiere
Friday October 8, 5:30pm, North Park Theatre
Bitchin’: The Sound of Fury of Rick James, Sacha Jenkins (Dir), 111 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Saturday October 9, 7:00pm, North Park Theatre
Film About a Father Who, Lynne Sachs (Dir), 74 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Saturday October 9, 12:30pm, North Park Theatre
Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust, Ann Kaneko (Dir), 84 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Friday October 8, 2:30pm, North Park Theatre
Now Return Us to Normal, Leslie Koren (Dir), 90 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Saturday October 9, 2:30pm, North Park Theatre
Roy’s World: Barry Gifford’s Chicago, Rob Christopher (Dir), 75 minutes, USA, NY Premiere
Monday October 11–3:00pm, North Park Theatre
Workhorse Queen, Angela Washko (Dir), 88 minutes, USA, Buffalo Premiere
Monday October 11, 9:15pm, North Park Theatre
ONLINE:
High Maintenance — The Life and Work of Dani Karavan, Barak Heymann (Dir), 66 minutes, Israel, WNY Premiere
Online
Making an Exoneree, Rob Dorfmann & Cindy Dorfmann (Dir), 207 minutes, USA, NY Premiere
Online
Missing in Brooks County, Lisa Molomot & Jeff Bemiss (Dir), 80 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Online
Mr. Emancipation : The Walter Perry Story, Preston Chase (Dir), 62 minutes, Canada,
WNY Premiere
Online
No Visible Trauma, Robinder Uppal & Marc Serpa Francoeur (Dir), 98 minutes, Canada, US Premiere –– Screening with: Hello Sunshine, Joe Quint (Dir), 13 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Online
On Our Own Island, Sky Dylan-Robbins & Ellie Dylan (Dir), 82 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Online
Rebel Dykes, Harri Shanahan & Siân A. Williams (Dir), 92 minutes, UK, WNY Premiere
Online
Rez Metal, Ashkan Soltani (Dir), 75 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Online
The Ants & The Grasshopper, Raj Patel & Zak Piper (Dir), 73 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Online
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BIFF SHORTS BLOCKS
IN THE THEATER:
BIFF SHORTS: WNY STORIES
Narratives and documentaries from around the region and around the block. 78 minutes
Sunday October 10, 4:00pm North Park Theatre
“Be Good, Make Me Proud” — the Honorable Arthur O. Eve and the Educational Opportunity Program, Dorothea Braemer & Steve Peraza, 18 minutes, WNY Short Film, USA, World Premiere
City Eyes, Nick Green, 11 minutes, Local Student Short Film, USA, World Premiere
Echo Falls, Aaron Webb, 18 minutes, WNY Short Film, USA, World Premiere
Invisible Niagara, Brett Michael Cox, 14 minutes, WNY, USA, World Premiere
Winter Mourning, Dahee Yun, 17 minutes, Republic of Korea / USA, WNY Premiere
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BIFF SHORTS: GLOBAL DOCUMENTARY
Reel stories from around the world. 66 minutes
Friday October 8, 5:30pm, Burchfield Penney Art Center
From Trash to Treasure: Turning Negatives Into Positives in Lesotho, Iara Lee, 25 minutes, USA/Lesotho, WNY Premiere
Junior, AJ Wilhelm, 11 minutes, USA/Haiti, WNY Premiere
Our Feet Are Rooted, Krista Imbesi, 30 minutes, USA/Uganda, NY Premiere
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BIFF SHORTS: EXPERIMENTAL
Cinematic poetry and essays in pixels and celluloid. 77 minutes
Sunday October 10, 2:15pm, Burchfield Penney Art Center
Action Potential, Caitlin Mary Deibel, 3 minutes, USA, World Premiere
Ancient Sunshine, Jason Livingston, 20 minutes, USA, NY Premiere
Diachrony, Jason Bernagozzi, 4 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Fracture, Laura Kraning, 4 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
the gleaners, and: ritual for signaled bodies, Benjamin Rosenthal & Eric Souther, 9 minutes, USA, Special Presentation
The Lake, Tyler Hubby, 13 minutes, USA, NY Premiere
Probes and Burrows, Barbara K Lattanzi, 4 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Scary Places/Shapes & Sizes, Pamela Falkenberg, Jack Cochran, 6 minutes, USA, NY Premiere
Volcano Rondo, Barbara Lattanzi, 7 minutes, WNY Short Film, USA, World Premiere
The Wind and The Kite, Robert Machoian, Keely Song, 7 minutes, USA, NY Premiere
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BIFF SHORTS: DANGER ZONE
NSFW / OMG / LMFAO flicks… the weirder, wilder sider of BIFF is back. 103 minutes
Friday October 8, 9:45pm North Park Theatre
As I Lie Awake, Benjamin Tomson, 6 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Behind Door Two, Frank Felipe, 5 minutes, USA, NY Premiere
Black Goat: The 6000 Steps (Series Pilot), Davey Robertson, 44 minutes, WNY Short Film, USA, World Premiere
Can’t Help But Run, Pedro Tamames, 11 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
The Mainframe, Courtlin Byrd, 13 minutes, USA, World Premiere
Nuevo Rico, Kristian Mercado, 16 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Toy Terminator, Matt Wisniewski, 7 minutes, WNY Short Film, USA, World Premiere
Where’s Mommy?, Jarek Pulit, 1 minute, USA, World Premiere
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BIFF SHORTS: SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS
A collection of fun family friendly cartoons from Western New York and international creators. 58 minutes
Saturday October 9, 11:00am North Park Theatre
Anthropocene Sketchbook ( version 2), Katy Shepherd, 4 minutes, UK, NY Premiere
Eye of the Terrier, Geoff Roberts, 3 minutes, USA, World Premiere
Fight or Flight, Eileen Hill, 2 minutes, USA, World Premiere
Hobros Train of Pain, Jack Gatto, 5 minutes, USA, World Premiere
Jumbo, Austin Deer, 3 minutes, USA, World Premiere
King’s Game, William Doyle, 3 minutes, USA, World Premiere
Memory Lane, Jessica Ochs, 4 minutes, USA, World Premiere
Mila, Cinzia Angelini, 20 minutes, USA/Canada/Italy, WNY Premiere
Muscle Beach Party of Awesomeness, Kyle Payne, 3 minutes, USA, World Premiere
On / Off, Nicolas P. Villarreal, 7 minutes, Argentina, WNY Premiere
Turtle Bird, Daniel Houghton, 4 minutes, USA, NY Premiere
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BIFF SHORTS: THE UNEXPECTED
Comedies and light documentaries and dramas with a twist. 85 minutes
Saturday October 9, 4:45pm North Park Theatre
FCK (Friends Can’t Kiss), Sarah Young, 24 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
I Am A Unicorn, Natalie Malla, 14 minutes, UK, US Premiere
Swipe, Anthony Sneed, 5 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Welcome to the Dollhouse, Elizabeth Miller-Derstine, 20 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Wives of the Skies, Honey Lauren, 22 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
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BIFF SHORTS: STUDENTS
The next generation of filmmaking, today. 104 minutes.
Saturday October 9, 12:00pm, Burchfield Penny
Amica, Mira Steuer, 2 minutes, Local Student Short Film, USA, World Premiere
Artifact, Durotimi Akinkugbe, 5 minutes Local Student Short Film, Nigeria/USA
World Premiere
BL00D 0F A R0B0T, Abby Mohaddes, 15 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Bond, Simon Yahn, 18 minutes, USA, Buffalo Premiere
Calla Lilies, Aidan Hamell, 19 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
can’t talk, a movie’s on, Anna Evtushenko, 13 minutes, Local Student Short Film, Russia
World Premiere
The Line, Everett Marston, 15 minutes, New Zealand, NY Premiere
Oh No, Aaron Ettestad, 6 minutes, Local Student Short Film, USA, World Premiere
Voice Box, Eamon Kelly, 8 minutes, Local Student Short Film, USA
WNY Premiere
Y2Koncert, Jake Jasie, 9 minutes, Local Student Short Film, USA, World Premiere
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ONLINE:
BIFF SHORTS: RACIAL JUSTICE IN VIEW
A curated program of documentary, experimental, video essays and narratives that shine a light on race, (de)colonialism, and inequity in the United States, Canada and neighboring Indigenous Nations. 84 minutes
Online, Free with RSVP
The Ascendants (Episode 2), Ladan Osman, 9 minutes, USA, Special Presentation
Big Touch, Christopher Tenzis, 3 minutes, USA, NY Premiere
Ego of a Nation, Wes Day, 3 minutes, Canada, Special Presentation
Graffica!, Yogi Dada, 15 minutes, USA, NY Premiere
Hallowed Ground, Catherine Rafferty, 13 minutes, WNY Short Film, USA, Buffalo Premiere
Hustle, Xavier Cousens, 10 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Monologue Harmonic, Yuma Dean Hester, 7 minutes, Canada, Special Presentation
Shoulders Deep, John Fiege, 8 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Superstar, Jordan Hidalgo, 16 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
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BIFF SHORTS: TIME STANDS STILL
A series of shorts making sense of the last year. 116 minutes
Online
Chokablok, Cameron Carver, 19 minutes, UK, NY Premiere
Disappearing Pathways, Michael Covello, Elizabeth Schneider, 13 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Faith, Carol Butrón, 19 minutes, Spain, WNY Premiere
Lilies, Joni Renee Whitworth, 9 minutes, USA, NY Premiere
Ships in the Night, Katherine Bourne Taylor, 12 minutes, USA, NY Premiere
Time Time Ki Baat (A Matter Of Time), Abhiiruchi Lovel Risshi, 18 minutes, India, US Premiere
Tornado Lake, Tiffany Deater, 11 minutes, USA
World Premiere
What If?, Katia Shannon, 15 minutes, UK, NY Premiere
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BIFF SHORTS: INTERVENTIONS + INTERSECTIONS
Films about life changing moments. 109 minutes
Online
Between the Headphones, Matt Colin Evans, 23 minutes, UK, NY Premiere
Feeling Through, Doug Roland, 18 minutes, USA, Special Presentation
Frankie, James Kautz, 11 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Lion on the Mat, Asali Echols, 17 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Moço, Bernardo Lopes, 14 minutes, Portugal, NY Premiere
Paper Gease, Elizabeth Chatelain, 14 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Rottweiler, Jonny Powell, 15 minutes, UK, WNY Premiere
Snorrie (Mustachio), Victoria Warmerdam, 11 minutes, Netherland, NY Premiere
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BIFF SHORTS: GLOBAL NARRATIVES
Films from around the world, brought home. 81 minutes
Online
Brother Troll, Gudmund Helmsdal, 30 minutes, Faroe Islands, US Premiere
Escape From A Good Prison, Erik Jasaň, 10 minutes, Slovakia, NY Premiere
Journey Together (Compagni Di Viaggio), Sara De Martino, 8 minutes, Italy, NY Premiere
Mary, Enma Brenes, 8 minutes, Costa Rica, NY Premiere
The North Lake, Wang Daotian, 12 minutes, China, NY Premiere
Vest, Samir Mallal, 13 minutes, UK, WNY Premiere
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BIFF EPISODIC
A small glimpse at a bigger picture. 96 minutes
Online
Appetite, Stacey Maltin, 13 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
Cary in Retrograde, Priya Domfeh, Philipp Yaw, 28 minutes, USA, NY Premiere
Hudson Falls, Elias Plagianos, 22 minutes, USA, WNY Premiere
MILIZ!, Wouter Wirth, Moritz Adlon, 10 minutes, Germany, NY Premiere
*Please note that all film programs screening in the theaters will have filmmakers in attendance.