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.

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