Venues include: The North Park Theatre, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center, Burchfield Penney Art Center
The Buffalo International Film Festival (BIFF), a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit film festival serving Western New York, is excited to announce its complete lineup of films this year’s festival – October 10–14, 2019.  In its 13th year, BIFF features many Western New York premieres, and more. This year’s festival showcases 123 feature films, shorts and webisodes from 23 countries, with over 120 film delegates attending from all over the world, including Canada, Denmark, Italy, Japan, Finland, France, Peru and more.
The full lineup, which includes all screenings, confirmed guests, Offscreen events, panels, and parties is available at www.buffalofilm.org/lineup. All access Bison passes are $44.99 and individual screening tickets are $12, with matinee pricing available for select showtimes. BIFF also accepts ASI’s Arts Access Pass, allowing program participants free admission. Offscreen programs are hosted at various festival venues and free to the general public, and panels are free to attend at Buffalo State College on Saturday October 12th.  
For the latest updates, and full descriptions of films, events and attending guest lists, please visit www.buffalofilm.org.
HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
Special Presentation – Malaisia – Thursday, October 10th, 10:00 p.m. North Park
Mac Cappuccino, 126 minutes, Special Presentation, USA

Director Mac Cappuccino in attendance

Buffalo native Mac Cappuccino explores the intoxicating rhythms of city life through a love triangle between an artist (Sarah Baskin), musician (Leonardo Santaiti) and comedian (Josh Nuncio).

Opening Night Gala  –  Friday, October 11, 7:30 p.m.  – North Park
·      A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader Problem(Director Yu Gu in attendance
A deep dive into the NFL cheerleaders’ recent fight for fair wages and workplace equality. WNY Premiere. 
Closing Night Gala – Monday, October 14, 7pm – North Park

·       Crown Vic(Producer Anjul Nigam in attendance)

A jaded LAPD veteran cop (Thomas Jane) supervises a rookie’s (Luke Kleintank) wild first night on the streets in Joel Souza’s chilling police procedural filmed in Western New York. Bridget Moynahan, Greg Bello and David Krumholtz co-star. WNY Premiere. 


Postcolonial Spotlight
– Monday October 14, 5pm – North Park

·       The Condor & The Eagle(Director Clement Guerra in attendance.

Four Indigenous environmental leaders embark on an extraordinary transcontinental adventure from the Canadian plains to deep into the heart of the Amazonian jungle – to unite the peoples of North and South America and deepen the meaning of “climate justice.”
WNY Premiere. 
City Centerpiece – Saturday October 12, 7:15pm – North Park
·      The True Adventures of Wolfboy 

Jaeden Martell plays a 13-year-old social outcast on his quest to find his estranged mother. Co-starring Sophie Ghttps://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/70362161_10157500033939395_5733822949803163648_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&_nc_oc=AQmhLNPfWfpTdlyoFFIeMdL2Fa0FgaDXNOIYxn3TQ1jZtAZFvdSLdDTyUbbeY2Fl7A8&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-1.xx&oh=ae8e16df5801e2857f99294c758042aa&oe=5DF44CB3iannamore, Eve Hewsen, Chloë Sevigny, John Turturro and Chris Messina.

WNY Premiere. (Principals expected, not yet confirmed)
WNY Centerpiece – Saturday October 12, 9:45pm – North Park
·       Clover (Director Jon Abrahams, Actress Nicole Elizabeth Berger & Producer Rich Guay in attendance

In this Buffalo made crime thriller, Abrahams stars with Mark Webber as a pair of unlucky brothers on the run from a notorious mob boss (Chazz Palminteri). Co-starring Erika Christensen, Nicole Elizabeth Berger, Julia Jones, and Ron Perlman. WNY Premiere. 
Second Friday Special Event – Friday October 11, 7pm – Burchfield Penney (Free Admission)

·      
JJ Lankes: Yankee Printmaker in Virginia (Director Eduardo Montes-Bradley in attendance)

About Buffalo native and woodcut master printmaker JJ Lankes – exploring his life between World War I and II, as Lankes becomes a social advocate in the South during a period of heightened industrialization.
World Premiere. 
Festival FavoritesAlice Cooper – Live From The Astroturf (Director Steve Gaddis in attendance), Decade of Fire (Director Vivian Vasequez in attendance), Fooseballers(Director Joesph Heslinga in attendance), Frances Ferguson,The Garden Left Behind, Go Back to China, My Summer as Goth(Director Tara Johnson-Medinger in attendance), Pacarette, Recorder: TheMarion Stokes Story, Schemers, Spiral Farm, Surviving Lunch (Director KT Curran in attendance), Unsettled: Seeking Refuge in America, Working Man(Director Robert Jury in attendance). All Western New York Premieres.
Local ConnectionsBuffaloed(Screenwriter and Co-star Brian Sacca in attendance),I Am Human(Director Elena Gaby & Cinematographer Joel Froome in attendance), The Fan Connection (Director Mary Wall & Producer Eric Wojtanik in attendance) , plus BIFF Shorts blocks with directors in attendance from Local Youth, Students, WNY Stories, Experimental, and more! All Western New York Premieres.
FEATURE FILMS
Studio of the Streets: Documentary Features
(Named for Tony Conrad’s public access series)
Alice Cooper – Live from the Astroturf, directed by Steven Gaddis (USA)
Decade of Fire, directed by Vivian Vazquez and Gretchen Hildebran (USA)
Dosed, directed by Tyler Chandler (USA / Canada)
The Fan Connection, directed by Mary Wall (USA)
Float, directed by Phil Kibbe (USA)
Foosballers, directed by Joe Heslinga (USA)
I Am Human, directed by Tarynn Southern and Elena Gaby (USA)
King Bibi, directed by Dan Shadur (USA / Israel)
Koi, directed by Lorenzo Squarcia (Italy / Japan)
The Other Side of Mars, directed by Minna Långström (Finland)
Ovacik, directed by Aysegul Selenga Taskent (Turkey)
Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project, directed by Matt Wolf (USA)
Unsettled: Seeking Refuge in America, directed by Tom Shepard (USA)
Global Narratives
Alive, directed by Michael Siebert (Germany)
The Butler, directed by Filip Bajon (Poland)
Nose to Tail, directed by Jesse Zigelstein (Canada)
Online Billie, directed by Lou Assous (France)
Pacarrete, directed by Allan Deberton (Brazil)
Playing Hard, directed by Kinga Dębska (Poland)
Schemers, directed by Dave Mclean (Scotland)
Domestic Narratives
Buffaloed, directed by Tanya Wexler
Frances Ferguson, directed by Bob Byington
The Garden Left Behind, directed by Flavio Alves
Go Back to China, directed by Emily Ting
My Summer as a Goth, directed by Tara Johnson-Medinger
Rendezvous in Chicago, directed by Michael Glover Smith
Spiral Farm, directed by Alec Tibaldi
Surviving Lunch, directed by Kt Curran
The Sympathy Card, directed by Brendan Boogie
Vanilla, directed by Will Dennis
Working Man, directed by Robert Jury 
SHORTS & EPISODICS
·      BIFF Episodic – Comedic and dramatic short form, multi-arch storytelling. 
Good Mourning, directed by Kelsey Claire
Fakers, directed by Ryan DeNardo & Thaddeus McCants
False Advertising, directed by Nick Porreca
To The Madness, directed by Kyle Mosonyi
M, directed by Javier Devitt (USA/Argentina)
·      Local Youth – Curated by Squeaky Wheel students, this program features family friendly works from makers under age 18 (Free Admission)
The Happy Couple, directed by Joshua Stead-Dorval
Noel’s Spaceship, directed by Sabrina Pena Young
Insomnia, directed by Xinyan Shen
Norm and Elsie, directed by Andrina Kirst
Lana Turner and Frank O’hara, directed by Andrina Kirst 
The Interview, directed by Aleesha Chandhok
Art Film, directed by Jade Spencer 
To Dance, directed by Anna Rozic
Not 4 Nothing: But 4 Something, directed by Sergey Joseph
Bye, directed by Liam S. Rodriguez 
Flint II, directed by Breanna Roberts
The Importance of Hands, directed by Sumaili Shamu
Himbesha, directed by Kisanet Hadish & Haben Berhe
Magnificent Machine, directed by Dominique Scruggs
·      Global – International narratives from Austria, Spain, Japan, Denmark, and Croatia. 
Mama, directed by Simon Maria Kubiena (Austria)
Your Last Day on Earth, directed by Marc Martinez Jordan (Spain)
Clay, directed by Leonard Raaf (Denmark)
In The Name of the Strawberry, Chocolate, and the Holy Spirit, directed by Karla Lulic (Croatia)
Fishing with Father, directed by Shigeru Hirai (Japan)
·      Influence Operations – Comedies, dramas and thrillers about role models, muses and social media influencers.
Westfalia, directed by Haley Finnegan
The Derailers, directed by Joe Bartone
Piu Piu, directed by Naima Ramos-Chapman
How To Be Alone, directed by Kate Trefy 
This Little Death, directed by Alex Hardy (UK)
·      Experimental – Cinematic poetry and essays in pixels and celluloid.
Fires of Agbogbloshie, directed by Nicolas Siegenthaler (Switzerland/Ghana)
Las Breas, directed by Laura Kraning and Blue Kraning
Dynomite, directed by Leila Jarman 
In West Virginia, directed by Pamela Falkenberg & Jack Cochran 
Post Election Works, directed by Kate Haug
Second Breath, directed by Jean-Philippe Nadeau-Marcoux & Maxime Laurin (Canada)
We Were Hardly More Than Children, directed by Cecila Condit 
·      Danger Zone  – NSFW meets WTF in our signature collection of late night shorts.
Chowboys: An American Folktale, directed by Astron-6 (Canada)
Kill, directed by Quentin Goubadia
To Have and To Hold, directed by Travis Carlson
Boo, directed by Rakefet Abergel
Beachworld, directed by Jackie Perez
Still Watching, directed by Nick Green
It’s Not Custard, directed by Kate McCoid (UK)
Re-Rehab, directed by Daniel Kim 
·      Students – Narrative, animated and documentary films celebrating emerging voices from around the region.
Apple of the Mind’s Eye, directed by Kate Quesada
Fresh Air, directed by Lucas Santos
Improv, directed by Addie Kopsidas
Big Durian, Big Apple, directed by Azalia Muchransyah 
Him!, directed by Tien Nguyen 
Milton Goes To Work, directed by Alexis Mele 
Ringworm, directed by Kali Croisdale
The Trees That Grew Apart, directed by Katherine Kittler
For Whom, directed by Alexa Rusin
Lilith, directed by Erofili Moraiti 
When Father Went Biking, directed by Zuko Garagic
Yes I’m A Feminist, directed by Dahee Yun 
·      WNY Stories – Work by Western New York storytellers.
“A” My Name Is, directed by Sarah T. Schwab
Active Voices: Gun Reform Activism in Rochester, NY, directed by Jermy Sarachan 
Memories of the Future, directed by Stephen Graham 
Rose Dies Friday, directed by Annette Daniels Taylor
The Last Adjunct, directed by Dorthea Braemer 
Distant Stars, directed by Emily Fisher
·      Change-makers – Intimate documentary portraits.
St. Louis Superman, directed by Smriti Mundhra & Sami Khan 
Haven, directed by Colin Askey 
Honey West: The Gloria Fickering Story, directed by Laura Varela 
Selling Lies, directed by Leslie Iwerks 
·      Life & Times – Captivating slices of life from exciting cinematic voices. 
Ha:Na, directed by Isaadora Verissimo
Suncatcher, directed by Parker Craft 
Girl Steals Painting, directed by Alexander Jeffrey
Last Dream Before Sunrise, directed by Tom Albanese
Metronome (In Time), directed by Scott Floyd Lochmus
Grace, directed by Alexia Oldini 
Elephantbird, directed by Masoud Soheili (Afghanistan/Iran)
Liam and May, directed by Keith Murphy (Canada)
·      BIFF Shorts Before the Feature – Short films screening with select feature films
Lolo, directed by Leandro Goddinho and Paulo Menezes (Germany)
Freedom, directed by Felipe Espinosa (Spain)
Children of Spring, directed by Dusan Solomun (Germany)
Hope Served Fresh: Recovery Friendly Employment, directed by Jessica Vecchione
This Happened to You, directed by Ana Maria Estrada (Peru)
Welcome to Ball, directed by Adam Vincent Wright
The Cunning Man, directed by Zoe Dobson (UK)
Parkland: Stories from the Survivors, directed by Lucca Vieira
Jones, directed by Stacey Maltin
“This year’s festival highlights the amazing work our local film industry is doing to bring a dynamic range of films to life. Our 2019 festival also deepens our commitment to inclusivity and our community both on and off screen.” Festival Director, Tilke Hill
“This year’s festival is full of captivating and anticipated films that highlight diverse voices that are reflective of the Western New York region, while also showcasing exciting global and domestic filmmaking. We invite everyone to join us this year for a celebration of great fiction, nonfiction, experimental and episodic storytelling”  – John J. Fink, BIFF Artistic Director 
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Buffalo International Film Festival (est. 2006) champions regional, national, and international films that push the limits of independent cinema – presenting quality films from around the world to WNY residents and visitors. BIFF is committed to amplifying diverse voices and exhibiting cutting-edge programming in narrative, documentary and experimental film. A proud supporter of local filmmaking, BIFF also offers workshops, seminars, industry panel discussions, fiscal sponsorship and professional development opportunities.  Our Core values include: Artistry, Community Collaboration, Education & Engagement, and Diversity & Inclusion – We celebrate the diversity of our community through programming and community partnerships that reflect and represent the rich and eclectic cultural fabric of WNY.
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Press Contact: John Fink, Artistic Director – john@buffalofilm.org



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