First Run Film Festival | Tisch School of the Arts, New York University
Dana Hammond and Family
Baby Ruth - Jeremy Reitz
19:00 min
After dropping out of college to support his pregnant girlfriend, a young man reluctantly goes out one winter night to find chocolate to satisfy her craving.
Bad Apples - Paul Langston Kahn
15:00 min
An Arabic linguist transferred to Abu Ghraib, Laura Wilkes struggles to deal with soldiers who treat her variously as a soldier, sister, bitch and slut. When asked to assist in interrogating a detainee, possibly involved in 9/11, Laura must see how far she can go to further her career and serve her country amidst the murky moral boundaries of war.
Benachin - Chloé Zhao
10:00 min
The annual Chinese spring festival dinner gets a little complicated when the family's only son brings home his Senegalese girlfriend.
Birds of a Feather - Gabriel Flaksman
13:00 min
A young slacker who is a caretaker for his pigeon-loving grandmother must try as hard as he can to keep her from being sent to a nursing home, which would ruin his dreams of fleeing to Mexico.
The Birds Upstairs - Christopher Jarvis
8:26 min
Frustrated attempts to bear children overwhelm the lives of an aristocratic, avian couple in the early nineteenth century.
Blacktruffle - Katelyn Howes
15:00 min
Sometime in the 20th century, at the height of the Red Scare, Harold B. is sent to investigate the Myer family for possible communist ties. However, he quickly finds that more than just a case file brought him to the Myer house.
Borderland - Alexander Smolowe
15:00 min
A dramatic exploration of mercy and survival when two American soldiers in WW2 discover their enemy atop a live landmine.
Bowling Balls - John Langan
16:47 min
Two working-class teenagers from New Jersey attempt to steal an unpublished short story by J. D. Salinger from the Princeton University library. Along the way they discover underground passageways, secret societies and the true meaning of Art.
Braid - Chun-Yi Hsieh
15:00 min
Bian Zi (Braid) is a short dramatic narrative addressing themes of loss, endurance and parenthood. Following the accidental death of his wife and recent unemployment, Jie is unable to cope with her absence and the idea of raising his daughter, Ting, in a poor and motherless world. Having decided it is better to end their lives than continue hiding the truth from Ting and living with the pain of his wife's memory, Jie plans to show her the happiest day of her life. After several attempts to be a good father, some more successful than others, Jie must execute the fatal decision he has made in the presence of his daughter.
Breaking the Way - Anya Leta
14:36 min
Traveling from her tranquil ashram into urban India proves a necessary challenge for an American widow.
