FILM FEST PETALUMA

April 27, 2024, Mystic Theatre

Film Fest Petaluma returns to the historic Mystic Theatre with its 16th annual showcase of the best short films from around the world. Filmmakers will be in conversation at all four programs (12, 3, 7, & 10). Patrons can make a day of the fest with a $40 Shorts Pass or purchase tickets to individual shows. 

SATURDAY MATINEE SHORTS - 12pm

GUIDING LIGHT

India Anne Mitchell, USA, 5 minutes

An inspired young filmmaker weaves together past and present as she looks back on the legacy of the Polly Klaas tragedy that rocked the nation. Awarded Best of Fest at the Sonoma County Student Film Festival.

WRITTEN IN THE STARS

Vincent Gallagher, Ireland, 15 minutes

Sean, a 9-year-old neurodivergent boy, faces a multitude of challenges when he decides to audition for his school play in this inspiring tale about defying the odds and overcoming one’s limitations. 

CRARYLAKE BOATS AND FLOATS

Emily Berge & Spencer Thielmann, USA, 10 minutes

An apathetic employee must deal with unpredictable customers, mixed messages, and post-summer vibes in a dreary boat rental hot dog shop.

THE BIRD RESCUE CENTER

Derek Knowles, USA, 13 minutes

Local filmmaker Derek Knowles profiles the extraordinary rehabilitation efforts of Santa Rosa’s Bird Rescue Center, a place where dedicated volunteers strive to give injured birds a second flight.  

TENNIS, ORANGES

Sean Pecknold, USA, 11 minutes

In this dazzling stop-motion stunner, a robotic vacuum suffering from burnout quits its job and sets out to make a difference in the world.

CLOSING DYNASTY

Lloyd Lee Choi, USA, 17 minutes

On a school day, Queenie, a scheming seven-year-old, hustles her way through New York City with the hope of making a buck. Awarded Best Short Film at the Berlin International Film Festival.

VOICE EVER

Pauline Archange & Céline Perréard, France, 15 minutes

In this intimate and futuristic story, four singles attempt to connect on Voice Ever, a dating app where you choose your date solely based on someone’s voice. Official selection at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

MOVEMENT

Valentine Moser, Switzerland, 8 minutes

With a minimalistic aesthetic, a rhythmic cutting pattern, and exquisite stop-motion animation, Valentine Moser examines how the monotony of everyday life can stifle the human spirit. 

DONKEY

Matt Kazman, USA, 16 minutes

While dressed as a beloved animated character, a struggling actor receives a call that leaves him feeling ogre-whelmed. Audience Award Winner at the Seattle International Film Festival.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON SHORTS - 3:00pm

FORGET ME NOT FARM

Juliya Lubin & Pamela Kennemore, USA, 6 minutes

Meet the caring crew behind Forget Me Not Farm, a Sonoma County non-profit that provides a safe haven for at-risk youth to heal and grow. Awarded Best of Fest at the Sonoma County Student Film Festival.

TWENTY

Jason Hogan, UK, 16 minutes

Emily, a homeless ballet dancer, struggles to make a better life for herself by auditioning for a professional company in this hard-hitting UK drama about living life on the edge.

BOB'S FUNERAL

Jack Dunphy, USA, 19 minutes

In this deeply personal post-modern documentary, filmmaker Jack Dunphy uses humor, animation, and old home movie footage in his quest to uncover the source of generational dysfunction in his family. Winner of the Nonfiction Jury Prize at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

A DAY IN FEBRUARY

Klaas Diersmann, UK, 7 minutes

Galyna works in Poland to support her family in Ukraine but when the war breaks out with Russia, keeping the family together may be beyond her reach. 

HUNKY DORY

Steven Vander Meer, USA, 6 minutes

Northern California artist Steven Vander Meer offers up meticulous hand-drawn animations of animals moving and morphing to the banjo music of Béla Fleck in My Bluegrass Heart.

GROUP C

Imran J. Khan, USA, 17 minutes

A downtrodden man finds renewed hope and confidence when he joins a mysterious group of supportive strangers that engages in unconventional preschool activities.

PIG

Jorn Leeuwerink, Netherlands, 8 minutes

In this cautionary tale about energy consumption, Dutch animator Jorn Leeuwerink satirizes our insatiable appetite for power and the consequences of living beyond our means. 

THE MASTERPIECE

Àlex Lora Cercos, Spain, 20 minutes

Wealthy couple Leo and Diana encounter scrap dealers Salif and Yousef at the local recycle center and invite them to their home with the promise of more junk, but each person’s intentions grow murkier when the value of an item is called into question. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

ALL TIED UP

Matt Klug & Blake Bogosian, USA, 6 minutes

Armand Carr, founder of the youth nonprofit All Tied Up, teaches young men in Oakland how to be gentlemen in this short doc about empowering youth to recognize their self-worth.

WORLD SHORTS SHOWCASE - 7:00pm

DANNY

Colin Miller, USA, 10 minutes

During a chance encounter at a train station, Danny, a little person, forms an instant connection with an intriguing woman at his stop. Awarded Best of Fest at the Sonoma County Student Film Festival.

SLOW LIGHT

Przemyslaw Adamski & Katarzyna Kijek, Poland, 11 minutes

In this thought-provoking exploration of memory and time, a man with very dense eyes must live his life only being able to see seven years into the past. Audience Award Winner at the London International Animation Festival.

WILDMEN OF THE GREATER TORONTO AREA

Solmund MacPherson, Canada, 12 minutes

In response to the suffocating cost of living, the fed-up citizens of Toronto begin renouncing their personhood en masse to legally become animals, forming a society of “Wildmen” in the city’s vast ravine network.

WE HAVE HOMELAND

Mikel Garrido, Venezuela/Spain, 21 minutes

During a national blackout in Venezuela, an incubator keeping a premature baby alive is left without electricity. Amid the chaos and darkness, one desperate father will do whatever it takes to save his family. 

THEN COMES THE BODY

Jacob Krupnick, Nigeria/USA, 14 minutes

An unusual ballet school in Lagos, Nigeria, receives international attention when a video of children dancing in the rain goes viral. Official Selection of the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival.

SPRING ROLL DREAM

Mai Vu, UK, 9 minutes

Linh is an expat who has forged a new life for herself and her son in America. But when her father visits from Vietnam and insists on cooking spring rolls, she is forced to reconcile the past and present. Mai Vu mixes fantasy and reality in this beautifully realized stop-motion short.

YELLOW

Elham Ehsas, Afghanistan/UK, 13 minutes

In Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, a woman, anxious about her country’s uncertain future, walks into a chadari store in Kabul to buy her first burqa. Nominated for Best Short Film at the British Academy Awards.

NOODLES FOREVER

McKinley Carlin, USA, 12 minutes

Comedy and despair collide when Phil, a hapless father, has a terrible accident on the way to his daughter’s birthday party. And that’s just the beginning of this twisted day.

LATE NIGHT SHORTS - 10:00pm

CRAIG'S LIST

Logan Mathew Witthaus, USA, 9 minutes

A struggling college student decides to buy a cheap textbook online so she can pass her class, but she may end up paying for it in more ways than she expected. Awarded Best of Fest at the Sonoma County Student Film Festival.

FLAIL

Ben Gauthier, USA, 13 minutes

Plagued by an endless stream of distractions and diversions, Allie, a personal assistant frantically preparing for her boss’s birthday party, ends up with far more on her plate than just a slice of cake.

& YET HERE WE ARE...

Andy Clay Huey, USA, 5 minutes

A couple sitting on the deck of a ferry and holding each other in the sea breeze is the inspiration for this gorgeously-designed stop motion meditation on love and the passage of time by local filmmaker and festival alum Andy Huey.

MONOCHROME

Cédric Prévost, France, 14 minutes

After months of a long-distance relationship via an online dating site, Thomas finally asks Marie to meet in person. But, before she agrees, Marie delivers one final shocking revelation.  

NO BEDROOM

Ryan Leedu, Canada, 12 minutes

A young woman entertains prospective tenants for her one-bedroom apartment in this revealing short about the challenges of making personal connections.

THE LAST BRUNCH

Jim Cummings, USA, 12 minutes

Prolific shorts director Jim Cummings delivers another cringe-inducing comedy when a typical brunch between two couples is derailed by a series of unexpected text messages.

BUG DINER

Phoebe Jane Hart, USA, 7 minutes

Secrets and sex are on the menu in a debaucherous diner where insects and animals let their desires run wild. Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

ROOM FOR ONE MORE

Jesse Vogelaar, Australia, 7 minutes

When an entire house collapses on Alex, he must decide whether to use his final moments to reconnect with his loved ones or pitch his brilliant short film idea to his old pal Bruno.

LA PURSÉ

Gabriel Nóbrega & Lucas René, Brazil, 9 minutes

All is fair in love and war, and no one believes this more than taxidermist Mr. Badu as he attempts to woo his cat-loving neighbor through an unusual courtship.