Shorts Program

Saturday, May 6th @ 12pm - Gene Siskel Film Center

Runtime 85 min.

With in-person/Zoom Q&A with Tanita Rahmani, Dea Gjinovci, Marquise Mays, Hao Zhou, Swetha Regunathan, Amber Love, and Nevo Shinaar.

With stories of music, politics, ice cream, and friendship, this collection of eight breakout shorts showcases the work of local and international voices. Films include Meredith Moore’s Margie Soudek's Salt and Pepper Shakers, about an artist connecting with her grandmother; Tanita Rahmani and Dea Gjinovci’s Dust Away, an immersive animated look at the immigrant experience; Marquise Mays’ Black Strings, a profile of Milwaukee’s African American string orchestra; Hao Zhou’s Here, Hopefully, about a Chinese nonbinary aspiring nurse in Iowa; Tanya Holm’s Twerk for Yemen, an encounter with Swedish people’s thoughts on the war in Yemen; Swetha Regunathan’s poetic glassblowing portrait Before it Breaks; Amber Love’s Lifetimes, which chronicles four generations of Black community leaders in the Midwest; and Ashley Brandon’s I Scream, You Scream, about a former DJ looking to reconnect with this son. 

BLACK STRINGS
Marquise Mays
12 mins, USA

The Black String Triage Ensemble, an all-African American string orchestra in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, performs on the scene in the immediate aftermath of incidents of gun violence, altering the notion of “first responders.” In a city with such a troubled relationship with violence, can this ensemble transform the traumatized public space into a place of recovery, healing and hope? 

BEFORE IT BREAKS
Swetha Regunathan 
7 mins, USA

The dance and alchemy between the choreography of glassblowing and the connection to the human form.

LIFETIMES
Amber Love
14 mins, USA

LIFETIMES looks at the practical and emotional labor of fighting for racial equity long-term through a portrait of one family, encompassing four generations of Black community leaders in Lansing, MI. 

DUST AWAY
Tanita Rahmani, Dea Gjinovci
12 mins, United States, Indonesia, Switzerland

Dust Away immerses the viewer in the experiences of its protagonists, from longing for the children they left behind and the nature in their birthplaces, to the devastation of Ground Zero and the medication they now take. 

TWERK FOR YEMEN
Tanja Holm
10 mins, Sweden 

A documentary filmmaker follows in Lena Nyman's footsteps and asks the people in a Swedish city what they should do about the war in Yemen. The reactions she encounters and the answers she receives are at the same time deeply distressing and unabashedly entertaining. 

I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM
Ashley Brandon
9 mins, USA

An ice cream man with a DJing past sets out to rekindle a dream and to reconnect with his son – and creates a banger of a beat along the way.

HERE HOPEFULLY
Hao Zhou
11 mins, USA

Zee, a non-binary aspiring nurse from China, strives to create a gender affirming life in Iowa. After graduating from nursing school, Zee works tirelessly to pass the national licensure exam in hopes of obtaining a work visa.

MARGIE SOUDEK’S SALT AND PEPPER SHAKERS
Meredith Moore
12 mins, USA

An artist and visual effects instructor connects with her aging grandmother, Margie, through collecting, art-making, and obsessing as a way to enhance reality.