American Cinematheque’s Proof Film Festival Sets 2nd Annual Dates With 46 Shorts

A series of 46 proof-of-concept Short films from upcoming directors worldwide was unveiled by the American Cinematheque for its second annual Proof Film Festival on Thursday. 
 
It exclusively concerns the selection of the shorts to be shown during the fest, which is scheduled for Oct. 18-20. 

This year, the Proof Film Fest will also collaborate with Callo to connect certain festival filmmakers with potential backers who will be able to further the development of the filmmakers’ work from the proof of concept pieces that make up the fest. 
 
It also needs to be mentioned about the Pitch Deck Show & Tell – a engaging section which took place on the 20th of October where six out of the filmmakers get to pitch their project to a panel of film industry individuals. Thus, the grand prize winner and runner-up will have to wait for the close of the film festival during the award show. 
 
“We knew after such a great success that was the first edition of Proof that we wanted even more partners and more tools to give our filmmakers improved experience and to make more opportunities and more exits for them,” Imani Davis, the film programmer at American Cinematheque the proof film festival’s founder said. “Of course, it is fantastic to screen these wonderfully creative and entertaining projects on the big screen, but that is only one aspect of what an event like ours can, in order for each of them to take the next step in their artistic careers. 
 
For more information on Proof Film Festival, check American Cinematheque Website. com. 
 
The full list of the 2024 Proof Film Festival official selection shorts can be seen with running info and synopses below:The full list of the 2024 Proof Film Festival official selection shorts can be seen with running info and synopses below: 
 
“A Family Guide to Hunting”. 
 
Director: Zao Wang 
 
Country: USA; Running Time: 14:07 minutes 
 
“A Family Guide to Hunting” is a black comedy where a Asian-American family goes hunting and things go terribly wrong. The wilderness raises the stakes on their weird yet relatable family drama , as well as Asian-American overachieving, romance and rebellion against their elders. 
 
“Alma Mater “ 
 
Director: Matthew P. Higgins 
 
Country: United States; Length: |05:40| 
 
Arthur, a man in his 30s is flipping through the pages of a high school yearbook of the year 1973 belonged to his late father. The caller is fully aware that Arthur is reading the yearbook—and instructs him to take it and burn it. The reason: a teacher from the high school killed friends nad classmates. Every yearbook that has ever been created in the student body was to be burned … or so the plan was. It escalates to the climax when a dark shadowy figure springs out from behind and stands behind Arthur. 
 
“Bathroom Attendant” 
 
Director: Gabriella Mykal 
 
Country: USA; Duration: five minutes, twenty one seconds 
 
Two Black women check their mirror wearing sunglasses in a club washroom. 
 
“The Bluest Hour” 
 
Director: Logan Jackson 
 
Country: USA; Duration of the videos: 14:28 minutes 
 
The focal characters of a new film are a young couple who struggles with the consequences of a complicated birth of a child in the first night after becoming parents. 
 
“Brain Freeze” 
 
Director: Kelsey Comeau 
 
Country: US of A; Duration: 14:36 mins 
 
Meeting two former best friends – Carrie played by Sofia Hublitz from the famous series about the Ozarks and Rae, the talented Madison Hu from the Brothers Sun and Boogeyman – in a moment when their friendship fails. Now residing in a relatively safe bubble in Northern New Jersey, and after the events of the series that took place at the end of the summer before, the friends are at their wit’s end on Rae’s birthday. Meeting each other years later, in the queer wonderland that is Fire Island Pines the friends are not the same anymore. Dealing with themes of adulthood, queer identity, female friendship and mortality, “Brain Freeze” tackles two formative moments in adolescence otherwise overlooked: the friends that are lost. 
 
“Broken Toilets” 
 
Director: Jesse Toledano 
 
Country: United States of America; Duration of the video: 22:35 
 
When a Hasidic property manager’s tenant is an aspiring hip-hop producer, he decides to make a music with her for she brings out the zeal he needs in order to remain active in music to avoid relapsing and falling back to a miserable marriage, unhappiness, andHasidic way of life. 
 
“The Captives” 
 
Director: Talia Light Rake 
 
Country: USA; Duration of the video: 13:30 
 
Jolie, a Juilliard graduate has been brought home by her mother, Emmilene who had been diagnosed with cancer on which Jolie decides to start hitching. Ten years later, when her life seems to be on pause, her mother’s health is fading, and a familiar lover reappears in her life, Emmilene challenges Jolie to put a label on herself where she has no place to hide and has to figure out who she is and who she is destined to be. 
 
“Carpeteo” 
 
Director: Adriana González-Vega 
 
Country: from Puerto Rico; Duration: 9:33 
 
The story is based on psychological suspense and real Puerto Rican history events. During a period of civil unrest in the 1970’s at the University of Puerto Rico, the main character struggles to maintain her political loyalty as she gets engulfed in the existing political radicalism while struggling with her complex relationship with her political activist brother and rushing to discover who she truly is deep down. 
 
“Classmates” 
 
Director: Major Dorfman 
 
Country: USA; 18: 57 minutes 
 
Billy leaves Codie to go to school for a school assignment and is to be picked by classmate Shane. The boys start with the task given to them, but as can be expected, Codie forces Shane into taking his mom’s car for a spin. While plotting for the company party, Codie then finds out that Shane has been living in the car with his mom. They go driving around a field and inevitably the car ends up stuck in a ditch. The boys aprk and Codie runs away leaving the place messy. 
 
“Computer Love” 
 
Director: Joseph Picozzi 
 
Country: United States; Video Length: 15 minutes and 25 seconds 
 
This is the year 2100; Quinn is a young girl who is innocent but full of vices; she cheats on her boyfriend whom she meets through an app dedicated to dating with the help of a Michael, a new robot houseboy employed by her family. They soon develop affection and start day dreaming of eloping together. After he and Misty Davies are found making out by the latter’s parents, the latter says that they’re going to turn Michael in to get a newer model. The protagonist, Quinn, finally has this life questioning moment where she has to choose between love with a machine, and leaving her family and everything she knows. 
 
“Cousins” 
 
Director: Karina Dandashi 
 
Country: USA; Duration of video: 13 minutes 
 
Two cousins originally from two different countries meet up in Brooklyn and a get away from an ex only adds to the craziness of the night. “Cousins” depicts cultural discordance between the relatives and one’s self, as well as a search for an identity.

“(Dis)Connected” 
 
Director: Karl Stelter 
 
Country: America; video duration: 6 minutes 32 seconds 
 
2071 – When Mina’s neural path is disrupted by a network glitch, several contradictory memories appear and she pleads with a hacker (Cole) to take a standardized implant out of her neck. Failing the diagnosis, Mina discloses that she had erased the memory of her daughter’s death with the implant and needs help to face her loss. 
 
“Enter By Fire” 
 
Director: Luke Wildwood 
 
Country: United States of America; Duration of Work: 13 minutes and 26 seconds 
 
A woman, taking a picture alone, sees something evil behind her in the photo, which lowers her into a fire of madness. 
 
“F*ck That Guy” 
 
Director: Hanna Gray Organschi 
 
Country: United States; Length: 17 min 23 s 
 
1992 Connecticut. Craving to remain as the eye-catching friend of a highly attractive and developed older best friend, Frankie decides to participate in taking sexual relations lightly. 
 
“Fishers of Men” 
 
Director: Chris Capel 
 
Country: USA; Duration of programme: 20 minutes and 7 seconds 
 
This movie shows a young Mormon missionary in the beginning of his mission of two years showing his trainer whose character learns about his own failure. 
 
“Fishmonger” 
 
Director:Neil Ferron 
 
Country: USA; Duration of the film: 23 minutes. 
 
Ireland: A pathetic middle aged fishmonger has to copulate with a naked fish in order to save his sick and obscene mother from going to hell. 
 
“Flattened” 
 
Directors: Julia Friedland Godfrey co-written by Will Abbot 

Country: United States of America; Duration: 11:25 
 
Two girls growing up in pleasant-sounding Ohio, attempt to have a nice day. 
 
“Good Grief” 
 
Director: Megan Chumbley 
 
Country: USA; Total time: 11 minutes and 57 seconds 
 
Good Grief is a drama, in fact, a dark comedy where the story unfolds in Salt Lake City Utah specifically in a Mormon Mortuary. The viewers are introduced to the main character, Avery, who turns out to be a daughter of the deceased and witness the main characters’ self-ordained dramas. Desensitized to her emotions, Avery’s search for affiliation with her deceased father only simplifies courtesy of her annoying cousin triggers the sparks of even more enormous issues that was hiding behind the background. 
 
“Grown” 
 
Director: Alfonso Elkanah Morgan-Terrero 
 
Country: USA; Running Time; 9minutes 5seconds 
 
Since their mother is away for the last three days, it becomes the responsibility of Emmanuel to go and fetch his younger brother from school. It is on their way home one evening, Alex’s stubbornness not to listen to his elder’s puts them on a path that changes their lives. 
 
“Hema” 
 
Director: Ritvik Dhavale 
 
Country: America; Length: 16 mins 25 secs 
 
Hema is a young Indian woman who has recently moved to America with her husband and her son; she is cultural alien and she needs to adapt a role that has never been assigned to her: that of the dependent mother. Even her precarious life is at risk following an interaction with a young Marathi man. 
 
“Henry Gets a Shot” 
 
Director: Brendan Kirk 
 
Country: USA; Play time: 9:21 
 
Fed up with Henry and his newly-gained teenager’s habits, Danny becomes annoyed with his roommate sleeping all around the apartment. Again even if this is the friend’s child, there are times one has to set the record straight. Karlo needs to employ someone so Henry should go and ask Karlo if there is a job vacancy at the pizzeria. 
 
“Hypocrite” 
 
Director: Brett Maline 
 
Country: USA; Length: 11:05 minister 
 
A clumsy and disabled man in his thirties in a job recruiter position is always torn between rejecting the additional attention due to his disability status and seizing it. He as such means that you have to learn to be a little thankful for what you have when perhaps in second grade, someone was driven to hammer a titanium rod and eight screws in your back, no? Thus, while he is coaching his clients on how to be the best version of themselves, he himself drinks and drive wild, as he quenches into people’s misguided ideas about him. 
 
“Iron Lung” 
 
Director: Andrew Reid 
 
Country: United States of America; Duration of this video: 12 minutes and 20 seconds 
 
In the storm, the caretaker sister and a polio survivor face a desperate race to come up with a way of providing her with electricity to breathe under what she refers to as her iron lung. 
 
“Jackpot” 
 
Director: Chance Thomas Garcia 
 
Country: United States of America; Duration: 9 minutes and 34 seconds 
 
“Jackpot” is set in future that is retrofuturistic with refferences to vintage American television. It starts with the basic setting of a family consisting of the father, the mother and the son eating dinner where the state’s show – a lottery game – is on in the background. The action of the game takes its mortal serious tone when a man in a suit comes to the front door and blows away the father. This is evident when the official offers the son a check, he intentionally used his father’s name when jeopardizing his life to get the deadly jackpot. 
 
“Loveland” 
 
Director: Sofia Bonami 
 
Country: United States of America; Duration of the video: 11:00 minutes 
 
When a woman mysteriously disappears from the production of America’s favorite dating show “Loveland,” one contestant becomes obsessed with uncovering what happened to her — jeopardizing the one thing she came for: fairy tale ending or the ‘happily ever after’. 
 
“Manny Wolfe” 
 
Director: Trevor Neuhoff 
 
Country: USA; Length: 14 minutes and 50 seconds 
 
It’s 1947. Manny Wolf is an actor for whom Tinseltown is more than a movie industry it is a wearying living environment. He also happens to be a real werewolf. After a series of rejections, employment finds his lap. Sadly, he has become a star of monster movie. What will happen to Manny and the woman he loves – will he sell his soul for a big Hollywood part? He believes that is his only option until he finds himself receiving an invitation from another socially rejected monster. 
 
“Marvin Is Sorry” 
 
Director: Clint Pang 
 
Showrunners: The three individual are Brett Morrow, Alex Gehrlein, and Jack Gacek 
 
Country: USA; Running Time: 24 minutes 
 
Nicknamed the ‘master of slurping noises’, a famous YouTuber Marvin Weaver unwittingly kills one of his followers during a video shoot, due to which he has to collaborate with the alt-right news anchor Tag Taggart in order to salvage his career. 
 
“Mt. Mystic Rangers” 
 
Directors: Jeremiah Dunlap. Cory Quintard 
 
Country: USA; Duration of Episode: 23:47 mins 
 
Half an hour mockumentary comedy/sci-fi/adventure series focused on wrenching workplace comedy and the enigma of Mt. Mystic Rangers. Taking the point of view of a group of employees creating a documentary at the Mt. Mystic State Park, the show looks at the park rangers, their work and their experiences, which involves the supernatural and diverse guests. 
 
“The Musical” 
 
Director: Giselle Bonilla 
 
Country: Casting: USA; Duration: 12 minutes 
 
Doug Lebowitz, a middle school theater director and an ex -boyfriend of Liz/Janie, wants to bring down Liz/Janie’s new boyfriend – Principal Brady by coming up with a musical about 9/11 to jeopardize the Principal’s school. 
 
“Peas” 
 
Director: Maky Rupert 
 
Country: United States of America; Duration of the film: 12 minutes 06 seconds. 
 
A darkly comic tale of a young girl who tries to manage the house and herself as she watches her mother go on a date for the first time since the death of the father. 
 
“The Pitch Is Wac” 
 
Director: Stephen Reis 
 
Country: US; Duration of the movie: 2. 10 minutes 
 
Elika a young Asian-American gamer, game designer, streamer and a industry insider working at Wactivision, that compete with AI in the final pitching round of PlayStation world Sheldon Cup.

“Playground” 
 
Director: Yaxing Lin 
 
Country: USA/China; Length/Duration: 16 minutes and 21 seconds 
 
Lin, Jiajia’s mother, returns from Xiamen and gets employed at an adult nightclub; the two are reunited after a year. Innocent curiosity is the cause of the various incidents in this additional episode involving Jiajia. 
 
“Rat!” 
 
Director: Neal Suresh Mulani 
 
Country: United States; Length: 16:48 minutes. 
 
When a permanently ‘plugged-in’ music journalist comes across an effort of a global pop star in queerbaiting, he does not miss an opportunity, turns on his camera and makes some unsavory remarks about the untalented singer and their followers. But as his social capital increases and the internet goes up in flames, he unwittingly draws an arrowhead from his front door of the pop singer’s enthusiastic fans and cause havoc in the neighborhood, in an attempt to get their man. 
 
“Retro-Futuristic Anthology: episode ‘Moscow 33’ 
 
Directors: Gevorkian Ashot, Stavitsky Matvey 
 
Country: Russia; Total time taken: 5 minutes and 30 seconds 
 
An outstanding scientist in a future Soviet Union built an AI device that has the potential to drastically alter the world, but the state is prepared to eliminate him and use his invention for purposes of dominating the populace. 
 

“Ripe!” 
 
Director: Tusk 
 
Country: America; The Duration of the Video: 18 Minutes and 10 Seconds 
 
Nothing could be more confusing than a message that would read, ‘It is complicated’ conveyed through a act such as opening the arm of a guy you have a crush on and him falling. 
 
“Ronnie California: This social drama portrays the King of Artesia and brings out the issues and problems of that time. 
 
Director: Adi Kalidindi 
 
Country: USA; Dur: 17 mins 
 
Ronnie California is a hardworking Indian immigrant; he runs an-illegal gambling house from behind his failing saree shop business which becomes the subject of the community’s wrath when they come to chase him out. Staring into the face of losing his business to the IRS, Ronnie will do anything he can to make a buck. 
 
“Seeking Sasquatch” 
 
Director: Thomas Thomas 
 
Country: This is a USA video; Its Length: 4:00 
 
Thus, in “Seeking Sasquatch”, the story is based on a rather aggressive scientist who becomes a member of the Bigfoot Investigation Bureau. With him, the BIB has to come up with all sorts of new and crazy scenarios weekly in order to capture a ‘Squatch. Thus, in order to win they must join forces, call upon all their forces and fight their numerous dissimilarities. While proof may still be out of reach, say, who knows? They might find themselves on the way, self-identifying as gay or lesbian or bisexual or homosexual. 
 
“Seoul Switch” 
 
Director: Liann Kaye 
 
Country: USA; Duration: 13 minutes 00 seconds 
 
By using a popular Korean American boy’s appearance and engaging him in a sporting event, he is challenged by an insecure Korean American boy who then later switches faces with him only for the American boy to lose his newfound fame when the popular boy from school who is an international K-pop star swaps their faces. 
 
“Shadow” 
 
Director: Kamell Allaway 
 
Country: America; Duration: 12. 00 minutes 
 
When a mother is sleeping, it is the right of every cinematographic work that her shadow gets up, goes out into the street, and becomes terrifying to her and her baby during the night. 
 
“Take Me Home” 
 
Director: Liz Sargent 
 
Country: United State; Duration: 15:00 minutes 
 
In the film ‘like a virgin’ Emily is a young woman who faces the problem of alienation in Florida when she comes there to live with her sister Anna after the death of their mother. Anna is intellectually impaired when it comes to communication and the tragedy requires the need for reconstruction of their home and relationship. Their transformations as sisters in “Take Me Home” provide the show with a message that is filled with emotion on the concept of a family and the love which everyone needs in their lives. 
 
“The Thaw” 
 
Directors: Sarah Wisner. Sean Temple 
 
Country: United States of America; Duration: 16 minutes 32 seconds 
 
“The Thaw” takes place in the end of the nineteenth century when life in the hills of Vermont was rather difficult. Ruth is thus left at her parents’ poor farm with aged Alma and Timothy after her husband deserts her and the farm they once owned is collapsing. They go to the obvious treatment as old as the hills; a sleeping tea used on the elderly and sick to be put to sleep under the winter and buried in the snow to be thawed in spring. When a storm brings the onset of warm front earlier, the ceremony is disrupted and the sleepers wake up too early thus being frightening. 
 
“Top Shot” 
 
Director: Alexander Hagani 
 
Country: United States of America; Length of video: 15 minutes and 17 seconds 
 
The theme of the story is coming of age, basketball, and card collecting. Alexander is an 11-year- old child in a family where parent’s divorce and emotional trauma is replaced with Ian – a new step-father. 
 
“Vial” 
 
Director: Alexandre Jerard Davis 
 
Country: United States of America; Duration: 14. 14 minutes 
 
Just about to start a new life and get back to a normal life with his family, Ken is in for a very tough time when an on the spot drug test put him back in the murky waters of the criminal justice system. Desperate to pass the test, Ken finds an unlikely solution with some help from his dealer: ‘a mechanical manhood with which one is capable of hiding scrupulously selected urine’. But there’s only one problem: he still must locate the piss. 
 
“Vintage Lamp Shade” 
 
Directors: Executive Chef: Gordy De St. Jeor Waitress: Jillian Moray 
 
Country: USA; Video length: 05:52 
 
This involves the delicate act that two girls have to perform when the relationship between them is ‘200 grams of salt more or less than what love is’. 
 
“Water Dog” 
 
Director: Christina Kelly Holmes 
 
Country: United States of America; Length: 10:52 minutes. 
 
A quite and unmotivated millennial man named Guy crosses path with Dan, a mutual friend from high school and his new wife. But there is an air of dissatisfaction in the manner in which she goes about her business. Nevertheless, Guy and everybody else, including the girlfriend he dragged out, does not say a word of it. After being invited to a clumsy dinner which is succeeded by an engagement announcement, Guy cannot help but think what could be worse than his life’s situation, and how Dan, who he hardly knows, is doing better than him. 
 
“The Weight of a Dog”. 
 
Director: Lucy Sandler 
 
Country: USA; Duration of video: 15:37 minutes 
 
“The Weight of a Dog” focuses on new retiree Dawn and her journey to accompany her adult daughter for the abortion and the discoveries it opens up about her life and the further part of it for her.