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THE FESTIVAL FILMS

Here you can see all the submissions to The Dartmouth Independent Film Festival. Here you can hear the haunting tales of the 3rd AVE survivors, see a power both beautiful and terrible change one man's fate in the Old West, take an all too familiar trip into the complex college social structure, and experience the human condition from dozens of other perspectives. Enjoy!

ELI & THE GOLDEN FISH / KEVIN SLEE / CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY

Eli and The Golden Fish is a story of two brothers, living out of a car on the side of the road, and dealing with the challenges of staying afloat both financially and emotionally. Eli, the older brother cannot seem to make quite enough money to be content and Noah, his younger brother can't stop wishing he could have pop-tarts for breakfast instead of the usual crackers. When Noah is told a story by his best friend Riley about golden fish living at the bottom of her pool, both Noah and Eli become interested. As Noah tells his older brother the story after school, Eli initially dismisses it as a tall tale that kids tell, but with his looming financial problems, Eli continues to think about the golden fish and decides that he cannot go on without knowing. In the end, Eli has to decide what to do about his current situation, the golden fish, and his little brother's want for pop-tarts that results in the bonding of the two brothers and a new outlook on life for Eli.

TOUCHED / DIEP PHAM / DARTMOUTH COLLEGE

Joe’s world had been bleached since his girlfriend left him. At night, he kept thinking about her and tried to figure out why the relationship didn’t work. One gloomy winter day, as he was slowly sipping his black, bitter coffee, he looked up and saw a beautiful, lovely girl eating ice cream like it was summer. His hope was lit up. Perhaps she could bring colors back into his life?

MAKING A LIVING / ZIYE LIN / DARTMOUTH COLLEGE

Two Dartmouth undergrads struggle to reconcile their career aspirations with the hopes their immigrant parents have for them.

UNTITLED / MOLLY KAHLIL / DARTMOUTH COLLEGE

This short animation takes you through a child’s daydream.  As he eats cereal, his world transforms.  He first finds himself racing a racecar, and then flying a fighter jet.  He is snapped back into reality when his mom comes into the kitchen to find him “flying” in his highchair.  She tells him to sit down, and he snaps back to reality.

A SELF-CENTERED CONVERSATION / DANIEL BANG / NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

A humorous conversation between two self-centered people played by two self-centered actors directed by a self-centered director following the screenplay of a self-centered writer inspired by a conversation he had with himself about his frustration with being so self-indulgent. Written and directed by Daniel Bang.

PSYCHEDELIC SYMPHONY / MONICA SHAPIRO / ITHACA COLLEGE

Experimental film with edited found footage set to an all-original sound design.  The video is “trippy”/depicts a trip.

THINGS BRIGHT AND INTERESTING/ REBECCA CHAN / UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO

A young man by the name of Jamie joins a social networking group in the city and finds himself tripping over his feet with the rules. It doesn't help that fellow group member, Max, is in some sort of trouble that Jamie can't help but stick his nose in.

FISH HANDS / CHRIS DUCE / BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

This was a film we submitted to the BYUIOscars. It was mistakenly not included in the actual festival and will never receive the credit it deserves. Stars Chris, Jake, Catey, and Greg. Tracy Nystrom shot it. Chris Duce directed.

THE MODERATE - ROCK AND ROLL / STEPHEN TRINGALI / AMERICAN UNIVERSITY

Produced by Featherweight Media and directed by Stephen Tringali, this music video is the first for The Moderate, a Washington, D.C.-based rock band. The song, "Rock and Roll," is off their first EP, entitled AM/FM.

NEW ROCK CHURCH OF FIRE - THE SWORD / STEPHEN TRINGALI / AMERICAN UNIVERSITY

Produced by Featherweight Media and directed by Stephen Tringali, this is the first music video for D.C.-based rock band New Rock Church of Fire. The song, "The Sword," is off their debut album, Of The Wild.

TAKE OUT / MAX GOLDBERG / DARTMOUTH COLLEGE

Charles Connoley (Andrew Sprouse) is a Chinese food delivery specialist, speed demon driver, and general slacker, waiting for life to come at him. When he is fired for certain indiscretions with the manager's daughter, Charlie is lost without a reason to drive, his one true desire. By mysterious circumstances, a new opportunity arises: a single job, 20 minutes, more money than all his life's paychecks combined. No longer just a take out boy, Charlie must deliver the "Package" on time, in a race against more than just the clock.

THE BIG CHILL / MAX GOLDBERG / DARTMOUTH COLLEGE

In December of 2007, a massive ice storm laid waste to Tulsa, Oklahoma and the surrounding region. Most of the city would lose electricity due to falling trees, with some areas not seeing power restoration until 10 days after the weather event. As destruction came all around, families chilled without heating in the cold winter, and local schools cancelled class for the full week. The Big Chill is a verite-style documentary assembled from footage taken by Max Goldberg as he navigates the aftermath of the storm.

VETTING WAIL / MEL GONZALEZ / UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

This is an abstract juxtaposition of a violent relationship and ideal relational forms. Moments of intense intimacy are placed next to those of fetishized sexuality next to those of impenetrable distance. The perspective is genuinely female but placed within an almost inhumane context. Violence and intensity run through the short 6 minutes and an unclear ending lends to various interpretations. It was shot on 16mm (Bolex) and edited in Final Cut Pro with sound edited on Sonar.

PUSHING 23 / JACK MAYER / UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

Six hours in the life of a twenty-two year-old girl after she’s woken up in bed next to her best friend’s ex-boyfriend.

THREE STORIES / JACK MAYER / UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

Three short stories revolving around the murder of a young girl in Wisconsin

MASTER CONTROL / NELSON A CUELLAR / AMERICAN UNIVERSITY

Joe, a Master Control operator at an Ohio TV station, finds himself in a world of shit (literally).  Bored of his job and of his life, Joe struggles to get through his unfortunate day.  He is tasked with cleaning up a mess left by a “senior producer” at the station and perform other mind numbing tasks all while trying to hang on to his last shred of dignity in front of the lovely programming director, Jill.  Joe finally must decide whether or not to take matters into his own hands. 

LUNES (MONDAY) / PAOLA TAPIA-LIMON / AMERICAN UNIVERSITY

The inspiration for this animation came from contemporary magicians and surrealist filmmakers that create metaphors of their own experiences and their particular ways of seeing life. Lunes (Monday) is the story of any person that is required by the society he/she lives in to act in a specific way, feel a specific emotion, or say specific set of words. It is the story of someone who decides not to follow the arbitrary conventions of that society. Lunes speaks about internalizing and externalizing actions, emotions and words; in this case, through the clothes that we use. Lunes was created for an experimental film class at American University.

DAY AFTER NIGHT / HARRY KAGAN & ZACH PULS / ITHACA COLLEGE

Steve is trying to find a tape of his music so that he can give it to the girl he loves before she leaves town. With the help of his friend PJ, the two run into some interesting characters on the way.

GROWING UP / HEIDI TAN / DARTMOUTH COLLEGE

What do you want to be when you grow up? I wanted to be an elephant dancer, or a jellyfish feeder or...

But what do you do when everything you've always wanted to do doesn't seem to work out?

PRESSURE! / JOSEPH CARNEGIE / CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY

Boys’ night goes awry.

SIDEKICK / JOSEPH CARNEGIE / CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY