2021 NYC INDIE THEATRE FILM FESTIVAL Announces Full Lineup

The New Ohio Theatre's NYC Indie Theatre Film Festival announced the 2021 online film lineup today. NYCITFF offers a selection of new feature-length and short films, filmmaker Q&As, and a conversation with prolific screenwriter and playwright Qui Nguyen between March 10-14.

Five new feature films (BUTCHER HOLLER HERE WE COME, THE LAST CYCLIST, THE MAGIC HOUR, RIVAL QUEENS, TIT) explore the theatrical realms of historical fiction, dance, opera, expressive movement, music, reinterpretation of old texts, and more. In addition, 35 short films (including fifteen world premieres) from fresh new talent will be presented in five programs. Take a deep dive into how people connect in Surprising Relationships, the physical and mental quests we take in Going on a Journey, reaching our breaking points in The Absurdity of Life, and a collection of horror, dark comedy, and late night conversations in After Dark. Rounding out the shorts series is the Documentary Program, which shines a spotlight on true life stories.

Already announced is NYCITFF's Opening Night conversation on March 10 at 7pm EST with New Ohio Theatre alum - theatre artist, film, television and Obie Award-winning writer Qui Nguyen (Disney's RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON, AMC's Dispatches from Elsewhere, Netflix's The Society).

NYCITFF runs from March 10-14, 2021. Passes are $35 and provide access to all online programming. Individual tickets for feature films and short film blocks are $12. Purchase at the Festival's website https://nycitff2021.eventive.org. The NYCITFF is a production of New Ohio Theatre, an award-winning non-profit theatre company in Manhattan's West Village.

The full film program for NYCITFF is listed below.

FEATURE FILM PROGRAM

BUTCHER HOLLER HERE WE COME

Narrative Feature
Director: Leah Bonvissuto | Writer: Casey Wimpee

1973, West Virginia. Following a cave collapse, five coal miners struggle to survive the dwindling supply of oxygen, the lack of food and water, the unravelling sense of passing time, and, even more threatening, their own competing natures.

THE LAST CYCLIST

Narrative Feature
Director: Edward Einhorn | Writer: Naomi M. Patz

THE LAST CYCLIST, written in Terezín during the Holocaust, is a daring absurdist comedy in which bicyclists are blamed for all of society's ills and systematically hunted down and murdered. The script was painstakingly reconstructed and reimagined by the writer and producer Naomi Patz, beginning in 1995.

THE MAGIC HOUR

Narrative/Dance Feature
Director: Joseph Gallo

In this ecstatic SWG dance/theatre work, performers fling themselves through a scary/happy/sad dreamscape in search of how to be, how to make an impact, and how to fade away.

RIVAL QUEENS

Documentary/Opera Feature
Director: Anton Armendariz Diaz | Writer: Ashley Bell

Created during Covid on an intercontinental basis with individuals in four different locations, RIVAL QUEENS tells the story of Mary Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth I. This biopic represents a new form of art that melds documentary film with the music of opera, which serves as the driving force of the story.

TIT

Narrative Feature
Writer/Director: Elizabeth Dinkova | Writers: Nicolette Emanuelle, Jesse Rasmussen, Eugene H. Russell IV, Ellen Warkentine

In the desolate war-torn future, the Neo-Roman Empire has risen from the cannibalized corpse of our old United States. We follow the intersecting stories of those in power and those who seek to gain it.

PRECEDED BY: DON'T STAY SAFE

Narrative Short
Director: Christina Franklin | Writers: Cheryl L. Davis, Douglas J. Cohen

DON'T STAY SAFE reflects on critical events of the past year, engaging with the ongoing struggle for racial equality and civil rights, examining the risks of protest... and the risks of staying safe.

SHORT FILM PROGRAM

NARRATIVE SHORTS PROGRAM: SURPRISING RELATIONSHIPS
Friends, lovers, family, and everything in between are explored in these stories.

16 WORDS OR LESS

Director: Meghan Finn | Writer: Peggy Stafford
A lonely flower shop clerk helps a grieving man find words to express his loss in this offbeat film about language, death, and hair.

AQUAMARINE

Director: Jack Dentinger | Writer: Bixby Elliot
A gender-bending comedy about loud birds, romantic suitors, and a Victorian-era female serial killer.

DATA RECOVERY

Director: Jessica Cummings | Writer: Ashlin Halfnight
To ward off loneliness and dementia, an elderly woman hires a cloning company to bring back her long-dead son.

MAYA

Writer/Director: Maren Lavelle | Writer: Matt Steiner
A Queer NYC stage manager reflects on her break-up while trying to manage the rehearsal of a play about a gay couple falling in love.

PLATONIC

Director: Trace Pope | Anna Walker-Roberts
A recently divorced woman decides to reconnect with her estranged childhood best friend.

NARRATIVE SHORTS PROGRAM: GOING ON A JOURNEY

These characters are going through mental and physical trials and tribulations to uncover the truth.

THE BAND AT THE END OF THE WORLD

Director: SRĐA | Writers: Bandits on the Run (Adrian Blake Enscoe, Sydney Shepherd, Regina Strayhorn)
In a post-apocalyptic world, three musicians discover an abandoned theater and strive to reconnect with humanity.

LOLITA EXPRESS

Writer/Director: Octavia Chavez-Richmond
9-year-old Nena is the latest addition to a wealthy man's collection of captives detained on a private island. Nena's innocence and recent arrival to the island force the girls to face the reality of their circumstances.

THE OFFERING

Writer/Director: Marissa Molnar
Time is warped in quarantine: minutes stretch to hours or tick by in an instant. A woman wrestles with isolation, like a boat lost at sea.

ONE WOMAN MOVIE

Writer/Director: Lindsey Hope Pearlman | Director: Sean Welski
An exploration of one woman's loneliness, malaise and emptiness passing the time without a live, in-person theatre community to tap into.

SEASON 2, EPISODE 3 BY GLASS ANIMALS

Writer/Director: Kaitlin Gould
Performed and choreographed by Kaitlin Gould, this aerial act explores the nuance and complexities of depression and anxiety.

TELLING TIME

Director: Daniel Talbott | Writer: Samantha Soule
Ten months into the pandemic, day is for sleeping and night is for wandering alone and aimless on the East Side of Los Angeles. A young man reminisces about the loss of a great love.

VALENS

Writer/Director: Mazin Akar
Faisal believes in his country. Not for what it is, but for what it can be.

NARRATIVE SHORTS PROGRAM: THE ABSURDITY OF LIFE

Laugh, cry, and go a little mad: stories about how life can feel sideways sometimes.

THE BAD INFINITY

Writer/Director: Graham Sack | Writer: Mac Wellman
During a debauched dinner party, John Sleight, Deborah, Megan, and Ramon discuss the various ways in which modernity is drawn towards manifestations of "the bad infinity."

CALL FROM: GODOT

Writer/Directors: Anita Castillo-Halvorssen, Olivia Miller
Didi and Gogo are expecting an important Zoom call from Godot. They just have to wait...

FITNESS! OR A STORY ABOUT SWEAT

Writer/Director: Kana Hatakeyama
A titillating spiritual comedy about finding your joyful, deepest nature through technology, human connection...and sweat.

GRINDING DOUBT

Director: Alexandra Ann Spieth | Writer: Mike Corey
In a misguided attempt to impress a movie producer, a group of small town degenerates party way too hard at their kid nephew's confirmation party.

LANGUAGE GAMES

Director: Ralph Lewis | Writer: Barbara Yoshida
Set in a fictional world of philosophy and language, Sheela arrives for a spirited game of MahJong with three great thinkers from the past.

NO MORE BEAUTIFUL DANCES

Director/Choreographer: Anabella Lenzu
NO MORE BEAUTIFUL DANCES wrestles with the ideas of exploration, introspection and reframing a woman after becoming a mother and being an immigrant.

THERE'S NO WRONG WAY TO EAT A CUPCAKE

Writer/Director: Joey Rizzolo
Three people are each provided a cupcake to test the title's axiom.

NARRATIVE SHORTS PROGRAM: AFTER DARK

Horror, dark comedy, and late night conversations are the highlights of these stories.

BELOW

Writer/Director: Chance Muehleck
A one-shot, first-person thriller with a twist. Join us under the bed.

BERENICE

Director: Hannah Eakin | Writer: Edgar Allan Poe
A silent adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's haunting tale, BERENICE tells the story of a troubled young man who, when faced with unexpected grief, descends into obsession and madness.

BILLIARDS

Director: Nile Price | Writer: JaQuan Malik Jones
Four graduate visual art students reflect on their purpose and why they love art as tensions run high while they await the highly anticipated gala slot list for this year's professional art show.

CLEAN CUT

Writer/Director: Dylan James Amick
Two roommates hiding from a monster in their mirror must decide if it safe to leave.

JAMMED

Director: Laura Lewis-Barr | Writer: Vince Gatton
A malfunctioning piece of office equipment brings out the worst in a diverse group of co-workers.

LOWER EAST ASIDES

Writer/Director: Steve Becker
A resourceful young producer and jaded club manager guide an eclectic group of rock star wannabes on the problematic road to stardom on the Lower East Side of NYC.

MALALA

Writer/Directors: Julia Cavagna, Komiko Paul | Director: Hugo Perez
We follow Malala on her journey towards decision, which can sometimes be more treacherous, tortuous, and torturous than any physical voyage. She is dreaming while she is making some fundamental choice in her life. Is she awake when we find her? No one knows.

WIDE EYED

Writer/Director: Ashley Kristeen Vega | Writer: Laura Kay
Frankie Weston wakes up after a one night stand, unsure what to make of the morning.

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS PROGRAM

Films that chronicle true life stories of struggle and triumph.

FLY MYSELF HOME

Director: Jose Restrepo
A love letter to the theatre about one actor's journey of what "home" can mean.

HOW MUCH AM I WORTH?

Director: Rachel Handler
This stirring documentary explores the failings of the U.S. health system through the lens of four women with disabilities.

THE JOY OF 2020

Director: Bailey Bass
No matter the circumstances, one can always find beauty in each day. We follow the stories of five individuals who found ways to persevere, in a time when the world took a pause.

ON THE ROOF

Writer/Director: Paul Zimet
About two artists and a moment in time - early pandemic New York City.

THE POWER OF CREATIVITY: BEAUTY IN SADNESS

Directors: Sheryl Carbonell, Molly E. Smith
Carmen, a respiratory therapist, uses art as an escape from the death and destruction of the world.

THIS IS ME EATING___

Writer/Director: Giorgia Valenti | Director: Pranav Kothary
Making space for people to express their relationship to their eating and their body.

TORTUGA CRAWL

Director: Gabriele Schafer | Writer: Nick Fracaro
On Thanksgiving 1990, theater artists Gabriele and Nick erected a tipi made of 78 U.S. Domestic #3 mailbags in a New York City's then longest-existing shantytown, located atop the historic Five Points area at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge at Canal and Chrystie Streets.