Shorts 1: Expanding Sensibilities (City and State)

Synopsis

This eclectic showcase highlights the vibrancy of the Chicago and Illinois filmmaking communities across an array of forms and genres.

A young student questions the meaning of success while vying for a spot at the prestigious National Spelling Bee in Winning in America. In Close Ties to Home Country, an immigrant dog walker finds connection in the hearts of the wealthy pets she cares for. Sink is an experimental horror film told entirely from above the bathroom sink. Media installation artist Yvette Mayorga produces mesmerizing work in Monochromatic Dreams. In Get Well Soon, a woman is concerned about her family members’ illness. Older generations are forced to question their worth while facing unmet emotional needs in Speck of Dust. A filmmaker grapples with their father’s early stages of Alzheimer’s in By the Time I Reach Him. The Year I Went Looking for Birds explores a precious archive of collected materials.

Featuring works by Amrita Singh, Akanksha Cruczynski, Curtis Matzke, Ashley Thompson, Simo Ezoubeiri, Kristen Nutile, JP Olsen, Brian Zahm, Meg Walsh, Danny Carroll.