Virginia Film Festival

Program followed by discussion with Millstone director Peter Hoffman Kimball and actor Eddie Buck. Moderated by Joe Fab (VAFF).

Millstone (16 min.) A psychological thriller in the spirit of Black Mirror, this short – featuring an entirely Deaf cast and shot exclusively in American Sign Language – is the story of a desperate, grieving couple who think they have found the only therapist who can help them – but his methods might be worse than anyone imagined.

Balikbayan (18 min.) A Filipina immigrant grapples with the physical distance from the family she left behind and the cultural disconnect from her daughters in the United States.

Eco-Hack! (17 min.) An unconventional field biologist wages a high-tech war against ravens in the Mojave — think laser cannons, exploding tortoises, autonomous drones — in a last-ditch effort to save the last of the desert tortoise from extinction.

Marungka Tjalatjunu (Dipped in Black) (25 min.) follows Yankunytjatjara man Derik Lynch’s road trip back to Country for spiritual healing, as memories from his childhood return. A journey from the oppression of white city life in Adelaide, back home to his remote Anangu Community (Aputula) to perform on sacred Inma ground. Inma is a traditional form of storytelling using the visual, verbal, and physical. It is how Anangu Tjukurpa (story connected to country / dreaming / myth / lore) have been passed down for over 60,000+ years from generation to generation.

A Dead Marriage (18 min.) Filip is a professional extra, specialized in playing dead bodies on movie sets. One day he meets Lucy – their relationship leads him to try and experience life again.