F o s ter Auditorium . TempestStudios . ThePalmerMuseum . CarnegieCinema. . The RowlandTheatre . . UECTheatre12 . TheStateTheatre.
Centre County, Pennsylvania.
Theatre in Philipsburg, PA.
Director’s Statement
In Memoriam Curtis William Chandler
Welcome Letters
Tickets
At-A-Glance Calendar for In-Person Events
Venues
Free Shuttle Service Schedule
Festival Map
Pre-Fest
Special Events
Lifetime Achievement Award
Chandler Living Legacy Award
Meet Our Team
Meet the Filmmakers
Film Guides
Meet Our Sponsors & Partners
COVID RESPONSE: We are committed to keeping everyone attending the Centre Film Festival safe and informed. We will follow all CDC and state guidelines as well as the guidelines set by our venues. We are also offering some of our films via online streaming from November 10-November 16 for those who prefer to engage with the festival from home.
A NOTE FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Because of your ongoing interest and support, it is an honor to return to our historic theatres in Centre County with some of the most pivotal films of the year. The relevance of this year’s films feels especially powerful as we continue to witness events unfolding across our nation and around the world — reminding us of the urgent role that storytelling plays in shaping our understanding of the present moment.
Since its inception, our festival has embraced films that range from horror to comedy, documentary to experimental, and fiction to hybrid works — breaking down boundaries between the local and the global. Each selection is chosen with care to address pressing issues, ignite conversation, and offer audiences multiple lenses through which to examine our shared realities.
As always, our dedicated team of programmers, film lovers, community activists, and sponsors stand behind daring filmmakers and celebrate freedom of expression. Together, we bring you films that are sometimes hard-hitting, sometimes heartwarming, sometimes popular, and sometimes edgy — but always thought-provoking.
This year, we are especially excited to expand the festival’s reach with immersive VR experiences at the Palmer Museum of Art, allowing audiences to step inside new worlds and encounter stories in an entirely different way. We are also proud to grow our State of the Industry section, which now includes our longstanding and signature High School Masterclasses as well as the Industry Brunch, generously hosted by the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau. These initiatives are designed to spark dialogue, encourage collaboration, and strengthen our creative economy — with a focus on keeping jobs and opportunities local.
We continue to feature Made in PA films, post-screening conversations with local advocates, meet-the-director opportunities, live music performances, and afterparties at some of our favorite venues — keeping the dialogue going long after the credits roll.
The Centre Film Festival is more than a film showcase — it is a gathering place for multimedia creators, students, neighbors, and visitors who are redefining the contours of storytelling.
Pearl Gluck Artistic Director
CURTIS WILLIAM CHANDLER In Memoriam
February 27, 1957 - January 31, 2022
There isn’t a day that goes by here at the festival that we don’t think of Curt. We take this moment to honor our co-founder, programmer, and mentor extraordinaire, Curt Chandler, may his memory be a blessing. The festival would not have come to life without him.
Curt was born to William Dean and Joyce Wareing Chandler on Feb. 27, 1957, in Bad Cannstaat, West Germany, where his father was stationed.
When asked about his life, Curt would always proudly respond with “This is my 10th state and second country.” Growing up, Curt’s family moved frequently. In college he spent his summers with his family in McGehee, Arkansas. Growing up, Curt was an Eagle Scout and cherished memories of attending a Jamboree in Japan and being on the staff at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. He also raced bicycles, played in the school band, and took up photography, which became the focus of his professional life.
Curt was a 1978 graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, where he was a member and president of Chi Psi Fraternity, a photographer for the Daily Northwestern and the yearbook, and served as publisher of Byline magazine. In his junior year at Northwestern he met Stacie Paulsen -- one of his favorite stories. The couple married in 1980 and began their 42year adventure.
Curt started his career as an award-winning photojournalist at the Pueblo (Colo.) StarJournal and Chieftain as a police reporter and photographer. From there he went to the Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner as a staff photographer. In 1986 he moved to Cleveland, Ohio to work as a staff photographer and picture editor for the Plain-Dealer and in 1994 he became the Director of Photography at the Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette and was later named the paper’s first Editor for Online Innovation. During this time he taught photography at Duquesne.
In 2007, Curt pivoted from almost 30 years at daily newspapers to a 15-year career in education when he became an associate teaching professor in the Bellisario College of Communications at the Pennsylvania State University in State College, where he launched the college’s multimedia program.
Curt’s skill, enthusiasm, vast technical knowledge, and love of storytelling combined to make him a valued and beloved teacher, mentor, colleague and friend. He was active in the National Press Photographers’ Association, the Online News Association, Multimedia Immersion, and Lens Collective, among others.
At home, Curt was a loving father to Toby, Molly, Vince and Madeline. He was a dedicated hockey dad and cheerleader at sporting events, plays, concerts, art shows, skate parks, and poetry readings. Curt loved music and movies. He was proud of the two Pittsburgh homes they renovated.
He embraced the opportunity to travel with his wife and family to destinations from Rome, Prague, Ireland, Scotland, Iceland, Norway, and Yellowstone Park are all captured in his photographs. A dedicated eater, Curt enjoyed taking cooking classes during their travels.
Curt is survived by his wife, Stacie Lynn Paulsen Chandler; his children, Toby Benjamin Chandler Ekmann (Kate) of Pittsburgh; Molly Kathleen Chandler Campe (Brian) of Bloomfield, NJ; Vincent William Chandler of Denver; and Madeline Wareing Chandler of Brooklyn; three grandchildren: Zooey Michelle Chandler and Logan Thomas and Chandler William Campe; a sister, Cindy Chandler Smith (Don) of McGehee, AR; and a brother, Christopher Taylor Chandler (Tammy) of Loveland, CO.
The Chandler Living Legacy Award was inaugurated in 2021 honoring exemplary Pennsylvania natives or PSU alums impacting the fields of film and television.
LETTER FROM THE DEAN
Greetings from the Interim Dean of the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications
Welcome to the seventh annual Centre Film Festival, a multi-day celebration right here in Central Pennsylvania that showcases incredible work by filmmakers from across the globe and the United States. Thank you for joining us.
Each year, the festival attracts films lovers of all types to two historic theaters – and many more online – with inspirational and motivational films that spark important, timely discussions. Joining us in those discussions are invited filmmakers, musicians and others who participate in the making of the films. We also recognize new filmmakers from our own community who are making their mark on the culture. It’s exciting to see emerging talent from Centre County and support their growing community.
The Centre Film Festival could not happen without a strong supporting cast. That includes partners from Penn State and local and state non-profit organizations. The festival is also partially funded by the Happy Valley Tourism Board, Borough of State College, and local sponsors from Philipsburg and State College.
I believe film is as essential as ever, and coming together to appreciate the craft and join the conversation is equally important. I hope you enjoy this year’s collection of films and embrace the new ideas and unique perspectives that emerge. Participating will not only enrich your mind, it will also go a long way to benefit our entire community.
Enjoy!
Denise Bortree
Interim Dean, Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications
LETTER FROM THE STATE REPRESENTATIVE
Greetings from State Representative Scott Conklin
It is a pleasure to send greetings from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to welcome everyone attending the seventh annual Centre Film Festival in the boroughs of Philipsburg and State College.
Centre County has been at the crossroads of the cultural world and a focal point for those with the passion for making great films and cinematic art since as far back as the turn of the century. The first movie to play at the Rowland Theatre was the Vitagraph Studio’s release, Within the Law, and the very first trainwreck that appears on film in American cinema history was staged right here in Philipsburg, PA in 1914. When he built the theatre in 1917, Charles Rowland himself was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and was a supporter of Women’s Suffrage. It is an honor to follow in his footsteps.
Once again, this week, more than a century later, the Centre Film Festival offers an opportunity for a collaboration between the central Pennsylvania counties’ communities and industry professionals who are dedicated to encouraging local filmmakers to flourish and introducing audiences to insightful, creative, and entertaining new projects.
The festival offers something for movie lovers of all ages. The work reflects various distinct cultures of the world and broadens our perspective on many issues by exploring universal themes as well as more unique facets of the human experience.
I applaud everyone involved with this event. Warm Regards, and see you at the State and the Rowland theaters!
Scott Conklin
Centre County State Representative (PA-77)
LETTER FROM THE MAYOR
LETTER FROM THE MAYOR
We are so excited to welcome you to the Centre Film Festival!
As Mayor of State College, I am grateful for the incredible energy that the Centre Film Festival brings to our downtown and region, and seeing the Festival grow through your contributions and participation has truly been a joy.
A film can have such a powerful effect on our lives - inspiring us, moving us, calling us to action, uniting us, transporting us, awakening us, calming us, scaring us, making us laugh and cry, stirring our spirits, and enlivening our dreams.
I can still remember the first time I ever sat in a theatre and watched a movie. The magic of that experience remains alive in me to this day, and I love going to the movies with my family. I also spent a good portion of my professional life as an actor, which has only served to increase the deep respect and admiration I have for the work of our Centre Film Festival contributors.
To all of the Filmmakers, Talent, Artists, Production Teams, Producers, Organizers, Volunteers, and your Families, thank you for sharing your creativity and vision with our community. We value the opportunity to experience your stories, your journeys - to see the world through your eyes.
And to all of our wonderful guests, visitors, and neighbors who have come out to enjoy the Festival, thank you! I hope you’ll find time to walk around downtown before or after and enjoy our great local businesses and our
Greetings from the Mayor of the Borough of State College, Ezra Nanes hospitality.
Now, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!
Mayor of State College
Greetings from the Mayor of the Town of Philipsburg, John Streno
It is my pleasure as the mayor of Philipsburg to extend warm greetings to everyone attending the seventh annual Centre Film Festival. We enjoy hosting the festival at the Rowland and we’re happy to have you all back in person for our seventh anniversary.
The performing arts are an integral part of the social fabric the town. What better place to hold this exciting event in central Pennsylvania than the historic and majestic Rowland Theatre.
The festival is made possible in part because of grants from the Pennsylvania Partnership for the Arts, Philipsburg Revitalization Corporation, as well as the Centre County Tourism Board. We are hopeful that audiences will emerge and appreciate the opportunities for conversation created by the inaugural event.
For those of you visiting, I hope that you take some time out to enjoy Philipsburg’s cuisine, local shops and meet the wonderful people here in Central Pennsylvania. I love my town, not only for its beauty, but also for its historical importance.
I wish to thank the organizers of this event and offer my very best wishes for a memorable film festival and continued success.
Yours truly,
John Streno Mayor of Philipsburg
Ezra Nanes
LETTER FROM HAPPY VALLEY
Welcome to the Seventh Annual Centre Film Festival!
The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau (HVAB) and the Happy Valley Sports & Entertainment Alliance (HVSEA) are thrilled that this premier showcase of thought-provoking, entertaining, and memorable independent film has called Happy Valley, PA home since its inception in 2019.
As long-time supporters of the Centre Film Festival and champions of growing the industry right here in Centre County, the HVAB and HVSEA wholeheartedly welcome the annual celebration of established and aspiring filmmakers, and anticipate the fruits of their creative vision and hard work.
If you are a filmmaker, we wish you a successful festival, and invite you to explore film production opportunities here.
If you are watching in one of our historic theatres, thank you for supporting independent film and for spending time in Happy Valley, PA. If you are enjoying the festival virtually, please do visit us soon.
Sincerely,
Fritz Smith President and CEO
CALENDAR OF IN-PERSON SCREENINGS + SPECIAL EVENTS/PARTIES
VENUES FOR IN-PERSON SCREENINGS
The Rowland Theatre
127 N Front Street, Philipsburg
A historic single-screen movie theatre built in 1917 by Charles Hedding Rowland. The theatre is owned by the borough of Philipsburg. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
UEC Theatres 12
125 Premiere Dr, State College
Family-friendly movie theater with reclining seats and a variety of concession-stand snacks.
The State Theatre
130 W College Ave, State College
In 1938, Warner Brothers opened The State Theatre as a test market for new films. Today, The State Theatre is a vibrant hub of music, cinema, and live performance
Foster Auditorium
102 Paterno Library, Penn State Campus
Penn State University Libraries’ primary event space in support of its mission of learning, teaching, and research.
Carnegie Cinema
Room 113, S Fraser St, Penn State Campus
Home to the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, Carnegie Building originated as Penn State’s first freestanding library.
Tempest Studios
140 Kelly Alley, State College
Tempest Studios provides affordable, classically-based theatre and introduces the county’s youth to live theatre through theatre workshops and interactive events with the aim of working to increase literacy through the arts.
Palmer Museum of Art
650 Bigler Rd, Penn State Campus
Penn State’s Palmer Museum of Art is the largest art museum between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and the leading academic art museum in PA. It serves students, faculty, and the central PA community through its worldclass collection, free access, and programs.
Webster’s Bookstore Café
133 E Beaver Ave, State College
Since 1999, Webster’s has proudly served fairtrade, organic, bird-friendly coffee. We source local, organic ingredients, offering vegan and gluten-free options. We provide free meeting space and showcasing local and touring musicians, artists, and poets.
3 Dots
137 E Beaver Ave, State College
A gathering place where art, community, and possibility meet. By offering space, support, and visibility, we nurture the creative pulse of our region—fueling connection, collaboration, and local vitality.
Centre Film Festival
Free Shuttle s e rvi c e
TAKE US TO THE MOVIES
The easiest and most hassle-free way to travel to the Centre Film Festival 2025 UEC College 12 location is by using the CATA bus, Atherton Connector/ AC. Buy tickets on the Token Transit app, so you won’t need to worry about carrying any money—simply buy your ticket, activate it when you are ready to travel, and get on board!
Please arrive 15 minutes prior to all departures
FESTIVAL MAP:
PHILIPSBURG, PA
STATE COLLEGE, PA
The State Theatre 130 E College Ave
Hyatt Place State College 219 W Beaver Ave
Happy Valley Adventure Bureau 204 W Beaver Ave
Tempest Studios 140 Kelly Alley
Carnegie Cinema Carnegie Building. PSU Campus
Foster Auditorium 102 Paterno Library. PSU Campus
The Scholar Hotel 205 E Beaver Ave
State College Municipal Building 243 S Allen Street
Downtown Improvement District 127 S Fraser
Zeno’s 100 W College Ave
Chumley’s 108 W College Ave
3-Dots 137 E Beaver Ave
The Palmer Museum 650 Bigler Rd, PSU Campus
The Nittany Lion Inn 200 W Park Ave
Manny’s Performance Space 101 Hiester St
Valley Live 1031 Old Evergreen Ln
Bellisario Media Center Bellisario College of Communications. PSU Campus
FREE PRE-FEST SCREENINGS
at the Foster Auditorium
TUESDAY Foster Auditorium | Nov. 4, 6:00 PM
Director Jennifer Lin in attendance
SASKIA, THE HONG KONG ACTION YEARS
16 min Pau Han Kho 2025, Netherlands
Saskia van Rijswijk, the first queen of kickboxing, shares her story from the golden era of Hong Kong action cinema.
ABOUT FACE
60 min Jennifer
Two Asian American dancers try to persuade the world’s leading ballet companies to jettison Asian stereotypes, including dancing in yellowface.
THURSDAY Foster Auditorium | Nov. 6, 6:00 PM
Post-screening conversations with our local Schlow Librarians
THE LIBRARIANS
With the curtain falling on one of America’s last puppetry programs, a scrappy cast of puppets stages Hamlet-a bold performance to defend the arts and their right to exist.
As an unprecedented wave of book banning largely addressing race and LGBT issues is sparked, librarians under siege join forces as unlikely defenders fighting for intellectual freedom on the front lines of democracy.
BELLISARIO PRE-FEST TAILGATE
Hosted by: The Centre Film Festival Club + The Penn State Student Film Organization NOVEMBER 9, 2025 6:30-9 PM CARNEGIE CINEMA
CENTREFILMFESTIVAL
Scan the QR code for more information on the films
Join us at the AFTERPARTY
SCREENING:
ONE SLICE MADAME MAJOR EMANATING TAKING THE REINS SUNBURST LADY
LAYERS OF ORDINARY COLLARBONE 8 MINUTES
A NIGHT IN THE CAR THE HENHOUSE STATE EATEN ALIVE THE LAST CHIP
Rita Lin 2025, United States
22 min Lonnie Frazier 2024, United States
THE LAST PUPPET SHOW
92 min
Kim A. Snyder 2025, United States
Centre Film Festival Celebrates
NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
Join us for post-screening discussions with filmmakers after the films.
November is Native American Heritage Month, a time to honor and celebrate the rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories of Native people.
The selected films raise awareness about the unique challenges Indigenous people face and ways in which tribal citizens have worked to conquer these challenges.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF LAND
The Centre Film Festival and its venues are located on the original homelands of the Erie, Haudenosaunee (Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk, and Tuscarora), Lenape (Delaware Nation, Delaware Tribe, Stockbridge-Munsee), Monongahela, Shawnee (Absentee, Eastern, and Oklahoma), Susquehannock, and Wahzhazhe (Osage) Nations. As a land grant institution, we acknowledge and honor the traditional caretakers of these lands and strive to understand and model their responsible stewardship. We also acknowledge the longer history of these lands and our place in that history.
The Indigenous Peoples Student Association (IPSA) and the Indigenous Faculty and Staff Alliance (IFSA).
Proceeds from films will benefit the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center.
Centre Film Festival Showcases
STORIES FROM THE MIDDLE EAST
The festival is showcasing a slate of films from the Middle East that depicts various perspectives from the region. From award-winning industry cinema to first-time high school projects, the films portray life in places such as Egypt, Iran, Palestine, Qatar, Israel and Turkey. Topics range from religion to refugees and displacement, LGBTQIA+ life to women’s health, sports to avant garde comedy. We believe that these films will o er moviegoers nuanced representations and will create a space for conversation.
Wednesday, November 12 || 11 AM || Tempest Studios
Attendance is FREE
Carolyn DeRosa | BEATING AROUND THE BUSH
September 11th, 2001. In Sarasota, Florida, as the President reads to schoolchildren, three journalists have four minutes before the world changes forever.
Pat Romano | THORN
In this Civil War era saga, we experience the trials and tribunes as families and communities struggle to survive in a nation that is TORN.
Jake Beck | THE CREATURE
The famous tale of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein told through the eyes of the creature as he is raised and eventually abandoned by Victor Frankenstein.
Marco Falcucci | I’M NOT MARLENE
Alma, gets the opportunity of a lifetime when her doppelganger, the famous actress Marlene Brandy, offers to swap lives with her for a week.
HOW IT WORKS:
The first act of each script will be brought to life by local actors in a staged reading, offering the unique opportunity to get involved in the development of locally-grown projects. You will be there to offer immediate feedback and insights, helping the writers fine-tune their scripts for the screen.
Based on your votes and feedback, the first act that most compels you will receive the first-ever MADE IN PA cash award to be used for research, development, and production purposes anywhere in Pennsylvania.
WE BELIEVE THAT CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA IS RICH WITH SCREEN-WORTHY STORIES AND THE TALENT TO BRING THEM TO LIFE.
AFTER PARTIES
CENTRE FILM FESTIVAL AT THE PALMER
VIRTUAL REALITY IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE
Thursday, November 13 || 1:00 PM || Palmer Museum of Art
Admission is FREE
The Centre Film Festival is partnering with the Palmer Museum to bring you an immersive experience. Six VR films from around the world will be available for viewing during the festival on Thursday, November 13, from 1pm to 7pm. All furnishings are generously provided by Shindig Alley. This series was curated with Diane Akpovwa, a Penn State Student at the College of Information Sciences and Technology.
SCREENING ALL DAY AT THE PALMER
Instructions for use of VR and more info will be available on the day of the experience. All you need to do is show up and explore!
IMMERSIVE FILMS AT THE PALMER
CONTAINER
by
Confronting slavery through an ever- transforming shipping container, the past becomes the present, the invisible become visible.
ITO MEIKYŪ
Directed by Ito Meikyū France, 20 min
Ito Meikyū is a virtual reality experience that develops around references from Japanese art history and literature.
Where are you feeling?
MERIDIAN TRANSMISSIONS
A mediation on surveillance and the decay of modernity.
360° 3D Documentary | The adventurous human-led reintroduction of the Bald
NO PLACE BUT HERE
A precarious housing occupation in an unused Cape Town hospital gives viewers a sense of what it means to occupy,
Directed by Sarah Ticho UK, 20 min
SOUL PAINT
Directed by Eric Patrick US, 12.56 min
Directed by Sarah Ticho Germany, 10 min
Ibis.
MYRIAD. WHERE WE CONNECT.
Directed by Tarha McKenzie South Africa, 15.22min
Directed by Jeremy Drummond USA, 17 min
MONUMENT
Directed
Simon Wood, Meghna Singh South Africa, 16.33min
Directed by Billy Luther USA, 12 min
KENJI
Join us to honor film and television artists and activists Don Roy King and Jerrie Johnson while we celebrate our filmmakers who win our jury awards. The evening is hosted by Elaine Meder-Wilgus and features local bites, performance artists and music by La Fiesta Band.
OPENING NIGHT CLOSING NIGHT
Monday, Nov. 10
Red Carpet Kickoff • 6:30 PM
Red Carpet Kickoff • 6:30 PM
The Lifetime Achievement Award honors Pennsylvania native Don Roy King, a Distinguished Alumni of Penn State. The Chandler Living Legacy Award will honor Pennsylvania native Jerrie Johnson, a Penn State School of Theatre alum.
Sunday, Nov. 16
Rowland Theatre
Reception by Brown Dog Award Ceremony 5:30 PM
Ted Koppel’s first Discovery Channel town meeting, and syndicated series including Life & Style, Living It Up with Ali and Jack, and Naomi’s New Morning He also directed pilots for Day to Day with Rachael Ray, The Robin Quivers Show, and Fergie with Sarah Ferguson, and periodically directed The View on ABC.
With a résumé that included productions for nine networks and ranged from documentaries to musicals, Don Roy King is one of the most versatile and experienced directors in television. He directed more live network television than any director in the history of the medium, with assignments taking him to twenty countries and thirty-eight states.
He directed sixteen seasons of NBC’s Saturday Night Live, earning eleven Primetime Emmys and sixteen Emmy nominations for the Peabody Award–winning show. He was also nominated for sixteen DGA Awards and won in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. Mr. King won two additional Emmys—one for directing The Mike Douglas Show and one for leading the design team that revamped the graphic look of CBS News.
As creative director for Broadway Worldwide, he brought theatrical events to theaters and international television, directing Memphis (2011 Emmy for Technical Direction), Smokey Joe’s Café, Putting It Together with Carol Burnett, and Jekyll & Hyde. He also directed Romeo and Juliet with Orlando Bloom and Honky at San Diego Rep, a pilot for PBS’s On Stage America.
He ended a fourteen-year run at CBS as creative director of CBS News and director/senior producer for The Early Show and CBS This Morning. Other CBS credits included the Survivor finales, Eye to Eye with Connie Chung, Bob Simon: Back to Baghdad, The Smithsonian Anniversary Specials, Camera Three, and Winter Olympics coverage in France, Norway, and Japan.
After leaving CBS, he directed the first September 11th Memorial Service at Ground Zero, Criss Angel Mind Freak, concerts for A&E’s Private Sessions,
DON ROY KING
Lifetime Achievement Award
For over six years, Mr. King directed Good Morning America and numerous Barbara Walters Specials, as well as Kids Are People Too. His other network credits include Judgment Night: DNA for Fox, and A War Called Peace for PBS. He produced and directed Toys on the Town, a musical special with Shields and Yarnell, which won a New York local Emmy in 1975. Nominated for twentyeight Emmys overall, he also received two Ohio State Awards, an American Bar Association Award, a San Francisco State Award, a New York Public Relations Award, and three Golden Quills. (Mr. King was most proud, however, of several amateur boxing titles he won in his thirties—his ring career, he liked to note, unrelated to the other bald Don King.)
Tintypes, , and as director .
Mr. King’s theatrical credits include televised productions of The Me Nobody Knows, Monteith and Rand on Broadway The Passion of Dracula. His acting training came in handy when he appeared as Merv in Morning Glory and served as 2nd-unit director on that film and A Star Is Born
His credits range from telethons and concerts to sports, MTV’s first New Year’s Eve parties, An All-Star Tribute to Jazz, WFL Football, and Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball.
As producer, director, writer, and composer, he developed a variety of series, specials, documentaries, and musicals for WCBS, WNEW, KDKA, KGSC, and WPSX—where his broadcasting career began.
A graduate of the Penn State University, he received the Alumni Fellowship in 2001 and the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2017.
Chandler Living Legacy Award
JERRIE JOHNSON
Jerrie Johnson is an award-winning actor, writer, and creative force whose work lives at the intersection of artistry, activism, and radical joy. Best known for their breakout role as Tye in Amazon Prime’s Harlem, Johnson has captivated audiences with performances that are at once audacious, vulnerable, and deeply human.
Their creative work continues to expand across mediums: their short film Moonluck Wonton is currently on the festival circuit, while their newest short, Elixir, is in development. Johnson is also reimagining their acclaimed solo show for a 2026 tour. As an author, they penned a juicing book that blends wellness and storytelling, reflecting their belief that healing and creativity go hand in hand.
A graduate of Penn State University School of Theatre in the College of Arts and Architecture and the American Conservatory Theater MFA program, Johnson has brought their craft to Broadway-caliber stages, acclaimed television, and independent film. Beyond performance, they are the founder of Earth Food Goddess Inc. and The AI Collective, platforms that merge storytelling, wellness, and community building.
Honored as a Legacy Award winner for their dedication to reshaping culture through truth-telling and imagination, Johnson continues to invite audiences into deeper connection with themselves and one another. Their artistry is not only entertainment but also a call to expand what is possible—for our bodies, our communities, and our future.
Jerrie Johnson
A.C.T. Class of 2019
Penn State University Class of 2016
I’m an explorer. Everything I do begins with movement, manifestation, and community.” “
OUR TEAM & INTERNS
Pearl Gluck Co-Founder / Artistic Director
Patrick Baxter Hospitality / Sponsorship
Analí Jaramillo Lead Graphic Designer Haley Singer Graphic Designer
Sarah Dehena Title
Matt Jacobs Photographer Helen Velásquez Photographer
Toya Wigfield Photographer Alan Murphy Photographer
Juliandra Jackson Managing Director
Cayden Turnbow Digital Content Manager
Angelique Redwood Copywriter
Sarah Dehena Education / Outreach
Catharine Axley Videography
Diane Akpovwa Virtual Reality Specialist
Josh Harper Design Intern
Andrea Panaitescu Design Intern
Brooke Whiteleather Design Intern
Clara da Silva IST Intern
Lauren Mateo Social Media Intern
Amani Kalua IST Intern Griffin Geller IST Intern
Avery Tortora Social Media Intern Ava Krysko Social Media Intern
Keira Dowd Social Media Intern
Veronica Chan Social Media Intern
Tyler Michal Hospitality & Events Intern
Violet Bernard Hospitality & Events Intern
Sam Shreiner Assistant Coordinator Intern
Zeyda Frye Social Media Intern Caroline Delgado-Gilchrist Social Media Intern
Hermann Klinghammer Programming Intern Colin Wilkins Programming Intern
Darien Reimold Programming Intern
Gregory Gibson IST / Website Intern Abha Mam IST / Website Intern
Ronish Padhy IST Intern
Cyndi Goldstein IST Intern
MEET OUR FILMMAKERS & GUESTS
PRE-FEST: TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4
TIME 6:00 PM | THE FOSTER AUDITORIUM
Jennifer Lin | ABOUT FACE
Journalist-turned-filmmaker, Jennifer Lin spent 31 years at The Philadelphia Inquirer, reporting from China, New York, and D.C. About Face is her third documentary, following Beethoven in Beijing (PBS Great Performances) and Ten Times Better (American Masters). She’s the author of Shanghai Faithful and an oral history based on Beethoven in Beijing
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10
TIME 11:30 AM | UEC THEATRES 12
Dr. Yuliya V. Ladygina | TIMESTAMP (Programming Committee)
Penn State assistant professor of Slavic and Global Studies whose research explores Eastern European culture, memory, and exchange. Author of Bridging East and West and completing The Reel Story of Russia’s War against Ukraine. Her work appears in leading journals across film and Slavic studies.
TIME 12 PM | THE FOSTER AUDITORIUM
Grace Hampton | THE EYES OF GHANA (Advisory Board)
Artist, educator, and arts leader Dr. Hampton is Professor Emerita of Studio Art, Art Education, Integrative Arts, and African Studies at Pennsylvania State University. She has taught across major universities and served at the National Endowment for the Arts. At Penn State, she champions inclusive, community-engaged arts practice.
TIME 12 PM | THE FOSTER AUDITORIUM
Sinfree Makoni | THE EYES OF GHANA
Zimbabwe-born scholar and Penn State professor of Applied Linguistics; Director of African Studies. Former fellow at University of Michigan; has taught widely across southern Africa. Holds appointments at universities in the U.S. and South Africa.
TIME 12 PM | THE FOSTER AUDITORIUM
Yaw Agawu-Kakraba | THE EYES OF GHANA
Penn State professor of Spanish and African Studies from Ghana. Novelist and scholar; The Restless Crucible won the 2024 African Literature Association Book of the Year. Author of multiple academic books; newest novel The Executioner’s Stepdaughter (2025).
TIME 2:00 PM | UEC THEATRES 12
Reid Davenport | LIFE AFTER
Documentary filmmaker centering disability from a political lens. His feature I Didn’t See You There won Sundance’s U.S. Documentary Directing Award (2022) and aired on POV. A TED Fellow, his work appears via NPR, PBS, and major outlets. MFA, Stanford.
TIME 4:30 PM | UEC THEATRES 12
Nick Luciano | TE SEGUIRÉ A LA OSCURIDAD
A Penn State film production alum, Los Angeles–based indie filmmaker from Allentown, PA, creating characterdriven comedies and music videos; recent shorts are touring festivals across North America.
TIME 4:30 PM | UEC THEATRES 12
Mike Macera | ALICE-HEART
South Jersey screenwriter/filmmaker influenced by mumblecore and Philly life. Alice-Heart captures an authentic snapshot of aimless college years and city drift.
TIME 7:00 PM | THE STATE THEATRE
Jesse Short Bull | FREE LEONARD PELTIER
Oglala Lakota storyteller and co-director of Lakota Nation vs. United States and Free Leonard Peltier, exploring history, sovereignty, and justice through Indigenous perspectives.
TIME 7:00 PM | THE STATE THEATRE
Shaheen Pasha | PRISON JOURNALISM PROJECT
Cofounder and Chief Education Officer of Prison Journalism Project; Associate Teaching Professor at Penn State. A veteran journalist (Reuters, CNNMoney, WSJ), she builds carceral classroom partnerships and serves on the board of the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11
TIME 11:30 AM | UEC THEATRES 12
Greg Feinberg | WHATEVER DREAMS MAY COME
Director/editor for 25 years crafting films on artists and ideas. His work spans PBS, streamers, and social platforms, earning EMMY, Telly, CASE, and Communicator awards
TIME 11:30 AM | UEC THEATRES 12
Melissa Langer | IN EXCESS
Documentary filmmaker exploring intimate, observational stories with visual rigor and emotional depth.
TIME 12 PM | CARNEGIE CINEMA
Lior Sternfeld | COEXISTENCE, MY ASS (Programming Committee)
Lior B. Sternfeld is an Associate Professor of History and Jewish Studies at Penn State University and author of Between Iran and Zion: Jewish Histories of TwentiethCentury Iran (Stanford University Press, 2018). His work explores the intertwined histories of Jews and Muslims in modern Iran, focusing on questions of nationalism, identity, and belonging in the Middle East.
TIME 2:00 PM | UEC THEATRES 12
Debra Moeller | ROW OF LIFE
Social worker and advocate who married Paralympian Angela Madsen in 2013. Debra became Angela’s closest collaborator, handling logistics and offering steadfast support through record-setting ocean rows and disability advocacy.
TIME 3:30 PM | 3 DOTS
Rasa Dray | SPACE TO BREATHE (Programming Committee)
Rasa “Ray Dray” Drane, M.Ed, is a playwright, director, choreographer, and higher education administrator. A graduate of Bethune-Cookman University and Penn State, she created Whew Chile! Black Women Working and leads Ray Dray Presents, an “edutainment” company blending performance and advocacy. Her work uplifts creativity, community, and access to opportunity.
TIME 3:30 PM | 3 DOTS
Jordan Flaherty | SPACE TO BREATHE
Jordan Flaherty is an award-winning journalist, producer, and author whose work amplifies grassroots movements. His film Powerlands won the 2022 Rigoberta Menchú Grand Prize, and his early reporting on post-Katrina injustice and the Jena Six helped spark national awareness. His first film, Chocolate Babies, is a queer cult classic in the Criterion Collection.
TIME 3:30 PM | 3 DOTS
Jordan “Juicebox P. Burton” | SPACE TO BREATHE
Jordan is a Black, trans-fem multidisciplinary artist and co-owner of Studio Lalala in New Orleans, producing community-rooted, DIY film and mixed-media works that uplift BIPOC creators and reimagine healing through horror and sci-fi.
TIME 6:30 PM | CARNEGIE CINEMA
Ana Pérez-Quiroga | ¿DE QUÉ CASA ERES?
Portuguese visual artist and filmmaker with a PhD in Contemporary Art. Her multidisciplinary practice maps everyday life, identity, gender, and memory across installation, textiles, photography, and film. SPA and Millennium BCP awardee; debut feature supported by ICA and RTP.
TIME 7:00 PM | UEC THEATRES 12
Jack El-Hai | NUREMBERG (WRITER)
Award-winning author whose work bridges history, psychology, and medicine. Books include The Nazi and the Psychiatrist, The Lobotomist, and The Lost Brothers Contributor to Scientific American, The Atlantic, and Smithsonian; frequent lecturer at leading universities.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12
TIME 11:30 AM | UEC THEATRES 12
Nathaniel Lezra | ROADS OF FIRE
Spanish-American director/producer telling humanist stories beyond mainstream conventions. Credits with MTV, Paramount, and Lionsgate. Roads of Fire won Best Documentary at Santa Barbara (2025) and is set for theatrical release with New Mountain Films.
TIME 12 PM | FOSTER AUDITORIUM
Arash Azizi | CUTTING THROUGH ROCKS
Arash Azizi is an Iranian writer, historian, and filmmaker whose work bridges politics, society, and culture. He is the author of The Shadow Commander: Soleimani, the US, and Iran’s Global Ambitions. He brings insight into the intersection of sports, gender, and political struggle in contemporary Iran.
TIME 2:00 PM | UEC THEATRES 12
$eck | SO FAR ALL GOOD
$eck is a Senegalese-rooted, New York–based filmmaker and visual artist whose emotionally resonant, self-shot work blurs cinema and fine art. His debut feature is slated to premiere at Tribeca.
TIME 2:00 PM | UEC THEATRES 12
Gustavo Rosa | SO FAR ALL GOOD
A Brazilian-born, Boston-raised filmmaker and educator. His projects include The Voyage Out, Seconds Away, and So Far All Good. He directed Carro, and The Restoration Rosa has worked with companies including A24 and Netflix. As an educator, his students’ films have screened internationally and received multiple Directors Guild of America awards.
TIME 4:30 PM | UEC THEATRES 12
Miranda Brethour | THE PROPERTY
Brethour, Visiting Assistant Professor of History/Jewish Studies at Penn State, studies Polish-Jewish relations around the Holocaust and rural responses to persecution; Zwigenberg is a historian of memory, trauma, and atomic legacies.
TIME 4:30 PM | UEC THEATRES 12
Ran Zwigenberg | THE PROPERTY
Ran Zwigenberg is Professor of Asian Studies, History & Jewish Studies at Penn State University. His award-winning research examines modern Japanese and European history through the lenses of memory culture, trauma, and heritage. His books include Hiroshima: The Origins of Global Memory Culture and Nuclear Minds: Cold War Psychological Science and the Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
TIME 6:00 PM | CARNEGIE CINEMA
Pavli Serenetsky (Brielle Brilliant) | MORE BEAUTIFUL PERVERSIONS
Filmmaker and environmentalist making place-focused cinema, often hand-processing 16mm. Firstness won Outfest’s Grand Jury Prize (2021). Co-founded Purpose Repair Shop; exhibited at MoMA and festivals nationwide.
TIME 6:00 PM | CARNEGIE CINEMA
Brady Lewis | FAINTER ECHOS
Filmmaker, educator, and arts leader with NEA-funded work and dozens of festival awards. Former Director of Education at Pittsburgh Filmmakers; co-founder of Keylight. His films have screened at MoMA and across the U.S.
TIME 6:00 PM | CARNEGIE CINEMA
Josh Weissbach | FRANK STARES AT CELESTIALS
Experimental filmmaker with screenings at Ann Arbor, Courtisane, and Museum of the Moving Image. Recipient of grants and fellowships from LEF, Interbay, Nohl, and more; works distributed by Light Cone (Paris).
TIME 6:00 PM | CARNEGIE CINEMA
Matt Whitman | NEARER TO THEE IN A TRIPTYCH
Brooklyn-based artist whose 16mm and Super 8 films screen at venues including UnionDocs, Light Field, CROSSROADS, and more; exploring perception, place, and time.
TIME 7:00 PM | UEC THEATRES 12
Yuliya V. Ladygina | MR. NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN (Programming Committee)
Penn State assistant professor of Slavic and Global Studies whose research explores Eastern European culture, memory, and exchange. Author of Bridging East and West and completing The Reel Story of Russia’s War against Ukraine. Her work appears in leading journals across film and Slavic studies.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13
TIME 11:30 AM | UEC THEATRES 12
Amanda Erickson | SHE CRIED THAT DAY
San Carlos Apache filmmaker and veteran nonfiction TV producer (Travel Channel, National Geographic WILD, Investigation Discovery). Her debut feature investigates Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives in New Mexico. A Jackson Wild, Film Independent Doc Lab, and NAMA fellow; teaching artist and Brown Girls Doc Mafia member.
Lior B. Sternfeld is an Associate Professor of History and Jewish Studies at Penn State University and author of Between Iran and Zion: Jewish Histories of TwentiethCentury Iran (Stanford University Press, 2018). His work explores the intertwined histories of Jews and Muslims in modern Iran, focusing on questions of nationalism, identity, and belonging in the Middle East.
TIME 2:00 PM | UEC THEATRES 12
Anita Gabrosek | DIVIDE
Anita Gabrosek is a filmmaker, editor, and educator whose work bridges industry and academia. With over a decade of editing in New York on films and series like Cropsey, Borderline, and Impractical Jokers, she is Assistant Professor of Post-Production at Cleveland State University. She creates films and plays exploring narrative, power, and human connection.
TIME 4:30 PM | UEC THEATRES 12
Dean Ronalds | ZOE
Writer-director of six features and TV, collaborating with talents like Melissa Leo and Tony Todd. Co-wrote/directed #Screamers (Telluride Horror, Torino). Veteran of comedy and genre projects.
TIME 5:00 PM | WEBSTER’S BOOKSTORE CAFÉ
Carianne King | BROADWAY BOOKS
Writer-director of comedy shorts and branded content. Trollify was a Vulture “Best Comedy Short of the Month”; Scumbag won the Iron Mule audience award. MFA, Columbia; former creative at Coach.
TIME 5:00 PM | WEBSTER’S BOOKSTORE CAFÉ
Elaine Meder-Wilgus
Co-founder of the Central PA Theatre & Dance Fest and owner of Webster’s Bookstore Café. Performer and director with Tempest Productions and The Next Stage, she champions local arts and community.
TIME 7:00 PM | THE STATE THEATRE
Elegance Bratton | MOVE YA BODY
Elegance Bratton is an award-winning director, writer and photographer whose work bridges personal history and social justice. After spending a decade homeless and then serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, he earned a BS from Columbia University and an MFA from NYU-Tisch. His documentary Pier Kids and fiction debut The Inspection (A24) explore themes of queerness, Black identity and resilience.
TIME 7:00 PM | THE STATE THEATRE
Chester Algernol | MOVE YA BODY
Chester Algernal Gordon is a gender-nonbinary AfricanAmerican costume designer and producer. In 2019 they became the first male African-American costume designer competing in competition at the Cannes Film Festival with Port Authority. Their films have screened and won awards at 200+ festivals globally; they are a 2019 New York–based Fellow of Film Independent and a recipient of the Tribeca Film Institute TFI All Access grant.
TIME 7:00 PM | THE STATE THEATRE
Rasa Drey | MOVE YA BODY (Programming Committee)
Rasa “Ray Dray” Drane, M.Ed, is a playwright, director, choreographer, and higher education administrator. A graduate of Bethune-Cookman University and Penn State, she created Whew Chile! Black Women Working and leads Ray Dray Presents, an “edutainment” company blending performance and advocacy. Her work uplifts creativity, community, and access to opportunity.
TIME 7:00 PM | THE STATE THEATRE
Brittany “Red-I” Benton (DJ RediBeats)
MOVE YA BODY
Cleveland DJ, producer, and record-shop owner blending hip-hop, house, and Afro-Caribbean beats. Half of FreshProduce; runs Beat Freak showcase, fostering community for emerging producers.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14
TIME 11:30 AM | UEC THEATRES 12
Benjamin Kegan | SECONDS AWAY
New York–based filmmaker examining masculinity and the body. Columbia MFA; The First Men premiered at SXSW; Team Taliban earned top Tribeca praise and RIIFF Best Doc Short. His feature doc Expiration Term of Service won Best Documentary at Reel Heart.
TIME 12 PM | FOSTER AUDITORIUM
Rita Walsh | THE WOLVES ALWAYS COME AT NIGHT
Producer working across Australia and the U.S. Credits include Reality, The Assistant, Now, Hear Me Good, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, and I Used to Be Normal. Developing new features with Kit Zauhar, Mackie Mallison, and Gabrielle Brady.
TIME 2:00 PM | UEC THEATRES 12
Ayçıl Yeltan | FIDAN
Actor, writer, and director trained in Turkey and at CalArts. Her shorts have won multiple awards; debut feature Fidan won at Antalya’s Golden Orange and continues on the festival circuit with international support.
TIME 2:00 PM | UEC THEATRES 12
Merve Şen
Penn State PhD candidate in Comparative Literature and Visual Studies researching health humanities, care ethics, and the hospital as sensory space.
TIME 6:30 PM | THE ROWLAND THEATRE
Grace Hampton | Advisory Board
Artist, educator, and arts leader Dr. Hampton is Professor Emerita of Studio Art, Art Education, Integrative Arts, and African Studies at Pennsylvania State University. She has taught across major universities and served at the National Endowment for the Arts. At Penn State, she champions inclusive, community-engaged arts practice.
TIME 6:30 PM | THE ROWLAND THEATRE
Zoey Martinson | THE FISHERMAN
Comedy/genre writer-director. The Fisherman premiered at Venice Biennale, winning UNESCO’s Fellini Medal. Directing credits include Hulu’s Bite Size Halloween, MTV/ Paramount+, and A24’s Ziwe; writer on HBO Max’s Betty.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15
TIME 11:30 AM | THE ROWLAND THEATRE
Cameron S. Mitchell | DISPOSABLE HUMANITY Award-winning director, cinematographer, and producer whose work champions authentic portrayals of disability and drives change in the film industry. Founder of CSM Productions, his work spans Toyota commercials, the documentary Elsa, and narrative shorts like The CoOp. A three-time Slamdance official selection and juror for Slamdance Unstoppable and DOC NYC, his debut Disposable Humanity won Slamdance’s Audience Award.
TIME 6:30 PM | THE ROWLAND THEATRE
Harris Doran | PORELESS
Sundance/Berlin award-winning filmmaker and 2024 Spirit Award nominee (producer, Kokomo City). As writerdirector: F^¢K ’€M R!GHT B@¢K (Sundance), 8 Minutes 20 Seconds, and Beauty Mark (Film Independent Spirit Awards “Someone to Watch” shortlist).
TIME 10:00 PM | UEC THEATRES 12
A.D. Calvetti | COYOTE ROAD
Pittsburgh director/editor with a penchant for music, woodworking, and longboarding; crafts kinetic, characterforward stories.
TIME 2:15 PM | THE ROWLAND THEATRE
Friederike Baer | THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Professor of History and Division Head of Arts & Humanities at Penn State Abington, specializing in early American history and German-speaking communities in North America. Her book Hessians: German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War (Oxford UP, 2022) won the 2023 Society of the Cincinnati Prize. She holds a PhD from Brown University and a BA from Boston College and studied in Germany.
TIME 2:15 PM | THE ROWLAND THEATRE
Ricardo Herrera | THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Ricardo A. Herrera is a U.S. Army veteran and awardwinning historian of early American military history, currently Visiting Professor in the Department of National Security & Strategy at the U.S. Army War College. He is author of Feeding Washington’s Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778 and For Liberty and the Republic: The American Citizen as Soldier, 1775-1861.
TIME 2:15 PM | THE ROWLAND THEATRE
Philip Mead | THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Philip C. Mead is a historian specializing in the American Revolution. He earned his PhD in American History from Harvard University and served as Chief Historian & Curator at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. His research includes soldiers’ diaries, George Washington’s tent, and early women’s voting in New Jersey.
TIME 4:45 PM | THE ROWLAND THEATRE
Afia Serena Nathaniel | DON’T BE LATE, MYRA
Pakistani-American filmmaker whose debut feature Dukhtar premiered at Toronto and was Pakistan’s Oscar submission. Her Oscar-qualified short Don’t Be Late, Myra transforms personal trauma into urgent cinema about children’s safety and cultural taboos.
TIME 4:45 PM | THE ROWLAND THEATRE
Patrick Plaisance | PREDATORS (Programming Committee)
Patrick Plaisance is a professor and leading scholar of media ethics at Penn State. A former journalist, he explores moral psychology and the ethics of representation in documentary and news. He is the author of Media Ethics: Key Principles for Responsible Practice, which includes a chapter examining truth, power, and moral agency through the lens of Predators.
TIME 7:00 PM | THE ROWLAND THEATRE
Arash Azizi | TATAMI
Arash Azizi is an Iranian writer, historian, and filmmaker whose work bridges politics, society, and culture. He is the author of The Shadow Commander: Soleimani, the US, and Iran’s Global Ambitions. He brings insight into the intersection of sports, gender, and political struggle in contemporary Iran.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16
TIME 10:45 AM | THE ROWLAND THEATRE
Stanislav Puzdriak | UNFINISHED CHAPTER
NYC-based filmmaker and cinematographer with a decade of experience across commercial and independent projects.
TIME 10:45 AM | THE ROWLAND THEATRE
Rebecca Gruss | THRIFT STORE OUIJA BOARD
Actor seen in The Knick, The Deuce, FBI, and SVU; film credits include Chained for Life. Pittsburgh-based Pennsylvania native.
TIME 10:45 AM | THE ROWLAND THEATRE
Ashley Seering | A LOVELY UNCONTROLLABLE THING
Award-winning filmmaker (six regional EMMY nominations), MFA Loyola Marymount; work explores social justice and the human experience. Teaches film at San Jose State.
TIME 10:45 AM | THE ROWLAND THEATRE
Alex Djordjevic | BISHOP TUBE CLEAN AND GREEN
Filmmaker/photographer focused on social and environmental issues. PBS credits, festival selections, and exhibits worldwide; adjunct cinematography/film history professor at Drexel.
TIME 10:45 AM | THE ROWLAND THEATRE
Wallace McKelvey | RIVER STORIES: WALK
Harrisburg journalist-filmmaker and York Dispatch managing editor. His shorts screen nationally; he serves on the LGBT Center board and studies at Penn State.
TIME 10:45 AM | THE ROWLAND THEATRE
Phoebe Post | THE WAYWARD
Danish-American filmmaker influenced by Dogme 95, centering candid, character-driven stories of women, family, and care.
TIME 12 PM | UEC THEATRES 12
Chithra Jeyaram | LOVE CHAOS KIN
Tamil filmmaker and former physical therapist whose work centers family and resilience. Produced Oscar-qualified Amma’s Pride; directed Foreign Puzzle and Love Chaos Kin; edited Sex Work, It’s Just a Job. NYU adjunct; alum of Visions du Réel, Chicken & Egg, and the Gotham.
And the Iyer Family
TIME 12 PM | UEC THEATRES 12
Ering McGuff-Pennington | ROSALIE
Writer, director, producer, and actor originally from Texas and a graduate of NYU/Tisch. Her award-winning short thriller Rosalie explores motherhood, obsession, and bodily autonomy. She co-founded Ruffled Owl Productions with Adriana Spencer to make bold, thought-provoking films. Erin lives in the Hudson Valley with her family and is finishing a novel.
TIME 1:00 PM | THE ROWLAND THEATRE
Jill Campbell & Gregory Gerhard BEYOND THE GAZE
Longtime collaborators blending vérité intimacy and poetic imagery. Credits include Mr. Chibbs (Peacock) and v (First Run Features). Their work screens at Tribeca, DOC NYC, and more.
TIME 2:15 PM | UEC THEATRES 12
Chris Ali | JUST KIDS
(Programming Committee)
Pioneers Chair of Telecommunications and Professor of Telecommunications at the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State University. He holds a PhD in Communications Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and his work focuses on broadband and digital equity in rural and remote communities.
TIME 2:15 PM | UEC THEATRES 12
Alyza Enriquez | JUST KIDS
A Peabody-winning Brooklyn-based filmmaker and photographer whose work explores identity and community. At VICE, they helped shape LGBTQ+ coverage and co-created the acclaimed series Transnational. Her Gender Spectrum Collection advanced trans and nonbinary representation in media.
TIME 3:30 PM | THE ROWLAND THEATRE
Shai Carmeli Pollak | THE SEA
Award-winning Israeli filmmaker spanning fiction, documentary, and animation. The Sea (2025) won five Ophirs, including Best Film, and three Jerusalem Film Festival awards. Known for Bil’in My Love and Refugees; created animated works like Journey to the Planet of the Minimiks and series Mikmak
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
OUR FESTIVAL PRINCIPLES
We endeavor to be as uncensorious as possible: our programming aims to be inclusive and conducive to dialogue, welcoming a wide range of perspectives and voices. We believe we have chosen pieces that honor the principles of respect and dignity — or that are created with those principles in mind — making them ideal vehicles for the conversations we want to see happening here. We support nuance, encourage complexity, and value films that challenge us to think more deeply about ourselves and one another.
We also recognize that film festivals are spaces for engaging with difficult subject matter. In that spirit, we ask that all festival conversations be conducted with respect, open listening, and a commitment to seeing the humanity in those who may disagree with us. Guided by the principles of the Dignity Index, we strive to create a space where every voice belongs, where we can explore multiple perspectives, and where we honor the courage it takes for filmmakers to invite us into their worlds.
This is what makes our festival a true celebration of cinema — not just watching films, but engaging with them, learning from them, and learning from each other. Please join us as we celebrate the art of film, the power of storytelling, and the community we build together.
HOW TO FEST
In-Person
Watch films in person with visiting filmmakers from Nov 10 - Nov 16 in State College and Philipsburg, PA. Check out the venues page here and on our website to find films that screen in-person.
Watch Anytime
We are pleased to offer a virtual edition of our festival for Pennsylvania audiences. Films to “watch anytime” will be released live from Nov 10 - Nov 21.
Virtual Reality
Enjoy several immersive VR film projects that invite audiences to navigate intimate inner worlds and urgent global realities. Visit the Palmer Museum of Art on Nov 13 at 1:00 pm to check it out.
FILM GUIDE IN-PERSON
MONDAY | UEC Theatres 12 | Nov. 10, 11:30 AM | International Education Week
Q&A with Dr. Yuliya Ladygina
FURTIVA
Silvania C. Suárez 2024, Spain
2 min
Secretly… A young woman finds time for her art.
TIMESTAMP
125 min
Kateryna Gornostai 2025, Ukraine, Luxembourg, France, Netherlands
Despite the war, school life continues in Ukraine, with pupils and teachers striving to continue learning even under constant threat. The film is a mosaic of the everyday lives of teachers and students from different corners of Ukraine.
MONDAY | Foster Auditorium | Nov. 10, 12:00 PM
Q & A with Sinfree Makoni, Yaw Agawu-Kakraba, and Grace Hampton
HAIKUS FOR MEKAS, AN ODE TO FILM PRESERVATION
Inés Toharia 2025; Not Specified
7 min
Jonas Mekas (1922-2019), poet and filmmaker of Lithuanian origin, remembers the past and ponders on the value of rescuing, preserving and screening films.
A brave mouse in a cinema packed with cats is trying to twist a seemingly repetitive film, where a cat is chasing another mouse in hamster wheels.
Ben Proudfoot 2025, USA
90
93-year-old documentarian Chris Hesse—personal cinematographer to forgotten African icon Kwame Nkrumah—races against blindness and time to rescue and repatriate a secret trove of over 1,300 films that captured the birth of African independence in the fifties and sixties. Yet unseen by the public, these films may not only rewrite Ghanaian and African history—but world history itself.
10 min
Stelios Koupetoris 2024, Greece
min
THE EYES OF GHANA
MONDAY | UEC Theatres 12 | Nov. 10, 2:00 PM | In Honor of ADA 35th Anniversary
Q&A with Reid Davenport
THE ROPE
17 min
Bound since birth by an uncut umbilical cord, a mother and son live an inseparable, stifling existence that denies them freedom and joy. When the mother dies, the middle-aged son faces an agonizing choice to finally sever the cord and embrace life on his own, or to follow her into death and decay.
LIFE AFTER
99 min
A gripping investigative documentary that exposes the tangled web of moral dilemmas and profit motives surrounding assisted dying. Disabled filmmaker Reid Davenport uncovers shocking abuses of power while amplifying the voices of the disability community fighting for justice and dignity in an unfolding matter of life and death.
MONDAY:
OPENING NIGHT
Jesse Short Bull in attendance
MONDAY | UEC Theatres 12 | Nov. 10, 4:30 PM
Q & A with Nick Luciano & Mike Macera
TE SEGUIRÉ A LA OSCURIDAD
Luciano
USA
12 min
Set in 2005, a driven high school student obsessively studies Spanish all year so she can test up a level into her crush’s class
93 min
Set in black-and-white Philadelphia, an aimless college senior navigates shallow artists, genuine friendships, and homework.
| State Theatre | Nov. 10, 6:30 PM
FIVE SEASONS OF MY CHILDHOOD
A journey through childhood memories brings nostalgia full of pain and love. Nothing is as it was in childhood; only memories roam freely and illuminate in retrospect. The environment and everything of that time has been violently ruined and altered by someone. Seasons have settled in the ruins of troubled memories.
Directed by Jesse Short Bull (Lakota Nation vs. the United States) and David France (How To Survive a Plague, Welcome To Chechnya), produced by Bird Runningwater. Leonard Peltier, one of the surviving leaders of the American Indian Movement, has been in prison for 50 years following a contentious conviction. A new generation of Native activists is committed to winning his freedom before he dies.
TUESDAY | UEC Theatres 12 | Nov. 11, 11:30 AM
Melissa Langer & Greg Feinberg in attendance
WHATEVER DREAMS THEY HAD
They escaped the atrocities in Syria only to struggle in America. In Los Angeles, a few find hope in an Armenian priest quietly carrying his own grief.
Excess examines labor, capital, and displacement in modern America through the lens of one city’s trash — in sewers and streets, waterways and workplaces. It’s a gritty dive into the inner workings of a city’s infrastructure.
Nicholas
2025,
Mike Macera 2025, USA
Reid Davenport 2024, USA
Saba Javar 2025, Islamic Republic of Iran
103 min
Jesse Short Bull, David France 2025, USA
FREE LEONARD PELTIER
14 min
Besim Ugzmajli 2025, Spain
27 min
Stephanie Ayanian, Joseph Myers 2024, USA
69 min
Melissa Langer 2025, USA
TUESDAY | Foster Auditorium | Nov. 11, 12:00 PM
Q & A with Lior Sternfeld
COEXISTENCE MY ASS
3 min
Or
95 min
USA
Noam Shuster Eliassi grew up the literal poster child for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process before making a hard pivot to stand-up comedy and political satire. But as the region sinks deeper into devastating violence, she must meet the moment by challenging her audiences with hard truths that are no laughing matter.
TUESDAY | UEC Theatres 12 | Nov. 11, 2:00 PM | In Honor of Veteran’s Day
HOPE... IN THE AFTERMATH OF WAR
Daniel Leonard Bernardi 2025, USA
13 min
After returning from combat, a soldier’s struggle with trauma, addiction, and fractured family ties forces her daughter to confront the quiet war unfolding at home—one that neither of them signed up for but both must survive
ROW OF LIFE
Soraya Simi 2025, USA
82 min
In 2020, Paralympic medalist and 16x Guinness World Record holder Angela Madsen attempted her final solo Ocean row - 2,400 miles from Los Angeles to Hawaii. The film is a poetic story of bravery, resilience, and love between Angela and her wife Deb - separated by a vast ocean - supporting each other’s dreams despite what became the ultimate cost.
TUESDAY | 3-Dots | Nov. 11, 3:30 PM
Filmmakers in attendance
SPACE TO BREATHE
Space to Breathe is an Afrofuturist science fiction hybrid documentary, framed with a future where there are no prisons or police. The year is 2070 and Sojourner is a young genderqueer filmmaker who sets out to understand how abolition came to be, through history’s archives on the movements of the early 21st Century.
ASSEMBLY
Interdisciplinary artist Rashaad Newsome embarks on a journey with a global cast of artists, vogue dancers, and ground-breaking AI to transform a historic military facility in NYC into an Afro-futurist utopia. This once-ina-lifetime performance captured on screen investigates and re-imagines LGBTQ and Black cultural expression through fresh, decolonized minds.
TUESDAY | Carnegie Cinema | Nov. 11, 6:00 PM
Ana Pérez Quiroga in person
THE EMBRACE
John Owens 2025, Argentina
17 min
When the world is crumbling, where do we find hope? Carolina Pirotta, a 50-year-old Argentine tango teacher, faces upheaval as a right-wing populist rises to power. Set amid Argentina’s economic turmoil, this intimate film follows Carolina’s defiant steps through Buenos Aires’s neon dancehalls and protest-filled streets to the mountains of Patagonia.
¿DE
QUÉ CASA ERES?
Ana Pérez Quiroga 2025, Portugal
72 min
“Where do you call home?” was the question faced by nearly 3,000 Spanish children exiled in the Soviet Union during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). This film tells the story of one of them, Angelita Perez, who lived in Russian boarding schools from ages 4 to 24 until completing her medical studies in Moscow.
Amber Fares 2025, Israel, State of Palestine,
Lyna Tadount, Sofian Chouaib 2024, France Mama?
Baba?
YA HANOUNI
Deb Moeller in attendance
20 min
Juicebox P. Burton 2024, USA
105 min
Rashaad Newsome, Johnny Symons 2025, USA
TUESDAY | UEC Theatres 12 | Nov. 11, 7:00 PM
Jack El-Hai in attendance
NUREMBERG
125 min
In postwar Germany, an American psychiatrist must determine whether Nazi prisoners are fit to go on trial for war crimes, and finds himself in a complex battle of intellect and ethics with Hermann Göring, Hitler’s right-hand man.
Meet the Author: Join us for Nuremberg — followed by a conversation with author Jack El-Hai (a writer on the film) and whose book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist inspired the film.
WEDNESDAY | UEC Theatres 12 | Nov. 12, 11:30 AM
Mun Chee Yong and Nathaniel Lezra in attendance.
4 SUNDAYS IN SEPTEMBER
Mun Chee Yong
Singapore
15 min
4 Sundays In September, tells the story of Mari, an Indonesian migrant domestic worker seeking an abortion to avoid being deported
ROADS OF FIRE
119 min
The lives of a human smuggler, an asylum seeker in New York City, and frontline volunteers interweave in a harrowing examination of the global migration crisis.
WEDNESDAY | Foster Auditorium | Nov. 12, 12:00 PM
Arash Azizi in attendance
KIDNEY TRIAL
20 min
Dana, a devout follower of the Breslov Hasidic movement who believes solely in God’s power, struggles with her daughter’s illness at the hospital. An encounter with Marva, the nurse caring for her, challenges her beliefs and opens new horizons of faith, understanding, and hope.
CUTTING THROUGH THE ROCKS
37-year-old Sara Shahverdi, a motorcycle riding, land owning, former midwife-turnedfierce citizen advocate and recent divorcée, just won a landslide local election in her remote Iranian village and everyone has an opinion about it.
WEDNESDAY | UEC Theatres 12 | Nov. 12, 2:00 PM
Gustavo Rosa and $eck in conversation with the Prison Journalism Project
Aïcha Camara 2024, Spain
18 min
No one is safe from hate crimes. On the night of July 20, “JIMMY,” a 15-year-old teenager of Angolan origin named Ndombele Augusto Domingos, was murdered by a 24-year-old Spanish man who worked as a doorman at a nightclub in the Costa Polvoranca industrial estate in Alcorcón (Madrid). In this short film, the family demands justice to honor the memory of their son.
$ECK 2024, USA
72 min
On his first day back from prison, Ace wrestles to find his way. With no money and a girlfriend that has moved on, he struggles to decipher a new direction for his life.
James Vanderbilt 2025, USA
2024,
Nathaniel Lezra 2024, Colombia, USA
94 min
Mohammad Reza Eyni, Sara Khaki 2025, Iran, Germany, USA, Netherlands, Qatar, Chile, Canada
Doron Neeman 2025, Israel
JIMMY
WEDNESDAY | UEC Theatres 12 | Nov.12, 4:30 PM
Guests in attendance.
THE ANNE FRANK GIFT SHOP
15 min
USA
When a high-end design firm presents its plans to reimagine the gift shop at The Anne Frank House, the company’s overt appeal to Generation Z sparks a debate about collective trauma, the Holocaust and tote bags.
THE PROPERTY
Two months after the death of her son, Regina travels to Poland with her granddaughter Mika. The trip’s stated purpose is to retrieve the family’s property confiscated during World War II. But Regina has a secret ulterior motive: to find her first love, whom she was forced to leave 70 years ago.
WEDNESDAY | Carnegie Cinema | Nov.12,6:00 PM | Experimental Films
Brady Lewis, Josh Weissbach, Matt Whitman & Pavli Serenetsky in attendance
NEARER
TO THEE IN A TRIPTYCH
4 min
For decades chemical company DuPont and its subsidiary Chemours poisoned North Carolina’s drinking water through illegally dumping forever chemicals into the Cape Fear River. On altered 16mm film, corporate promises of community care and pure water dissolve as rivers and bodies merge in a meditation on what it means to exist in an imperfect environment.
Matt Whitman 2025, USA
8 min
eyes set down / lots love for a locked door / the silhouettes are the same but the faces have changed / you know I can’t go home this way / came here to say the same
FRANK STARES AT CELESTIALS
A group of people gather together to observe two passing celestials.
MORE BEAUTIFUL PERVERSIONS
Image and sound memory and dream fragments define a man, a place and a relationship in rural Pennsylvania.
Pavli Serenetsky 2025, USA
An alienated teenager follows a stranger to the woods, in this ecologically-focused, queer spin of a classic tale. Produced by the mutual aid collective Purpose Repair Shop, starring musicians Alli Logout (Special Interest) and Zahara Jaime (zzzahara), and shot on a vibrant 16mm, portions of which were hand processed with plants.
Mehdi, the only hearing member of his deaf family, once struggled with speech but now pursues his dream of becoming a professional voice actor.
MR. NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN
David Borenstein, Pavel Talankin 2025, Denmark, Czech Republic, Germany
90 min
As Russia launches its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, primary schools across Russia’s hinterlands are transformed into recruitment stages for the war. Facing the ethical dilemma of working in a system defined by propaganda and violence, a brave teacher goes undercover to film what’s really happening in his own school.
Mickey Rapkin 2023,
108 min
Dana Modan 2024, Poland
Kate E. Hinshaw 2025, USA
NEIGHBORS CARE
70 min
6 min
Brady Lewis 2024, USA
FAINTER ECHOES
1 min
Josh Weissbach 2024, USA
THURSDAY | UEC Theatres 12 | Nov. 13, 11:30 AM
Amanda Erickson in attendance
HANDWOVEN
Dasha Levin, Mason Cazalet, Mihika Das, Matthew Wisdom | 2024, USA
9 min
Directed by Dasha Levin, Mason Cazalet, Mihika Das, Matthew Wisdom
A lyrical portrait of Nikyle Begay, a non-binary shepherd and weaver; working to preserve their way of life through the traditional art of weaving.
SHE CRIED THAT DAY
Amanda Erickson 2025, USA
92 min
She Cried That Day is the story of a sister’s love and the spirit, strength and will of Indigenous Women refusing to let their loved ones remain invisible in the eyes of the justice system.
THURSDAY | Foster Auditorium | Nov. 13, 12:00 PM
THURSDAY | Palmer Museum of Arts | Nov. 13, 1:00 - 7:00 PM
VIRTUAL REALITY IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE | See Page 26 & 27
Curated by Diane Akpovwa
Scan the QR code for the full lineup
All furnishings are generously provided by Shindig Alley (and available for purchase after the event).
THURSDAY | UEC Theatres 12 | Nov. 13, 2:00 PM | Pride on Screen
Anita Gabrosek in conversation with Chris Ali
PUFFS
DIVIDE
Joshua Seftel 2025, Not Specified
A visual meditation on absence, memory, and the unseen ripples of America’s gun violence epidemic follows veteran CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp as they embark on a seven-year-long project to document the empty bedrooms of children killed in school shootings. ALL THE EMPTY ROOMS
30 min
Brandon Kramer 2025, Israel, USA
97
After Liat Beinin Atzili is kidnapped on October 7th, her Israeli-American family faces their own conflicting perspectives to fight for her release and the future of the places they call home.
Chaya Moshayev 2024, Uzbekistan
14 min
Ella and Edik, brothers of a traditional Bukhari family (Uzbek Jews), arrive early on holiday to their parents home in a small town. There they find their homophobic father - dead and dressed in women’s clothes.
HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY
Jeanette Buck 2025, United States
9 min
Two estranged siblings of opposing political persuasions cleaning out their mother’s home after her death, fight over the inheritance of a sentimental souvenir.
Sam Feder 2025, Not Specified
81 min
ACLU attorney Chase Strangio takes on not only the Supreme Court but also the court of public opinion, as news coverage shapes the national conversation on this flashpoint topic for our times.
THURSDAY | UEC Theatres 12 | Nov. 13, 4:30 PM
Dean Ronalds in attendance
BAYONETED!
Thomas Dahirel 2024, France
11 min
Unable to die before finding love, Rick, a reluctant First World War soldier, flees the trenches, limping in agony - despite his rifle and bayonet still stuck in his stomach.
ZOE
Emanuela Galliussi, Dean Ronalds 2025, France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom
101 min
Zoe has everything that makes a person happy, but she’s not. A young boy dressed as a wizard grants her three chances to live the life she yearns for. Zoe discovers herself living in Ibiza, London and Paris experiencing three new lives of “what if”.
Carianne King in conversation with Elaine Meder-Wilgus
BROADWAY BOOKS
Carianne King 2024, Ecuador
25 min
In aggressively gentrifying Manhattan, a group of over-educated, under-employed bookstore workers struggle to keep their independent bookstore in business using increasingly desperate measures.
THURSDAY | Carnegie Cinema | Nov. 13, 6:30 PM
HIGH SCHOOL & COLLEGE SHORTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Scan the QR code for the full lineup
THURSDAY | State Theatre | Nov. 13, 7:00 PM
Elegance Bratton, Chester Algernol + Rasa Dray in attendance
WANNABE
Kat
11 min
Forever best friends Emilia and Mateo navigate the ups and downs of 90s teen life as they enter a radio contest to meet their idols, the Spice Girls.
Elegance Bratton 2024, USA
87 min
In the beginning there was house music, and it was born in Chicago. Move Ya Body tells the story of how house music outsmarted the forces of Chicago’s backlash against queer black, brown, and femme dance culture through the life experience of the first person to record a House song, Vince Lawrence.
Keep moving and dance the night away — featuring DJ Red-I spinning house music at 3 Dots from 9pm
MOVE YA BODY
Cattani 2024; Ecuador
FRIDAY | UEC Theatres 12 | Nov. 14, 11:30 AM
Benjamin Kegan in attendance.
QUEEN OF THE CATSKILLS
Jamie Kennard 2024, United States
15 min
A teacher finds healing in the mountains and sets out to become the first woman to backcountry ski all 33 of the Catskill High Peaks—solo.
SECONDS AWAY
Benjamin Kegan 2025; Belgium, United States
95 min
Seconds Away follows Belgian-American runner Peter Callahan and his longtime coach, Patrick McHugh, as they chase a qualifying time fast enough to make the Olympic Games—a dream made more urgent by the coach’s recent cancer diagnosis.
FRIDAY | Foster Auditorium | Nov. 14, 12:00 PM
Filmmaker Rita Walsh in attendance
Alicia Van Assche 2024, Spain
14 min
The search for solitude as an alternative, of life in silence, of calm as a life option in the face of the usual chaos in our way of life.
Davaa and Zaya are a young nomadic couple in the vast Bayanhongor region of Mongolia who are in the throes of animal birthing season when a seismic event suddenly changes their lives. They are forced to migrate afar but are haunted by their past lives.
FRIDAY | UEC Theatres 12 | Nov. 14, 2:00 PM
Aycil Yeltan in attendance
KOSHER TEST
Turkey
In an ultra-Orthodox extremist community, 14-year-old Tamar is taken to the hospital by her father, who suspects she has engaged in sexual activity. As Tamar undergoes a virginity test, the intense pressure and scrutiny strain her relationship with her father and challenge her place within the community.
13-year-old Fidan learns that she has earned the right to attend the country’s most prestigious high school. However, it is not easy for her to leave behind her father, who has disappeared under the shadow of tragic events, and her little brother, to move to the big city. Fidan finds herself at a crossroads, driven by the spirit of sacrifice so characteristic of the noble women of Anatolia.
FRIDAY | UEC Theatres 12 | Nov. 14, 4:15 PM
I CAN’T TALK RIGHT NOW
Carlos Alberto Mejías 2024, Spain
3 min
A boy is on his way home when, suddenly, two girls decide to mock him once again. As the situation unfolds, the young boy struggles internally to cope with the moment.
2025, USA
Five top-ranked high school oratory students spend a year crafting spellbinding spoken word performances with the dream of winning the world’s largest and most intense public speaking competition.
99 min
Jennifer Tiexiera
SPEAK.
16 min
Rikki Rotter 2024, Israel
79 min
Ayçıl Yeltan 2025,
FIDAN
FRIDAY | The Rowland Theatre | Nov. 14, 7:00 PM
Harris Doran & Zoey Martinson in attendance
Harris Doran 2025, USA
13 min
A fabulous, queer, Muslim beauty entrepreneur competes in a Shark Tank-like contest after suffering an untimely allergic reaction
THE FISHERMAN
Zoey Martinson 2024, Ghana
105 min
Atta Oko has spent his life as a proud traditional fisherman in rural Ghana. When he is suddenly forced into retirement his life takes a whimsical turn as he is partnered with a modern bougie talking fish. As fishy chaos ensues, Atta and his three quirky “Associates” navigate the vibrant streets of Accra, chasing their shared dream of owning a fishing boat.
FRIDAY | UEC Theatre 12 | Nov. 14, 10:00 PM | Late Night
A.D. Calvetti in attendance
COYOTE ROAD
A.D. Calvetti 2025, USA
101 min
A dying amnesiac follows the trail of a demonic entity across a decaying netherworld. Along the way, strange encounters bring his mission of revenge into question.
SATURDAY: KID-FRIENDLY SHORTS
| Tempest Studios | Nov. 15, 11:00 AM
Scan the QR code for the full lineup
SATURDAY | The Rowland Theatre | Nov. 15, 11:30 AM | In Honor of ADA 35th Anniversary
Cameron S. Mitchell in attendance.
DISABLED A LOVE STORY
Sheila M. Sofian 2024, United States
13 min
“Disabled” is an animated documentary that explores the relationship and struggles of Terry, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, and her husband Jon, who has cared for her since her diagnosis.
DISPLACED HUMANITY
95 min
Cameron S. Mitchell 2024, Austria, Germany, Poland, United States
A family investigates the history and memory of the Nazi Aktion T4 program which targeted disabled people and catalyzed the Holocaust.
SATURDAY | The Rowland Theatre | Nov. 15, 2:00 PM
Highlights of the film will be followed by a panel discussion with distinguished historians of the American Revolution. Dr. Friederike Baer, Professor of History and Division Head for Arts and Humanities at Penn State Abington, who appears in the film and served as a historical advisor. Dr. Ricardo Herrera, Senior Historian at the George Washington Leadership Institute and retired Professor of Military History at the U.S. Army War College. Dr. Philip Mead, Founding Chief Historian and Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia.
SATURDAY | Tempest Studio | Nov. 15, 2:15 PM | Big-Kid Friendly Films
BEULA
Suresh Kumar 2025, India
3 min
A Playful, Cheerful and Positive Attitude of a Village Girl namely BEULA.
GLASSWORKER
Usman Riaz 2024, Pakistan
98 min
Pakistan’s first hand-drawn feature animation, about a father and son who find themselves unwillingly caught up in an impending war, feels like an homage to Studio Ghibli.
SATURDAY | The Rowland Theatre | Nov. 15, 4:30 PM
Afia Serena Nathanie in conversation with Patrick Plaisance
DON’T BE LATE, MYRA
Nathaniel 2024, Pakistan
15 min
A missed school bus leaves ten-year-old Myra stranded in Lahore, where her journey home spirals into a tense fight for survival against the men who stalk her every step.
PREDATORS
96 min David Osit 2025, Not Specified
A cultural sensation from its inception in the early 2000s, Dateline NBC’s candid-camera investigative series To Catch a Predator ensnared sex offenders and lured them to a film set, where they would be interviewed and arrested while cameras rolled. Predators delves into the murk of human nature to observe hunter, predator, subject and spectator alike, all ensnared in a complicated web of entertainment as far as the eye can see.
SATURDAY | The Rowland Theatre | Nov. 15, 7:00 PM
Arash Azizi in attendance.
A GOOD DAY WILL COME
25 min Amir Zargara 2023, Turkey
Arash is a professional wrestler with dreams of representing his country and winning gold medals. The country is in turmoil and its people are suffering. Arash must decide between using his platform to stand up to tyranny, or put his head down and remain silent.
Iranian female judokas Leila and her coach Maryam, travel to the Judo World Championship, intent on bringing home Iran’s first gold medal. Midway through the Judo World Championships, they receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic ordering Leila to fake an injury and lose, or she will be branded a traitor of the state.
B
Afia Serena
104 min
Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Guy Nattiv 2024, USA, United Kingdom, Georgia
TATAMI
SUNDAY | The Rowland Theatre | Nov. 16, 10:45 AM | Made in PA
Directors in attendance
DON’T CRY FOR ME ALL YOU DRAG QUEENS
Kristal Sotomayor 2024, United States
25 min
“Don’t Cry For Me All You Drag Queens” pays homage to the legendary Mother Cavallucci by weaving together the present and past to provide a striking portrait of belonging.
BISHOP TUBE CLEAN AND GREEN
Alex Djordjevic 2025, United States
24 min
A local group fights to prevent a developer from building homes on a toxic site.
UNFINISHED CHAPTER
Stanislav Puzdriak 2024, United States
A LOVELY UNCONTROLLABLE THING
Ashley Seering 2025, United States
11 min
Through her intricate objects crafted from selfforged Damascus steel, artist Victoria Moore blurs the line between utility and art, strength and delicacy.,
THRIFT STORE OUIJA BOARD
Rebecca Gruss 2025, United States
7 min
Three friends awaken something supernatural through a thrifted Ouija board—only to discover it’s far more interested in exposing their secrets than answering their questions.
THE WAYWARD
10 min
As people vanish in a small town, two FBI agents suspect a local writer whose unsettling tales seem to predict each disappearance.
Phoebe Post 2025, United States
SUNDAY | UEC Theatres 12 | Nov. 16, 12:00 PM
Chithra Jeyaram and the Iyer family in attendance
HEX
15 min
A festive evening turns tense as a mother’s ideals are tested by old family dynamics.
19 min
After her release from jail, Emmylou plans to track each person who wronged her, only to find that life on the outside moves on.
Jeyaram 2025, India, USA
An unexpected pregnancy compels an Indian immigrant mother to help her adopted twin daughters reconnect with their White birth mother and estranged Native American father, exposing raw class divides while transforming their understanding of identity and belonging.
SUNDAY | The Rowland Theatre | Nov. 16, 1:00 PM
Jill Campbell & Gregory Gerhardin attendance
THE CULPRIT
10 min
Virginia Lopez-Medina, a woman who has dedicated her entire life to the world of cinema, talks about her work in a very eventful interview in which, finally, she will have the opportunity to demonstrate what her profession consists of, one of the most unknowns of cinema.
BEYOND THE GAZE
Jill
2024, United States
106 min
In the 1960s, Jule Campbell shattered glass ceilings, transforming a struggling magazine into a media empire: the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. The documentary chronicles her 32-year reign, where she championed intelligence and empowered supermodels like Tyra Banks and Christie Brinkley. Weaving together her journey with feminism’s evolution, the film explores the changing gaze on beauty, from objectification to body positivity.
María Guerra 2023, Spain
Campbell
97 min
Chithra
LOVE CHAOS KIN
Agnes Trier 2024, Denmark
SUNDAY | UEC Theatres 12 | Nov. 16, 2:15 PM
Filmmakers in conversation with Chris Ali
SUCH A PRETTY GIRL
6 min
Meg has returned to her childhood home to help her aging father. But when her twelveyear-old uncovers a long-forgotten relic from her past, Meg must decide in a matter of moments who she’ll protect: her parent or her child.
JUST KIDS
93 min
A documentary that follows three teens in states that restrict gender-affirming care. Over the course of a year, these families endure impossible challenges and show unparalleled strength as they endure attacks from their government—and communities. Civil rights experts and pioneers in the trans community contextualize this moment in history: these new laws are a thinly veiled political strategy that’s been used against different communities for decades.
SUNDAY | The Rowland Theatre | Nov. 16, 3:30 PM
Shai Carmeli-Pollak in attendance.
A teen battles heartbreak while spending Friday out with her unknowing father.
THE
Carmeli-Pollak 2025, Israel, Palestine
Khaled, a Palestinian boy, embarks on a dangerous journey to the sea for the first time in his life, despite Israeli authorities denying his entry. His father, Ribhi, is trying to trace his whereabouts, risking arrest and job loss.
FILM GUIDE WATCH ANYTIME
Deborah Puette 2025, USA
Gianna Toboni 2025, USA
Shai
SEA
13 min
Karina Dandashi 2025, Not Specified
BABA I’M FINE
92 min
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
NARRATIVE FEATURES
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
EXPERIMENTAL
NARRATIVE SHORTS
STUDENT FILMS WATCH ANYTIME
PENN STATE STUDENT FILMS
COLLEGE STUDENT FILMS
COLLEGE STUDENT FILMS
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT FILMS
PRODUCERS
CO-PRODUCERS
BELLISARIO COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATIONS
Provides the opportunities and resources of a large university with the personalized feel and support of a small school. As one of the largest accredited programs of its kind in the nation, students can find a place where they can fit and succeed.
THE HAPPY VALLEY ADVENTURE BUREAU
The bureau’s mission is to develop, promote, and engage in travel related activities and coordinate visitor services designed to enhance the economic activity and quality of life within Centre County, Pennsylvania.
THE ROWLAND THEATRE
Historic single-screen movie theatre built in 1917 by Charles Hedding Rowland. The theatre is owned by the borough of Philipsburg. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
SCHOLAR HOTELS
Scholar is an efficient and responsive organization where decisionmaking is encouraged at each level. An organization that is committed and responsive to its guests, employees, and investment partners.
STATE COLLEGE BOROUGH
Under the Home Rule Charter, there is a seven-member Council, elected at large, for four-year, overlapping terms. Council sets policy and has ultimate responsibility for the municipal government.
PALINKA PICTURES
Palinka Pictures is a multimedia production company with a twist. Our aim is to collaborate with artists, media makers, and educators to make a difference through the arts. This is where individuals inspire art and art inspires community.
PENN STATE GLOBAL
Penn State Global advances global learning and engagement through education abroad, international partnerships, and inclusive support for global students and scholars across the Penn State community.
UEC THEATRES 12
United Entertainment takes pride in bringing the magic of movies and new jobs to communities. The first UEC theatre was built in 1997 and has grown steadily since. With operations in 13 states currently, from east coast to west coast, UEC remains poised for growth.
DON DAVIS PROGRAM IN ETHICAL LEADERSHIP
The mission of the Don Davis Program in Ethical Leadership is to promote professional, academic and personal integrity within the community of the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications.
CO-PRODUCERS
HAPPY VALLEY SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT ALLIANCE
Dedicated to enriching the Happy Valley community through sports and entertainment. We seek to enhance the well-being and economic prosperity of State College with a diverse range of sports and entertainment endeavors.
SCHOOL OF THEATRE AT THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND ARCHITECTURE
The School of Theatre offers undergraduate and graduate degrees covering a range of areas, including Acting, Musical Theatre, Stage Management, Theatre Design and Technology, and Directing.
WPSU
WPSU at Penn State is a PBS and NPR Member station and a service of Penn State Outreach, supporting the community as a trusted source for news. WPSU’s mission is to spark discovery, enrich learning and strengthen community through vibrant public media
THE ARTHUR W. PAGE CENTER
A research center at the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State dedicated to the study and advancement of ethics and responsibility in corporate communication and other forms of public communication.
CENTER FOR SEXUAL AND GENDER DIVERSITY
We provide a comprehensive range of education, information, and advocacy services to students, faculty, staff, and alumni. We work to create and maintain an open, safer, and inclusive environment honoring gender and sexual diversity.
GENE AND ROZ CHAIKEN ENDOWMENT FOR THE STUDY OF THE HOLOCAUST
The Gene and Roz Chaiken Endowment for the Study of the Holocaust at Penn State promotes education, research, and reflection on the Holocaust to preserve memory, confront intolerance, and inspire understanding across generations.
UKRANIAN STUDIES AT THE GERMANIC AND SLAVIC
LANGUANGES AND LITERATURES
Our award-winning faculty is committed to teaching and research in the areas of language, literature, and culture.
IPHET
Dedicated to promoting education and the arts, the understanding and use of technology, job training, developing sustainable communities in underserved areas worldwide, healthy living, and preparing young people for the challenges of the future.
JEWISH STUDIES PROGRAM
The Jewish Studies Program is an interdisciplinary program where students will learn about the history, cultures, literatures, and languages of the Jews.
HEARST FOUNDATION
The mission of the Hearst Foundations is to identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States can build healthy, productive and satisfying lives.
ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS
HUMANITIES INSTITUTE
The Humanities Institute’s aim is to promote collaborative research on ideas central to pressing issues of our time and foster rich discussion and collaboration among scholars.
JOHN CURLEY CENTER FOR SPORTS JOURNALISM
Explores issues and trends in sports journalism through instruction, outreach, programming and research. Emphasizes internships and hands-on experience with broadcast, multimedia and print outlets as well as with league, sport and team publicity operations.
THE MCCOURTNEY INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRACY
Draws from the humanities and social sciences to examine democracy from multiple angles. This cross-dicipline collaboration is evident in our research, education, and outreach efforts.
PALMER MUSEUM OF ART
The Palmer Museum of Art serves Penn State’s land-grant mission of teaching, research, and public service for the University, its students, and audiences from Pennsylvania. The Palmer Museum of Art is a gateway that connects communities through art.
SHINDIG ALLEY
A family-owned business on Front Street in Philipsburg. Finds unique, vintage items in a range of time periods and styles to fit every budget. We do what we do to see you happy and in possession of a piece of history.
STUDENT AFFAIRS
We support and challenge students as they expand learning beyond the classroom, develop personal and professional skills, and achieve the success they seek at PSU and in their lives.
STUDENT DISABILITY RESOURCES
Advances equity and inclusion by removing barriers, supporting diverse learning needs, and ensuring that every student can fully participate in the Penn State experience.
UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
Penn State University Libraries empower learning, research, and discovery by providing access to knowledge, fostering information literacy, and creating inclusive spaces that inspire curiosity and lifelong learning.
WEBSTER’S BOOKSTORE CAFE
A new food & beverage menu as well as our thousands of used books, local & featured new books, and merchandise, all available for you to browse and purchase. We are still proud to host Stax of Trax records and Tiger’s Eye Vintage.
ASSISTANT PRODUCERS
Pioneer’s Chair in Telecommunications
The Rowland Theatre Welcomes the Centre Film Festival
From our first film showing on June 4, 1917, to present day, the Rowland Theatre has been sharing the magic of movies with our audiences.
Thank you for keeping the magic going!
PARTNERING WITH THE CENTRE FILM FESTIVAL SINCE DAY 1!
Razom for Ukraine (Razom) was founded n 2014 and is a leading US-based nonprof t dedicated to supporting Ukra ne With a robust international network of volunteers and partners, we prov de human tarian a d and administer programs focused on health, advocacy civil society and culture Headquarters are in New York City with offices in Washington, D C, and Kyiv Ukra ne
Born of a historical imperative when Ukra n ans came under direct threat, and Cr mea and Donbas were illegally occupied by Russia the mission conce ved then has not changed and indeed, is more sa ient than ever as we enter our second decade of work to support Ukraine in its quest to be integrated into Europe and the western world order We invite our allies, partners friends and volunteers to join us n this work
DONATE
Ra gether" in Ukrainian, s de he principles of the Re idan) and active y co ishment of a secure, pr atic Ukraine We achieve this by creating, inspiring, and collaborating on init atives that mot vate people to think partner and do
and
and support to
Razom Heroes is delivering life-saving aid to
and
Razom Health is strengthening a modern
system to serve Ukrainians now and after victory.
Razom Relief is investing in local Ukrainian NGOs that supply aid to vulnerable communities.
Razom Advocacy is advancing legislation and policy for Ukrainian victory.
Razom Connect celebrates and promotes the vibrancy
Philanthropic support is critical in advancing Razom’s mission and we simp y can t do it without the generous contributions of our donors Find out about the multiple ways you can make your tax deductible gift by scann ng the QR code
November 11–21 Pavilion Theatre
April 16–18
February 24–March 6 Pavilion Theatre
April 7–18 Playhouse Theatre
“Thoughtful, insightful political discussion.”
"The guests give me hope!"
April 23–25 Downtown Theatre
Listen to the Democracy Works podcast to learn how you can strengthen democracy. Hear from leading scholars, journalists, and democracy advocates.
By Sophocles
Music by Joshua Salzman
Book and Lyrics by Ryan Cunningham
Book and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Music by Frederick Loewe
By Thornton Wilder
By Dominique Morisseau
We are State College’s only VEGAN cafe and we won favorite vegetarian restaurant in both Centre County favorites and in State College Magazine. We offer a food and beverage menu as well as our thousands of used books, local and featured new books, and merchandise (including bulk tea and coffee), all available for you to browse and purchase. We are still proud to host Stax of Trax records and Sometimes Mary Vintage, which are both open during our business hours.
