2022 Program Guide

Program Guide

JULY 22-31, 2022

13TH ANNUAL NEW HOPE FILM FESTIVAL

New Hope Film Festival, Ltd., 6542-A Lower York Rd., #219, New Hope, PA 18938

June 10, 2022

Dear Patron,

The 13th Annual New Hope Film Festival proudly presents 66 films and 9 original scripts from 13 countries. Many of our filmmakers plan to travel long distances to attend their shows at the New Hope Arts Center, which means we expect lively Q&A sessions and lots of great energy.

Our event brings together people from many backgrounds and perspectives. Every filmmaker is important and valued here, and our judges spend an incredible amount of time evaluating and discussing the works submitted for our consideration. For the second year in a row, we will screen our curated lineup via physical and online formats, so you don’t have to be in New Hope to join the celebration.

Many thanks to our artists, our sponsors, the New Hope Arts Center and everyone who plans to experience our films. We hope to see you at the movies!

Stay safe,

Doug Whipple President New Hope Film Festival

Contents

Schedule.....5

Film Lineup…..11

Sponsors and Visitors Guide…..22

Script Lineup…..27

Follow Us on Social Media!

Facebook: facebook.com/newhopefilmfestival

Twitter: @newhopefilmfest

Instagram: newhopefilm

Blogger: newhopefilmfest.blogspot.com

Co-Directors:

Cover Photo: Frank Bey: All My Dues Are Paid

Tom Dwyer and Lisa Palattella

2022 Schedule

2022 Schedule (Continued)

TIME SHOW VENUE FILMS

2022 Schedule (Continued)

Saturday, July 30 (Cont.)

5:15 - 7:45 PM Emily or Oscar?

8:15 - 11:15 PM Toprak

New Hope Arts Center

2 Stockton Avenue

New Hope Arts Center

2 Stockton Avenue

I Mustache You Emily or Oscar?

The Sculptor Paradisiac

This Vast and Mysterious Ocean Therapy Toprak

Sunday, July 31

4:00 - 6:00 PM Awards Ceremony Google Meet Awards and Team Chat ReceptionBy Invitation Only

Virtual Screenings

July 22-28

24 Hours / 7 Days Various Online Screenings The New Hope Film Festival’s Virtual Cineplex by CineSend. For vouchers, please visit the Tickets page on our website or find event listings directly on the website of our ticket vendor GoElevent.com

Hello to Julia Raised Up West Side Toprak

Flemington and Yardley ShopRites are P roud to Support

Owned and Operated by the Colalillo Family, Caring for our communities since 1958. www.shoprite.com

Festival Tip:

Metered parking is available on most streets in New Hope. Additional parking is available at five pay and display lots. The closest one to New Hope Arts Center is Union Square— located just across W. Bridge Street and the railroad tracks. Phillips Mills theater has its own parking lot just off Rt. 32 (River Road).

Smart phone payment is available at various locations by downloading the www.parkmobile.com app.

A complete parking guide is available at www.newhopeborough.org

Short, USA

14 Minutes

7 MINUTES IN HELL

Co-Directed by Shane Spiegel and Justin Reager

A game of seven minutes in heaven lands Olivia and her crush, James, in the closet of an abandoned house, but things go from awkward to terrifying when the light burns out and something else is with them in the closet.

AGHAST!

Directed by Andreas Quiroga

Short, USA

17 Minutes

Four bickering college students try to find their way out of the forest only to find a bloated dead body.

AION

Directed by Giulio Meliani

Short, USA

15 Minutes

A single father and his terminally ill son spend their remaining time together exploring the boy’s biggest wish.

AMERICAN DREAM

Directed by Angela Garcia Combs

Short, USA

21 Minutes

A recovering addict suffers the dangers and indignities of gig work in the wealthy homes of the privileged few.

ANDREA

Directed by Armando Valdes-Kennedy

Short, USA

23 Minutes

When the 10-year-old daughter of a single, immigrant housekeeper is forced to choose between her dream and the needs of her family, she learns that love and sacrifice are the foundation of family.

Short, USA

9 Minutes

BIASED

Directed by Andrea Lwin

After the sudden death of a tenant, an inept L.A. property manager creates a competition by scheduling two couples to view the apartment at the same time.

BLACK CITY NIGHTS

Directed by Nathan Castiel

Music Video, USA

5 Minutes

A vivid depiction of long, sleepless nights chasing the ghosts of one’s past and future, hoping the next big break is around the corner.

BOXED

Directed by Alyn Darnay

Short, USA

14 Minutes

A husband-and-wife dance team finds a unique way to cope with their traumatic journey to Auschwitz in 1941.

BREAK ANY SPELL

Directed by Anton Josef

Short, Canada, USA

13 Minutes

A teenage girl uses live action role-playing to escape from her mother, who suffers from early onset Alzheimer’s.

Festival Tip:

Our Google blog is where we post previews and trailers. It’s a free way to enjoy the New Hope Film Festival from anywhere. Find it by clicking on the Blogger icon found on the upper-right corner of our homepage at www.newhopefilmfestival.com.

Documentary, USA 58 Minutes

SAVIONI DESIGNER BOUTIQUE

Student, USA 11 Minutes

BREAKING THE SILENCE

Directed by Dara Sanandaji and Freddie Bell

A fresh look at bipolar disorder and mild psychosis from the point of view of someone who has learned to cope with these issues.

CALL NOW

Directed by Cody Hawley

A frustrated viewer struggles to obtain the phone number for an odd shopping channel program. CLICK

Directed by Guil Parreiras

Short, USA 14 Minutes

A rock singer, escaping from her abusive boyfriend, forms an unlikely friendship with a struggling photographer who has scars of his own.

Festival Tip:

In-Person Event Tickets

Patron $16.00

Student/Senior (65+) $13.50

Matinee $12.00

All-Festival Standby Pass $45.00

Virtual Event Tickets

Voucher $15.00

* Our ticket vendor, Elevent, adds a processing fee to all ticket purchases.

* In order to manage attendee lists, speed up lines and stay within theater capacity, venue tickets are managed from the same online tool and therefore are the same price in advance and at the door.

* Limited tickets at the door, please purchase in advance.

COCOON LOVE

Directed by Xiaowen Wang

Short, China, USA

15 Minutes

A teenager is sent back to stay with her grandparents in her ancestral village, where she begins a budding friendship with a classmate.

COMPOSURE

Directed by Eric DePriester

Short, USA

12 Minutes

An imaginative short film about living with yourself.

EMILY OR OSCAR?

Directed by Chris M. Allport

Art House Feature, USA

120 Minutes

A throwback comedy featuring wildly imaginative screenwriter Sam Feldman, who finds himself forced to choose between an Academy Award and the woman of his dreams.

Art House Feature, UK 90 Minutes

FERRYMAN

Directed by Darren Bender

A secret club draws a young, haunted soldier into the close orbit of a beautiful but reckless woman.

FLIRTING (WITH POSSIBILITIES)

Directed by Garrett Zuercher

Short, USA 19 Minutes

Harley, a deaf man, is determined to figure out the most effective way to flirt with the cute hearing guy he sees in the coffee shop, which requires a bit of trial and error.

FLUFFYPUNK

Directed by Thomas Harman

Student, UK 11 Minutes

A documentary about the many conflicts that plague real-life comedy performance poet Jonny Fluffypunk, aka Jon Seagrave.

FOR I AM DEAD

Directed by Patricia Delso Lucas

Short, Belgium 18 Minutes

The owner of a countryside mansion, Oscar, lives a barren life with the sole company of his unmarried maid and his loyal young Gardner. Now Oscar must confess a secret love as death approaches.

Festival Insight: Audience Choice Awards are directly chosen by audience ballots. Have your voice heard and make a difference in film culture by coming to shows, voting, and leaving comments.

Documentary, USA

88 Minutes

FRANK BEY: ALL MY DUES ARE PAID

Directed by Tom Dwyer and Lisa Palattelia

A biography about the life and career of American soul-blues singer Frank Bey, who quit singing after a deal with James Brown went terribly wrong.

FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT: THE PETER KRUEGER CLINIC

Directed by Joe Fox

Short Documentary, USA

39 Minutes

A documentary film that tells the story of the Peter Krueger Clinic (PKC), one of the first HIV/AIDS clinics in the United States.

GRAFTON

Directed by Bryan Santiago

TV Pilot, USA

26 Minutes

In this mysterious thriller, a woman gets lost on the interstate, but the town she visits for help gives her another woman’s identity.

GRAVITY

Directed by Danny S. Lynch

Music Video, USA

4 Minutes

A lush ballad set in Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, keeps the rhythm smooth in this uptown music video.

GREGORY

Directed by Ben McHugh

Short, USA

6 Minutes

An elderly man sits on a park bench watching his son and granddaughter, but only the girl can see him.

Short Documentary, USA

29 Minutes

HELLO TO JULIA

Directed by Jenna A. Bush

When Julia was born, doctors gave her only months to live. Refusing to accept this prognosis, her loving parents enrolled her in a unique hippotherapy program at the nonprofit Special Strides.

I MUSTACHE YOU

Directed by Shara Ashley Zeiger

Short, USA

13 Minutes

A whimsical comedy about Abby, a New York woman whose agoraphobic tendencies are challenged when she receives an anonymous love letter.

IDENTITY: THE ANDREW NEMR STORY

Directed by Jonathan Cipiti

Short Documentary, USA

23 Minutes

A journey with international tap dance artist Andrew Nemr as he searches for a place where he can just be.

IT AIN’T ME

Directed by Yuval Shrem

Music Video, USA

5 Minutes

The title song from Eddie Navarro’s new acoustic folk-rock album.

JADED

Directed by Marcia Carroll

Short, USA

30 Minutes

A week in the life of a family wrought by tragedy.

Documentary, USA

60 Minutes

LOCAL 1196: A STEELWORKERS STRIKE

Directed by Samuel George

This topical documentary examines the daily struggles of America’s bluecollar workers, a demographic that rarely gets the chance to share their world, in their own words.

LOVE AND COMMUNICATION

Directed by James Christy

Art House Feature, USA

78 Minutes

Based on true events, this dramatic feature tells the story of a young couple whose son has been diagnosed with autism.

MAKE UP YOUR MIND

Directed by Hayley Anne Nash

Short, USA

14 Minutes

A young woman struggling with her mental health must decide whether or not to buy a new brain.

MOUNTAINS WE CLIMB

Directed by Ryan Canney

Short Documentary, USA

27 Minutes

In 2019, Chris Baccash earned a personal best at the Bucks County Classic Pro Cycling Race, but four months later he received a devastating diagnosis. Now he must find the key to climbing the mountain ahead.

MY REMBETIKA BLUES

Directed by M. Zournazi

Documentary, Australia

83 Minutes

Rembetika music, or the Greek blues, is a music born of exile and the streets. This documentary explores the genre’s lively history and culture.

Festival Tip: An archive of past issues of this Program Guide can be found in the About section of https://www.newhopefilmfestival.com

Short, UK

13 Minutes

- Quentin Tarantino 550 Union Square, New Hope, PA 18938

MY HOME

Directed by Bilal Mudassar Khan

A Muslim woman and a homebound, prejudiced man face a wide cultural divide until Aryam, a caregiver, decides to err on the side of affection.

ONE LAST GLANCE

Directed by Joe Ronca

Short, USA

18 Minutes

During the holiday season, Maura is looking to purchase an arrangement for her father’s grave, and somehow finds herself drawn to a Christmas tree lot attendant who looks oddly familiar.

PARADISIAC

Directed by Quentin Dujardin

Short, Belgium

4 Minutes

An elderly lady remembers the autumn mornings she once spent on a vast river in the company of her childhood friends.

“When people ask me if I went to lm school I tell them, ‘no, I went to lms.‘ ”

Music Video, Philippines

5 Minutes

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY (PERA, KWARTA, SALAPI)

Directed by Marvin Tablang Dumlao

A new song by Philippines Prince of Bossanova Marvin Velasquez written by Erasmo “Rusty” Mallillin. The story is about workers in all walks of life who strives to make their lives successful.

RAISED UP WEST SIDE

Directed by Brett A. Schwartz

Documentary, USA

87 Minutes

This revealing documentary follows the harrowing, but frequently inspiring, lives of ex-offenders, social activists and entrepreneurs on the West Side of Chicago.

REFLECTIONS

Directed by J.W. HIll

Student, USA

12 Minutes

Irish-American Mike Donnelly speaks on a long and storied career in the roofing trade, a profession his ancestors entered in the nineteenth century.

SAINT OF LOST CAUSES

Directed by Alex Zauner

TV Pilot, USA

21 Minutes

When laid-back dog walker Tony reveals to his roommate Conner that he can psychically locate lost objects, they decide to start a business for locating lost pets.

SEVERANCE BAY

Directed by Caroline Dehn

Student, Australia

23 Minutes

In the aftermath of their father’s death, two estranged sons are forced back to their childhood home, where they must confront the ruins of a past they no longer recognize.

Short, USA

10 Minutes

SID PENROSE

Directed by Drew Dull

Charlie is presented with an escape from his deep depression when the mysterious man that he has been drawing suddenly knocks on his door.

SIGNING OFF

Directed by Chandler Wild

Short, USA

10 Minutes

It’s the last night at indie jazz station WJRA before its frequency is sold to a conglomerate, and in between tracks DJ Benedict and programmer Sam need to hash out their friendship.

SOMETHING IN THE CLOUDS

Co-Directed by Josh Sikkema and Johnny Ray

Short, USA

13 Minutes

When a 14-year-old boy witnesses his neighbor get abducted across the street, his brave decision to save her will test his mettle on the bike ride of a lifetime.

SWEET DISASTER

Directed by Laura Lehmus

Art House Feature, Germany

90 Minutes

A late-in-the-game pregnancy and the sudden ending of a relationship are not necessarily catastrophic by themselves. Combine the two, and it’s like throwing fire accelerant on charcoal.

TAINAN FANTAGE

Directed by Jason M. Tseng

Short, Taiwan

3 Minutes

Using 3D and compositing technologies, Taiwanese creators combined religion, history and pop culture to create an animated journey through the streets of Tainan, the oldest city in Taiwan.

Sponsors and Visitors Guide

Lodging

Black Bass Hotel (Charter Member)

Inn at Lambertville Station (Charter Member)

Restaurants, Things to Do & Food

Havana New Hope (Charter Member)

HollyHedge Estate

New Hope Arts, Inc.

Paganini Ristorante

Wawa, Inc.

Boutiques and Shops

Jos Finkle & Son, Inc., The World’s Most Unusual Hardware Store

New Hope Auto Sales (Charter Member)

Savioni

Squarehead Industries

Zoe Boutique Princeton

Professional Services

Addison Wolfe Real Estate

Cannon, Hellen I. - Kurfiss Sotheby’s International Realty (Charter Member)

Comcast Corporation (Charter Member)

Doylestown Health

IP Works Law, Trademarks, Patents and Copyrights

Kurfiss Sotheby’s International Realty

Stephan Design Center

The First National Bank and Trust Company of Newtown (Charter Member)

Times Publishing (Charter Member)

Festival Tip:

The Mayor of New Hope supports

NEW HOPE FILM FESTIVAL

Mayor Laurence D. Keller is a lifetime supporter of the arts in the New Hope community.

There is so much to do while in New Hope and neighboring Lambertville, with shops, restaurants, galleries and more. Explore your many options at https://lambertvillechamber.com

TV Pilot, USA, Israel

19 Minutes

TASTELESS

Directed by Amnon Carmi

A chef recovers from COVID-19 without her sense of taste or smell and must run a critically-acclaimed restaurant in Tel-Aviv.

THE CALL OF WATER

Directed by Kaya Tone

Student, USA

19 Minutes

Flung into the astral plane, Nadia must face ancient forces in order to realize her responsibility to her homeland.

THE FANTASTIC

Directed by Maija Blafield

Short Documentary, Finland

30 Minutes

In this unique documentary, exiled North Koreans describe what they imagined the outside world to be like when they watched smuggled western films.

THE INSIDE OUTSIDE

Co-Directed by Nazlah Black and Adrienne Mackey

Short, USA

7 Minutes

In this film spin-off of an interactive trail app, Poor Trenton is having a very, very bad day as ancestral ghosts haunt her walk along a canal’s towpath.

THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY

Directed by John Gray

Short, USA

10 Minutes

All is not what it seems when father and son have a violent confrontation on Christmas Eve.

Short, USA

21 Minutes

THE SCULPTOR

Directed by Catherine Deptuch

In 1974 Poland, art student Hubert is mesmerized by the subject for the class, an exchange student from California, and now decades later his aesthetic longings for her beauty are put to the test when he’s diagnosed with glaucoma.

THE SHAKER LEGACY

Co-Directed by David Gibson and David J. Goodwin

Short Documentary, USA

10 Minutes

This short documentary explores the design, cultural and spiritual legacies of the utopian Shaker religious sect and its impact on New York State and American history.

THE SOFTEST BLANKET IN ALL OF DINGLEDORF

Directed by Xan Rayne Poulsen

Student, USA

7 Minutes

A childish but ruthless king needs a new blankie, and the rewards are great if a subject of the kingdom can bring him an acceptable one. The downside for a blanket that misses the mark is, of course, death.

THERAPY

Directed by John Haugh

Short, Ireland

14 Minutes

A man undergoes therapy in order to cope with a traumatic, seaside event.

THIS VAST AND MYSTERIOUS OCEAN

Directed by John Bergstrom

Short, USA

20 Minutes

Jason returns from distant places unknown to find his home in ruins, his wife Leah disturbed, and his daughter Chloe missing.

Student, USA 11 Minutes

TO THE WOOD

Directed by Miho Kahn

Fine art, puppetry and salvaged collectibles intersect with beautiful live action film to create a world that allows us to imagine and follow Adeline’s journey to her dream.

TOPRAK

Directed by Sevgi Hirschhauser

Art House Feature, Turkey 106 Minutes

In rural Turkey, a family struggles. While the religious Cemil is satisfied to live his life in poverty, Burak struggles to leave for the city and get an education. When their grandmother becomes ill, both Cemil and Burak have to make tough decisions that change their formerly simple lives forever.

UTOPIA PLANITIA S1

Directed by George Reese

Webisode, USA 6 Minutes

In this tense web series, three colonists on the only Martian settlement, Utopia Planitia, investigate mysteries for a living. When a senior executive drops dead the morning after meeting investigator Cala Rodriguez in a refugee sector bar, the fallout may unravel utopia.

WAKE

Directed by Brendan Kissane

Short, USA 25 Minutes

Unfolding much like an allegory, Wake follows a man in two spiraling narratives as he descends into a maelstrom of strange and surreal events.

WALKING AROUND

Directed by Gilles Bovon

Short, USA 20 Minutes

At the end of a road, in northeast Florida’s rural countryside, a young man circles around a ramshackle trailer while mumbling to himself. Intrigued and sympathetic, a woman who lives in a neighboring Airstream tries to prod the man back to reality.

Short Documentary, USA

17 Minutes

WE DECIDED TO BECOME FARMERS

Co-Directed by Rob Herring and Ryan Wirick

In an urban setting where farmer’s markets and fresh produce are a distant dream, the Urban Farming Institute helps residents transform unused lots into community solutions.

YO ANDREA

Directed by Brian Russell

Short, USA

7 Minutes

A middle-aged man hatches a plan to win the woman of his dreams.

YOU KNEW ME

Directed by Rodgers Dameron

Music Video, United States

6 Minutes

The penultimate track on musical artist Leah Shaw’s album “Play Beautifully,” dedicated to her mother’s memory.

YUANYUAN

Directed by Shiyue Xu

Short, China

16 Minutes

A young girl named Yuanyuan once lived in a happy home, but tensions over her unborn brother and innuendo at school about her father’s alleged affair propel her into an ill-conceived action plan.

Festival Tip:

Unlike typical movie theater shows, New Hope Film Festival screenings are usually followed by filmmaker Q&A sessions, giving audience members an opportunity to ask questions and peek behind the scenes of a film.

TITLE WRITER(S) SYNOPSIS

A Package of Dreams Bradley M. Look A boy longs to become a television horror host when he grows up, but that dream gets derailed when adulthood responsibilities force him to work with his father at a parcel service.

Amy and Angel Julia Verdin, Deedee Benkovich

Family Embers Carlo Celestino Colecchia

G.O.D. OS David Christopher Loya

Kent Sarah Granger

Shy 16-year-old Amy wants to dance, but her deafness causes her dream to be shattered when she’s bullied out of dance class.

Two inseparable Italian brothers, Francesco and Marco, survive World War I and go their separate ways until buried treasure is discovered in the family hearth.

When a new quantum technology clones the consciousness of his deceased wife, bringing her virtual spirit back to life, a grieving college professor now must stop at nothing to protect the planet from an artificial intelligence that is anything but the woman he loves.

This true story of a Kansas teenager stricken by polio in 1953 follows his life from an iron lung to independence.

Preacher’s Daughter: Giant Slayer

Gregory Bonds

As the U.S. military tracks down a 14-foot, red-haired giant in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan, Delta Force soldier Amanda Franklin lends an otherworldly experience in her father’s church toward the search amidst great skepticism from her colleagues.

Soulbreak Richard Levine, Marie Bailey

Transformed Shannon TL Kearns

Wake of the Quasimodo

Lorna Norrise

To save her child’s life, a prison psychologist must break a drug lord out of a supermax federal penitentiary.

In 2008, a group of men in New York City with nothing in common except a shared transgender experience try to figure out how to support each other.

Despite a strained relationship with his father, William feels destined to lead a legendary colony of people who hide in the high mountains. But a conniving priest after a mine of gold has other plans.