APRIL 12 – WANDER
34 Depot St Suite 101, Pittsfield, MA
Digital Drift : Stories of Nature, Tech, and Identity
All films are presented in English or in their original language with English subtitles
34 Depot St Suite 101, Pittsfield, MA
Digital Drift : Stories of Nature, Tech, and Identity
All films are presented in English or in their original language with English subtitles
Whispers of Exiles
Devina Sofiyanti
Indonesia, 16:00
A healer woman works as a narrator in the theater, telling a story of other women who have the same ability as her. In the story, powerful women always end up in exile. Turns out, history never changes. When her work friends find out about her power, she also ends up the same way.
Devina Sofiyanti, hailing from Bandung, West Java, but now residing in Jakarta, Indonesia, embarked upon her artistic journey following high school by enrolling in educational institutions such as the Jakarta Institute of the Arts and the New York Film Academy. Currently, she imparts knowledge to aspiring filmmakers through her role as an instructor at the Binus Film Department. One of her notable achievements includes directing a short film named "Heirlooms," which garnered attention during its screening at numerous international film festivals. Among these events were Fantastic Zagreb, Final Girls Berlin Film Festival, Jogja Netpac Asian Film Festival, Gandhara Independent Film Festival, Reykjavik International Film Festival, Madani Film Festival, Bakunawa International Film Festival, Umgungundlovu International Film Festival and Vierte Welle Festival.
Devina Sofiyanti
Indonesia, 16:00
A healer woman works as a narrator in the theater, telling a story of other women who have the same ability as her. In the story, powerful women always end up in exile. Turns out, history never changes. When her work friends find out about her power, she also ends up the same way.
Devina Sofiyanti, hailing from Bandung, West Java, but now residing in Jakarta, Indonesia, embarked upon her artistic journey following high school by enrolling in educational institutions such as the Jakarta Institute of the Arts and the New York Film Academy. Currently, she imparts knowledge to aspiring filmmakers through her role as an instructor at the Binus Film Department. One of her notable achievements includes directing a short film named "Heirlooms," which garnered attention during its screening at numerous international film festivals. Among these events were Fantastic Zagreb, Final Girls Berlin Film Festival, Jogja Netpac Asian Film Festival, Gandhara Independent Film Festival, Reykjavik International Film Festival, Madani Film Festival, Bakunawa International Film Festival, Umgungundlovu International Film Festival and Vierte Welle Festival.
Ephemera
Cici Clancy
Canada, 13:10
Trapped in a digital void of endless porn, a lonely gas station worker discovers salvation in shadflies - creatures born purely to mate, a carnal pleasure she can no longer access.
Cici Clancy is a writer, director and producer from Ireland, based in Toronto, Canada. In 2024, she was shortlisted for the Canadian Film Centre's Directing Lab. She won Best Emerging Female Director at the IndieCork Film festival 2018 for her debut short film "Coco Dreams of Blue." The film premiered at Oscar accredited Galway Film Fleadh in 2018, Female Eye Film Festival in Toronto 2019 and Shorts That Are Not Pants in Toronto 2019.
Cici Clancy
Canada, 13:10
Trapped in a digital void of endless porn, a lonely gas station worker discovers salvation in shadflies - creatures born purely to mate, a carnal pleasure she can no longer access.
Cici Clancy is a writer, director and producer from Ireland, based in Toronto, Canada. In 2024, she was shortlisted for the Canadian Film Centre's Directing Lab. She won Best Emerging Female Director at the IndieCork Film festival 2018 for her debut short film "Coco Dreams of Blue." The film premiered at Oscar accredited Galway Film Fleadh in 2018, Female Eye Film Festival in Toronto 2019 and Shorts That Are Not Pants in Toronto 2019.
The Cage
Hamideh Motavali Zadeh
Iran, 3:34
In a city, everyone has a cage on their head, until one person realizes this by accident and wants to make others aware.
Hamideh Motavali Zadeh is a young director and writer from Iran. She is master degree of cinema and has 27 years old. The Cage is first short stop-motion movie that she has made and this movie selected in many big festivals around a world and got some of the awards.
Hamideh Motavali Zadeh
Iran, 3:34
In a city, everyone has a cage on their head, until one person realizes this by accident and wants to make others aware.
Hamideh Motavali Zadeh is a young director and writer from Iran. She is master degree of cinema and has 27 years old. The Cage is first short stop-motion movie that she has made and this movie selected in many big festivals around a world and got some of the awards.
Green
Gay4Nature Collective
Canada, 18:16
Green is a musical voyage through a queer person’s eco-grief and anxiety. Guided by the poetry of gay poet Paul Verlaine and the music of Claude Debussy’s Ariettes oubliées, this film of intersecting storylines transforms canonical classical music into a lament for the climate crisis and a dream for a flourishing queer future.
Gay4Nature Collective is a creative music collective dedicated to the amplification of queer joy, connection, and advocacy for nature at the intersection of sound, movement, and drama. Drawing on tools like Western classical music, contemporary dance, theatre, and film, founders Anna Bigland-Pritchard and Alex Chen assemble teams of innovative artists to grapple with experiences of climate crisis, queer love, friendship, and finding a way forward in a fraught modern world. Green was directed by Angelica Swartz, a non binary theatre maker in Vancouver BC, and filmed by Cinematographer Kelly Conlin, a filmmaker in Victoria BC. It was conceived, produced, and performed by soprano Anna Bigland-Pritchard, and pianist Alex Chen, both ecolocially-inspired interdiciplinary artists based in Victoria BC.
Gay4Nature Collective
Canada, 18:16
Green is a musical voyage through a queer person’s eco-grief and anxiety. Guided by the poetry of gay poet Paul Verlaine and the music of Claude Debussy’s Ariettes oubliées, this film of intersecting storylines transforms canonical classical music into a lament for the climate crisis and a dream for a flourishing queer future.
Gay4Nature Collective is a creative music collective dedicated to the amplification of queer joy, connection, and advocacy for nature at the intersection of sound, movement, and drama. Drawing on tools like Western classical music, contemporary dance, theatre, and film, founders Anna Bigland-Pritchard and Alex Chen assemble teams of innovative artists to grapple with experiences of climate crisis, queer love, friendship, and finding a way forward in a fraught modern world. Green was directed by Angelica Swartz, a non binary theatre maker in Vancouver BC, and filmed by Cinematographer Kelly Conlin, a filmmaker in Victoria BC. It was conceived, produced, and performed by soprano Anna Bigland-Pritchard, and pianist Alex Chen, both ecolocially-inspired interdiciplinary artists based in Victoria BC.
Big Deal
Isabella Thompson
UK, 10:18
Big Deal is a coming of age stoner comedy that follows two best friends, Casey and Sarah, on their quest to smoke weed before parting ways for university. In the spirit of making things up as they go along, the pair traverse the treacherous, middle class streets of North West London to rendezvous with a peculiar dealer. As the night spirals, they question not only their friendship and the anxieties of growing up, but also, how do you actually roll a joint?
Bella Thompson is a London based comedy writer & director. Completing her undergraduate in Film at the University of Westminster, Bella has spent the last three years making narrative shorts. One of which, Big Deal, was awarded the Panavision x Girls in Film equipment sponsorship, and was brought to life with the help of Blend Films. Big Deal screened at the British Film Institute as part of their Future Film festival in February 2025.
Isabella Thompson
UK, 10:18
Big Deal is a coming of age stoner comedy that follows two best friends, Casey and Sarah, on their quest to smoke weed before parting ways for university. In the spirit of making things up as they go along, the pair traverse the treacherous, middle class streets of North West London to rendezvous with a peculiar dealer. As the night spirals, they question not only their friendship and the anxieties of growing up, but also, how do you actually roll a joint?
Bella Thompson is a London based comedy writer & director. Completing her undergraduate in Film at the University of Westminster, Bella has spent the last three years making narrative shorts. One of which, Big Deal, was awarded the Panavision x Girls in Film equipment sponsorship, and was brought to life with the help of Blend Films. Big Deal screened at the British Film Institute as part of their Future Film festival in February 2025.
BadBishSadBish
Ana Paula Teixeira
Puerto Rico, 5:32
In a noisy café, Mussa Medusa runs into anxious visions of her poems as she writes them down.
Step into the vibrant and dynamic world of Ana Paula Teixeira, a boundary-pushing filmmaker and photographer hailing from the US and Puerto Rico. Ana's captivating work shines a spotlight on the hidden beauty of Puerto Rico, celebrates the diversity of the LGBTTQ+ community, and challenges colonial social norms with a fierce resistance. With a keen eye for storytelling and a passion for amplifying BIQPOC voices, Ana has made waves in the industry with their thought-provoking films and striking photography. Featured in renowned publications like Paper Mag and Refinery29, Ana's work is a testament to the power of representation and the importance of authentic storytelling.
Ana Paula Teixeira
Puerto Rico, 5:32
In a noisy café, Mussa Medusa runs into anxious visions of her poems as she writes them down.
Step into the vibrant and dynamic world of Ana Paula Teixeira, a boundary-pushing filmmaker and photographer hailing from the US and Puerto Rico. Ana's captivating work shines a spotlight on the hidden beauty of Puerto Rico, celebrates the diversity of the LGBTTQ+ community, and challenges colonial social norms with a fierce resistance. With a keen eye for storytelling and a passion for amplifying BIQPOC voices, Ana has made waves in the industry with their thought-provoking films and striking photography. Featured in renowned publications like Paper Mag and Refinery29, Ana's work is a testament to the power of representation and the importance of authentic storytelling.
Doom Scroll
Hayley Zalkin
US, 13:10
Sarah, a twenty-something, perfectionist, workaholic finds herself laid off from her job. Suddenly facing the void of her purposeless existence, she copes with this the way many do when they're looking for an escape:
Endless scrolling through the social media video app, TubeTop. Despite concerns from her partner, Ben, Sarah's social media addiction spirals until she is fully consumed.
Hayley is a freelance video editor most known for her work co-editing Aimee Kuge's feature horror-romance Cannibal Mukbang. Doom Scroll is her directorial debut. Inspired by her own struggles with social media addiction, she wrote Doom scroll during a slow period where she wasn't getting any work. During this time, she questioned her own purpose while mindlessly scrolling meaningless content, and one day started to write.
Hayley Zalkin
US, 13:10
Sarah, a twenty-something, perfectionist, workaholic finds herself laid off from her job. Suddenly facing the void of her purposeless existence, she copes with this the way many do when they're looking for an escape:
Endless scrolling through the social media video app, TubeTop. Despite concerns from her partner, Ben, Sarah's social media addiction spirals until she is fully consumed.
Hayley is a freelance video editor most known for her work co-editing Aimee Kuge's feature horror-romance Cannibal Mukbang. Doom Scroll is her directorial debut. Inspired by her own struggles with social media addiction, she wrote Doom scroll during a slow period where she wasn't getting any work. During this time, she questioned her own purpose while mindlessly scrolling meaningless content, and one day started to write.
echoes
Jess M Crawford
US, 12:33
echoes is an impressionistic exploration of one mother’s experience navigating parenthood and searching for belonging in an ever-increasingly isolating internet age.Using online mothers’ forums and aggregated responses from chat gpt, paired with digital and film documentation, echoes creates a poetic future-oriented ode to motherhood in relation to the natural and digital world.
Jess is a filmmaker, video and media designer, editor, producer and educator. Her work has included directing, shooting and editing experimental shorts, documentary, short narrative films and music videos, as well as designing and engineering video and interactive experiences for performances, installations, and augmented and virtual reality experiences. She actively explores issues such as environmental conservation, gender politics, ethical responsibility, caretaking and our relationship to technology in her work. Her projects have been presented in New York, London, Miami, Pittsburgh and written about in publications such as The New York Times. Jess received a BFA in Film Production and Electronic Arts from Bard College and an MFA in Video and Media Design from Carnegie Mellon University. She is currently a Professional Lecturer of Media Studies and Production at Marist College in Upstate New York, where she lives with her family.
Jess M Crawford
US, 12:33
echoes is an impressionistic exploration of one mother’s experience navigating parenthood and searching for belonging in an ever-increasingly isolating internet age.Using online mothers’ forums and aggregated responses from chat gpt, paired with digital and film documentation, echoes creates a poetic future-oriented ode to motherhood in relation to the natural and digital world.
Jess is a filmmaker, video and media designer, editor, producer and educator. Her work has included directing, shooting and editing experimental shorts, documentary, short narrative films and music videos, as well as designing and engineering video and interactive experiences for performances, installations, and augmented and virtual reality experiences. She actively explores issues such as environmental conservation, gender politics, ethical responsibility, caretaking and our relationship to technology in her work. Her projects have been presented in New York, London, Miami, Pittsburgh and written about in publications such as The New York Times. Jess received a BFA in Film Production and Electronic Arts from Bard College and an MFA in Video and Media Design from Carnegie Mellon University. She is currently a Professional Lecturer of Media Studies and Production at Marist College in Upstate New York, where she lives with her family.
Elegy for the Future
Christina Phensy
US, 14:43
In an alternate technocratic future, Sybil, a digital sex worker, struggles to find meaning in an isolated world due to a global climate crisis. Everything changes when she meets Ophelia, an AI created from a once living being.
Christina Phensy is a multi-disciplinary artist with an educational and professional background in fine art and architectural engineering. She has a passion to learn and create unique worlds of the imagination using her full potential in both logistics and aesthetics.
Christina Phensy
US, 14:43
In an alternate technocratic future, Sybil, a digital sex worker, struggles to find meaning in an isolated world due to a global climate crisis. Everything changes when she meets Ophelia, an AI created from a once living being.
Christina Phensy is a multi-disciplinary artist with an educational and professional background in fine art and architectural engineering. She has a passion to learn and create unique worlds of the imagination using her full potential in both logistics and aesthetics.
Development
Chloe Caudillo
US, 10:13
Struggling to climb the corporate ladder, a Latina office worker finally lands a leadership training seminar, only to realize that to be successful, trainees must become clones of the "nepo baby" boss.
Chloe Caudillo is an award-winning Chicana filmmaker from DeKalb, Illinois. A 2023 Netflix/LALIFF Inclusion Fellow and graduate of the Second City’s Harold Ramis Film School, she creates stories about unconventional agents of change. Currently, she's producing a documentary about a Venezuelan actor-turned-activist and developing a sci-fi comedy feature from her short film, Development.
Chloe Caudillo
US, 10:13
Struggling to climb the corporate ladder, a Latina office worker finally lands a leadership training seminar, only to realize that to be successful, trainees must become clones of the "nepo baby" boss.
Chloe Caudillo is an award-winning Chicana filmmaker from DeKalb, Illinois. A 2023 Netflix/LALIFF Inclusion Fellow and graduate of the Second City’s Harold Ramis Film School, she creates stories about unconventional agents of change. Currently, she's producing a documentary about a Venezuelan actor-turned-activist and developing a sci-fi comedy feature from her short film, Development.
Lazy Kangaroo
Misty Escarpment
Australia, 4:25
Music video collaboration between musician Misty Escarpment, The Golden Gaytimes Acrobalance Performance Troupe and Ten Alphas Films. Set in 1970s Australia, ‘Lazy Kangaroo’ tells a kitsch tale of dreaming your way out of a bad situation. Funded by a Wollongong City Council Cultural Grant. The film was inspired by the historic garment manufacturing industry in the city of Wollongong. It was powered by labour from migrant women from the 1940s to the end of the twentieth century. More information at the Migration Heritage Project (https://mhpillawarra.com.au), in particular the Wollongong Migration Heritage Places Study 'The Places Migrant Women found Work in Wollongong Post WW2' (https://mhpillawarra.com.au/?p=59#flipbook-migrant-womens-work-essay/1/)
Misty Escarpment is an Australian musician. With her 1960s vibraphone, she cultivates soft melodies and chordal clouds in local jazz combos. Misty also plays a piercing marching lyre glockenspiel in the Wollongong based feminist street marching band, The Femme Fatales. Misty loves collaborating with creative types across all genres. https://mistyescarpment.com
Misty Escarpment
Australia, 4:25
Music video collaboration between musician Misty Escarpment, The Golden Gaytimes Acrobalance Performance Troupe and Ten Alphas Films. Set in 1970s Australia, ‘Lazy Kangaroo’ tells a kitsch tale of dreaming your way out of a bad situation. Funded by a Wollongong City Council Cultural Grant. The film was inspired by the historic garment manufacturing industry in the city of Wollongong. It was powered by labour from migrant women from the 1940s to the end of the twentieth century. More information at the Migration Heritage Project (https://mhpillawarra.com.au), in particular the Wollongong Migration Heritage Places Study 'The Places Migrant Women found Work in Wollongong Post WW2' (https://mhpillawarra.com.au/?p=59#flipbook-migrant-womens-work-essay/1/)
Misty Escarpment is an Australian musician. With her 1960s vibraphone, she cultivates soft melodies and chordal clouds in local jazz combos. Misty also plays a piercing marching lyre glockenspiel in the Wollongong based feminist street marching band, The Femme Fatales. Misty loves collaborating with creative types across all genres. https://mistyescarpment.com