SATURDAY 7:00 STRANGER THAN COMEDY - SHORT FILM BLOCK

Director: Rusty Enger

Country of Origin: United States

Premiere: TN.

Synopsis: True love is hard to find. It's even harder when you are a fish and you live in a fish tank with only one other fish.

Director: Zach Strum

Country of Origin: United States

Premiere: TN.

Synopsis: Two siblings try to sell a mounted deer head.

Director: Nichole Lim

Country of Origin: United States

Premiere: World

Synopsis: As rehearsal blurs with reality, a friendship built on compliments and competition begins to crack. Wardrobe changes, emotional breakdowns, and mild blood loss ensue. A surreal and darkly funny look at ambition, self-delusion, and the performance of being fine.

Trailer | Website

Director: Philip Thompson

Country of Origin: United States

Premiere: Tennessee

Synopsis: An exploration of the emotional divide between fiction and reality in the American sitcom.

Trailer | Website

Director: Conway Preston

Country of Origin: United States

Premiere: Tennessee

Synopsis: A self-tape audition for a police procedural sends an actor spiraling into a full-blown existential crisis.

Director: Ryan Woodring

Country of Origin: United States

Premiere: Tennessee

Synopsis: spot healing explores the intricacies of illness, diagnosis, and labor in post-AI visual culture. Posing as a software tutorial from the “Image E.R.” YouTube channel, a confident host demonstrates how to “heal” sick images using increasingly experimental methods ranging from miming to machine learning while undergoing a series of intense physical and emotional transformations.

Trailer | Website

Director: Kevin Ralston

Country of Origin: United States

Premiere: Tennessee

Synopsis: "A confrontation between two people over a bag of food on the side of a road turns into a moving story about truth. The film was made for the 2024 T*** B*** Film Festival."

Website

Director: Jennifer Bonior

Country of Origin: United States

Premiere: Nashville

Synopsis: Dani’s mom may be ready to exploit her daughter for personal gain, but Dani’s not having any of it. She’s Dani the Destroyer, the youngest and greatest magician of all time. And she’s about to take the stage.

Trailer | Website

Director: Sam Osborn

Country of Origin: United States

Premiere: World

Synopsis: Wolf Puppy is a surreal dark comedy about a lonely man searching for meaning and connection in a disconnected, digital world. After resonating deeply with an edgy meme, he embarks on an unexpected journey into the woods—where reality blurs, a talking wolf appears, and his self-image is put to the test. Wolf Puppy explores identity, isolation, and the absurd lengths we go to feel seen.