The Deepest Breath

A champion freediver and expert safety diver seemed destined for one another despite the different paths they took to meet at the pinnacle of the freediving world. A look at the thrilling rewards — and inescapable risks — of chasing dreams through the depths of the ocean.

Shorts Program 5: Beyond Bars

Over the course of two years, How We Get Free follows Elisabeth Epps as she works to abolish cash bail in Colorado, first as an activist and then as a political candidate.nSet amidst the COVID-19 pandemic within the confines of San Quentin State Prison, What These Walls Won’t Hold chronicles the people who came together beyond the barriers of incarceration, to organize and respond to the prison crisis.

Shorts Program 4: View Askew

In a hotel room, a woman in her 60s shares a surprising and provocative story of longing and unlikely connection.nAn artist and VFX instructor connects with her grandmother, Margie, in a documentary short on collecting, art-making, and obsessiveness as a way to enhance our realities.nA lyrical portrait of a long ferry ride where overheard conversations, pensive glances, and fragments of lives in transit come into view, as passengers cross from one riverbank to the other.nProlific background actor Jill Goldston takes center stage in this unique portrait.nLeaves, mycelium, and roots playfully examine how humans experience the world, and the (supposedly) silent watchers consider what language those swift blurs of human might possibly understand.nOn a remote island off the coast of Iceland, teenagers Birta and Selma take it upon themselves to counteract humanity’s damaging impact on nature; exchanging night-time parties for nocturnal puffin rescues, in a coming-of-age story for young adults and puffins alike.

Shorts Program 3: Out/Spoken

The Script explores the complicated relationship between trans and nonbinary communities and medical providers regarding gender-affirming care. The film invites its participants and audience to envision a liberated, gender-expansive future, beyond the rigidity of our current moment.nThis punk rock fairytale doubles as a portrait of Shoog McDaniel — a fat, queer, and disabled photographer whose work has transformed the way fat people view themselves and how a fat phobic society views fat bodies.nAs a young Chinese filmmaker returns to his hometown in search for himself, a long overdue conversation with his mother propels the two of them into a quest for acceptance and love.nMnM is an exuberant portrait of two emerging runway divas in the drag ballroom community, celebrating their joy, siblinghood, and unapologetic personas.

Shorts Program 2: Unbreakable Spirits

With thousands of miles and a war between them, two sisters are determined to stay connected to each other before it’s too late.nThe Silent Witness is a documentary about Tomiko Morimoto West’s horrifying experience as a 13-year-old girl in Hiroshima when the first atomic bomb dropped. The film details how she survived, what she witnessed, and how she was affected.nBubjan tells the story of Parwiz Zafari, a former member of the Iranian parliament who worked toward making Iran a progressive, modern, and free society – until the Islamic Republic swept it all away in 1979, and he was forced to leave behind everything he knew.nSummer 2021, as Kabul falls to the Taliban, members of the Under-18 Afghan National Women’s Football Team attempt a daring evacuation from their homeland.

Shorts Program 1: Against the Grain

From a rented mansion in suburban Texas, a group of young men sell a hyperbolic, alpha-male version of themselves on the internet.nThe U.S. Supreme Court decision Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization from June 2022 sparked a national response, particularly in the Jewish community. Inspired by the lived experiences of Jewish women, lawsuits are currently being launched by rabbis, Jewish organizations, and interfaith leaders to challenge the overturning of Roe v. Wade – on the grounds of religious freedom.nOver 50 years ago, Assemblyman George Michaels cast a single vote on New York’s abortion bill that changed the course of American history but destroyed his political career in the process.nIn 2009, Daryl Johnson, a Department of Homeland Security intelligence analyst wrote a highly controversial report laying out the rising threat of right-wing extremism. Today, many of the report’s most dire predictions have materialized.nRunning out of time and money, Editor and Publisher Laurie Brown battles an oil bust, a global pandemic, and a growing mistrust of the media as she tries to keep her newspaper alive in rural Texas.