SUPERFEST 2021 FILM SELECTIONS

 

Superfest 2021 will occur online Friday October 15th through Sunday October 17th. Stay tuned for more information and read below to check out the blurbs for 2021’s films!

Poster for “Aim Straight” featuring an animated child aiming a bow. He is clouded by black shadows. Text reads the film title and credits in white.

Poster for “Aim Straight” featuring an animated child aiming a bow. He is clouded by black shadows. Text reads the film title and credits in white.

Aim Straight

USA, 2020 (Animated Short, 2 min)

When everyone’s laughing at you for being a lousy hunter, you’re in the woods being chased by a monster, and you only have one leg, you only have one choice: fight back!

Poster for “An Apparition” featuring a cockroach climbing on a wall.

Poster for “An Apparition” featuring a cockroach climbing on a wall.

An Apparition

India, 2020 (Experimental Short, 2 min)

What can we learn from the most despised insects about lockdown and embodiment? This film celebrates the ingenuity of a disabled filmmaker who is grappling with the pandemic and working with the actors he had access to.

Poster for “Best Summer Ever” featuring a collage of characters from the film with drawings of yellow sunflowers on top of yellow paneling. Text reads the film title.

Poster for “Best Summer Ever” featuring a collage of characters from the film with drawings of yellow sunflowers on top of yellow paneling. Text reads the film title.

Best Summer Ever

USA, 2020 (Feature Film, 72 min)

A high school football player is shocked to discover that the new girl in school is the same girl he fell in love with at a summer dance camp.

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Poster for “CODA” featuring a Black woman dancing in a studio with a blue hue to it. Film title is in blue and credits are in black.

CODA

USA, 2019 (Dramatic Short, 20 min)

A young dancer struggles with her bi-cultural identity when she meets a confident young Deaf drummer who stirs up old conflicted feelings about growing up hearing in a Deaf family.

Still from “Dead End Drive” featuring a scruffy man in a neighborhood at sunrise. The sky is purple.

Dead End Drive

USA, 2020 (Dramatic Short, 15 min)

During the zombie apocalypse, one survivor finds a dead end that will hopefully lead him to salvation. (This project was created with over half of the cast and crew being comprised of people with disabilities, including the writer, all of the cast, and most of the producers.)

A digitally animated drawing of a blind Japanese woman walking in an open landscape. She is in side profile, wearing a purple and light blue kimono patterned with orange flowers, and holding a stick. The background is shaded in muted browns and greens, and a pale yellow sun looms in the horizon.

Flight Paths
Innovation in Craft Award

UK, 2020 (Interactive)

Part film, part video game, part history lesson, this whimsical animated choose-your-own adventure takes us into the world of ‘the Goze’, blind female travelling performers of medieval Japan. Produced by Extant, the UK’s leading company of visually impaired artists, Flight Path shares how access can be both innovative and fully integrated. Join this meditative reflection on travel, blindness and migration.

Poster for Hamburger Airplane. Text is in blue with a red drop shadow over a picture of a mounted deer head.

Poster for Hamburger Airplane. Text is in blue with a red drop shadow over a picture of a mounted deer head.

Hamburger Airplane

USA, 2020 (Dramatic Short, 16 min)

A dramedy about a Deaf loner in his lake-condo as he takes on the challenge of grilling up the perfect hamburger and confronting his traumatic past, all while using witty, passionate ASL to persuade a trophy deer.

Poster for “Here Comes Frieda,” with the three main characters overlaid with various levels of transparency. The character in the middle is edited to look like a hologram, and the whole poster has a technological and futuristic aspect to it.

Poster for “Here Comes Frieda,” with the three main characters overlaid with various levels of transparency. The character in the middle is edited to look like a hologram, and the whole poster has a technological and futuristic aspect to it.

Here Comes Frieda

USA, 2020 (Dramatic Short, 9 min)

As yet another superstorm bears down on a desperate, weary city in the year 2040, a young blind woman seeks to redeem her winning sweepstakes ticket for a better life in a low Earth orbit paradise.

Still from “If You Could Touch Me Now” featuring three shots of the same pair of hands rubbing against each other on white sheets.

Still from “If You Could Touch Me Now” featuring three shots of the same pair of hands rubbing against each other on white sheets.

If You Could Touch Me Now

Denmark, 2021 (Experimental Short, 5 min)

In this meditation on longing and savoring of a body considered off-limits, an autistic student filmmaker at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland takes on the most solid yet ephemeral sense, touch.

Poster for “ill, actually” featuring an illustration of someone in a wheelchair posing for a selfie, drawn in black and red. The poster’s text is also in black and red, with the tagline “Online you can be anyone. Why be ill?”

Poster for “ill, actually” featuring an illustration of someone in a wheelchair posing for a selfie, drawn in black and red. The poster’s text is also in black and red, with the tagline “Online you can be anyone. Why be ill?”

ill, actually

UK, 2019 (Short Documentary, 12 min)

This short documentary explores the challenges of being young and chronically ill in a carefully curated online culture. A real life "superhero", a YouTuber and a camgirl explain why they choose to share - or hide - important parts of who they are online.

Poster for “Innocence” featuring the three main characters, a white woman and two white men, one who has Down syndrome. Their faces are over a dead body on the ground. Text reads the film name in red and credits in white.

Poster for “Innocence” featuring the three main characters, a white woman and two white men, one who has Down syndrome. Their faces are over a dead body on the ground. Text reads the film name in red and credits in white.

Innocence

UK, 2019 (Dramatic Short, 20 min)

When a worker falls to his death at a care home, it appears to be a terrible accident. But when a detective questions a young man with Down syndrome spotted at the scene, they uncover a crime more shocking than anyone imagined.

Text on a black screen reads “Lobster, a red title reads lobster.”

Text on a black screen reads “Lobster, a red title reads lobster.”

Lobster

Australia, 2018 (Dramatic Short, 6 min)

In this public service announcement like no other, Cam's hungover, lost, vomit-stained, dealing with a very rude visitor, and totally in the dark. On the other hand, er, claw, she has an advantage that many Aussies can only dream about.

Illustration of a multicolored octopus, drawn with lots of blues, purples, and oranges. Text reads: Loving with Three Hearts: Behind the Scenes of the 2020 Sins Invalid Performance. SinsInvalid.org.

Illustration of a multicolored octopus, drawn with lots of blues, purples, and oranges. Text reads: Loving with Three Hearts: Behind the Scenes of the 2020 Sins Invalid Performance. SinsInvalid.org.

Loving with Three Hearts

USA, 2021 (Short Documentary, 30 min)

What does it take for a group of Disabled, Black, Indigenous, Queer, Trans, Non-Binary and People of Color to create a full-length theatrical production about the impacts of climate chaos on disabled people, in the midst of a pandemic? In 2020, Sins Invalid commissioned seven artists in four cities to create We Love Like Barnacles: Crip Lives in Climate Chaos, which streamed to over 1000 audience members. This labor of love explored and exposed the ways crip bodies are on the front lines of ecological disaster, and how our politics, dreams, and desires hold necessary keys for the evolution of this planet. Get a behind-the-scenes look at how it came together, and why it needed to happen.

Poster for “Not a Wallflower” featuring three stills from the film of the three characters, a white man and two white women, one of which has Down syndrome. They are all wearing green and yellow and are in a plant store. Text reads the film name in …

Poster for “Not a Wallflower” featuring three stills from the film of the three characters, a white man and two white women, one of which has Down syndrome. They are all wearing green and yellow and are in a plant store. Text reads the film name in pink cursive with the film credits in green.

Not a Wallflower

Australia, 2019 (Dramatic Short, 8 min)

Ben, a spritely young autistic man has a bright future. Except when it comes to his boss. And finding love. Will he bloom beyond the wallflowers?

Poster for “Pew! Pew! Pew!” featuring a collage of three stills from the film, where the characters are covered in neon red light. Text reads “Pew! Pew! Pew!: A sci-fi cosplay action-comedy” in blue Star Trek font. Film credits are in white.

Poster for “Pew! Pew! Pew!” featuring a collage of three stills from the film, where the characters are covered in neon red light. Text reads “Pew! Pew! Pew!: A sci-fi cosplay action-comedy” in blue Star Trek font. Film credits are in white.

Pew! Pew! Pew!

USA, 2020 (Dramatic Short, 13 min)

When Miles tries to rejoin his geeky crew at a cosplay convention, Anita is having none of it. But before she can send him packing, the devious Lord Moro ambushes the crew, forcing these old friends to reunite in an epic, cosplay "blaster" battle.

Black and white photograph of a wheelchair on fire in the middle of a street with a crowd around it.

Black and white photograph of a wheelchair on fire in the middle of a street with a crowd around it.

Reasonable Adjustment

UK, 2021 (Dramatic Short, 7 min) 

In the 1980s a disabled terror group Reasonable Adjustment carried out a campaign of violence to gain rights - or did they?

Poster for “See Through” featuring a Black woman sitting at a table. She wears a yellow shirt and has short curly hair. Text reads the film name in yellow with the film credits in white.

Poster for “See Through” featuring a Black woman sitting at a table. She wears a yellow shirt and has short curly hair. Text reads the film name in yellow with the film credits in white.

See Through

USA, 2021 (Dramatic Short, 9 min)

Jessie and Brian, a young Deaf couple, recently discovered they are about to become parents. Their neighborhood coffee shop thrums with everything left unsaid, while they unearth new ways to communicate.

Poster for “Sign Night” with two projections of people reaching up toward the sky from on top of buildings. Multicolor lights emanate out from them. Text reads “Sign Night” and the film credits.

Poster for “Sign Night” with two projections of people reaching up toward the sky from on top of buildings. Multicolor lights emanate out from them. Text reads “Sign Night” and the film credits.

Sign Night
Juror’s Choice Award

UK, 2020 (Experimental Short, 6 min)

Inspired by the balcony performers of Wuhan and Lombardy during the 2020 pandemic, Sign Night is a poetic conversation between two star crossed lovers in British sign language projected onto buildings in a rugged urban landscape.

Illustration of a woman with Down syndrome wearing fun patterns and a vest with patches on it. Text reads: “Sparkles” on a purple sparkly background.

Illustration of a woman with Down syndrome wearing fun patterns and a vest with patches on it. Text reads: “Sparkles” on a purple sparkly background.

Sparkles

Australia, 2020 (Dramatic Short, 13 min) 

A 37-year-old Australian woman with Down syndrome runs away from home and embarks on a journey from Kalgoorlie to Perth.

Poster for “Still a Slave” featuring a Black man holding a lit candle at the end of a rope. His face is lit up by the firelight. Text reads the film title and credits in white.

Poster for “Still a Slave” featuring a Black man holding a lit candle at the end of a rope. His face is lit up by the firelight. Text reads the film title and credits in white.

Still a Slave
Best Audio Description Award

UK, 2020 (Experimental Short, 5 min) 

An artistic response to many of the comments posted on social media that undermine the Black Lives Matter Movement, this arresting film integrates The Rationale Method of audio description using sound effects and spoken word.

Title still from “What If” featuring a white woman looking in her closet. Her room is decorated with rainbow lights. Text reads the film title.

Title still from “What If” featuring a white woman looking in her closet. Her room is decorated with rainbow lights. Text reads the film title.

What If?

UK, 2020 (Dramatic Short, 10 min)

After a bad break-up, Jess focuses on rebuilding her life and her self-esteem. Dating someone new might help, but what if it all goes wrong? Only one way to find out.

Poster for “Yulubidyi - Until the End,” featuring an Australian aboriginal man walking through a burning field. Text reads the film title, credits, and award laurels.

Poster for “Yulubidyi - Until the End,” featuring an Australian aboriginal man walking through a burning field. Text reads the film title, credits, and award laurels.

Yulubidyi - Until the End
Best of Festival Award

Australia, 2017 (Dramatic Short, 13 min)

What does it mean to be a man in an Aboriginal family when your brother is disabled and your father is cruel? And how do you reconcile your brother’s clear connections to land and spirit when your father wants him, and quite possibly you, dead?