THE UNINVITED
Comedy, Drama
FRIDAY OCT 4 @ 8PM The Foundry Theater
Rose (Elizabeth Reaser) and Sammy (Walton Goggins) enjoy an idyllic life with love, a Hollywood Hills home, and a curious son. During a party, Sammy assigns unusual significance to it, while Rose juggles preparations amid distractions. The unexpected arrival of Helen (Lois Smith), who claims residence there, oscillates between confusion and lucidity. Strangely, Helen possesses intimate knowledge of the house and its guests: an Ingenue, a director, and Rose's former flame, Lucien (Pedro Pascal). Helen's revelations during the party spark drama, unearthing hidden truths and compelling Rose to confront her past, future, and the desire for change. Q & A with Director Nadia Conners in person and Actor Walton Goggins on Zoom to follow the film.
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GHOST DOG: THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI
Crime, Drama
SUNDAY OCT 6 @ 6PM The Foundry Theater
Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker) is a contract killer, a master of his trade who can whirl a gun at warp speed and moves through this world like a phantom -- stealthy and evanescent. In the spirit of the samurai, he has pledged his loyalty to a small-time mobster named Louie (John Tormey) who saved his life many years before. YSFF celebrates this 25th Anniversary screening by featuring a live conversation and Q & A with Director Jim Jarmusch to follow the film.
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REGGIE WATTS
Live Music & Comedy
FRIDAY OCT 4 @ 5PM The FOundry Theater
Reggie Watts is an internationally renowned Musician/ Comedian/Writer/Actor who starred as the bandleader on CBS’s The Late Late Show with James Corden. Using his formidable voice, looping pedals, and his vast imagination, Watts blends and blurs the lines between music and comedy, wowing audiences with performances that are 100% improvised. Watts’ first Netflix special, Spatial released to massive critical acclaim, with the New York Times calling it “a giddy rush of escapist nonsense” and dubbing Watts “the most influential absurdist in comedy today.” The A.V. Club described Spatial as “signature Watts, meaning it’s alternately exhilarating, silly, exhausting and transcendent.”
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**PLEASE READ ALL INFO/DETAILS IN
TICKET LINK FOR HOW OUR BADGES WORK**
Kick-Off Party w/ Reggie Watts,
Closing Night w/ Jim Jarmusch,
'Eno' w/ Gary Hustwit
SPECIAL EVENTS/
ENO (SOLD OUT)
Music Documentary | Directed by Gary Hustwit
SATURDAY OCT 5 @ 8:30PM The Little Art Theatre
Maverick recording artist Brian Eno co-founded Roxy Music, produced breakthrough albums for David Bowie, Talking Heads, Devo, and U2. Gary Hustwit applies Eno’s own concept of “generative” art: the filmmaker’s proprietary technology, developed with digital artist Brendan Dawes, produces a different movie every time it’s screened, presenting variations in sequence, music, and scenes. YSFF will present a unique version of the film; this version will never be shown again. Defying the hagiographic impulses of the music doc genre, ENO draws from original interviews and the artist’s own staggering archive of never-before-seen footage and unreleased music. Q & A with Director Gary Hustwit, moderated by Steven Bognar following the film. BADGES NOT ACCEPTED
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Pulp Fiction
30th Anniversary Party
Crime, Drama | Directed by Quentin Tarantino
SATURDAY OCT 5 @ 7PM The Foundry Theater
See this razor-sharp cinematic masterpiece on the big screen for its 30th Anniversary. A kick off party starts the evening with a costume contest, live band with Nick Kizirnis playing music from the soundtrack & Justin Howard hosting a trivia game with prizes before the screening. This tour de force, multi-strand crime movie, was the winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival in 1994. BADGES ACCEPTED
Julia's Stepping Stones
+ Julia Reichert Award
Documentary | Directed by Steven Bognar
SATURDAY OCT 5 @ 4PM The Little Art Theatre
Julia Reichert grew up a working-class girl in the 1960s, before the Women’s Liberation movement. She went on to become a pioneering Oscar & Emmy winning documentary Filmmaker. Before her death in 2022, Julia recorded the story of how she became a filmmaker. Her partner in film and love, Steven Bognar, spent 2023 crafting Julia’s story into a film, Julia’s Stepping Stones. Q & A with Director Steven Bognar following the film. In the spirit of Julia’s creativity and influence, each year YSFF will provide a cash award to an emerging female documentarian for their next project. This year, through a generous donation from PNC Bank, Jessica Shaw will be given $3,000 to help bring her film, Roots, Rock, Reggae, Souls to life. BADGES ACCEPTED
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Dave Hill
Live Comedy | SATURDAY OCT 5 @ 4:30PM
The Foundry Theater
Dave Hill is a comedian, writer, musician, actor and radio host. He has appeared on Inside Amy Schumer and The Jim Gaffigan Show. Dave has opened for musical acts including Snoop Dogg, Tenacious D, Broken Social Scene and Quicksand, is a regular contributor to public radio’s This American Life and is the resident heavy metal expert on Malcolm Gladwell and Rick Rubin’s Broken Record podcast. Dave also wrote and performed the song “Go”, the theme song for HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and has written for The New York Times, The Paris Review, GQ and many others. His live act was called “Brilliant” by New York Magazine. BADGES ACCEPTED
Legion 44
WORLD PREMIERE
Documentary | Directed by Leila Conners
SUNDAY OCT 6 @ 2PM The Foundry Theater
What happens when there's a breakthrough? When, spontaneously, young people innovate and turn back what appears to be unstoppable catastrophe? Legion 44 chronicles these visionaries, many from the Global South, who have invented groundbreaking solutions to grab carbon out of the sky and put it back in the ground. Legion 44 is more than a film, it is a love letter to humanity, and the 3rd film on climate by Leila Conners with Walton Goggins as narrator, Bosnian cinematographer Harun Mehmedinovic and composer Marc Streitenfeld's strong score tinged with hope and yearning. Q & A with Leila Conners to follow the film. BADGES ACCEPTED
FILMS/
Striking Narratives
In the Summers
Drama | Directed by Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio
SATURDAY OCT 5 @ 6PM The Little Art Theatre
Siblings Violeta and Eva live with their mother, but every summer they travel to New Mexico to spend time with their loving but unpredictable father in this moving drama that follows them from adolescence to adulthood. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize Sundance 2024. BADGES ACCEPTED
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Darkest Miriam
Romance, Mystery | Directed by Naomi Jaye
SUNDAY OCT 6 @ 4:30PM The Little Art Theater
Miriam Gordon (Britt Lower) lives in a fog of grief while working in a downtown public library branch. When a burgeoning love-affair coincides with her receiving a series of oddly threatening letters, Miriam's sheltered existence is cracked open. Executive Produced by Charlie Kaufman. World Premiere Tribeca 2024. BADGES ACCEPTED
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Eephus
Comedy, Drama | Directed by Carson Lund
SUNDAY OCT 6 @ 11AM The Little Art Theater
As an imminent construction project looms over their beloved small-town baseball field, a pair of New England Sunday league teams face off for the last time over the course of a day. Tensions flare up and ceremonial laughs are shared as an era of camaraderie and escapism fades into an uncertain future. BADGES ACCEPTED
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Documentaries that Matter
I Like It Here
Documentary | Directed by Ralph Arlyck
SUNDAY OCT 6 @ 11AM The Foundry Theater
People talk or laugh about aging, its irritations and relentless progression, but rarely confront the reality of dying or being left alone. As he approaches 80, filmmaker Ralph Arlyck examines the physical and mental tolls of aging, and the very substance of living well, connecting with people, and appreciating the simple joys of life. BADGES ACCEPTED
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A Photographic Memory
Documentary | Directed by Rachel Elizabeth Seed
SATURDAY OCT 5 @ 1:15PM The Little Art Theatre
A Photographic Memory is an intimate, genre-bending portrait of a daughter’s attempt to piece together a portrait of her mother, an avant-garde journalist and a woman she never knew. Uncovering the vast archive Sheila Turner Seed produced, including lost interviews with iconic photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson, Gordon Parks, Cecil Beaton, Bruce Davidson, Lisette Model, and others, the film explores memory, legacy, and stories left untold. Q & A with Director Rachel Elizabeth Seed following the film.​ BADGES ACCEPTED
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Spiz
Documentary | Directed by Barry Rowen
SATURDAY OCT 5 @ 1PM The Foundry Theater
Spiz depicts the wrongful conviction of Dean Gillispie who served 20 years in prison for crimes he did not commit. While incarcerated, Gillispie began creating sculptures as a way to cope. After his conviction was overturned he has become a celebrated artist exhibiting his work nationwide at esteemed galleries such as MOMA. Spiz examines the causes and effects of wrongfully convicting American citizens and the lasting impact it has on families. A panel conversation with Dean Gillispie, Director Barry Rowen and Innocence Project Director of Policy and Engagement Pierce Reed
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WAVELENGTH Partnership
WAVE Grant Showcase
Narrative Shorts | SUNDAY OCT 6 @ 1:45PM
The Little Art Theatre
Wavelength, in partnership with YSFF, will host its first-ever WAVE Grant showcase featuring short films from Ana Verde’s Te Llaman Las Olas (The Waves Call You), Geena Hernandez’s Chicks, Sofia and Andrea Riba’s American Girl, Hannah Patterson’s Late to the Party, Amanda Gordon’s Sugar Honey, Leena Kurishingal’s No Escape, and Neha Aziz’s So, That Happened. Screenings will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Brenda Robinson, Jenifer Westphal, Ana Verde and Geena Hernandez.The WAVE Grant, which stands for “Women at the Very Edge,” supports first-time women and non-binary filmmakers of color in creating their first short narrative film. BADGES ACCEPTED
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Midnight Movie
A Desert
Drama, Thriller | Directed by Joshua Erkman
SATURDAY OCT 5 @ 11:45PM The Little Art Theatre
Driving across the American Southwest, struggling photographer Alex is hoping to revive his career and find inspiration within the vast landscape of deserts and abandoned roadside structures. A pit stop at an otherwise inconspicuous motel alters his plans, thanks to a younger couple whose devil-may-care attitude initially attracts Alex but quickly proves to be something more dangerous than he thought. Before long, what began as a restorative road trip descends into a nightmare that spirals beyond his control. BADGES ACCEPTED
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Shorts Films, Big Stories
Short Films Program
Multi-Genre | SATURDAY OCT 5 @ 10:30AM
The Little Art Theatre
YSFF 2024 has curated an impeccable Shorts program of five films incorporating the genres of narrative, documentary and animation. Featuring: Far West (Directed by Stephen Michael Simon), One Buck Won’t Hurt (Directed by Christopher Stroudt), Animated Music Video Block (Created by Justin Herman and Brother Ali), Trapped (Directed by Sam Cutler-Kreutz & David Cutler-Kreutz), F**k That Guy (Directed by Hanna Gray Organschi). BADGES ACCEPTED
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Educational
Stephen Michael Simon
Film Seminar
SATURDAY OCT 5 @ 10:30AM
The Foundry Theater
Join us for our first ever film seminar conducted by award-winning Director, Cinematographer and Editor, Stephen Michael Simon. This event is free to the public and will cover basic film production, documentary filmmaking and distribution techniques. Stephen’s debut short documentary, "Bacon ’N’ Laces" (2021), achieved remarkable recognition on the festival circuit winning over a dozen awards and was acquired by The New Yorker. He recently edited a feature documentary centered around Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon, as well as the award-winning TV series, "Origins of Hip-Hop" for A+E Networks. His work has also been featured on VICELAND, IFC and MTV.
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