This December 14-16, the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation in Waltham, Massachusetts, hosts the Waltham Film Factory Shorts Fest, a celebration of the art and science of the short film.
This is an opportunity to view exceptional works from around the world in a historic industrial museum, whose mission is to encourage and inspire future innovation. Documentary, animated, experimental, and narrative films of one to twenty-five minutes will be screened during this three-day festival.
*PLEASE NOTE: Parental discretion advised. Some of these films contain strong language and images.
The Inaugural Waltham Film Factory Shorts Fest offers filmmaker awards in several different categories and more than $3,000 in cash and prizes. The Grand Prize is $1,000.
Day 1: Friday Evening Screening
SOLD OUT! Day 2 Part 1: Saturday Day Screening SOLD OUT!
Day 2 Part 2: Saturday Evening FINALISTS SCREENING & AWARDS PRESENTATION. Tickets $15
WALTHAM FILM FACTORY SHORTS FEST Awards Night
Join us in the soaring Main Gallery of the Charles River Museum, surrounded by historical artifacts from the American Industrial Revolution, as we recognize the very best of our Waltham Film Factory Shorts Fest selections with a special awards presentation. Prior to the awards presentation, we will be screening the six finalists chosen by the Waltham FIlm Factory jury as the finest in each category–narrative, experimental/animation, and documentary–as well as our grand prize award recipient.
Beer and wine will be available during the event, with the oppurtunity to meet and chat with filmmakers in attendance. Filmmakers and artists from as near as Waltham and as far as Los Angeles currently planning to attend, include Raouf Zaki, Tim O'Donnell, Patrick Johnson, Nathan Hepp, Meaghan Dempsey, Kathleen O'Connell, and Jerry Bisantz. This will be a magical "Night at the Museum" not to be missed!
This event is sure to sell out so get your tickets now!
Day 3: Sunday Day Screening featuring a post awards screening of all 20 of our selected films. Tickets $10
Announcing the schedule & film selections for the
Waltham Film Factory Shorts Fest!
Congratulations to everyone!
The Best Way Is By Hand
6:35
Submitted by Cathleen O’Connell, filmmaker
Waltham, MA - documentary
On a busy Saturday morning in Waltham, Massachusetts, seventh generation cobbler John Elhilow takes time to talk about the past, present and future of shoe repair. This short documentary takes you behind the counter and into the workshop as Elhilow plies his ancient craft in the modern world, saving the soles (and heels) of his customers.
Screening Saturday Day & Sunday Day
Big Boy
15:54
Submitted by Yuri Solodov, filmmaker
Russia - narrative
The boy turns 6. His father for the first time sends him to the store to buy bread. The boy will receive his birthday present, a camera, as long as he completes this mission. In order to prove that he has grown up, the boy decides to take up this challenge. But he has to face many difficulties in the itinerary. Will the boy pass the test?
Screening Friday Evening & Sunday Day
Blue Division
12:47
Submitted by Sergi Marti, writer/director
Spain - narrative
Leningrad, summer 1943. German attempts to conquer the strategic location of Leningrad have failed miserably. Hitler, desperate, plays his last available card: Mission Spark.But to carry out the mission he will need his best men… He will need the Spanish soldiers of the… BLUE DIVISION.
Website
Screening Friday Evening & Sunday Day
Brand New Day
4:00
Submitted by Pat Wells, filmmaker
Sylmar, California - animation or experimental
In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state. Fractal patterns and Golden Ratio Pulses have been discovered in the stars, and we are stardust. A parents love is a strong example of chaos theory, where love is passed down from generation to generation, regardless of blood line or adoption, creating a fractal of loving family. 'Brand New Day' is a narrative short without voice over, set to the music of Big D and the Kid's Table, 'Brand New Day'. Song 'Brand New Day' is based on the solo by Brad in Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Website
Screening Friday Evening & Sunday Day
The Brick Story
3:45
Submitted by David Wittkower, filmmaker
Los Angeles, CA - animation or experimental
Based on a joke, The Brick Story tells the story of a Brick Layer's unfortunate turn of events as he tries to rid some extra bricks left over from a job.
Screening Saturday Day & Sunday Day
Day Off
3:00
Submitted by Nathan Hepp, filmmaker
Boston, MA - animation or experimental
A hardworking man looks forward to relaxing on his day off. The distractions of everyday life, however, interfere with his plans.
Screening Friday Evening & Sunday Day
Fireflies
13:00
Submitted by Raouf Zaki, filmmaker
Holliston, MA - narrative
In this silent film, when a withdrawn Middle Eastern man begins frequenting a Boston café, the headwaiter grows increasingly suspicious about the true nature of his visits.
Website
Screening Friday Evening & Sunday Day
Happy Hour
23:53
Submitted by Paul Duff, producer
Los Angeles, CA - narrative
A drunk young man stumbles up to the bar with an outrageous story about a magic pocket watch which he believes will solve all his troubles, put him on the path to easy street AND help him win back the love of his life.
Website
Screening Friday Evening & Sunday Day
iRony
7:53
Submitted by Radheya Jegatheva, filmmaker
Australia - animation or experimental
A film that explores the relationship between man and technology...told from the perspective of a phone.
Website
Screening Saturday Day & Sunday Day
Just Words
23:57
Submitted by Lila Antonenko, filmmaker
Russia - narrative
A quiet domesticated policeman and his happy-go-lucky colleague are investigating a routine suicide. The policeman breaks the law and his own moral principles after he has heard a familiar voice from a victim’s cellphone.
Website
Screening Saturday Day & Sunday Day
The Last Time I Heard True Silence
22:01
Submitted by Tim O’Donnell, filmmaker
Waltham, MA - documentary
Noah Cass was a machine gunner for the Marine corp during the 2005 Operation Spear in Iraq. During an over-watch mission his team was ambushed and a mortar round hit his truck leaving him with permanent hearing loss and tinnitus. When Noah returned home he dealt with issues common to veterans transitioning into civilian life: aggressive behavior, alcohol, addiction, depression, difficulty keeping a job, and relationship problems. Noah eventual hit rock bottom after 3 years and was desperate for a change. After losing more friends to suicide than in war, he decided to become sober and start running in his local woods. Noah, now a father and husband, enters the 50-mile wilderness race with only completing one 26-mile marathon prior. This race represents the journey a young soldier has to face to help cope with a past that haunts him every day.
Website
Screening Saturday Day & Sunday Day
Life On The Ledge
14:00
Submitted by Marc Kornblatt, filmmaker
Madison, WI - documentary
In this short documentary filmed in Israel, two laughing doves nesting outside his window capture the heart and imagination of a man mourning the recent passing of his mother. Website
Screening Friday Evening & Sunday Day
Memories For Sale
25:00
Submitted by Jerry Bisantz, writer/producer
Waltham, MA - narrative
Charlie, a struggling young writer from Lowell, MA has finally hit pay dirt with a biography about his favorite old time comedian, the great Sidney Freedman. BUT at the 11th hour the book will be rejected unless Charlie gets Sid to expose long held secrets about his past. What price is a man's dignity? Is there any privacy in this tabloid era?
Screening Friday Evening & Sunday Day
Misappropriation
8:58
Submitted by Anna Maria Ferri, filmmaker
Spain - narrative
Coco is Sergio's inseparable friend since Carla left. One day Coco takes him to "Láquesis", Carla's favourite shop. It seems to emit a powerful magic. This is a dark tale about how everything that makes you happy can disappear in the blink of an eye. One moment of distraction is enough for our life to end up in the hands of a destiny that was not ours ... or maybe yes.
Website
Screening Saturday Day & Sunday Day
The Pirate Captain Toledano
10:00
Submitted by Arnon Shorr, filmmaker
Los Angeles, CA - narrative
When the Pirate Captain Toledano interrogates a stowaway on his ship, he finds that the young man is a refugee from the Spanish Inquisition. The stowaway wants to become a pirate to plunder Spanish ships. The Captain must decide whether to make the stowaway a pirate, or to make him walk the plank. “The Pirate Captain Toledano” is the world’s first film set in the little-known world of Jewish piracy in the Caribbean.
Website
Screening Saturday Day & Sunday Day
Pizza Birdy Bath Waterfall
8:14
Submitted by Tim O’Donnell, filmmaker
Waltham, MA - documentary
Tommy is a young man with Landau–Kleffner syndrome, an extremely rare neurological disorder with only 100 cases diagnosed every ten years. LKS is characterized by frequent seizures and sudden aphasia (the inability to understand or express language). Over the past five years, Tommy’s caretaker, Erin, has developed a way to communicate with him using words and phrases from his favorite Disney films. Tommy and Erin take their weekly walk on Walden Pond to reflect and get away from the world.
Website
Screening Friday Evening & Sunday Day
Ready for a Baby
5:00
Submitted by Anastasia Dyakova, filmmaker
Australia - animation or experimental
A young woman in her thirties feels very happy and excited – she has a partner, everything in her life is under control, so now is the perfect time to have a baby. It should be easy and natural, with love and fun and everything else––right?
Website
Screening Saturday Day & Sunday Day
The School Of Honk
11:42
Submitted by Patrick Johnson, filmmaker
Somerville, MA - documentary
The School of Honk is an open community brass band that promotes joy and inclusivity through weekly gatherings and parades around Somerville and Cambridge.
Screening Saturday Day & Sunday Day
The Tent Village
24:45
Submitted by Nilima Abrams, producer/director
Burlington, VT - documentary
A nuanced view into the lives of roadside tent dwellers in India, filmed by their teenaged children. An unflinching yet gentle exploration of the interplay between external oppression, internalized self-defeat and hope, highlighting the innate worth of all people.
Website
Screening Saturday Day & Sunday Day
What Metal Girls Are Into
15:30
Submitted by Laurel Vail, filmmaker
Los Angeles, CA - narrative
Three women going to a three day metal festival in the desert find something disturbing in the freezer of their isolated vacation rental.
Website
Screening Saturday Day & Sunday Day
