Shorts from around the Great Lakes region.
Screening: Sunday, Sep 14, 10:30am at Soo Theatre (Block 11) |
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Director: Molly Weinstein
Narrative Short, United States, 2025, 11 min, Color
Claire tries to repair her bike tire in a gas station and accepts help kindly offered by Richie, a bike mechanic. When she finds out he is homeless, she mistrusts him at first, but later the two connect to finish the repair.
Great Lakes Connection: The story was written and filmed in Minneapolis. Post-production was completed in Chicago. The cast and crew are all from the Great Lakes States of Minnesota and Illinois.
Project Links: Project Website Instagram
Director: Rob Christopher
Narrative Short, United States, 2025, 14 min, Color
One evening at an elegant cocktail lounge, a frustrated writer impulsively breaks a self-imposed rule and decides to have a third martini. Moments later, he is joined by a mysterious woman, played by Wendy Robie, the eyepatch-wearing Nadine Hurley from the infamous TV series TWIN PEAKS, who drifts over from the next booth, looking for a good listener. Based on a story by Barry Gifford (David Lynch’s WILD AT HEART and LOST HIGHWAY).
Great Lakes Connection: The film was shot entirely on location at Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge, serving Milwaukee since 1938. The cast and crew are all based in Chicago. Producer John Otterbacher is from Michigan.
Project Links: Project Website
Director: Thomas Moeger
Narrative Short, United States, 2024, 4 min, Color
A man in a park writes a letter to his late father as he reflects on their relationship and an important decision he’s about to make. Through this quiet moment of introspection, he seeks closure and clarity, reconciling with his father’s memory while preparing for the next step in his life.
Great Lakes Connection: The film was shot in Toledo, Ohio. The director and some of the cast are from the Great Lakes State of Ohio.
Director: Elif Boyacioglu
Animation, Canada, 2024, 2 min, Color
Sometimes weird little things in life can trip you up…
Great Lakes Connection: The director and animator of the film lives in Toronto and the film was created and completed there.
Director: Robert X. Golphin
Narrative Short, United States, 2025, 18 min, Color
Haunted by trauma, a Black army vet and father spirals into a psychological collapse, forcing the women closest to him to confront their shared grief and fractured bonds before it destroys their family.
Great Lakes Connection: The film was shot in the Great Lakes State of Pennsylvania.
Project Links: Project Website Facebook Instagram
Director: Joshua Duncan
Documentary Short, Canada, 2025, 12 min, Color,
Student Project—Sheridan College, Oakville, Ontario
Through interviews with anglers, biologists, and members of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Carp Fear uncovers the most destructive ecological threat facing the Great Lakes: invasive carp. It also teaches viewers what they can do to prevent this threat.
Great Lakes Connection: The film is entirely focused on the future of the health of the Great Lakes. Invasive carp pose an enormous threat to the ecosystem, and it is the responsibility of everyone who lives, plays, or works in the Great Lakes area. We filmed with the Invasive Carp team on Jordon Harbour, an inlet of Lake Ontario. Nearly everyone who worked on the film lives in a city on one of the Great Lakes.
Project Links: Project Website Facebook Instagram
Director: Bryanna Vachon
Narrative Short, Canada, 2020, 3 min, Color
A dark presence won’t leave Lucy alone.
Great Lakes Connection: The film was shot in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
Director: Rebeka Herron
Animation, Canada, 2024, 11 min, Color
Agatha is a mixed race witch, who is struggling to learn to use her magical powers.
Great Lakes Connection: The film was created in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, and many of the cast and crew live there.
Project Links: Project Website Twitter Facebook Instagram
Director: Corey Benson Powers
Narrative Short, United States, 2024, 7 min, Color
Wine, sun, and a good book: the perfect ingredients for Tori to relax in her yard on a beautiful summer day. Spurred by a flirtatious message, Tori launches into an impromptu photo shoot—unaware that she has an audience.
Great Lakes Connection: The film was shot in the Chicagoland area by an entirely local cast and crew.
Project Links: Instagram
Director: Jason Lupish
Narrative Short, Canada, 2024, 15 min, Color
The sudden death of a former love sparks a conversation between Maddie and her husband Perry about the type of social media tribute he would make in the event of her death.
Great Lakes Connection: The film’s director/producer Jason Lupish and the writer/producer/actor Ann-Marie B. Zammit are from the Niagara Region of Ontario. Ms. Zammit grew up in Fort Erie on Lake Erie. She currently resides in St. Catharines on Lake Ontario.
Director: Roman Gubin
Narrative Short, Canada, 2025, 9 min, Color
A father struggles to meet the needs of his young daughter, Sophie, while navigating the tension between his new partner and his late wife’s mother. Set during Sophie’s 7th birthday, the film explores themes of unresolved grief and family conflict, exposing the emotional cracks that threaten to tear them apart.
Great Lakes Connection: The film was produced and shot in Toronto with a Toronto cast and crew.
Director: Samantha Houle
Narrative Short, Canada, 2024, 7 min, Color
Mike anxiously awaits a scheduled phone call. As the minutes tick by without any word, his concern deepens. When an unexpected email arrives, Mike must decide how to respond.
Great Lakes Connection: The film was shot in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
Director: Samuel Karow
Narrative Short, United States, 2024, 8 min, Black & White and Color
An uptight man tries to relax with the help of a meditation tape. The harder he tries, the more frustrated he becomes. Winner, Best Experimental Film, 2024 Basin Short Film Festival, Stevens Point, Wisconsin.
Great Lakes Connection: The film was shot in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Project Links: Project Website
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