Pioneers (2019)

Flight of the Phoenix

When an oil rig in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia proves unproductive, an aircraft crew are sent to shut the operation down and fly them out. On the flight out over the desert on the way to Beijing, Capt. Frank Towns and co-pilot A.J. are unable to keep their cargo plane, a C-119 Flying Boxcar, in the air when a violent sandstorm strikes. Crash-landing in a remote uncharted part of the desert, the two pilots and their passengers -- a crew of oil workers and a drifter -- must work together to survive by rebuilding the aircraft. Soon, low supplies and a band of merciless smugglers add even greater urgency to their task.

1992

It's 1992. Martin is 17 and he films his daily life with his Hi8 camera. He films anything and everything—his room, the world around him... But never his father, the thought doesn't occur to him. One day he meets Dominique. He's 23 and works as a student monitor at Martin's high school.

And Nothing Happened

A young woman dealing with the psychological aftermath of sexual violence shuffles between experiences both mundane and extraordinary as she attempts to leave her New York City apartment.

Cyn

Liverpool 1960. Art students, Cyn and John, find their blossoming romance in a state of flux as music and fame starts to overtake their passion.

Luna

Plot unavailable

The Misfits

While filing for a divorce, beautiful ex-stripper Roslyn Taber ends up meeting aging cowboy-turned-gambler Gay Langland and former World War II aviator Guido Racanelli. The two men instantly become infatuated with Roslyn and, on a whim, the three decide to move into Guido's half-finished desert home together. When grizzled ex-rodeo rider Perce Howland arrives, the unlikely foursome strike up a business capturing wild horses.

Dear Mr Shakespeare: Shakespeare Lives

An evocative and imaginative exploration of the racial tensions in Othello and how the themes in Shakespeare's play still resonate today.

The Hills Have Eyes

Taking an ill-advised detour en-route to California, the Carter family soon run into trouble when their RV breaks down in the middle of the desert. Stranded, they find themselves at the mercy of monstrous cannibals lurking in the surrounding hills.

Hardware

Mark 13 is a government-built killing machine programmed with artificial intelligence, able to repair and recharge itself from any energy source. Through a series of coincidences, the cyborg's head ends up in the home of a sculptress as a bizarre Christmas present from her boyfriend. Once inside its new home, the cyborg promptly reconstructs the rest of its body using a variety of household utensils and proceeds to go on a murderous rampage.

Hormones and Other Demons

Eduarda (Eddi) wants to become a woman, but what makes a woman? Maybe breasts help? She goes on holiday with her family and meets Lukas. Unfortunately, she is not the only family member who wants to feel attractive. Are we really defined by what others see?

Fragile

Mehdi is a hopeless romantic. But he’s too uptight according to his best friend, Olive, who urges him to loosen up and have some fun with gay dating apps.

Tooty's Wedding

A young couple's marriage hilariously hits the rocks during a weekend wedding in the country.

Spoiled Milk

When an emotionally abusive father reneges on a lifelong promise, a determined millennial is forced to choose between fighting for her relationship with her father or her freedom. 'Spoiled Milk' is about what it means to have an expiration date as a daughter and the invisible scars of emotional abuse.

The Garden of Allah

Father Adrien had taken the vows of eternal silence, prayer and, of course, celibacy, when he entered the Trappist Monastry of Notre Dame d'Afrique in Algeria. One day, he chopped down a tree that blocked a part of the Monastery wall, but as it fell it knocked a young girl senseless. As Father Adrien bathes her face she regains consciousness and in a mischievous mood embraces him. The embrace was seen by another monk but the Monastic discipline imposed is as nothing compared to the torturing penances of mind and body which the contrite Father Adrien has imposed upon himself. In the end it is all too much for poor Father Adrien and he abandons his vows and escapes into the desert, resuming his secular name Androvsky. On the way to the oasis of Beni-Mora he encounters Domini Enfilden who has been brought up as a Catholic. Androvsky rescues Domini from a rioting crowd and she finds herself deeply attracted to him.

Good Night, Morning

A working-class man returns to his city from a distant job and spends the night at a friend's house instead of going home to his wife.

Gerry

Two friends named Gerry become lost in the desert after taking a wrong turn. Their attempts to find their way home only lead them into further trouble.

In The Tall Grass

Joseph is mentally deviated. He is a prisoner of his own flat and always in permanent war with his own mind.

Timewarp

A young woman experiences the worst panic attack of her life as the world around her seems to be going faster and faster.

Good Mourning

When Ana's childhood friend dies she attempts to skip the five stages of grief with the help of her best friends, ex-boyfriends and naked Twister.

Sahara

Seasoned adventurer and treasure hunter Dirk Pitt, a former Navy SEAL, sets out for the African desert with his wisecracking buddy Al in search of a confederate ironclad battleship rumored to have vanished long ago, the main draw being the treasure supposedly hidden within the lost vessel. When the daring duo come across Dr. Eva Rojas, a beautiful scientist who is juggling an escape from a warlord and a mission to stop the spread of a powerful plague, their desert expedition begins to heat up.

A Familiar Taste

Kyung-eon lives with mom and her sister. Her mom is about to marry a man with a son and invites them to a meeting to introduce each other. After the meeting, Kyung-eon goes to meet her daddy, who hasn’t met for a long time.

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

When brash Texas border officer Mike Norton wrongfully kills and buries the friend and ranch hand of Pete Perkins, the latter is reminded of a promise he made to bury his friend, Melquiades Estrada, in his Mexican home town. He kidnaps Norton and exhumes Estrada's corpse, and the odd caravan sets out on horseback for Mexico.

Dear Ma

A girl longs for her mother, narrating a letter she wrote to her as she explores the struggles of distance learning. Made as a project for a tenth-grade performance task. Shot entirely on iPhone 6.

Dream Kitchen

A tale about isolation and lack of communication, the gap between the reality a teenage boy lives, and how he would like it be. He has a secret that he would like to tell his family, something that he has come to terms with and is about to affect the rest of his life. But how will they react?

Myosis

Myosis is the constriction of the iris which decreases the diameter of the pupil. It is an unconscious phenomenon which can be triggered by an intense light, fear, or the effect of epiphany.

Pulsar

A Peacemaker, who rejects his final mission to save an endangered planet, is believed to be cursed when a solar storm hits his spaceship.

Heatstroke

A reflection on this generation’s sexual and existential disorientation.

ESCAPE

Escape is a short film that was made in 48-hours for the 2880 Film Challenge in Mississippi in November of 2019. It went on the be selected as the winner for the challenge. Written and Directed by Jake Cockrell and Sam Graef. Robert Smith goes to work every day and does his job. But the mundane work, overtime, and high-pressure demands from his boss can't compete with his true passion.

What Did They Say?

A 1-minute film about the experience of young immigrant children having to translate for their parents. Presented by NextShark.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Raoul Duke and his attorney Dr. Gonzo drive a red convertible across the Mojave desert to Las Vegas with a suitcase full of drugs to cover a motorcycle race. As their consumption of drugs increases at an alarming rate, the stoned duo trash their hotel room and fear legal repercussions. Duke begins to drive back to L.A., but after an odd run-in with a cop, he returns to Sin City and continues his wild drug binge.

Lonely Country

In 1950s rural Ontario, Eugene, a closeted gay man, comes across Jack, a handsome young hitchhiker. When Eugene offers Jack a place to spend the night, he is forced to question just how much of his true self he is willing to reveal.

The Balcony

Matt, a lonely mid 20's man, goes out to his balcony and has a brief connection with someone across the way.

Steamed Poultry.

To try to get to know him better, a young man invites his reluctant friend to an impromptu lunch.

After-School Special

A man and a woman have an awkward encounter at an indoor playground.

Black Mist

Black drops fall from the water faucets, peek through the drains, and flood the city. Sisters Paula and Teresa, cornered in their apartment, can do nothing but observe as that strange substance takes hold of their lives. Hypnotized, with nowhere to go, they come into contact with the liquid. Gradually, reality begins to distort and they get lost in it.

Pelageya

Plot unavailable

Limit of Wooded Country

In Alaska, two estranged brothers find their fates entwined after a disastrous run-in with a local cop.

How Can I Explain It, Mother?

Beirut after the war. In a house from a time gone by, a mother listens to a letter from her son, a sniper, who tells her the detailed story of his killings without showing the slightest remorse.

After the Silence

Jamie and Elise both try to cope with the traumatic loss of Danny. For the both of them, reality and fantasy is a very fine line. They aren’t just grieving the person who is no longer physically with them, but also mourn the pieces of themselves and each other they lose while they are still alive.

Love and Death in Los Angeles

After aborting his last assignment for moral reasons, a contract killer is given a second chance to prove his loyalty. But when he learns his mark is his girlfriend's husband, he finds himself battling the ultimate moral dilemma. With only 72 hours to fulfill the contract, he must find a way to save the innocent, and himself... but not everyone is as innocent as they seem.

Stanley

Two boys, one girl, one night in the Northeast of Brazil. A morning of passion and secrets revealed.

Purrfit

Tubby is a fat cat who has lived in the adoption centre since forever. Tubby is desperate to get out of there. One day, he saw a tv ad that skinny cats are in trend and getting many demands from humans. Tubby is determined to lose weight as it is the only way to attract humans to get him the ticket out of the adoption centre. Will Tubby finally get the adopted if he gets skinny and escape the jail-like adoption centre?