DUFF 2025 official program

2025 DENVER UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL
November 20, 21, 22 and 23,  2025.

Althea Center
1400 Williams St.
Denver, CO 80218

Doors 06:00 PM
Films 07:00 PM

Theater located downstairs. Bathrooms located upstairs. No ADA access.
Parking on site.
Tickets; $12, $10 Students.
Concessions included with ticket purchase.
Available through Filmfreeway Ticketing at www.filmfreeway.com/DenverUNdergroundFIlmFestival

2025 DENVER UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAM

FRID

2025 DENVER UNDERGROUD FILM FESTIVAL

THURSDAY 11/20/25

Aurora Oscillans - Refugia at the Intersection: Entropy, Exposure, and Emergence
Director: Tristan Zand. Iceland. 
A response to a call to reimagine refugia not as enclosures, but as thresholds of transformation

Eye Bird Blink
Director: Scott Turri. Philadelphia, PA. Experimental. 09:30
The nest within our frail human-built architecture; it remembers the rituals. 

1000 O
Director: Barbara Peikert. Switzerland. Experimental. 7:00
An artificial umbilical cord inflates into cartoon bubbles with embryonic thoughts of a fetus. 

Lost Dreams
Director: Andrew Wakeman Proctor. Glendale, CA. Experimental. 09:50.
The world of consumption vs the world of the artist, 
which one will be lasting when we wake up? 

At Captain Daniel David's on the Coast
Director: Jeffrey Sundin. Portland, OR. 10:00
A body of water, a blind date, and an '84 Chevrolet in the year of a musical collective's debut release.

I Was There
Director: Kamila Kuc. Poland / UK. Experimental. 12:25.
A haunting exploration of familial bonds, intergenerational memory and the enduring impact of shared narratives.

Electron
Director: Mehran Ranjbar. Iran. Narrative. 20:00
An acting veteran stars in a meaningful film and realizes that the film has every meaning except meaning itself. 

Bridge
Director: Adam E Stone. Alabama / Canada. Experimental. 02:00
Impressionistic nightscapes punctuate this two-minute poem film about illness and wellness.

Homicide
Director: Nima Tabandeh. Iran. Narrative. 10:00
In the twilight of the morning, a family heads to prison to execute the murderer of their son...

Helezon Akışkan
Director: Salih Cihan Özalp. Ankara, Türkiye. Narrative. 9:55
A tribal woman and a child living in ancient times are desperately looking for water.

INTERMISSION

Lovechild
Director: Niklas Hegg. Ann Arbor, MI. Narrative. 12:01
Before his malign father can send him to a cult-like bootcamp, a defiant son must face life on his own terms.

Malfunctions
Director: Julie Anne Sando. Canada. Found Footage Experimental. 05:16
Mae West is a life preserver, an inflatable jacket, a pair of mountains, a specific type of parachute malfunction and the name of a buxom film star.

Monument
Director: Jeremy Drummond. Canada / USA. 16:45
A vivid and energetic durational experience of collective resistance and celebration.

Nearer to Thee in a Triptych
Director: Matt Whitman. Brooklyn, NY.
eyes set down - lots love for a locked door - the silhouettes are the same - but the faces have changed.

Shotgun Baby
Director: Lorraine Sovern. USA. Orlando, FL. Documentary. 10:16
How family imposed narratives force us into roles that we spend our lives rebelling against or conforming to.

Smoke
Director: Erica Schreiner. New York , NY. Narrative Experimental. 7:40
A visceral exploration of heartbreak and healing.

Vas Mar
Director: Nima Tabandeh. Iran. Narrative. 19:06
Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, is near. The old man is busy doing things to welcome spring, but the old woman is desperate for life.  

You, Rock
Director: Daniel Maggio. USA. Experimental Narrative. 1:30.
An angry man makes an important discovery while skipping rocks

END OF THURSDAY PROGRAM

FRIDAY 11/21/25

Anxiety
Director: Ian Joseph Greene. Boulder, CO. Experimental. 01:30
A visceral, wordless short that evokes the rising tension of a panic attack.

Squander
Director: Jacob Swafford. USA. 35mm film. Experimental. 5:20
Stop-motion animation film exploring a persons isolation and mental deterioration.

Canyon Light
Director: Elijah Bigler. Colorado. Experimental Documentary. 05:53 
Phyllis Bigler has been going to the Spanish Peaks of Colorado since she was a child. Now in her 90s, she tells her stories.

Creep Dance
Director: Christina Santa Cruz. Los Angeles, CA. Music Video. 02:55
There is something in my home, and it dances. Music by Chestnut.

Cursed Karaoke. 
Director: Skot Knox. USA. Music Video. 04:39
What Happens When the Karaoke Machine is HAUNTED? 

Dolphin Boy
Directors: Arielle Bordow, Tyler Zonies. Ridgewood, NY. Narrative. 10:42. 
Dolphin Boy finds a girl washed up on the shore and he tries to become part of her world.

Good Neighbors Care
Director: Kate E. Hinshaw. NC, USA. 03:30
For decades chemical company DuPont poisoned North Carolina’s drinking water through illegal dumping into Cape Fear River.

Halloween: Safety or Sacrifice
Director: Lucas Ostrowski. Bowling Green, OH. Narrative. 11:20
Will you do your part to stay safe this Halloween? Director:

Portal Ended Dreams
Director: Bryce Brtaushesky. Canada. Narrative. 14:17
A Lonely young man with depression is introduced to an experimental form of therapy.

Sapphic Saw
Directors: Morgan Miller, Eric Lombart. Los Angeles, CA. Narrative.
A lesbian couple wake up in a mysterious room and discover their relationship 
is being put to the ultimate test.

Solar Neighbor
Director: Austin Cole. Denver, CO. 10:44
August is born with a rare incurable condition and 
is placed in cryogenic sleep in space to wait for a cure.

The Resident
Director: Tristan Jones. Denver, CO. Experimental. 09:30
A man trapped in a studio apartment battles his own ghosts as he tries to remove a corpse from his room. 

Environmentals
Director: David Wilde. Monroe, NH. Experimental. 7:14.
Visual progressions like musical composition and an extended look at a painting. Director David Wilde is 84 years old.

When Life Gives You A Lawnmower
Director: Moon Abbott. Chicago, IL. Narrative. 05:00
Things go awry as 1950s couple Dick and Brenda prepare for company.

INTERMISSION

Trenza
Director: Rosemary Meza-DesPlas. USA / CDMX, Mexico. Experimental. 10:01
A reflection on how women fighting for gender equality are nourished and sustained by ancestral strength. 

Hell Or Hot Water
Director: Beth Hansen. Albuquerque, NM. Experimental Narrative. 16:51
A reimagining of the western genre to create a counterpoint to the bleak, machismo individualism endemic to western films. 

Divinity Pixel
Director: Kirs Thoen. Denver, CO. Experimental. 03:00
Lingering within the near futility between desire and knowing on the shadowy path of transcendence. 

Carbon
Director: Leighton Pierce. Acton, MA. Experimental. 4:25
The warning to Icarus: to apply moderation, humility, and wisdom to the use of the technology his father developed, remains more relevant than ever. Leighton Pierce is 71 years old.

Infinity Girls.
Directors: Molly Ehrenberg-Peters, Alexandra Nedved. Brooklyn, NY. Narrative. 14:00
After another round of rehab, Jess is eager to reconnect with her best friend, Andi.

Mime After Mime
Director: Violet Dempsey. USA. Narrative. 7:53
A grieving mime tries to perform the eulogy at his deaf mothers funeral... mime style.

A Film With Sound (take three)
Director: Josh Weissbach. East Haddam, CT. Experimental. 2:57
A father and daughter make a new movie after the daughter requests to make a film with sound after making a silent one the previous year.

Placard
Director: Odette Aldrich. Chicago, IL. 05:06
A meditation on the physical and psychological impact of mass anti-transgender legislation in my country. 

Shelters - Refugios
Director: Kiko Prada. Asturias, Spain. Narrative. 10:43
In a post-apocalyptic world, a woman will try to survive.

END OF FRIDAY NIGHT PROGRAM

SATURDAY 11/21/25

Film That Never Begins
Director: Scott Bateman. Beacon, NY. Experimental. 4:25
When waiting for the film to begin IS the film.

Tiempo De Morir - Time To Die
Director: Alaric Rocha. USA / Mexico. Narrative / Documentary / Found Footage. 10:45
Dr. Augustin travels in time to save his love from the evil Don Juan Sayago.

Ars Animalis for Troubled Times
Director: Anne Ciecko. Amherst, MA. Experimental. 3:44
The observed animal kingdom reveals artful resourcefulness, inspiring 
human curiosity—and even hope—amidst tumult and crises.

The Rat Race
Director: Calib Perkins. Denver, CO. Narrative: 04:25
A rat escapes the race, only to find himself more lost than before.

Country Girl
Director: Dan Hartman. Denver, CO. Music Video. 07:00
A country girl is pulled into a surreal music film where her dedication is put to the test.

Goth Brunch
Director: Lewis Stice. Denver, CO. Documentary. 5:48.
Documenting Denver Drag Artist LisaFrank666 as she prepares for and performs in a Goth Drag Brunch.

Dracula's Daughter
Director: William Briggs. Denver, CO. Narrative. 05:00.
A teen-film on VHS from the 80s remastered as a black & white silent classic. 
Dracula's daughter wants a mommy so he prowls the streets for someone who will do the trick.

Howl if You Love Me
Director: John R. Dilworth. NYC, NY. Animation. 7:47
Boy has girl. Boy loses girl. Boy wins girl back, but girl is a werewolf

2nd Day & the End of the World
Director: Sara Koppel. Copenhagen, Denmark. Animation. 12:28
The processes of secession, post-traumatic attacks &
tempting body conditions in a climate-catastrophic universe.

The Haunted Saxophone
Directors: Ron Campbell, Katarina Fink. Emeryville, CA. Animation. 06:42
Propped up in the window of a pawn shop is an old tenor saxophone. Little is known of its history and mystery until now...

Echo Equinox
Director: Jack Cosgriff. Denver / Prague. Narrative Experimental. 12:28.
A Swedish queer sci-fi romance that explores love across time and space.

Swing for the Fences
Director: Jessie Rodriguez. Denver, CO. Music Video. 02:21
A stop-motion animation created entirely by hand, Swing for the Fences is a music video created by 
Jessie Rodriguez combining printmaking with cut out animation to original music by Shadow Animal

Up & Out
Director: Alex Bugg. Denver. CO, Animated Music Video. 03:33
A clown and his gang of misfits traverse a world of technicolor whimsy.

INTERMISSION

2004
Director: Meredith Bateman. Wilmington, NC. Found Footage Experimental. 05:46
2004 calories, the maximum number of calories a woman ranging from 19-25 years old should have per day.

Death And All His Friends
Director: Stephane Laurencin. France. Experimental. 06:32
6 very short stories, 6 representations of the death

Assets
Director: Christine Lucy Latimer. Canada. Experimental. 02:22
Wonky, contemporary approximations of film artifacts move 
through the frame in impossible trajectories. 
A film about film signified.

Before the Freeze
Director: Tenley Eakin Raj. Houston, TX. Narrative Experimental. 08:16
Escapism, in the form of exotic Maria Lus, leaves disaster in its path 
after visiting the home of the recently-divorced Jo Hess, poet and mom to young Rylie, 2.

Toil and Spin
Director: Maureen Zent. Atlanta, GA. Experimental Animation 05:05
Minimalist visuals to evoke the drifting sensations of sleep and the turbulence of sleeplessness.

Between
Director: Tim Sparks. USA. Experimental. Narrative. 3:13
A contemplation of the weight of loss and the quiet ways it lingers.

hEar
Director: Faffs Jackalinski. Tucson. AZ. Narrative. 09:20
A screen writer struggling with writer's block takes a focus pill with intense side effects.

It Doesn't Pass
Director: Dan Lopez. Scranton, PA. Narrative. 04:07
A man calls upon an entity to guide him through a difficult night.

Shadow In The Water
Director: Scott Allan Pardue. USA. Music Video. 3:35
Created for the film Carolina Rain. Two children fantasize about revenge for their abusive uncle.

Sound Of The Doldrums.
Director: Richard Lukacs. Canada. Experimental. 08:12
After causing a fatal accident, a musician loses his hearing - except the sounds he hates the most.

The Eye in Nothing
Director: Michael Edwards. Sandy, UT. Experimental. 5:43
An abstract, absurd montage of faces and looping imagery.

Social Media Delivers People
Director: Brandon Bauer. De Pere, WI. Experimental. 02:43
A critical examination of the role of social media in the commodification of users



END OF SATURDAY PROGRAM


SUNDAY 11/23/25

Algorithmic Nudes Grapple with Entropy
Director: David R Witzling. Milwaukee, WI. Experimental. 05:45
A thermodynamic melody amidst the machine and the heartbeat.

3rd Try Mister
Director: Ron Weisberg. Albuquerque, NM. Narrative. 09:59
A silly couple sneaks candy into the movie theater, but the theater's wild new task force is no joke.

Clubbing
Directors: Eric Forbes, Zach Myers. Ft, Collins, CO. Narrative. 5:52
A college freshman is overwhelmed by monologues from club leaders
on what it takes to join their cliques.

My Grandma's Story
Director: Sourthearak Duong. Thornton, CO. 8:53
The true story of Cambodian woman whose life was changed forever during and after the Khmer Rouge regime.

Dobrina
Director: Hannes Rall. Germany. Animation. 05:00
Lotte Reiniger meets Sergio Leone where desire burns as bright as the desert sun.

Puppet Camino
Director: Jon Sargent. Colorado Springs, CO. 06:39
A filmmaker and his puppet explore the magic found on the famous pilgrimage Camino de Santiago.

Birds on the Ground
Director: Scott Allan Pardue. USA. Music Video. 5:16
A visual parable about the Exxon Valdez oil spill and things that keep us down.

Opposable
Director: Peter Nepi. Denver, CO, Narrative. 13:00
A man is just trying to get his brother home, but t Up & Out. Director: Alex Bugg. Denver. CO.
rouble keeps finding him - or is it the other way around?

The Following is a Paid Advertisement
Director: Ryan George Kittleman. Richmond, CA. 02:44
An homage to the golden age of late-night infomercials.

Never Fingerbang a Wendigo
Director: John Brennan. USA. Narrative. 10:19
All men are created evil, but only the stupidest manage to provoke The Wendigo.

The Bug
Director: Patrick Convoy. Denver, CO. Narrative. 13:30
A man lets himself go after losing a loved one, only for a pesky insect to grow larger as the man's responsibilities weigh him down.

INTERMISSION

The Tooth of Time
Director: Hannu Nieminen. Lempaala, Finland. 04:06
Time mercilessly flows and slips from our hands. No reason to fight, better to go with the flow.

In The Shade
Director: Amy Force. Ontario, Canada. Narrative. 6:51
A coming of age moment between mother and daughter - when innocence chooses ignorance.

Popcorn
Director: Fangjian Li. Pasadena, CA. Narrative.
After his divorce, a wasted man drowns in alcohol. The story he's watching on TV is like his own failed marriage.

[sun]film
Director: Derek Taylor. Middlebury, CT. Experimental. 03:10.
An arrangement of found image sources from the 16th Century onward.

Pictures of a Negative Chair
Director: Magdalena Bermudez. Binghampton, NY. Experimental. 9:24
A scientist tries to teach machines how to infer depth from two-dimensional pictures.

This Is How I Felt
Director: Josh Weissbach. East Haddam, CT. Experimental. 01:35
Filmed in a twenty-four period while wearing a heart monitor to investigate possible arrhythmias.

Hollowgram
Director: Laura Iancu. Romania. Experimental. 7:00
Swirling images and sounds from places real and imagined as if looking through a flip book in a dream.



END OF 2025 PROGRAM