2023 Official Film Selections
The 2023 West Chester Film Festival is presented by our generous sponsors.
A Routine
Shayan Habibi/Iran/Drama/6:08
A man is driving through the desert when a stranger asks for
a simple favor: some gas from his tank, but when he runs out of gas himself,
will the stranger return the favor?
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 11:30 am film collection
Adjustment
Mehrdad Hasani/Iran/Drama/17:09
Shahrokh has been pushed away from his family and friends because he wants to wear girl’s clothes to school. He adjusts to his new identity and finds support from his teacher and new friends.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 2:00 pm film collection and in the Saturday, April 29 3:00 pm Pride Pop-Up
All In Favor
Santiago Requejo López-Mateos/Spain/Drama/Best Drama Nominee/13:59
Residents of a traditional apartment building debate whether to replace the elevator. When the question of a new tenant comes up, the debate turns to the limits of coexistence and acceptance.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 6:00 pm film collection
Black Side
Uri Lotan/Israel/Animation/11:13
Eviah goes with his best friend to sneak onto the Black Slide, the most terrifying ride at Aqua Fun. As the day unfolds, he gains insight into what the future may hold for his family, his sick mother, and himself.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 2:00 pm film collection
Brother
Mahdie Mohammadi/Iran/Drama/Best Female Filmmaker Nominee/7:34
During the last months of the Iranian revolution in 1978, escaping opposition soldiers were hunted, but one soldier finds support in a chance meeting with a man getting ready on his wedding day.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 8:30 pm film collection
Check the Locks
Eric Larson/NY/United States/Drama/15:24
Following a nervous breakdown, a woman retreats to a friend’s cabin in the woods—only to discover that her coping mechanisms are mysteriously turning against her.
Featured in the Sunday, April 30 1:15 pm film collection and in the Friday, April 28 9:00 pm Horror Pop-Up
Dragon Poets of Boston
Gordon LePage/ME/United States/Comedy/Best Comedy Nominee/8:23
Two underemployed dragons have a revelation when they audition for a podcast.
Featured in the Sunday, April 30 3:30 pm film collection and in the Sunday, April 30 10:30 pm Cartoons & Coffee Pop-Up
Fairplay
Zoel Aeschbacher/France/Comedy/17:34
A teenager in search of recognition, a worker ready to hit the jackpot, and a senior executive at the end of his career who wants to prove he is still alive are losing speed on the competitive highway . . .
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 2:00 pm film collection
Feeling Through
Doug Roland/CA/United States/Drama/Oscar Nominee/Best Drama Nominee/18:17
In Feeling Through, the first film to star a DeafBlind actor, Tereek encounters Artie, a DeafBlind man in need of help getting home. From an awkward meeting emerges an intimate bond and discovery.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 11:30 am film collection
Fobi
Elham Aminian/Iran/Animation/Best Female Filmmaker Nominee/12:56
A little girl named Fobi overcomes her fears to find the source of the beautiful glass sculptures that keep appearing in her room.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 8:30 pm film collection and in the Sunday, April 30 10:30 pm Cartoons & Coffee Pop-Up
From Here to There!
George Atkinson, Alan Ciechalski/United Kingdom/Comedy/Best Comedy Nominee/29:10
Casper is hopelessly in love, but Ellen just isn’t that into Casper. When he creates a teleportation device and invites her to come along on his adventure, Casper learns what love is really all about.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 11:30 am film collection
From Trash to Treasure
Iara Lee/CA/United States/Documentary/25:07
From erosion to overgrazing to enduring poverty, the people of Lesotho face a variety of difficult challenges. The grassroots communities uses art to signal their communal desire for positive change.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 8:30 pm film collection
Fuego
Edwin FrankO/CA/United States/Drama/21:57
Gio’s father was a passionate salsa dancer, but he has rejected that life and his family. When his brother drags him along to a salsa lesson, he faces not only his past, but also what is possible for the future.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 11:30 am film collection
Grump in the Night
Kris Theorin/PA/United States/Animation/Best PA Filmmaker Nominee/4:47
One stormy night, a man is awoken by strange noises downstairs and soon finds himself facing off with a TV-loving poltergeist.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 8:30 pm film collection and in the Sunday, April 30 10:30 pm Cartoons & Coffee Pop-Up
Hedgehog
D. Mitry/NY/United States/Drama/17:10
As the war starts in Ukraine, six years old Nina is sent to her grandma’s remote village. In the shack outside, Nina discovers a badly wounded Russian soldier.
Featured in the Sunday, April 30 3:30 pm film collection
Hellbent
Justin Grubb, Annie Roth/MO/United States/Documentary/Best Documentary Nominee/18:59
In a small rural town in Pennsylvania, the refuge of a rare salamander and the only source of clean drinking water for 700 people is threatened by the installation of a fracking waste injection well, prompting community members to band together and mount an epic fight for the rights of their people and nature.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 6:00 pm film collection
Holding Moses
Rivkah Beth Medow/CA/United States/Documentary/Best Documentary Nominee/Best Female Filmmaker Nominee/16:50
A Broadway performer becomes a mother, braiding rhythm and grief and time and joy on her path to connect with her profoundly disabled son.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 11:30 am film collection
How She Didn’t Die
Antonio Tibaldi/Switzerland/Drama/27:06
A mysterious European woman has set a life-changing plan in motion – but she needs a stranger’s help to pull it off. She meets a young man and makes him a disturbing offer. Can she convince him to accept?
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 8:30 pm film collection
I Mustache You
Shara Ashley Zeiger/NY/United States/Comedy/13:35
A whimsical magical realistic comedy about Abby, a woman with social anxiety, OCD, and agoraphobic tendencies who receives an invitation to love, self-acceptance, and the outside world.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 8:30 pm film collection
I Think I Like It Here
Charlie Tyrell/Canada/Comedy/10:11
Following a breakup, a woman packs up the things in her apartment and reminisces about what transpired there.
Featured in the Sunday, April 30 3:30 pm film collection
Ice Merchants
João Gonzalez/Portugal/Animation/Best Animation Nominee/14:33
Every day, a father and his son jump with a parachute from their vertiginous cold house, attached to a cliff, to go to the village on the ground, far away where they sell the ice they produce daily.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 11:30 am film collection and in the Sunday, April 30 10:30 pm Cartoons & Coffee Pop-Up
Ivalu
Anders Walter, Pipaluk Kreutzmann Jørgensen/Denmark/Drama/16:44
Ivalu is gone. Her little sister is desperate to find her. Her father does not care. The vast Greenlandic nature holds secrets. The search for Ivalu is on.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 6:00 pm film collection
KUTA
Chin-Che Chen, Yun Cheng, Ya-Chieh Chang/Taiwan/Best Student Film Nominee/Animation/7:12
The nuclear fallout of the third world war resulted in fusion and mutation in the few who survived. The protagonists launch an endless battle against mutant species for the future of mankind.
Featured in the Sunday, April 30 1:15 pm film collection and in the Sunday, April 30 10:30 pm Cartoons & Coffee Pop-Up
Last Chance
Eszter Angyalosy, Dániel Szőke/Hungary/Drama/27:32
Dodi decides to participate in a longboard dancing competition. But there are two problems: one, he is old, and two, he has no idea how to ride a longboard. With new friends, anything is possible.
Featured in the Sunday, April 30 1:15 pm film collection
Memories
Ryan Hammaker/PA/United States/Drama/2:38
A woman’s memory drifts back to her youth as she prances a field of flowers. As the memory fades, her last breath graces the air.
Featured in the Sunday, April 30 1:15 pm film collection
Nafas Nakesh
Milad Nasim Sobhan/Iran/Drama/14:37
The powers that be have found an innovative way to identify dissenters. When a driver comes across a man breathing smoke, he decides to change his life forever.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 2:00 pm film collection
Night Ride
Eirik Tveiten/Norway/Drama/Best Drama Nominee/15:46
It is a cold night in December. As Ebba waits for the tram, an unexpected turn of events transforms the ride home into something she was not expecting.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 2:00 pm film collection and in the Saturday, April 29 3:00 pm Pride Pop-Up
Nuisance Bear
Jack Weisman, Gabriela Osio Vanden/Canada/Documentary/13:55
Churchill, Manitoba, is an international destination for photographing polar bears. Follow the obstacle course of tourist paparazzi and wildlife officers bears must navigate during their annual migration.
Featured in the Sunday, April 30 3:30 pm film collection
Passenger
Juan Pablo Zaramella/Argentina/Animation/Best Animation Nominee/10:00
A journey through the conflictive relationship between a man, his social environment and codes.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 6:00 pm film collection and in the Sunday, April 30 10:30 pm Cartoons & Coffee Pop-Up
Phone Call
Zoe Kim/NY/United States/Comedy/4:58
Why everyone with a Korean mom needs to go to therapy.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 11:30 am film collection
Projecting at The Ford
Michael Lynch/PA/United States/Art/Experimental/Best Art/Experimental Nominee/Best PA Filmmaker Nominee/15:34
Paintings and photography from N. C. Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth, Karl J. Kuerner, and Shay Allen, projected in place at their original sites. With voiceovers by Andrew Wyeth, Jamie Wyeth, and Karl J. Kuerner.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 6:00 pm film collection
Quiet
Hèctor Romance Martínez/Spain/Drama/17:37
A father desperately searches for his missing daughter. His loss reveals a terrible past which will no longer remain silent.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 8:30 pm film collection and in the Friday, April 28 9:00 pm Horror Pop-Up
Sideral
Carlos Segundo/France/Drama/15:26
Brazil is preparing to launch its first manned spaceship. One mother, wife, and cleaning lady takes a chance to follow her dreams of other horizons.
Featured in the Sunday, April 30 1:15 pm film collection
Sierra
Sander Joon/Estonia/Animation/15:57
A father and son are losing the race. They are determined to do whatever it takes to win. Loosely inspired by the director’s childhood, Sierra pulls us into a surreal car racing world.
Featured in the Sunday, April 30 3:30 pm film collection
Solitude
Trevor Hancock/GA/United States/Comedy/3:20
Brett is searching for solitude, but finds himself at odds with an obnoxious neighbor. What will it take to achieve the peace he so desperately seeks?
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 6:00 pm film collection and in the Friday, April 28 9:00 pm Horror Pop-Up
The (Other) 700 Club
Araque Blanco/Spain/Documentary/10:01
A loose community of delivery workers in Brooklyn gathers to hang out and share their experiences while waiting for their next job. The street philosophers discuss beliefs, goals. and motivations.
Featured in the Sunday, April 30 3:30 pm film collection
The Book
Farzad Foroughi/Iran/Drama/Best Student Film Nominee/6:14
During the pursuit of a writer in the streets of Tehran, a security officer encounters various crimes and delinquencies that are taking place.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 11:30 am film collection
The Killjoy
Harald Rom Kveseth Spjelkavik/Norway/Drama/15:21
A sound designer needs to finish her project before the deadline runs out. But a noisy neighbour makes this a challenge when she has to work from home.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 2:00 pm film collection
The Lone Wolf
Filipe Melo/Portugal/Drama/23:44
One night on Viva FM’s late night show, host Vitor Lobo gets a phone call from an old friend.
Featured in the Sunday, April 30 3:30 pm film collection
The Mushroom Man
Douglas Gahm & Deborah Divine/Canada/Documentary/Best Documentary Nominee/22:27
American Hero and West Chester resident Raymond Rettew was the first person in the world to mass produce penicillin, changing the course of modern medicine. A story never before told, until now.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 2:00 pm film collection
The Present
Farah Nabulsi/State of Palestine/Drama/Best Female Filmmaker Nominee/24:20
Yusef and his daughter set out in the West Bank to buy his wife a gift. Between the soldiers, segregated roads, and checkpoints, how easy is it to go shopping?
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 6:00 pm film collection
The Toms
Thomas Verdi/PA/United States/Comedy/9:18
In a world run by people named Tom, Tim is an outcast.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 8:30 pm film collection
The Treatment
Álvaro Carmona/Spain/Comedy/Best Comedy Nominee/8:58
A clinic offers what you’ve always wanted… for a low price.
Featured in the Sunday, April 30 1:15 pm film collection
Tula
Bea de Silva/Spain/Comedy/12:37
Tula is the cleaning lady at a private school for girls. When the headteacher’s daughter comes to her with a secret, Tula has to decide whether to help or not.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 6:00 pm film collection
Unlucky Charms
Kris Theorin/PA/United States/Animation/Best Animation Nominee/Best PA Filmmaker Nominee/4:47
Late one night, a bored cashier collects all three toys from a box of Magic Munchos and unwittingly unleashes the ancient evil that lies within…
Featured in the Sunday, April 30 1:15 pm film collection and in the Friday, April 28 9:00 pm Horror Pop-Up
Voices Long Forgotten
Sharon K. Baker/DE/United States/Documentary/19:28
A look at the hamlet of Polktown, Del and the US Colored Troops who came from there, buried nearby.
Featured in the Sunday, April 30 1:15 pm film collection
Walls Beneath Our Feet
Antti Suniala/Finland/Art/Experimental/Best Art/Experimental Nominee/4:56
Inspired by the Pasila Street Art District in Helsinki, this film explores urban life from unexpected angles.
Featured in the Saturday, April 29 2:00 pm film collection
Warsha
Dania Bdeir/France/France/Art/Experimental/Best Art/Experimental Nominee/Best Female Filmmaker Nominee/15:55
A Syrian migrant working as a crane operator in Beirut volunteers to cover a shift on one of the most dangerous cranes, where he is able to find his freedom.
Featured in the Sunday, April 30 3:30 pm film collection and in the Saturday, April 29 3:00 pm Pride Pop-Up
