View the trailer here:
The Webby Award-nominated PBS Online Film Festival returns July 16-27, 2018!
The festival is available via PBS and station digital platforms, including on PBS.org. As in previous years, films are also available to stream on YouTube and Facebook.
Now in its seventh year, the film festival features 25 short-form independent films from public media partners and PBS member stations. It is part of a multi-platform initiative to increase the reach and visibility of independent films, and to provide a showcase for diverse storytelling that inspires and engages.
See below for a full list of short films featured in the 2018 PBS Online Film Festival!
From Black Public Media
“Heroes of Color”
This educational video series highlights the outstanding achievements of people of color.
From CAAM
“Flip the Record”
In this 1980s coming-of-age story, a Filipino-American teen flips the narrative by teaching herself how to DJ.
“Our Time”
A dark family secret opens up a young child’s eyes to a sobering reality, but also love.
From DPTV
“Hungry for Love”
Two down-and-out foodies embark on an all-night dining adventure through Sapporo, Japan.
“The Book Club”
A sequel to the stop-motion short film “The List,” “The Book Club” is, at heart, a love story, but carries a deeper message about staying true to oneself.
From ITVS
“Pops Ep. 1 – ‘La Guardia Adjusts to Fatherhood’”
Pops tells three stories of African Americans from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds and regions, all deeply engaged in the beautiful struggle of fatherhood.
“The F Word Ep. 1 – ‘F Is for: Foster Care’”
A queer Bay Area couple bumble through a bureaucratic maze as they seek to form their family by adopting from foster care.
From KLRU
“Animal Facts Club Presents – Endangered Rituals”
Explore the curious mating rituals of the endangered Attwater prairie chicken and Houston toad.
From Latino Public Broadcasting
“Caracol Cruzando”
A Costa Rican girl decides if she will bring her pet turtle across the U.S. border.
From Louisiana Public Broadcasting
“Mr. United States”
Today, Avery D. Wilson appears to be a confident pillar of his community, but in this uplifting story, he reveals otherwise. Avery was bullied as a child and later questioned how being gay would affect his faith. As an adult, he feared how his parents would react to his secret. It wasn’t until years later that Avery learned to accept himself – to love himself – and become Mr. United States.
From NALIP
“Desde el principio”
In the darkness of a soundproof recording studio, a conversation sparks between two voice actors dealing with a shared tragedy.
“The Melancholy Man”
“The Melancholy Man” tells the story of the world’s saddest man who meets the world’s saddest woman. Through a fantastical lens, these characters come together in their harmonious misery and find something that surprises them both.
From NET Nebraska
“Total Eclipse of the Heartland”
From sky to prairie, relive the Great American Eclipse of 2017 in 360 degrees.
From PIC
“Ka Piko”
When his girlfriend dies during childbirth, Makana, a young Native Hawaiian man, must perform a traditional birthing ritual with his girlfriend’s overbearing father.
From POV
“Redneck Muslim”
A Muslim hospital chaplain honors his Southern heritage while challenging white supremacy.
From To The Contrary
“Ties That Bind”
This personal and heartfelt documentary follows one family’s experience with gender transition.
From Twin Cities Public Television
“I Am a Refugee”
There are 64 million refugees in the world. This film explores their experience.
“Women in Sports Leadership”
Explore why having women coaches matters. Hear some of their barriers, and celebrate a few successes.
From UNC-TV
“Cowgirl Up”
A cowgirl from Natchez, Mississippi pursues her lifelong dream to become the first African-American female in the National Finals Rodeo.
From Vermont PBS
“Black Canaries”
Isolated, desperate, and haunted by his coal-stained birthright, Father continues his daily descent into the accursed Maplemine — even after it has crippled his ancestors and blinded his youngest son.
From Vision Maker Media
“A Redemption Story”
See how Leo Yankton (Oglala Lakota) contributed in efforts to protect the water on the Standing Rock reservation and continues to find ways to have a positive impact with Native Country and the rest of the world.
From World Channel
“Black Muslim Woman”
Against a rhythmic score, Mikel Aki’leh delivers a powerful poem on beauty and blackness.
From WNET
“Stronghold of Resistance: Sable Island & Her Legendary Horses”
This short film takes viewers to the shores of Sable Island, a remote strip of land less than a mile wide, whose only full-time inhabitants are a herd of near-mythical wild horses; no human attempts at colonization have ever succeeded.
“Wind Back”
A sealed door divides a little boy from his mother. He will go to great lengths to be with her, but when that barrier breaks down, the boy will have to become an adult.
From WSIU
“Super Predator: Preludes of the Black Fish”
Follow the parallels between the predator-prey relationship and a black man facing prejudicial bounds of society.