Welcome to our 12th annual film festival

Schedule:

10:30 - 11:45 AM: Workshop: Ready, Set… Network!!

Bring your coffee and business cards and get ready to pitch yourself and your project in this fast-paced, one-on-one networking session where you get to talk to someone new every 5 minutes! It’s like speed dating, but without the dating.

This networking event is held at YoFi Fest's year-round Digital Media Art Center (DMAC) at 28 Wells Avenue on the 5th floor. Seating is unreserved, but limited, so we strongly suggest you reserve your spot ahead of time and be there when the event starts. As many walk-ins and people from the waiting list will be allowed in as space permits.

Location:
YoFi Digital Media Art Center
28 Wells Avenue
Building 3, 5th Floor
Yonkers, NY 10701

11:00 - 11:45 AM: Sunday Shorts Showcase

The Double Room
View all films tagged "Narrative"

Honor, both an artist and dreamer, finds himself in a dystopian reality of the corporate world. Having to face himself, his choice remains in whether to give in for the sake of survival or exist independently from what our culture has conditioned us to accept.

Runtime: 15:00

Unreal

“This cinematic work functions as a social critique of America's reliance on substance and alcohol abuse, centering on a teenager grappling with the burden of an alcoholic mother. The protagonist's attempt to alleviate his personal anguish leads to a series of escalating problems, encompassing breached trust and imprudent decision-making.”

Runtime: 21:00

Location:
YoFi Digital Media Art Center
28 Wells Avenue
Building 3, 5th Floor
Yonkers, NY 10701

12:00 - 1:45 PM: Mixed Bag Showcase

Bible Camp

Young Korean immigrants assimilate to baseball, burnt hot dogs and hostility at a discount daycare. An afternoon discovering vinyl records in the garage has unintended consequences. A traumatic memory, based on a true immigrant story.

Runtime: 14:00

Fool's Gold

Anu, a struggling Indian sculptor, paints himself in gold and stands motionless on a Central Park platform, pretending to be a statue to earn a living. One day, he runs into his old friend Seth, and lies to him, saying he won a big grant after which, Seth invites him to a dinner party. Anu's lie gets exposed at the dinner party, and Anu, humbled by the experience, finds solace in his faith and artistic pursuits, donating his completed sculpture of Ganesh to a local Hindu temple as a testament to his resilience and dedication.

Runtime: 20:00

Leben

Unfit for life and emotionally inept student Olga moves into a flat inherited from her grandma. Initially, she feels hopeless, her roommate annoys her, and the area she remembered from her childhood and now lives in seems like a depressive pit. A random visit to Astoria bar and meeting her childhood friends makes her realize the fascinating oddity of the local community and gives her hope for true settling in.

Runtime: 29:00:00

Lotus

A hot summer’s day in London. Frankie (13) watches a local bike crew from her balcony and suddenly longs to experience the freedom of riding. So she spontaneously steals a bike from the group. Only trouble is, she doesn’t know how to ride it…

Runtime: 00:09:12

Nice Knives
Comedy

The story of a down on his luck door-to-door knife salesman and the only man in New York City to let him in.

Runtime: 11:00

Location:
Riverfront Atrium Theater
Yonkers Riverfront Library
1 Larkin Center, Yonkers NY 10701

2:00 - 3:45 PM: Women Calling the Shots Shorts Showcase 2

All of Them

When Cora stops by to check on her elderly mother, she discovers her in the bathtub, dressed for a party and refusing to budge. Familiar with her mother’s dramatic antics, Cora attempts to reason with her, only to find herself drawn into a deeper confrontation that reveals the vulnerabilities hidden beneath her mother’s irascible facade, forcing Cora to confront painful truths.

Runtime: 12:00

Show Times:
2:00 PM at Riverfront Atrium Theater
7:00 PM at YoFi Digital Media Art Center

Alright Robot
Women

To cope with isolation, a Jewish millennial befriends her robotic voice assistant; but can a robot really help her with feelings that are so deeply human? A comedy about being depressed.

Runtime: 10:00

Brett Was a F*Ck

When a police officer shows up at the front gate of a Yale secret society after receiving a noise complaint about “someone screaming,” the alumni brothers gathered there for a reunion allow her to enter their rarefied space to investigate. But someone knows more than they’re letting on – specifically about the dead body in the back room. And as the officer conducts her investigation, we’ll learn that the question of who killed Brett might not be as simple as it seems. After all, Brett was a f*ck.

Runtime: 19:00

I'm not a robot

After repeatedly failing Captcha tests, music producer Lara becomes obsessed with a disturbing question: could she be a robot?

Runtime: 22:00

In Waves

A woman navigates uncertainty in a new romance and reflects with her therapist, set against a metaphor of floating in the ocean.

Runtime: 9:00

One Night Friend
Sam and Myles think they are in for a night of spontaneous fun, but Myles drunkenly confesses something that causes them to rethink their actions.

Runtime: 6:00

Spermatozoon

Good news! She's pregnant. Bad news... their doctor used the wrong sperm.

Runtime: 5:00

To The Class of Us

On high school graduation day, two friends learn how to say goodbye to the past -- and most importantly, to each other.

Runtime: 3:28

Location:

Riverfront Atrium Theater
Yonkers Riverfront Library
1 Larkin Center, Yonkers NY 10701

2:00 - 3:45 PM: Workshop: The Blair Witch Project at 25

This summer, the groundbreaking and iconic horror film "The Blair Witch Project," celebrated the 25th anniversary of its release. Known for its experimental production and viral marketing, the indie film that cost tens of thousands to make went to be one of the top ten highest grossing films of 1999 and change the landscape of the industry.

In this amazing first-hand recounting, Mike Monello, one of the film's producers, shares the wild ride of how he and four other University of Central Florida students set out to make a modest indie horror movie, but by the time it was released, had made a multi-platform experience with a huge grassroots fan base that took the entertainment and advertising industries by complete surprise. Hear how they broke the traditional "rules", blew up at Sundance, created a new horror sub-genre and ended up making a landmark film that people are still talking about twenty five years later.

It's a tale that evolved in the press and online and through genre fans and dozens of other little experiences to create an experience much larger than any single film could contain. The movie was just the centerpiece in a complex series of encounters. Legends were seeded. Stories evolved. Advocacy grew. And the film became a sensation before it ever reached a single theater.

In 2005, Mike Monello co-founded Campfire and for the past 15+ years he's developed groundbreaking experiences across all media, along the way pioneering strategies, principles and tactics that have become standards in the industry.

Location:
YoFi Digital Media Art Center
28 Wells Avenue
Building 3, 5th Floor
Yonkers, NY 10701

4:00 - 5:45 PM: A/way + shorts

A/way
Narrative

After suffering a profound loss, a travel journalist is sent on assignment to Martinique, which sparks a candid reflection on her unsettled life. Blending the lines between documentary and narrative, A/way focuses on the stories of the people Anna profiles in Martinique (played by non-actors), which pushes her to examine her path forward coming to terms with her grief. This film is a unique take on one's place in life. Is this all there is, or is there another way?

Runtime: 1:02:00

Beyond the Homestead
Queer

Beyond the Homestead is about a story of two lifelong friends whose friendship is jeopardized after a new boy comes into town. Trapped on a farm with a drunken father breathing down his neck, Eden is forced to come face to face with feelings buried deep inside himself.

Runtime: 13:43

Chana
Animation

A story of a mother and daughter told over several years as they attempt to live their best lives until one day, the daughter makes a fateful decision that'll change everything in hopes of a better future.

Runtime: 4:00

Little Flower
Animation

In the future, every person has their own Tree of Life which contains unique fruit. The main characters are just like the past and the future of Taiwan. The “Great-Granduncle” has four names, which one is his true name?

Runtime: 9:00

Location:
Riverfront Atrium Theater
Yonkers Riverfront Library
1 Larkin Center, Yonkers NY 10701

4:00 - 5:45 PM: Comedy Shorts Showcase 2

B-Box
Comedy

Two roommates engaged in a bizarre high stakes game try to keep things under control when one of them invites a woman over to their apartment.

Runtime: 10:00

Back Story
Comedy

As two actors (Ramona and Frank) prepare to go on stage in a small New York theater, it is revealed that her previous 12 scene partners have all been murdered. Who's doing the killing these actors and why? And are these actors being killed for merely being "****" actors, or is Ramona just on " the schnide."

Runtime: 20:00

Gloomy Roomie
Comedy

Zola feels thrilled to find a great apartment she can afford in New York City, but one of her roommates would be a literal ghoul. At least the ghoul isn't out to kill them all...right?

Runtime: 15:00

SilverSizzle
Comedy

A cemetery caretaker embarks on a quest to help two recent widowers find new love among widows visiting their departed spouses.

Widower Buddy has some experience being alone when he meets Jamie while visiting the graveside of his recently departed wife. Engulfed in loneliness, Jamie gets pulled into life in all its messiness when Buddy tells him about getting old, "the options are not kind. Loneliness, irrelevance, invisibility." SilverSizzle embarks on an absurd exploration of older people living life right up until the end.

Runtime: 14:00

Sober Sitter
Comedy

High school senior Ian is stuck babysitting his 11-year-old brother Jeremy on the night of a senior prank he desperately wants to join. The more Jeremy tries to hang out with Ian and his drug-toting friends, the more they push him away. But when Ian pushes him too far, Jeremy does the unthinkable - stealing and eating their psychedelic mushrooms.

Runtime: 15:00

Static Cling
Comedy

In a bustling laundromat, cocky Kyle's flirtation with Sally goes awry when his zipper gets stuck, trapping him in his coat. While he seeks help from a quirky cast of characters, an eccentric vending machine enthusiast fights his own battle with a stuck candy bar. Through these misadventures, Kyle discovers unexpected lessons in humility and kindness.

Runtime: 16:00

Today is Now!
Comedy

A therapist who claims he can cure his patients in three sessions shows off his unorthodox methods while promoting his self-help book.

Runtime: 18:00

Location:
YoFi Digital Media Art Center
28 Wells Avenue
Building 3, 5th Floor
Yonkers, NY 10701

6:00 - 6:55 PM: Short Docs Showcase

Birdfeeder
Documentary Short

The birds outside a Brooklyn window help a man heal as the world turns upside down. When a family of birds move in on his fire escape, they bring hope for a new beginning.

Runtime: 11:30

Concrete Rose
Documentary Short

This documentary short follows Christina Green's journey from incarceration to empowerment as she leads a supportive housing program, highlighting resilience and community in the face of systemic injustice.

Runtime: 23:00

Roses on the stone
Documentary Short

A stone artist works in a cemetery. He is a high-class master. Unfortunately, he also had to do the most difficult order himself.

Runtime: 20:00

The Metalsmith
Documentary Short

The story of Binghamton jeweler, Gina Mowry-McHugh.

Runtime: 7:00

Location:
YoFi Digital Media Art Center
28 Wells Avenue
Building 3, 5th Floor
Yonkers, NY 10701

7:00 - 9:00 PM: Party: Weekend Wind Down

Join us as we chill out with friends, old and new, and talk about the all the great movies and magic of Opening Weekend!

The party is at the recently opened One Pier Stake House, which was selected as a 2024 winner of the Diners' choice award. Located on the Yonkers waterfront between the Hudson River and the Yonkers Metro North train station, they offer an array of Angus cut meats, fresh seafood, delicious craft cocktails and an excellent selection of wine!

Location:
One Pier Steakhouse
1 Van Der Donck St,
Yonkers, NY 10701

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