Columbia Filmmakers Head to New Hampshire Film Festival 2024
Several films by Columbia University filmmakers will be showcased at the 2024 New Hampshire Film Festival.
The festival, held every October in Portsmouth, will take place from October 17 to October 20, 2024. The program for the NHFF consists of new domestic and international independent films including narrative features, shorts and documentaries. In 2021, during their 20th annual edition, the festival was named an Academy Awards qualifying festival for the Short Film Awards by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
This year's lineup includes a range of works from Columbia University filmmakers: Kowloon! will be featured in the documentary shorts section, while several others such as Bruno and Elena, Choke Hold, Classmates, Dad Swap, Mr. Bold, Music Theory, Pillow Talk, Sunshine City and Works of Mercy will be screened in the Narrative Shorts section. In the Narrative Features section, Pierce will premiere alongside films by notable auteurs of independent cinema.
Read on for more details about these films and their filmmakers.
Co-Directed by Erin Ramirez '24
As the biggest Chinese restaurant in the US, Kowloon represents the Wong family’s American Dream. However, as third-generation owner Bobby and his brothers approach their seventies, they consider the weight of this legacy.
Written & Directed by Javier Hirschler '23, Produced by Zixin Chen '23
On the last day of high school, Bruno finally manages to charm the girl of his dreams and invites her over to his house. But his mother, Elena, won't stay in her room.
Written & Directed by Max McGillivray '21, Produced by Patrick Nichols '22
When aspiring wrestler Brendon Mackie is given a tryout with a Regional Wrestling Federation, he expects this to be his ticket out of town. However, he is forced to make tough decisions in the wake of his dreams coming true.
Written & Directed by Major Dorfman '23, Produced by Grace Merriman '21, Co-Produced by Justin Pinke '22 & Will Pinke '22
An apathetic teenager is dropped off on the outskirts of town to work on a project with the school outcast. The two boys form an unlikely connection, but not without consequences.
Written & Directed by Ethan Mermelstein '22, Produced by Nina Cochran '23
When a frustrated boy decides to swap his father with his father’s best friend and nemesis, he must confront the consequences of his bizarre plan.
Mr. Bold
Written & Directed by Aiman Mimiko '22, Produced by Kaelo Iyizoba '23
A young boy attempts to earn the respect of his older brother by desecrating a Mosque in a small Nigerian town.
Directed by Mathilde Hauducoeur '23, Produced by Kinder Labatt '22
After Margot fails to reenact moves from her self defense class with her boyfriend, she spirals about her best friend Cami’s confusing one night stand. Together, the two women process their experiences and finally feel seen.
Works of Mercy
Written & Directed by Alex Yarber '22, Produced by Jake Huebner '22
Hell-bent on impressing the head of his youth group, a young proselytizer seeks to earn his minister’s approval by pressing a lonely woman to sign up for his church’s meals-on-wheels route.
Written & Directed by Film student Leon Ristov, Produced by Ristov & Film student Janice Picconi
Every Music Theory class, Mark and Boris playfully taunt each other in the back row. One day, the teenagers' customary teasing unveils a deeper truth about their feelings for one another.
Written & Directed by Film student Arthur Elias Gay, Produced by Heather Francis '23 & Celine Sutter '24
Siblings Stellar and Max are living out of their car and trying to get back on their feet. When Max puts their livelihood on the line, Stellar finds herself questioning how much longer she can support him.
Written & Directed by Nelicia Low '18, Executive Produced & Edited by Professor Eric Mendelsohn
This taut Mandarin-language feature centers on Zi-Jie, a prodigious Taiwanese teen fencer whose life is upended when his older brother returns from a seven-year stint in juvenile prison for killing an opponent on the fencing strip. Convinced of his sibling's innocence against his mother's vehement protests, the naive Zi-Jie soon finds himself ensnared in his brother's charismatic but dangerous orbit.
See NHFF 2024’s full lineup here.