In-Person Screenings
Location of In-Person Screenings
Barnsdall Gallery Theatre
4800 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2026
Block A:
11AM-1PM (w/ 15MIN Q&A)
The Hobby Hoarder
Ways to fly
Learning to speak
Eggnog
Songs and Secrets
The Shield
Spiral
Block B:
1:30PM-3:30PM(w/ 15MIN Q&A)
Checking Out
Sext
Fading Colours
Getting Back to you
Memory of Water
Mr. Benjamin's Birthday
The Puppet Master
The Satchel
Block C:
4PM- 6PM (w/ 15MIN Q&A)
Nothing to see here: Watts
Amorah the path to whole life prosperity
11AM-1PM (w/ 15MIN Q&A)
The Hobby Hoarder
Ways to fly
Learning to speak
Eggnog
Songs and Secrets
The Shield
Spiral
Block B:
1:30PM-3:30PM(w/ 15MIN Q&A)
Checking Out
Sext
Fading Colours
Getting Back to you
Memory of Water
Mr. Benjamin's Birthday
The Puppet Master
The Satchel
Block C:
4PM- 6PM (w/ 15MIN Q&A)
Nothing to see here: Watts
Amorah the path to whole life prosperity
BLOCK A
Saturday, May 16, 2026
11AM-1PM (w/ 15MIN Q&A)
11AM-1PM (w/ 15MIN Q&A)
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The Hobby Hoarder
14:49 English/United States Directed by Libby Segal _______________ One woman's quest to become a professional amateur and try 52 new hobbies in 52 weeks becomes so much more. |
Ways to Fly
14:55 English/United States Directed by Kirby Marshall-Collins _______________ When her barrettes mess up her pirouettes, an excitable, hyper-focused Black girl must power through the distractions -- and her mother's expectations -- to fly like the ballerinas do. |
Learning to Speak
50:00 English/United States Directed by Michele Beck _______________ After a breakdown in her twenties, the filmmaker returns decades later to the psychiatric hospital where she was once a patient—seeking to understand how that experience shaped her life, her art, and her voice. Learning to Speak is not a story of overcoming, but of becoming—an exploration of how one makes meaning from the fragments of a life. |
Eggnog
9:55 English/United States Directed by Heather Hillstrom _______________ He just wants to spend Christmas alone, but his son's girlfriend is determined to make him some holiday spirit(s). What starts as a recipe for disaster becomes a sweet way for them to bond over a shared loss. |
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Songs & Secrets
8:35 English/United States Directed by Sherri Z. Heller _______________ In the 1970s, charming wedding photographer Michael has come out of the closet. After Hanukkah, before his clever daughter Sarah goes back to college, he asks her to help him come out to his mother (Sarah's Bubbe), but the evening doesn't go as planned. A nostalgic, affectionate short dramedy. |
The Shield
4:55 English/Israel Directed by Oren Cohen _______________ A bedtime story is abruptly cut short when a father returns home drunk. Left alone with her star-projector lamp, the young girl retreats into a fantasy where the scary eyes under her bed belong to a misunderstood friend. As violence erupts in the living room, the girl and the monster sing and dance to block out the noise. But when glass shatters, the fantasy turns dark: the monster blocks the door with glowing red eyes, trying to keep the girl "safe" inside. To reach her mother, the girl must fight her own guardian, realizing that she is the only one brave enough to offer real protection. |
Spiral
1:59 English/United States Directed by Jim Southwell _______________ If a man trips over in public and everybody’s watching, how long until he mentally recovers? |
BLOCK B
Saturday, May 16, 2026
1:30PM - 3PM (w/ 15MIN Q&A)
1:30PM - 3PM (w/ 15MIN Q&A)
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Checking Out
12:29 English/United States Directed by Ariel Zucker _______________ When a really good date in the present resembles a traumatic moment from the past, a dissociated Alex must win a gameshow inside of their own head to get back into their body, as long as the host "Cool Alex" stays on their side... |
Sext
8:07 English/United States Directed by Kierstyn Stevens _______________ After being asked for a late-night photo, Zayna, a playful yet sensitive young woman goes on a journey to capture who she is. |
Fading Colours
1:30:00 Lithuanian/Lithuania Directed by Ernestas Jankauskas _______________ Fading Colours is a poignant drama that explores the grief experienced by those transitioning from “significant other” to “primary caregiver” when a loved one is diagnosed with dementia. Based on a true story of grief, adversity, and an abundance of love, Fading Colours captures the emotional journey of Lillian after her husband, George, mistakes her for his own mother. |
Getting Back to You
10:25 English/United States Directed by Miranda Clapp _______________ Getting Back to You" unfolds the harrowing journey of David Warren, a young man in his early twenties, caught in a tempest of self-destruction and overwhelming responsibility. Fleeing from the debris of his crumbling life, David embarks on a solitary quest across the country, seeking refuge in the anonymity of the open road. His vehicle, a cluttered testament to his chaotic existence, becomes the stage for a profound exploration of grief, regret, and the quest for redemption. |
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Memory of Water
20:00 English/United States Directed by Ipek Ertan _______________ In present day Toronto, REMI (25), a young woman who has moved back with her father, ADAM, navigates the boundary between dreams and reality as she struggles to cope with the death of her partner AIDEN. She wants to share her memories but Adam pushes her to move on. In an underwater dreamscape, Remi find solace Aiden’s arms. However, the mundane reality of her life interrupts these tender moments. She clings to an old t-shirt of Aiden’s and a photograph as a memento of happier times spent at the pool with Aiden. Her dreamscape becomes darker as her first birthday after Aiden’s passing approaches. |
Mr. Benjamin's Birthday
1:07:43 English/United States Directed by Crystle Viviana Dorsey _______________ A heartbroken health care provider is forever changed when his patient wants to give up on life. |
The Puppet Master
3:25 English/United States Directed by Libby Segal _______________ One woman's battle with the monster pulling all the strings inside her head: OCD. |
BLOCK C
Saturday, May 16, 2026
4PM- 6PM (w/ 15MIN Q&A)
4PM- 6PM (w/ 15MIN Q&A)
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Nothing to See Here: Watts
1:30:00 English/United States Directed by Michael Soenen _______________ A Defiant Act of Radical Self-Representation that Unites Enemies and Saves Lives. What happens when an outsider rides with police officers through Watts, a 2.1 square mile neighborhood in South Los Angeles, long known as one of the most violent and divided communities in the country? That night, he witnessed shootings, murders, and heartbreak. He went home, just five miles away, waiting to see the story on the news. There was nothing. No coverage. No mention. |
AMORAH The Path to Whole Life Prosperity
13:01 English/United States Directed by Tawanda Auston _______________ Released to Live Your Purpose “AMORAH The Path to Whole Life Prosperity” is a mental health documentary that focus on the importance of releasing. Six individuals talk about releasing in their own way on the path to freedom in every area of life. Dominique delves into Emotional Freedom Technique (Tapping), Lauren talks about Somatic Experiencing, and Richard speaks about Breath Work, while Tangela talks about releasing fear and Casey releases herself as she embrace being gay. |
Screenplays
Screenplays that includes psychological themes, characters and/or storylines.
The Satchel One Act Play
51 pages
English/United States
Written by Richard E. Howell
_______________
Acquaintances hear that a friend has been raped. These acquaintances, it so happens, run an unorthodox but tested restorative justice “court.” They are a bunch of seasoned, gritty characters for sure: a nightclub owner, a retired detective, a social worker, and a few homeless survivors. “The dirty half dozen.” They run their Restores in an alley—The Lounge. Typically, they patiently and humanely cajole the perp, into a confession, an apology—maybe even a hug-up. But on this cold night, nothing is succeeding: the obstinate rapist is a master of denial and half-truths. The Loungers slide into a dangerous tactic to “bend the will of another.”Only their shared, profound belief in advocacy rather than arrests pulls them back from panicked failure.
51 pages
English/United States
Written by Richard E. Howell
_______________
Acquaintances hear that a friend has been raped. These acquaintances, it so happens, run an unorthodox but tested restorative justice “court.” They are a bunch of seasoned, gritty characters for sure: a nightclub owner, a retired detective, a social worker, and a few homeless survivors. “The dirty half dozen.” They run their Restores in an alley—The Lounge. Typically, they patiently and humanely cajole the perp, into a confession, an apology—maybe even a hug-up. But on this cold night, nothing is succeeding: the obstinate rapist is a master of denial and half-truths. The Loungers slide into a dangerous tactic to “bend the will of another.”Only their shared, profound belief in advocacy rather than arrests pulls them back from panicked failure.
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We are excited to announce that we have partnered with eoApp - Entertainment Oxygen to be our official virtual screening platform! Stay tuned for ticketing info!
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Trading Cards
14:59 English/Australia, United Kingdom Directed by Radheya Jang _______________ An enigmatic man journeys back in time to find his younger self, seemingly to revisit the nostalgia of trading cards. An exploration of identity, mental health and the erosion of childhood innocence, Trading Cards is a dark fantasy animated film about the weight of living with Obsessive-compulsive disorder. |
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By George, A Life
01:33:24 English/United States Directed by Patrick Cone, Robert W Fieseler _______________ The story of a World War II liberator who exemplifies the maxim that you cannot control what happens to you. What you can control is what to do with what happens to you. George found within trauma the will to do what he could to repair the world. First in segregated Chicagoland, then the American South, then the Middle East. In indecent times, this is a true story of decency doing what it can, for as long as it can, to make a dent in world challenges. |
Herminia
12:00 English/United States Directed by Patrick Diana Shield _______________ A tale of a mother's struggle with depression, while a daughter discovers something about herself that she did not know. |
Reflections
01:05:05 English/United Kingdom Directed by Patrick Diana Shield _______________ A group of youths discuss their experiences with mental health in an interview setting, looking at their childhood, education, family & friends. |
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U S M S T
01:17:35 English/United States Directed by Pacifica J Sauer _______________ U.S.M.S.T. is a powerful, non-scripted documentary that gives voice to the often-silenced survivors of military sexual trauma. Through raw and courageous first-person accounts, the film exposes the hidden epidemic of sexual assault within the U.S. Armed Forces and the systemic failures that allow it to persist. Blending survivor testimony with expert insight, archival material, and moments of intimate reflection, U.S.M.S.T. reveals the deep emotional toll of betrayal from within the ranks—and the resilience of those fighting for justice, healing, and institutional change. More than a story of trauma, this is a call to listen, to believe, and to reform. |
Courage to Thrive
01:27:55 English/United States Directed by Josh Sikkema, Kamin Samuel _______________ Courage to Thrive presents powerful stories of women redefining self-worth and success. By sharing their journeys, the documentary not only celebrates individual achievements but also lays the groundwork for a broader societal shift in how success is perceived, particularly for BIPOC women. |
Beyond Fight or Flight:
The New Science of Stress 50:33 English/United States Directed by Justin Smith _______________ This film challenges the outdated idea that stress is simply a binary response. Instead, it explores the complex, adaptive systems that shape how we survive, and how we heal. |