Flares

The Nightmare Before Christmas

October 1993 •English

Tired of scaring humans every October 31 with the same old bag of tricks, Jack Skellington, the spindly king of Halloween Town, kidnaps Santa Claus and plans to deliver shrunken heads and other ghoulish gifts to children on Christmas morning. But as Christmas approaches, Jack's rag-doll girlfriend, Sally, tries to foil his misguided plans.

American Eid

May 2021 •English

Ameena, a Muslim Pakistani immigrant, wakes up on Eid to find out that she has to go to school. Homesick and heartbroken, she goes on a mission to make Eid a public-school holiday, and in the process, reconnects with her older sister, and embraces her new home, while her new home embraces her.

Dinner Is Served

May 2021 •English

A Chinese student at an elite U.S. boarding school realizes excellence is not enough when he tries out for a leadership position no international student has ever applied for.

Oleg and the War

April 2017 •Ukrainian

The film follows 10-year-old Oleg, whose life has been turned upside down by the ongoing war in East Ukraine. Oleg lives with his beloved grandmother Alexandra in a small house in a village on the frontline. Most people have left the village, but Oleg and Alexandra love their life together there and want to stay on and take care of each other. But life is becoming more and more difficult and the war does not seem to end.

Growing Fangs

May 2021 •English

Val Garcia, a Mexican-American teen who is half human/half vampire, has had to keep her identity a secret from both worlds. But when her human best friend shows up at her monster-infested school, she has to confront her truth, her identity, and herself.

Letters

April 2021 •English

LETTERS, a dramatic historical fiction written by Mrs. Evelyn Merritt in 2010, tells the story of U.S. soldiers and their loved ones through their correspondence beginning with the Civil War and ending with the War in Iraq. Sahuarita High School students adapted the Readers’ Theatre play into a movie, reasoning the student actors would be kept safe from Covid-19 by filming them individually, and afterward the footage could be reassembled into a screenplay following the original dialogue.

Oral Hygiene

August 1991 •English

A Cal Arts stop motion short in praise of good oral hygiene.

The Legend of Rurik

September 2016 •English

A Viking warrior fights a dragon in a volcano to avenge the destruction of his village and his wife’s death.

Or Bleu

September 2017 •French

Two coral harvesters brothers are about to finish their working day, when the elder one discovers a mysterious underwater cave.

The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper

September 2005 •English

During the holiday season, when the animals of the Central Park Zoo are preparing for Christmas, Private, the youngest of the penguins notices that the Polar Bear is all alone. Assured that nobody should have to spend Christmas alone, Private goes into the city for some last-minute Christmas shopping. Along the way, he gets stuffed into a stocking

Quod Libet

April 1978 •

Jorge

January 1998 •English

A lovelorn man is entranced by a beautiful girl who takes a ladybug from his neck.

Shake Hands with Danger

June 1980 •English

This short cautionary training film examines dangers associated with earthmoving equipment operation, showing many simulated accidents on construction sites.

Bless Me Father

November 2017 •English

In a small Irish town where secrets are rare, a local man goes to church to confess his.

Crawlies

November 2024 •Spanish

Crawlies is a soliloquy based on voice recordings of my schizophrenic uncle. An audiovisual exercise of mise en abyme that weaves a patchwork of memories from my childhood, of madness and desire.

Bronx, New York, November 2019

October 2021 •

Cal State Long Beach, CA, January 2020

October 2021 •English

A wordless portrait of sculptor Jessica Jackson Hutchins shows us the artist in the process of transforming clay into uncanny forms.

My Pretty Pony

December 2017 •English

The story follows an elderly man on his deathbed who gives his young grandson a pocket watch and warns the boy against the dangers of letting time slip away.

Foolish Girl

January 2006 •Russian

The Guide for the Perplexed

March 2006 •Hebrew

Director Yigal Bursztyn’s made-for-TV road movie takes viewers on a contemporary journey in which he traces the gospel and teachings of Jewish philosopher, Maimonides (aka the Rambam). Burszstyn goes from the Spanish city of Cordoba to Fes in Morocco, then onwards to Egypt and finally, Israel. In the course of this physical, geographical journey, Bursztyn also does a deep dive into Maimonides’s 12th century canonical work, The Guide for the Perplexed, which he uses as a tool to interpret present-day events and the conflicts between faith and rationale, and between religion, culture, and gender.