2023 Thomas Edison Film Festival Premiere Screening

Films Screened Feb. 17

The following films earned Stellar Awards and will be shown in-person at Princeton University on February 17:

Cornucopia

Animation — 7 min.
By Ani Antonova and Dimiter Ovtcharov, Vienna, Austria

A man wanders in constant search and pursuit, driven by the longing for a magical cornucopia. His vicissitudes are brought to life on an ancient vase’s surface.

Inside the Beauty Bubble

Documentary — 31 min.
By Cheryl Bookout, Joshua Tree, CA and Cheri Gaulke, LA, CA, US

Inside the Beauty Bubble is a documentary film about a renowned collector of hair artifacts fighting to keep his desert dreams alive. The Beauty Bubble Salon & Museum in Joshua Tree is the magical and kitsch-filled brainchild of Jeff Hafler.

The film covers a year in the life of Jeff and his roadside attraction as they face lockdowns, protests and massive societal change. It is a film about family, fabulousness and folk art, a film that reminds us it’s sometimes the strong people on the margins that hold a community together.

Language Unknown

Experimental — 6 min.
By Janelle VanderKelen, Milwaukee, WI, US

Language Unknown embraces plant sentience as fact and speculates how beings of the vegetal variety might approach interspecies communication with humans (who are far more sensorially limited). Leaves, mycelium, and roots playfully examine how humans experience the world, and the (supposedly) silent watchers consider what language those swift blurs of human might possibly understand.

The Boy Who Couldn’t Feel Pain

Narrative — 21 min.
By Eugen Merher, Berlin, Germany

The Boy Who Couldn’t Feel Pain is set in Grants, New Mexico, and tells the story of small-town legend, Chester, a street fighter who can’t feel any pain. When Annie, a bowling alley employee who just moved into town challenges him to a fight, things begin to change.

The Shimmering Extraordinary

Screen Dance — 17 min.
By FX Goby & Scottish Ballet, Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Commissioned as part of the Scottish Ballet’s Safe to Be Me™ Festival, a digital festival of dance that celebrates diversity, this film is inspired by themes of acceptance, identity, and respect. Bringing together artists from various backgrounds, six short films focus on the stories of six individual dancers: Annie Edwards, Hayaat Zahra Shah, Madeline Squire, Mukeni Nel, Nikita Gold and Saul Nash.

Films Screened On-Demand Feb. 18-25

The five films screened on Feb. 17 and two additional award-winning films will be shown for the on-demand virtual program available from February 18-25:

In Love with a Problem

Documentary — 22 min.
By Julie Kim, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Global Insights Stellar Award

Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao were still in high school when they discovered plastic-eating bacteria in Vancouver’s Fraser River. Passionate about the problem of plastic waste, the two millennial innovators are now on an inspiring journey to solve it. Their dedication has taken them all the way from Vancouver to Silicon Valley. From bacteria to cutting edge chemistry, their story has illuminated one of our earth’s biggest eco disasters.

Chicken

Narrative — 14 min.
By Lucy McNulty and Emma Pollard, Vancouver, BC, Canada
DEAI Award – Diversity, Equity, Access and Inclusion

When Sam splits up with her partner, she is forced to move back into her childhood home with her mother and neurodivergent brother. When depression sinks in, her brother Emmett gets in her face trying to cheer her up and in doing so makes everything worse. But when Emmett is confronted with a situation at a baseball game where he is called a chicken, Sam rises to the challenge to come to his aid and is reminded of what is truly important. Chicken features a neurodivergent cast and crew and is written and directed by women.