The Thomas Edison Film Festival returns to the Lewis Center for the Arts with 10 international short films from the Festival’s 2025 touring collection representing animation, documentary, experimental, narrative, screen dance film genres from Armenia, China, Germany, the U.K. and the U.S. The screening includes an award-winning animated short by Princeton Visual Arts Program alum Tyler Benson, Class of 2024.
Featured Films
Film still by Steven Vander Meer
Hunky Dory
by Steven Vander Meer, Arcata, California, USA
6 min.; Animation
Hunky Dory juxtaposes scenes of animal life with images of human existence, observing the quirky and unexpected ways in which we are similar. The meticulously hand-drawn animation is a visual smorgasbord, moving and morphing in perfect time to the banjo music of Béla Fleck and his bandmates in My Bluegrass Heart.
Film still courtesy Raphaël Hernandez
Rickshaw
by Raphaël Hernandez, London, England, UK
8 min.; Narrative
Paul and his parents embark on a fun rickshaw ride to celebrate his birthday when suddenly, a surprising encounter stops them on their journey home.
Film still courtesy Tyler Benson ’24
I used to play bass
by Tyler Benson, San Francisco, California, USA
2 min.; Animation
An exploration of a shift in hobbies results in a questioning of identity. Animated frames are drawn and cut from paper using stop motion.
Film still courtesy Cheri Gaulke
Old Girl in a Tutu: Susan Rennie Disrupts Art History
by Cheri Gaulke, Los Angeles, California, USA
8 min.; Documentary
A retired feminist scholar takes up iPhone photography and creates a new body of work–placing her queer, often naked, octogenarian body into master works of art.
Film still courtesy Kara Herold
The Callback
by Kara Herold, Syracuse, New York, USA
13 min.; Narrative
The Callback is a comedy short about a struggling artist in an out-of-touch film industry. The film blends fiction, animation, humor, and poetry to call out an industry and profession where women are underrepresented and underwritten.
Film still courtesy Armine Anda
The Song of Flying Leaves
by Armine Anda, Yerevan, Armenia
12 min.; Animation
The Song of Flying Leaves is a journey within a dream through an encounter between Suna, a young girl who uses leaves as a blanket, and an old man who possesses secret knowledge. The film reflects on friendship between a father and a daughter, a teacher and a student, an adult and a child, and the path that can turn the impossible into the possible. The invented letters in the film are inspired by old Armenian symbols.
Film still courtesy George Steffens
Entity
by George Steffens, Berlin, Germany
8 min.; Screen Dance
“Entity” is a striking exploration of the human experience. Against the backdrop of Iceland’s landscapes, the film invites the audience to witness the evocative journey of two isolated souls, as they discover the boundless energy within and ultimately evolve into a unified, expressive whole.
Film still courtesy Martin Mulcahy
Assemblages
by Martin Mulcahy, Chicago, Illinois, USA
9 min.; Experimental
An experimental animation exploring core memories through the objects that trigger them, including digital stop motion, found footage, found objects, collage, image composites, visual effects, and sound effects.
Film still courtesy Jieying Song
Serious and Lively
by Jieying Song, Shanxi, China
5 min.; Narrative
Evoking The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain, this delightful film contrasts the lives of two young Chinese boys. The masterful intercutting of the boys’ lives is comical, heartbreaking, and profound.
Film still courtesy Erika Totoro
Le Charade
by Erika Totoro, Dobbs Ferry, New York, USA
3 min.; Animation
A psychological comedy set in a run-down 1950s diner. Le Charade follows the final performance of a lonely mime after a psychotic episode that ensues after his imaginary friend breaks up with him and he is forced to re-enter society.
Admission & Details
The screening is free and open to the public; no tickets required.
Directions
Get directions to the James Stewart Film Theater, located on the first floor at 185 Nassau St. in Princeton, NJ.
Accessibility
The James Stewart Film Theater is an accessible venue. The theater has spaces for wheelchair and companion seating in the top row. A mechanized lift provides access to all levels in the theater for a wheelchair or a patron with a mobility disability. See an event staff member in the theater for assistance using the lift. Please plan to arrive at least 15 minutes in advance of the event start time for this assistance and for best choice of seating locations. Visit our Venues and Studios section for accessibility information at our various locations. Guests in need of access accommodations are invited to contact the Lewis Center at 609-258-5262 or email LewisCenter@princeton.edu at least one week in advance of the event date.
Supporters
In addition to the support provided for the 2025 season by the Lewis Center for the Arts, the Thomas Edison Film Festival receives support from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts; the Charles Edison Fund–Edison Innovation Foundation; the Hudson County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs and Tourism; New Jersey Arts & Culture Renewal Fund hosted by the Princeton Area Community Foundation; the Hoboken Historical Museum; Big Sky Edit; APM Music; Sonic Union; Lowenstein Sandler, LLP; the NBA; NJ Motion Picture and Television Commission; Rowan University; Syracuse University; Fairleigh Dickinson University; Digital Film East Brunswick Magnet School; Adobe Systems, Inc.; and Microsoft through TechSoup.org.
