The Thomas Edison Film Festival (TEFF) presents selected short films from the Festival’s 2022 touring collection – featuring animation, documentary, experimental, and narrative — including three award-winning selections by current Princeton visual arts students Lola Constantino ’23 and Dylan Fox ’22 and recent alumnus Alexander Deland, Jr. ’21.
A live discussion and Q&A will be held following the screening with Deland, Constantino and Fox, along with Elijah Mosley, University of the Arts alumnus, 2021. The filmmakers’ panel will be hosted by Festival Director Jane Steuerwald and Princeton faculty members Su Friedrich, Moon Molson, and Tim Szetela.
Presented by the Lewis Center for the Arts’ Program in Visual Arts and Thomas Edison Media Arts Consortium.
Tickets and Details
The screening and conversation are free and open to the public. Advance tickets required; reserve tickets through University Ticketing.
Get directions to the James Stewart Film Theater and find other venue information for 185 Nassau Street.
COVID-19 Guidance + Updates
Per Princeton University policy, all guests are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to the maximum extent, which now includes a COVID booster shot for all eligible to receive it, and to wear a mask when indoors.
Accessibility
The event space is wheelchair accessible. Guests in need of access accommodations are asked to contact the Lewis Center at LewisCenter@princeton.edu at least one week prior to the event date. Visit our Venues and Studios section for accessibility information at our various locations.
About the Featured Films
Film still courtesy David De La Fuente
Compositions for Understanding Relationships (Animation)
5 min. by David De La Fuente, New York, NY, USA
Compositions for Understanding Relationships takes the shape of a “love letter.” This concept is examined as various forms of relationships are brought on throughout the film. Taken in and out of the romantic context, the viewer gazes upon the dynamic play of color, form, balance, proportion, and unity. “…for the lover the letter has no tactical value: it is purely expressive…”
Film still courtesy Andy B. Clarke
Hedy (Narrative)
11 min. by Andy B. Clarke, Greystones, Wicklow, Ireland
A savvy young homeless girl creates a robot as a surrogate for her departed younger brother. Not everyone is happy with their partnership.
Film still courtesy Alexander Deland, Jr.
On the Sidewalk, at Night (Narrative)
9 min. by Alexander Deland, Jr., Pelham, NY, US
After a string of failed auditions, a disillusioned young dancer goes to a liquor store to drown her sorrows. While waiting for her ride outside the store, her night is interrupted by a chatty stranger. Hope and realism clash under the streetlights.
Film still courtesy Lola Constantino
wish u a good life (Animation)
7 min. by Lola Constantino, Warren, NJ, US
This film reimagines what an anonymous chat online would look like if the two strangers met on a subway. The conversation took place on 2/21/21 between the filmmaker and an anonymous user on y99.in.
Film still courtesy Dylan Fox
Tuesday (Documentary)
21 min. by Dylan Fox, Talbott, TN, US
A young filmmaker tries to do good in the world by participating in a non-partisan political internship with the goal of making short videos that expand voting rights in America. Months later, he tries to piece together the failure of that internship, his ambivalence to politics, and the depression he suffers after months of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Film still courtesy Hannah Saidiner
My Parent, Neal (Documentary)
8 min. by Hannah Saidiner, San Fernando, CA, US
An animated documentary reflecting on the filmmaker’s parent coming out as transgender and how their relationship evolved, as told through domestic spaces, intimate objects, and their shared birthday.
Film still courtesy Elijah Mosley
Corpus (Experimental)
5 min. by Elijah Mosley, Philadelphia, PA, US
Abstracted images are assembled to create a portrait of the old world, culminating in its demise.
Film still courtesy Alisa Karo
Forestkeeper (Animation)
7 min. by Alisa Karo, Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium
This film follows a character closely through her journey in an isolated forest where the only other living creature seems to be unconscious. The borders between caring and controlling become thinner with every thread.
Film still courtesy Osbert Parker
Timeline (Experimental)
5 min. by Osbert Parker, London, England, UK
Timeline uses experimental animation techniques to explore migration that triggered 400 years of emigration from Britain between 1620-2020 and beyond. A single footprint rapidly escalates into patterns of human travel in the form of ‘abstract lines’ within the natural world to evoke meaning; suggesting epic voyages and connected narratives over long histories, evolving into unexpected pathways through time.
