2023 Film Synopses

Professional Narrative Features
Giving Birth to a Butterfly
1:21:52
After having her identity stolen, a woman, and her son’s pregnant girlfriend, bond together on a surreal journey as they attempt to track down the perpetrators.
 
Out and About
1:23:00
Inside the mind of a middle aged man as he tries to come to terms with his life over the course of an afternoon walk through his hometown.
 
Waiting for the Light to Change
1:29:00
Over the course of a week-long beachside getaway, Amy, having recently undergone dramatic weight loss, finds herself wrestling between loyalty to her best friend Kim and her attraction to Kim's new boyfriend.
 
Professional Narrative Shorts
 Essentials
0:17:16
Shocked and fatigued by the screeching halt of daily life in early quarantine 2020, Vivian muscles her way home with too many groceries until she is interrupted by a senior citizen who makes a corny joke on his nightly walk. While their reasons for experiencing alienation differ– hers largely temporary and his ongoing and borne from family estrangement– they find excuses to remain in the moment in a tentative connection which could, and perhaps should, end at any moment– but doesn’t, until it does, leaving them both shaken by the intimacy they have shared with a stranger.
 
Get Away
 0:17:03
A group of friends spending the weekend at remote vacation rental in the desert, play a mysterious VHS tape and realize that there are too many strange and terrifying coincidences.
 
Last Request
0:14:49
Greg, a man on his death bed, confronts his high school bully and presents him with a strange last request.
 
Mother F*cker
0:08:00
A fed up young mother scrambles to surmount a neighborhood rascal.
 
Sweetwater Road
0:39:41
When his son is accused of murder, Hank must risk everything to keep his family together and win his son’s freedom.
 
Professional Documentary
 An Act of Worship
1:30:00
AN ACT OF WORSHIP is a polyphonic portrait of the last 30 years of Muslim life in America. Told through the lens of Muslims living in the United States, the film offers a counter-narrative of pivotal moments in U.S. history and explores the impact of anti-Muslim rhetoric and policy on young Muslims who came of age after 9/11.
 
Experimental Curator
1:00:00
Experimental Curator: The Sally Dixon Story is a documentary that delves into the life of experimental film curator Sally Dixon. This one-hour biographic documentary reflects Sally’s life as a woman in a man’s art world. The film beautifully weaves in archival footage of Sally as her love of film first emerged as she captured her first images on Super 8 as well as archival footage of her collaborations with artists in Pittsburgh, and finally St. Paul.
 
Musher
1:15:00
Musher peels back the veil behind the bond that four women have between their dogs and the world of sled-dog racing. As each woman prepares for the Copperdog annual race, we reveal the intimate insight into the mushing community, devotion to that lifestyle, and how women influence the sport.
 
I’m the Girl: The Story of a Photograph
0:16:18
The identity of the little girl in a famous photograph from 1951 has remained a mystery for over seventy years. I'M THE GIRL investigates the power of a single image and the women who claim to be her.
 
Warrior Retreat
0:27:00
Combat Veterans from Alabama attend a Warrior's Retreat where they discuss trauma, support, and the journey finding a new identity.
 
Student Narrative Shorts
Plant Parenthood
0:10:18
Following the loss of their unborn child, Ronald desperately wants to try again. His wife Margaret, a condom designer, desires a new outcome for her life that is more career-focused. After Ronald accidentally tosses a used condom on a sunflower causing it to come to life. He takes it in as his son, causing Margaret to rethink their relationship.
 
Smart Ass
0:18:02
Chip, a zoophile, has controlled and hidden away his half-animal half-man son, Smart Ass, for the entire fifteen years of his life. The father and son soon face difficulty with their old way of life and must learn to let one another go.
 
Speak in a Whisper
0:34:12
In the middle of what would have otherwise been a banal evening, everything Céleste has been trying to hide comes to light.
 
Student Documentary
In Sausage Row
0:37:28
Sausage Row is a row of farm houses that have seen better days on the outskirts of Kelebia near the southern border of Hungary. Among the abandoned houses there are only a few inhabited dwellings: only the most persistent ones have remained here. Dramatic and joyful moments are revealed on a day’s journey following the village caretaker.
 
Vanguard
Animal in Ascension
0:05:21
An inter-dimensional fever dream about DMT and the margins of human perception.
 
Krush the Wrestler
0:14:00
Exploring the innate intimacy of submission wrestling, a lifelong wrestler turns his talents into an on-demand fetish video service.
 
Lily’s Mirror
0:17:14
Lily is out on a dinner date with her boyfriend Bart, expecting a proposal, when he unexpectedly chops off her hand. As Lily works on recovering, she begins to feel phantom pains where her hand used to be, so her doctor gives her a therapeutic mirror box to help with the discomfort. Lily begins to see things in the mirror, which sends her on a journey of self-discovery, female empowerment, and the quest for justice.
 
Youth Films
Game Plan
0:07:43
A group of associates meet to finalize a high-stakes business deal that will lead to the end for one of them, but which one will be finished? Game Plan is a story that explores the dynamics between friendship and business as well as perceptions of power and control.
 
Hardcore
0:09:57
Sarah, a young photographer with many tattoos and piercings, falls in love with August, the reckless drummer in a band. Before their love story can play out, she finds herself suspended between, life, death, and motherhood and is forced to make life altering choices.
 
Jump
0:19:53
KUAN is in the third year of junior high school, loves martial arts novels, and is also looking forward to the immortal couple. She is looking forward to the refined life of an expert of the world, but real life is tense, anxious and even chaotic.
 
UNA Spotlight Films
FYE-R
0:03:00
A student struggles to choose what to eat.
 
Death in Training
0:04:24
The newest Death in training claims his first victim.
 
Ash and Dust
0:10:00
A young woman steals her girlfriend's ashes.
 
The Ball
0:05:57
A man gets stuck with a ball and has 24 hours to get rid of it before dying.
 
Playlist
0:14:17
Playlist follows Matthew, a young, lazy college student, as he has an accident which results in him being able to control time through music.
 
Crescendo
0:05:00
A music student is stalked by a mysterious figure while practicing a self-written piano piece.
 
Colouring the Void
0:29:23
Nicodemus, a struggling student, is approached by a strange hobo that offers him a pill. This pill, the hobo promises, will strip Nicodemus of all his woes. Nicodemus decides to take the pill and the people around him vehemently disagree with his actions. They reject him and Nicodemus frees himself of his earthly pain.
 
Delivered
0:03:52
A pizza delivery man attempts to finish his last delivery of the night in order to get home to his girlfriend. Unfortunately, an annoying customer has other plans.
 
Alabama Films
In Deed and Truth
0:06:20
Wearing his Sunday best won’t solve the problems in his own home.
 
In Visions
0:10:27
An isolated man dealing with recent loss receives a supernatural visitor.
 
Happy Trails
0:19:32
From raising Alabama Crimson Tide football legends to constructing a billion-dollar motorhome empire, Bob Tiffin has firmly left his mark upon the Heart of Dixie. Beginning fifty years ago, Bob transformed a small Alabama town into an economic powerhouse with a loyal fanbase that rivals the likes of Apple and Coca-Cola. Yet, when a worldwide pandemic threatens to bring down his life's work, will Bob's playbook of the past be enough to save his company and legacy?
 
Bank, Part 2
0:43:28
The short film tells a story of a detective going behind the scenes to uncover a trafficking business. When the detective's daughter gets injured up in a shootout, the family turns to the community for help but no one wants to talk.
 
The Narrative
0:11:21
A kidnapped woman turns the tables on her abductor.
 
Begin Again
0:14:13
Begin Again is a short film that follows Cassidy, a last-semester college student, as everything around her continues to weigh down on her potential to move on from an isolated and brutal home life.
 
Just Sign the Papers
0:04:20
Music Video: AARON WEST AND THE ROARING TWENTIES
 
Queen: Killer Queen
0:03:10
Music Video
 
Asphyxia
0:06:59
When a drug dealer discovers he is in danger, he must confront the physical and metaphysical forces that pursue him.
 
The Struggle Within
0:13:05
Ryan is furious when he finds out from his boss, DeShawn, that he's about to be deployed for the Army. Little does he know, however, his greatest challenge isn't DeShawn, but rather himself.
 
Purple Hours
0:02:24
A regency-era ball is being held, but the host, Edwin, is nowhere to be found. Sequestered in his private study downstairs, he dances with his partner, Pascal, and they bask in each other's company - until Pascal asks a question Edwin wasn’t ready to answer.
 
Tamam Shud 10.16.6
0:14:08
A kidnapping, a sadistic death cult, and psychiatric experiments bring one man full circle to the brink of insanity in this music video trilogy by the band Towering Above.
 
Nature Nurture
0:04:44
In search of inspiration after breaking up with their partner, an artist is sent by an empath on a journey to carry a tree to the top of a mountain.
 
Summer School
0:07:52
A high school teenager falls behind in Spanish class and daydreams to escape the monotony of online summer school. Can Jack float by this time?
 
The Lady and the Lover
0:23:41
Nora Albright seeks out the young Emma Laughton to have a conversation regarding someone very important to them both.
 
Rural Revival
0:51:00
This one-hour film explores the Depression Era Civilian Conservation Corps ideals, what it accomplished, and the lasting effect on the people and the land of Alabama. The journey of one young boy from rural Talladega County and his time in the CCC from 1939-1941 is a parallel story in the film.
 
Deception
0:21:20
When Captain York is found murdered, mere hours after a party, four friends are left for questioning. As the investigation of Detective Orleans continues, clues emerge that someone is deceiving the rest.
 
Linda Gets Justice
0:26:27
Linda Gets Justice is a trippy true crime story set in Birmingham AL. Filled with cats, meth, & supernatural encounters! It follows the odd couple friendship between Linda, an elderly cat lady (Played by Sandra Lafferty -The Hunger Games, Walk the Line) and Justice, the neighborhood meth-head.
 
Sink the Alabama
1:27:00
The "pirate" Confederate ship Alabama wreaks havoc on the Union merchant fleet and its captain Raphael Semmes becomes an international celebrity, pursued by U.S. Navy Secretary Gideon Welles and escaping to his abolitionist wife in south Alabama.
 
Discovery
0:11:20
After revealing her sexuality, a young woman comes to terms with living her truth, but a tragic event puts a damper on her new found freedom.
 
Machine: Vivat Apparatus
1:08:53
‘MACHINE: Vivat Apparatus’ is a feature-length documentary film about a lawyer, a pizza maker, and a student, who seek justice for their community by fighting toe-to-toe against a secret society, known to insiders as the “Machine”. For one hundred years, the University of Alabama protected the Machine and thus protecting the status quo.
 
Death of the Mockingbird
0:08:14
A band gets ready to play a gig at their hometown in Alabama. The energy is high and their spirits are up. Something is different about tonight. They take the stage and play their hearts out. It's a good thing too, because it just might be the last time they ever get to.
 
In-Between
0:16:01
Recent film production graduate Eli is entering his second stage of life and struggling to find his own path. He quits his job with the expectation of a job on a big-budget film. While a party is being held at his home, he encounters a woman named Olivia who counters his pride and irritability. Her patient and practical attitude towards life dismantles Eli, and he finds himself questioning his reckless approach to life.
 
In Memory Of
0:19:26
Terrell Jones has all the ingredients anyone needs to give up. His father deceased, leaving him "man of the house", to take care of his younger sister and now drug addicted mother. He doesn't live in the best of neighborhoods and his only other real friend is his girlfriend Tracey. Yet through a series of events (with help from a particular entity) Terrell not only manages to cope, he thrives. His next accomplishment lies at his fingertips, as he receives a partial acceptance letter from an HBCU. Only catch, he has to tell them why they should accept him. With what seems like a simple task, the unexpected loss of Terrell's go-to support entity spirals him into a world of self-doubt. Can he do this on his own? Can he accomplish anything else with without what he feels, is responsible for him flourishing?
 
Messages to the Dead
0:18:15
Following the death of my father, I reconnect with my passion for making films. This leads me to documenting the local Dia De Los Muertos festival and to finding some closure.
 
Choice
0:12:31
Four mutants attempt to recruit a young woman but find their task more dangerous than they realized.
 
Symptomatic
0:03:46
Two sisters seek out a boutique drug from a sleazebag and wind up in a hairy situation.

Goodnight
0:04:00
A young man gets ready for bed. While sleeping, he finds himself in the presence of an other-worldly figure. What is real? What is a dream?”