2022 GeekFestUniverse Program

›Saturday Feb 12‹

Sunday Feb 13

Monday Feb 14

Saturday Feb 12 – 3:00PM – Theme: Marvel Universe
>Sneak Preview<

Black Widow: Forever Red – 1:01:01
Dir. Mario Durán Araujo – Mexico

  • Attending via Zoom Post Premiere Q&A
  • Nominated For Best Stop Motion Animation, Best Stop Motion Feature Film, Best Animated Film, Best FanFilm, Best Voice-Over Cast, Best WebSeries/Webisode

Synopsis Black Widow is now the most wanted person in the world; with the help of Jessica Jones and Daredevil, she is going to fight demons from her past and present in her most psychological and physical fight of her life.

Live Zoom Event

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Saturday Feb 12 – 5:00PM – Theme: Artists – The Original Geeks
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The Life We Make – 1:11:48
Dir. Dylan Strzynski, Padrick Ritch – United States

  • Attending via Zoom Post Premiere Q&A
  • Nominated For Best Documentary Film, Best ART Film, Best Documentary Feature

Synopsis For generations artists have been displaying their work at street shows in cities and small towns across the United States. Despite some indifference from the high art world and academia, this alternative market has allowed legitimate artists to build gratifying careers. Their lives are characterized by travel, hard work and a richness of experience uncommon to the average American. The Life We Make is a peak into this diverse, often eccentric, community of committed creatives and their cargo vans.

Live Zoom Event

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Saturday Feb 12

›Sunday Feb 13‹

Monday Feb 14

Sunday Feb 13 – 3:00PM – Theme: Plant Life
>Sneak Preview<

Grünen Metallglanz – 00:10:45
Dir. Maiko Sasaki – Japan

  • Attending via Zoom Post Premiere Q&A
  • Nominated For Best Science Film, Best Botany Film, Best Unusual Interest Film

Synopsis This video is the first scientific proof that the green luster of sasairo-beni has properties similar to metal reflection.

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  • Trailer 
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  • Keywords #Botany #PlantScience #Science #Experimental #SasairoBeni #EdoPerio #Japan #TokugawaPeriod #Cosmetics #BeautyTips #Safflower #WaveLengths #ElectroMagnetic #Red #Green

Captivated: The Allure of Carnivorous Plants – 01:18:13
Dir. Jonathan S. Kui – United States

  • Attending via Zoom Post Premiere Q&A
  • Nominated For Best Botany Film, Best Science Film, Best Feature Documentary Film, Best Unusual Interest Film

Synopsis Carnivorous plants are celebrated for their unusual ability to trap and consume prey. But these plants can affect people’s lives in many other profound ways. Follow the lives of four carnivorous plant growers over the course of one year. See how each person is inspired or influenced in art, community, discovery or livelihood through their cultivation of these remarkable plants. Learn about the wide variety of carnivorous plants found in nature, and the roles that that they can play in our lives and our society.

 

Live Zoom Event

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Sunday Feb 13 – 5:00PM – Theme: Man vs Machine
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Becoming Human Again – 00:47:58
Dir. Shanmuga Sundaram – Singapore

  • Attending via Zoom Post Premiere Q&A

Synopsis Can a robot help a man regain his humanity amid the COVID-19 pandemic? When actor Chua Enlai reawakens his quirky robot friend Delbo to accompany him through months of social isolation and anxiety, he begins a zany, soul-searching and insightful journey.

 

Live Zoom Event

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Saturday Feb 12

Sunday Feb 13

›Monday Feb 14‹

>Official Opening Day<
Monday  Feb 14 – 5:00PM – Theme: Fan Films

Official Opening Film

Lockdown
The Doctor Who Fans’ Survival Guide – 00:46:00
Dir. Roger Christopher Stevens, Producer Keith Barnfather – United Kingdom

  • Attending via Zoom Post Premiere Q&A
  • Nominated For Best Short Documentary Film, Best Fan Film, Best Unusual Interest Film

Synopsis During the Covid-19 Pandemic, a call went out to fans of the BBCtv science fiction series DOCTOR WHO to film personal videos of how they coped with being confined in their homes for months on end. Shot on mobile phones, laptops, tablets and cameras …anything they could lay their hands on … the following film is the result.

It’s an inspiring tale of the indomitable human spirit – all wrapped up in some utterly unique stories and videos! Hang on to your facemasks … as we go on a worldwide tour to learn about the incredible ways Doctor Who fans’ survived lockdown! This production is respectfully dedicated to all who suffered pain, grief and loss.

Henchmen: Clown Parade – 00:02:00
Dir. Alec Pinkston – United States

  • Attending via Zoom Post Premiere Q&A
  • Nominated For Best Stop Motion Short Film, Best Voice-Over Cast, Best WebSeries/Webisode

Synopsis First chapter of the Henchmen anthology series of short vignettes about low-level henchmen having water cooler conversations. Created during the pandemic for my sanity and your amusement.

The Rise Of The Villains – 00:09:55
Dir. Federica Alice Carlino – Italy

  • Attending via Zoom Post Premiere Q&A
  • Nominated For Best Fan Film, Best Villain Film, Best Ensemble Cast, Best WebSeries/Webisode

Synopsis Gotham’s eternal war between GCPD and the darkness is getting dangerous, whose side are you?

Pamela & Ivy – 00:16:02
Dir. Leah McKendrick – United States

  • Attending via Zoom Post Premiere Q&A

Synopsis Pamela & Ivy is a female driven, fan-fiction, origin story about Gotham City’s legendary villain – Poison Ivy. Pamela & Ivy goes where no origin story has gone before: it speaks to the age of #MeToo and the demand for mainstream content from the female gaze. Stars Eric Roberts.

Live Zoom Event

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Monday Feb 14 – 6:30PM
Theme: Weird Science, Weird History

Space Dust – 00:04:56
Dir. Jon Mancinetti – United States

  • Attending via Zoom Post Premiere Q&A John + Co-Stars Naz, Matt
    They’ll All Be Here!
  • Nominated For Best Weird Science Film, Best VFX, Best Comedy Film, Best Short Film

Synopsis Two stoners discover a meteor that grants them ultimate powers and answers the deepest secrets of the universe.

The Desert – 00:21:52
Dir. Frédérique Laliberté, Sarah L’Hérault – Canada

  • Attending via Zoom Post Premiere Q&A
  • Nominated For Best Experimental Film, Best Weird Science Film

Synopsis A mysterious artwork speaking with a Germanic accent re-examines its own existence after being abandoned in the Sahara desert, revealing in the process the greatest secrets about objects, mirages and the outskirts of reality.

The Curious Case of the Boy Jones – 00:10:00
Dir. Dennis Mohr, Dir. Calvin Campbell – Canada

  • Attending via Zoom Post Premiere Q&A
  • Nominated For Best Weird History Film, Best Short Documentary Film, Best Unusual Interest Film

Synopsis Following her coronation in 1838, Britain’s Queen Victoria was being relentlessly pursued by a strange teenager, Edward “the Boy” Jones, who had an uncanny ability to sneak into Buckingham Palace without being detected. “If he had come into my bedroom, how frightened I would have been,” the Queen wrote in her journal. As a result of his multiple intrusions into Buckingham Palace, the Boy Jones became a media celebrity. Fearful that he might injure or even assassinate the Queen, or kidnap the Princess Royal, the government of Prime Minister Lord Melbourne wanted to get rid of the Boy Jones at all costs.

Live Zoom Event

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Monday Feb 14 – 7:30PM – Theme: Origin Stories – Monday Feb 14

Jake Danger: Leap Of Faith – 00:03:30
Dir. Ward Anderson – Canada

  • Attending via Zoom Post Premiere Q&A
  • Nominated For Best Origin Story Film, Best Animated Film

Synopsis Jake Danger, “Master Spy”, finds himself in a precarious situation while chasing mister villain, his arch nemesis.

Super Therapy – 00:14:55
Dir. P Michael Hayes, Dir. Kylie McLaughlin – United States

  • Attending via Zoom Post Premiere Q&A
  • Nominated For Best SuperHero Film, Best Short Film, Best Origin Story Film, Best 1st Time Filmmaker, Best Ensemble Cast

Synopsis A world famous rap icon is brought to a psychological assessment after a cosmic law enforcement agent accuses him of destruction throughout the universe. Does earth’s beloved artist “Babylon” really have an immense power within unbeknownst to him? Or does the galaxy-travel-worn “Vagabonder” have the wrong man?

The Contenders – 00:44:28
Dir. Jean-Paul Botelho – Quebec

  • Attending via Zoom Post Premiere Q&A
    Come Meet ALL The Contenders!
  • Nominated For Best Mockumentary, Best Short Documentary, Best Origin Story Film, Best Unusual Interest Film, Best Ensemble Cast

Synopsis The story of the friendship between eleven long time friends within a virtual wrestling federation that has existed for more then ten years.

Live Zoom Event

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Monday Feb 14 – 8:30PM – Theme: Art and Animation

The Immortan Joe Memorial Highway – 00:03:14
Dir. Nathan Leigh – United States

  • Attending via Zoom Post Premiere Q&A
  • Nominated For Best Music Video, Best Stop Motion Short Film, Best 1st Time Filmmaker

Synopsis In a dystopian world, a small elephant stands up against an oppressive system.

Rocks – 00:06:20
Dir. Xuting Liu – China

  • Attending via Zoom Post Premiere Q&A
  • Nominated For Best Animated Film, Best Short Film, Best 1st Time Filmmaker, Best Thesis/Student Film

Synopsis ROCKS is a 2D 6 minutes and 19 seconds animation thesis film that talks about a young woman dealing with difficult memories of her father, an astronaut, and his decision to go away on a long space flight when she was a young girl.

Live Zoom Event

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Monday Feb 14 – 8:45PM – Theme: Gamers

Dead House ’98 – 00:04:33
Dir. Sergio Emilio Torres, Dir. Andrew Louis Reynoso – United States

  • Attending via Zoom Post Premiere Q&A
  • Nominated For Best Gamer Film, Best RetroTech Film, Best VFX – Andrew L. Reynoso, SFX Makeup – Maria Alexandra, Best Short Film

Synopsis The year is 1998. A young data analyst spends his time working for hours on end. Suddenly, in the dead of night strange signals emerge from his television and the real survival horror begins

Throwback – 00:08:42
Dir. Alex Mitchell – Canada

  • Attending via Zoom Post Premiere Q&A
  • Nominated For Best Gamer Film, Best RetroTech Film, Best Short Film

Synopsis A story about the bond between two close friends, Diz and Max, and how that bond has changed as they’ve transitioned in to adulthood. After finding a coveted video game in a second-hand store, Diz is sent in to a nostalgic tail-spin that only a good friend like Max can pull him out of.

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  • Twitter @DCPi_Film
  • Trailer
  • Website
  • Keywords #Gamer #GameBoy #Gaming #ComingOfAge #Apps #RetroGraphics #Nintendo

Access Granted – 00:07:56
Dir. Alex Balant – Canada

  • Attending via Zoom Post Premiere Q&A
  • Nominated For Best Gamer Film, Best Explainer Film, Best Short Documentary Film, Best Subject – Steve Saylor as “Himself”

Synopsis Steve Saylor has been legally blind from birth because of a condition called Nystagmus. Through interviews and visual language you’ll what Steve goes through while trying to be in a visual industry and why he uses his platform to fight for accessibility. While following Steve’s day to day life as a blind content creator this film will also explore the work Steve has done as an accessibility consultant on major AAA games like The Last Of Us Part II and Watch Dogs: Legion. Producer: Hannah Hall

Live Zoom Event

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Monday Feb 14 – 9:00PM – Theme: Comic Book Creators 

Official Closing Film

Ourselves, in Stories – 00:24:00
Dir. Marjee Chmiel – United States

    • Attending via Zoom Post Premiere Q&A
    • Nominated For Best ComicBook/ComicBook Art Film, Best Short Documentary Film, Best 1st Time Filmmaker, Best Thesis/Student Film

Synopsis In the last 25 years, the independent comics community made deliberate efforts to be inclusive and elevate under-represented voices. This is the story of how the community has changed over those years and evidence that if you want to change a culture, you need to change its stories, starting with the storytellers.

Live Zoom Event

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Live – Monday Feb 14 10:00PM
Theme: GeekFestUniverse Award Ceremony – Live

Join us LIVE on Zoom and Facebook as we Hand out #GeekFestUniverse2022 Awards to Filmmakers Around The World!

Hosted by New Jersey Filmmaker and all-around TopGeek – Thomas Florek.