Indie Films

PBS Short Film Festival

The PBS Short Film Festival continues to elevate the reach and visibility of independent films and filmmakers from across the country. For thirteen years, the festival has showcased films about love, acceptance, family, strength, equality, friendship, loyalty and much more. The 2024 festival highlights “Story Time” as we celebrate the art of short form storytelling.

Take Me Home

15m 58s

Anna is an adult with a cognitive disability living with her mother in Midland Florida. When her mother is unresponsive, she calls her sister for help, but without the language to be believed, Anna is brushed aside. Emily returns home and is immediately engulfed in a futile struggle for medical information, while Anna’s world is deconstructed.

Episodes

  • Take Me Home: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Take Me Home

    S2024 E15 - 15m 58s

    Anna is an adult with a cognitive disability living with her mother in Midland Florida. When her mother is unresponsive, she calls her sister for help, but without the language to be believed, Anna is brushed aside. Emily returns home and is immediately engulfed in a futile struggle for medical information, while Anna’s world is deconstructed.

  • El Gato Feo: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    El Gato Feo

    S2024 E14 - 15m 7s

    “El Gato Feo” -- a Spanish language, western drama short film about two estranged sisters, Luisa and Adelita. In 1915 Mexico, Luisa runs for her life from Pancho Villa's Army. She encounters Adelita, the leader of a small, military unit of women, who must decide if she will hold on to her resentments towards Luisa or help her sister cross the Rio Grande River into Texas.

  • Eid Mubarak: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Eid Mubarak

    S2024 E13 - 16m 12s

    A privileged six-year-old Pakistani girl embarks on a mission to save her beloved pet goat from being eaten on the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Azha, only to learn the meaning of sacrifice.

  • The Ballad of Rose Mae: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Ballad of Rose Mae

    S2024 E12 - 10m 27s

    This creative musical portrays a serious story in new ways. After losing his first wife, Edwin Gray finds himself at the funeral of his child, Rose Mae, who despite suspicion, fell prey to a plague.

  • Ghosts: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Ghosts

    S2024 E11 - 17m 13s

    "Ghosts" tells the story of three Kiowa boys' daring escape from a government boarding school in Anadarko, Oklahoma in 1891, to attend a ghost dance ceremony at a distant Kiowa encampment. After being whipped for insubordination and feeling defeated, Charles, a rebellious teenager, plans to escape with an unlikely group of partners.

  • El Paisa: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    El Paisa

    S2024 E10 - 17m 8s

    After being rescued by a charismatic vaquero on the streets of East L.A., gay goth skater Fernando must put an end to closeted young love, leading to personal transformation and a newfound connection to familia.

  • The Forgotten Ones: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Forgotten Ones

    S2024 E9 - 7m 38s

    Willie “Billy Brown” Smith is a spry, 75 year old black man who intermittently lived on the streets of Hollywood, California for nearly 40 years. After decades of hard drug and alcohol abuse, he kicked the habit and started piecing his life back together.

  • Underground: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Underground

    S2024 E8 - 9m 54s

    On New York’s packed subways, violations of personal space are unavoidable—an inevitability that emboldens more predatory behavior. Underground brings these stories into the light.

  • Monograph: Paul Rogers: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Monograph: Paul Rogers

    S2024 E7 - 6m 27s

    Meet Paul Rogers, Alabama Public Television alum. In 2023, Rogers clinched an Academy Award for his editing on the celebrated film, “Everything Everywhere All at Once." Go behind the scenes on a remarkable story from Homewood to Hollywood, exploring his insights on the value of collaboration and the core of outstanding work.

  • Sina ma Tinirau: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Sina ma Tinirau

    S2024 E6 - 8m 31s

    When a prince is cursed to become an eel and has to win the love of a beautiful woman to become human again, he gifts her with his body in the form of a coconut palm tree in a seductive display.

  • Boca Chica: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Boca Chica

    S2024 E5 - 14m 5s

    Unrestricted access to beaches is a public right in Texas. But for the little-known, magical, and untamed stretch of beach called Boca Chica, that right is curtailed when SpaceX takes flight. Boca Chica uncovers the mesmerizing beauty of this fragile coastline and the fight for free access for its longtime visitors whose memories and spirituality are rooted deep among the sandy shorelines.

  • Saving Superman: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Saving Superman

    S2024 E4 - 10m 27s

    In a small suburb outside of Chicago lives a 57 year old man with autism named Jonathan, also known as ‘Superman.' Known for his heroic actions, he’s a revered member of the Glen Ellyn community and has been a staple in the 4th of July Parade for nearly 30 years. When Jonathan’s living circumstances were threatened by new development, the town worked together to save his home.

Extras + Features

  • Official Trailer 2024: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Official Trailer 2024

    S2024 - 1m

    The PBS Short Film Festival continues to elevate the reach and visibility of independent films and filmmakers from across the country. For thirteen years, the festival has showcased films about love, acceptance, family, strength, equality, friendship, loyalty and much more. The 2024 festival highlights “Story Time” as we celebrate the art of short form storytelling.

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