Short Film Program

Trapped: Mind-Altering Shorts 2023

Prepare for the peculiar with this batch of eerie mind-benders, surreal comedies, and demented dispatches from parallel dimensions.

FREE w/ RSVP

Thu Aug 17 7:30 PM

Embrace the absurd and prepare for the peculiar as we embark on another journey through the distorted, uncomfortable, darkly comic and off kilter worlds in our annual Trapped program. In this year’s collection of wonderfully weird shorts, we explore a familiar cityscape reimagined by otherworldly visitors, immortalize a man’s memory through song, endure the cringiness of casual conversation with strangers, and ruminate on the allure of the pointiest cactus needle. Come dive into these distorted and startling realities…and stay ready for anything.

The Films

Bad At Small Talk

Viktor Horvath | US | 9

Bad At Small Talk is about those uncomfortable, widely accepted social situations where two people feel forced to engage in light conversation. Some are simply shy or awkward, others totally oblivious. They try to power through, but the interactions just get more uncomfortable the longer they drag on. They end up in a confusing back and forth of misaligned and delayed reactions, neither of them getting out more than a couple syllables at a time.

Cactus Touch

Michael Langan | US | 2

What happens if you touch it?

Claudio's Song

Andreas Nilsson | UK, Ukraine | 10

A young man faces the wrath of criminals that target people who are famous on the internet; when their scheme fails things take an unexpected turn.

A Dead Marriage

Michal Toczek | Poland | 18

Filip is a professional extra, specialized in playing dead bodies on movie sets. One day he meets Lucy - their relationship leads him to try and experience life again.

Fairplay

Zoel Aeschbacher | | 17

A teenager in search of recognition, a worker ready to do anything to hit the jackpot, a senior executive at the end of his career who wants to prove to himself that he is still alive. Three characters who are losing their way on the competition highway.

Lo-tech reality

Guillermo García López | France, Spain, US | 8

Against the post-industrial landscape of Detroit, visitors arrive from the sky in search of knowledge. They find nothing but traces of civilization, and a coded transmission between the images and sounds of the city.

Power Signal

Oscar Boyson | US | 20

While trying to navigate a city that won’t provide him a bathroom, a delivery worker discovers an unearthly presence infecting women all over New York.

Performer

Scout Gillett

An indie spark-plug with old soul sensibilities, Scout Gillett crafts soulful, folk-tinged music that draws on both her rural roots and her DIY spirit. Since relocating from Kansas City in 2017, Scout has become a fixture in Brooklyn’s music scene, playing in multiple live bands and even starting her own booking company to organize local shows. Her intrepid nature was borne of necessity; the product of a childhood spent running barefoot through rural Missouri and a coming of age in Kansas City’s punk scene.

Event Details

7:30 PM

Seating Opens

8:00 PM

Live Music from Scout Gillett

8:30 PM

Films Begin

10:00 PM

Q&A

Venue

Brooklyn Commons Park

5 MetroTech Center, Brooklyn, NY 11201