We’re excited to present the award-winning shorts of Albany FilmFest 2024, including the Audience Favorite, Planetwalker. These films truly reflect the FilmFest vibe – eclectic, quirky, topical, and thought-provoking. 

Come early and buy an Albany FilmFest 2024 tee or sweatshirt before they’re all gone!

This FREE presentation is our gift to the community. Enjoy the show!  

PROGRAM

BEST NARRATIVE SHORT

Laura Sweeny, TINA (14:20) A heartfelt story about two people who knew each other back when and are surprised to meet up again via a dating app.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT & BEST IN SHOW

Danny Abel, ROLLOUT (16:26) Laureen, an immunization nurse in Kibera, Kenya, grapples with her own personal decision to get the Covid-19 vaccine as she carries out her Ministry of Health mandate to administer the vaccine to the often reluctant and suspicious Kibera residents.

BEST SHORT ANIMATION

Erika Totoro, LE CHARADE (3:20) The final performance of a lonely mime and the psychotic episode that ensues after his imaginary friend breaks up with him.

BEST YOUTH SHORT 13-17

India Anne Mitchell, GUIDING LIGHT (Documentary, Youth 13-17, 5:00) Through interviews with the lead prosecutor, the defense attorney, and the police chief, this film tells the story of the kidnapping of Polly Klaas. Mitchell, a teen growing up in the same town thirty years later, highlights the importance of the legacy of this case to the continuing endeavor to keep children safe.

BEST TINY MOVIE

Alrik Bursell, CAKE (1:51) A couple shares a piece of cake on their anniversary.

JOSEPH ANDRE MCCORD AWARD, presented to the best short film on themes of social justice and racial equity

Yelena V. Krivosheyeva, THE MAGIC TICKET (Narrative, 15:17) A homeless female veteran is camping outside of a fancy restaurant on Christmas Eve when a kind stranger donates her a gift card to go inside and get a hot meal.

AUDIENCE FAVORITE

Dominic Gill, PLANETWALKER (Documentary, 27:00) In 1971, John Francis witnessed an oil tanker collision in the San Francisco Bay. The sight of oiled birds on the shoreline caused him to give up motorized transport and rely solely on his own two feet. Months later, he took a vow of silence convinced that listening rather than adding fuel to any fire was the way ahead. He didn’t talk, but he kept on walking clear across the country and back again, connecting more deeply with the world and its people.

Not recommended for young children.