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VC x BGDM Shorts Showcase 2024

Kitty Hu • June 24, 2024

Short films often don't receive the press, attention or distribution that they deserve, which is why the Video Consortium and Brown Girls Doc Mafia have partnered to highlight short films from our members, culminating in a week of celebration, conversation, and community.

We'll be hosting in-person screenings across NYC, LA, SF, and Atlanta, curated by VC x BGDM and featuring in person Q&As. Invite a friend, and snag a ticket before they're sold out.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

Tuesday, July 9, 2024 | 7pm PDT | The New Parkway

Silence and sacrifice — how do we stand up for what we believe in? Told across 16mm film, charcoal animation, archival, and verité filmmaking, these stories explore the diverse ways we remain steadfast in our own power.

An older Black woman with short curly salt-and-pepper hair, a black face mask and blue shirt rests her hand on and and bows her head in front of a bronze statue of Huey Newton.
ALIVE IN BRONZE: HUEY P. NEWTON

A.K. Sandhu

A sculptor's hands and a widow's love resurrect the legacy of Huey P. Newton.
Gathered in a park at a long table with a blue cloth, fruit, shirts, stickers reading "Okaeri." Three older Asian women and a young Asian mad smile and laugh around the table.
ASIAN BITCHES SPEAK

Janet Chen

A Queer filmmaker takes her retired single mom on a road trip of mental health discovery, spilling the tea about family history and starting the journey to healing.
A Black person's hand holds an old black and white photos of two Black babies sitting in a chair.
A SYMPHONY OF TINY LIGHTS

Nadia Gill and Dominic Gill

After witnessing the 1971 oil spill in San Francisco bay, John Francis is determined to travel across America on foot — and in silence.
In black and white, Latina woman ties back her hair.
UN BARCO PARA MI MAMÁ

Susana Canales Barrón

Using 16mm film and charcoal animation, a filmmaker explores her mother's immense love and sacrifice during her dangerous border crossings.

ATLANTA

Wednesday, July 10, 2024 | 7pm EDT | Just Enough Studio

Love and loss. Power and resistance. Art and community. How do we hold the space in-between? These stories help guide us through what can often feel heavy or difficult to articulate with a levity that our communities and people deserve.

A hand, holding tweezers, places small items onto a desk in a miniature of an old house.
REBUILDING IN MINIATURE

Veena Rao

Ali Alamedy, a displaced Iraqi artist, makes incredibly detailed dioramas of places he has read about but has never been.
An older Black woman with short curly salt-and-pepper hair, a black face mask and blue shirt rests her hand on and and bows her head in front of a bronze statue of Huey Newton.
ALIVE IN BRONZE: HUEY P. NEWTON

A.K. Sandhu

A sculptor's hands and a widow's love resurrect the legacy of Huey P. Newton.
A shirtless tattooed Black man with short dreads stands in the forest, facing the camera.
A SYNONYM FOR ART: RODGRIC J.

Kasey L. Martin

A Black man shares his personal journey of self-expression through tattoos.
An envelope lays on top of a map of Southeast Asia, specifically over the Philippines. The envelope is addressed to Grandpa Poncio, from Iliana Garcia.
A GUIDE FOR WHEN IMMIGRANTS BECOME ANCESTORS

Iliana Garcia

An intimate portrait of a fourth-generation Mexican Filipino American, as they navigate what it means to inherit an identity rooted in cultural memory.
A Black person's hand holds an old black and white photos of two Black babies sitting in a chair.
A SYMPHONY OF TINY LIGHTS
Nadia Gill and Dominic Gill

After witnessing the 1971 oil spill in San Francisco bay, John Francis is determined to travel across America on foot — and in silence

LOS ANGELES

Thursday, July 11, 2024 | 7pm PDT | G-Son Studios

How do we preserve memory of places, people, and practices? Whether it’s in a hair salon, the busy streets of LA, or in our own homes, these films are an ode to the everyday experiences and landscapes of our lives.

An envelope lays on top of a map of Southeast Asia, specifically over the Philippines. The envelope is addressed to Grandpa Poncio, from Iliana Garcia.
A GUIDE FOR WHEN IMMIGRANTS BECOME ANCESTORS

Iliana Garcia

An intimate portrait of a fourth-generation Mexican Filipino American, as they navigate what it means to inherit an identity rooted in cultural memory.
Profile of a Black woman looking down in a dark room
BABYBANGZ

Juliana Kasumu

Anastasia Ebel, owner of the BABYBANGZ hair salon in Mid-City, New Orleans, reflects on her continuing desire to cultivate spaces of intentional reflection for both herself and her local New Orleans community.
A White woman with long dirty blonde hair and a low-cut, long-sleeve black shirt stands next to an Asian woman with black hair pulled back into a bun, a white open button up and a black shirt underneath. They stand outside in front of a large cactus.
PASSERSBY

Sue Ding and Sarah Garrahan

Following the intersecting lives of six strangers in LA, the film is an ode to the everyday, the unexpected, and the ways we navigate our lives in both loneliness and community.
An elderly white woman with grey clipped-back hair, a red flannel shirt and glasses leans over a messy craft table topped with brushes, glue, and paint as she works on creating a miniature white dog. On the wall, printed out papers with photos of dogs.
YOU CAN'T SHRINK LOVE

Veena Rao

An artist gives life to the memories of our most beloved companions.

NEW YORK CITY

Friday, July 12, 2024 | 7pm EDT (Doors at 6:30pm)| Firehouse: DCTV’s Cinema for Documentary Film

Love and grief are often said to sit on two sides of the same coin. These filmmakers reimagine what it can look like to hold complicated histories and feelings through archival, animation and miniature art. Note: For this event, the Q&As will happen after each each film is shown, rather than after all films have shown.

A group of five enslaved women in the American South each hold newborn babies.
BIRTHING A NATION: THE RESISTANCE OF MARY GAFFNEY

Naz Habtezghi

The story of forced reproduction in the antebellum South and the agency of an enslaved woman who took control of her body and fertility.
An elderly white woman with grey clipped-back hair, a red flannel shirt and glasses leans over a messy craft table topped with brushes, glue, and paint as she works on creating a miniature white dog. On the wall, printed out papers with photos of dogs.
YOU CAN'T SHRINK LOVE

Veena Rao

An artist gives life to the memories of our most beloved companions.
An animated drawing of a young Black boy with a shaved head, shattered by like a broken mirror.
FOR A BETTER LIFE

Yasmin Mistry

Sold for $100 at age 5, Fekri suffers though years of abuse. After a year of hospitalization and therapy, Fekri moves into a group home where he finds support, mentorship, and eventual forgiveness.
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Kitty Hu
Kitty Hu

Kitty Hu (any pronouns) is a queer Chinese diasporic documentary filmmaker and visual journalist with roots in the Bay Area, California. As the daughter of immigrants, Kitty’s work applies community-centered documentary tactics to amplify stories at the intersection of justice and human relationships, looking at topics like labor, housing, culture, migration, and climate.