Filmmaker is proud to continue our annual partnership with the Filmfort Film Festival by exclusively hosting six short films from this year’s lineup, which will be available to view on our site through Saturday. The three day festival—which occurs during the Treefort Music Fest in Boise, Idaho—highlights an array of emerging independent cinema. Alongside robust film programming, Filmfort also features DIY panels and filmmaker Q&As in the heart of the city’s downtown area.

Check out this year’s selection of films below.

Broken Flight
dir. Erika Valenciana, Mitchell Wenkus 2023, USA, 18 mins

Synopsis: At the Willowbrook Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, Annette drops off living birds in paper bags to intake. The chirping, moving bags, and pecked holes all show hopeful signs of life. Wildlife Keeper, Justin Sharp, identifies the birds’ species and performs flight tests. As always, the biggest challenge is catching the lively ones. Staff veterinarians take us through tedious exams. Finally, volunteers joyfully release several birds into the nearby forest preserve.

Road Head
dir. Ally Torem, 2023, USA, 16 mins

Synopsis: Stuck on the side of the road on their way to a social distance party, two contact-starved millennials try not to connect on an intimate level in this Reform Jewish absurd comedy about grief, changing plans, and the lengths we’ll go to avoid direct communication with the people we love.

Sucker
dir. Deni Cheng, 2023, USA, 18 mins

Synopsis: Andy loses his job at a local parking garage and is confronted with the realities of being the caretaker of his little brother, Tom Tom.

Unknown Heavens
dir. Erik Fox , 2023, USA 19 mins

Synopsis: In between apartments and jobs, Evelyn goes back to her hometown to house-sit her late grandmother’s place. While looking for work and struggling with the malaise of her present, she tries to reconnect with old friends and feelings. But when she receives phone calls from a mysterious yet familiar voice and her present becomes harder to face, she turns to her childhood for a way out.

Where the Bullets Go
dir. Cody Duncum, 2023, USA, 14 mins

Synopsis: When a young boy shoots at a bird and misses, he embarks on a journey to find where the bullet went.

Yaangna Plays Itself
dir. Adam Piron, 2022, USA, 7 mins

Synopsis: An ode to the memories of El Aliso, the sycamore tree that once stood at the center of Yaangna, the Indigenous Tongva village that Los Angeles grew out from. All elements sourced in the film are from the original site and the nearby Los Angeles River.

Check out the full lineup online.