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SEPTEMBER 2026
2025 FILMS
A Matter of Time​
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Synopsis: A man reflects on his relationship with his wife.
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Director: Daniel John Harris
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Oak Park Connection: Filmmaker/director - current resident
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Runtime: 1:31
Schedule: Film Block 7: RELATIONSHIPS - Getting To Know You
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Altruism: What's in It for Me?​
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Synopsis: The impact of early exposure to philanthropy.
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Director: Kathleen Ermitage
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Oak Park Connection: Location
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Runtime: 18:10
Schedule: Film Block 5: JOY - Making Good
Bat​​
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Synopsis: A suburban shaman slays her dragon-mother with the help of her friend's 10-year-old son and a VR program simulating flight.
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Director: Gitanjali Kapila
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Oak Park Connection: Actress Joyce Porter - current resident
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Runtime: 18:10
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Finalist: Best Supporting Actress - Joyce Porter
Schedule: Film Block 4: THREATS - Oak Park Occult
Close Encounter
Synopsis: Teenage girl and her father take a road trip to a UFO convention.
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Director: Jeph Porter
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Oak Park Connection: Editor/colorist/sound designer - current resident
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Runtime: 13:24
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Finalist: Best Narrative Short, Best Design Elements
Schedule: Film Block 5: THREATS - Oak Park Occult
Cutting Ties
Synopsis: Story of a puppeteer and her marionette.
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Director: Sarah Najera
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Oak Park Connection: location, director/performers - current residents
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Runtime: 1:11
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Finalist: Best Narrative Short, Best Design Elements
Schedule: Film Block 5: THREATS - Oak Park Occult
"Da Tree Bears"
“Da Tree Bears”
Synopsis: A youthful update to an old tale.
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Director: John Roberts
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Oak Park Connection: Filmmaker/director - current resident
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Runtime: 2:37
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Schedule: Film Block 5: JOY - Making Good
Don't Turn Your Back On Friday Night
Synopsis: The decades-long journey of an underground rock & roll band.
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Director: Mike Schmiedeler, Michael O'Brien
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Oak Park Connection: Producer/co-director/co-writer - current resident
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Runtime: 01:42:41
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Finalist: Best Documentary
Schedule: Film Block 3: SHOWTIME - Underground Stars
Fleeting
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Synopsis: Contemplation of youth that is too often enjoyed only in retrospect with the accelerating passage of time.
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Director: Bradford Chin
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Oak Park Connection: Director/performer - current resident
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Runtime: 2:15
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Schedule: Film Block 5: JOY - Making Good
Holiday Hold-Up
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Synopsis: After losing their jobs right before Christmas, six restaurant employees hatch a plan to rob their boss’s high-stakes poker game.
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Director: Michael Moreci, Francis Claudio, Robert Stern, Michele B. McGraw
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Oak Park Connection: Director/writer - current resident
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Runtime: 01:29:00
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Finalist: Best Feature, Best Supporting Actor - Matty Ryan
Schedule: Film Block 2: CHALLENGE - Finding Your Way
Housecats
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Synopsis: A mother and daughter hide on their bathroom floor from uninvited guests, where they soon begin processing a recent grief.
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Director: Zac Cooper
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Oak Park Connection: Jessie Epstein, writer/producer/actress - former resident
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Runtime: 6:25
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Finalist: Best Actress - Cindy Clemens
Schedule: Film Block 7: RELATIONSHIPS - Getting To Know You
How We Roll
Synopsis: What started as a little idea becomes a local phenomenon.
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Director: Anthony Ciancio
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Oak Park Connection: Director - Fenwick High School alumni
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Runtime: 15:54
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Finalist: Best Documentary
Schedule: Film Block 5: JOY - Making Good
Middle of Nowhere
Synopsis: Music video by the Dennis Fuentes Band.
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Director: Travis Shields
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Oak Park Connection: Artist - current resident
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Runtime: 4:04
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Finalist: Best Music Video
Schedule: Film Block 5: JOY - Making Good
Mr. Sines
Mr. Sines
Synopsis: Tattoo culture in the United States.
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Director: Abel Berumen
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Oak Park Connection: Director is an Oak Park resident
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Runtime: 4:17
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Schedule: Film Block 6: REAL PEOPLE - Don’t Judge A Book…
My
Name
Is
Gia
My Name Is Gia
Synopsis: Surviving Breast Cancer.
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Director: Abel Berumen
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Oak Park Connection: Director is an Oak Park resident
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Runtime: 17:26
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Finalist: Best Director
Schedule: Film Block 6: REAL PEOPLE - Don’t Judge A Book…
My Sister
Synopsis: Sisters torn apart by an addiction are reunited.
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Director: Dan Aho
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Oak Park Connection: Director - former resident
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Runtime: 9:08
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Schedule: Film Block 7: RELATIONSHIPS - Getting To Know You
Park Life
Synopsis: A cynical consultant from New York and a dispirited writer from Los Angeles randomly meet on a Chicago park bench, beginning a memorable, trajectory-changing night together.
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Director: Tyler Haney
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Oak Park Connection: Two supporting cast members - current residents
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Runtime: 01:20:00
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Finalist: Best Actor - Matt Dellapina, Best Actress - Kathleen McElfresh
Schedule: Film Block 7: RELATIONSHIPS - Getting To Know You
PATH
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Synopsis: Through an ambiguously emotional performance, Eastwood crafts a visual interpretation, with his movement, to the song “PATH.”
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Director: Ian Eastwood
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Oak Park Connection: Filmmaker - former resident
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Runtime: 3:05
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Finalist: Best Music Video, Best Cinematography
Schedule: Film Block 2: CHALLENGE - Finding Your Way
Push Pull Entangle
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Synopsis: A couple having a disagreement.
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Director: Sarah Najera
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Oak Park Connection: Location, director/performers - current residents
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Runtime: 3:41
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Shown In: Film Block 7: RELATIONSHIPS - Getting To Know You
Rerun
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Synopsis: Two friends find a lost episode of their favorite TV Sitcom on VHS, then go on a comedic adventure to locate a VCR.
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Director: Nick Marnos
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Oak Park Connection: Location
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Runtime: 13:39
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Schedule: Film Block 5: THREATS - Oak Park Occult​
Run
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Synopsis: A jogger encounters a mysterious creature while on a run.
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Director: Daniel John Harris
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Oak Park Connection: Director - current resident
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Runtime: 4:37
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Finalist: Best Narrative Short, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Cinematography
Schedule: Film Block 5: THREATS - Oak Park Occult
Shiners: Voices from Owsley County
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Synopsis: Along with stunning original and traditional music, high school students write and perform a play about growing up in rural Appalachia.
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Director: Seth McClellan
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Oak Park Connection: Director - current resident
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Runtime: 01:26:00
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Finalist: Best Documentary
Schedule: Film Block 6: REAL PEOPLE - Don’t Judge A Book…
Slice
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Synopsis: A guy is trying to sleep when he hears a noise in the night.
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Director: Nathan Mitzenmacher
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Oak Park Connection: Cast and crew are Oak Park residents
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Runtime: 4:09
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Finalist: Best Narrative Short, Best Director
Schedule: Film Block 5: THREATS - Oak Park Occult
Styles Make Fights - "Mad" Max Metzgar
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Synopsis: Chronicling the journey of "Mad" Max Metzgar, a determined fighter from Oak Park, as he prepares for his professional MMA debut.
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Director: Spencer Merriss, Andrew Boylan
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Oak Park Connection: Subject - former resident
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Runtime: 8:10
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Finalist: Best Cinematography
Schedule: Film Block 3: SHOWTIME - Underground Stars
The Dishwasher Quest
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Synopsis: The Beye Elementary Student Green Team investigates why their school's broken dishwasher had not been fixed for five years, forcing the use of single-use plastics.
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Director: Lizz Kannenberg
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Oak Park Connection: Made by the Student Green Team at Beye Elementary in Oak Park
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Runtime: 7:45
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Schedule: Film Block 5: JOY - Making Good
The Pantone Guy
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Synopsis: At 96 years old, Larry Herbert, known as “The Pantone Guy,” is a visionary whose revolutionary idea to standardize color remains largely unrecognized.
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Director: Patrick Creadon
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Oak Park Connection: Director, Fenwick High School alumni
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Runtime: 01:22:00
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Finalist: Best Documentary, Best Director, Best Design Elements
Schedule: Film Block 1: LIFE - Good Time, Bad Times
Vince: The Punctual Vagrant
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Synopsis: Vince, an artistic homeless man with a penchant for punctuality, creates a piece that may help rekindle a long-lost connection.
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Director: Sarah Falkiner
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Oak Park Connection: Actress, Adria Dawn, former resident
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Runtime: 25:27
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Finalist: Best Actor - Mike Green / “Vince”
Schedule: Film Block 1: LIFE - Good Time, Bad Times
When Brian Met Jamila
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Synopsis: Brian and Jamila didn't think they'd find love, but a chance encounter at a coffee shop brings them the joy they've been seeking.
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Director: Valencia S Bey
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Oak Park Connection: Director - current resident
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Runtime: 4:12
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Schedule: Film Block 7: RELATIONSHIPS - Getting To Know You
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