2017 Schedule of Films

The Walla Walla Movie Crush is programmed thematically, comprised of short films packaged in hour long blocks.  In each block, you’re likely to find a mix of animation, live action, documentary, and music video.  

Blocks run 45 - 50 minutes total, with a few minutes leftover to enjoy conversation with visiting filmmakers (moderated by WWMC curator Warren Etheredge), transition between blocks, and refill your wine glass.

Please note that all content is unrated and may not be suitable for younger viewers.

SATURDAY, JULY 1

Noon:  IMPROPERLY VETTED

Unfortunately, just because one serves their country doesn’t mean their country serves them. Soldiers may lose their lives on battlefields, but those who survive may face even greater losses on the home-front. These shorts examine the impact of war on those who fight them and how civilians may better serve those who defend their ways of life.

This package of films is dedicated to SSG Michael J. Mantenuto, 1981 – 2017.

  • WELCOME HOME (d. Luke Broyles)

  • COCKED AND LOCKED (d. Merav Elbaz Belschner)

  • KEEP MOVING FORWARD (d. Brent Bandemer)

  • MILE 19 (d. Vincent DeLuca)

1pm:  LONERS, REBELS & THE DOTTY 

There are a lot of things about these folks you don’t know anything about. Whether a first-time thief, a best-selling author, a con artist, the subject of many artists, a recovering addict or a lost soul, there are things you wouldn’t understand. Things you couldn’t understand. Things... you shouldn’t understand.

  • THE ROBBERY (d. Jim Cummings)

  • STEPHEN KING ON CHILDHOOD (d. Patrick Smith)

  • THE INVESTMENT (d. Steve Collins)

  • THE JOHN SHOW (d. Julie Sokolow)

  • MUTT (d. Erin Sanger)

  • HAIR (d. John Turturro) view trailer

2pm:  RIGHTS YOU ARE

You have the right to remain silent and watch these shorts about our perceived rights as American citizens. Gay rights, gun rights, gender politics, the politics of fear and a drug-smuggling prez are amongst the issues left for you to debate, embrace or resist.

  • BEACONS (d. Whitney Skauge, Channing Nunn, Taylor Lennox, Drew Daly)

  • LOVE THE SINNER (d. Geeta Gandbhir & Jessica Devaney)

  • ELLA (d. Stuart Getty)

  • DRAWN & RECORDED: SATCHMO & NIXON (d. Drew Christie)

  • STATE OF THE BUDGET (d. Pat Race)

  • SPEAKING IS DIFFICULT (d. AJ Schnack)

  • FIRED UP (d. Elyse Kelly & Dan Fipphen)

  • GIRLS UNTITLED (d. Whitney Skauge)

3pm:  UNPLANNED PARENTHOOD

You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your family. Or, can you? The timing may not always be right and not every choice may be either, but given the decisions impact multiple lives, these shorts create a context for greater consideration and compassion.

  • 4 POUNDS OF FLOWERS (d. Rob Richert)

  • UNDUE BURDEN (d. Gina Pollack)

  • 100 YEARS (d. Kirsten Lepore & Lena Dunham)

  • LUCIA, BEFORE AND AFTER (d. Anu Valia)

  • KADEN & ANGELINA (d. Stuart Getty)

4pm:  JOCK & JILL

You needn't go pro to love sports — heck, that’s the root meaning of amateur. Those who play for the love of the game always prove themselves champs on the rink, on the courts, in the church, in the crowd, in the pinball arcade and even in Bryant Park. They shoot, they score. You watch, you win!

  • THE TABLES (d. Jon Bunning)

  • SANCTUARY (d. Ashley Seering & Cory Byers)

  • 2ND TIME AROUND (d. Ross Harris)

  • THE ULTIMATE UPSET (d. Jason Reid)

  • SUPERFAN (d. Leigh Burmesch)

  • WHAT’S SO BAD ABOUT THE BIRD? (d. Nate Milton)

  • EDGES (d. Katie Stjernholm)

7pm:  BLACK LIVES, MATTERS

The black experience is not monolithic; instead it is as varied as the color spectrum. In order to appreciate the sanctity of individuals, we must first embrace the wondrous diversity and emotional commonality of the human race. A rodeo star, a music icon, an aspiring astronomer, a grieving mom, a grave-digger, a hopeful boat owner and a renowned falconer represent just a small sliver of the possibilities.

  • COWGIRL UP (d. Nathan Willis)

  • DRAWN & RECORDED: BLIND WILLIE IN SPACE (d. Drew Christie)

  • MODERN DARK (d. Josh Lunden)

  • HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARIO WOODS (d. Mohammed Gorjestani)

  • DIRT (d. Darius Clarke Monroe)

  • AMERICAN PARADISE (d. Joe Talbot) view trailer

  • THE PERFECT FLIGHT (d. Joshua Izenberg)

8pm:  THE MATING GAME

Meeting cute is the business of romantic comedies; staying together is the struggle that instills our need, so often, to laugh at love. The compromised couples and swinging singles in these shorts remind us that contrary to popular movie wisdom, love means always having to say you’re sorry. (*Adult themes and material.)

  • ONCE UPON A LINE (d. Alicja Jasina)

  • APPROACHING A BREAKTHROUGH (d. Noah Pritzker) 

  • THE D IN DAVID (d. Michelle Yi & Yaron Farkash)

  • PERFECTLY NORMAL (d. Joris Debeij)

  • HI, STRANGER (d. Kirsten Lepore) 

  • MOUSE (d. Celine Held & Logan George)

10pm:  WALLA WALLA AFTER DARK: THE CRUSHENING

Late night programming at the Powerhouse

Please note: this package contains nudity, violence, drug use, mature themes and other oddness.

  • NSFWHALE (d. Nathan Campbell, Alec Cummings) view trailer

  • RUBBER HEART (d. Lizzy Sanford)

  • VITAMINS FOR LIFE (d. Grier Dill)

  • HOLD ME (CA CAW CA CAW) (d. Renee Zhan)

  • GREAT CHOICE (d. Robin Comisar)

  • CATSEYE (d. Kevin Huang)

  • IN THIS ECONOMY (d. Ty Huffer)

  • THE CLEANSING HOUR (d. Damian Leveck) view trailer

  • COFFEE VIRGIN (d. The Perez Bros.)

  • HOT DOG HANDS (d. Matt Reynolds)

  • DEATH METAL (d. Chris Mcinroy) view trailer

SUNDAY, JULY 2

1pm:  BULLY PULPIT

Power corrupts. Absolutely. Given the least bit of authority or just audacity, too many are ready to lord themselves over others, whether classmates, lovers, the canine, the statuary or those in need of counseling. Still, there is hope in speaking up, standing up and even, shutting down.

  • KILL CASH COW KILL (d. Mischa Jackupcak)

  • PITTARI (d. Patrick Smith)

  • SPEAK (d. Laura Seay)

  • TATTOO YOU (d. SR Bindler)

2pm:  STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND

Home is where the heart is, but what about when we have to relocate? Then what? These refugees seek shelter and a new start in unusual environments and with uncommon dignity.

  • HIGH CHAPARRAL (d. David Freid)

  • LIMBO (d. Will Blank) view trailer

  • REFUGE (d. Matthew K. Firpo)

  • ROADSIDE ATTRACTION #1 (d. Patrick Neary)

  • ZAIN’S SUMMER (d. Joshua Seftel) view trailer

3pm:  IN THE MOTHER ‘HOOD

Momma said there’d be days like this, but who told Momma? Being a mother deserves more than one day of worship; their efforts and their patience ought to rewarded with love, trophies, forgiveness and halls of fame — whether they’re getting up in years, beating up peers, saving lives, doing time or freaking out.

  • PERFECT ROAST POTATOES (d. Nick Frew)

  • LITTLE POTATO (d. Wes Hurley)

  • DON’T MESS WITH JULIE WHITFIELD (d. Amy Barham)

  • MOTHER’S DAY (d. Elizabeth Lo)

  • PANIC ATTACK! (d. Eileen O’Meara)

4pm:  HIGHLY ATTUNED

Summer’s here and the time is right to thank those who make the music that has us dancing in the streets, grooving in the sheets and marching to very different beats. Bowie, Cobain and the Allmans appear on this short soundtrack as do a few folks — real, surreal and animated — who you’ve never heard before, but will be humming for years to come.

  • DRAWN & RECORDED: TEEN SPIRIT (d. Drew Christie)

  • THE FUNCTION OF MUSIC (d. Mac Premo)

  • THE HISTORY OF MAGIC: ENSUENO (d. Jose Luis Gonzalez)

  • BEST LITTLE COFFEE HOUSE IN MARYLAND (d. Cory Choy, Michael Solsky) * world premiere!

  • SPACE WEIRD THING (d. Pat Race & Marian Call)

  • DRAWN & RECORDED: FOOT SHOOTIN’ PARTY (d. Drew Christie)

  • RICHARD TWICE (d. Matthew Salton)

7pm:  WALLA WALLA MOVIE CRUSH CHALLENGE

WORLD PREMIERE! In honor of this inaugural edition of the WWMC, we asked ten of our favorite filmmakers/filmmaking teams to create brand-new shorts in response to this prompt: Your first crush. The only other parameter was that these movies could be no longer than seven minutes. (NOTE: no one, including the organizers of this festival, will have seen these shorts until they hit the screen. And, who knows if they will be seen again. This is truly a World Premiere event.)

New films by: 

The Adams Family

Genevieve Anderson

Wendy Jo Carlton

Rick Castañeda

Mtume Gant

Jadoliva Studios

Josh Lunden

Joshua Seftel

Jacob Strunk

Caveh Zahedi

8pm: THE BEST OF THE WALLA WALLA MOVIE CRUSH & AWARDS CEREMONY

The very best films of the inaugural Walla Walla Move Crush — as selected by a jury of internationally-acclaimed filmmakers and Curator Warren Etheredge — will screen prior to our Closing Night Ceremony during which the winners of the Best Short Narrative, Best Animated Short and Best Short Documentary prizes will be announced.

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