Last year, my parents reached out to me and told me about a film festival taking place in a small town right around where they had just moved to.  Knowing my love for movies, we all decided to check it out.  It was at this film festival where I saw Hundreds of Beavers, I Like Movies and so many amazing shorts that I could not wait to take them back the next year.

It’s festivals like this that bring out the locals to see films from all over the world that they may not have gotten the chance to see.  The Mauch Chunk Opera House opened its doors to Pocono Mountain folk and fellow Pennsylvania student filmmakers for another year of stunning films.  Here are some of the features I was lucky enough to check out.

DANDELION

Trying to make a name for herself as a musician while taking care of her ailing mother, singer-songwriter Dandelion takes a chance at somewhere she has never been before – a South Dakota motorcycle rally as a way of trying to get her music noticed.  She meets fellow musician Casey as they get swept up in the landscape, the music, and each other.  A film perfect for anyone who knows the struggle of the creative process but is not afraid to go through with it anyway.  Nicole Riegel’s direction is an inspiration while Kiki Layne proves that see can own the screen when given the time to do so.

TIGER STRIPES

In Amanda Nell Eu’s directorial debut, Tiger Stripes shows us what it can feel like for a young girl going through puberty.  Not only does being the first of your friends to go through this life experience put you in a vulnerable position, but there is so much unknown about what your body is going through.  And that could not be more true for Zaffan, who experiences body horror like no other when she gets her period.  Talented young Malaysian actresses remind you of why middle schoolers can be so cruel while a curse runs rampant through their community.

GHOSTLIGHT

After experiencing a tragic loss in their family, Dan becomes secluded from his wife and daughter.  One day, he accidentally joins a community theater group doing a production of “Romeo and Juliet.” As Dan becomes more involved with the show, he realizes he connects with the material more than he originally thought.  A heartbreaking story that is not afraid to show how important it is to be vulnerable, this was the Hay Family favorite of the festival.  If you love Dolly de Leon, you should check it out, but Keith Kupferer is going to be the one that tugs at your heartstrings from start to finish.

HUNTING DAZE

After she is picked up by a man from a bachelor party in the woods she was an entertainer at the night before, Nina finds herself as “one of the guys” for their hunting trip.  However, when the same man picks up another lonely traveler, supernatural events begin occurring.  In a tale of what it means to hunt or be hunted, Annick Blanc wants to make sure you are on the edge of your seat the entire time.  With very little sound design and characters that may seem stereotypical upon first meeting them, it all comes together in the end when you find out what is truly behind the evil that lurks.

HEY VIKTOR!

Filmed in a mockumentary style, Cody Lightning has been approached to make a documentary of his life over 20 years after his film, “Smoke Signals”, made him a star.  However, his life is not what he hoped it would be, so as a desperate attempt to make him relevant again, he tries to get the original cast back together to make a sequel.  A hysterical look at what it means to never let go of what you think makes you important to people while they have moved on, there is so much heart and humor behind this film.  You forget you’re watching a fictional tale as Lightning and the movie he was in are both real, but combining that with the fictionalization of the characters makes it stand out above other films of a similar genre. 

Some amazing shorts I was fortunate enough to see that you should check out if they are coming to a theater near you are Clone (Ryan M. Murphy), Twenty (Jason Hogan), Tethered (Stephen T. Lally), Mortis causa (Ruben Seca), Winky (Jon Violette), How to Stop a Wedding (Darien Taylor), and The Retreat (Emmett Kerr-Perkinson).