SATURDAY

SEPT 5

STORIES OF

RESILENCE

SHOWCASE

RECOVERING FROM THE FIRES

SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 12:00 THEATER I

  • RETURN TO THE EARTH

    SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 12:00

    RUNTIME: 6:59 • USA

    Director: Amy Smyth

    This intimate micro-documentary tells the story of Betty Seaman—a mother, builder, and teacher—who constructed her family's cob home with her own hands. What began as a quest for affordable, sustainable shelter grew into a living classroom for resilience and community.

  • FISH FOR THE FUTURE

    SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 12:00

    RUNTIME: 5:02 • USA

    Director: Matthew Benton

    Multiple agencies and volunteers come together after the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles, CA to rescue an endangered fish population before they are threatened to be completely wiped out by an upcoming mudslide.

  • REMEMBER HERE

    SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 12:00

    RUNTIME: 4:00 • USA

    Director: Mike Marshall

    "Remember Here" documents the aftermath of the January 7, 2025 Eaton Fire in Altadena, CA, USA. Using pastel chalk and drone cinematography, the piece captures both the physical devastation and emotional journey of the affected community.

  • REGENERATION

    SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 12:00

    RUNTIME: 9:20 • USA

    Director: Kyle Jonah Ruddick

    Regeneration is a short dance film that pays homage to the capacity of the human psyche and spirit to metabolize destruction into full bloom. Shot in the ashes of the Santa Monica Mountains in the weeks following the fire, the film captures a dancer amongst the desolate beauty of LA’s scorched terrain as she and it metabolize destruction back into full bloom.

  • BIG ROCK BURNING

    SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 12:00

    RUNTIME: 27:49 • USA

    Director: David Goldblum

    An intimate documentary exploring the resilient spirit of Malibu's Big Rock community as they rebuild from the ashes of the devastating Palisades Fire. The film captures the raw aftermath of a harrowing night when residents were left to fend for themselves after officials deemed the area too dangerous to enter. With no help coming, neighbors turned into first responders.

  • BEARS IN HOT TUBS

    Saturday sept 5 at 12:00

    RUNTIME: 17:00 • USA

    Directors: Claire Musser, Maddie Bear

    Bears in Hot Tubs is a tender, emotionally resonant short film co-created with Maddie Bear and her wild kin, who move through the suburban landscapes of Los Angeles with curiosity, intelligence, and quiet grace. From soaking in backyard tubs to wandering garden paths, these black bears are not intruders; they are neighbors, navigating a world remade by human presence.

YOUNG

FILMMAKERS

SHOWCASE

SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 12:00 THEATER II

  • TREE OF LIFE

    THEATER II SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 12:00

    RUNTIME: 6:12 • Croatia

    Director: Jana Bedić

    The Tree of Life is a poetic experimental short film that explores the relationship between memory, existence, and time. Narrated by a spectral voice drifting through the misty landscapes of a swamp, the film blends voice-over, rhythmic music, and cinematic imagery of nature to visualize inner emotions and transformation.

  • THE SILENCE THAT FOLLOWS

    THEATER II SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 12:00

    RUNTIME: :4:07 • USA

    Directors: Raina Ventana Del Gatto

    A teenage boy drives deep into the isolated chaparral, carrying a mysterious bag he’s desperate to get rid of. The voices in his head haven’t always been there, but now they won’t stop, growing louder as he reaches a barren hollow in the earth. Determined to bury whatever is inside, he begins to dig, trying to silence both the voices and his rising panic.

  • WTF?

    THEATER II SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 12:00

    RUNTIME: 1:50 • USA

    Directors: Gigi Nettleton, Lola Stieg, Lila Vidinsky, Coco Yuster

    Four girls wake up in a barn and are chased by a strange man.

  • THE STAND IN

    THEATER II SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 12:00

    RUNTIME: 8:57 • USA

    Directors: Kody Hinnant, Ben Sowden

    A wannabe actor who can't seem to land any roles finally nabs a high-paying gig when he's asked to portray the co-worker of a dead man at his funeral.

  • LIVVY ARE YOU THERE?

    THEATER II SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 12:00

    RUNTIME: 7:18 • USA

    Director: Synnove June

    Ridden with guilt and grieving the loss of her childhood friend, Gia fights for a second chance in the only way she can - by bringing her friend back from the dead.

  • TOOTH FAIRY, INC.

    THEATER II SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 12:00

    RUNTIME: 11:20 • USA

    Director: Max Zou

  • LIP SYNC

    THEATER II SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 12:00

    RUNTIME: 3:14 • USA

    Directors: Amelie, Harper, Isla M, Maria, Maxine, Olivia

    New chorus students run into unexpected challenges.

AI AND THE CREATIVE SOUL Saturday SEPT 5 AT 1:00-2:00 Theater II • Panelist to be announced shortly

The panel does not attempt to defend creativity as a purely human trait, nor to settle the question of ‘AI, good or bad’. It begins with the reality that we are entering an emergent and radically expanded creative universe, increasingly shared with highly capable nonhuman intelligence.

The inquiry is one of reorientation: finding new ways to make and express, new forms of authorship and collaboration, and new meaning in the act of creation itself – all while reckoning with how this new creative landscape will reshape access, agency, ownership and power.

As the boundaries of human creativity become destabilized, we are left with a deeper question: Why is the creative soul driven to make in the first place – and what might we discover about ourselves as the very meaning of creation begins to change?

FORK IN THE ROAD

SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 2:00 THEATER I

Directors: Jonathan Nastasi, Vivian Sorenson

Fork in the Road follows small farmers, visionary chefs, and innovators working to heal the land,
improve our food systems, and transition toward a regenerative future for both people and the planet.

SHORT

NARRATIVE

SHOWCASE I

SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 2:00 THEATER II

FILMS COMING SOON

COMPOSER PANEL Saturday SEPT 5 AT 4:00 Theater I

PANEL DETAILS COMING SOON

SELL OUT

SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 4:00 THEATER II

Directors: Nicholas Jude Holden, Joshua Ashy Holden


A neurotic novelist can’t tell if his biggest problem is the blank page,
his Southern family —or his best friend’s off the rails political campaign.

TOPANGA

MUSIC SPOTLIGHT

VIDEOS COMING SOON

SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 5:00 THEATER I

SUMMER TOUR

SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 5:00 THEATER I

Director: Mischa Richter

Young Jerry and Annie as they chase Dead and Company's final 2023 tour in a questionable camper van, organizing their lives around the music with intensity.

FOOD AND

ECOLOGY

FILMS

SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 6:00 THEATER II

DETAILS COMING SOON

SHORT FILM THEATER I

KOSTIA

Director: Elliott Thornton‍ ‍RUNTIME: 4:54

SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 7:00 THEATER I

After failing a drug test on the eve of a tournament, an aging professional tennis player finds twilight turning to dusk all too quickly.

DANTE: 500 MILES ON PSYCHEDELICS

SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 7:00 THEATER I

Director: Fernando Gonzalez

A man runs 500 miles through the desert using psychedelics to test his limits.
Battling inner demons and harsh terrain, he seeks redemption while proving human potential
is boundless and challenging stigma around unconventional healing.

INVITE ONLY

SPECIAL

SCREENING

SATURDAY SEPT 5 AT 7:00 THEATER II

MUSICAL GUEST

WILL WORDEN

9:00-11:00

TOPANGA
COMMUNITY
HOUSE