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Best of the Shorts

Directed by Various

International • 2015 • 107 mins.

Showtimes & Past Screenings

This is a selection of the PIFF 39 audience’s favorite short films.

Films may not be presented in the order listed here.

Ave Maria

DIRECTOR: Basil Khalil – (Palestine)

The silent routine of five nuns living in the West Bank wilderness is disturbed when an Israeli settler family breaks down right outside the convent just as the Sabbath comes into effect. (15 mins.)

Day One

DIRECTOR: Henry Hughes – (US)

On her first day in Afghanistan, an interpreter for the US Army is forced to deliver the child of an enemy bombmaker. (25 mins.)

Discipline

DIRECTOR: Christophe M. Saber – (Switzerland)

In a moment of anger in a grocery store, a father loses patience and disciplines his disobedient child. As shocked customers intervene, the discussion gradually gets out of hand. (11 mins.)

How I Didn’t Become a Piano Player

DIRECTOR: Tommaso Pitta – (UK)

Nine-year-old Ted can’t find anything he’s really good at until his father comes home with an old piano. Suddenly, it’s clear: he’ll become the next Mozart. (18 mins.)

One Week

DIRECTOR: Rollyn Stafford – (Portland, OR)

A young woman devises a plan to free herself from her deceptively pleasant living situation. (5 mins.)

Sista in the Brotherhood

DIRECTOR: Dawn Jones Redstone – (Portland, OR)

Laneice’s first day at a male-dominated job site is met with harassment and contempt as she fights to prove herself. (20 mins.)

The Five Minute Museum

DIRECTOR: Paul Bush – (UK/Switzerland)

A romp through museums in which the objects on display come to life and reveal the stories of their creation. (7 mins.)

World of Tomorrow

DIRECTOR: Don Hertzfeldt – (US)

A little girl is taken on a mind-bending tour of her distant future. (16 mins.)

Films in this Program

Ave Maria

Directed by Basil Khalil

The silent routine of five nuns living in the West Bank wilderness is disturbed when an Israeli settler family breaks …

Day One

Directed by Henry Hughes

On her first day in Afghanistan, an interpreter for the US Army is forced to deliver the child of an …

Discipline

Directed by Christophe M. Saber

In a moment of anger in a grocery store, a father loses patience and disciplines his disobedient child. As shocked …

How I Didn’t Become a Piano Player

Directed by Tommaso Pitta

Nine-year-old Ted can't find anything he's really good at until his father comes home with an old piano. Suddenly, it's …

One Week

Directed by Rollyn Stafford

A young woman devises a plan to free herself from her deceptively pleasant living situation.

Sista in the Brotherhood

Directed by Dawn Jones Redstone

Laneice's first day at a male-dominated job site is met with harassment and contempt as she fights to prove herself.

The Five Minute Museum

Directed by Paul Bush

A romp through museums in which the objects on display come to life and reveal the stories of their creation.

World of Tomorrow

Directed by Don Hertzfeldt

A little girl is taken on a mind-bending tour of her distant future.

Genres: Short

The Northwest Film Center recognizes and honors the Indigenous peoples of this region on whose ancestral lands the museum now stands. These include the Willamette Tumwater, Clackamas, Kathlemet, Molalla, Multnomah and Watlala Chinook Peoples and the Tualatin Kalapuya who today are part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and many other Native communities who made their homes along the Columbia River. We also want to recognize that Portland today is a community of many diverse Native peoples who continue to live and work here. We respectfully acknowledge and honor all Indigenous communities—past, present, future—and are grateful for their ongoing and vibrant presence.