TAFFNY HONORS CITY COLLEGE'S MFA IN FILM
SHORT FILM SHOWCASE
Instituto Cervantes New York: Tuesday, June 22 @ 5:45PM
Followed by a Q&A with directors
RIGHT TO EXIT
Auralynn Rosario | US | Fiction | 2021 | 15 min
Right To Exit is a story about a young woman named Lori and her first time working as an escort at a New York City apartment-brothel. We follow Lori, and her layered experiences, as she engages with two other women who work there, Dinero, the man for which they work, and the clients who come to pay for their time and attention. Although she has complete agency over her body, Lori encounters a moment in which her boundaries are tested.
DIRECTOR BIO
Auralynn Rosario is an award-winning filmmaker and writer based in New York City, where she was born and raised. She holds a BA in English Language and Literature from Smith College and an MFA in Film Production from the City College of New York. Her first short documentary, Being Jezebel, which expounds on the stigmatization of Black women who do sex work, won the award “Best of Smith College” and was voted “Audience Favorite” at the 24th Annual Five College Film Festival. She is the 2020 recipient of the Helen Gurley Brown Magic Grant from Smith College, which supports the feature-length documentary version of Being Jezebel, for which she is currently in production. She is also a 2020-2021 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Scholar and was awarded the 2021 New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT) scholarship award. Auralynn is the Production Office Manager at Aubin Pictures and Assistant to Founder and Director Catherine Gund. As a filmmaker, she strives to tell stories that challenge the status quo, raise questions, and affect social change. Her emerging themes include dismantling patriarchal systems, body autonomy, sex work, race, sexuality, and gender topics.
TO DROWN
Justin Filpes | US | Fiction | 2021 | 14 min
One morning, a demented older man in the twilight of his years is taken by his caregiver on a kayaking trip through the local mangroves. It is here, on the water, that he is finally forced to reckon with the past, face the present, and confront the future.
DIRECTOR BIO
Justin Filpes was born in 1995 and grew up as a Cuban-American on the ocean waters of Miami, Florida. He originally relocated to NYC to study Philosophy on a full scholarship at New York University, where he gradually became involved in directing for the local stage, shooting street photography on a daily basis, and writing and producing a weekly audio theater podcast for the school radio station. Along the way, he earned five separate minors in Music, Art History, Cinema Studies, Film Production, and Creative Writing.
BREATHE
Malobe Sampson | US |Documentary | 2021 | 11 min
A 21 year old Black college student seeks to bring legislative change to our complex policing system. He along side hundreds of protestors attempt one of the bravest demonstration in New York City.
DIRECTOR BIO
Malobe Sampson grew up in the Bronx, New York and pursued his MFA in documentary film from The City College of New York (CUNY). While attending he became a BAFTA Scholar, and further developed an already budding desire for film. Malobe is inspired by stories of heroism, humor, and hope. His aspirations are to continue making stories that provoke thought, analyze issues that bring change, and to have fun while doing it.
THE WEALTHIEST MAN IN THE WORLD
Josiah Johnson | US | Fiction | 2021 | 15 min
After 40+ years in his home, Dion Freeman, a tenant with a hoarding problem, is given an eviction notice by his former friend and landlady, May Burgher. The standoff is this: Dion desperately wants to hold on to his clutter and the only home he had with his late wife, while May wishes to liquidate the house and any other assets that she shares with her soon-to-be ex-husband. A battle over the past and present ensues, ending with Dion having a panic attack. Exhausted and out of options, May and Dion strike a compromise — if he agrees to move, then she will help him pack in a timely fashion. As May and Dion work together to pack up the house, they unexpectedly help each other release the demons of their past and look toward the future.
DIRECTOR BIO
Josiah Johnson is a Black American film director and screenwriter whose creative mission is to promote gender and racial diversity in his work. Johnson proudly staffs his projects with the same eye toward diversity as he uses in his art. For an MFA in filmmaking, Johnson went to The City College of New York, where he completed his first film, entitled The Wealthiest Man in the World (2021). This short film became a 10X award winner and has been featured in numerous film festivals, nationally and internationally. Grateful and inspired, Johnson continues to research different communities, cultures, and identities to enrich his writing and filmmaking. His works are often ingrained in philosophical and religious themes, representing his love for humanity and nature.
