2025 New Bedford Film Festival Official Selections

DOCUDRAMA
Directed By | Stuart Valberg
Havre De Grace, MD
Inspired by and based on the 'Pizzagate Incident' of December 4th, 2016.
SAT 4/12 | 4:30PM-7:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

DRAMA
Directed By | Atefeh Nafari & Samira Mokhtari
Iran
A woman must choose: diet to prevent a stroke or gain weight for surgery.
SUN 4/13 | 9:30AM-11:30AM
Steeple Playhouse

HORROR
Directed By | Mike Canale
New York, NY
A visual poem about how I experience my anxiety.
SAT 4/12 | 4:30PM-7:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

DRAMA
Directed By | Serna Amini
Iran
After an accident, Hossein sells his son for his wife's urgent heart transplant.
Warning: Violence
SUN 4/13 | 9:30AM-11:30AM
Steeple Playhouse

DRAMA
Directed By | Ryan Nunes
New Bedford, MA
Two Strangers share a park bench and reminisce about their mistakes and losses in life.
FRI 4/11 | 5:30PM-7:30PM
Steeple Playhouse

COMEDY
Directed By | Katy Dore
San Luis Obispo, CA
Clara and Bertie have been friends for nearly 60 years, but when Clara wants to add a new man into the mix, Bertie's devotion to her friend is tested.
SAT 4/12 | 1:00PM-3:00PM
Gallery X

ROMANTIC COMEDY
Directed By | Michael .T
Lawrence, MA
A self-proclaimed ladies' man falls for his sister's dance instructor and must develop the confidence to dance bachata and humble his ego to win her heart.
FRI 4/11 | 5:30PM-7:30PM
Steeple Playhouse

HORROR, COMEDY
Directed By | Drew Bierut
Los Angeles, CA
Suspicious that his girlfriend is cheating on him with her new personal trainer, Owen discovery is far more difficult to digest.
Warning: Violence, Graphic Images
SAT 4/12 | 4:30PM-7:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

DRAMA
Directed By | Aaron Goffman
Los Angeles, CA
An L.A. woman struggles to find a job, a home, and a meal, only to go unseen for the help she really needs.
SUN 4/13 | 9:30AM-11:30AM
Steeple Playhouse

ROMANTIC COMEDY
Directed By | Luís Filipe Borges
Azores, Portugal
An American and a supposed Azorean meet for their first date on the island of Pico.
SUN 4/13 | 3:00PM-4:30PM
Steeple Playhouse

FANTASY
Directed By | Tom Van Avermaet
Belgium
A modern fable in which a bronze kiss breathes life into a stone heart.
FRI 4/11 | 5:30PM-7:30PM
Steeple Playhouse

DRAMA
Directed By | Carlo De Benedictis
Montebuono (Rieti), Italy
A long friendship plunges into the unknown, potentially changing their lives forever.
FRI 4/11 | 4:00PM-6:30PM
Gallery X

HORROR, LGBTQ
Directed By | Lila Woodbridge
Fairhaven, MA
James struggles with paranoia and identity at the start of the AIDS crisis.
SAT 4/12 | 4:30PM-7:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

DRAMA
Directed By | Sara Bagheri & Golnaz Ghasemi
Tehran, Iran
In the dead of night, a maid’s solitude entwines with a comatose woman’s past.
SUN 4/13 | 9:30AM-11:30AM
Steeple Playhouse

DRAMA
Directed By | Kristina Monllos
St. Louis, MS
When his wife Lillian passes, Frank must find a way to cook without her.
SAT 4/12 | 9:00AM-11:30AM
Steeple Playhouse

COMEDY, SCI-FI
Directed By | Christopher Jorna
London, UK
A romantic short film about a mini civilization that lives in your phone.
FRI 4/11 | 5:30PM-7:30PM
Steeple Playhouse

EXPERIMENTAL
Directed By | Mikey Bennett
Sydney, Australia
A playful, personal dive into a book about everything.
FRI 4/11 | 5:30PM-7:30PM
Steeple Playhouse

HORROR
Directed By | Mike Canale
Boston, MA
He’s all ankles.
Warning: Violence
SAT 4/12 | 4:30PM-7:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

DRAMA
Directed By | Tom Koch & Jake Shipley
New York, NY
Orange tells the recovery story of Lucas, a young firefighter who lost the ability to speak in a pyrotechnic accident.
SAT 4/12 | 4:30PM-7:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

DRAMA
Directed By | Ted Omo
Bolton, MA
During the American Revolution, loyalty to family and his country is tested when a wounded enemy soldier finds his way onto the property of patriots.
Warning: Violence
SUN 4/13 | 9:30AM-11:30AM
Steeple Playhouse

COMEDY
Directed By | Brian Russell
Fairfield, CT
Two recent widowers enlist the aid of a cemetery caretaker to find new love among widows visiting their departed spouses.
SAT 4/12 | 1:00PM-3:00PM
Gallery X

HORROR, DRAMA
Directed By | Mike Sills
Quincy, MA
A man mistakes a smile from a young coffee shop worker for something more.
SAT 4/12 | 4:30PM-7:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

DRAMA
Directed By | Dylan Ricci
Northeast, USA
Tanya is transported on an ethereal journey to face her anxieties and confront the people surrounding them.
SAT 4/12 | 3:00PM-5:30PM
Gallery X

ROMANTIC COMEDY
Directed By | John Gray
New York
An estranged couple reunites to go on the last mysterious errand.
FRI 4/11 | 5:30PM-7:30PM
Steeple Playhouse

DRAMA
Directed By | Jimmy Martin
Taunton, MA
An aging artist confronts his past trauma as he paints a portrait of the beachside house he grew up in.
SUN 4/13 | 9:30AM-11:30AM
Steeple Playhouse

DRAMA, LGBTQ
Directed By | Lisa Marie Tedesco
New Haven, CT
Just married to the woman of her dreams, Ellie takes Shae on a secluded romantic excursion before inevitably coming to terms with a life-altering decision.
FRI 4/11 | 4:00PM-6:30PM
Gallery X

HORROR
Directed By | Erik Champney
Pawcatuck, CT
When a patient in a psychiatric hospital engages with an unfamiliar visitor, he discovers the two might share a frightening connection.
Warning: Violence
SAT 4/12 | 9:00AM-11:30AM
Steeple Playhouse

HORROR
Directed By | Jacob Hamblin
Salt Lake City, UT
To marry his love, an undertaker’s apprentice robs a murdered bride’s grave.
Warning: Violence
FRI 4/11 | 11:00AM-1:30PM
Steeple Playhouse

DRAMA
Directed By | Brad Courtemanche
New England
Hot off of a win of the country's largest television cooking show, Chef Buddy Bontemps finds himself under the tutelage of one of the greatest chefs in modern time.
FRI 4/11 | 5:30PM-7:30PM
Steeple Playhouse

ROMANTIC DRAMA
Directed By | Justin Ho
New York, NY
In one chaotic NYC day, five lives unexpectedly intersect, revealing fragile connections amid heartbreak and the messy pursuit of love.
Warning: Sexual Assault
SAT 4/12 | 1:00PM-3:00PM
Gallery X

DRAMA
Directed By | Julia Halperin & Jason Cortlund
Boston, MA
After the death of her parents, Maria faces strange occurrences in the family home.
Warning: Some Violence
SAT 4/12 | 9:00AM-11:30AM
Steeple Playhouse

DRAMA, LGBTQ
Directed By | Sridhar Rangayan & Saagar Gupta
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Love Is Love, queer or otherwise.
FRI 4/11 | 4:00PM-6:30PM
Gallery X

DRAMA
Directed By | Dawn Natalia
Lowell, MA
Three souls incarnate in three time periods to learn life lessons and ascend to the next level.
Warning: Violence
FRI 4/11 | 11:00AM-1:30PM
Steeple Playhouse

DRAMA
Directed By | Chanho Lee
Seoul, South Korea
Hyowon, who dreams of becoming an actress, runs away from home with Eunseo, who dropped out of high school. For them, life is an unanswered question.
SAT 4/12 | 3:00PM-5:30PM
Gallery X

Directed By | Mike Grasela
Leadville, CO
Brian Reynolds, a double amputee, attempts to be the first to complete Colorado's infamous Leadville Trail 100.
SUN 4/13 | 9:00AM-11:00AM
Gallery X

Directed By | Erin Trahan & Jeff Schmidt
Boston, MA
Thirty years after running for president, Michael Dukakis’s ongoing leadership and culinary wisdom offer an antidote to the instability of American democracy.
SAT 4/12 | 9:30AM-12:30PM
Gallery X

Directed By | Marinah J Phennicie
Rhode Island
A former portrait painter struggles to express himself until discovering a medium that speaks to his soul.
FRI 4/11 | 11:00AM-12:30PM
New Bedford Art Museum

Directed By | Genevieve Sulway
London, UK
A local Hawaiian hero fights to save his culture by teaching disadvantaged indigenous kids traditions, sustainability, and life skills.
FRI 4/11 | 1:00PM-3:30PM
Gallery X

Directed By | Dante Bellini, Jr.
Providence, RI
An intimate portrait of Portuguese culture and a behind-the-scenes peek into the painstaking preparation of the deep-fried dough confection, filhós.
SUN 4/13 | 3:00PM-4:30PM
Steeple Playhouse

Directed By | Joseph C. H. Rigdon
Reno, NV
Laird, a simple man turned rancher, operates a farm in Northern Nevada that comes with its "benefits".
Warning: Drugs
FRI 4/11 | 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Gallery X

Directed By | Dennis Lynch
Ukraine
A series of vignettes of life amid war in southern Ukraine in late 2023.
Warning: Violence
FRI 4/11 | 9:30AM-12:30PM
Gallery X

Directed By | Bob Krist
Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal
On a remote island in the Atlantic, a group of young men regularly face death and injury to carry on a cherished tradition.
Warning: Violence
SUN 4/13 | 3:00PM-4:30PM
Steeple Playhouse

Directed By | Anna Miller
Medfield, MA
Norman Smith has dedicated his life to protecting and relocating snowy owls from Boston’s busiest airport runways, relocating more than 900 snowy owls.
FRI 4/11 | 11:00AM-12:30PM
New Bedford Art Museum

Directed By | Anthony Sherin & Genevieve Mathis
Beacon, NY
In the 1950s, being named a communist could end one’s career. The only way to save oneself was to name others.
SAT 4/12 | 9:30AM-12:30PM
Gallery X

Directed By | Karen Kayser
Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, India
Marginalized Indian widows join a movement to fight for their human rights and dignity.
Warning: Suicide
SAT 4/12 | 1:00PM-3:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

Directed By | Rory Duffy
New York, NY
Following three people from Northern Ireland as they navigate the peace agreement in Northern Ireland that is threatened by the specter of Brexit.
Warning: Violence
FRI 4/11 | 9:30AM-12:30PM
Gallery X

Directed By | Nara Garber
Anguilla, BWI
Bankie Banx: King of the Dune celebrates the life and music of an Anguillian legend.
Warning: Foul Language, Drugs
FRI 4/11 | 1:00PM-3:30PM
Gallery X

Directed By | Steele Burrow
Washington, D.C.
The untold story of JFK's personal photographer, Jacques Lowe.
Warning: Violence
SAT 4/12 | 9:30AM-12:30PM
Gallery X

Directed By | H. James Gilmore
St Augustine, FL
Documents the amazing men and women who search for the ballplayers of tomorrow.
SUN 4/13 | 9:00AM-11:00AM
Gallery X

EXPERIMENTAL
Directed By | Emily Gear
Foula, Shetland, United Kingdom
A stickman whose friends, lifestyle, and entire identity begin to drift away after he discovers a passion for running must face his greatest challenge yet.
FRI 4/11 | 11:00AM-12:30PM
New Bedford Art Museum

DRAMA
Directed By | Catriona Baker
Sudbury, MA
A story of love, resilience, and surviving the trauma of war.
Warning: Violence, Sexual Assault
FRI 4/11 | 11:00AM-12:30PM
New Bedford Art Museum

COMEDY
Directed By | Katie Cobos
Rochester, NY
A talkative parrot attempts to befriend a boy with Tourette’s syndrome.
SAT 4/12 | 11:30AM-1:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

FANTASY
Directed By | Carlos Berenguer Carrión
Elche, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain
Black Sanga, and her companion the talking sword Sphinx, travel through a misty forest and encounter friendly and not so friendly creatures.
Warning: Violence
SAT 4/12 | 11:30AM-1:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

DRAMA
Directed By | Tortor Smith
United Kingdom
A voice message triggers all sorts of anxieties in Andro.
SAT 4/12 | 11:30AM-1:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

FANTASY
Directed By | Alisdair Zhang
New York, NY
A shapeshifter in the story of Little Red Riding Hood.
Warning: Violence
SAT 4/12 | 11:30AM-1:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

COMEDY
Directed By | Devon Bivin
United States
A man and his orangutan best friend discuss their place in life while afloat on the open sea.
SAT 4/12 | 11:30AM-1:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

COMEDY
Directed By | Sungwon Kim
Seoul, South Korea
A puppy dog repear is tested with his first kill. but takes a different approach than expected.
SAT 4/12 | 11:30AM-1:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

DRAMA
Directed By | Grayson "GK" Kostron
Honolulu, HI
A stickman whose friends, lifestyle, and entire identity begin to drift away after he discovers a passion for running must face his greatest challenge yet.
SAT 4/12 | 11:30AM-1:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

COMEDY
Directed By | William Reliford
Omaha, NE
It’s Christmas, and the holidays are a time for rejuvenation. Well, so we thought.
Warning: Language
SAT 4/12 | 11:30AM-1:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

DRAMA
Directed By | Emma Lowery
Maynard, MA
Two brother snails face the ups and downs of their relationship when a day at the beach leads to peril.
FRI 4/11 | 11:00AM-12:30PM
New Bedford Art Museum

SCI-FI, COMEDY
Directed By | Mila Paulman
Toronto, ON, Canada
After an actuary calculates his soon death, he decides to alter his fate and redefine what it is worth living for.
Warning: Violence
SUN 4/13 | 1:30PM-3:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

ROMANTIC DRAMA
Directed By | Charlie Tacker
Boston, MA
A college student struggles with his writer’s block.
SUN 4/13 | 1:30PM-3:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

DRAMA
Directed By | Will Teare
Hamden, CT
A playwright comes in with last-minute script changes that jeopardizes everything -- including the relationship with his childhood best friend.
SUN 4/13 | 1:30PM-3:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

DRAMA
Directed By | Elly Hiranandani
Northampton, MA
In the summer before senior year, two best friends realize what's important.
Warning: Language
SUN 4/13 | 1:30PM-3:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

EXPERIMENTAL
Directs By | Zoe Napurano
Providence, RI
Spend the night on an old riverboat. Rock away on the rolling ocean, and let the waves lull you to sleep.
FRI 4/11 | 11:00AM-12:30PM
New Bedford Art Museum

Directed By | Colleen Kelley
Missoula, MT
A group of women hunters in Montana share their relationship to public land, conservation, and alternatives to the industrial food complex.
Warning: Images of Hunting
SUN 4/13 | 1:30PM-3:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

DRAMA
Directed By | Grace Howe
Gilmanton, NH
A film about growing up and coming of age.
SUN 4/13 | 1:30PM-3:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

Directed By | Megan Holden-Sathler
Musical Artist | Scotty
New Bedford, MA
A music video that covers the struggles of going through a long distance relationship and facing the unknown of what is happening with her significant other.
SAT 4/12 | 5:30PM-6:30PM
Gallery X

Directed By | Karl Whinnery
Musical Artist | Beautiful Skeletons
Portland, OR
Our protagonist, Tina, struggles with past trauma surfacing in the present.
Warning: Disturbing Images
SAT 4/12 | 5:30PM-6:30PM
Gallery X

Directed By | Collin Rousseau
Musical Artist | Dead Gods Are The New Gods
Lakeville, MA
An Ancient Goddess witnesses visions of her past deaths as she is resurrected in the present day.
SAT 4/12 | 5:30PM-6:30PM
Gallery X

Directed By | Karl Whinnery
Musical Artist | Vintersea
Portland, OR
Kayla struggles with an alien invasion.
SAT 4/12 | 5:30PM-6:30PM
Gallery X

Directed By | Jay Carney
Musical Artist | Jay Carney
New Bedford, MA
Drug addiction is an insidious disease that wreaks havoc on families and loved ones.
Warning: Severe Drug Use
SAT 4/12 | 5:30PM-6:30PM
Gallery X

Directed By | Viktor Herrmann
Musical Artist | Chenny Britt
Assonet, MA
A deeply-in-love couple choose a violent form of entertainment.
Warning: Violence, Gore
SAT 4/12 | 5:30PM-6:30PM
Gallery X

Directed By | Sean Campbell
Musical Artist | Florian
Fall River, MA
A song by Florian, with lyrics lamenting the state of the world.
SAT 4/12 | 5:30PM-6:30PM
Gallery X

Directed By | Henry Vumbaca & Sylvia North
Musical Artist | Sylvia North
Boston, MA
After a car wreck, Sylvia North longs to trade places with a budding starlet.
SAT 4/12 | 5:30PM-6:30PM
Gallery X

Directed By | Megan Holden-Sathler
Musical Artist | D. Stanley
New Bedford, MA
A story about a man ooking towards a better future while working hard in the present, and reminiscing on how the past got him here.
SAT 4/12 | 5:30PM-6:30PM
Gallery X

Directed By | Mike Sun
Musical Artist | Sun of Sound
Pawtucket, RI
A hobbyist beachcomber who finds a mysterious trinket that will result in a life-changing experience.
SAT 4/12 | 5:30PM-6:30PM
Gallery X

Directed By | Alex Watrous
Musical Artist | Polly Bessette
Bristol, RI
A young woman’s discovery of her old toy chest transports her back to a lonely time in her childhood where she mirrors her younger self.
SAT 4/12 | 5:30PM-6:30PM
Gallery X

Directed By | Will Wheaton
Musical Artisit | Autumn Drive
New Bedford, MA
A music video by the New Bedford band Autumn Drive.
SAT 4/12 | 5:30PM-6:30PM
Gallery X

COMEDY
Directed By | Bruno Pimentel
Prague, Czech Republic
A dark comedy about chasing ghosts and purpose.
SUN 4/13 | 11:00AM-12:30PM
Gallery X

FANTASY
Directed By | Sally McLean
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
After publicly shaming one of their schoolmates, three students devise their own unique brand of revenge.
SUN 4/13 | 1:30PM-4:00PM
Gallery X

FANTASY
Directed By | Seth Chitwood
Providence, RI
A group of young witches were sentenced to deliver packages to witches from the beginning to the end of time.
SUN 4/13 | 11:00AM-12:30PM
Gallery X

COMEDY
Directed By | Katie Locke O’Brien
Los Angeles, CA
A sleep-deprived mom in the throes of postpartum anxiety brings a British children’s book character to life for help.
SUN 4/13 | 1:30PM-4:00PM
Gallery X

FANTASY
Directed By | Seth Chitwood
Providence, RI
A seasoned witch no longer wants to help other witches fix their problems.
SUN 4/13 | 11:00AM-12:30PM
Gallery X

DRAMA
Directed By | Seth Chitwood
Providence, RI
A family is reunited with their deceased father every Christmas Day.
SUN 4/13 | 1:30PM-4:00PM
Gallery X

ROMANTIC COMEDY, LGBTQ
Directed By | Tim Wardell, Jules Dameron, Frank Arthur Smith, Matt Hartman, & Benjamin-Shalom Rodriguez
Los Angeles, CA
In season 2, Cam and Greg re-examine why they're open - with lots of sexy shenanigans in between.
SUN 4/13 | 1:30PM-4:00PM
Gallery X

Directed By | Sergio Camacho
New York, NY
Craft Beer is the story of America.
Warning: Alcohol
SUN 4/13 | 11:00AM-12:30PM
Gallery X

Directed By | Kevin Kertscher
New Bedford, MA
Experience authentic New Bedford, America's Most Valuable Fishing Port—from Boat to Table.
SAT 4/12 | 1:00PM-3:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

Directed By | Ana Bess Moyer Bell & Joseph Phommasith
Boston, MA
A close friendship is forever changed when one of them overdoses, but a single act of love—administering Narcan®—becomes the difference between life and loss.
Warning: Drugs
FRI 4/11 | 1:00PM-3:30PM
Gallery X

Directed By | Leia Onofrey
Dartmouth, MA
A journey of reflection, renewal, and growth in New Bedford.
SAT 4/12 | 1:00PM-3:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

Directed By | Olivia Kusijanovic
Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador
A Fashion Film created to highlight and de-normalize the “Pink Tax”: an unjustified extra price that all women pay to acquire products.
FRI 4/11 | 9:30AM-12:30PM
Gallery X

DRAMA, LGBTQ
Directed By | Julien Pedro
Savannah, GA
Gene returns home for Thanksgiving after six years, facing family tension and challenges.
Warning: Violence
FRI 4/11 | 4:00PM-5:30PM
Steeple Playhouse

Directed By | Rosalyn Negrón
Cape Verde
A soulful voyage into Cape Verdean music, culture, and self-discovery.
SAT 4/12 | 1:00PM-3:00PM
Steeple Playhouse

COMEDY
Directed By | Will Wheaton
New Bedford, MA
A disgraced scientist is in the throes of an odd obsession.
Warning: Violence, Flashing Lights
FRI 4/11 | 4:00PM-5:30PM
Steeple Playhouse

Directed By | Mackenzie McCree
Acushnet, MA
A visual of an original poem written and performed by Brynna Boyd.
FRI 4/11 | 4:00PM-5:30PM
Steeple Playhouse

SCI-FI, FAMILY
Directed By | Nick Bernat
Dartmouth, MA
A distracted mom's daughter knows why mysterious glowsticks keep appearing.
FRI 4/11 | 4:00PM-5:30PM
Steeple Playhouse

Directed By | Liam Sivertsen
New Bedford, MA
Mark Roberts, a New Bedford Scalloper, recalls his life and eventful career on the high seas.
FRI 4/11 | 4:00PM-5:30PM
Steeple Playhouse

Directed By | Prashant Karki
New Bedford, MA
Right above us, art surrounds New Bedford; a documentary reveals its overlooked beauty.
FRI 4/11 | 4:00PM-5:30PM
Steeple Playhouse