Thursday, June 19th

LOCATION: THE LUCKY WOLF – 404 E. Michigan Avenue, Paw Paw

5pm * Opening night music & reception in the downstairs café

6-8pm * LIVE PANEL: “On the Inside Looking Out: Finding (and Not Finding) the Self in Pop Culture”

Our Thursday evening panel will convene a thoughtful assembly of community members, civic leaders, and mental health professionals for a vital conversation centered on mental health. Participants will share and analyze portrayals from film, television, art, or music that resonated deeply with them or had a significant impact—either positively (offering hope) or negatively (fortifying feelings of despair)—at a specific moment during their experiences with mental health. The ensuing discussion aims to illuminate how these media depictions can profoundly affect individuals navigating such challenges, with panelists exploring the impact by comparing the portrayal to their own lived experiences or the experiences of those around them, fostering a deeper understanding of media's role in shaping perceptions and personal journeys related to mental well-being.

Featuring: Lauren Langford (LPC-IT), J. Adam Bennett (PhD, BCBA-D), Jaxon Curry (theatre studies, Western Michigan University), Mary Springer (Paw Paw Downtown Development Authority), and Christine Love-MacLeod (Board Member, India Love Sunflower Foundation). Moderated by Hia Woolard (LCSW).

8pm * Feature film:
Good Side of Bad / United States

Director: Alethea Root; Producers: Alethea Root / Jules Bruff / Jenny Napier / Katie Von Till / Mark David / Connie Jo Sechrist / Cameo Woods; Screenwriters: Alethea Root / Jules Bruff / Ciera Danielle 

When a young photographer has a severe mental break, her siblings come back together to help her heal.

LOCATION: LUC’S LIGHT – 507 W. Michigan Avenue, Paw Paw

4-7pm * Special screening & open house

Special screening (out-of-competition):
G’itis Baggs – “Country Soul” / United States (Michigan)

Director: Nick Rohr

Nick Rohr’s beautiful animated music video for the song “Country Soul”—written by local legend Grant Littler (G’itis Baggs) and performed by a gaggle of his close friends as part a crowd-funded album and campaign to help Grant after a car accident and subsequent diagnosis of brain cancer. The song and video depict an encroaching industrialization that disrupts the idyllic horizons a farmer’s wife uses as a painting muse.

Open house:
Luc's Light student animations 
and music videos

[The Luc's Light Youth Music & Arts Foundation was founded in the memory of Luc Schincariol, a 2021 honors graduate of Paw Paw High School who aspired to writing screenplays and music. Luc’s Light is a place where students can find themselves and others through art and music.]

Friday, June 20th

LOCATION: THE LUCKY WOLF – 404 E. Michigan Avenue, Paw Paw

5pm * Music & reception in the downstairs café

6-8pm * LIVE PANEL: “Decoding the Dialogue: An Audience-Led Look at Mental Health in Media”

The Sunflower Film Festival invites attendees to actively shape Friday evening’s session. The audience will vote to select one media clip about mental health from a curated collection, thus guiding the specific theme for in-depth discussion. Following this audience-led selection, our panel of mental health professionals will provide a focused analysis of the chosen scene. This engaging format aims to equip attendees with greater clarity on specific mental health topics and enhance their ability to critically view media. "Decoding the Dialogue" offers a novel and enjoyable way to experience and discuss portrayals of mental health collectively, fostering a sense of shared understanding.

Featuring: Lauren Langford (LPC-IT) and J. Adam Bennett (PhD, BCBA-D). Moderated by Hia Woolard (LCSW).

8pm * Feature film:
Bloody & Bruised: The Untold Story of The Back Room / United States

Director: Budro Partida; Producers: John Robert Jew, Jr. / Budro Partida / Ray Seggern / Tamara Salem Moore / Adam Salinas; Screenwriters: Budro Partida / Tamara Salem Moore 

The untold story of the most infamous heavy metal club to live and die in Austin, Texas, as told by the people who survived it.

Saturday, June 21st

LOCATION: THE LUCKY WOLF – 404 E. Michigan Avenue, Paw Paw

11am * Shorts Block 1: “Connected Spirits”

Honk / United States

Director: Francisco Zayas; Producer: Vivia Font; Screenwriter: Vivia Font

A woman giving birth finds herself on a bench next to an old friend she knew she would never see again. A fleeting meditation.

The Passions of the Soul / Belgium

Director: Emile Buyls; Producer: Lucas Lambrechts; Screenwriters: Emile Buyls / Bo Sels / Philippe Vanpuyvelde

When timid bellboy Stan unexpectedly loses his best friend Mats, the hotel’s handyman, he encounters an unstable young woman, a grumpy businessman, and a poetic old lady, each of whom, knowingly or not, guides him through his journey of grief.

Lotus / United States (Michigan)

Directors: Bryce Mackie / Brennan Collins; Producer: Tom Mackie; Screenwriters: Bryce Mackie / Brennan Collins 

“Be kind to yourself.”

Yesterday Again / United States

Director: Jorge Del Toro; Producers: Stephanie Del Toro / Joseph Blake Menzel; Screenwriter: Jorge Del Toro 

As memories slip away, a widower struggles to hold onto the fragments of his past before they vanish completely. When an unexpected visitor forces him to confront what’s real and what’s fading, he embarks on an emotional journey through time, love, and identity.

My Best Nut / United States

Director: David Bradburn; Producers: Lisa Roti / David Bradburn; Screenwriter: David Bradburn

Jude isn't the life of the party; he is the party. But this is only after he's forced to spend his days in the hospital fighting cancer. Soon the patients around him look forward to seeing him as much as they don't look forward to their next round of treatment.

Break the Silence / United States

Director: Dax Phelan; Producers: Dax Phelan / Eric M. Klein / Benjamin Cheek / Shyanne Aponte; Screenwriter: Dax Phelan

A 1-minute public service announcement encouraging people experiencing emotional distress to seek help by calling 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

1:15pm * Shorts Block 2: “Ties That Break, Ties That Bind”

Cascades / United States

Director: Brian Russell; Producers: Lisa DeTullio Russell / Brian Russell; Screenwriter: Brian Russell

Marcus and Denise walk toward a crossroads on their wedding anniversary. They’ve been happily married for 30 years, but can they overcome the one thing that just might tear them apart? They both love Danny, but what happens when parents have radically different takes on what it means to love an adult child? What does it mean to let go of our children?

Chatter / United States

Director: Jessica Sherif; Producers: Jessica Carlson / Jessica Sherif; Screenwriter: Jessica Sherif 

When Samia and Charlie’s chance encounter stretches into an unexpected all-day first date, their inner voices (now suddenly able to communicate) threaten to derail the spark.

The Daughter / United States (advance screening – out-of-competition)

Director: Mary Ann Anane; Producers: Kelli Reilly / Nicole Palermo; Screenwriter: Mary Ann Anane

A day at the beach turns sinister when 10-year-old Lana spies her father's violent interactions with a young woman.

Michigan Visits Matter: The Family Cost of Incarceration / United States (Michigan)

Director: Bryce Mackie; Producer: Lois Pullano 

A short documentary exploring the devastating impact of visitation restrictions on families affected by incarceration in the state of Michigan.

SilverSizzle / United States

Director: Brian Russell; Producers: Lisa DeTullio Russell / Brian Russell; Screenwriters: Brian Russell / Ross Popick

Two recent widowers enlist the aid of a cemetery caretaker to find new love among widows visiting their departed spouses.

3:15pm * Feature film:
Burt / United States

Director: Joe Burke; Producers: Joe Burke / Oliver Cooper / David Gordon Green; Screenwriters: Joe Burke / Oliver Cooper

Burt, a delightful and spirited 69-year-old street musician with Parkinson’s, has his daily life shaken up when a wayward young man from New York, Sammy, shows up claiming to be his son. Having always dreamt of being a dad, Burt embraces Sammy, inviting him to stay for the weekend at the house he shares with his irritable landlord, Steve.

5:15pm * Music: Chris Plum & Eagle Club Jazz Band (upstairs in the theater)

7:45pm * Feature film:
Destiny / United States (Michigan)

Director: Clarence Fuller; Producers: Kristin Krall / Clarence Fuller; Screenwriter: Clarence Fuller

A gold digger on the verge of losing her inheritance becomes intertwined with an unhoused man whose idea of justice is killing drug dealers.

LOCATION: LAND OF LIGHT COMMUNITY – 33256 32nd Street, Paw Paw

1:30pm * Special screening (feature film, out-of-competition):
Facing Fear / Australia

Director: Bill Bennett

A document of one man's global search for ways to handle his fear after devastating news.

[Land of Light Community was founded in 2018 as a healing environment in nature, where people can more easily reconnect with their deeper selves.]

Sunday, June 22nd

LOCATION: THE LUCKY WOLF – 404 E. Michigan Avenue, Paw Paw

11:00am * Shorts Block 3: “A Place in the World”

Missing Rhythms / United States

Director: Regina Hoyles; Producers: Julie Bersani / Toni Adeyemi / Regina Hoyles; Screenwriter: Aja Houston

In a mysterious insane asylum full of missing Black women from all over the country, a woman must use rhythm to remember her true identity and fight being lost forever behind the ominous Blue Door.

Burned / United States

Director: Paula Rhodes; Producers: America Young / Cissy Jones; Screenwriter: Paula Rhodes 

Librarians tell a new colleague of the book that burned so many, using motion graphic animation for the true tale-within-a-tale, in this overdue film where the witches get to burn back. A little Princess Bride, a dash of Drunk History, all to reclaim the narrative.

Yellow / United Kingdom (BAFTA nominated)

Director: Elham Ehsas; Producers: Dina Mousawi / Yiannis Manolopoulos / Catherine Tschaepe / Azeem Bhati / Elham Ehsas; Screenwriter: Elham Ehsas 

In Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, a woman walks into a chadari store in Kabul to buy her first full-body veil, and to face an uncertain future.

Carly Buckets / United States

Director: Mark Williams; Producer: Mark Williams

A small Choctaw reservation gets behind tribal member Carly Keats as she overcomes hardships and adversity in taking her basketball journey to the University of Arkansas.

Cyanotype / United States (Michigan)

Directors: Jake Girolami / Nick Girolami 

Photographer Pauly V. navigates life with chronic illness through eco-experimental film photography.

2pm * Feature film: 
Las Abogadas: Attorneys on the Front Lines of the Migrant Crisis / United States

Director: Victoria Bruce; Producer: Laura Seltzer-Duny; Screenwriter: Victoria Bruce

For a group of extraordinary women who practice immigration law, the border crisis is a call to action they can't ignore.