Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab 2024 Fellows' Film Premiere

Thursday, May 9th
6:20 PM - Reception with refreshments
7:00 PM - Film screening, followed by Q&A

Location: Annie May Swift Hall, Northwestern University
1920 Campus Dr, Evanston IL 60201, click here for campus map

Free and open to the public. Free on-campus parking available after 4 PM in the open air lot.

Please join us as we unveil new short films created by the Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab’s 2024 Fellows! Ranging from animation to fiction and personal essay film, these diverse projects embrace creative storytelling to the fullest as they present nuanced narratives about mental health. Whether they employ bold visuals, lyricism, or humor to tell their stories, these compelling shorts aim to address complex topics including the pressures of motherhood, perfectionism, depression, bipolar disorder, and dementia.

The featured films are:

Avant-Garde
Director: Hank Yang
2024, 16 min, fiction
An Asian American art student, who is a harsh critic of his and others’ art, attends a class mate's art exhibit which leads him to realize that true art is not about technical prowess, but the resonance behind it.

Doh, God!
Director: Nathan Siskel
2024, 6 min, animation
A kid named Lily struggles with big feelings and an existential crisis in a world made completely out of Play-Doh.

Growing Mad in the Midwest
Director: Elshadai Aberra
2024, 13 min, documentary
This poetic, personal essay film takes us to Indiana, where Ethiopian-American filmmaker Elshadai Aberra explores the fragmentation of memory, depression, feelings of otherness, and the impact of family.

Maladaptive
Director: Petra Popper-Freedman
2024, 10 min, fiction
A woman attempts to go on a first date, but is continually distracted by an elaborate daydream fantasy she has invented about the two of them sharing a life together.

Manic Memoirs
Director: Francesca Gamba
2024, 8.5 min, fiction
A giddy college freshman must face the fragility of her mind as she realizes she is having her first manic episode.

Ponytail
Director: Aisha Hamid
2024, 14 min, fiction
In this quietly observed, intimate film about a Pakistani family, a grieving daughter reconnects with her widowed father and discovers a life altering truth about him.

Quicksand
Director: Naya Hemphill
2024, 15 min, fiction
Struggling through the monotony of domestic life, a young mother encounters a mysterious new friend who unravels the depths of her unfulfilled desires, leading her on a transformative journey of self-discovery.

Steering
Director: Luluh Abathra
2024, 7 min, fiction
A grieving brother on a road trip is forced to confront his past when a chance encounter with a wounded rat leads to acceptance.

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About the lab: The Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab for the Promotion of Mental Health via Cinematic Arts (PPSL) examines representations of mental illness/mental health on screen and supports students in the production of original media art works that challenge stereotypes. Applications for the 2025 PPSL fellowships will be accepted by the end of the 2024 Spring quarter.

Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab – Promotion of Mental Health via Cinematic Arts
School of Communication, Northwestern University
studiolab.northwestern.edu

Host or Publisher The Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab