55+ Films I watched at AIFF 2024
5. featrd

55+ Films I watched at AIFF 2024

4 min read
Photo I took on stage behind the filmmakers looking into the Beartooth Theater Pub.

I had the unique opportunity to work up in Anchorage, Alaska just before the holidays with the AIFF 2024 team, joining old friends, while making new ones. It was chilly, but nothing I wasn’t used to with Canadian winters. The view of the mountains surrounding the city was breath-taking.

I was primarily covering the festival (video, photo and social media) but I also moderated two Q & As - the Female Filmmakers Showcase block and another with director and DP of The Empathizer. My favorite experience was getting to join the excursions hosted by Greatland Adventures, in particular the hike on the Matanuska Glacier, one of the largest, most accessible glaciers.

I’ve never watched this many films in this time period, but it was so inspiring - the diversity, the talent, the stories. Here is the list of films I watched at the 24th Anchorage International Film Festival 2024.

Feature Films:

  1. Bob Trevino Likes It, Directed by Tracie Laymon - Narrative Feature
  2. Unearth, Directed by John Hunter Nolan, Auberin Strickland, Dunedin Strickland - Documentary Feature
  3. Champions of the Golden Valley, Directed by Ben Sturgulewski - Documentary Feature
  4. Ultimate Citizens, Directed by Francine Strickwerda - Documentary Feature
  5. Porcelain War, Directed by Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev - Documentary Feature
  6. Midwinter, Directed by Ryan Balas - Narrative Feature
  7. 76 Days Adrift, Directed by Joe Wein - Documentary Feature
  8. Life's a Bitch, Directed by Xavier Seron - Narrative Feature
  9. Battersea, Directed by T.J. Sandella - Narrative Feature
  10. The Empathizer, Directed by Fred Le - Documentary Feature
  11. The Way We Speak, Directed by Ian Ebright - Narrative Feature
  12. Uphill, Directed by Adam Boyer - Narrative Feature

Short Films:

13. Demon Box (Presented by Alaska Jewish Museum), Directed by Sean Wainsteim - Narrative Short

14. Bear Guardians, Directed by Mariah Wilson - Documentary Short

BLOCK: Strange Love Shorts

15. The Understudy

16. Allergic to Love

17. Tacenda

18. Church Camp

19.The Ghost

20. Eat Surf Love

21. Things I Made My roommate do

BLOCK: Fistful of Suspense Shorts

22. Adjoining

23. The Bougie Man

24. Shark in the Dark

25. Stigmata

26. Betty Bites Back

27. Pay Back

28. Endzgiving

BLOCK: Spotlights Selection Shorts #1

29. Ripple

30. Mecanica

31. Why Dogs Howl

32. Esperance to Fremantle

33. The River

34. Revenge of the Language Master 1757B

35. Black Silk

BLOCK: Cinematic Variety Pack #1

36. Nena

37. Neither Donkey Nor Horse

38. Buckets

39. Safety State

40. Seafoam

BLOCK: Documentary Shorts #2

41. The Collector

42. Tentsítewahkwe

43. Designed by Disaster

44. Broken Flight*

45. Signal Fire: Towards Reconciliation*

BLOCK: Female Filmmaker showcase shorts

46. Vessel

47. Derive

48. Yazidi Women: From Victims to Survivors

49. The Icefield: An Expedition Memoir

50. Sunflower Girl

51. Julian

After the Festival I was able to watch a few others (the filmmakers shared their work with me).

52. The Yellow Sponge is the Dish Sponge, Directed by Michele Noble - Narrative Short

53. A Beginners Guide to Giving Up, Directed by Jeremy Pion-Berlin - Narrative Short

54. Syncing Sinking, Directed by Estevan Padilla - Narrative Short

55. You First, Directed by Eliza Shin - Narrative Short

56. These moms are cooler than me, Directed by Andrew Bourne - Musical Narrative Short

57. Drum Song, Directed by Kelly Moneymaker - Documentary Feature

Filmmaker group photo at Anchorage Downtown Viewpoint, on Day 1’s excursion.
Filmmakers hiking the Matanuska Glacier
Filmmakers at the Anchorage Museum in front of the step and repeat.
Me speaking with Fred (director) and Bret (DP) of The Empathizer.
Me with filmmakers Leila (Vessel) Holly (Sunflower Girl) and Caroline (The Icefield).
Me with actor Patrick Fabian (The Way We Speak) on his birthday at the Alaska Experience Theater.
Me holding a mic attempting to speak French to the director of the film Life’s a Bitch.
Selfie with director Michele Noble (The Yellow Sponge is the Dish Sponge) and Holly Kaplan (Sunflower Girl)
Selfie with director Ian Ebright (The Way We Speak).
Selfie with Greg Taylor (a filmmaker) and director Tracie Laymon (Bob Trevino Likes It)
Filmmakers group photo at the Whale Gate at the Alaska Native Heritage Center.
Mailyne K. Briggs

Mailyne K. Briggs

A Philippines born, Canadian raised filmmaker, writer, artist, entrepreneur and Mama, Mai centers stories about women-of-color, the immigrant experience, and being Filipinx in the diaspora while exploring themes of identity, belonging and home.