MetroShorts 1

This is the eighth edition of our popular program of films from the vibrant, creative community of filmmakers in D.C. and the immediate metro area.

Total running time: 63 minutes

Sudakas

Ricardo Betancourt
USA/Venezuela, 2025, 13 mins, Narrative, in English and Spanish with English subtitles, East Coast Premiere
What happens to highly educated people when they flee their home countries A lawyer and civil servant, Ricardo's mom had to leave Venezuela for her safety. She shares her feelings about her changed social position as an immigrant, now living in New Orleans and working as a hotel maid.

Kaju Katli

Sujay Khona
USA, 2025, 10 mins, Narrative, in English and Marathi with English subtitles
Consumed by grief, Akshay, a Marathi-American teenager, struggles to prepare his grandmother's traditional kaju katli recipe for the annual Diwali party.

A Poem

Vasilios Papaioannu
Greece/Italy, 2025, 3 mins, Experimental, in Greek with English subtitles
In an underground garage, a voice message becomes the testament to a love left in limbo, while fleeting images allude to the moment that led to it.

A Poet in Self-Exile James A Emanuel

Tyechia Lynn Thompson, Rodney Kimbangu
USA, 2025, 25 mins, Documentary, North American Premiere
Ranked by critics among the finest mid-century Black American poets, James A. Emanuel's commentary on racial injustice should have made him a household name, but his self-imposed exile to Paris altered that course. This insightful documentary traces his journey from Nebraska to France, revealing a legacy shaped by artistic conviction, intellectual clarity, and transatlantic vision.
#jamesaemanuelproject

Paralysis By Analysis

Jolene T. Carter
USA, 2025, 19 mins, Narrative, East Coast Premiere
When an anxious, perfectionist PhD student discovers an AI app that predicts the outcome of her decisions before she makes them, she thinks her worries are over.
#PBA

From the Hill to the Horizon

Rakhi Varma
USA, 2025, 17 mins, Documentary
On the road in her RV named Lucille, former Maryland Congresswoman Donna Edwards leaves Washington politics behind but not her fight for America's wild spaces. She's determined to visit all 63 national parks, despite the challenges of multiple sclerosis. Her travels reveal why public lands are for everyone, and why they matter now more than ever.