(Daniel Robin, US, 7 min)

A film about time, memory, fear, and the challenges of holding onto joy.

(Sarah Seené & Maxim Corbeil-Perron, Canada, 18 min)

Lightning is a combination of thunder and intense electromagnetic radiation, whose components are in the visible part of the spectrum. As unpredictable as it is sudden, this natural phenomenon leaves its mark on those who experience it. The visible spectrum is a portrait of five people who survived the impact of the lightning. Each of their experiences is unique in its physicality, its metaphysical dimension or its philosophical meaning. Through the intimacy of their stories, the essence of their faces, voices and bodies, and supported by the meta-media presence of a filmic texture electrified by static charges, this short documentary elaborates a sensible reflection about life when it has brushed so suddenly against death.

(Lisa Danker, US, 6 min)

On the day of Fidel Castro’s death in 2016 in Miami, I recorded the celebratory rituals of clanging pots that filled the cemetery where my grandparents are buried. I remembered learning from them who Castro was, thirty years earlier. Reflecting on that conversation in the context of U.S.-Cuba relations, Clanging suggests that nothing less than the future is at stake as the aims of imperialism resound.

(Karan Talwar, India, 9 min)

A mother’s voice guides her son’s hands through the making of a popular Punjabi delicacy called Sarson Ka Saag, meaning Mustard Greens. This is him imitating his mother’s movements; his childhood observations of her over the kitchen slab, of attempting to inherit broken pieces of a partitioned culture. It’s a relationship maintained over audio notes and some shreds of fond memories. Made on b/w 16mm film, the film uses mustard and spices in its developing process. Physical testaments of mustard leaves and stains from spices form a gastronomical archive.

(Sarah Ballard, 7 min)

Echos of a time in my grandmother’s life that she no longer remembers—a fractured memory recollected through proxy figures Frances Farmer and Marguerite Duras—a mirror is a placeless place.

(Cris Miranda, Brazil, 14 min)

In the salt chuckled of rocks

(Linda Izcali Scobie, US, 2 min)

a tendency to stay in motion

(Kathryn Ramey, US, 10 min)

An acronym for swimming at your own risk, SAYOR refers to a forum without a moderator. Three years in the lives of three AMAB (assigned male at birth) children with a parent/observer. What does it mean to be male in the 21st century?

(Zack Parrinella, US, 4 min) ** Photosensitivity warning! **

The simultaneous beauty and decay of various spaces are axes of an exploration of colors and tones.

The Engauge Experimental Film Festival, now in its 5th year, celebrates the art of analog experimental filmmaking. Only films that originate on celluloid film are eligible for the festival. In 2022, Engauge features 73 films from 15 countries, showcasing a wide variety of experimental techniques.

Most films will be presented as digital transfers, but the majority of film programs will also include 16mm and 35mm film prints. The festival closes with a solo show and expanded cinema performance by Kristin Reeves that will deploy nine 16mm projectors simultaneously in the NWFF lobby!

⚠️ Please note: NWFF patrons will be required to wear masks that cover both nose and mouth while in the building. We are not currently checking vaccination cards.