BIFF Shorts: Migrations

Fiction and nonfiction diasporic tales from around the globe. 111 minutes.

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"Until He’s Back"

Jacqueline Baylon (Dir), 40 minutes, Spain/Morocco, New York State Premiere

In Arabic, Catalan, English, French, and Spanish w/ English subtitles.

After learning that his son has died at sea trying to get to Spain, Ahmed Tchiche must find a way to get his son’s remains back home to Morocco so he and his family can have a proper farewell. Faisal Bouhafs, a Moroccan immigrant living in Spain, volunteers to help him.

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"Deaf"

Roy Arida (Dir), 35 minutes, Lebanon, Western New York Premiere

In Arabic w/ English subtitles.

Hassan is assembling wooden boards. His wife is dead. He is building her coffin. Tamara and Rami, the children, in their twenties, are helping him as best they can to fulfill the last wishes of the deceased: to be buried in her childhood village, abandoned for more than 20 years.

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“Chrystallid”

Esteban Powell (Dir), 8 minutes, Canada, US Premiere

In Spanish w/ English subtitles.

An experimental documentary exploring artist Carla Sierra Suarez's diasporic identity and struggles with mental illness. Intimate Mini-DV tapes and archival footage explore a dissociative journey from within. Director Esteban Powell is a BIFF 2023 (Vela) alumni.

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“The Test”

Claudia Myers, Laura Waters Hinson (Dir), 16 minutes, USA, Western New York Premiere

With dreams of becoming an American citizen to provide a better life for the family he hasn't seen in eight years, a Ghanaian maintenance worker enlists the help of two elderly residents of a Virginia retirement community to prepare for the biggest test of his life: the US Citizenship exam.

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“A Journey of Faith”

Gabriel Ponte-Fleary (Dir), 13 minutes, USA, Western New York Premiere

In Spanish w/ English subtitles.

The story of a Nicaraguan family who risk everything and take a leap of faith to migrate to the U.S. and how their lives take an unexpected turn when they are abducted and the U.S.-Mexico border by organized crime. A story of survival and faith. Director Gabriel Ponte-Fleary is a BIFF 2023 (Mi vida en 2 maletas / My Life in 2 Luggages) alumni.

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Presented in partnership with Journey's End WNY Refugee Film Festival.