The Films

• Year 2024
• Country United States
• Runtime 11 min
• Director Brody Kuhar

Michigan Premiere

In 2021, a tragic car accident left Veranique (or V, as she’s known at Rox) paralyzed from the waist down. After a long stint in the hospital and multiple surgeries, doctors told Varanique she would never walk again. While this news would reshape her life, it wouldn’t alter her vibrant spirit. Veranique knew the key to living a full life rested in her mindset. In 2022, V set out to find a job, landing at Memphis Rox, a climbing gym in South Memphis. Witnessing climbing for the first time, she thought the gym would keep her behind the front desk — that she couldn’t participate in the sport. Until she did. Surrounded by community, Veranique is now a regular climber with a philosophy on and off the wall that the sky’s the limit.

• Year 2023
• Country USA
• Runtime 14 min
• Director Trần Hoàng Calvin

Family Friendly

As Wisconsin reforms its expungement process, the opportunity for a second chance for the formerly incarcerated hinges on a local activist named Shanyeill McCloud.

• Year 2023
• Country USA
• Runtime 17 min
• Director Stephen Michael Simon

Filmmaker in Attendance, Michigan Premiere, Adult Language, Staff Pick

The city lifestyle left New York City artist Lala feeling hollow, forcing her to make the bold decision of uprooting herself and seeking solace in the untamed landscapes somewhere far west. Stripped of the familiar comforts of running water, electricity, and constant connectivity, she faces the daunting challenge of building a bountiful life from scratch.

• Year 2023
• Country USA
• Runtime 16 min
• Director Jason Whalen

Filmmaker in Attendance, Family Friendly, Representative in Attendance, Staff Pick

On a mission to clean up Ohio’s leaking, abandoned coal mines, Ohio University Art Professor John Sabraw teams up with an environmental engineer to develop a process that turns the toxic runoff pollution into paint. John’s artwork has been shown all over the world and proceeds have helped numerous environmental organizations and projects, including a new water treatment plant on the Sunday Creek Watershed in southeastern Ohio.