Seventh Annual PBS Online Film Festival Thinks Outside the Box Office with 25 Independent Short Films Amplifying Diverse Voices and Viewpoints

The Festival Returns to All PBS Digital Platforms July 16-27

Click Here to Watch the Trailer

ARLINGTON, VA; JULY 12, 2018 - Today, PBS announced that the Webby Award-nominated PBS Online Film Festival will return for a seventh year July 16-27 and will feature 25 short-form independent films from multiple public media partners and PBS member stations. The PBS Online Film Festival is part of a multi-platform initiative to increase the reach and visibility of independent films, and to provide a showcase for diverse storytelling that inspires and engages.

The festival will be available via PBS and station digital platforms, including PBS.org. As in previous years, films will also be available to stream on YouTube and Facebook.

This year's lineup features films from the Black Public Media, Center for Asian American Media (CAAM), Independent Television Service (ITVS), Latino Public Broadcasting, National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP), Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC), POV, To The Contrary, Vision Maker Media and World Channel, as well as PBS local member stations, including DPTV (Detroit), KLRU-TV Austin PBS, Louisiana Public Broadcasting, NET (Nebraska), Twin Cities Public Television, UNC-TV, Vermont PBS, WNET (New York) and WSIU (Illinois). Promotional partners for the PBS Online Film Festival include Independent Lens and World Channel.

Every year, PBS and its member stations challenge ourselves to elevate the breadth and depth of innovative storytelling through our work with the PBS Online Film Festival, said Ira Rubenstein, Chief Digital & Marketing Officer. The world of filmmaking is changing, and filmmakers can make as much of an impact on small screens as they do on big screens. The festival amplifies unique stories from an exciting collection of filmmakers across the country, reaching viewers on platforms as diverse as the films themselves.

The PBS Online Film Festival has become a popular annual online event, generating more than 6 million streams over the course of the festival's history. The festival also received a nomination in the 2015 Webby Awards category for Online Film & Video: Variety (Channel).

Viewers are encouraged to vote for their favorite film to win the Most Popular award, and a distinguished panel of eight jury members will select their favorite film of the festival for the Juried Prize. This year's jury members include International Documentary Association Executive Director Simon Kilmurry, Black Film Critics Circle Founder Mike Sargent, WGBH Educational Foundation Executive Producer Judith Vecchione, Firelight Media & Films Documentary Lab Manager Chloe Walters-Wallace, Digital Media Executive Adnaan Wasey, Senior Director of Programming & Development at PBS Pamela Aguilar, FRONTLINE Producer & Editor Michelle Mizner and American Experience Producer Eric Gulliver.

For updates on the festival, follow #PBSFilmFest on Twitter or visit http://www.pbs.org/filmfestival.

Short films featured in the 2018 PBS Online Film Festival include:

Black Public Media

Heroes of Color

An educational video series highlighting the outstanding achievements of people of color.

CAAM

Flip the Record

In this 1980s coming-of-age story, a Filipino American teen flips the narrative by teaching herself how to DJ.

Our Time

A dark family secret opens up a young child's eyes to a sobering reality, but also love.

DPTV

Hungry for Love

Two down-and-out foodies embark on an all-night dining adventure through Sapporo, Japan.

The Book Club

A sequel to the stop-motion short film The List, The Book Club is, at heart, a love story, but carries a deeper message about staying true to oneself.

ITVS

Pops Ep. 1 La Guardia Adjusts to Fatherhood

Pops tells three stories of African Americans from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds and regions, all deeply engaged in the beautiful struggle of fatherhood.

The F Word Ep. 1 F Is for: Foster Care'

A queer Bay Area couple bumble through a bureaucratic maze as they seek to form their family by adopting from foster care.

KLRU

Animal Facts Club Presents - Endangered Rituals

The curious mating rituals of the endangered Attwater Prairie Chicken and Houston Toad.

Latino Public Broadcasting

Caracol Cruzando

A Costa Rican girl decides if she will bring her pet turtle across the U.S. border.

Louisiana Public Broadcasting

Mr. United States

Today, Avery D. Wilson appears to be a confident pillar of his community, but in this uplifting story, he reveals otherwise. Avery was bullied as a child and later questioned how being gay would affect his faith. As an adult, he feared how his parents would react to his secret. It wasnt until years later that Avery learned to accept himself - to love himself - and become Mr. United States.

NALIP

Desde el principio

In the darkness of a soundproof recording studio, a conversation sparks between two voice actors dealing with a shared tragedy.

The Melancholy Man

The Melancholy Man tells the story of the world's saddest man who meets the world's saddest woman. Through a fantastical lens, these characters come together in their harmonious misery and find something that surprises them both.

NET Nebraska

Total Eclipse of the Heartland

From sky to prairie, relive the Great American Eclipse of 2017 in 360 degrees.

PIC

Ka Piko

When his girlfriend dies during childbirth, Makana, a young Native Hawaiian man, must perform a traditional birthing ritual with his girlfriend's overbearing father.

POV

Redneck Muslim

A Muslim hospital chaplain honors his Southern heritage while challenging white supremacy.

To The Contrary

Ties That Bind

A personal and heartfelt documentary on one familys experience with gender

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