MAY 23 - 26, 2025
Short Film Preview
The Balticon Sunday Short Science Fiction Film Festival 2025 features many films world-wide.
A George RR Martin production of a Howard Waldrop story.
Mary Margaret Road Grader
Director: Steven Paul Judd
Original short story written in 1976 during the "Mad Max" post-apocalyptic era of Science Fiction.
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In writer/director Steven Paul Judd’s adaptation of Howard Waldrop's 1976 sci-fi short story, Mary Margaret Road-Grader transports us to a post-apocalyptic Indigenous world. Stakes are high for a new and controversial contender as she fights for her place amidst changing traditions.
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We open on a quiet night around a crackling fire. An elder, Billy Bob, is reminiscing of changing times to members of his village. Fading into his memories, he recounts “the day she came into our lives”.
The Reach
Director: Luca Caserta
​Stella Flanders is the oldest woman on Goat Island. In her entire life she has never crossed the reach that separates the isle from the mainland. She has spent her whole existence in that small, close-knit community that is almost as welcoming as a family and in which she has always had everything she needed. Maybe now the time has come for her to embark on that journey she never wanted to undertake...
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Stephen King's The Reach by Italian Director Luca Caserta. One of the last authorized Dollar Baby Stephen King Films. With song by Bruce Springsteen.
The Hobbyist
Director: George Vatistas
In search of an un-detectable poison, Sangstrom, a seemingly ordinary
man, seeks out a sagacious druggist at his eerie apothecary. The canny
druggist requires him to prove his merit, igniting a cat-and-mouse game that
winds up with Sangstrom getting more than he bargained for.
Based on the 1961 Short Story by Frederic Brown.
Invasion '53
Director: Danielle Weinberg
Danielle Weinberg's directorial debut is Invasion '53, a 10-minute short film about a man-eating alien who crashes a suburban cocktail party. The movie stars Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and was produced with Kurt Uebersax (Elf-Man, America's Most Wanted).
An Old Friend
Director: Nuk Suwanchote
An imaginary friend (Jason Faunt) finds out his sole purpose is to bring happiness to his child, only to discover his child is a 90 year old man (Tom Skerritt) on his deathbed.
Zerk
Director: Theo Jack-Monroe
For my college senior capstone film I decided to create a short film based in a fictional world I've been developing for years, starring my character Zerk.
I wrote, directed, designed characters, made 3D models, textured, rigged, did voice acting, and animated on the film. That being said, I couldn't have done it without all my peers who helped bring the film to reality (over 80 people!).
My plan is to continue this into a series.