Still from The Last Puestero.
Don't miss Shorts Program #2 at the 2026 New Jersey Film Festival this Friday, February 13!
Here is the line-up.
Where The Rain Stops – Dojin Kim (Seoul, South Korea) In an endless green plain, two young robot siblings live under the care of their guardian robot. One day, the guardian breaks down from severe rust and stops functioning. Left alone, the siblings must learn to survive on their own. Soon, dark rain clouds begin to cover their world. Hoping to find a place where the rain might stop, the two embark on a journey across the vast plain. 2025; 9 min.
Ball Lightning – Catriona Trina Baker (Sudbury, Massachusetts) Ball Lightning follows the story of Gusta, a refugee who fled the personal and social effects of Soviet run East Germany after the end of WWII and immigrated to the United States in the 1960s. The story is told through the eyes of the surrogate daughter that she raised after she was forced to give away her own infant daughter as the iron curtain rose. Gusta serves as an example of survival, kindness and the fortitude of human resilience. The film is dedicated to her lost daughter, Esther, a reminder that the children separated from families because of war are never forgotten by those who love them. 2025; 12 min.
The Human Side of Plastic: Abby Barrows – Andrew Lynch, Ben Ayers, Rush Sturges (London, United Kingdom) On Deer Isle, Maine, home to one of the world’s most productive lobster ports, warming waters and invisible microplastic pollution threaten a centuries-old way of life. As veteran lobsterman Joel Billings and his daughter Hannah reckon with the possible end of their family’s tradition, neighbor and microplastics researcher Abby Barrows offers a vision for a more sustainable future through plastic-free aquaculture. 2025; 18 min.
"Chota Bheem" - The Snared King of Bandhavgarh – Anshuman Sharma (East Brunswick, New Jersey) I am a wildlife lover. In November 2024, I was traveling through the tiger reserves of Madhya Pradesh, driven by nothing more than the hope of witnessing a tiger in the wild. On the morning of November 25th, during a safari in the Khitauli Zone of Bandhavgarh, I had no idea that fate had something far greater in store. With the most basic camera gear, I captured a few quiet moments of a tiger—majestic, yet visibly worn. It was only later that I realized what I had witnessed: one of the last known sightings of the legendary tiger "Chota Bheem". When I returned to the U.S., I couldn’t forget his eyes. They stayed with me—haunting, questioning, pleading. As if asking me to share his story with the world. What began as a chance encounter turned into a calling. As I researched deeper into poaching and systemic lapses in wildlife protection, the urgency grew stronger. I never set out to make a documentary. But perhaps I was meant to. Perhaps I was chosen to bring this story to light. "Chota Bheem" - The Snared King of Bandhavgarh is my humble tribute—not just to a tiger, but to all lives in the wild struggling to survive against cruelty and indifference. If this film can help save even one life, then my purpose will be fulfilled. 2025; 25 min.
The Last Puestero – Belle Casares (Patagonia, Argentina) The Last Puestero is a short documentary that tells the story of Adonai, a gaucho -or Argentine cowboy- who spends most of his days alone in a remote Patagonian outpost, protecting cattle from poachers and pumas. While deeply proud of his work and the skills it demands, he struggles with the loneliness of being away from his wife and children in town. As he hopes his son will carry on the puestero tradition, he faces the painful reality that changing times may bring an end to this way of life. In Spanish, subtitled. 2025; 28 min.
Shorts Program #2 of the New Jersey Film Festival takes place this Friday, February 13, 2026 – Online for 24 Hours beginning at midnight Eastern USA time on this day. Get more info and buy tickets here.
The 44th Bi-Annual New Jersey Film Festival will be taking place on select Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between January 23-February 22, 2026. The Festival will be a hybrid one as we will be presenting it online as well as doing in-person screenings at Rutgers University. Most of the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. VOD start times are at 12 Midnight Eastern USA. Each General Admission Ticket or Festival Pass purchased is good for both the virtual and the in-person when both are offered. The in-person screenings will be held in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ beginning at 5PM or 7PM on their show date. General Admission Ticket=$15 Per Program; In-Person Only Student Ticket=$10 Per Program. For more info on the Film festival go here: https://newjerseyfilmfestivalspring2026.eventive.org/welcome
