Joey Skaggs: Metamorphosis, Cockroach Miracle Cure, Urania Leilus, The House, Panta Rei, The Hauntings of New Hope - Shorts Program - Online for 24 Hours and In Person at 7PM!

Friday, September 30, 2022 @ 7:00pm

NJ Film Festival
71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901

Joey Skaggs: Metamorphosis, Cockroach Miracle Cure – Judy Drosd (New York, New York)

Since the 60s, artist Joey Skaggs has pioneered the use of the mass media to make social political commentary. In 1981, Entomologist Dr. Josef Gregor (a.k.a. Joey Skaggs), along with his cult-like clinical volunteers, unveiled his revolutionary Cockroach Vitamin Pill developed to cure all ailments known to man including the common cold, acne, anemia, and menstrual cramps. It also made people invulnerable to nuclear radiation and could save humanity from self-annihilation. This short documentary is the sixth in the ongoing short film series of oral histories, "Joey Skaggs: Satire and Art Activism, 1960s to the Present... and Beyond". 2022; 27 min.

Urania Leilus – Andrew Serban (New York, New York)

A young female journalist is subjected to death threats and intimidation after witnessing human rights abuses at an ICE detention center for undocumented immigrant children. Urania Leilus is intended to be a warning about what might happen when a democracy succumbs to far-right extremists and descends into fascism — when immigrant children are ripped from their parents and locked up in cages without adequate food or medical care; when journalists and dissidents are regarded as “enemies of the people”, to be harassed, intimidated or "disappeared" by unidentified agents in unmarked vehicles — all of which have occurred (and continue to occur) in authoritarian regimes and have recently occurred in the United States. 2021; 21 min.

The House - Liang-Chun Lin (Los Angeles, California, USA)

Amy, the kind of person who would steal your vodka and replace it with water, moves into a haunted house for the great rent. She finds herself surrounded by ghosts whose personalities are suspiciously similar to her own. These beings don’t want justice or eternal rest. They want Hulu. They want potato chips. And they expect Amy to help. When Amy can no longer take their harassment, she decides to exorcise them…on a budget, of course. 2022; 9 min.

Panta Rei (everything is in flux) – KWA (Fishers, Indiana, USA)

"A New Cinema Where Your Perceptions are the Star"

Come along for this wild white-water ride where everything is becoming and nothing ever is.

A place where each audience members perceptions are the star of the show.

For no one walks into this same river twice; Life is flow in constant flux. 2022; 8 min.

The Hauntings of New Hope – Kasey Vincent (New Hope, Pennsylvania)

A short documentary profiling one of the most haunted locations in Pennsylvania; New Hope. Quirky, artsy, historical and haunted, this town is nestled in Bucks County and features The Ghost Tours of New Hope & The Creeper Gallery. 2022; 7 min.