10th Annual Santa Fe Independent Film Festival Announces First 10 Feature Film Selections
The Santa Fe Independent Film Festival represents Santa Fe as a world-class destination for films and theaters. These first 10 announced titles comprise about one-fourth of the feature films to be shown at the festival this October and will be followed with a full line-up of short films, educational events and parties at the hottest venues in downtown Santa Fe. Stay tuned for Opening Night and Closing Night announcements. Save the date for the tenth annual Santa Fe Independent Film Festival October 17-21, 2018. Early-bird Festival Passes are available at santafeindependent.com. Individual tickets and full schedule will be available to members in late September and to the public in early October.
Shoplifters
Directed by Hirokazu Koreeda
After one of their shoplifting sessions, Osamu and his son come across a little girl in the freezing cold. At first reluctant to shelter the girl, Osamu’s wife agrees to take care of her after learning of the hardships she faces. Although the family is poor, barely making enough money to survive through petty crime, they seem to live happily together until an unforeseen incident reveals hidden secrets, testing the bonds that unite them. Winner of the Palme d'Or.

On Her Shoulders
Directed by Alexandria Bombach
Twenty-three-year-old Nadia Murad’s life is a dizzying array of exhausting undertakings—from giving testimony before the U.N. to visiting refugee camps to soul-bearing media interviews and one-on-one meetings with top government officials. With deep compassion and a formal precision and elegance that matches Nadia’s calm and steely demeanor, filmmaker Alexandria Bombach follows this strong-willed young woman, who survived the 2014 genocide of the Yazidis in Northern Iraq and escaped the hands of ISIS to become a relentless beacon of hope for her people, even when at times she longs to lay aside this monumental burden and simply have an ordinary life. Winner of Directing Award U.S. Documentary at 2018 Sundance.
Loveling
Directed by Gustavo Pizzi
A Brazilian drama that premiered in World Dramatic Competition at Sundance 2018, Loveling directed by Gustavo Pizzi, starring Karine Teles (Second Mother), is a touching drama about family bonds and Irene, who has only a few days to overcome her anxiety before sending her eldest son out into the world.
Wild Nights With Emily Directed by Madeleine Olnek
Wild Nights With Emily is the story of the secret life of Emily Dickinson (played by Molly Shannon). The poet’s persona, popularized since her death, is that of a reclusive spinster—a delicate wallflower, too sensitive for this world. This film explores the vivacious, irreverent side of her that was covered up for many years and recently revealed—most notably Emily’s lifelong romance with another woman, Susan Dickinson, the wife of Emily’s brother. After Emily died, the mistress of Emily’s brother would publish Emily’s poems. A fierce rivalry between Emily’s beloved and her brother’s mistress in making known the work of this great poet is also the story of two sets of passionate, illicit lovers in a mysterious struggle for a place in history.
The Blessing
Directed by Hunter Robert Baker and Jordan Fein
Personal and crucial, The Blessing follows Lawrence, a Navajo coal miner raising his secretive daughter as a single father, struggling with his part in the irreversible destruction of their sacred mountain at the hands of America’s largest coal producer. Made with support from the International Documentary Association, the Points North Institute, and captured over the course of five years, the Emmy® Award winning film-making team gain unprecedented access to a family on the Navajo Nation in Arizona. Lawrence endures a life threatening injury and confronts the deep spiritual sacrifice he makes to provide for the people he loves. His daughter, Caitlin, discovers her inner identity and grapples with the expectations of her traditional father, while playing on the men’s varsity football team and being crowned homecoming queen. Closer than ever before, The Blessing bears witness to the unbridled will for survival on the reservation.
Revengeance
Directed by Jim Lujan and Bill Plympton
A teenage girl exacts revenge upon the biker gang and Senator/ex-wrestler named “Deathface.” Hapless bounty hunter Rod Rosse, The One Man Posse, accepts a job from this back-alley politician and finds himself entangled in a web of danger.

Animator and director Bill Plympton will be in attendance
The Silence of Others
Directed by Almundo Carracedo and Robert Bahar
The Silence of Others reveals the epic struggle of victims of Spain’s 40-year dictatorship under General Franco, who continue to seek justice to this day. Filmed over six years, the film follows victims and survivors as they organize the groundbreaking “Argentine Lawsuit” and fight a state-imposed amnesia of crimes against humanity, in a country still divided four decades into democracy. Winner of Panorama Audience Award and Peace Award at the 2018 Berlin International Film Festival.
Grass
Directed by Sang-Soo Hong
Sitting in a café, typing on a laptop, Areum (Kim Min-hee) eavesdrops on three dramatic situations unfolding in her general vicinity: a young woman bound for Europe and a male friend who erupt in vitriolic accusations, a washed-up actor trying to sweet-talk his way into staying with an old friend, and a narcissistic actor-director (Jung Jin-young) trying to rope a young writer into his next project. Playing out largely in long-take two-shots, these conversations create a kind of never-ending theatrical performance, with Areum as the anchor. With its raw emotions and seeming formal simplicity masking a complex episodic approach, Grass finds Korean master Hong Sang-soo setting up a fascinating narrative problem for himself and solving it as only he can.
Meow Wolf: The Origin Story  Directed by Jilann Spitzmiller and Morgan Capps
A group of artists in Santa Fe, NM become a DIY collective called Meow Wolf. Their immersive, large-scale exhibitions crack open a profitable niche in the arts industry, even as their social mission is challenged by the demands of rapid success. The group's members navigate fracture and loss for years in pursuit of their idealistic vision. When they spark the interest of George R. R. Martin and receive his support to take over an old bowling alley, Meow Wolf builds a massive exhibition with over 140 artists working at a breakneck pace. With the wild success of the House of Eternal Return, Meow Wolf now faces its own internal turmoil as it begins to change the lives of creatives everywhere.

Good Girls Get High Directed by Laura Terruso
With graduation looming, two academically gifted “good girls,” frustrated with their social standing in the high school hierarchy, get stoned on their last night of senior year in Good Girls Get High . After their experimentation hilariously runs awry, they ultimately learn that being “bad girls” isn’t as fun as it seems. The cast includes Sundance breakout star Abby Quinn ( Landline ), Stefanie Scott ( Insidious: Chapter 3, A.N.T. Farm ), and Isabelle Fuhrman ( The Hunger Games, Orphan ).
Festival Passes
On Sale Now
The 10th Annual Santa Fe Independent Film Festival: October 17th-21st, 2018. The Santa Fe Independent Film Fest begins October 17th and comes to a close October 21st, presenting films, panels, discussions, and parties in the heart of downtown Santa Fe. Over 100 films, five days and nights of community events, galas, educational panels and discussions, the hottest independent films of 2018 and much more...
Join Us for Our 10th Anniversary Gala
October 14th, 2018
WOW, TEN YEARS - what a wild decade of Santa Fe Independent Film Festivals to celebrate. This year’s fest is a milestone, an opportunity to honor our visionary leadership, remember our roster of distinguished honorees, educational panels and workshops, and award-winning films, and roll out our plans for the future to make SFIFF a must on the international film festival circuit.

Join SFIFF in celebration for a three-course meal at the beautiful Hotel Santa Fe to celebrate Ten Years of Excellence in Cinema by the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival!