Duke Independent Film Festival (DIFF) is Duke’s only annual film festival, entirely organized and populated by Duke students.

Note from the festival organizers:

Every year, DIFF strives to find new ways for Duke’s student filmmakers to showcase their cinematic talents and foster our vibrant film community on campus. For our 6th annual film festival this year, innovation came to us when we were forced to present the 2020 program virtually due to a global pandemic. When the world seems like it may fall apart, cinema acts as an artistic glue to bring us all back together, and we are proud to present another lineup of incredible student films that do just that.

At 7:00 PM (EST) on May 2, the 2020 DIFF Festival Program goes LIVE at the link below:

https://warpwire.duke.edu/w/GbgDAA/

2020 DIFF Festival Awards:
Best Picture: Le Fumeur by Nick Berray
Best Director: Darkness Purrs by Josh Yip
Best Cinematography: Daydream by John Ball
Best Editing: Whale Eyes by James Robinson
Best Documentary: Siekyken: A Community at the Brink of Change by Jessica Wang

2020 DUKE INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAM

D.A.R.L.I.N.G.
            Josh Yip ‘20
            A cosmic voyager finds life.

Lela
            Kenan Kaptanoglu ‘20
            On a cold night, Arthur hears a knock at his door. He opens it to find Lela, a mysterious woman
            who seems to know much more about him than he knows about her. 

In Memory
            Miranda Gershoni ‘22
            An exploration of grief and memory through sound and image. 

NC Folk Festival
            Mingyong Cheng, MFA|EDA
            A celebration of the diverse independent artists at the 2019 NC folk festival.

Godspeed
            Sade Abiodun ‘18 & Freewater Productions
            A meditation on the notions of personhood, faith, and intergenerational community. Poetry,
            music, and visuals converge to lead us through the life of a Black girl as she becomes a Black
            woman.

Reconsidering the Oyster
            Lara Breitkruetz ‘20
            An artful interpretation of North Carolina oyster farming. 

Darkness Purrs
            Josh Yip ‘20
            When a mysterious cat shows up on their back porch, three roommates are forced to confront
            the darkness beyond their four walls.

Falling Into the Sky
            Miriam Cho, Duke Divinity School
            An exploration of agoraphobia.

After the Night Shift
            Nick Berray ‘20
            A woman deals with the aftermath of a difficult break-up.

Whale Eyes
            James Robinson ‘20
            A filmmaker comes to terms with his visual condition through interviews with family, and friends.

Beyond the Horizon
           Ryan Hill ‘20
            A mouse finds himself driven to explore the world beyond the familiar, but the tree that protects
            him cannot let go so easily.

How Did Louisiana Lose Its Coast?
            James Robinson ‘20
            As the impacts of sea level rise and increasingly powerful hurricanes converge, communities of
            Native Americans are once again being pushed off of their land.

Quarantine
            Mingyong Cheng, MFA|EDA
            An experimental look at variant emotions during the COVID-19.

A Kite Without a String
            Shailen Parmar ‘21
            A college student pays home to his lifelong hobby of building and flying radio control airplanes.

Tenderfoot
            Zoey Kang & Elizabeth Butcher ‘20
            A day in the life of a college freshman who navigates the social cliques and rhythms on
            campus.

To Hug
            Elizabeth Lee ‘21
            A vulnerable girl’s boyfriend helps her find the strength to do what she hates most: hugging.

Saving Salma
            James Robinson ‘20
            A documentarian combines twelve photographs, a fifteen minute vertical video, and a Skype
            interview to tell the heroic story of a conservation expert who saves a baby elephant in
            Sumatra.

The Sky Turned Upside Down
            Holly Ren ‘20
            The healing process of a student grappling with her Asian immigrant identity through visual
            poetry. 

Daydream
            John Ball ‘21
            A girl is locked within the confines of her own mind.

Who Is Chris Teufel?
            Quinten Sansosti ‘20
            An intimate look at a renaissance man’s ruminations on a life fueled by a passion for artistic
            creation.  

Breathe
            Cheyenne Kim ‘22
            A journey through the mind of a stressed-out, first-generation college student.

The Hammocks
            Lucy Burnett ‘20
            The youngest member of a  professional hammocking family prepares to break a world record. 

Wutang
            Miriam Cho, Duke Divinity School
            A trek across Durham with local artist, Wutang McDougal.

When the Streets are Empty
            Quinten Sansosti ‘20
            An evil presence converges on two brothers in quarantine. 

Sieyken: A Community at the Brink of Change
            Jessica Wang ‘21
            The impact of climate change on wildlife in the indigenous community of Sieyken in the Naso
            territory, Panama.

Le Fumeur
            Nick Berray ‘20
            A solitary French smoker begins to have strange encounters.

MIXTAPE
            Josh Yip ‘20
            Late at night on his way home, a young man comes across a magical Walkman.

Sponsored by the Duke Independent Film Festival (DIFF), the Program in the Arts of the Moving Image (AMI), and the Department of Art, Art History and Visual Studies (AAHVS).