2026 FESTIVALApril 8-18, 2026Lansing, MI

The Capital City Film Festival celebrates artists from around the world by curating outstanding multimedia experiences for the community.

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American Film Institute Shorts

The American Film Institute DWW+ educates traditionally underrepresented filmmakers through the production cycle of a short film, providing hands-on instruction led by industry experts. Since the program’s inception in 1974, DWW+ has trained over 350 filmmakers who give voice to historically underrepresented perspectives. DWW+ is proud of its legacy as one of the first gender impact programs in the cinematic arts, as well as one of the longest-running and preeminent film and television workshops nationwide. All of the films in this collection at CCFF are directed by DWW+ alumni.

DATE
Saturday, April 12, 2025
TIME
10:30 AM
VENUE
Stage One
FILMS RUNTIME
131 Minutes
TICKETS
$5
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Evil, I
Sixteen
Ukrainian Dance Movie
Made in USA
Interloper
Chocolate With Sprinkles
Bloomed in the Water

The Long Way Home

Even whistle-blowers need childcare.

DIRECTOR
Chloe de Carvalho
YEAR
2024
RUNTIME
20 Minutes
LANGUAGE
English / Spanish
COUNTRY
United States

Evil, I

A gifted haitian girl has one day to discover the key to her dangerous psychic power and decide once and for all who she really is: good or evil.

DIRECTOR
Vanessa Beletic
YEAR
2024
RUNTIME
13 Minutes
LANGUAGE
English
COUNTRY
United States

Sixteen

A sixteen year old girl is outed at church one Sunday morning.

DIRECTOR
Naomi Iwamoto
YEAR
2024
RUNTIME
14 Minutes
LANGUAGE
English
COUNTRY
United States

Ukrainian Dance Movie

A professional dancer, whose career was cut short by war, is urged to take the reins of her spirited fathers folk dance school, after he announces his own life-altering decision.

DIRECTOR
Roxy Toporowych
YEAR
2024
RUNTIME
19 Minutes
LANGUAGE
English, Ukrainian
COUNTRY
United States

Made in USA

After getting abruptly fired from her job of over 20 years, a dutiful Chinese-American casino host turns her home into a birth hotel to regain control of her life.

DIRECTOR
Desdemona Chiang
YEAR
2024
RUNTIME
16 Minutes
LANGUAGE
English / Mandarin
COUNTRY
United States

Interloper

A troubled 16 year old girl disrupts the harmony in her new foster home.

DIRECTOR
Kerry O’Neill
YEAR
2024
RUNTIME
16 Minutes
LANGUAGE
English
COUNTRY
United States

Chocolate With Sprinkles

On their 25th wedding anniversary, a bickering married couple is given one day to do something they haven’t done in 25 years – work on their marriage.

DIRECTOR
Huriyyah Muhammad
YEAR
2024
RUNTIME
19 Minutes
LANGUAGE
English
COUNTRY
United States

Bloomed in the Water

Bloomed in the Water is a portrait of a young Korean- American woman finding self-worth through the moments of difficulty, shame, and humor that inform the first-generation immigrant experience.