Outdoor Shorts: Film Festival

A perfect summer night experience!

Outdoor Shorts 2021

“The New Normal”

Friday, August 20th & Saturday, August 21st

(Rain date: Sunday, August 22nd)

Arrive 7PM | Showtime 8pm

Tickets available at the door for night two.

$25 Door | $36 VIP

Treat yourself while showing GARNER your support! This special VIP ticket package will grant admission to Outdoor Shorts 2021 in addition to prime seating and free gourmet popcorn and drink.

Live Music Duo:

Jacquelyn Drechsler - Flute and Matthew Baier – Guitar

This Year’s Lineup

Ale Libre by Maya Cueva
A criminalized organizer and unapologetic immigrant prepares for one of the biggest moments of her life—her deportation case—and the risk of being ripped from her home and family.

An Infinite Feeling by Daniel Aguilar
A mother and son are forced to understand one another while going through the stresses of COVID.

Aria by Christopher Poole
When a young couple install a "smart security system" in their home, they become increasingly paranoid about what might be lurking outside their front door.

Choir by Aisha Amin
For the members of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, singing has brought with it friendship, confidence, and a sense of belonging.

Full Picture by Jacob Reed
Actress, comedian, activist, and wheelchair user, Santina Muha is experiencing something new in the age of teleconferencing: choosing when (or if) to disclose her disability.

I'm Free Now, You Are Free by Ash Goh Hua
A reflection on the reunion of a young man and his mother, a formerly incarcerated political prisoner—and a meditation on Black family preservation and the struggle for freedom.

I'm Not Tired! by Birgit Rathsmann and Tim Platt
A series of animated fables told to a puppet who will not go to sleep without being told stories.

Teaching in Quarantine by Lydia Cornett
A violist, barre instructor, and chemistry teacher grapple with the realities of teaching in quarantine. A celebration of—and tribute to—women educators in New York City.

This Fog by Jeff Stern
Shot on the harbor islands of New Hampshire’s seacoast, This Fog attempts to capture our strange and lonely, sometimes terrifying, sometimes beautiful pandemic lives.

The Festival and Location

Outdoor Shorts 2021 is GARNER Arts Center’s 5th annual short film festival set in one of the Hudson Valley’s most unique historic sites, the GARNER Historic District, a 14-acre repurposed 1800’s textile mill complex located in West Haverstraw, NY in North Rockland county. Outdoor Shorts will present a series of curated independent short films on two evenings over a single weekend. The same films will be shown each night.

This Year’s Program

Outdoor Shorts Film Festival 2021: “The New Normal” highlights a diversity of stories and filmmakers. As we optimistically look toward an emergence from the global pandemic and continue striving for greater peace and equity in a changing world, these stories touch upon the kinds of insights and changes, joys and sorrows, adaptations and surprises that the experiences of the last year have wrought.

Visitor Experience

The films will be projected onto a large outdoor screen. The audience will be seated outdoors at a safe physical distance. Live music will accompany the audience’s arrival and precede the screenings. Food and beverage service from the on-site restaurant and craft brewery will be available, as well. Audiences will be greeted with an introduction from the Program’s Curators or Filmmakers before the first screening. Each evening concludes with a Q and A session with participating filmmakers.

COVID Safety

This is an outdoor event with social distancing observed. Safety protocols will be in place. Feel free to write with additional questions: info@garnerartscenter.org

The Outdoor Shorts 2021 Curating Team Wayne Cobham, Susanna Styron, Kristi Zea Click to Meet the Curators

Outdoor Shorts 2021

Meet the Curators

After more than 35 years as an entertainer, WAYNE COBHAM still derives the utmost of pleasure from performing. Wayne has been playing trumpet since his early childhood. His career began in the drum and bugle corps of New York. He was hooked on the trumpet for life. In his teenage years, it seemed a natural progression for Wayne to move on to his own bands. He gathered around himself some of the finest young musicians available. All the while, Wayne was building a strong following and solid reputation as a highly respected trumpet player throughout the flourishing New York music scene. In the late 70’s Wayne found a new love that would bring him parallel acclaim to his prowess with his horn. Computer programming was in its infancy and Wayne became one of its pioneers. Wayne was a major part of the MIDI revolution, and fostered a productive business as, consultant, clinician, producer, and educator. Using his new-found computer skills, he provided consultation to many well known musicians who wished to incorporate the cutting edge tools of the trade. His computer skills were utilized over many different genres of music including but not limited to hip hop, R&B, rock and roll, jazz, pop and gospel garnering him 2 Grammys along the way. These acknowledgements led to his membership and voting status with NARAS.

SUSANNA STYRON is a screenwriter, director and documentary filmmaker. Her award-winning narrative short, House of Teeth, showed at GARNER Arts Center’s Outdoor Shorts in 2017, and numerous other film festivals. Susanna’s debut feature, Shadrach, starring Harvey Keitel and Andie MacDowell, which she wrote and directed, premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Susanna has written TV movies for Lifetime and Hallmark Hall of Fame, whose casts include such actors as Blythe Danner, Faye Dunaway, Peter Fonda and Ruby Dee, among others. She wrote and directed for Sidney Lumet’s TV series 100 Centre Street; wrote for the TV series Borgia; and directed the web series All Downhill From Here, starring Brooke Adams. Her feature documentary, Out of My Head, premiered at MoMA’s Doc Fortnight 2018 and won best international documentary at the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival. Susanna’s non-fiction essays have been published in The Yale Review, Spin Magazine, The New York Times, and Real Simple magazine. She teaches TV writing at Princeton University.

KRISTI ZEA has been in the contemporary film scene for over three decades and is acclaimed for her work as a Production Designer, Costume Designer and Producer of major feature films: as Costume Designer, her work is seen in Alan Parker’s Fame (1980), Shoot the Moon (1982), and Birdy (1984) as well as James L. Brooks’Terms of Endearment (1983) and Larry Kasdan’s Silverado  (1985). She then production designed Martin Scorsese’s films New York Stories (1989), Goodfellas (Oscar Winner 1990),  and The Departed  (Oscar Winner 2006); Jonathan Demme’s films Married to the Mob (1988), Beloved (1998), Silence of the Lambs (Oscar Winner 1991) Philadelphia  (Oscar Winner 1993), and Manchurian Candidate (2004). She was nominated for an Oscar in production design on Sam Mendes’ Revolutionary Road (2008). Zea assoc. produced James L. Brooks’ Broadcast News (1987) and produced Oscar nominee As Good As It Gets (1997).  She also produced and directed American Master’s documentary Everybody Knows… Elizabeth Murray (2017). Zea’s most recent credits include: Production Designer and Director of two episodes of NBC’s series New Amsterdam (2018) in addition to Director of HBO’s Critic’s Choice nominee Notes from the Field (2018). Recently she directed an art performance short Talking Pictures (2019) starring the ekphrastic poet and educator Bob Holman.

Thank You to Our Event Sponsors!

The Ebanietti Family

Stay Tuned for Future Announcements!