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Home > Neumann Inspires Film Festival > Agenda
Explore the full weekend lineup for the 2026 Neumann Inspires Film Festival. Open each session below for locations, runtimes, film descriptions, workshops, special guests, and film festival details.
Friday, April 17
Location: McNichol Gallery
Start your festival experience by checking in, getting settled, and connecting with fellow attendees before the opening night events begin.
📍 Location: Meagher Theatre
⏱ Runtime: 1 hour 17 minutes
Colewell, starring Karen Allen, tells the story of Nora, a longtime postmaster in a rural Pennsylvania town whose life is upended when the USPS decides to close her office.
🎬 Kick off the festival with this powerful opening night feature, followed by a live Q&A with director Tom Quinn.
Opening Night Program:
- Prayer — Joseph Glass
- Opening Song — Matthew Glass
- Welcome — Sara McDermott Jain
- Notes on the Film — Jim Kain
- Opening Remarks — Dr. Chris Domes
- Live Q&A with director Tom Quinn (moderated by Professor Kerry Hustwit)
Location: Dining Hall
Keep the energy going after the feature film with the opening night reception.
Location: Multipurpose Hall
Stay for a lively late-night mix of student work, documentary storytelling, humor, and inventive short films.
The Dance — 3 min 55 sec (Neumann Student Submission)
Two people run into each other while listening to the same song. What begins as awkward rivalry becomes a shared experience.
Blood, Sweat, and Soul — 9 min 41 sec (High School Submission)
A look at body image and performance.
Relax — 6 min 51 sec (Neumann Student Submission)
Sky shows up late to class on test day and forgot to study. As he takes the test, things start to feel a little off.
The Nature of Dance — 8 min 22 sec (High School Submission)
A look at a unique type of dance: with trees.
Rumspringa — 3 min 56 sec
Three Amish guys on their first binge of freedom end up on the run from a bumbling highway patrolman.
Super Bois — 25 min
An indie filmmaker discovers his full potential by making a superhero movie with his brother, a young man with autism.
Saturday, April 18
Exhibit: Photography Exhibit & Podcast Listening Room — McNichol Gallery (ongoing throughout the day)
Short Film Block 1: Meagher Theatre
Begin Saturday with a thoughtful and creative lineup exploring humor, humanity, memory, community, and perseverance.
Soup! — 2 min 37 sec
God makes soup. The soup is intelligent life. Existential chaos follows.
The Dance — 3 min 55 sec (Neumann Student Submission)
Two strangers collide while listening to the same song, and an awkward encounter turns into connection.
Duck and Cover — 4 min 17 sec
A satirical take on school safety instructions.
Go Forth and Let Your Light Shine — 34 min (Neumann Student Submission)
A heart-warming look at the impact Dr. Joe Glass has had on the Neumann community during his years as a professor.
Improv Workshop: Multipurpose Hall
Presenter: Kristofer Hodge
This improv comedy workshop takes participants through fun, silly exercises designed to build character, plot, and setting.
Short Film Block 2: Meagher Theatre
This block mixes animation, documentary, civic reflection, biography, and comedy.
Paper — 3 min 40 sec
A kinetic animated music video inspired by a home-built Rube Goldberg machine and created in response to AL Lacey’s song.
Every Day but Sunday — 6 min 10 sec
A short documentary about bird photographer Dan Oh and the passion that transformed the way he sees the world.
Dare to Declare — 14 min 16 sec
This film brings the Declaration of Independence into the present, showing how the nation’s founding ideals remain relevant, contested, and powerful.
Frankenstein Too — 8 min 22 sec
An alienated son recounts the life of his Nobel Prize-winning father, Arthur Compton.
Excess — 9 min 37 sec
Three siblings must divide their father’s inheritance, raising difficult questions about identity, family, and the law.
No Such Thing as Perfect — 8 min
A portrait of ballet teacher Kirsta Sendziak, whose care for her students goes far beyond technique.
Neumann Productions Info Session: Bruder Room 107
Presenter: Sara McDermott Jain
Learn more about Neumann Productions, then choose from short films and a feature screening.
Short Film Block 3: “The Pursuit of Happiness” — Meagher Theatre
Frank’s Not Here — 12 min 30 sec
A man drives to Chicago to meet Frank, who doesn’t answer his calls.
Ubiquitous — 19 min 37 sec (Student Film)
An up-and-coming filmmaker living with Borderline Personality Disorder spirals into obsession in pursuit of best picture.
The Emancipation of Mimi — 12 min 30 sec
A 9-year-old Mariah Carey superfan tries to earn enough money to see his favorite singer perform.
Feature Film: Normandy
Runtime: 52 minutes
Set in Normandy, this documentary follows four young adults as they accompany World War II veterans back to the beaches and battlefields where they fought, confronting the human cost of freedom along the way.
Lunch: Available for purchase in the dining hall.
Directing Actors Workshop: Multipurpose Hall
Presenters: Pete Postiglione and Val MacAdoo
Learn the ins and outs of directing actors in this fun, interactive workshop.
Short Film Block 4: Meagher Theatre
This lineup explores identity, history, anxiety, resilience, and migration.
Blood, Sweat, and Soul — 9 min 41 sec (High School Submission)
A look at body image and performance.
A Fateful Weekend — 13 min 47 sec
The weekend of JFK’s assassination as seen through the eyes of a seven-year-old boy trying to process a nation’s grief.
Relax — 6 min 51 sec (Neumann Student Submission)
A late arrival, a test day, and a creeping sense that something is not quite right.
Ball Lightning — 12 min
The true story of a refugee fleeing the effects of Soviet-run East Germany and beginning a new life in the United States.
Stage Combat Workshop: Multipurpose Hall
Presenter: Elizabeth Meizenzahl
Prepare to get moving as you learn the basics of stage combat for the screen.
Short Film Block 5: Meagher Theatre
This block brings together poetic, documentary, and deeply personal stories from a range of voices and backgrounds.
The Shell — 6 min 22 sec
Haunted by the world’s relentless cries, a young woman seeks solace where the sea swallows every sound.
Dreams — 14 min 52 sec (High School Submission)
A documentary exploring the hopes and aspirations of people from Ukraine and the United States across three generations.
Fish Dance — 15 min 58 sec
A female painter living in isolation struggles to overcome loss.
Firstborn — 12 min 30 sec
A deeply personal Tongan drama about pregnancy, caregiving, grief, joy, and the continuation of legacy.
Location: Meagher Theatre
Presenter: Janis Chakars
Featuring: Sam Katz and Tilottama (Tima) Karlekar
Join a timely conversation about the power of film to preserve history, shape memory, and influence the stories a culture tells about itself.
Location: Meagher Theatre
Runtime: Approximately one hour per episode
This multi-part documentary series explores American history, democracy, and identity through the story of Philadelphia, using one city as a lens to understand the forces that shaped the nation.
Location: Meagher Theatre
Wrap up the day with comedy and a special performance by the Neumann Dance Team.
Location: Multipurpose Hall
Close out the festival with food, performances, raffle baskets, and awards in a celebratory sendoff.
Celebration includes:
- Buffet-style dinner
- Neumann Jazz Band performance
- Raffle baskets and thank-you’s
- Awards ceremony
- Vocal performance
Awards categories:
- Best Photograph
- Best High School Film
- Best Animated Film
- Best Documentary Film
- Best Student Film
- Best Experimental Film
- Best Narrative Film
- Inspiration Award
- Audience Award
- Best of Fest
