Almost Home: 2025 Spring MFA Documentary Film Screening

The Department of Art & Art History presents a spring screening of short films by first-year MFA students in the Documentary Film program. Q&A with filmmakers and reception to immediately follow the screening. 

Featured Films (in screening order):

I Think About Birds by Johanna Gustin | A filmmaker explores her obsession with toxic online dating coaches — an obsession largely rooted in an existential fear of loneliness in the event that her marriage should end.

Tiempo Libre by Pedro Marnoto | Through the lens of cleaning and caretaking work, Tiempo Libre weaves together the portraits of three women, as performance and storytelling become a portal beyond the confines of the workplace.

Vanishing Time by Zoe Valery | Through the mirroring lens of storefront windows along 24th Street in San Francisco’s Mission District, this short film reflects (on) the sanctuary city's resistance to vanishing at a time of state scrutiny and mass deportations.

If Given the Chance by Devon Blackwell | If Given the Chance traces the soft resilience of turkeys living between what was and what remains.

Endlings by Maria Luisa Santos | During the first human-driven mass extinction, a horse cremation sets a filmmaker on a journey through loss. Endlings turns to those resisting disappearance: a scientist reviving ancient DNA, archival footage of extinct species, and an artist painting endangered birds. Interweaving science, memory, and ritual, the film asks what images can actually preserve.

VISITOR INFORMATION: Oshman Hall is located in the McMurtry Building on Stanford campus at 355 Roth Way. Visitor parking is free after 4pm on weekdays, except by the Oval. Alternatively, take the Caltrain to Palo Alto Transit Center and ride the free Stanford Marguerite Shuttle. If you need a disability-related accommodation or wheelchair access information, please contact Julianne Garcia at juggarci [at] stanford.edu (juggarci[at]stanford[dot]edu). This event is open to Stanford affiliates and the general public. Admission is free.

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