The Louisville Film Society announced the lineup of its official selections for the 15th annual Flyover Film Festival! The popular event featuring screenings, parties, and filmmaker Q&As will run from July 23–27, 2025, with all films playing at Hyphen Film Center, Baxter Avenue Theatres, and The Speed Cinema.
This year’s lineup includes narrative and documentary features, many of which are making their Kentucky premieres; additional shorts film programs; and multiple parties at local venues. Discussions with the filmmakers will follow most of the screenings.
Many of the films selected have Kentucky Roots – if you would like an interview with a director or other contacts please let know.
This year’s line-up includes:
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025 6 PM
Flyover Film Festival Kickoff Party
West 6th Brewing, Nulu
817 E Market St, Louisville 40206
Thursday, Jul 24, 2025 7 PM
HYPHEN SHORTS BLOCK:
Film Viewing at Hyphen Film Center
Operation Dark Site (Short)
Written & Directed by Matthew Myslinski
Run time: 31 minutes
Operation Dark Site follows a desperate father’s last-ditch effort to reconnect with his distant daughter before she leaves for college. Through one final, unconventional adventure, he hopes to revive their bond and heal old wounds.
Maqluba (SHORT)
Written and Directed by Mike Elsherif
Run time: 28 minutes
This locally shot short film is centered on the relationship between a Palestinian-American grandmother and her granddaughter. Laila, a Palestinian-American drummer, visits her grandmother in her new apartment during a powerful storm under the guise of helping her unpack. But her nefarious goals slowly unfold as they delve deeper into the mystical fateful night.
Thursday Special (SHORT)
Written, Directed and Produced by Varun Tandon
Run time: 26 minutes
Thursday Special is a poignant short film about 27 years of love, food, and tradition. Every Thursday, a couple celebrates their shared passion—until change tests the rhythm they’ve cherished for nearly three decades. A tender story of devotion, memory, and the quiet power of ritual.
Friday, Jul 25, 2025
The Speed Cinema
6:00 pm Reception in the Speed Cinema lobby
7:00 pm Screening + Q&A
Look & See: Further + Q&A
Produced/Directed/Edited by Laura Dunn
Run time: 92 minutes
View eight new short films featuring unused footage and interviews from the award-winning documentary Look & See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry.
“In the agrarian spirit of ‘let nothing go to waste,’ we couldn’t leave these gems behind—many hours of recorded conversations with Wendell and over 100 hours of footage from his world,” says director Laura Dunn. “This collection offers a rare, behind-the-scenes glimpse into the life and mind of one of America’s greatest living authors.”
The shorts include: Eyes to Acres, Love the Work, Window Poems, The Burley Tobacco Program, Human Nature, A Little Light, In Memory: James Baker Hall, and A Vision.
Executive produced by Owsley Brown III, Jeff Ubben, and Nelda Yaw Buckman, the series premiered at the DC Environmental Film Festival.
Baxter Avenue Theatres
Friday, Jul 25, 2025 at 10 PM
Saint Clare
Directed by Mitzi Peirone
Run time: 92 minutes
Saint Clare follows a solitary woman in a quiet town who’s haunted by mysterious voices, urging her to kill those with dark intentions. Her vigilante path goes unnoticed until one final assassination unravels a sinister web of corruption, trafficking, and chilling visions from beyond. The cast includes: Bella Thorne, Ryan Phillippe, Rebecca De Mornay, Frank Whaley.
PRECEDED BY:
She’s on the Run (SHORT)
Directed by Dylan Query
Run time: 28 minutes
She’s On the Run is a gritty short film about a teenage girl grappling with anxiety, depression, and hallucinations. Escaping into an 80s-inspired altered reality, she’s armed with a six-shooter and shadowed by a sinister force. As she spirals toward self-destruction, her loved ones race against time to pull her back from the edge.
11:30 PM: After Party at High Horse (810 E. Market St., Louisville, KY 40206)
Baxter Avenue Theatres
Saturday, Jul 26, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Shuffle
Written, Directed, and Produced by Benjamin Flaherty
Run time: 83 minutes
SHUFFLE is a powerful documentary filmed over three years. It traces the harrowing paths of three individuals caught in a broken addiction treatment system—where survival, not recovery, becomes the goal. Blending personal narratives with investigative reporting, the film uncovers a nationwide cycle of insurance-driven fraud. With insights from insiders and experts, SHUFFLE exposes how public policy and private interests profit from exploiting vulnerable lives.
Speed Cinema Shorts Block
Saturday, Jul 26, 2025 at 3 PM
Appalheads (SHORT)
Directed by Scott Faris
Run time: 17 minutes
Decades after leaving Appalachia, a daughter returns to eastern Kentucky to unearth her father’s extraordinary filmmaking legacy as the founder of Appalshop. As she sifts through archives and memories, she confronts the enduring influence of place, identity, and the deep pull of home.
Freeman Vines (SHORT)
Directed by André Robert Lee, Tim Kirkman
Run time: 14 minutes
Freeman Vines is a powerful portrait of an 82-year-old artist who has spent decades hand-carving guitars in pursuit of a haunting sound that has long called to him. Working from his rural North Carolina shop and facing serious illness, Vines crafts his instruments from wood taken from hanging trees—confronting the legacy of racism through his art. The film captures a visionary creating beauty and meaning in the face of hardship, memory, and history.
Field Song (SHORT)
Directed by Barbara Jane Brickman, John Haley
Run time: 6 minutes
Field Song is a lyrical and powerful short film by poet Hannah Drake that goes beyond naming Black women and girls lost to anti-Black violence. Instead, she envisions a radiant field—a sacred space where they might find peace, freedom, and the dignity they were denied.
Threshold (SHORT)
Directed by Gregory Brecher
Run time: 17 minutes
In this poignant short film, Joan and Susie reunite 30 years after their unofficial wedding to hold a divorce ceremony. Surrounded by children and chosen family, the gathering stirs mixed emotions and reveals the lasting impact their union—and its end—has had on everyone involved.
Breakroom (SHORT)
Directed by Ian Wang
Run time: 15 minutes
Breakroom is an offbeat, genre-blending comedy that follows socially awkward Armie Broker through the eccentric world of the Kingsley Work Agency, where office politics take surreal turns. As he vies for the elusive P.E.U.C. award, Armie must decide if he’s destined for triumph or to miss the mark again.
Alex: A Craft Story (SHORT)
Directed by Evelyn Medley, Sean Hall
Run time: 5 minutes
Alex: A Craft Story offers a glimpse into the unique world of broom making through thehands of artisan Alex. While the craft may seem niche, the tradition—and Berea Broomsin particular—has earned a reputation far beyond its small community.
Baxter Avenue Theatres
Saturday, Jul 26, 2025 at 6 PM
Canoe Dig It?
Written, Directed, and Produced by Samuel Dunning
Run time: 78 minutes
Canoe Dig It? is a lighthearted dive into the quirky world of freestyle canoeing, where a group of passionate paddlers gather on a lake in Maine to compete for the coveted title of “Top Paddler.” Grace, grit, and plenty of laughs ripple through this offbeat competition.
PRECEDED BY:
Steakout! (SHORT)
Written and Directed by Max Neace
Run time: 8 minutes
Steakout! follows Sean, headed to a steak dinner, and Patrick, en route to a stakeout—unfortunately, they’re stuck in the same car. A sharp, comedic clash of priorities, tension, and tenderloins follows.
8:30 PM After Party & Jury Awards Celebration
Bourbons Bistro
2255 Frankfort Ave, Louisville, 40206
Baxter Theatres Shorts Block
Sunday, Jul 27, 2025 at 12 PM
Interference (SHORT)
Written, Directed, Produced, and Edited by Lila Woodbridge
Run time: 26 minutes
Interference is a poignant short film set in the early 1980s, following a teenage boy’s growing paranoia and search for identity at the onset of the AIDS epidemic. Produced by Kentucky native Al Bouchillon.
Split Blood (SHORT)
Written and Directed by Deiondre Teagle
Run time: 7 minutes
Split Blood follows Marcus, an Olympic-caliber wrestler with a promising future—until one night changes everything. As he grapples with the fallout, the film explores how past trauma can derail even the most focused path. Filmed in Kentucky with a local cast and crew.
Fireflies in the Dusk (SHORT)
Written and Directed by Jonathan Hammond
Run time: 18 minutes
Fireflies in the Dusk is an enchanting short comedy directed by Jonathan Hammond. Set across time, it follows Victorian-era Charlotte, forced into marriage with the acerbic Cecil, as she mysteriously travels to the present and sparks an unexpected romance with Zachary.
Expression of Illness (SHORT)
Directed by Bryn Silverman
Run time: 21 minutes
After a routine follow-up appointment, thyroid cancer survivor and documentary filmmaker Bryn Silverman learns her treatment isn’t over. What begins as a personal investigation into the thoroughness of her care transforms into a broader exploration of how we define wellness—and the vital role of community in the healing process.
This film was shot primarily in Louisville and Lexington, with the filmmaking team based in Louisville, KY.
Speed Cinema
Sunday, Jul 27, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp and the Biotech Revolution
Written, Directed, and Produced by Bill Haney
Run time: 98 minutes
Cracking the Code, narrated by Mark Ruffalo, tells the remarkable story of Phil Sharp, who rose from a Kentucky farm to win a Nobel Prize and revolutionize molecular biology. His groundbreaking 1977 discovery of RNA splicing ignited a wave of innovation, transforming global healthcare and laying the foundation for today’s biotech industry.
Speed Cinema
Sunday, Jul 27, 2025 at 5:30 PM
She Dances
Written and Directed by Rick Gomez
Run time: 93 minutes
She Dances premiered last month at Tribeca, following a father and daughter on a tense road trip to her final dance competition. Set against the Young Miss Southeast Regional Dance Finals, the journey forces them to confront past wounds and shared grief. Co-written by director Rick Gomez and star Steve Zahn, who appears alongside his real-life daughter Audrey Zahn, the film explores family, healing, and self-acceptance.
7:30 PM: Closing Reception at The Speed Cinema
Tickets can be purchased online via the Louisville Film Society’s website.
