Shreeya Jayabharathi

Abigail Sun

Welcome From Our Faculty Advisor
Professor Susan Sandler

Dear Fusionistas!It’s a joy to watch you thrive in the celebration of talent, dedication, and heart that is FUSION!Much love,Susan

Fusion's faculty advisor Susan Sandler

Perlita

by Lauren Luke

Mia, a Filipina teenage girl, mourns the loss of her grandmother, Mama. We spend a day with them, 10 years in the past, exploring Mia's effervescent memory and the indelible legacy Mama left behind.

Talk Yo' Shit

by Ginelle Bamfo

After being bullied, a young boy learns to fight back using his words.

Dirty

by Marlena Lerner

Amid Thanksgiving day preparations, a neurotic teenager schemes to save her family after she learns that she may have given them an STI.

Samra's Dollhouse

by Maissa Lihedheb

Samra’s Dollhouse is a dark comedy that follows Samra in the aftermath of her husband leaving her. She stages elaborate scenes in her home in the medina of Tunis with an unwitting actor, vacillating between moments of flirtation and tenderness to rage and control.

Breast Milk

by Ifeyinwa Arinze

A new Nigerian mother, Aduke, struggles to breastfeed her baby while navigating her tense relationship with her husband as well as her family’s expectations. In order to support her newborn child, she must confront her past.

When Everything Burns

by Maria Belen Poncio

Isabel is ostracized by the fire brigade she belongs to for attacking a real estate development implicated in forest fires. Determined to forge ahead on her own, she faces her loneliness and frustration in an encounter that will question the essence of her fight.

Paper Stars

by Natalie Cullen

A struggling creative seeks inspiration amidst the stars.

Yarn

by Rem Jie

A young girl explores themes of love and loss as she dreams of her grandmother's knitting yarn dancing together.

Noise

by Briar Chung

After blocking out the world with music, an emotionally repressed teenager must learn how to open up to keep a newfound friendship.

A Half-Dead Melody

by Pamela Fuller

After robbing a grave, Cassandra must sell the stolen items before reaping the consequences of what she’s done.

La Mort d'Amélie

by Lia Moon

After witnessing a devastating betrayal by the irresistible Jean-Luc, Amelie must rediscover her life and identity without him.

Rouge

by Karen Li

A haunting narrative about a man’s obsessive love for his wife takes a dark and surreal turn as he begins to transform himself to explore feminity.

Slow Riders

by Emily Massey

When Lilli experiences slow burn love for the first time, her whole summer transforms -- dreamy clubs and memories of her grandma's house in Mexico.

Weak Players

by Jasmine Wong

A music video expressing the bittersweetness of breaking up with a significant other.

Coiling

by Italy Ja’Rae Lee

A music visualizer for a poem that dismantles the stigma around 4c textured hair.

The Pahlevan On Fifth Avenue

by Pranay Sanwal

This film uncovers the story of an Iranian rug dealer on Fifth Avenue whose prolific career in the sport of wrestling is concealed beneath a veil of humility.

RUTH

by Lucas Salm-Rojo

A look into the world of my family friend Ruth Barton as she grapples with losing her eyesight.

Angelita

by Amira Stone

Exploring dualities between a vibrant past in Mexico and solitary present-day in Florida, “Angelita” asks, “what lives and dies at the other end of sacrifice?”

Little Lion Man

by Sarah Calone

A recently unemployed factory worker tries to bring his broken family back together by opening up an Irish pub.

All We Are

by Zoe Harvey

A secluded teen leaves her isolated mountain home to save her injured sister, forging unlikely connections and discovering her own strength in the outside world.

Date Night

by Meghana John

Two couples go on dates at a rodeo fair, exploring their relationships on a first date and two years in.

The Breakup

by Jacqueline Pothier

After she's fired from her first job out of college, SJ experiences a surrealist night out in New York City (accompanied by the personification of her out-of-body experience, SJ 2) which forces her to question the value of things she’s prioritized above all else.

Wolfpack

by Vanita Roisin

A group of girls journey across the desert in search of a fennec fox wearing a scarf

When The River Splits Open

by Jess X. Snow

On an overdue return to China, a non-binary Chinese-American escapes their overprotective maternal family to find their estranged father–whose legacy is intertwined with the Baiji dolphins.

Headfirst

by Michelle Andia

When undocumented 16-year-old Kat sneaks out before her aunt’s wedding for a forbidden driver’s ed lesson, a police stop forces her to confront her reality.

The Little Doodle That Could

by Amelie Skerla

Shackled by a deep and unrelenting angst, a 13-year-old girl’s drawings she uses as an escape begin seeping into her real world and demanding autonomy.

Daviestown Never Stops

by Ila Finn

When a cult dies by mass suicide, the sole survivors-- their basketball team-- must adapt to the outside world while pursuing victory in the championship.

A Good Indian Girl Who Will Go Very Far

by Mayanka Goel

A devout Indian-American girl is brought up to do everything right and abide by tradition, till an accidental death and old memories change her perception forever.

Objectionable

by Jacqueline Pothier

After Nina wins the coveted role of ‘lawyer’ on her mock trial team, she has to prove herself to her teammates to defeat her (hot) new rival, Ben in the high stakes make believe world of high school mock trial.

Non-Compete

by Sam Shane

After a bipolar diagnosis, Corinne, a proud #womanintech in NYC, starts medication, but little else for self-care. When she becomes the victim of mass-firing, and unknowingly signed a non-compete, in perpetuity, she’s forced to move back to the suburbs with her quirky mother to start from scratch.

Ignominy

by Alexia Ocampo

Celeste finds herself stuck between a strange dream and sleep paralysis. Bombarded by the nightmare she must confront her identity while losing grasp on “reality.”

You Were Here With Me

by Helen Cheng

After the loss of her daughter, a Chinese immigrant mother reunites with old friends during Thanksgiving, confronted by deep, unspoken emotions that surface as the evening unfolds.

The Diana Society

by Elizabeth Winters

In an all-female cult disguised as a safe haven for survivors of abuse, two women struggle over their feelings towards each other and question whether to leave or stay in the Society.

The Diana Society

by Veronica Polsgrove

A lonely vampire, plays a game of "fuck, marry, kill,” testing if she can have a one night stand with a human without killing him.

Where Time Stood Still

by Nino Benashvili

A widowed mother and daughter lead an ascetic life in a remote mountain village until their status quo is interrupted by the arrival of a traveler.

The Jam

by Sasha J. Manning

At a girls' night out roller-skating, a young woman becomes distracted by her boyfriend's looming presence and must decide whether to leave her abusive relationship.

Playas

by Cinthya Franco

Cecilia, an 11-year-old girl, navigates life with her 75-year-old father while reckoning with his mortality, and the complexity of the world that surrounds her.

The Moon and Back

by Zoe Poppenga

A little rabbit finds a home with a young boy, and through the child’s artwork, they create adventure in the world they live in.

Dog Tied to the Shed

by Clove Lee

A mother recounts to her daughter about a childhood pet dog, and the drastic measures taken to survive poverty.

In the Womb

by Nargiza Iskakova

A young man retreats to his bathtub, confronting past mistakes and his crumbling identity as his girlfriend decided whether to trust him or terminate her pregnancy.

Bottled

by Erin Dornan

A sound merchant and his son travel around the world to sell 'sound bottles' to people, but when the father begins to unravel, his son decides to travel alone and collect the sounds.

Just As You Are

by Vanessa Darko

This silent, black & white film follows a young girl in pursuit of beauty and a mother that shows her beauty comes from within.

Like Mother

by Ziyan Zheng

Though they were once close, a mother and daughter are now worlds apart. They must find a way to reconcile their differences and heal the rift between them.

subliminal

by Jess X. Snow

When a woman practices breathwork to soothe herself, she suddenly is transported to a desert where she encounters her wounded inner child.

Dear May

by Zoey Xinyue Kang

A bittersweet summer fling lesbian story

ALL EXCEPT THIS

by Mia Dang

A woman sheds the artificial version of herself imposed by a manipulative partner, reclaiming her freedom in a final act of self-liberation.

Ouroboros

by Jamie Deluca

Ouroboros is about group of scientists who have been trapped in a time loop for twenty years after a failed experiment.

Communications

by Nikki Greenhalgh

A single-camera comedy about a haunted campus and the only student that can see its ghosts.

Kate Erbland, Moderator

Kate Erbland is the New York City–based Editorial Director at IndieWire, where she oversees the day-to-day operations of the site's film, TV, awards, and crafts teams, and writes and edits daily. Her award-winning work places a special emphasis on female filmmakers, in-depth interviews with performers and creators, and awards season coverage.

GRACE

by Natalie Jasmine Harris

Sixteen-year-old Grace prepares for her baptism in the rural 1950's South. When she learns she must repent before the ritual, Grace contemplates her budding romantic feelings toward her best friend Louise.

LOVE, BARBARA

by Brydie O’Connor

A short documentary about the iconic legacy of pioneering lesbian experimental filmmaker, Barbara Hammer, through the lens and love of her partner of over 30 years, Florrie Burke.

MICRO-SHORT

by Beth Fletcher

After becoming hypnotized by her microwave Dani is driven to satiate its hunger. When it becomes apparent what the appliance craves she finds out just how far she’ll go in order to feed the machine.

COUSINS

by Karina Dandash

Two cousins born in separate countries reunite in Brooklyn when a run-in with an ex turns the night even more chaotic. COUSINS explores cultural disconnect between family members and identity within oneself.

EBB & FLOW

by Nay Tabbara

Determined to have her first kiss, a young teenage girl defies her tumultuous world in search of normalcy.

The Blind Reggaetonera

by River Zhang

Born completely blind, Precious Perez grew up surrounded by voices reminding her of her limitations. Now, at 25, she is a first-generation college graduate and aspires to become “the blind reggaetonera.”

In My Father's Eyes

by Amina Hamawy

“In My Father's Eyes” follows Adam Hamawy and a team of medical volunteers as they embark on a humanitarian relief mission to the European-Gazan Hospital in Khan Younis and shed light on the harrowing scale of death and destruction unfolding indiscriminately upon the Palestinian people.

content warning: depictions of gore

Giving up on a Cure

by Cassie Lustig

Eighteen years after being diagnosed with type-one-diabetes, Cassie reflects on how the lack of a cure has shaped her life and what fulfillment means now.

Prodigal Daughter

by Nancy Peng & Steven Chen

A Chinese-American alcoholic learns of her family’s clandestine history of addiction and must confront a painful buried past to move forward in her own recovery.

content warning: substance abuse

El Coreano: El Hombre Que No Estuvo Ahi

by Isabella Maaliki

Uncovering the untold story of my grandfather, Castro’s trainer—his journey spans revolution, dictatorships, and exile in this quest to separate myth from truth.

content warning: mentions of violence