Cynthia Greer

Sofia yearns to sing with the heartbreak voice of the ranchera singers she admires. One day, she receives an unexpected invitation to visit the mysterious "Paloma Negra" bar. There, she is shocked to see her favourite singer, Pieta, who had all but disappeared at the height of her career, singing to the sad souls in the bar. Sofia gathers her courage to sing for Pieta, only to be told that her voice is devoid of the suffering and heartbreak necessary to sing the songs. Determined to fill her voice with the necessary pain, she learns a hard, but valuable lesson about the reality of heartbreak.

Host Scott Forrest presents a curated compilation of eight independent short films in this rapid-fire science-fiction feature. Genres collide, narratives twist, aesthetics clash, and even humor, both campy and dystopian, showcase the vast creative possibilities of each story's individual world, offering the viewer a brief glimpse into the lives of every character's attempt to survive the otherworldly chaos around them. Released in 2001, the selected shorts span original creation dates of 1997 to 2001; most of the featured filmmakers also appear as themselves in short video interviews to talk about their inspirations, creative process and motivations while working on their individual shorts.