CindeTicket 5 Homegrown 2026 Cindependent Film Festival

Popcorn popped, drinks poured, and lights dimmed… Ohio Night of the 2026 Cindependent Film Festival features a collection of shorts about Cincinnati chili, a woman who takes the gloves off in the confrontation with the demons of her past, the retirement of the last lighthouse keeper in America, and a dearly departed grandma with unfinished business for her terrified granddaughter.

SAVOR THE MOMENT
Director: Davis Cameron Chu
Runtime: 1:00
Midwestern creative duo Davis Cameron Chu and Meezahn Senbetta are passionate filmmakers. They love creating unique and impactful stories, and they love Cincinnati Chili. What better team to ask and answer the question: what happens when you treat a beloved Midwestern cuisine as if it were a luxury item?

HOMEBODIES
Director: Rachel Olson
Runtime: 12:00:00
In a near future where it literally costs money to leave the house, a burnt-out woman risks fraud when she pays her live-in boyfriend’s ‘exit toll’ to get some alone time.

HAUNTERS
Director: Henry Czerwonka
Runtime: 4:12
A woman returns to her childhood home after a death in the family. Amidst a surreal drive down winding midwestern roads, she attempts to reconcile where she came from with who she’s become. An open letter to the places that form us and an honest look at the experience of outgrowing them.

THE TRUMPETER
Director: Selena A Burks-Rentschler
Runtime: 10:10:00
A young boy comes of age and develops skills as a trumpet player.

BARE KNUCKLE BROOKE
Director: Nick G Schultz
Runtime: 6:00:00
Bare Knuckle Brooke is a short-form documentary that follows Brooke Evan’s journey from addiction to the bare-knuckle ring, capturing the discipline, humility, and mental control required to rebuild both a life and a fighting career. Told through intimate moments and unfiltered insight, the film explores how calm, craft, and self-mastery shape a fighter long before the first punch is thrown.

PARTHENON
Director: Taylor DeBoo
Runtime: 3:35:00
“Parthenon” is an exploration of the power dynamics of a narcissistic relationship. Sappha fell in love with a Man until his facade faded. They push and pull, him having power versus Sappha standing her ground and respecting her boundaries. Ultimately the man never changes and moves along like he always does, Sappha is left to rebuild with only her voice left.

HOUSE OF LIGHT
Director: A.B. Zax
Runtime: 13:33:00
As the last lighthouse keeper in America approaches retirement, Dr. Sally Snowman reflects on how to say goodbye to her spiritual and emotional connection to Boston Light, the oldest light station in the country. Sally’s deep bond with her tiny island crosses time and space. This immersive portrait of Sally’s last days at Boston Light may be the last document of the art of light keeping.

DISTANT DYSPHORIA
Director: Dev Thompson
Runtime: 3:08
1+5+4 is a photo and video series celebrating the courage and resistance of queer people of color. It is a love letter to our resilience, our rhythm, and the sacred ways we continue to move through the world — with power, with grace, and in defiance of everything that tries to dim our light. “Distant Dysphoria” by Montez Jenkins Copeland is a tender reflection on their journey — from straight to gay to queer, from man to anti-titles to nonbinary. This piece is a love letter of acceptance, honoring the complex evolution of identity and the quiet courage it takes to come home to one’s body and spirit. Montez offers us a glimpse into that unfolding, where language falls away and what remains is truth, self-compassion, and liberation.

H.P.V.
Director: Kiah Clingman
Runtime: 17:00:00
Kaleigh, plagued by the physical and emotional tolls of endometriosis and HPV, embarks on a relentless quest for empathy which drives her to desperate measures.

YOU HAVE HER EYES
Directors: Jordan Sommerlad & Cory Stonebrook
Runtime: 15:45:00
A woman’s fears about having children begin to manifest as visions of her dead grandmother.