NYFF 2025: Currents Short Film Selections
The Currents section of the New York Film Festival is a section of the programming reserved for films that are pushing the boundary of the artform. Dennis Lim, NYFF Director of Programming, says that “the most vital work in any art form is often to be found among its most daring risk-takers.” Those boundary-pushing works are in the Currents section, and below are two short film selections from the program.
And If the Body
courtesy of NYFF
To a certain extent, video games have always been a means of escape. Within these games, you can live a thousand lives you may never get the chance to experience in reality. Scientists and health professionals, though, aren’t using these games to unwind after work. Instead, they’re using virtual reality games as a means of physical therapy. And If the Body, directed by Toby Lee, explores the intersection of gaming and health services.
And If the Body looks at various therapeutic uses for VR and different types of imaging technology for patients with severe spinal cord injuries and neuromuscular disorders. The film doesn’t spend a lot of time explaining the science behind the procedures, but it offers enough information for the layman to understand what the doctors are doing and how it could benefit the patients. We learn about the abilities of the patients and what they gain from participating in these new forms of rehabilitation.
This observational documentary examines the intersection of technology and medicine. It’s in this unexpected zone that And If the Body lives as it examines how VR technology can be beneficial in an unexpected manner. Where does the virtual body meet the physical one? And If the Body exists in the place where these two become one.
Give it Back: Crimes Against Realty
courtesy of NYFF
“Are you tired of living on stolen land?” asks Give it Back: Crimes Against Realty. The film opens with an MTV Cribs-style parody video of actor Jim Fletcher giving a tour of his New York home. He identifies himself as a “reformed Native American impersonator” and tells the viewer he has learned the error of his ways. This goofy introduction paves the way for the serious discussion of Land Back projects across the country.
Give it Back looks at rematriation, or the means with which to reunite Indigenous people with the land that was stolen from them. More than that, rematriation is a return of the sacred for Mother, a broader healing that encompasses land, cultural practices, and knowledge. The film cuts between Jim’s pseudo-infomercial and real-life examples of politicians and public figures making strides to return land to Indigenous people in Oakland, California, and Portland, Oregon, and Eureka, Oregon. Each of these traditional-style interviews offers a real case study of the effort that goes into this endeavor. As the mayor of Oakland describes, it’s more than merely the idea. They had to become experts on realty, environmental, and other types of law. There are bureaucratic hoops to jump through and also the consideration that having to care for the land is not something Indigenous groups may be able to handle at the moment because of the associated costs.
What Give it Back remains adamant about is that the decision to give land back must be one that is sincere. At the end of the day, it’s not about the person who’s returning the land. It’s about the people who had it stolen from them. The, at times, comedic approach of Give it Back breaks down the defenses of the audience in a clever manner. It’s disarming, but also makes a clear case for rematriation and the role people with privilege must play.
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