''Twitch'' is a

Student Academy Award The Student Academy Awards are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in an annual competition for college and university filmmakers. Description The awards were originally named the Student Film Awards and were first pres ...

-nominated

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

directed by

Leah Meyerhoff Leah Meyerhoff (born December 4, 1979) is an American Student Academy Award-nominated director, producer and screenwriter. She has received attention as the writer and director of the feature film '' I Believe in Unicorns'' starring Natalia Dye ...

and starring Emma Galvin, Peter Corrie, Toni Meyerhoff. ''Twitch'' kicked off the film festival circuit by winning a Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance and going on to screen in over 200

film festivals A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online. Films may be of recent date and depe ...

worldwide. ''Twitch'' has since won over a dozen international awards and is currently airing on the

Independent Film Channel IFC is an American basic cable channel owned by AMC Networks. Launched in 1994 as the Independent Film Channel, a spin-off of former sister channel Bravo, IFC originally operated as a commercial-free service, devoted to showing independent fi ...

and Skandinavia TV.

Plot

''Twitch'' tells the story of a young girl torn between two worlds: her domestic life, where she must care for her mother who uses a wheelchair, and her escape into the emerging world of sexuality with her eager, hormone-addled boyfriend. Leah's mother plays the Mother role in an essentially autobiographical role for the filmmaker. The making of the film was a component of the IFC series ''Film School'', chronicling the first time filmmaking efforts of four New York University graduate film school students.

Cast

*Emma Galvin as Daughter *Peter Corrie as Boyfriend *Toni Meyerhoff as Mother

Awards

Student Academy Awards The Student Academy Awards are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in an annual competition for college and university filmmakers. Description The awards were originally named the Student Film Awards and were first pres ...

— Finalist * Slamdance — Honorable Mention *

Avignon Film Festival {{unreferenced, date=November 2021 The Avignon Film Festival (created 1984), also known as the Avignon/New York Film Festival or Rencontres Cinématographiques Franco-Américain d'Avignon, took place every year in Avignon, France along with a twin ...

— Best American Short *

Rhode Island International Film Festival Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) takes place every year in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island as well as satellite locations throughout the state. Started in 1997, the Festival is produced by Flickers, the Newpor ...

— Honorable Mention *Golden Star Shorts Fest — Best of Fest *Golden Star Shorts Fest — Best Narrative Short *Brooklyn International Disability Film Festival — Best Short *Scottsdale International Film Festival — Best Student Short *West Chester Film Festival — Best Female Director *Berkeley Film Festival — Grand Festival Award *Rebel Film Festival — Best Experimental Short *Brown Emerging Filmmakers — Best Drama *Ole Muddy Film Festival — First Place *Harry M. Warner Film Festival — Third Place *Sound Space — Post Award *

Calgary International Film Festival The Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) is a film festival held annually in Calgary, Alberta, in late September and early October. CIFF is the largest international film festival in Alberta and the sixth largest in Canada. In 2020, thei ...

— Honorable Mention *California Independent Film Festival — Best Mini Short Nominee * Swansea Bay Film Festival — Best Drama Nominee *Pawky Little Film Contest — Finalist *Trenton Film Festival — Best Actress Nominee

Festivals

*Annapolis Film Festival *Antimatter Film Festival *Arpa International Film Festival *

Atlanta Film Festival The Atlanta Film Festival (ATLFF) is an international film festival held in Atlanta, Georgia and operated by the Atlanta Film Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Started in 1976 and occurring every spring, the festival shows a diverse r ...

Backseat Film Festival The Backseat Film Festival is an independent film festival organized by Doug Sakmann, Nick Esposito, and Zafer Ulkucu. Beginning in Park City, Utah, during the winter of 2003 as one of many alternatives to the Sundance Film Festival it quickly t ...

*Big Bear Lake Film Festival *

Boston Underground Film Festival The Boston Underground Film Festival (BUFF) is an annual event held in the Boston area that specializes in alternative film and video. BUFF is the largest underground film festival in New England, spotlighting short films and feature-length films ...

*Boxurshorts Film Festival *Brainwash Film Festival * Brighton Film Festival *Brooklyn Cinema Series *Brooklyn International Disability Film Festival *

Brooklyn International Film Festival The Brooklyn Film Festival (BFF), prior to 2011 called the Brooklyn International Film Festival (BiFF) is an independent film festival held every June in New York City. Started by Marco Ursino, Susan Mackell, Abe Schrager, and Mario Pegoraro in ...

* Brooklyn Underground Film Festival *

*California Independent Film Festival *

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

* Cardiff Film Festival *

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

*Cinechico Film Festival *Cinema Paradise *Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival *Cork International Film Festival *Dance and Shout Film Festival *Daytona Beach Film Festival *DC Shorts Film Festival *DC Underground Film Festival] *Ellensburg Film Festival *Film Platform *

First Look Film Festival The First Look Film Festival is a film festival held in Denver, Colorado which screens short films from college students. It was started in 2001 by Wade Gardner and Joshua Weinberg, two film students at the University of Colorado Denver Th ...

First Run Film Festival The First Run Festival is an annual event showcasing over 120 intermediate and advanced projects in film, video, and animation. It is presented by the Kanbar Institute of Film & Television and held in New York City. The event first ran in 1986. Th ...

* Fylmz Festival *Girlfest Hawaii *Global Art Film Festival *Golden Star Shorts Fest *Great Lakes Film Festival *Her Voice Her View Film Festival *Hi Mom Film Festival *Holly Shorts Film Festival *Hudson Valley Film Festival *Inflatable Duck Film Festival *

Ladyfest Ladyfest is a community-based, not-for-profit global music and arts festival for feminist and women artists. Individual Ladyfests differ, but usually feature a combination of bands, musical groups, performance artists, authors, spoken word an ...

Humboldt *Ladyfest San Diego *Ladyfest Stockholm *Los Angeles Short Film Festival *Lost Film Fest *Malibu International Film Festival *Marblehead Film Festival *Milan International Film Festival *New Filmmakers *

Newport Beach Film Festival The Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) is an annual film festival in Newport Beach, California, typically held in late April. In 2022, it was announced that the festival had permanently changed its date to be held in October, as the festival bega ...

Newport International Film Festival Newport International Film Festival was an annual film festival in Newport, Rhode Island, established in 1998. The Newport Film Festival was generally held the first week in June and featured various international films at several local cinemas. ...

*Next Frame Film Festival *Nolita Film Festival *NYC Home Film Festival *Ohio Independent Film Festival *Ojai Film Festival *Ole Muddy Film Festival *Ozark Film Festival * Palm Springs International Short Film Festival *Planet Ant Film Festival *Poppy Jasper Film Festival *Portland Underground Film Festival *

Provincetown International Film Festival The Provincetown International Film Festival (PIFF) is an annual film festival founded in 1999 and held on Cape Cod in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The festival presents American and international narrative features, documentaries and short film ...

Queens International Film Festival Queens International Film Festival is a former film festival that was held in Queens, New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York Sta ...

*Reel Heart International Film Festival * Reel Women International Film Festival *

*Rome International Film Festival *Route 66 Film Festival *San Diego Women Film Festival *San Francisco Independent Film Festival *San Francisco Women's Film Festival *

Sarasota Film Festival The Sarasota Film Festival is a film festival located in Sarasota, Florida and held in April. Its mission is "to celebrate the art of filmmaking and the contribution of filmmakers by hosting an international film festival and developing year-long ...

*Scottsdale International Film Festival *Show Me Missouri Film Festival *Silver Lake Shorts *

Slamdance Film Festival The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival is held in Los Angeles in late February and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization. The organization ...

*Small Potato Film Festival * Swansea Bay Film Festival *Teabag Film Workshop *Toofy Film Festival *Trenton Film Festival *Vermont International Film Festival *Waterfront Film Festival *West Chester Film Festival *Wichita Film Festival *Wildsound Film Festival *Williamsburg Short Film Festival *Women in Film Film Festival *

Woodstock Film Festival The Woodstock Film Festival is an American film festival launched in 2000 by filmmakers Meira Blaustein and Laurent Rejto in the Hudson Valley region of New York. The festival takes place each fall in the towns of Woodstock, Rosendale and Saug ...

*Youth for Human Rights Film Festival *Zion International Film Festival

Reviews

Doug Brunell of ''

Film Threat ''Film Threat'' is an American online film review publication, and earlier, a national magazine that focused primarily on independent film, although it also reviewed videos and DVDs of mainstream films, as well as Hollywood movies in theaters. ...

'' gave ''Twitch'' three stars, saying that "''Twitch'' is a story about fear, love, and an uncertain future. Meyerhoff has secured her place in film with this short movie. She's done a story that is as honest as it is touching. Her ability to sum up a young girl's life in ten minutes is remarkable."

Virginia Heffernan Virginia Heffernan (born August 8, 1969) is an American journalist and cultural critic. Since 2015, she has been a political columnist at the ''Los Angeles Times'' and a cultural columnist at ''Wired''. From 2003 to 2011, she worked as a staff w ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote that "Leah is an artsy American" and Elaine Mak of ''New England Film'' said that "award-winning director Leah Meyerhoff has built up a large list of accomplishments as a filmmaker." Jennifer Modenessi of the ''

Contra Costa Times The ''East Bay Times'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Walnut Creek, California, United States, owned by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of Media News Group, that serves Contra Costa and Alameda counties, in the East ...

'' said that "when the story is as good as filmmaker Leah Meyerhoff's, you can't help but be drawn in" and Ben Beard of ''Film Monthly'' said that "''Twitch'' is a hard but impressive little film. The travails of growing up, the immense pain of post-adolescence, the terror of the big nasty world resting just outside our windows: ''Twitch'' augers in the universal places of hurt in the human brain. We can take solace that Meyerhoff is now working on her first feature-length film. ''Twitch'' shows great promise; we now must wait for Meyerhoff's talents to fully bloom."

References

External links

* * *{{IMDb title, id=0443675, title=Twitch 2005 films 2005 short films American independent films American student films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films English-language short films English-language independent films