THANK YOU!

That’s a wrap on the 2024 Fargo Film Festival! On behalf of the entire team: THANK YOU! We are so grateful for the generosity of our sponsors who make this celebration of independent film possible. Over the course of five days, we screened 107 films (including two Oscar nominees) and welcomed more than 40 visiting filmmakers to the community. Thank you to our audiences for your passion and continued support.

Submissions for the 2025 Fargo Film Festival will open later in the spring.

Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian comes to the 2024 Fargo Film Festival

Director Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian will attend the 2024 Fargo Film Festival with his critically acclaimed documentary”Green Pastures.” The film is the recipient of the Prairie Spirit Award and the Best Documentary Feature award. The documentary screens as part of the Saturday Morning Session on March 23rd. Mirpoorian will participate in a Q&A after the film and will serve as a panelist in the Character Driven Storytelling luncheon panel on Saturday at noon at the Radisson Blu.

Greener Pastures directed by Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian

About the film:

Greener Pastures captures the day-to-day lives of four small, multigenerational family farms over the course of four years. Through an intimate, observational lens we examine the various farm stressors, policies and politics farmers must maneuver to survive, connecting the dots between mental health, industrialization, food production and climate change. It is a story of perseverance, patience and determination that tackles nothing less than the future of farming in America.



About Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian:

Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian is an award-winning Iranian filmmaker exploring societal themes at the intersection of time, isolation, health, science, and introspection.

During his undergrad and grad studies at Indiana University, Samuel was a recipient of the Kodak Motion Picture Film Bronze Award for Excellence in Filmmaking. He produced three doc-shorts that played and won awards at Academy Award-qualifying film festivals such as Tribeca, Heartland International, St. Louis International, and others; his work has been released via Peacock/NBC, The Atlantic, PBS, and others.

Samuel’s debut feature documentary, Greener Pastures, is set to premiere in 2023 and is executive produced by Emmy Award-winners, David J. Cornfield and Linda A. Cornfield (THE SOCIAL DILEMMA, WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?, CHASING CORAL). Greener Pastures is also supported by the Catapult Film Fund, Doc Society, and Exposure Labs.

2024 Best in Show Winners

The Fargo Film Festival is proud to announce the winners of the Best in Show Awards for the 2024 Fargo Film Festival.

Best Picture: “Closing Dynasty” (Narrative Short)

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Best Director: Sean Wang for “Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó” (Documentary Short)

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Best Cinematography: Jeong-seok Park for “Children of Light” (Narrative Short)

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Pat Hansen Award for Best Screenplay: J.D. Shields for “Blue Hour” (Student)

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Best Actor: Jorge Martinez Colorado for “Coyote” (Narrative Feature)

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Best Actress: Jennifer Lafleur for “The Day Of” (Narrative Short)

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The Ruth Landfield Award is presented to “Show Her the Money” (Documentary Feature)

The Ruth Landfield Award honors films celebrating women of courage, conviction, and compassion.

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The Prairie Spirit Award is presented to “Greener Pastures” (Documentary Feature)


The Prairie Spirit Award honors films that reflect the unique strength of character that is the legacy of the Northern Plains.

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The Rusty Casselton Award is presented to “Mum’s Spaghetti” (Student)

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Congratulations to all of these talented artists from all of us at the Fargo Film Festival. Learn more about each of these titles in our 2024 Program.

2024 Luncheon Panel Discussions

Feed your tummy and your mind at the Fargo Film Festival’s 2024 Luncheon Panel Discussions. Join us at the Blu Bar in the Radisson Blu Fargo (201 5th St. N) on Friday, March 22 and Saturday, March 23 for exciting conversations with special guests. Tickets are $15 and include lunch. Tickets are on sale now at the Fargo Theatre Box Office; remaining tickets will be available at the door.

Animation Celebration

Friday, March 22 at 12:00 noon

Cartoons aren’t just for kiddos! Join filmmakers Owen Dennis, Noelle Duddridge, Toby Jones, Zach Howatt, and Madeline Queripel as they explore the art of animation. Learn how different styles of animation can be used to tell stories and reach audiences of all ages.

Character-Driven Storytelling

Saturday, March 23 at 12:00 noon

Movies help us to see the world through the eyes and experiences of others. Festival guests Matt Klug, Sam Mirpoorian, and J.D. Shields discuss crafting personal narratives on film and creating connections with viewers.

FFF24 TICKETS & PASSES ON SALE NOW

Tickets and passes for the 2024 Fargo Film Festival are now on sale online and at the Fargo Theatre box office,

Please note that a service charge of $1.25 will be added to every ticket purchased online.

Festival Fanatic Pass – $150 (Only 25 passes for sale)
Description: This pass grants general admission to all Festival screening sessions and all three receptions/parties (see details below). Festival Fanatic pass holders receive two complimentary drink tickets and hors d’oeuvres at each reception. Festival Fanatic Pass holders also receive discounted admission ($10) to FFF luncheons.

Movie Lovers Pass – $100
Description: This pass grants general admission to all Festival screening sessions.

Morning or Afternoon Session Single Admission
$10 General, $5 Student

Evening Session Single Admission
$13 General, $5 Student

Luncheon Panel Discussions (Friday & Saturday at the Radisson Blu)
$15 – includes meal and entertaining conversations on film

2-Minute Movie Contest (Thursday, March 21 at 9:15pm)
$2

Admission to the 2-Minute Movie Contest is included with all Festival Passes and with the purchase of a Thursday Evening Session ticket.

Please note that seating is general admission, first come, first serve between the two auditoriums.

Fargo Film Festival 2024 receptions/parties (admission included with the Festival Fanatic Pass): Festival Fanatic pass holders receive two complimentary drink tickets and hors d’oeuvres at each reception. A cash bar will be available at all locations for additional beverage purchases.

Tuesday, March 19
5:30 – 7:00pm
Marge’s Diner
220 Broadway North
Fargo, ND

Friday, March 22
5:30 – 7:00pm
Jasper Hotel
215 Broadway N
Fargo, ND

Wrap Party
Saturday, March 23

9:15 – midnight
Radisson Blu, 84 Italian Steakhouse
201 5th St N
Fargo, ND

2-Minute Movie Contest Returns to the Fargo Film Festival

The 2-Minute Movie Contest screens at 9:15 p.m. on Thursday, March 21 as part of the 2024 Fargo Film Festival. Shown back-to-back in a whirlwind collection, more than 45 very short movies from all over the world, made by beginners and professionals alike, offer viewers an entertaining look at the hard work of artists who create for the sheer joy of it.

Ticket-holders for the Evening Showcase that begins at 7 p.m. are welcome to stay. Those arriving for the 2-Minute Movie Contest may purchase tickets at the door. Admission is two dollars.

Congratulations to all the moviemakers from near and far whose work was selected:

((O)) (Joanna Zybul)
8th St. Candy (Nora Becker)
9 (Claire Cooperman)
Alice in Uncomfort Zone (Nikolina Santovac)
Aliens o’ the Plains (Zach Miller)
All Nighter (Bridget Ruin)
Arrow Arrow (John Akre)
As If! (Liza Madore)
Balloons (Nigel Gould-Davies)
Bottle (Damian Gonzalez and Jeremy Weinstein)
A Day in the Life (Sophia Winters)
Dorfenstein’s Monster (Michael Dorfman)
Dropped (Nathaniel Henry)
The Duel (Molly Arcara)
Flights (Anne Gart)
Frozen Bliss (Rasmus Lindkvist)
The Gift (Gemma Rigg)
The Great Green Room (Molly Arcara)
Home Run Hazel (Aaron Crume)
Inner Child (Ryan Tynan)
Jellyhead Goes on a Walk (Scott Coello)
Lost in Focus (Tyler Haehn)
Lucky in the Sky (Lutz Kayser)
Mars (Yann les Jours)
Mirror Image (Max Halmueller)
My Way (Rasa Stanisic)
The Norga (Kelly Meehan)
The Other Half (Chloe Nguyen)
Pink Noise (Ulysse Lefort, Martin Wiklund and Arthur Lemaître)
Please, Excuse Me (Ryan Crawford)
The Process (Roberto Ercolalo)
Revelation Revelation (Allison Beda)
Rock of Ages (Ian Johnston)
Secrets of Success (Toby Jones)
Shadowplay (Cayla Carlson)
Shelf-Life (Liza Madore)
The Shortest Relationship in the World (Xiaoxuan Han)
Skinny Dip (Donal O’Dea)
Stick No Bills (Ebba Jahn)
A Story From Shaba’s Family Hairstyling (J. Onsuwan Johnson)
Strange Town Tonight (Dustin Morrow)
Transform(Her) (Bianca Malcolm)
Walk Through Time (Jason Kuntz)
Welcome Home! (Ezequiel Casamada)
What It Takes (Kelsi Phung)
What’s for Dinner? (Sidney Thompson)
Worn (Lilly Fischer)

Fargo Film Festival to welcome Will Greenfield

Producer Will Greenfield will be welcomed as a guest of honor at the 2024 Fargo Film Festival! Greenfield’s latest film Immaculate, starring Sydney Sweeney, will screen at 7:00pm on Friday, March 22. Immediately following, Greenfield will appear live onstage for a conversation about the film and the journey of his career. To celebrate his artistic achievements, Greenfield will receive the Fargo Film Festival’s most distinguished honor, the Ted M. Larson Award.

Originally hailing from Kentucky, Greenfield’s career in the film industry has taken him all over the world. He steadily climbed the ranks from production assistant to production manager to producer/executive producer. Greenfield has worked with some of the industry’s top talent, including Quentin Tarantino, Jeff Nichols, Yorgos Lanthimos, Sam Levinson, Lena Dunham, Jon Favreau, Spike Lee, and Frank Darabont. Greenfield served as executive producer for season two of HBO’s smash hit series Euphoria, which garnered 16 Emmy nominations. He is currently working as executive producer on director Ryan Coogler’s newest film.

About IMMACULATE:
Cecilia, an American nun of devout faith, is warmly welcomed to the picture-perfect Italian countryside where she is offered a new role at an illustrious convent. But it soon becomes clear to Cecilia that her new home harbors a sinister secret and unspeakable horrors.

FFF24 Screening Schedule Announced

The Fargo Film Festival is excited to share the screening schedule for March 19 -23 at the Fargo Theatre. Please note, times and locations are subject to change.

Tuesday Afternoon, March 19, Theatre 1
1:30pm Code Rose
1:35pm Ball People
1:50pm Shackle
2:00pm Career Day
2:10pm Mystic Tiger
2:25pm The Old Young Crow
2:35pm Nina and Irena
2:55pm Break
3:05pm The Grassland Whisper
3:20pm The General’s Room
3:30pm 48 Hours
3:50pm Coyote

Tuesday Afternoon, March 19, Theatre 2
1:30pm Dusty and Stones
2:55pm Break
3:05pm The Road to Victory
3:10pm Malignasquelluki: To Live in Harmony
3:25pm Soundscape
3:40pm Sanctuary
3:55pm Camp RicStar

Tuesday Evening, March 19, Theatre 1
7:00pm Presentation of the Margie Bailly Volunteer Spirit Award to Kendra O’Brien
7:15pm Show Her the Money

Wednesday Morning, March 20, Theatre 1
10:00am Chocolat Chaud
10:05am Hakki Rising
10:35am The Vanishing Strings of the Andes
10:50am What Happened to Jackson Avenue?

Wednesday Morning, March 20, Theatre 2
10:00am Hatirlama
10:10am Boxing Day
10:25am Farther
10:40am Aligned

Wednesday Afternoon, March 20, Theatre 1
1:30pm Nathan-ism
2:50pm Break
3:00pm The No Problem Zone
3:35pm A Good Day Will Come
4:05pm Mountain Dust
4:25pm Children of Light
4:45pm Sèt Lam
5:05pm Hatirlama

Wednesday Afternoon, March 20, Theatre 2
1:30pm Broken Mirror
1:45pm White
1:50pm What Humans Do
1:55pm Skin
2:00pm balaena
2:10pm Not Us
2:20pm Aube
2:25pm Electra
2:55pm Break
3:05pm Body of Work
3:20pm Coming of Age
3:40pm The Business of Pleasure

Wednesday Evening, March 20, Theatre 1
7:00pm Scrap

Thursday Morning, March 21, Theatre 1
10:00am Cowboy Kevin
10:10am Apex Point
10:15am Truth
10:45am Will You Look at Me
11:05am Slippers
11:15am Trevor Hurt Someone
11:30am The Fourth
11:40am Chairs

Thursday Morning, March 21, Theatre 2
10:00am Dynasty & Destiny
10:10am Please Ask For It
10:30am The Problem of the Hero

Thursday Afternoon, March 21, Theatre 1
1:30pm Eptá
2:00pm Misprint
2:20pm Busybody
2:50pm Homebody
3:05pm Break
3:15pm The Greater Cumberland County Cooking Show
3:55pm Nina and Irena
4:15pm Liturgy of Anti-Tank Obstacles
4:30pm Lunchbox
4:45pm Sanctuary

Thursday Afternoon, March 21, Theatre 2
1:30pm With Peter Bradley
3:00pm Break
3:10pm Chairs
3:30pm Nur and Abir
3:45pm Armat
3:55pm Coyote

Thursday Evening, March 21, Theatre 1
7:00pm Mum’s Spaghetti
7:10pm Savi the Cat
7:30pm The Site of Unsure
7:45pm Classmates
8:05pm Letter to a Pig
8:20pm Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó
9:15pm 2-Minute Movie Contest

Friday Morning, March 22, Theatre 1
10:00am Sauvage
10:05am The Yellow Triangle
10:10am Armat
10:25am Witchfairy
10:40am Finding Home
10:45am Oneluv
10:55am Money and Happiness
11:05am 27
11:15am The General’s Room
11:25am Apex Point
11:30am Electra

Friday Morning, March 22, Theatre 2
10:00am Pivot
10:10am Kingdom of Songs
10:15am Esmeralda
10:35am Dusty and Stones

Friday Afternoon, March 22, Theatre 1
1:30pm Wabanaki Modern
1:55pm The Flower Darkens
2:10pm A Good Day Will Come
2:40pm Len and His Spitfire
3:05pm Break
3:15pm Daughter of the Sun

Friday Afternoon, March 22, Theatre 2
3:10pm The Vanishing Point: Tracing Shadows in Prussian Blue
3:30pm Heart of an Astronaut
3:45pm Kambana
4:00pm Rabies
4:15pm Ivania
4:30pm The Pencil
4:40pm Nian
4:45pm The Florist
4:50pm The Countryman

Friday Evening, March 22, Theatre 1
7:00pm Immaculate with special guest Will Greenfield

Saturday Morning, March 23, Theatre 1
10:00am Middle America
10:25am Greener Pastures

Saturday Morning, March 23, Theatre 2
10:00am The Grassland Whisper
10:15am Lunchbox
10:30am Smoking Tigers

Saturday Afternoon, March 23, Theatre 1
1:30pm Chasin’ Butterflies
2:05pm Letter to a Pig
2:25pm Hakki Rising
2:55pm Break
3:05pm Cowboy Kevin
3:15pm Mystic Tiger
3:30pm AJ Goes to the Dog Park

Saturday Afternoon, March 23, Theatre 2
1:30pm My Motherland
3:00pm Break
3:10pm Soundscape
3:25pm 40 Below: The Toughest Race in the World

Saturday Evening, March 23, Theatre 1
7:00pm 2-Minute Movie Contest Winner
7:05pm Starling
7:15pm Blue Hour
7:45pm The Day Of
8:15pm Closing Dynasty
8:30pm Death to the Bikini!

FFF Announces Opening Night Showcase

The Fargo Film Festival is proud to announce that the award winning documentary feature “Show Her the Money” will screen as the Opening Night Showcase on Tuesday, March 19th at 7 p.m. at the Fargo Theatre. Producers Catherine Gray, Wendy Ryan, Azin Radsan Van Alebeek, and Julie Peterson Klein will appear live on stage for a Q&A immediately following the film. Tickets and Passes for the Fargo Film Festival are on sale now.

About Show Her the Money:
Money is power, but women receive less than two percent of venture capital funding. In this inspiring and empowering documentary, four female entrepreneurs work to turn their ideas into reality and grow their businesses with the support of women investors. Visit the film’s website: https://showherthemoneymovie.com/

“Show Her the Money” has been a hit on the film festival circuit with screenings at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, SXSW EDU, the Twin Cities Film Festival, and the Los Angeles International Film Festival. The film screens at the Fargo Theatre on Tuesday, March 19th at 7pm.