A film festival later this month in New York City has made The Great Recession its theme for this year. The entrants are a collection of short comedies and dramas, documentaries and music videos. Some of them are quite good.

Find out more about the festival at blackoutfilmfestivalnyc.com. See a list of the films here. I grabbed a few from YouTube:

The Sale by Jonathan Browning is a funny skit about a real estate agent who really needs to land a commission:

Jonathan also wrote and directed The Job:

Hala Hala’s Uncommon Economic Indicator is an animated short about what little grocery item sells best in a recession:

Some of the films like the documentary The Recess Ends will debut at the festival. The trailer’s pretty enticing:

Scenes from the Great Recession is a silent comedy:

Spirits is a film about being down and out in the city that never sleeps:

Jacques: The Wall Street Tailor is a satirical song:

Wanted by Kate Marks explores the relationship between a woman and her suicidal piggy bank. I couldn’t find it on YouTube, but I found another short called Hamicide by Nikolas Clarke on the same subject. Well, not exactly, but still, it’s oddly touching, and I can imagine piggy banks having similar thoughts: