Columbia University School of the Arts

During a ride on the Staten Island Ferry, a young Wall Street investment banker and an old shoeshine man begin chatting and discussing their life philosophies.

The 27 minute precursor to "Heavy" (1995) made under the mentorship of Miloš Forman, Mangold very focused on expression versus dialogue, especially in the character of Victor; Mangold stated that he was striving to create a "silent film, with sound." Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show (1971) and Martin Ritt's Hud (1963) served as specific influences.

It's a revenge scheme. It's a dessert topping! It's a revenge scheme. It's a dessert topping! Gosh darn it, it's both! Puffy, the world's most vengeful cat tries to break up its owner's marriage.

A comic story of a maestro, with a surprise in the end.

Starring the Academy Award-winning actor F. Murray Abraham, shot in high-definition video, and was transferred to 35mm film. Portrays a performance artist, Jack Narwhal, who cut himself into pieces for display in major museums around the world. In this film, he explains his bodiless condition to a belligerent workman who is setting up another exhibit in the gallery.

Deals with the efforts of Native Americans to preserve their culture in the face of that of the majority and the trials that often accompany the intersection of these two cultures.

A thief in Lvov, Poland, during the German occupation who uses his knowledge of the sewer system to help a Jewish family escape.

A concert pianist falls in love with himself in this modern retelling of the Narcissus myth.

A neurotic love story about a woman obsessed with a man who doesn’t love her.

Playing hooky from school, Tony, a student/chorister at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, spends the afternoon at Central Park's Sailboat lake and retrieves a remote control device left behind by a pair of sailboat racers. Back in the schoolyard, Tony pretends that he has a car to go with the remote control. When another boy tries to take the control from him, it falls on the ground and a red remote-control sports car miraculously appears. The car "dances" to rap music and even brings Tony a can of soda. One day, a sinister-looking man with a briefcase steals the car and flees into the subway. Tony and his classmates pursue the thief to the Wall Street area and ask to inspect the briefcases of passing businessmen. Eluding the students, the crook hails a taxi and hurls the briefcase from the window. Next morning, Tony hears the sound of a sports car during a church service. Returning to its rightful owner, the magical car mysteriously reappears at the end of the processional.

A dark satire on contemporary urban life

An mad, unhinged chef and his futile attempts at killing a cockroach in a restaurant kitchen. This film takes its cues from the giant-insect films of the 50's such as "Them!" (1954) and a nod in the direction of Kafka's "Metamorphosis."

A woman misses her train and buys lunch in a café. When she returns to her table, a man is eating her salad.

A young man is obssessed with a goldfish

Based on the comic strip character by the same name. This comedy revolves around a dying millionaire tries to announce his heir to his greedy relatives, as well his mistress and his accountant. All are arguing amongst themselves, as they want to be chosen as his heir, knowing that the problem is that if he dies before picking one of them, all of his fortune goes to a bird-watching club. Then Politenessman interrupts and uses his steel hanky towards the millionaire, killing him, and to reprimand everyone for whispering, deeming it impolite and a sign of "bad breeding". As a result of the millionaire's death, unable to announce an heir and leaving all of his fortune to the bird-watching club. Politenessman reminds the viewers that while not everyone can be a millionaire, it costs very little to be courteous.

Jean-Pierre, a French jerk living in New York, is in desperate need of money. His friend Barry, a wealthy American, is coming to dinner. But is Jean Pierre any match for Barry since he proposes a bet? Because if Jean-Pierre wins, he gets the money. If he loses, Barry sleeps and has sex with Jean-Pierre's wife.

Wall Street business executives Bowers and his assistant Lisa get stuck in an elevator where the lingo of commerce is transformed into the language of love.

A young man washes and rinses off his car on his driveway on a cloudy day with thunder being heard. and the man gets struck by lightning

Tells the story of a boy, a saxophone, and a rainy afternoon to show how the moments in one's life are usually small and often go unnoticed

The narrative unfolds as a timid young man, Cal, arrives for a date at the penthouse of June whose house resembles a whimsical modern art installation almost like Pee-Wee's Playhouse. He offers her roses, only to have them immediately rejected. What follows is a series of absurd, slapstick-inspired events—breaking a decorative bust, accidentally putting a fish in the June’s drink—that culminate in Cal posing shirtless on her indoor “beach” set, sparking June's creative epiphany and leading her to photograph him for a Vogue ad campaign. This short film was created in 1987 under the mentorship of Martin Scorsese while Gruber was a student at Columbia Film School, and has since earned a place in exhibitions at New York’s MoMA, cementing its status as a noteworthy artistic work.