Sherman Oaks Film Festival

2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Drama

On the night before he leaves for college, a teenager takes his little brother away from their alcoholic mother for one last night in the city…the only goodbye they may ever get.

Screening date & tickets — to be announced

• Director(s): Michael Guillod
• Writer(s): Howard Campbell
• Producer(s): Jean-Marie Gindraux, Floriane Anderson, Yessi Sanchez, Michael Guillod
• Key Cast: Howard Campbell, Jaden Carson Baker, K.Steele
• Editor(s): Mykyta Kryvosheiev
• Cinematographer(s): Pietro Zuercher
• Production Designer(s): Linda Dahlem Espinoza
• Sound Designer(s): Allan Mantilleri
• Composer(s): Kevin Queille

Language: English

Runtime: 19m

Country: Switzerland, United States

Los Angeles Premiere

Synopsis: On the eve of leaving for college, Braden Hall once again finds his mother lost in drunken chaos. Determined to protect his younger brother from the turmoil at home, he takes him out into the city for one final night together, a bittersweet journey of laughter, connection, and lasting memories amid the fractures of their family.

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2026 Official Selection: Screenplay – Screenplay – Short Film

Ceremony date & tickets — to be announced

Three pot-heads. One nursing home. Whole bunch of weed.

• Writer(s): Richard D. Chandler

Country: Not Specified

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When three friends get given community service in an elderly care home for growing their own supply, it quickly turns into a new venture rather than a punishment as they use the grounds to grow a new crop of extra strength pot.

2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Documentary

Life is about figuring it out, whatever ‘it’ is, and making it work.

Screening date & tickets — to be announced

• Director(s): Clarissa Jacobson, Shayna Weber
• Writer(s): Kent Rodricks
• Producer(s): Clarissa Jacobson, Shayna Weber, Joe Bratcher, Kent Rodricks, Shawna Chance
• Key Cast: Kent Rodricks, Lulu Miller, Jaquay Lamar Thomas
• Editor(s): Geno Marx
• Cinematographer(s): Chris Ekstein and Angela Wong
• Production Designer(s): Alicia Ho
• Sound Designer(s): Matt Festle
• Composer(s): Antoni Mairata

Language: English

Runtime: 10m

Country: United States

Los Angeles Premiere

Synopsis: Butts is an autobiographical piece about Kent’s day-to-day life as a 3’11” man navigating able-bodied surroundings, creatively overcoming all those human-made hurdles and obstacles and giving the proverbial middle finger to death and mortality. Sure, he might be small in stature, but Kent’s big in heart and always puts an entertaining and positive spin on everything.

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2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Documentary

After eight years of caring for his mother with severe dementia, a son struggles through their daily care routine.

Screening date & tickets — to be announced

• Director(s): James Pellerito
• Writer(s): James Pellerito
• Producer(s): David Barba
• Key Cast: Mary Pellerito, James Pellerito
• Editor(s): James Pellerito, David Barba
• Cinematographer(s): Rodrigo Sandoval Vega Gil
• Sound Designer(s): Matt Schultz

Runtime: 12m

Country: United States

Synopsis: After eight years of caring for his mother with severe dementia, a son struggles through their daily care routine. Recorded voicemails serve to show the progression of the disease, underscoring the frustration, isolation and burnout that comes with intensive caregiving.

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2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Animation

One Boy. One Dream. One Destiny.

Screening date & tickets — to be announced

• Director(s): Nicolas P. Villarreal
• Writer(s): Nicolas P. Villarreal
• Producer(s): Nicolas P. Villarreal
• Key Cast: Tony Goldwyn, Victorio Dalessandro
• Editor(s): Alessandro Squitti,
• Cinematographer(s): Nicolas P. Villarreal
• Production Designer(s): Nelson Luty
• Sound Designer(s): Andrew Vernon
• Composer(s): Fabrizio Mancinelli, Santiago Walsh

Language: English, Spanish

Runtime: 15m

Country: Argentina

Los Angeles Premiere

Synopsis: "Fangio: Courage or Destiny" follows a young boy as he is confronted with his future and the decisions he must make to fulfill his destiny. Inspired by the 1955 Formula 1 Grand Prix in Argentina, where Juan Manuel Fangio had to suffer third-degree burns on his leg in order to win the race.

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2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Comedy

Your son has a problem… it’s worse than you think.

Screening date & tickets — to be announced

• Director(s): Justin Singleton
• Writer(s): Justin Singleton
• Producer(s): Jess Paul
• Key Cast: Jess Paul, Nomi Gene, Raheem Mansaray
• Editor(s): Justin Singleton
• Cinematographer(s): Justin Singleton
• Production Designer(s): Jess Paul
• Sound Designer(s): Justin Singleton
• Composer(s): Finn Clarke

Language: English

Runtime: 10m

Country: United States

Synopsis: Two parents and their son’s kindergarten teacher discuss his very particular problem.

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2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Arthouse/Experimental

A man bargains with a "genie" AI program, but fails to realize the cost of the transaction before trapping himself—and his pregnant wife—in a digital purgatory.

Screening date & tickets — to be announced

• Director(s): Indy Gott
• Writer(s): Indy Gott
• Producer(s): Indy Gott, Maxwell Marcus
• Key Cast: Indy Gott, Veronica Bruce, Emma Kotos
• Editor(s): Aaron Vasquez / Indy Gott
• Cinematographer(s): Ryan Joseph
• Sound Designer(s): DANIEL McNAMARA

Language: English

Runtime: 10m

Country: United States

Synopsis: A man embarks on a perilous journey of the mind as he enlists the help of a dubious app to reconnect with a loved one. Stuck in a continuous loop whilst trying to progress, he falls victim to the very thing he thought was going to help him.

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2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Animation

A boy with shoulder broader than a door trying to fit in.

Screening date & tickets — to be announced

• Director(s): Jane Jiang, Kerry Sun
• Writer(s): Jane Jiang, Kerry Sun
• Producer(s): Ringling College of Art and Design
• Key Cast: Yanick Welihozkiy
• Editor(s): Jane Jiang, Kerry Sun
• Cinematographer(s): Jane Jiang, Kerry Sun
• Sound Designer(s): Studio Labs
• Composer(s): Etia Farmiga, Micheal Berry

Language: English

Runtime: 3m

Country: United States

Synopsis: This is a story about Bruno, a boy born with shoulders broader than a door frame. As he grows up, he faces a series of challenges, awkward situations, and humorous twists that come with being a little different from everyone else.

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2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Horror

You have to do what it says… or else.

Screening date & tickets — to be announced

• Director(s): Mike Robinson
• Writer(s): Mike Robinson
• Producer(s): Kat Hartman Rocco, Sean Cruser, Mike Robinson
• Key Cast: Kunjue Li, Matthew Burnside, Kevin Toomey, Jenny Castro, Ryan Featherston
• Editor(s): Kevin Toomey
• Cinematographer(s): Sean Cruser
• Production Designer(s): Alexander Cantrell
• Sound Designer(s): Jérémy Ben Ammar
• Composer(s): David Bauer & Nick Sudar

Language: English

Runtime: 13m

Country: United States

Synopsis: A woman is terrorized by a mysterious orange circle who intimidates her into attacking people with a pair of garden shears.

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2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Horror

Make America taste great again!

Screening date & tickets — to be announced

• Director(s): David Dylan Thomas
• Writer(s): David Dylan Thomas
• Producer(s): Stephanie Malson, Maurice Gaston
• Key Cast: Davon Cochran, Walt DeShields
• Editor(s): Raquel Davis
• Cinematographer(s): Jalen Ramseur-Williams
• Production Designer(s): Jai Monee
• Sound Designer(s): Timothy Day
• Composer(s): Gangstagrass

Language: English

Runtime: 11m

Country: United States

Synopsis: True story, beneath Washington Square, an urban park in Philadelphia, lie buried the bodies of hundreds of enslaved people. What if, one night, they all came back as zombies, but they only ate white people?

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