Sherman Oaks Film Festival

2026 Official Selection: Screenplay – Screenplay – Feature Film

Ceremony date & tickets — to be announced

Fate is always on call.

• Writer(s): Mark Jonathan Landau, Ali Reza Tafreshi

Country: Not Specified

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The Person You Were Before is a semi-autobiographical medical drama with sci-fi elements that acts partially as an exposé of the daily life of healthcare workers. The broken healthcare system molds the psyche of those who engage in it, both patient and practitioner, until the result is something unrecognizable to themselves. When confronted with an increasingly surreal atmosphere, their thirst for knowledge comes at the price of having to face their own mortality.

2026 Official Selection: Screenplay – Screenplay – Feature Film

Ceremony date & tickets — to be announced

When broke gig worker Emily wins a residency with tradwife influencer Rosa, she discovers that, behind the apron, her flawless hostess is a vampire seeking a willing successor.

• Writer(s): Michele R Wells

Language: English

Country: Not Specified

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Drowning in debt and with an eviction notice on her door, Uber driver Emily wins a month-long residency with tradwife influencer Rosa. Her home is even better than it seems online, and Emily happily spends her days learning the tips and tricks that make Rosa successful, hoping to take over her four million daily viewers. But she soon learns the empire she is being given comes with a curse that binds its mistress to the homestead, and a thirst she cannot ignore.

2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Arthouse/Experimental

Who controls who?

Screening date & tickets — to be announced

• Director(s): Gustavo Ramos
• Producer(s): Gustavo Ramos
• Key Cast: Gustavo Ramos
• Editor(s): Gustavo Ramos
• Cinematographer(s): Gustavo Ramos
• Sound Designer(s): Gustavo Ramos
• Composer(s): Gustavo Ramos

Runtime: 3m

Country: Brazil

Los Angeles Premiere

Synopsis: The reactive relations of attraction and repulsion of the object and the body are expanded when a subtle edition effect is created, in which the space itself appears to participate in the movement of not only the object, but also the connected body and its reactions. The body is confused with the object and the object is confused with the body. In this environment where all the elements come to life, who controls who?

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2026 Official Selection: Feature Film – Horror

When two self-destructive best friends have to flee town, they find shelter in a roadside antique mall, but the owner isn’t as sweet as she seems.

Screening date & tickets — to be announced

• Director(s): Tyler Savage
• Writer(s): Tyler Savage
• Producer(s): David Broad, Noah Lang, Javier Gonzalez, Max Neace
• Key Cast: Adrienne Barbeau, Xander Berkeley, Lovie Simone, Lilimar
• Editor(s): Stephen Boyer
• Cinematographer(s): Antonio Cisneros
• Production Designer(s): Amber Unkle
• Sound Designer(s): Nick Bohun
• Composer(s): Cody Carpenter

Language: English

Runtime: 1h 31m

Country: United States

Los Angeles Premiere

Synopsis: When two self-destructive best friends accidentally kill their drug dealer, they have to flee town. Stopping at a roadside antique shop, they quickly discover that the older woman running the place isn’t as sweet as she seems. It’s out of the frying pan and into the fire as they fight for survival while the criminals they were running away from descend on the property…

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2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Documentary

A visual and sound collage of 9/11 from the voices of the people who were at Ground Zero that day.

Screening date & tickets — to be announced

• Director(s): Matthew Ferraro
• Writer(s): Matthew Ferraro
• Producer(s): John Osborne, Ramy Katrib
• Editor(s): Nicole Bell
• Cinematographer(s): Animator – Nicole Bell
• Sound Designer(s): Stefan Henrix, Matthew Ferraro, Michael Engesser, Mark
• Composer(s): Matthew Ferraro

Language: English

Runtime: 14m

Country: United States

Synopsis: “13 Seconds” is a short documentary film that uses animation, live action, and a vocal mosaic of literally hundreds of recorded testimonials never heard before from people who were in and around Ground Zero that fateful day of 9/11. From Police and Firemen to family members of the victims, waiters, stockbrokers, lawyers, office workers, husbands and wives, the documentary follows their harrowing experiences and shows how they survived the trauma of such a tragic event. It is

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2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Horror

A surreal horror story about a lonely latchkey kid who becomes fixated on a sitcom character as a surrogate father figure.

Screening date & tickets — to be announced

• Director(s): Sam Ripley
• Writer(s): Sam Ripley
• Producer(s): Borna Jamshidi, Dhruvraj Singh Bhati, Associate Producer: Jonathan Taub
• Key Cast: Ron Livingston, Logan Kaufman, Keenan Moran
• Editor(s): Kyle Moore
• Cinematographer(s): Ian Herz
• Production Designer(s): Bianca Natalia
• Sound Designer(s): Thomas Neugebauer

Language: English

Runtime: 11m

Country: United States

Synopsis: Alienated from his father, lonely twelve-year-old Kyle finds comfort in the warm, familiar world of an old family sitcom. When the show’s kindly patriarch begins speaking directly to him through the television, Kyle believes he’s finally found the father he always wanted. But as his fixation deepens, TV Dad’s comforting guidance takes a sinister turn, offering Kyle a path to a perfect new home… if he’s willing to leave his real one behind.

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2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Drama

When two co-stars unexpectedly meet before an audition for the same role, Eleanor an insecure yet talented performer, must learn to embrace her individuality to secure the part.

Screening date & tickets — to be announced

• Director(s): Wednesday Peck
• Writer(s): Wednesday Peck
• Producer(s): Marillia Yunis
• Key Cast: Annie Jean Buckley, Kaya Hohensee, Ariana Guliak
• Editor(s): Jonathan Lau
• Cinematographer(s): Benjamin Tinsley
• Sound Designer(s): Benjamin Tinsley
• Composer(s): Thomas Yamada

Language: English

Runtime: 12m

Country: United States

Synopsis: Eleanor, an insecure yet accomplished performer, attends a stage play audition and encounters a former co-star auditioning for the same role. As they wait for their turn to perform, ego and self-doubt take over, causing the girls to question one another and themselves. After a moment of weakness, Eleanor must perform and embrace who she truly is.

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2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Animation

Winning takes everything you’ve got

Screening date & tickets — to be announced

• Director(s): Mike Stamm
• Writer(s): Mike Stamm
• Producer(s): Mike Stamm, Dimos Vrysellas
• Key Cast: Bob Carter, Cadence Winter, Jack Carter, Ray Scarborough
• Editor(s): Mike Stamm
• Cinematographer(s): Mike Stamm
• Production Designer(s): Matt Evans
• Sound Designer(s): Sweet Justice Sound
• Composer(s): Abraham Darwich, Zach Heyde

Runtime: 12m

Country: United States

Synopsis: The Ottoman, a hotshot mechanic and amateur robot gladiator, is looking forward to proving himself in the arena against the reigning Tournament champion and his massive mechanical Scorpion. But when his obsession with winning endangers the lives of his wife and son, the Ottoman must face some harsh lessons about what victory truly requires.

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2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Arthouse/Experimental

As three strangers make eye contact, we are enveloped into their worlds.

Screening date & tickets — to be announced

• Director(s): Eva L Hoffman
• Writer(s): Eva L Hoffman
• Key Cast: Sarah Randisi, Beatrix Donnelly, Dom Olivo, Baily Hopkins, Edward McCloud
• Editor(s): Eva L Hoffman, Nicholas Dorsey
• Cinematographer(s): Nicholas Dorsey
• Sound Designer(s): Harsh Yeole

Language: English

Runtime: 8m

Country: United States

Los Angeles Premiere

Synopsis: ‘Eye Contact’ is an exploration of the visceral moment of recognition and vulnerability when a stranger’s gaze unexpectedly meets your own. It’s about how a brief glance can become a kind of portal, offering a glimpse into someone’s life. It’s about how memories can intrude on the present. It’s about distilling intimacy into its most elemental form.

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2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Drama

Screening date & tickets — to be announced

• Director(s): Farzad Kiyafar
• Writer(s): Farzad Kiyafar
• Producer(s): Farzad Kiyafar, Courtney Shumway, Michael Watt
• Key Cast: Nima Rakhshanifar, Jeremy Urann, Kate Krieger, Katie Kelley
• Editor(s): Farzad Kiyafar
• Cinematographer(s): Aakash Raj
• Production Designer(s): Marcel Andre
• Sound Designer(s): William Tabanou
• Composer(s): Steven Matthew Carter

Language: English, Persian

Runtime: 12m

Country: United States

Synopsis: Overwhelmed and isolated on his wedding day, a closeted immigrant speaks to his family on the phone moments before walking down the aisle.

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