Month: October 2026

2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Animation

Stranded on a distant world, a small, worn-out robot named Helen wanders through strange, beautiful landscapes, guided only by a song and the quiet weight of an unfinished mission.

Program 18 – Inspiring Spotlight · Sun, Dec 6, 2026 · 3:15 PM

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• Director(s): Carlos Fernandez Puertolas
• Writer(s): Anthony Hodgson, Carlos Fernandez Puertolas
• Producer(s): Paige Johnstone
• Key Cast: Lauren Culjak (voice captain)
• Editor(s): Carlos F. Puertolas
• Cinematographer(s): Carlos F. Puertolas
• Production Designer(s): Carlos F. Puertolas
• Sound Designer(s): Denis Nechipurenko
• Composer(s): KOTOMI (Lauren Culjak)

Language: English

Runtime: 9m

Country: Spain

Synopsis: Stranded on a distant world, a small, worn-out robot named Helen wanders through strange, beautiful landscapes, guided only by a song and the quiet weight of an unfinished mission.

The short film was created by a single artist, whose creative journey at times mirrored the lonely travels of the robot in the story.

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2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Animation

A place where dreams are real, wishes come true, and everything is always awful for everyone

Program 06 – Poignant Spotlight · Fri, Dec 4, 2026 · 9:45 PM

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• Director(s): Parker Croft
• Writer(s): Spike Milliken, Parker Croft
• Producer(s): Nolan Gould, Parker Croft, Erika Totoro
• Key Cast: Sean Marquette, Sharon Powers, Bill Welden

Language: English

Runtime: 5m

Country: United States

Synopsis: A place where dreams are real, wishes come true, and everything is always awful for everyone.

The first installment of the Hard Times anthology, Hell, follows the patriarch of a dying farm on the outskirts of Ash Harbor as he is methodically ground down by the machinery of despair. What begins as endurance curdles into something far more existential, a portrait of collapse told through dust, labor, and silence.

Hell made its world premiere in 2026 at Animation Dingle,

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2026 Official Selection: Feature Film – Horror

In 1981, porn filmmakers chase the slasher craze with a low-budget ripoff, as spring-breaking coeds are stalked by a killer beekeeper at a camp with a tragic past.

Program 05 – Friday the 69th · Fri, Dec 4, 2026 · 9:30 PM

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• Director(s): Alex Montilla
• Writer(s): Alex Montilla
• Producer(s): Alex Montilla
• Key Cast: Amy Letcher, Rob Zoppo, Bud Galloway, Amber Kellehan, David Arnold Rubin, Anna Bess, Alex Montilla
• Editor(s): Alex Montilla
• Cinematographer(s): Alex Montilla
• Sound Designer(s): Ignacio Kriman
• Composer(s): Chris Ranier

Language: English

Runtime: 1h 32m

Country: United States

Synopsis: Friday the 69th, the first-ever period-piece feature shot entirely on an iPhone (probably… don’t Google it), is a microbudget slasher-comedy paying tribute to early ’80s B-movies. In 1981, adult filmmakers chase the slasher craze by making their own ripoff, only to unleash a killer beekeeper with a vendetta on a group of spring-breaking coeds. With a scene filmed at the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre house, it channels the DIY spirit of El Mariachi into a cult horror romp.

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2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Drama

A young woman battles with a toxic relationship while going through the last stages of an ectopic pregnancy. Will she break the generational trauma or continue the cycle?

Program 04 – Impactful Spotlight · Fri, Dec 4, 2026 · 9:20 PM

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• Director(s): Denise Borraz Trepat
• Writer(s): Denise Borraz Trepat
• Producer(s): Denise Borraz Trepat, David Guthrie
• Key Cast: Adam Wesley, Denise Borraz Trepat
• Editor(s): David Guthrie
• Cinematographer(s): Stephen St Peter
• Production Designer(s): Savannah Sokoloski
• Sound Designer(s): Private Island Studio
• Composer(s): Anna Ortiz Wienken

Language: English

Runtime: 17m

Country: United States

Synopsis: Recovering from an ectopic pregnancy, Deianira has to face another devastating truth: her husband has been unfaithful.

As the couple attempts to reconnect over a single night, the reality between them grows heavier.

Through raw and intimate flashbacks, ENOUGH explores the emotional wreckage of betrayal, the weight of womanhood, and what it takes to break the cycle of generational pain.

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2026 Official Selection: Screenplay – Screenplay – Short Film

Screenplay Awards Ceremony · Sun, Dec 6, 2026 · 2:00 PM

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She doesn’t want to die alone. He doesn’t want to live without her. One of them is lying.

• Writer(s): Tiana Stuart

Language: English

Country: Not Specified

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Tracy, in her early 40s, is dying and increasingly alone, with few friends and a family that feels more like an obligation. Then she meets Corey: warm, steady, unbothered by her diagnosis. As her body fails, he moves in to care for her, and she hands over not only her trust but also her trust fund. When her prognosis shrinks from months to days, Corey’s devotion takes a dark turn: he wants to die beside her, in one final act of love.

2026 Official Selection: Series Episode – TV/Streaming/Web Series

How are you supposed to do "inner child work" when your inner child is a little shit?

Program 17 – Dynamic Spotlight · Sun, Dec 6, 2026 · 2:00 PM

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• Director(s): Molly Daniels
• Writer(s): Jem Splitter, Molly Daniels
• Producer(s): Rachael Morrow, Jem Splitter
• Key Cast: Tegan Higginbotham, Paige Joy Ryans, John Leary, Fiona Macleod
• Editor(s): Emily Robb
• Cinematographer(s): Samuel Galloway
• Production Designer(s): Madelin Latomanski
• Composer(s): Matthew Tankard

Language: English

Runtime: 22m

Country: Australia

Los Angeles Premiere

Synopsis: A depressed, dysfunctional physicist accidentally sent back in time tries to fix her future by mentoring her troubled 14-year-old self — a whole-ass handful with her own mischievous agenda.

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2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Drama

We Have Been Gifted.

Program 14 – Haunted Spotlight · Sat, Dec 5, 2026 · 9:45 PM

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• Director(s): Landon Hogue
• Writer(s): Landon Hogue
• Producer(s): Landon Hogue, Megan Elisabeth Kelly, Ben Humphrey
• Key Cast: Landon Hogue, Megan Elisabeth Kelly
• Editor(s): Elyza Veta
• Cinematographer(s): Ben Humphrey
• Production Designer(s): Madeleine Berry
• Sound Designer(s): Megan Baer
• Composer(s): Alanna Quiton

Language: English

Runtime: 14m

Country: United States

Synopsis: When a traumatic loss leaves a young couple desperate and squalid, a man becomes disillusioned over an onion he finds in the dirt. Believing it is a gift from a higher power, he falls into a psychological spiral.

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2026 Official Selection: Feature Film – Horror

An emotional and physical horror film about a man living with Muscular Dystrophy and the metaphorical journey of dealing with his negligent nursing staff.

Program 08 – Crippled · Sat, Dec 5, 2026 · 6:00 PM

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• Director(s): Zak Seidman
• Writer(s): Zak Seidman, Will Stocker
• Producer(s): Zak Seidman, Will Stocker
• Key Cast: Will Stocker, Logan Lark, Blair D’Amico, Patty Stocker
• Editor(s): Zak Seidman
• Cinematographer(s): Rob E. Bennett
• Production Designer(s): Ben Werfel
• Sound Designer(s): Rob Wolk
• Composer(s): Joe Cipriano, Will Stocker

Language: English

Runtime: 1h 9m

Country: United States

Los Angeles Premiere

Synopsis: An emotional and physical horror film about a man living with Muscular Dystrophy and the metaphorical journey of dealing with his negligent nursing staff.

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2026 Official Selection: Screenplay – Screenplay – Short Film

Screenplay Awards Ceremony · Sun, Dec 6, 2026 · 2:00 PM

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Everyone in town knows who drove Bethany to her death. Her mother is the last to find out.

• Writer(s): Lia Martin

Language: English

Country: Not Specified

Bully follows Lilian McDonald, a meticulous single mother desperately trying to preserve the appearance of a stable family after the suicide of her daughter Kacy’s classmate, Bethany. As Lilian struggles to reconnect with Bethany’s grieving mother, navigate an investigation by Child Protective Services, and understand why her family has become increasingly isolated within the community, fragments of memory and subtle behavioral clues gradually expose a devastating reality.

2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Horror

During a breathwork session, a reluctant skeptic opens herself to “new energies” and lets in something far darker.

Program 22 – Thrilling Spotlight · Sun, Dec 6, 2026 · 5:30 PM

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• Director(s): Erik Westerström
• Writer(s): Theo Wanderydz
• Producer(s): Konrad Patocs
• Key Cast: Hanna Ardéhn, Madeleine Ferraud, Victor Iván, Astrid Kakuli, Einar-Hugo Strömberg, Esther Andersson, Katja Ferm
• Editor(s): Joakim Andreasson
• Cinematographer(s): Robin Trolin
• Production Designer(s): Rasmus Alexander
• Sound Designer(s): Olle Södergran
• Composer(s): Jonathan Lytz

Language: Swedish

Runtime: 13m

Country: Sweden

Los Angeles Premiere

Synopsis: During a breathwork session, a reluctant skeptic opens herself to “new energies” and lets in something far darker.

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