Is That a Mirage?
2025 Official Selection: Short Film – Arthouse/Experimental
Juniper ventures into the desert with her talking tumor on a quest to save her mother, but has to choose between saving her mother and saving herself.
Director(s): Grace Shi
Writer(s): Grace Shi
Producer(s): Grace Shi, Oona Yaffe, Teddy Ninh, Ryan Rambach
Key Cast: Emma Galbraith, Asante Blackk, Jade Chang
Country: United States
La Petite Mortimer
2025 Official Selection: Short Film – Comedy
In a quaint European town where sausage and bread vendors duel daily for culinary supremacy, a high-stakes tricycle race between a mustached meat peddler and a fierce bread-slinging cyclist takes an unexpected turn—derailing their rivalry in the most surprising way.
Director(s): Nickolas Gilbert
Writer(s): Nickolas Gilbert
Producer(s): Nickolas Gilbert, Melissa Martinelli
Key Cast: Johnny Cannizzaro, Rose Hough, Dean Wood
Country: United States
Los Angeles Premiere
Life Support
2025 Official Selection: Short Film – Drama
Inspired by true stories, an emergency doctor struggling under the weight of life-and-death decisions must confront hidden trauma as he teaches a young medical student what it truly means to save a life.
Director(s): Jamon Tolbert
Writer(s): Andrew Chu, Jamon Tolbert
Producer(s): Bonnie Kim
Key Cast: Abigail Johnson
Country: United States
Little Bird
2025 Official Selection: Short Film – Drama
With her fifth birthday fast approaching, a non-verbal autistic girl and her parents struggle to navigate the unaccepting world of a neurodivergent child.
Director(s): Kirsty O’Donnell
Writer(s): Kirsty O’Donnell
Producer(s): Kirsty O’Donnell, Rianne Pyle
Key Cast: Raena Burks-Hunter, Dylan Page, Soulo Smith
Country: United States
Los Angeles Premiere
Weirdest Shit
2025 Official Selection: Short Film – Comedy
Something’s wrong with Grayson and TJ is making it weird.
Director(s): Nathan Trumbull
Writer(s): Nathan Trumbull
Producer(s): Nathan Trumbull, Larissa Pruett
Key Cast: TJ Linnard, Grayson Low, Jeni Reed, Christopher Grajales, Warren Barrow, John Strelec
Los Angeles Premiere
Country: United States
SUM: A Tale From the Afterlife
2024 Official Selection: Short Film – Animation
An unexpected afterline — and a stunning lens through which to see ourselves in the here and now.
Director(s): Jacob Langsner
Writers(s): David Eagleman
Producer(s): Jacob Langsner
Key Cast: Jacob Langsner
World Premiere
Country: USA
Portland Is the New Portland
2024 Official Selection: Short Film – Comedy
A lonely musician in a small town creates a thriving (albeit imaginary) underground music scene by inventing and posing as a multitude of bands. When Rolling Stone Magazine takes notice, his life unravels as he struggles to maintain the facade of his fictional bands.
Director(s): Christopher Scamurra
Writer(s): Christopher Scamurra, Nicholas Reynolds
Producer(s): Nicholas Reynolds, Daisy Davis, Christopher Scamurra, Buck Lindelof
Key Cast: Creed Bratton, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Matthew Danger Lippman
Los Angeles Premiere
Country: USA
The Dance After the Last Dance
2024 Official Selection: Short Film – Dance
The morning after her partner’s funeral, a woman finds healing through dancing with grief.
https://www.thedanceafter.com/
Director(s): Candice Holdorf
Writer(s): Candice Holdorf
Producer(s): Candice Holdorf, Gabriel Diamond
Key Cast: Candice Holdorf, Gabriel Diamond, Clare Rickard
Los Angeles Premiere
Country: USA
Strange Harvest: Occult Murder in the Inland Empire
2024 Official Selection: Feature Film – Horror
A faux true-crime documentary about two detectives pursuit of an infamous serial killer named Mr. Shiny, who terrorized Southern California for almost two decades.
Director(s): Stuart Ortiz
Writer(s): Stuart Ortiz
Producer(s): Stuart Ortiz, Bruce Guido, Alex Yesilcimen
Key Cast: Peter Zizzo, Terri Apple
Country: USA
