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

Just a girl and her talking tumor.

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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

Somewhere between sausages and sourdough lies the unexpected.

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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

What does it mean to save a life?

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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

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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

When’s the last time you went to the dentist?

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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

In the afterlife, it all gets reshuffled.

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

She danced with death. It brought her back to life.

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