Los Angeles’ Largest Independent Film Festival Will Screen 279 Films, including 36 World Premieres of Narrative and Documentary Features, & 4 North American Premieres.
Jay Silverman’s YALE makes its World Premiere as the Opening Night Selection, and Adam Hoelzel’s TENDER makes its World Premiere as the Closing Night Selection!
Dances With Films: LA has announced the film lineup for next month’s return of Los Angeles’ largest indie film-focused film festival (June 18-28) for its 29th edition platforming films not produced by studios or with big budgets. Those films include DWF: LA’s critically-acclaimed Midnight Horror and Genre, and Pilots sections, as well as continuing the celebration of music, dance, and family-friendly programming in the Downbeat and Kidz sections. This year’s packed schedule will be bookended by the world premieres of Jay Silverman’s drama Yale with Kevin Dunn, and Rachael Harris, as the Opening Night selection, and Adam Hoelzel’s thriller Tender with Jesse Garcia, Jess Weixler, David Koechner, and Robert Longstreet, on Closing Night.
In an environment where multiplexes can struggle to consistently fill houses, DWF: LA expects to once again draw record-breaking audiences to its screenings and events at the TCL Chinese Theatre on 6925 Hollywood Blvd. in the Ovation Complex.
This year’s DWF: LA’s lineup includes 279 films, including 41 narrative features, 17 documentary features, 4 midnight features, 33 television and streaming pilots, and 184 short films (99 narrative and 21 documentaries, 32 midnight, 15 Kidz section, 17 Downbeat/Music), with an impressive number of films making world, North American, or U.S. premieres.
Dances With Films has built an indisputable reputation as a discovery film festival that year in and year out features the most world premieres of any festival in Los Angeles and a significant discovery festival in the US. Additional narrative features (beyond the two gala selections) making their world premieres in June include: Andrew David Paterson’s American Flake, Jay Diaz’s Angeleno, Brian L. Tan’s Bandit, John Brownell’s Coin, Sean Perry’s Coaled Blood, Daniel Katz and Brad Dickson’s Dave vs. Hollywood, Joel David Santner’s Directors’ Commentary, Gerald Fillmore’s Face Love, Mädchen Amick’s Fractured, Rachel Carey’s Good Thoughts, Doug Bremner’s The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg, Jordan Rowe’s Hamilton House, Jonathan Oster’s Jane’s Not Here, as you can see in the below photo, that stars Amelia Barr, photo credit Bella Demesquita: 
Jason Laurits’ Loves Company, JJ Lippman’s Mind Games, Stephen McNamee’s Muffled, Robyn Symon’s Queen of Shock, D.J. Hale’s Rescued, Dustin Brown’s Solidarity, David Ketterer Spencer’s Souvenir, RJ Zabasky’s Sync, Marcus Niehaus’ Tales From the Crypto, as you can see in the below photo, that stars Aryaan Ohri and Marcus Niehaus, photo credit Aaron Garcia: 
Gregory J. Green’s Tempest, Debra De Liso’s Wilma, Wu, and a Stripper Named Lorraine, and Njedeh Anthony’s Yellow Broken Road. Making their North American Premieres will be Tristan Barr’s Deathkeeper, Aleksandra Hansen’s Life at Sandy’s, and Scott Tinkham and Michael Woloson’s Littermates, and Mason Howard’s U A P.
Feature-length documentaries making their world premieres at DWFLA include: Kern Konwiser’s Autumn Gold, Hrag Yedalian’s Beneath the Ashes: The Past Reimagined, Cam Lui, and Michael Schnee’s Better Call Babs, David Booth Gardner’s The Last Place on Earth, Beatrix Ryle’s My Name is Gitta, Jordan Kronick’s Peaking: Psychedelics and the Pursuit of Happiness, Jon Bolerjack’s Stan Lee: The Final Chapter, Brad Alexander’s Tell Me About Tomorrow, and Boaz Dvir’s To Kill a Nazi.
Dances With Films’ founders, Leslee Scallon and Michael Trent, said, “For close to three decades Dances With Films has exhibited ‘The Power of Indie Film’ and this year’s lineup is filled with unique and diverse voices from filmmakers working outside of the studio system and without the benefit of bigger budgets, will entertain and surprise film lovers with the cinematic magic DWF is well-known for. As always, we couldn’t be more thrilled to introduce them all and connect our filmmakers with audiences, film distributors, and other industry veterans in the best way imaginable: at the TCL Chinese Theatres right in the heart of Hollywood.”
Thursday, June 18 features the World Premiere Opening Night presentation of Jay Silverman’s drama Yale. The film focuses on a woman who must find and ask for help from the father who abandoned her when she was a child in order to save her son, who needs an emergency kidney transplant. The film stars Caitlin McGee, Dominic Leeder, Kevin Dunn, and Rachael Harris.
Sunday, June 28, DWF: LA offers another world premiere as its Closing Night selection, Adam Hoelzel’s drama Tender. The film follows a couple trapped in a failing marriage and drowning in debt who discover a hidden stash of gold buried within the walls of their home. What begins as a lifeline quickly spirals into danger, as the pair devise a high-stakes plan to offload the fortune and escape their financial ruin. The impressive cast includes Jesse Garcia, Jess Weixler, David Koechner, Robert Longstreet, Mark St. Cyr, Keli Price, Stephen Ellis, Robert Peters, and Sonja O’Hara.
Additional highlights among the narrative feature films making their world premieres include Jay Diaz’s home grown drama Angeleno. The LA-based story follows a first-generation Latino American whose filmmaking dreams have taken a back seat to family responsibilities and crises that derailed him in his youth. However, a new opportunity might finally help him break through and convince him that it’s never too late in a city built for dreamers.
Also making its world premiere, David Ketterer Spencer’s Souvenir focuses on two estranged friends whose unexpected encounter leads to an unexpected day-long adventure through New York City as they attempt to return a dead self-help guru’s lost wallet. The cast includes Janeane Garafalo: 
Janeane Garofalo is an American actress, comedian, activist, and author. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, she became a poster child for dry wit in film and television, known for her self-deprecating humor and hipster style. Garofalo has appeared in films like Reality Bites, Wet Hot American Summer, and Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion. She received Emmy nominations for her role as Paula, a talent booker, on The Larry Sanders Show in 1996 and 1997. Janeane Garafalo, Ruby Cruz (Bottoms) and Eric Berryman, star in “Souvenir” As you can see in the below photo- Photo Credit Arlene Muller: 
Mädchen Amick makes her feature film directorial debut with the thriller Fractured. Based on a true story, and starring Bruce Dern and Julia Ormond, the film centers on a woman whose past filled with tragedy and trauma catches up with her when an ex-boyfriend shows up and triggers memories of her father’s death.
Our Entertainment Today TV Show Host: Margie Rey had interviewed Bruce Dern before on our show: He is an American actor and two-time Oscar nominee. Born in Chicago in 1936, Dern has worked with directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Elia Kazan, and Quentin Tarantino. Hitchcock was such a fan that he cast Dern in both Marnie and Family Plot. Dern has starred in several classic films, including The King of Marvin Gardens with Jack Nicholson and The Great Gatsby as Tom Buchana. Left photo of Bruce Dern at the Cannes Film Festival.
I (Steve Taylor) was lucky enough to ride together in the same limousine with Julia Ormond, when we both attended the Academy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium! This was during: Legends of the Fall (1994), and Sabrina (1995) when both movies were both nominated for a few Academy Awards! & Then, about 2 years after the Oscars, at the Golden Globe Awards, I was leaving The Sony Party on the 3rd floor of the Beverly Hilton Hotel, and then when I decided to go back to the party- security would not let me back in since it was late and they were closing down the party, so when my friend Daryl who saw the trouble I was having- asked me “Should I go get Julia to help get you in?” I thought he was joking, but I said yes, and then Daryl walked all the way to the back of the party to tell Julia Ormond: “Steve needs your help- security will not let him back in” – so then the World Famous Actress: Julia Ormond, whose movie “Sabrina” that she stared in as Sabrina, with her Co-Star: Harrison Ford- happened to be airing everyday on Cable TV- so then she walked all the way to the front of the Sony Party by the heavily secured front entrance, and told the security guards: “He is with me- let him in” but security refused and said the party is now closed, so I said: “don’t you recognize who that is? it’s Julia Ormond!” but security still refused to let me in, so then amazingly Julia just waved her hand at the security guards in disgust, and grabbed me by my hand, pushed the barricade over, and pulled me back into the party! 
Then she introduced me to all of her famous English & American Actor friends who she was talking too at this party: Liam Neeson on the extreme left of the below photo, with me and Julia Ormond and friends at the Golden Globe Awards: VIP Official Sony Pictures After-Party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel: 
Kevin Spacey on the right with me: 
Award Winning Actor: Gabriel Byrne, and 2 others that I can’t remember. This was one of the most fun and exciting award show parties that I ever attended, and was an experience that I will always remember! Me & Julia below: 
Julia is an Emmy Award-winning British actress and activist who has been a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador against Trafficking and Slavery since 2005. Ormond first became prominent in the early 1990s for her roles in films like Legends of the Fall, Sabrina, and First Knight. She has also appeared in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Che, My Week with Marilyn, and The Walking Dead: World Beyond. 
Above: Julia Ormond on the left and me at an Oscar Event, and Julia backstage at the Oscars below: 
Adam Jumba’s Lone Rider stars Jack Alcott as a young man whose impulsive decision to steal back his beat-up ’89 Mustang from his estranged father leads to a quixotic journey through middle-of-nowhere diners, old stomping grounds, and midnight highways, crossing paths with old friends, strangers, and moments that feel like echoes of another life.
In the below photo you can see: Cody Christian (Teen Wolf) in a scene from SYNC, directed by RJ Zabasky: 
Matt Flanders’ romantic comedy How to Date Again follows Michael (Rob Mor), a heartbroken animator struggling to re-enter the dating world after a devastating loss. He finally meets Leigh (Natasha Loring), an emotionally intuitive record exec and they embark on a spontaneous California coast road trip to confront their pasts and learn how to heal. The film also stars Haley Joel Osment – who I had interviewed before on our TV Show- Entertainment Today: 
and Kevin Nealon. Kevin Nealon is an Emmy-nominated American actor and comedian. He was a writer for SNL in 1988, earning a nomination for his work. He’s also known for his roles in Anger Management with Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler, Joe Dirt with David Spade, and Daddy Day Care with Eddie Murphy. He voiced the title character in the Nick at Nite series Glenn Martin DDS. 
Kevin Nealon has also made guest appearances on Hot in Cleveland. I personally interviewed Kevin at the Grand Opening of Planet Hollywood in Beverly Hills, when he joked about our show: Entertainment & Sports Today – and said: “Oh, EST!” You can see Kevin with his wife: Linda Dupree, at this historic event in the photo on the left.
Jason Lauritis’ fish out of water comedy Loves Company will make its world premiere at DWFLA. In the film, a faded game show personality is rescued after a car crash in the Everglades by his #1..and only…fan. The outcast woman soon reaches her limit with his bad behavior, but now she can’t get rid of him. The cast includes Rachel Dratch, Jack Plotnick, Sarah Baker, and Dustin Ingram. 
Guy Jacobson’s screwball comedy Out of Order stars Brandon Routh (Superman)- (as you can see in the above photo- Photo credit Matt Braunsdorf) as an ambitious lawyer who accepts a job offer from a big snobbish rival law firm; that is, until his current boss suffers a heart attack and begs him to take one last case. Convinced he can do it, he decides to swing both positions until he realizes that he is now representing opposite sides of the same case. The film also stars Brooke Shields, Sandra Bernhard, Sam Huntington, and Luis Guzman.
My most treasured memory with Brooke Shields, is part of our history when Michael Jackson was given his public memorial service at Staples Center on July 7th 2009, after his tragic death, when I was miraculously lucky enough to win 2 tickets in a worldwide lottery that had 1.2 Billion entries from people from all over our planet, to attend this historic event in person to pay a final tribute to the King of Pop! I was so lucky to be there to see this event in person, as 3 billion people across the world that watched this event broadcast live on TV, making it the biggest televised memorial service in history! Right after this show my guest and I were able to join a small handful of people in the green room at Staples Center, for a very special private party, only for the family and closest friends, and celebrities. I was so surprised and honored when Michael’s sister: La Toya Jackson thanked me for coming, when it was I that was so lucky and happy just to be there! In the morning that day I was in a big hurry to make it there in time, to get through all the security check points, so I cut myself shaving and I had a small spot of blood on my face, and then in this party- Actress Brooke Shields said to me: “let me get that for you ” and wet her finger on her lips and wiped that blood spot off of my face! Brooke was one of the 3 hosts for this memorial service show since she was very close to Michael, and a very good friend who used to date him. This was a special moment that I will never forget! Below is a photo of Brooke Shields (Center) with me on the left, and Tennis Champion: Andre Agassi on the right:
Sandra Bernhard is an American actress, comedian, singer, writer, and author who first gained recognition in the late 1970s for her stand-up comedy. Her routines often included sharp critiques of political figures and celebrity culture. She’s also known for her one-woman shows, which combine cabaret, stand-up, rock-n-roll, and social commentary.
Dances With Films: LA has an equally strong slate of documentaries with a number of films making their world premieres. One of the films making its debut is Cam Lui, and Michael Schnee’s Better Call Babs which places the audience in Babs Fry’s iconic van for a ride along, witnessing her Red-Cross award-winning work of recovering lost pets and rehabilitating feral dogs, but through the personal challenges that shaped the woman she is today. Also making its world premiere is Boaz Dvir’s To Kill a Nazi, which follows the saga of Michel Cojot’s journey to find Klaus Barbie and get revenge for Cojot’s father’s death at Auschwitz.
Rob Arthur’s Frampton traces Peter Frampton’s rise to global rock and roll fame, (See in above photo) the struggles that tested his identity and resilience, and his relentless reinvention. As personal sacrifices surface, the cost of fame becomes clear. Now facing a degenerative muscle disease, Frampton confronts his limits with urgency and grace. Making its world premiere is Jon Bolerjack’s Stan Lee: The Final Chapter which looks at Lee’s experiences at conventions where Stan’s signatures and memorabilia were converted into millions of dollars and rival hucksters double-crossed each other to control his fortune.
Dances With Films’ critically acclaimed Midnight section of films including the following features making their North American premieres: Tristan Barr’s Deathkeeper pits a reclusive angel against a charming demon in disguise in order to save a possessed woman. Mason Howard’s U A P takes place during a Fourth of July reunion, where five friends discover a mysterious sphere that draws the attention of government forces and private interests, and is possibly manipulating humanity itself. Making its world premiere is Stephen McNamee’s Muffled, where two true crime enthusiasts return to their hometown to solve the mystery of what happened to their childhood friend, who had vanished without a trace.
DWF: LA’s prodigious short films lineup includes the world premiere of Alyssa Limperis and Emily Murnane’s Going Home in which a woman decides to go to her childhood home and visit her parents after suffering through a really bad day. The film stars Limperis and Patton Oswalt. Patton Peter Oswalt is an award-winning American actor, comedian, writer, and voice actor. He’s known for his work in comedy-related film and television, and for his stand-up comedy that blends personal anecdotes with cultural commentary. Oswalt’s acting credits include The King of Queens (1998–2007), Blade: Trinity, and Magnolia. He’s also known for voicing Remy in Ratatouille and Max in The Secret Life of Pets. Patton Oswalt at a major awards show: 
Page Kennedy’s Macbeth in Compton delivers a hip-hop-infused reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy set in 1990s Compton. Jeff Perreca’s sci-fi short Conflicting Reports has characters finding themselves in a situation described by two mysterious broadcasts. One claims that aliens have arrived and are peaceful. The other says they’re hostile invaders. The cast includes Noel Fisher, Meghan Leathers, Guillermo Diaz, and Andrew Jacobs. Also making its world premiere is Jingbei Bai’s American Boy. The very timely drama tells the story of an undocumented Chinese immigrant, finding joy in a classic night out with his two friends, until their celebration is cut short by ICE agents. 
Other short highlights include the world premieres of Katherine Connor Duff’s This Little Piggy Went to Market, (as you can see in the above photo, that stars Siena Solinda, photo credit Steven Mangurten) which explores parasocial relationships, female financial autonomy, and the effect of the insatiable gaze of social media, Darcy Miller’s Captain Milo, a touching look at a child’s defensive fantasies, as you can see in the below photo, that stars Austin Thomas, photo credit Nathan Coltrane: 
and Autumn Palen’s outrageous globe-trotting coming of age EDM-themed romp Breakfast At Berghain, produced by DWF’s own Frankie Campisano. As you can see in the below photo, that stars Dominique Booth, photo credit Autumn Palen: 
For more information about the Dances With Films: LA film lineup, events, passes, and tickets, go to: https://danceswithfilms.com/.
The 2026 Dances With Films: LA official selections:
OPENING NIGHT SELECTION:
Yale WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 123 min.
DIRECTOR: Jay Silverman
Based on a true story about a troubled woman who must confront her deadbeat father who abandoned her as a child as the last ditch effort to find a donor kidney for her dying son.
CLOSING NIGHT SELECTION:
Tender WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 95 min.
DIRECTOR: Adam Hoezel
After inheriting a modest house in a dying town, Billie and Mick believe they’ve finally found stability, until crushing debt, old resentments, and a shocking discovery buried within their walls threaten to tear them apart. As the couple is forced into a dangerous alliance to protect their future, Tender becomes a darkly intimate portrait of marriage under pressure, where love, money, and survival blur into something unrecognizable.
ADDITIONAL NARRATIVE FEATURES:
Again Again
USA, 2025, 99 min.
DIRECTORS: Mia Moore, Heather Ballish
After reliving the same day over and over again for 10 years in a torturous time loop, Agatha awakens one day to find she’s unexpectedly broken out of it and now faces the terrifying unknown of a brand new day.
American Flake WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 82 min.
DIRECTOR: Andrew David Paterson
A charismatic small town drug dealer avoids grieving the death of his mom by searching for a lost bag of his favorite potato chips.
Angeleno WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 83.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Jay Diaz
Angel, a first-generation Latino American navigates his past, present, and future through a series of parties across Los Angeles, discovering that nothing is ever too late in a city built for dreamers.
Bandit WORLD PREMIERE
Indonesia/USA, 2026, 109 min.
DIRECTOR: Brian L. Tan “BLT”
With nothing left to lose, two desperate friends steal an abandoned G-Wagon for a quick score. What they didn’t count on? A corpse in the trunk — and the people who put it there.
Before the Call
South Korea/USA, 2025, 62 min.
DIRECTOR: James Choi
As a global crisis escalates and Korean soldiers prepare for deployment, Jinwoo, a Korean American exempt from military service, voluntarily enlists and returns to Seoul. His decision confounds everyone around him: why risk everything for a war that isn’t his? Set in the hours before his service begins, the film drifts between quiet present-day moments, reunions, conversations, unresolved feelings and the letters Jinwoo writes to Minji, a former love. Poetic and introspective, the letters become the film’s spine: a young man thinking aloud about identity, duty, belonging, and what it means to act when nothing is clear.
Bravado
USA/Wales, 2026, 106 min.
DIRECTOR: Alex Hanno
Bravado is a psychological meta-thriller that tells the story of an obsessive screenwriter, her manipulative mentor, and the film-within-a-film they’re striving to perfect: a gritty UK mafia story.
Coaled Blood
USA, 2026, 130 min.
DIRECTOR: Sean Perry
A tight-knit group of unemployed West Virginian coal miners convenes at a remote cabin for their annual deer hunting trip to discuss the unspeakable acts they committed the year prior out of desperation to make ends meet.
Coin WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 76 min.
DIRECTOR: John Brownell
Two friends misappropriate campaign funds to launch a cryptocurrency in a half-baked plan to raise capital to save a local park, setting a political hitman after them. Coin follows two friends and their half-baked pursuit to save their childhood park from being replaced by a luxury development backed by an egotistical (and possibly corrupt) mayor. After their mock political fund unexpectedly goes viral, they use the money to launch a cryptocurrency—only for it to crash immediately. When a political fixer comes calling for the campaign funds, they’re forced into a precarious situation with dooming consequences.
Dave vs. Hollywood WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 88 min.
DIRECTORS: Daniel Katz, Brad Dickson
Dave vs, Hollywood is a mockumentary about an actor who moves to Los Angeles completely devoid of connections and contacts. The humiliations and indignities soon pile up. After a fruitless struggle Dave decides to try to make his mark by taking a non-traditional “anything goes” approach that some might label unethical or even amoral. Are there any depths to which Dave won’t sink in an effort to make it in Hollywood? Will this kind of subversive approach work? Dave vs. Hollywood may sound a bit cynical. But as Dave would say, “It’s a cynical world out there.
Dead Deer High
USA, 2026, 101 min.
DIRECTOR: Jo Rochelle
A once-brilliant slam poetry team has lost their voice one year after a tragedy changed their school forever. Now, their English teacher must overcome his crippling fear of returning to the classroom to help them find healing through words on the stage.
Directors’ Commentary WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 84.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Joel David Santner
After two failed years in LA, Ryan Samberg’s Hollywood screenwriting dreams have fizzled. The final humiliation comes when his wife dumps him for another guy. He’s ready to give up, but his ambitious manager insists that pitching Ryan’s latest script to a volatile comedian could be the ticket to fame. He turns to his favorite DVD commentaries for inspiration and magically summons a trio of indie filmmakers out of his tv and into his life. Real or imagined, Ryan’s cinematic heroes direct him through a Hollywood fairy tale where he hopes to find everlasting love and success.
Edie Arnold is a Loser
USA, 2026, 73 min.
DIRECTORS: Megan Rico, Kade Atwood
Timid dork Edie accidentally takes the spotlight when she starts a punk band with her fellow “turds”, becoming an icon to the rest of the losers at her all-girls Catholic school while managing to piss off the hot girls, the nuns, and the horniest altar boy you’ve ever seen.
Face Love WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 96 min.
DIRECTOR: Gerald Fillmore
Face Love is a romantic comedy set across Los Angeles, Madrid, London, and Tijuana. The story follows Daniel, a Brit-Spaniard living in Los Angeles, who travels to Madrid to renew his visa just as a global pandemic shuts down borders. Stranded 5,900 miles from his new girlfriend Ana, he must navigate bureaucracy, cultural displacement, and a relationship sustained through video calls. Inspired by the award-winning short Hold for Applause, the film transforms digital limitations into a cinematic language, exploring love, distance, and connection in a screen-mediated world.
Fractured
USA, 2025, 72 min.
DIRECTOR: Mädchen Amick
When an infamous ex-boyfriend shows up and triggers memories of her father’s death, a woman who has spent a lifetime masking the trauma of her childhood now must face a truth that will either heal or destroy her.
Good Thoughts WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 109 min.
DIRECTOR: Rachel Carey
A college student returns to school after a mental health crisis and forms an unofficial support group with other students struggling with similar issues. As she begins to feel responsible for the well-being of her new friends, she must also learn to fend off her anxious mother’s constant outreach.
The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg – WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 92 min.
DIRECTOR: Doug Bremner
When a psychiatrist discovers that a medication for the treatment of acne is causing teenagers to kill themselves, the pharmaceutical company sets out on a campaign to destroy the source of the threat to their billion-dollar-a-year drug.
Hamilton House WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 83 min.
DIRECTOR: Jordan Rowe
Hamilton House is a Halloween-set comedy following a group of young actors who live together in a cramped New York City basement apartment. When the wide-eyed Zach learns that a legendary horror film director is moving into their neighborhood, he convinces his girlfriend and other roommates to turn their home into a haunted house to get the filmmaker’s attention. But as Halloween grows closer, Zach’s plans begin to unravel, risking much more than his big break.
Heartworm
USA, 2026, 107 min.
DIRECTORS: Miriam Louise Arens, Mitchell Arens
In a near future where virtual reality has become a refuge for the grieving, Heartworm follows Avena, a bereaved mother struggling to pull her family back from the edge of disappearance. Her husband Mark has retreated into NeuraLife, a fully immersive digital world that promises comfort, continuity, and escape from unbearable loss. As Avena searches for a way to reconnect with him, she’s drawn into a disorienting journey through memory, technology, and longing
Hekla
USA, 2026, 89 min.
DIRECTOR: Michael Glover Smith
Hekla is a comedy-drama about the emotional cost of pursuing a creative life. Hekla, a determined Chicago actress, races through auditions, breakups, and self-doubt, risking her heart and career to claim her voice and step fully into the artist and woman she’s meant to be. Set over one day in Chicago, the film explores how ambition, identity, and vulnerability collide when you’re chasing something as personal, and uncertain, as an acting career. Beneath the humor and dramatic momentum lies a story about the importance of showing up for yourself, even if the world isn’t clapping for you yet.
How to Date Again
USA, 2025, 96 min.
DIRECTOR: Matt Flanders
A heartbroken, Los Angeles-based animator embarks on a reluctant romantic comeback with the help of friends, fate, and a fantastical first date.
Isle Child
USA, 2025, 91 min.
DIRECTOR: Thomas Percy Kim
Si Miller is a star high school pitcher in Concord, Massachusetts, fully at ease in his white suburban world. He’s Korean-born, adopted as a toddler, and has never looked back. That changes when he finds a hidden letter suggesting his birth mother is terminally ill and searching for him. The discovery unravels everything: his confidence, his relationships, his sense of self. A new Chinese-American teammate, Yang, becomes an unwanted mirror for the identity Si has spent years burying. After lashing out at everyone close to him, Si and his adoptive mother travel to Korea, where he begins to confront who he actually is.
Jane’s Not Here WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 105 min.
DIRECTOR: Jonathan Oster
When Jane Hayes wakes from a coma after a devastating accident, she is plagued by memories of a husband and son that no one else remembers. As she leans on her brother to rebuild her life, her search for answers begins to fracture her sense of reality.
Life at Sandy’s NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
USA/Norway, 2026, 75 min.
DIRECTOR: Aleksandra Hansen
A lonely American stuck in a small Norwegian town is lured in by the characters of a friendly sitcom with increasingly sinister intentions.
Littermates NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 87 min.
DIRECTORS: Scott Tinkham, Michael Woloson
Amidst the chaos of a mysterious war, two victims of an attack take refuge at a cottage in the English countryside, where an enigmatic caretaker insists they must stick together.
Lone Rider
USA, 2025, 87 min.
DIRECTOR: Adam Jumba
Twenty-five-year-old Tyler steals back his beat-up ’89 Mustang from his estranged father and takes off with no plan beyond the next mile. Chasing a Facebook post and the fading memory of a teenage crush, he drifts through middle-of-nowhere diners, old stomping grounds, and midnight highways, crossing paths with old friends, strangers, and moments that feel like echoes of another life. Inspired by early-Linklater, Lone Rider turns a spur-of-the-moment theft into a psychological summer odyssey—equal parts funny, tender, and restless—that captures the raw poetry of Rust Belt youth grasping for connection, meaning, and a reason to keep driving.
Loves Company WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 94 min.
DIRECTOR: Jason Laurits
Blake de Troy, a faded, gameshow personality is rescued after a car crash by his #1 fan (and only fan left), Florida outcast, Antoinette Funk. Trapped in her creepy Everglades home and believing he’s been kidnapped, Blake tries to escape, only to realize he has nowhere to go. His partner (and manager) has died, and the world has moved on from Blake. Except Antoinette, who’s happy to cater to his every need. However, she quickly learns he’s not the bubbly, fun personality on TV. He’s a needy, high-maintenance, drunk in withdrawal. Antoinette reaches her limit and tries to get rid of him…not so easy when he realizes his “kidnapping” could stir up some much-needed, career-boosting publicity.
Mind Games WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 96 min.
DIRECTOR: JJ Lippman
Dr. Jules Abrams, an overworked therapist stuck in a stagnant marriage, takes on two new clients: Ava, a radiant young woman with a seemingly perfect life, and Zander, a charismatic man who feels trapped despite his success. Unaware at first that they are a couple, Jules becomes increasingly drawn to Zander. As she realizes their connection, she begins subtly manipulating their sessions, feeding Ava doubts and insecurities under the guise of guidance.
Out of Order
USA, 2025, 95 min.
DIRECTOR: Guy Jacobson
John Slater Esq has big dreams but small ambition – he’s always late, looks like an unmade bed and still hasn’t tried his first case. Yet when LISA, his supermodel girlfriend dumps him, he decides to prove his worth and win her back. He accepts a job offer from a big snobbish rival law firm – that is until his current boss suffers a heart attack and begs him to take one last case. Convinced he can do it, John decides to swing both positions until he realizes that his new firm and old firm are representing opposite sides of the same case. What else can you do except don a disguise and a new confident persona, “Jack” to stay undercover at the new firm. With the help of his cynical best friend and fellow lawyer, Paul, he erratically tries to help the eccentric Sue, the plaintiff in the new case, try to take down a biotech firm for stealing her idea while simultaneously defending the very same biotech giant. Chaos ensues.
Queen of Shock WORLD PREMIERE
Mexico/USA, 2026, 86 min.
DIRECTOR: Robyn Symon
Mari, a struggling single mother in a tourist town outside Mexico City, discovers an extraordinary ability to withstand pain while playing toques, a real Mexican electric shock game. But when her young daughter is kidnapped, she is pulled into a brutal underground world where the traditional game has evolved into a violent, male-dominated spectacle fueled by gambling, viral fame, and exploitation. As Mari rises through the savage underground circuit, her victories transform her into an unexpected viral sensation. But in a world built on machismo and control, her growing power ignites dangerous tensions within her family — especially with her volatile ex-partner Álvaro, whose obsession with reclaiming his family hides darker motives. With every escalating competition, the shocks take an increasingly devastating toll on Mari’s body.
Rescued WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 127 min.
DIRECTOR: D.J. Hale
A homeless man finds the motivation to turn his life around after a stray dog saves his life and refuses to leave his side.
Smile… The Worst is Yet to Come
USA, 2025, 84 min.
DIRECTOR: Chloe Lenihan
Smile…the Worst is Yet to Come follows Ben and Birdie, elder millennials whose marriage buckles under failed IVF and stalled ambitions. Their attempt to reconnect at a romantic getaway in Big Bear is derailed when Gen-Z influencers, January and Jerek, crash their cabin, sparking a raw night of storytelling. Secrets surface, facades shatter, and the couple must confront uncomfortable truths about love, time, and what really matters.
Solidarity WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 98 min.
DIRECTOR: Dustin Brown
A Mexican seamstress and a Lithuanian butcher struggle to survive as immigrants in Los Angeles, their parallel lives marked by loss, labor, and unexpected connection.
Souvenir WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 88 min.
DIRECTOR: David Ketterer Spencer
A chance encounter between estranged friends Kevin and Dani leads to an unexpected day-long adventure through New York City as they attempt to return a dead self-help guru’s lost wallet. Their journey – through litigious heirs, suspiciously bad poetry, and a mysterious watch – forces them to confront unresolved feelings and life-changing decisions.
Sync WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 121 min.
DIRECTOR: RJ Zabasky
In the near future, Ryan is invited to try a groundbreaking technology that creates AI versions of the dead, offering a new way to cope with grief. Reluctant at first, he enters the simulation to confront the loss of his late fiancée. But as her presence feels increasingly real, the eerily perfect world begins to reveal something deeply wrong beneath the surface.
Tales From the Crypto WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 93 min.
DIRECTOR: Marcus Niehaus
As the Covid pandemic upends the global economy, a young programmer, Ravi, turns to cryptocurrency trading during the emergence of Uniswap and “DeFi Summer” to save his parents’ farm in India. But in a world rife with scammers, ruggers and naysayers, he finds that trading is much more than he bargained for.
Tempest WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 95 min.
DIRECTOR: Gregory J. Green
Miranda may be a successful artist, but her life and marriage are in ruins. One hopeless night, lightning flashes, dimensions shift, and Miranda is overjoyed to find herself in a parallel world where none of her heartbreaks exist. But this new life crumbles when the alternate Miranda, whose own world has been usurped, starts desperately trying to return.
This Will Never Work
USA, 2025, 87 min.
DIRECTORS: Marina Tempelsman, Niccolo Aeed
This Will Never Work is about a family coming together to have an intervention for Amanda’s drinking problem. They’ve hired a therapist named Trevor, written emotional letters, chosen the time and location, and now they sit and wait for Amanda to arrive. But when Amanda arrives, Trevor realizes the family… hasn’t been entirely honest with him.
Wilma, Wu, and a Stripper Named Lorraine WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 94 min.
DIRECTOR: Debra De Liso
When a beloved desert cantina is threatened with closure, a washed-up burlesque dancer rallies an outrageous crew of misfits, church ladies, hustlers, and dreamers for one last talent show to save their town. As chaos turns to community, a feuding mother and daughter must decide whether to hold on or finally let go.
Yellow Broken Road WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 108 min.
DIRECTOR: Njedeh Anthony
A woman dreams her entire future with the perfect stranger, only to discover it is real. But if she chooses him, their love, though profound and complete, will end in tragedy. Across one hopeful night, parallel to it, years of romance unfold while Death taunts every minute of their future.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES:
4000 Days
USA, 2026, 110 min.
DIRECTOR: Daniel E Catullo III
4000 Days is a powerful documentary following three families who transform personal tragedy into a national movement after losing their sons to fraternity hazing. Confronting a system built on secrecy and denial, they unite to demand accountability and push for legislative reform. The title reflects the years-long fight to turn grief into meaningful change. Through intimate access and raw testimonies, the film captures both heartbreak and determination as their individual losses grow into a collective force.
Autumn Gold
USA, 2026, 71 min.
DIRECTOR: Kern Konwiser
A feature length investigative documentary about a relentless investigative journalist who must outwit and out maneuver the Pentagon in order to expose a secret government biochemical experiment and bring justice to the veterans who were harmed by it.
Beneath the Ashes: The Past Reimagine
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 63 min.
DIRECTOR: Hrag Yedalian
In the aftermath of the Eaton Fire, Altadena’s historic Black community confronts devastating loss—and a high-stakes fight to preserve a cultural legacy generations in the making.
Better Call Bab WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 59 min.
DIRECTOR: Cam Lui, Michael Schnee
Better Call Babs places you in the passenger seat of Babs Fry’s iconic van for a ride along, not just through her Red-Cross award-winning work of recovering lost pets and rehabilitating feral dogs, but through the personal challenges that shaped the woman she is today. From high-stakes rescue missions to intimate moments of reflection, this film mirrors the chaos she embraces daily as a recovered addict turned vigilante pet detective. At its core, this film explores recovery through purpose, the healing power of community and the vulnerability required to ask for help.
The Burning: The Untold Story of Africa’s Refugee Crisis
USA/Nigeria, 2025, 86 min.
DIRECTOR: Isabella Alexander-Nathani
Step inside our world’s largest and most underreported refugee crisis. A courageous mother, a brotherhood of orphaned boys, and a father desperate to find his family lead audiences on an epic journey across the African continent to a stretch of coast where only eight miles of sea separates Africa from Europe. They are shocked to find what awaits them there. Filmed undercover, over the course of ten years, The Burning brings the untold story of Africa’s refugee crisis to light for the first time. 9,000 miles. 10 refugees. 1 chance to escape. This is a story you will never forget.
Cabali and the Tiki Mug Obsession
USA, 2025, 96 min.
DIRECTOR: Josh Dragotta
A feature length documentary exploring the subculture of Tiki enthusiasts that create and collect ceramic drinking vessels known as Tiki mugs. The film follows Fini Finical, as he assembles a team of craftsmen and artists to build a Tiki bar dedicated to his overwhelming collection of mugs.
Frampton
USA/UK, 2026, 104 min.
DIRECTOR: Rob Arthur
From the explosive success of Frampton Comes Alive! to the quiet introspection of his final tour, Frampton is an intimate portrait of a rock icon who soared, stumbled, and rose again. The film traces Peter Frampton’s rise to global fame, the struggles that tested his identity and resilience, and his relentless reinvention. As personal sacrifices surface, the cost of fame becomes clear. Now facing a degenerative muscle disease, Frampton confronts his limits with urgency and grace.
Holy Ghetto
USA/Israel, 2026, 83 min.
DIRECTOR: iLan Azoulai
Four souls trapped within Tel Aviv’s red-light district, entangled in sex trafficking and addiction, embark on spiritual journeys to transcend their personal ghettos. Olga, abducted by traffickers at 17; Dave, an American who founded a shelter for homeless women in prostitution; Yana, a recovering addict and struggling mother of five; and Ohad, a former sex-trafficker chasing redemption. Holy Ghetto is a story of hope and transformation, asking: Can they rise above what they became? And in turn, can we?
Kratom: Side Effects May Include
USA, 2025, 78 min.
DIRECTORs: Jamie Neese, Jason Neese
Kratom: Side Effects May Include investigates the lethal consequences and regulatory gaps surrounding a plant-based extract found in everyday locations such as gas stations. With gripping stories of victims and the sometimes controversial advocates who argue its benefits, this groundbreaking feature documentary explores the complex narrative of Kratom—an unregulated substance that some claim has cost thousands of lives.
The Last Place on Earth WORLD PREMIERE
USA/Indonesia, 2026, 102 min.
DIRECTOR: David Booth Gardner
The Last Place on Earth is a thrilling, eight-year journey into the heart of Sumatra’s 2.6 million-hectare Leuser Ecosystem — where tigers, elephants, rhinos, and orangutans still roam free – that follows a group of extraordinary wildlife activists who risk everything to save one of Earth’s last untouched wildernesses from the devastation of the illegal palm oil industry.
My Name is Gitt WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 93.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Beatrix Ryle
Gitta is a vivacious nonagenarian holocaust survivor who has long ago processed and overcome her childhood trauma, and for decades has been telling her story of recovery and forgiveness at schools. But as she retraces her steps across Europe and reconnects with families and organizations that saved her life, she finds there is always more to uncover.
Peaking: Psychedelics and the Pursuit of Happiness WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 95 min.
DIRECTOR: Jordan Kronick
A growing number of people with mental disorders are reporting something extraordinary: illegal psychedelic drugs are curing their brains overnight. Peaking: Psychedelics and the Pursuit of Happiness explores all the major psychedelics, not just by explaining how they work medicinally, but by showing it. The film takes viewers inside dosing rooms for extremely rare looks at the remarkable power, emotion, and speed of psychedelic healing in action: from pro athletes repairing brain damage from concussions, to combat veterans finding relief from suicidal despair, to a woman breaking free from opioid addiction, and more.
Reservation Redemption
USA, 2026, 60 min.
DIRECTORS: Brenda Fisher, Blake Pickens
One juror away from the death penalty at 17, a lost Colville tribal member, known as “Chief”, discovers his culture and identity and makes a change that inspires a following of the most incarcerated race in Washington state toward the “Red Road”. The “Red Road” signifies a deep commitment to living life immersed in the culture – with an intrinsic respect for others and oneself, and turning one’s back on addiction to drugs, alcohol, and crime.
Sell Your House
USA, 2026, 95 min.
DIRECTORS: Eric Foss, Brandon Pickering
You have to be really rich or really stupid to make a movie. James and Francis aren’t rich, so they opt for stupidity when James sells his house to finance their debut feature. This kicks off a years-long journey through the wonderful, lucrative, glamorous world of indie filmmaking, where absolutely nothing bad ever happens. A comedic documentary following the making of The Last Stop in Yuma County and the complications that come with indie film distribution.
Stan Lee: The Final Chapter WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 110 min.
DIRECTOR: Jon Bolerjack
A story of abuse and duplicity, this is the tale of how comic book legend Stan Lee landed in the middle of a scandal as wild as any superhero saga. The events are chronicled by filmmaker Jon Bolerjack who became an assistant to Stan Lee and a fixture of his inner circle. Jon gained unprecedented access and filmed everything he saw. What he uncovered was a thriving market where Stan’s signatures and memorabilia were converted into millions of dollars and rival hucksters double-crossed each other to control Stan’s fortune and ultimately his fate. After years of futility in trying to get justice for Stan, Bolerjack is ready to share this shockingly and truly heartbreaking story with the world.
Tell Me About Tomorrow WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 120 min.
DIRECTOR: Brad Alexander
On June 9, 2022, Cooper Noriega died after unknowingly taking a fentanyl-laced pill sold as Xanax. Living in Los Angeles at the time, he was a model with millions of TikTok followers. His death shocked fans and was widely reported as an “accidental overdose,” but that label raises questions. When a lethal synthetic opioid is disguised as a less dangerous drug, is it truly accidental? Like many families facing similar losses, the Noriegas are searching for answers. This film explores Cooper’s story and asks: What is fentanyl, and how can it be confronted? Featuring insights from loved ones and experts on addiction, grief, and recovery.
To Kill a Nazi WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 101 min.
DIRECTOR: Boaz Dvir
1974, Paris. Haunted by his father’s disappearance during World War II, business consultant Michel Cojot embarks on a journey of discovery. He finds out his dad was deported by Klaus Barbie to Auschwitz, where he was murdered. Michel uproots his family and moves to Latin America to assassinate Barbie, who works for the Bolivian government. Gripping a pistol under his poncho, Michel follows Barbie through the winding streets of La Paz. Fearing he’d stoop to Barbie’s level by firing, Michel hesitates. He aims … Michel ends up regretting his decision. Soon, he gets a once-in-a-lifetime second chance to redeem himself.
MIDNIGHT FEATURES:
Deathkeeper NORTH AMERICA PREMIERE
Australia, 2025, 91 min.
DIRECTOR: Tristan Barr
Cursed to age decades each time he saves a life, a reclusive angel is drawn to a possessed woman who is hunted by a charming demon in disguise. As their paths collide, he is forced to confront a brutal truth: the only way to reclaim his youth is by killing.
Jump Scare
USA, 2025, 98 min.
DIRECTOR: Donnie Hobbie
The all-woman metal band ‘JUMP SCARE’ retreats to a remote cabin to write their new album. Kye, Jen, Deb, Val and the tag-along producer Dale. It’s soon very apparent that something is off in this strange desert world. When Dale goes missing, and a hungry family of cannibals move in, our heroes find themselves in a fight for survival.
Muffled WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 90 min.
DIRECTOR: Stephen McNamee
Years after their childhood friend Greta vanished without a trace, true crime enthusiasts, Nora and Harper, return to their hometown to solve the mystery. Armed with cameras, microphones, and possibly misguided gumption, they set out to uncover the truth. Their documentary project soon uncovers disturbing ties to sinister creepypastas and rumored occult rituals. As their investigation spirals into the internet’s darkest corners, reality begins to glitch, and the line between sleuth and subject starts to blur.
U A P NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 106 min.
DIRECTOR: Mason Howard
During a Fourth of July reunion, five friends discover a mysterious sphere that draws the attention of government forces and private interests—forcing them to confront escalating paranoia, their unraveling faith, and the terrifying possibility that the object may be manipulating humanity itself.
PILOTS:
Baddie WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 17 min.
DIRECTOR: Steven Yee
Banana
USA, 2025, 28 min.
DIRECTORS: Raghav Puri, Kieran Barry
Bigg County Restorations
USA, 2025, 17 min.
DIRECTOR: Dan Angelucci
Burning Bridges WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 35 min.
DIRECTOR: Jorge Yanes
Bridal Party
USA, 2026, 26 min.
DIRECTOR: Mckenzie Salvatierra Custin
Chet Bond: License to Chill
USA, 2025, 25 min.
DIRECTOR: Blake Sherwyn
Codependent
USA, 2026, 25 min.
DIRECTOR: Caitlyn Phu
CVNT
USA, 2026, 16 min.
DIRECTOR: Nicole Higgins
Delicate Condition WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 36.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Bailey Castle
Delivering Destiny w/Amir Mo
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 23 min.
DIRECTOR: Amir Mo
Farther Along
USA, 2025, 14 min.
DIRECTORS: MJ Bernier, Emily Draper
Fixation
USA, 2026, 35 min.
DIRECTOR: Alexander Jeffery
Level Up
USA, 2025, 17.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Gabrielle Roberts
I Could Eat – Episode 3 WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 14 min.
DIRECTORS: Rick Bedrosian, Sonja Stark
It’s Getting Late with Owen Reed WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 44 min.
DIRECTOR: Ryan Dougall
Knighted WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 23 min.
DIRECTOR: Zach Trent
Matched
USA, 2026, 24 min.
DIRECTOR: Elvira Ibragimova
Misguided
USA, 2025, 5.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Mariah Marasco
Mort
USA, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTORS: Larry Ziegelman, Terry Ziegelman
Nobody F#cking Leaves
USA, 2026, 28 min.
DIRECTOR: John Mossman
Pain in the Neck WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 41 min.
DIRECTOR: Paige Ivy
Penguin House: Credit Limit WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Chris Alden
People of the West WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 60 min.
DIRECTORS: Christopher Nataanii Cegielski, Phillip Montgomery, Josh Baker
The Reverb NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 30 min.
DIRECTORS: Jordan Ruttert, Janie Ruttert
Son of a Bikram
USA, 2025, 18.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Johnny Rey Diaz
Strand
USA, 2026, 28 min.
DIR: Austin Gorski
Toxic-ish WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 38 min.
DIRECTOR: Corey Grant
The Trinity
USA, 2026, 37 min.
DIRECTOR: Emmanuel Mertis
Witches WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 26 min.
DIRECTOR: Gethin Aldous
Womb Room
USA, 2026, 22 min.
DIRECTOR: Nicole Treston Abranian
You Are Here WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 30 min.
DIR: Mandy Fabian
Zaddies WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 28 min.
DIRECTOR: John Frank Uranday
Zen Room WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Layne Marie Williams
SHORT FILMS:
NARRATIVE SHORTS:
Aayat WORLD PREMIERE
USA/India, 2025, 16 min.
DIRECTOR: Sonia Bhatia
Achiever
USA, 2026, 13.5 min.
DIRECTOR: CharlieTraisman
All That’s Left WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 10 min.
DIRECTOR: William D. Hellmuth
American Boy WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Jingbei Bai
The Art of Inflation
USA, 2025, 22.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Brett Wietecha
At What Cost? NORTH AMERICA PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 20.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Ant Roberson
Bembé
USA, 2025, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Zayre Ferrer
Beware the Wolves WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 19 min.
DIRECTOR: Alex Bush
Bigote Or (The Happy Anarchy of Bureaucracy)
USA, 2026, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Rafael A. López
Birthday Bird WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 7.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Heather Brumley
Björn WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 16.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Kristofer Pitzek
The Blistering Blundering West WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 15 min.
DIRECTOR: Quinton Buxton
Breathe, Brother, Breathe WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 19 min.
DIRECTOR: Arman Khaghani
Buckets
USA, 2025, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Drew van Steenbergen
Burro
USA, 2025, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Hannah Lerner
Captain Milo WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Darcy Miller
Chloé NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
France, 2025, 18 min.
DIRECTOR: Madeline Stephenson
Clean Getaway
USA, 2025, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Patricia Rigney
Conflicting Reports WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 20 min.
DIRECTOR: Jeff Perreca
Cornerman WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 17.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Sam Findlay
Corps-À-Corps WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 8 min.
DIRECTOR: Nikki Kobrick
The Country They Call Life WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 20 min.
DIRECTOR: Grace Sims
Dissection Day
USA, 2025, 15 min.
DIRECTOR: Rachel Thomas Medwid
Dog Years
USA, 2025, 10.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Rex Provost
Don’t Watch Without Me WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Avi Kaye
Dream of Emptiness WORLD PREMIERE
Vietnam, 2026, 26 min.
DIRECTOR: Thien Hoang Bui
Dres the Thief WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 3 min.
DIRECTOR: Tomas Vegara
Drones WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 22.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Steve Acevedo
Dropping Off WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 14 min.
DIRECTORS: Will Mayo, Ian Scott McGregor
Early Human Media
USA, 2025, 11.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Adrian Delcan
Escape
USA, 2026, 5 min.
DIRECTOR: Jasmine Russ
Everything Is Brand
USA, 2026, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Brett Weiner
The Expiration of Darius Campbell WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 7 min.
DIRECTOR: Charlie Roth
Extraña
USA, 2025, 7 min.
DIRECTORS: Paloma Ronquillo, Ryan Fajet
Fabric
USA, 2025, 15 min.
DIRECTOR: Frank Sun
Fat WORLD PREMIERE
Ireland, 2026, 19.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Dolores Rice
For Your Future Wife WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Megan Petersen
Foxtails
USA, 2025, 9 min.
DIRECTOR: Alejo Perez-Stable Husni
Godpower WORLD PREMIERE
USA/Nigeria, 2025, 16.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Geoff Browne
Going Home WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 15 min.
DIRECTORS: Alyssa Limperis, Emily Murnane
Good Not Great
USA, 2026, 22 min.
DIRECTOR: Nick von Gremp
Good Vibes Only WORLD PREMIERE
Canada, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Sarah D’Ambrosio
Growing Still NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
New Zealand, 2025, 12.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Alyx Duncan
Hand on Camera
USA, 2025, 25 min.
DIRECTOR: Phillip Alexander
Hi Mom WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 3.5 min.
DIRECTOR: SM Goldberger
Hold For Applause WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 10 min.
DIR: Nicole Treston Abranian
Homecoming
USA, 2026, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Skyler Knutzen
I Love You More Than Dinosaurs
USA, 2025, 15 min.
DIRECTOR: Tyler Coon
In the Kitchen WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Babe Howard
Inshallah WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 18.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Sibel Damar
Inside These Walls
USA, 2026, 18 min.
DIRECTOR: Melissa Fisher
Jacob, Side Smirk, Nose Kiss WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 9 min.
DIRECTOR: Zac Kish
Jasmine.Home.Mother.
USA/UK/Lithuania, 2026, 15 min.
DIRECTOR: Ugnė Skonsmanaitė
Just My Luck
USA, 2025, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Nicholas Pitts
Kill the Macoui: NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
France, 2025, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Mathieu Le Roux
King of Games
USA, 2025, 9 min.
DIRECTOR: Tyler Cino Maradiaga
Las Hadas de la Sombra
USA, 2026, 21 min.
DIRECTOR: Ryan Jenkins
Late Shift
USA, 2026, 8 min.
DIRECTOR: Britta Johnson
Less Than Nothing U.S. PREMIERE
Canada, 2025, 14 min.
DIRECTORS: Reagan Henderson, David Michan
Light Go Shining WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Max Olson
Look Out!
USA, 2025, 7 min.
DIRECTOR: Brian Carroll
Lotion
USA, 2026, 10 min.
DIRECTOR: Bri Rodebaugh
Macbeth in Compton
USA, 2025, 19.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Page Kennedy
Magic Is Cool WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 20 min.
DIRECTOR: Barrett L. Shuler
Memorabilia WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 16 min.
DIRECTOR: Patrick Elmore
Mimi the Mime WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 23 min.
DIRECTORS: Nikos Spiridakis, Kit Moynihan
Never to Return
USA, 2026, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Tyler Smith
Nip
USA, 2026, 13 min.
DIRECTORS: Thea Brooks, Taylor Karin
Nourish! WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Casey Bischel
Old Literature WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Silas Gobat
Oma WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 10 min.
DIRECTOR: Shane Bannon
One and Done Tour
USA, 2025, 15 min.
DIRECTOR: Preston Pimentel
One Twenty-Six WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 13.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Dan Lesser
Pale Shelter WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 16 min.
DIRECTOR: Edward Robles
Patchwork WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 14 min.
DIRECTOR: Holly Cook
Pittsburgh
USA, 2025, 17 min.
DIRECTOR: Ali Marsh
Plastic Pastures WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Darren Rubin
Precious Light
USA, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Nickon C. Hemati
Projectionist WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 13.5 min.
DIRECTORS: Pat McCoy, Nicolas Alexandre
Ramon Makes a Movie
USA, 2025, 13.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Haley Kirton
Ready For My Close-Up
USA, 2025, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Elijah Guo
The Resistance WORLD PREMIERE
Belgium/USA, 2026, 13.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Natalie Schwan
River Maid
USA, 2026, 17 min.
DIRECTOR: Colin J. Mason
She’s Nonbinary
Canada, 2026, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Jess McLeod
The Shorn Lamb
USA, 2025, 14 min.
DIRECTOR: Emily Rolen
Shortcut WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 14 min.
DIRECTOR: Christina de Leon
Siren WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 10.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Aja Corynn
Soñado WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 16 min.
DIRECTOR: Darren Alberti
The Souvenir WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 16 min.
DIRECTOR: Adam Tiller
The Spanish Lesson
USA, 2025, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Simone Stadler
Stale Air
USA, 2025, 18.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Sarah Leibman
Stand Clear’ The Closing Doors
USA, 2026, 7 min.
DIRECTOR: Stacey Sargeant
Still Mine WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 6 min.
DIRECTOR: Blythe Haaga
Stuffed WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 8 min.
DIRECTOR: Callie Carpinteri
Take Five WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Daniel Weingarten
Truant WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 19 min.
DIRECTOR: Robyn Wholey
We Didn’t Know Why
USA, 2025, 7 min.
DIRECTOR: Evan Henderson
The Worm’s-Eye View of the Bird
USA, 2025, 6 min.
DIRECTOR: Karen Zipor
You Could’ve Been a Nurse
USA, 2025, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Meg Mateo
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS:
24 Hour Sanctuary WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 10 min.
DIRECTOR: MG Nava
A Slice of Home
USA, 2025, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Pauline Tran
All Of Us Girls
USA, 2025, 23 min.
DIRECTOR: Yifeng Wang
The Art of Sharing WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 20 min.
DIRECTOR: Ric Serena
The Asset WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 30 min.
DIRECTOR: Ravit Markus
Body of Work WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 25 min.
DIRECTORS: Odin Wadleigh, Cassidy Rast
Call of the Jab WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 16 min.
DIRECTOR: Fletch Power
Cookie, Love DIRECTOR: Sari Arambulo
Dual Wielder WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 16 min.
DIRECTOR: Julia Boyd
Echoes From the Kitchen: A Tale of Comida and Cultura WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Chef Eddie Garza
Find Your Voice WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 25 min.
DIRECTOR: Roger Love
I Paint Monsters WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 20.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Ben Woolverton
Invinceble: USA, 2026, 23 min.
DIRECTORS: Beth Gage, George Gage
Lady Chief WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Broms
Marigold
USA, 2025, 6 min.
DIRECTOR: Dusty Dale Barker
Mitad WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 23 min.
DIRECTORS: Alyssa Callahan, Claire Gostin
Mike and Billy’s American Pie
USA, 2025, 20 min.
DIRECTOR: Erin P.S. Zimmerman
The Righteous Road Trip WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 40 min.
DIRECTOR: Vanessa Roth
Roll Modelz
USA, 2025, 12.5 min.
DIRECTORS: Oliver Rodriguez Dickson, Yahir Tzec-Carrasco
Stack WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 8 min.
DIRECTOR: Randolph Buffington
Thanksgiving for Angels
USA, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Rebecca Corry
Three Brothers in Shanghai WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 17 min.
DIRECTOR: Nick Andrus
Where We Played: Voices From the Fire WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 9 min.
DIRECTORS: Nat Wolff, Austin Cauldwell
MIDNIGHT SHORTS:
A Deal in Liberty WORLD PREMIERE
Canada, 2026, 15 min.
DIRECTOR: Palmer Wells
A Little R&R WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 18 min.
DIRECTOR: Bryan Bockbrader
The Bones Exist
USA, 2026, 14 min.
DIRECTORS: Kelsey Bollig, Matthew DuVall
Breakfast at Berghain WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 14 min.
DIRECTOR: Autumn Palen
The Candle WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 9 min.
DIRECTOR: Ren Ariel Sano
The Death of Therapy
USA, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Jared Hirsch
The Deep Vessel WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 20 min.
DIRECTOR: Sean Cruser
Demon Dog WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Vanessa Newell
Dual
USA, 2025, 20 min.
DIRECTORS: Nitasha Bhambree, Declan Mulvey
Four Itchy Boys WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Andrew Hebert
House Cat
USA, 2026, 14.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Kyle Spleiss
The Intimacy Coordinator
USA, 2026, 15 min.
DIRECTORS: Jack Mullany, Terry Mullany
Into the Static WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 6 min.
DIRECTORS: The Burbank Brothers
Knifeman
USA, 2025, 14.5 min.
DIRECTOR: MP Hayes
Lady Puritan
USA, 2026, 15.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Gustine Füdickar, Justin Streichman
The Last Cheap House U.S. PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 10.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Meg Favreau
Legend Has It
Canada, 2025, 16.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Thomas Lorber
The McRoommate
USA, 2025, 1.5 min.
DIRECTOR: The Perez Bros
Mimic
USA, 2024, 6 min.
DIRECTOR: Thomas Hindy
Physical Touch
USA, 2025, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Kendra Baude
Playtime WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 3 min.
DIRECTOR: Paul Hollingsworth
Pleasure-Seeking
Australia, 2025, 14.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Michaela Holmes
The Shed WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 7 min.
DIRECTORS: Christina K. Moore, Judy Choi, Sabrina Almeida, Winnie Kemp
Silent Scream WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Tommy O’Rourke
Starflare WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 14.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Christine W. Chen
Stay In
USA, 2025, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Michael Buran
Tame
USA, 2025, 11.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Will Schneider
Tasty Bones
USA, 2026, 5 min.
DIRECTOR: Ronald Short
This Little Piggy Goes to Market WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 14.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Katherine Connor Duff
Tick
USA, 2025, 14 min.
DIRECTOR: Sam Permar
Ultra Juice
USA, 2025, 3.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Carl Conway Maguire
Waltz for Isabelle U.S. PREMIERE
USA/Mexico, 2026, 15 min.
DIRECTOR: Emiliano Figueroa
DOWNBEAT:
1.21 Gigawatts (Director’s Cut)
USA, 2025, 6 min.
DIRECTORS: Erik Deutscher, Tamara Gray
Bus Driver WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 3.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Karen Haglof
Dance On My Own WORLD PREMIERE
Australia, 2026, 3.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Lachlan Dinley Jones
Energy
USA, 2024, 6 min.
DIRECTOR: Greyfaen Eastland
Glass House WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 4.5 min.
DIR: Carla Troconis
Hanalei I Ka Pilimoe WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 3 min.
DIRECTOR: Carolina Espiro
Listen To The Lambs WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 6 min.
DIRECTORS: John W. Snyder, Laura Milosch
Money U.S. PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 4 min.
DIRECTOR: Jordyn Apostolache
Ohio Song (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO) WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 4 min.
DIRECTOR: Rebecca Shapiro
Out of Mind WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 4 min.
DIRECTORS: Kacey Fifield, Varvara Aristakesyan
Pacific Coast Highway
USA, 2025, 4 min.
DIRECTOR: Alfred Thomas Catalfo
Pirate Radio
USA, 2025, 3.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Alfred Thomas Catalfo
Pussy on the Floor WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 3 min.
DIRECTOR: Chris Osborn
Quartermain and Victoria: WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 4 min.
DIRECTORS: Summer Purks, Katie Limentato
Second Skin WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 3.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Anil Baral
Shiny Things
USA, 2025, 3.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Tristan Pelletier
You Make Me Wanna Dance: WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 3 min.
DIRECTORS: Neil Miguel Watson, Trinity Bliss
DANCES WITH KIDZ PRO SHORTS:
Added Flavor WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Mike Dowling
Cake
USA, 2025, 14 min.
DIRECTOR: Erick Juarez
Four Square
USA, 2025, 14 min.
DIRECTOR: Eli Staub
Gotta Get Up and Dance
USA/Singapore, 2025, 2 min.
DIRECTOR: Jenny Hersch
I Got Next
USA, 2026, 17 min.
DIRECTOR: Christopher Baxter
Pan Gyul
Nevis, 2025, 17 min.
DIRECTOR: Juliette Jeffers
Rock, Paper, Destiny
USA, 2025, 17 min.
DIRECTOR: Tess Paras
DANCES WITH KIDZ BY KIDZ SHORTS:
The Energy Detective WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 2 min.
DIRECTOR: Sophia Inghilleri
Joy WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 4 min.
DIRECTOR: Owen O’Meara
Let’s Erase Extinction WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 33 min.
DIRECTOR: Andrew Barratt
The Parts We Keep
USA, 2026, 9 min.
DIRECTORS: Hana Marie Kim, Liliana Patel
Rose Tinted Nostalgia WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 28.5 min.
DIRECTOR: David Mahmoudieh
Sol WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 4 min.
DIRECTOR: Paulina Monroy-Freyre
This Or Life
USA, 2026, 4 min.
DIRECTOR: Winslow Burnett
UNPlural “New Home”
USA, 2026, 2 min.
DIRECTOR: Angel Gaeta
ABOUT DANCES WITH FILMS:
Now in its 29th year, Dances With Films champions the unflinching spirit at the very core of the independent film scene. With most film festivals relying heavily on celebrity, DWF have relied on innovation, talent, creativity, and sweat equity that revolutionized the entertainment industry. And that reliance continues to prove successful with alumni moving on to write, direct, and produce celebrity-studded vehicles, star in blockbuster movies, and television series, produce multi-million-dollar film and create hot TV shows.
