29th Dances With Films: LA Unveils Lineup. Opens with Jay Silverman’s ‘Yale’

Dances With Films: LA has unveiled the film lineup for the 29th edition of the Los Angeles-based indie film festival taking place June 18-28, 2026.

Opening Night will feature the World Premiere of Jay Silverman’s drama Yale, starring Caitlin McGee, Dominic Leeder, Kevin Dunn, and Rachael Harris. 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 Closing Night selection is Adam Hoelzel’s drama Tender, which 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 cast includes Jesse Garcia, Jess Weixler, David Koechner, Robert Longstreet, Mark St. Cyr, Keli Price, Stephen Ellis, Robert Peters, and Sonja O’Hara.

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.

Additional narrative features making their world premieres in June include: Andrew David Paterson’s American Flake, Jay Diaz’sAngeleno, 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, 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, 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’sBeneath 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.”

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, 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.

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

American Flake
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 82 min.
DIRECTOR: Andrew David Paterson

Angeleno
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 83.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Jay Diaz

Bandit
WORLD PREMIERE
Indonesia/USA, 2026, 109 min.
DIRECTOR: Brian L. Tan “BLT”

Before the Call
South Korea/USA, 2025, 62 min.
DIRECTOR: James Choi

Bravado
USA/Wales, 2026, 106 min.
DIRECTOR: Alex Hanno

Coaled Blood
USA, 2026, 130 min.
DIRECTOR: Sean Perry

Coin
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 76 min.
DIRECTOR: John Brownell

Dave vs. Hollywood
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 88 min.
DIRECTORS: Daniel Katz, Brad Dickson

Dead Deer High
USA, 2026, 101 min.
DIRECTOR: Jo Rochelle

Directors’ Commentary
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 84.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Joel David Santner

Edie Arnold is a Loser
USA, 2026, 73 min.
DIRECTORS: Megan Rico, Kade Atwood

Face Love
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 96 min.
DIRECTOR: Gerald Fillmore

Fractured
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 72 min.
DIRECTOR: Mädchen Amick

Good Thoughts
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 109 min.
DIRECTOR: Rachel Carey

The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 92 min.

Hamilton House
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 83 min.
DIRECTOR: Jordan Rowe

Heartworm
USA, 2026, 107 min.
DIRECTORS: Miriam Louise Arens, Mitchell Arens

Hekla
USA, 2026, 89 min.
DIRECTOR: Michael Glover Smith

How to Date Again
USA, 2025, 96 min.
DIRECTOR: Matt Flanders

Isle Child
USA, 2025, 91 min.
DIRECTOR: Thomas Percy Kim

Jane’s Not Here
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 105 min.
DIRECTOR: Jonathan Oster

Life at Sandy’s
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
USA/Norway, 2026, 75 min.
DIRECTOR: Aleksandra Hansen

Littermates
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 87 min.
DIRECTORS: Scott Tinkham, Michael Woloson

Lone Rider
USA, 2025, 87 min.
DIRECTOR: Adam Jumba

Loves Company
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 94 min.
DIRECTOR: Jason Laurits

Mind Games
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 96 min.
DIRECTOR: JJ Lippman

Out of Order
USA, 2025, 95 min.
DIRECTOR: Guy Jacobson

Queen of Shock
WORLD PREMIERE
Mexico/USA, 2026, 86 min.
DIRECTOR: Robyn Symon

Rescued
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 127 min.
DIRECTOR: D.J. Hale

Smile… The Worst is Yet to Come
USA, 2025, 84 min.
DIRECTOR: Chloe Lenihan

Solidarity
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 98 min.
DIRECTOR: Dustin Brown

Souvenir
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 88 min.
DIRECTOR: David Ketterer Spencer

Sync
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 121 min.
DIRECTOR: RJ Zabasky

Tales From the Crypto
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 93 min.
DIRECTOR: Marcus Niehaus

Tempest
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 95 min.
DIRECTOR: Gregory J. Green

This Will Never Work
USA, 2025, 87 min.
DIRECTORS: Marina Tempelsman, Niccolo Aeed

Wilma, Wu, and a Stripper Named Lorraine
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 94 min.
DIRECTOR: Debra De Liso

Yellow Broken Road
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 108 min.
DIRECTOR: Njedeh Anthony

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

4000 Days
USA, 2026, 110 min.
DIRECTOR: Daniel E Catullo III

Autumn Gold
USA, 2026, 71 min.
DIRECTOR: Kern Konwiser

Beneath the Ashes: The Past Reimagined
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 63 min.
DIRECTOR: Hrag Yedalian

Better Call Babs
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 59 min.
DIRECTOR: Cam Lui, Michael Schnee

The Burning: The Untold Story of Africa’s Refugee Crisis
USA/Nigeria, 2025, 86 min.
DIRECTOR: Isabella Alexander-Nathani

Cabali and the Tiki Mug Obsession
USA, 2025, 96 min.
DIRECTOR: Josh Dragotta

Frampton
USA/UK, 2026, 104 min.
DIRECTOR: Rob Arthur

Holy Ghetto
USA/Israel, 2026, 83 min.
DIRECTOR: iLan Azoulai

Kratom: Side Effects May Include
USA, 2025, 78 min.
DIRECTORs: Jamie Neese, Jason Neese

The Last Place on Earth
WORLD PREMIERE
USA/Indonesia, 2026, 102 min.
DIRECTOR: David Booth Gardner

My Name is Gitta
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 93.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Beatrix Ryle

Peaking: Psychedelics and the Pursuit of Happiness
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 95 min.
DIRECTOR: Jordan Kronick

Reservation Redemption
USA, 2026, 60 min.
DIRECTORS: Brenda Fisher, Blake Pickens

Sell Your House
USA, 2026, 95 min.
DIRECTORS: Eric Foss, Brandon Pickering

Stan Lee: The Final Chapter
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 110 min.
DIRECTOR: Jon Bolerjack

Tell Me About Tomorrow
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 120 min.
DIRECTOR: Brad Alexander

To Kill a Nazi
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 101 min.
DIRECTOR: Boaz Dvir

MIDNIGHT FEATURES

Deathkeeper
Australia, 2025, 91 min.
DIRECTOR: Tristan Barr

Jump Scare
USA, 2025, 98 min.
DIRECTOR: Donnie Hobbie

Muffled
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 90 min.
DIRECTOR: Stephen McNamee

U A P
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 106 min.
DIRECTOR: Mason Howard

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
USA, 2025, 9.5 min.
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