Stuck in her mother’s run-down El Camino, fifteen-year-old Salem is told again and again to “stay in the car” while her mom and her violent partner disappear into empty buildings and dark parking lots.
WORLD PREMIERE
SHORT, USA, 7:34 MIN
DIRECTOR: Calvin Ghaznavi
WRITER: Amanda Ross
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Amanda Ross
PRODUCER: Neela Gerayli, Devyn Wong
ACTORS: Lara Hunter, Timothy V. Murphy, Ashley Alva
A portrait of Arturo Arnold, a master of film emulsion, as he processes the 8mm and 16mm motion picture film for a busy film lab in North Hollywood, CA.
SHORT DOCUMENTARY, USA, 4:10 MIN
DIRECTOR: Neil Butler
PRODUCER: Neil Butler
ACTORS: Arturo Arnold (as himself)
12-year-old Kate is the oldest of 5 in late-80s rural Iowa, and tries to find a way through it without it knocking her over.
SHORT, USA, 9:48 MIN
DIRECTOR: Cathlin McCullough
WRITER: Cathlin McCullough
PRODUCER: Cathlin McCullough, Kristian Day, Allison Wallace, Chris Maddox, Yasmeen Magar
ACTORS: Meara Wallace, Kristian Day
A surreal “tour” of Hong Kong to capture the last remnants of what the region once was— before they are submerged under new changes.
US PREMIERE
SHORT, HONG KONG, 10:38 MIN
DIRECTOR: Sing Jantzen Tse
WRITER: Sing Jantzen Tse
PRODUCER: Sing Jantzen Tse
ACTORS: Hiu Wai Keung
OSCAR-WINNING DIRECTOR SEAN BAKER PRESENTS HIS 2012 FILM STARLET (108 MIN), STARRING DREE HEMINGWAY.
Q&A WITH SEAN BAKER WILL FOLLOW.
SPECIAL FILMMAKER GUEST WILL SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES AND INSIGHTS ABOUT FILMMAKING.
DRINKS FOR SALE IN THE DOWNSTAIRS BAR.
COME HANG OUT.
A poetic snapshot of the residents, firemen and women, and supporters who experienced the devastating 2025 Altadena fire.
SHORT DOCUMENTARY, USA, 10 MIN
DIRECTOR: Bennett Curran
PRODUCER: Bennett Curran
An exploration of spatial and temporal boundaries through the lens of late Renaissance painting, when artists wrestled with how to portray what cannot truly be portrayed.
WORLD PREMIERE
SHORT, USA, 3:16 MIN
DIRECTOR: Caroline Johnson Tuohey
WRITER: Caroline Johnson Tuohey
PRODUCER: Caroline Johnson Tuohey
When the dead leave things behind for us, we are torn between obligation, curiosity, and the desire to purge it completely. Jamie is caught in the center of this triangle.
SHORT, USA, 12:44 MIN
DIRECTOR: Dan Abramovici
WRITER: Dan Abramovici
PRODUCER: Zeus Kontoyannis, Ali Mashayekhi
ACTORS: Chloe Van Landschoot, Ryan Bruce
A “Life Release” ceremony turns into a hallucinatory shimmer contained at once in an abandoned shopping mall and a river full of fish.
WORLD PREMIERE
SHORT, USA, 14:15 MIN
DIRECTOR: Ava Berkofsky
WRITER: Ava Berkofsky
PRODUCER: Andrea Longacre-White, Michael McGuire, Melissa Breaux
ACTORS: Jodi Balfour, Andrew Leeds
Filmed over six years across 13 countries, the film exposes the sanctioned sale of hundreds of polar bears each year on the global market — sanctioned by organizations charged with protecting the polar bears.
FEATURE DOCUMENTARY, AUSTRALIA/UK, 1:38 MIN
DIRECTOR: Abraham Joffe
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Adam McKay
PRODUCER: Abraham Joffe, Dom West, Louis Cooper Robinson
ACTORS: Ole Liodden, Iris Ho, Adam Cruise (as themselves)
DAY TWO WRAP-UP, AND WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO ON DAY THREE!