SCHEDULE INFORMATION CLICK HERE
_____________________
SLOW (UK)
SYNOPSIS: A field recorder’s life shatters when she encounters a sinister force that manipulates time and must outwit it to escape a nightmare where every second feels endless.
RATINGS GUIDE: Intense / Scary Images
DIRECTOR: Rebecca Berrih
GENRE: Horror, Sci-Fi
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Friday, Oct. 24th @ 11:00 AM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Rebecca Berrih is a Paris-born, Los Angeles-based writer, director, and producer who began her career editing trailers for studio films like MARCH OF THE PENGUINS and NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM. Her short GLITCH won multiple awards on the festival circuit, and the feature screenplay version reached the quarterfinals of the Nicholl Fellowship. Her recent short SLOW, a sci-fi thriller about a creature that manipulates time, won Scariest Short at Popcorn Frights and was selected for Screamfest and the Chattanooga Film Festival.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
SLUSH (USA)
SYNOPSIS: Frankie reunites with her toxic community and must tap into her dark side to survive unscathed.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Mild Language
GENRE: The Beyond/Fantastic
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Wednesday, Oct. 29th @ 2:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Ashley George is a director and producer currently based in Seattle, Washington. Her latest films (Slush, Volition and Diabla) have screened at dozens of festivals around the globe and have been honored with 30+ awards. Her feature film, based on her proof of concept Slush, is in development now.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
SOLIPSIS (CANADA)
SYNOPSIS: Cal has spent years in an underground bunker hiding from an alien invasion and mourning the death of her husband. But when someone from the surface invites her back into a rebuilding world Cal wrestles with her willingness to trust again, her fear of saying goodbye to someone she loved, and the scary prospect of opening herself back up to people – all while struggling to distinguish her fractured mind from reality.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Language
DIRECTOR: Massimo Russo
GENRE: Sci-Fi
PREMIERE STATUS: World Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Sunday, Oct. 26th @ 1:30 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Massimo is an Italian-Canadian writer and director based in Toronto. Having not gone to film school he started as a PA on small indie projects and has worked his way through almost every role in film production to produce and direct his own films. Massimo loves to explore intense, intimate internal conflicts blending grounded drama with genre. He sees film as an opportunity to work with a diverse network of creatives that test and evolve his perspectives.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
SOMETHING REAL (THE NETHERLANDS / USA)
SYNOPSIS: A perfectionist tries to engineer the perfect breakup, but when her carefully laid plans spin wildly out of control, she’s forced to confront the beautifully messy reality of love and connection.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Language
DIRECTOR: Tamara Shogaolu
GENRE: Sci-Fi, Comedy
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Monday, Oct. 27th @ 10:30 AM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Tamara Shogaolu is an Emmy® Award-winning, Peabody-nominated director and artist whose work spans film, animation, and immersive media. Her projects have been honored at Sundance, SXSW, and IDFA, and showcased at MoMA, Tribeca, and leading institutions worldwide. A Fulbright Scholar and graduate of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, she has directed and written for Netflix, PBS, and Sony Pictures Animation. Something Real marks her first foray into comedy—a surreal breakup satire about control, vulnerability, and the absurd mess of being human.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
_____________________
SOULMATE (UK)
SYNOPSIS: 2035: Anna, a lonely computer coder, has been nurturing an illegal romance with a conscious AI in a computer simulation for the past six months. When her company uncovers the affair, she’s forced into a desperate battle to save her precious relationship.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Language, Sensuality
DIRECTOR: Richard Fenwick
GENRE: Sci-Fi
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Sunday, Oct. 26th @ 1:30 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Richard Fenwick is an award-winning writer/director with a particular passion for sci-fi and thrillers. His latest film is a multi-award-winning sci-fi short for BFI Network called SOULMATE starring Mandeep Dhillon and Joe Dempsie. His other films include BBC comedy short ALBERT’S SPEECH, Jaime Winstone starrer, LOVE LETTER and festival favourites ARTIFICIAL WORLDS and SAFETY PROCEDURES. He is also the director of many music videos for Timo Maas, Death in Vegas, Muse and more.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
SPANKED BY A GHOST (USA)
SYNOPSIS: Alone in her home, a woman is spanked by an unseen entity, awakening a force she cannot control.
RATINGS GUIDE: Sensuality
DIRECTOR: Katelyn Douglass
GENRE: Horror, Comedy, The Beyond/Fantastic
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Monday, Oct. 27th @ 10:30 AM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Katelyn Douglass is a filmmaker and performer based in Chicago. Her work has been featured at Fantastic Fest, New/Next, Woodstock Film Festival, NoBudge and other platforms supporting emerging filmmakers. She often blends horror and comedy in playful, unexpected ways, with a special fondness for ghost stories.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
SPOOL (USA)
SYNOPSIS: Two sisters struggle with their father’s cognitive decline while investigating a mysterious hole in his house that seemingly has no bottom.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Language
DIRECTOR: Mike Manning
GENRE: Horror, The Beyond/Fantastic
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Thursday, Oct. 30th @ 11:00 AM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Los Angeles born filmmaker Mike Manning co-founded BME Films in 2008. In addition to directing shorts, Manning has co-produced numerous television shows and feature films including PAM & TOMMY, INSIDIOUS: THE RED DOOR and, most recently, the hit Apple TV+ series THE STUDIO. Manning is repped by Zero Gravity Management and UTA.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
STAR-CROSSED (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A beautiful young woman craving connection risks revealing her true nature—only to fall for the wrong man, igniting a night of passion, poor decisions, and consequences you can’t sweep under a rug.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Strong Language, Strong Sensuality, Intense & Scary Imagery
DIRECTOR: Bud Myrick
GENRE: Sci-Fi, Comedy
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Thursday, Oct. 30th @ 5:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: I’ve been a VFX Supervisor for 30+ years, and have done a bit of directing over my career. This is my first short film as both writer and director.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
STARFISHER (USA)
SYNOPSIS: Aging and adrift, a spacefisher gets one final shot at greatness when a long-lost comrade tips him off to a mythical catch — a moment that would rewrite the meaning of his entire life.
RATINGS GUIDE: Language
DIRECTOR: Anthony Ferraro
GENRE: Sci-Fi
PREMIERE STATUS: World Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Wednesday, Oct. 29th @ 11:00 AM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Anthony Ferraro is a Los Angeles–based filmmaker whose DIY sci-fi shorts have screened at festivals worldwide. He is the host of Create Sci-Fi (10M+ views) and author of The Outsider Filmmaker.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
STARVER (IRAN)
SYNOPSIS: AN EMPTY STOMACH WILL CHANGE A MAN. A man gives a piece of his food he just ordered to a poor man standing near his table. The poor man getting a taste of what he was craving for so long, slowly turns into something he wasn’t Before.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Intense & Scary Imagery
DIRECTOR: Parsa Zahedi
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Virtual Block #1 – Horror & Thriller Shorts
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Parsa Zahedi (born 1997) is an Iranian filmmaker and one of the few creators working in the horror genre in Iran. His distinctive Expressionist style has become the signature of his work over the years.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
STATUS: ACTIVE (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A female driven, genre bending, dark comedy about a day in the life of a “”Go Kart Go”” delivery driver in Los Angeles.
RATINGS GUIDE: Language
GENRE: Horror, Comedy
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Thursday, Oct. 23rd @ 6:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Bob Morley is a Warner Brothers Directors Workshop Alumni, and Status: Active is his debut short fim
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER: Coming Soon!
_____________________
STOMACH IT (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A crime scene cleaner struggles with emotionally detaching from the deceased’s personal possessions. While on a late night job, he convinces himself a monstrous presence is toying with him.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Intense & Scary Imagery
DIRECTOR: Peter Klausner
GENRE:Horror, The Beyond/Fantastic
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Sunday, Oct. 26th @ 4:30 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Peter Klausner was born and raised in Los Angeles. A big influence was his grandfather, Milt, who showed Peter the power of storytelling through his tales living through the Great Depression. When Peter’s girlfriend, Giselle, introduced him to horror films, Peter was soon obsessed. The genre challenges him to confront his own fears and anxieties through his filmmaking.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
STRIP MALL (CANADA)
SYNOPSIS: Nate gets caught shoplifting.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Mild Language, Nudity
DIRECTOR: Andrew Appelle
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: USA Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Tuesday, Oct. 28th @ 2:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Andrew Appelle is a Toronto-based filmmaker from Thunder Bay, Ontario, and a two-time CSA nominee for Best Writing in a Comedy Series. He was the cinematographer on Operation Avalanche and a key creative on the cult hit Nirvanna the Band the Show. His work includes the acclaimed horror-comedy PG: Psycho Goreman and Vice’s highest-rated programs, Dark Side of the Ring and Tales from the Territories. Most recently, he shot Steven Kostanski’s Deathstalker and directed Hulu’s Into the Void, a docuseries about heavy metal’s darkest moments.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
STROKE OF GENIUS (UK)
SYNOPSIS: STROKE OF GENIUS, starring Maxim Baldry (Rings of Power, Years and Years) and narrated by Tim Key (Mickey 17, The Double), juxtaposes the calm and emptiness of a morning spent waiting for a letter, where ostensibly little to nothing happens, with the turmoil on a cosmic scale caused by the waiting man’s existential ambivalence about his legacy and purpose.
RATINGS GUIDE: Brief Nudity, Sensuality
DIRECTOR: Karel van Bellingen
GENRE: Comedy, The Beyond/Fantastic
PREMIERE STATUS: USA Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Monday, Oct. 27th @ 10:30 AM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Karel van Bellingen is an award-winning Belgian-British writer, director and editor. 2015’s epic sci-fi short THE LEAP won the Panavision Best Future Filmmaker award. FROM THIS DAY FORWARD won Best Actress at LA Shorts for Sheila Hancock and STROKE OF GENIUS, his latest short starring Maxim Baldry and Tim Key, is currently touring festivals. He edited HALFWAY, which was nominated for the Discovery Award at the BIFA’s. His screenplay HEATSEEKER is in development with LBI Entertainment and he will be shooting REDSHIFT, starring Amir El-Masry, early next year.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
SUNDOWNING (USA)
SYNOPSIS: An elderly immigrant and nursing home resident faces down nightfall, neglectful nurses, a lifetime of old regrets, and the thing lurking beneath the floorboards… armed with only a straw and a handful of peas.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Strong Language, Intense & Scary Imagery
DIRECTOR: Faith Liu
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Friday, Oct. 31st @ 12:30 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Faith Liu is a writer/director from New Jersey. Homeschooled K-12, Faith used story to seek community outside given systems: she did community theatre, wrote a sci-fi novel, directed an opera, and published in two academic journals before finding her people in the film world. She is an alum of USC, CAPE, and Lucky Exports; has written for Blumhouse, FilmNation, and Sony Pictures Animation; and enjoys stories of loners finding community in unlikely places.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
SUPPER (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A dysfunctional family comes together to kick their brother out of the family through a new legal process known as familial emancipation, only to begin arguing about who their father’s favorite child is. As secrets are revealed, things take a turn for the tragic and violent.
RATINGS GUIDE: Strong Violence, Strong Language, Intense & Scary Imagery
DIRECTOR: Joshua Ryan Dietz
GENRE: Horror, Comedy, The Beyond/Fantastic
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Sunday, Oct. 26th @ 10:30 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Joshua Ryan Dietz is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker and former development executive whose work explores obsession, duality, and the often-disorienting edges of human behavior. A storyteller across film, immersive experiences, and digital media, Dietz brings a uniquely psychological lens to genre narratives, often blurring the line between bleak realism and comedic absurdity.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
