SCHEDULE INFORMATION CLICK HERE
_____________________
A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY FOR THE LADY AVENGERS (SAN FRANCISCO STATE U.) (TAWAIN/USA)
SYNOPSIS: Taiwan, 1980s. Hot summer day, watermelon juice, and a teenage girl’s sexual awakening with her celluloid fantasies. Shot on 16mm.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Sensuality
DIRECTOR: Birdy Wei-Ting
GENRE: The Beyond, Fantastic
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Saturday, Nov. 1st @ 11:00 AM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Birdy Wei-Ting Hung holds an M.F.A. degree at San Francisco State University’s School of Cinema. Her work explores historical trauma, the abject, and pleasures. Birdy has screened at Tribeca, Fantasia, Slamdance, and more. She is a Student Academy Awards winner.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
CHECK PLEASE (NORTHWESTERN) (USA)
SYNOPSIS: Two headstrong Koreans can’t agree on who’s treating who to dinner, causing their casual restaurant outing to spiral into a martial arts deathmatch.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence
GENRE: Comedy
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Friday, Oct. 24th @ 5:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: SHANE CHUNG is a Korean-American filmmaker who enjoys challenging mainstream narratives around Asians and Trojan-Horsing thorny emotions and complex topics into genre films. His latest short is the martial arts comedy ‘CHECK PLEASE’, which is one part a tribute to ’90s Hong Kong action flicks and one part a bighearted reflection on the “in-betweenness” of holding an Asian-American identity. The short has been selected to screen at Fantastic Fest 2024, Fantasia Film Festival 2025, Palm Springs International Shortsfest 2025, the Chicago International Film Festival 2025, and won a ‘Best Director’ prize at the BFI Future Film Festival 2025. He is currently developing ‘CHECK PLEASE’ into a feature and continues directing and giving guest lectures and speaking engagements in the meantime.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
DADDA (AFI) (USA)
SYNOPSIS: Amidst his wife’s flourishing career, a once hotshot director turned stay-at-home dad, becomes convinced his hands are inexplicably shrinking. In a desperate search to re-enlarge his hands, he puts his family and sanity at risk as things grow out of control.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Strong Language, Adult Content, Intense & Scary Imagery
DIRECTOR: Aimee Hoffman
GENRE: Horror, Comedy, The Beyond, Fantastic
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Sunday, Oct. 26th @ 4:30 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Aimee Hoffman is a Canadian writer-director based in Los Angeles whose work lingers at the edge of the real, following characters through uncanny, often disorienting contemporary landscapes. Blending dark comedy, psychological horror, and absurdism, her films explore identity, isolation, and longing in a world unraveling at the seams. A graduate of the AFI Conservatory, she has directed award-winning shorts and is currently developing several feature projects.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
DISSENT (ART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN) (USA)
SYNOPSIS: During a flight to a peace summit, a priest, a rabbi, and an imam must set aside their differences to perform a successful exorcism on a possessed flight attendant or everyone on board will perish.
RATINGS GUIDE: Horror, Fantasy, Comedy
DIRECTOR: Sager Al Nuaimi
GENRE: Thriller
PREMIERE STATUS: North American Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Friday, Oct. 31st @ 9:30 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Sager Al Nuaimi is an Emirati filmmaker from Abu Dhabi and a graduate of ArtCenter College of Design in Los Angeles. His passion for cinema began in childhood, sparked by the magic of Hollywood and a lifelong love of storytelling. He made his first films at 12 and later earned a Bachelor’s degree in Storytelling from the American University in Dubai. Drawing on his Emirati and Middle Eastern heritage-rich in oral storytelling and fantastical tales-Sager aims to create imaginative films with a distinctive visual style that explore universal themes and resonate across cultures.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
EVER AFTER (FILM ACADEMY VIENNA) (AUSTRIA)
SYNOPSIS: Belly sinks into the depths of a mysterious underwater garden – the only place she feels free. But to truly live in this dark fairy tale realm, she must grow the fins of a mermaid, a transformation that demands a painful sacrifice.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence
DIRECTOR: Helen Hideko
GENRE: Fantasy
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Virtual Block #3 – Fantasy Shorts
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Helen Hideko was born in Hawaii to first generation Japanese and Scottish parents. Before moving to Austria in 2010, she studied English literature in Canada. For the past 12 years, Helen has worked in various departments in film and television, and in 2020 she began pursuing a master’s degree in directing at the Vienna Film Academy.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
https://vimeo.com/1085428923?fl=pl&fe=sh
_____________________
GLORY HOLE (ESCAC) (SPAIN)
SYNOPSIS: Borja finds a Glory Hole in the bathroom of a nightclub. He hesitates, but eventually decides to try it. After a while, Borja realizes that he cannot pull his penis out of the hole. At this point, Borja will have to face his fate in the most unusual place—a fate that seems already written.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Strong Language, Brief Nudity, Intense & Scary Imagery
DIRECTOR: Andoni Fernández
GENRE: Horror, Comedy
PREMIERE STATUS: North American Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Monday, Oct. 27th @ 10:30 AM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Andoni Fernández (b. 1998, Bilbao) is a Basque director and screenwriter. He studied film in Bilbao and later moved to Barcelona to continue his studies at ESCAC, where his short film Glory Hole received a development award and was produced by ESCAC Films. He has worked on various film and television productions. His interests focus on comedy, fantasy, and horror as modes of expression within fiction.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER: Coming Soon!
_____________________
MARASCHINO (AFI) (USA)
SYNOPSIS: When a centerfold suffers a breakdown on her partner’s birthday, she must outwit her smarthome on a blood-soaked path to having her own cake and eating it, too.
RATINGS GUIDE: Strong Violence, Strong Language, Strong Sensuality, Adult Content, Intense & Scary Imagery
DIRECTOR: Alyssa Cody Garcia
GENRE: Horror, Sci-Fi, Comedy
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Saturday, Oct. 25th @ 11:00 AM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: A native Los Angelena, Alyssa Cody Garcia began her career unconventionally as an art historian and archaeologist of ancient Rome. An alumna of Columbia University and Ph.D. candidate at the University of Pennsylvania, she decided to make own art instead, joining a Meisner studio and directing a few shorts, which led her to the AFI Conservatory as a Directing Fellow. Her predilection for pitch-black humor, the psychoanalytical and all things macabre compels her toward stories that explore the idiosyncrasies of human behavior—in all of their deliciously explicit glory—through the eyes of those we least expect.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER: Coming Soon!
_____________________
PULPITUM (HIGH SCHOOL) (USA)
SYNOPSIS: Determined to find her missing sister, Claire investigates her small town’s mysterious church rituals and battles fragmented visions, cryptic encounters, ever-present surveillance, and a dangerously unorthodox society.
RATINGS GUIDE: All Audiences
DIRECTOR: Caleb Reese Paul
GENRE:Horror, Si-Fi
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Saturday, Oct. 25th @ 5:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Caleb Reese Paul is a 17-year-old award-winning filmmaker. His last short film, THE LAKE IN THE SKY, has screened all over the world, including an IMAX showing. It won many top awards at Academy Award® Qualifying festivals, and was distributed by DUST on YouTube, gaining 170K+ views. His new film, PULPITUM, has began its festival run, and he is currently in development for his first feature, with interest from major studios.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE (COLUMBIA) (TAIWAN)
SYNOPSIS: Fantasy bleeds into reality when 16-year-old Lolo becomes entangled in a Freudian loop centered around a strawberry shortcake and her mother, Norma. As Lolo sinks deeper into this surreal loop, the boundary between reality and the dreamscape becomes increasingly blurred.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Brief Nudity, Strong Sensuality, Adult Content
DIRECTOR: Deborah “”Devyn”” Chuang
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Virtual Block #3 – Fantasy Shorts
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Deborah “”Devyn”” Chuang is a Taiwanese-American filmmaker. Their award-winning short films, Mom, if I Were a Vampire and Strawberry Shortcake, have screened at many international festivals including all of the largest genre festivals in the world. Currently pursuing an MFA in Film at Columbia University, Devyn is influenced by horror and cult cinema, often pushing boundaries through themes of identity and sexuality.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
TAKE TWO (SCAD) (USA)
SYNOPSIS: Aspiring film director, Scarlett Skidmore, sets out on a mission to rid herself of the tarnished reputation her Grandmother, Audrey Skidmore, has left on their name. To free herself from this legacy, Scarlett returns to the backlot where Audrey lost her career, due to a fatal on-set stunt accident back in the 1970s, to film a documentary that will clear Scarlett’s reputation once and for all. Upon her return to the now decrepit backlot, she uncovers the same camera they filmed the accident on and discovers that it now acts as a time portal, giving her a chance to change history.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Mild Language, Intense & Scary Imagery
DIRECTOR: Colleen Ryan
GENRE: Sci-Fi, The Beyond/Fantastic
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Tuesday, Oct. 29th @ 8:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Colleen Ryan is a Los Angeles and Panama based director whose work blends sharp visual storytelling with a deep commitment to social resonance. A graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, she has been recognized with honors including the 2024 DGA Student Jury Award in the Women’s Category and the Savannah Film Festival Best Student Film Award. Her projects span narrative shorts, dance films, and music videos, with collaborations ranging from Vevo to Atlantic Records. Rooted in a passion for activism, Colleen’s films seek to provoke dialogue and inspire change through bold, emotionally charged stories.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
Screenshot
Screenshot
TRAILER:
_____________________
THE DEMON CORE (USC) (USA)
SYNOPSIS: A dramatization of the final days of Louis Alexander Slotin, the physicist who sacrificed his own life in order to save his colleagues during a criticality incident in 1946 involving a plutonium core known as The Demon Core.
RATINGS GUIDE: All Audiences, Intense & Scary Imagery
GENRE: The Beyond, Fantastic
PREMIERE STATUS: Utah Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Saturday, Oct. 25th @ 8:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: J. Zachary Thurman is a genre-bending writer and director best known for his viral horror-comedy FINLEY (2019), which racked up over 10 million views and won more than 60 awards. A Georgia native with an MFA from USC, he’s the mind behind acclaimed short films like DREAM JAR and RUN, and recently shot the upcoming short THE DEMON CORE (2025). Known for his sharp eye and fearless storytelling, Thurman crafts bold, cinematic experiences that hit hard and stay with you.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
THE GOLEM (COLUMBIA) (CANADA/USA)
SYNOPSIS: In 1840s Poland, a Jewish woman cares for the town leper and fights for a separation from her husband, while facing ostracization from her community. In order to protect herself, she builds a Golem, a folkloric creature made of clay.
RATINGS GUIDE: Intense & Scary Imagery
DIRECTOR: Sierra Nutkevitch
GENRE: Horror, The Beyond, Fantastic
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Friday, Oct. 24th @ 2:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Sierra Nutkevitch is a writer/director from Montreal, Canada who creates exciting, thoughtful genre stories that blend humor and tension. Her specialty is complicated women, thrown into impossible situations and growing to contend with them. Sierra has several years of experience in development and international production. She graduated from Columbia University’s MFA Film Program where she received several awards for her work, including Faculty Honours for her screenplay ‘The Golem’, based on her thesis short film. The Golem’s screenplay was also the Horror/Thriller Category Winner in the Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting Contest 2024, in addition to several other awards. Sierra’s films have screened at festivals all over the world; she hopes to build a career with global reach by telling universal stories through her unique perspective.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
_____________________
THE HAND OF DARKNESS (CHAPMAN) (USA)
SYNOPSIS: In 1978, Astoria, Oregon, newcomer Alice Mitchell becomes the target of an otherworldly entity, hell-bent on consuming her soul to regain its former power.
RATINGS GUIDE: Mild Violence, Intense & Scary Imagery
DIRECTOR: Rowan Kelley
GENRE: Horror, Fantasy
PREMIERE STATUS: None
SCREENING DATE: Friday, Oct. 24th @ 11:00 AM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Rowan Kelley is a dark fantasy and genre writer-director and storyteller with a love for stories steeped in grim gothic atmospheres, rich worldbuilding, deep mythology, thematic monsters, and adventurous narratives with heart. Born in Boulder, Colorado, Rowan has lived in Virginia, Los Angeles, and Atlanta, and is a recent graduate of Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. Having always been a magnet for difficult projects, The Hand of Darkness proved to be the perfect challenge, being an old-school creature feature set in Oregon and filmed in LA on a limited budget.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER: Coming Soon!
_____________________
THE KING IN YELLOW (USC)(USA)
SYNOPSIS: There’s a reason no one has studied the contents of the play – the one notorious for driving readers insane. Three grad students come up with a plan to divide a copy into quarantined thirds, allowing them to safely perform groundbreaking research on the text. But the endeavor takes a sinister turn when it becomes clear that one of them has read more than just his share.
RATINGS GUIDE: Violence, Language, Intense & Scary Imagery
DIRECTOR: Sam Shapson
GENRE: Horror
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Thursday, Oct. 23rd @ 6:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Sam Shapson is a genre-focused writer, director, producer pursuing character-driven stories that push beyond the everyday to explore cerebral and unsettling themes. Sam was a DGA 1st & 2nd AD for 10 years, during which time he AD’d 11 Features, 40+ Commercials & 60+ Music Videos. He is currently completing an MFA in the Peter Stark Producing Program at USC.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER: Coming Soon!
_____________________
UNDER THE ICE (ZHDK) (SWITZERLAND)
SYNOPSIS: Climate scientist Sasha discovers not only climate data in the glacier ice, but also the past she has suppressed.
RATINGS GUIDE: Sensuality
DIRECTOR: Michel Kessler
GENRE: Horror, Sci-Fi, The Beyond, Fantastic
PREMIERE STATUS: Regional Premiere
SCREENING DATE: Monday, Oct. 27th @ 2:00 PM
DIRECTOR’S BIO: Michel Kessler is a Swiss poet and trained architect who won the Poetry Prize of the City of Zurich. David Oesch is a Swiss genre filmmaker and former journalist whose shorts have screened internationally and won the 2020 Tribeca Student Visionary Award. Together — a poet/architect and a genre filmmaker — they collided on UNDER THE ICE, their first collaboration, to fuse ritual and cinema into something new.
IMAGES FROM THE FILM:
TRAILER:
