11 min.
Director - Zige Zhang

A delusional man lives alone in a small dark house, believing that he is the king of the world and his supremacy is secure. However, his sovereignty is shaken by the arrival of a stranger. Little by little, this intruder occupies his living space, forces him to face his inner fears, cowardice and inferiority. Eventually, he realizes the great king he conjured in his tiny kingdom, is nothing but a pitiful tramp to the rest of the world.

13 min.
Director - Brittany Bookbinder
Illinois

After her best friend dies in a freak accident, Joni wakes up to discover that she's turned into a puppet. Now she must figure out how to be a person again.

4 min.
Luke Jaeger, Director
Mass.

A journey through a mortality-infused landscape populated by mysterious chickens, inconvenient frogs, and other cartoonish creatures.

4 min.
Director - Matthew Shimmel
Illinois

A music video for the debut single of Chicago-band Pageant Mom. A short piece about memory, distance, and video grain.

9 min.
Director - John Gray
New York

A reporter interviews a major league baseball manager in an attempt to uncover secrets from his past.

8 min.
Director - Ben Bishop
Illinois

A Chicago couple can't make ends meet due to an unexpected illness. In this dramatic short, a husband tries to keep their financial struggle a secret from his wife during what might be her last days.

15 min.
Director - Sarah Ann Masse, Nick Afka Thomas
California

On a dark night, in a small British hamlet, Kelly, a young American backpacker, and Tristan, a struggling British jobseeker, unexpectedly collide. Grappling with fear, frustration, and attraction, Tristan & Kelly’s violent introduction sets off a series of events that change both of their lives forever. This unusual romantic dramedy gives us an intimate peek into what happens when the uncertainty of young adulthood combines with the complex dynamics of male/female relationships.

8 min.
Schuyler Weinberg, Director
Illinois

After graduating college with no transferable skills, Mikey takes any job he can to make ends meet. On this day he travels to the suburbs to help a man named Charles and learns just how far he is willing to go.

Ted and Hanna

Ted is a charismatic and famous rocker from the 90’s who lives today between small stages, friends and girlfriends. His life changes when he gets involved with Hanna, a famous digital influencer who’s been going through an existential crisis.

12 min.
Director - Mike Roe
Illinois

Set in the golden era of the spy genre, HENCHMAN is a day-in-the-life of a mild-mannered footsoldier named Terry Jacabowski. Terry has never considered the tradeoffs that come with protecting an evil genius. Until today. And today, he must decide the biggest decision of his career: Save the world? Or save his 401(k)?

5 min.
Director - Jen Lyon
Conneticut

A women who has worked hard for 30 years is determined to get her unemployment benefits when she is "terminated" from her job.

7 min.
Director - Neal O'Bryan, Chad Thurman
Illinois

A starving boy eats a toe he finds sticking out of the ground. Later that night, something ghastly comes to his bedroom wanting it back.

9 min.
Director - John Stephenson
United Kingdom

The wealthy Mr Black is thwarted by a pair of renegades who attempt to outsmart him in an audacious and elegantly planned heist. Starring James Purefoy.

8 min.
Director - Wayne Pombert II
Illinois

A gamer encounters his worse nightmare while spending his day on the couch, ignoring his responsibilities at home.

11 min.
Director - Blake Johnston, Kelso Steinhoff
California

Marco Kyris worked as Nic Cage’s stand-in for a decade on 20 films; everything from Cage’s break out role in Leaving Las Vegas to the blockbuster franchise National Treasure. In Uncaged: A Stand-in Story, Marco talks about his early life as an actor, his journey into the entourage of Nic Cage, and what it was like working in the shadow for one of Hollywood’s Legends of Cinema.

5 min.
Director - Drew Dull
Illinois

A mom and dad prepare dinner in nervous anticipation of their son’s return home from college. He’s bringing his new girlfriend, Geoff.

4 min.
Director - Mike McCraw
California

Boxer, Verve, Campbell and Herman teach Naomi Money that the Sun revolves around the Earth, foiling her quasi-evil plan, and schooling her about Ptolemy, Galileo and Copernicus in the process.

4 min.
Director - Kevin Webb
California

A surreal animated journey with musician extraordinaire Cleve Eaton, proving that music can be a salvation for both musician and audience.

7 min.
Director - Andre Johnson & Willis Searcy
Illinois

A brief documentary displaying how the face paced, vigorous all women's sport is played.

10 min.
Lauren Lorentz, Director
California

Overeducated and underemployed, Dickie and Bea are a youngish married couple, doing their best to make ends meet while hoping for their ship to come in. ​When their massive student loan debt is acquired by a teenager on the dark web, they come to an arrangement and all move in with Bea's father, a baby boomer who's excited to have his family unit back.