2.0

Director: Matthew Shafeek, Katy Frame

New York

Runtime: 15:00



A comedic short about Hasan, a brilliant engineer who creates the AI destined to replace him.

Sandsailors

Director: Rachel Boraz

Chicago

Runtime: 4:00



Emery and Alison, bonded sand‑racing partners, are forced into a death race where only one can survive—each forming a desperate, opposing plan to save the other.

Our Monsters

Director: Mia Mango (Petrovic)

Canada

Runtime: 8:34



Two kids, Daniel and Peter, suit up in homemade armor to confront the monster in Daniel’s closet—only to discover the real monsters each boy faces are very different.

On the Sane Days

Director: Tiffany Winters

Costa Rica, Spain, United States

Runtime: 2:52



A stop‑motion music video telling a wordless story of love, longing, loss, and hope, created for Costa Rican musician Umbra Sum and crafted entirely without AI.

How We Roll

Director: Anthony Ciancio

Illinois

Runtime: 15:39



In the Chicago suburbs, a community of passionate folks find connection and escape on the gravel courts of a local bocce league.

Facade

Director: Sam Slowik

Wisconsin

Runtime: 3:00



A LEGO man experiments with hiding his real face and emotions, questioning why he should look like himself when he can look like everyone else, in a stop‑motion short built from 4,500 unedited photos.

Bored

Director: Jack Smith

Michigan 

Runtime: 15:38



A man bound by his meticulous routine is forced to take initiative when the unimaginable occurs: his bus is late.

Mitzi’s Bull Shark Dive Log

Director: Marc Ostrick

California

Runtime: 3:18



A first‑person underwater short narrated by teenage diver Mitzi Ostrick during a seasonal bull shark aggregation off Playa del Carmen, reflecting on how understanding replaces fear and why respectful coexistence is essential to ocean conservation.

The Crustacean Caper

Director: Kiersten O’Malley

Illinois

Runtime: 2:13



When Mira learns the dockside grocery store lobster is destined for the pot, she launches a series of clever, chaotic schemes to free him—until the stock boy corners her, revealing he’s secretly on the lobster’s side.

Bed/Time

Director: Tamela D’Amico

United States

Runtime: 11:00



A domestic dramedy capturing the chaotic, tender nightly ritual between a parent racing the clock and a child resisting sleep, blending heightened reality with authentic emotional truth.

Satomi

Director: Rayner Wang

Japan

Runtime: 11:40

Mayumi has the skill, the voice, and the passion to be the perfect performer—if only she could overcome her stage fright. After a disastrous talent‑show audition, she unexpectedly encounters her favorite star, who happens to be a living anime character.



Now Playing

Director: Kathleen Maus

Chicago

Runtime: 4:57



A queer romantic comedy about a daydreaming movie‑theater employee and a quiet cinephile whose shared moments mirror the films on the marquee.

This Side of the Line

Director: Nikki Smallwood

Maryland

Runtime: 15:43



On the final day of a collapsing reproductive‑health hotline, a disengaged volunteer takes a call from a pregnant woman with a life‑threatening condition, forcing both to confront the brutal limits of care in a state with total bans.

Thundermilk

Director: Lincoln Rogers

Illinois

Runtime: 5:00



A neurotic office worker must convince his skeptical coworker to help him skip town after losing all his money betting on Mongolian wombat racing.

Breaking the Law: A Lost & Found Adventure

Director: Sari Karplus

California

Runtime: 5:25



Armed with a camcorder and a mission to break America’s silliest archaic laws, Sari Karplus recruits her mom and best friend for a cross‑country adventure—footage rediscovered nearly twenty years later and shaped into a playful reminder to question the rules.

SNOWDRIFT

Director: Noel Thompson

Runtime: 14:33



A grieving father, a disillusioned barmaid, a sketchy barman, a newlywed couple, and a sheriff converge in a rural bar during a violent snowstorm—only four will make it out alive.

The Best Little Tiny Park in Texas

Director: Margaret Barry

Austin, TX

Runtime: 8:14



A short documentary about Bepi Park, Texas’s tiniest pocket park, exploring its charm and the community surrounding it.

Grilled Cheese

Director: Connar Brown Sprenger, Tommy Martin

Illinois

Runtime: 4:55



Colby gets possessed by a grilled cheese sandwich.

Waste Management

Director: Keaton Monger, Karson Monger, Chris Murphy

Runtime: 4:58



A custodian discovers a trash can with magical powers.

MAC

Director: Hanna Clements, Chase Clements

Chicago

Runtime: 10:00

Mac Montgomery and his band of misfits fight to save their high school film club by channeling their love of 80s movies into an epic dance stunt.



Banana (Ep 1)

Director: Raghav Puri, Kieran Barry

California

Runtime: 14:00



When mukbang fame thrusts her into the spotlight, Dizzy, an insecure Korean‑American woman must untangle her fractured identity and self‑sabotage before her family decides to disown her… again.

Stop When Your Ancestors Say So

Director: Daniel Simon Zhang

Illinois

Runtime: 5:41



A Chinese‑American young adult’s ghost ancestors quarrel over the best tomato‑egg recipe as their Americanized descendant attempts to cook the dish from memory.

Hockey Mom

Director: Mikaela Lily Davies

Canada

Runtime: 5:59



Melissa, a perpetually distracted working mom, forgets her daughter’s goalie stick and must fix the mistake before the game starts—or risk losing far more than the match.

Perfect Game

Director: Christopher C Avent Sr.

Illinois

Runtime: 7:07



A man revisits a Little League field and recalls the unlikely story of a young pitcher who overcame his fear of the baseball to throw a perfect game—only for the deeper meaning of the memory to be revealed.

ERUCTATION

Director: Victoria Trow

Oregon

Runtime: 6:49



Kaylee wants to beat the world record for the loudest female burp—107.3 decibels.

Mort

Director: Larry Ziegelman, Terry Ziegelman

Chicago

Runtime: 13:02



A risk‑averse actuary’s all‑nighter spirals into absurdity when an unexpected visitor claiming to be Death forces him to reevaluate his life choices as the clock ticks down.

Length of The Wool

Director: Sunny Wang

China

Runtime: 4:47



Knitting together should be an act of love and companionship, yet under the mother’s overwhelming love it twists into threads that bind the child as the scarf grows longer and the distance between them widens.

PATRICK ROWLAND: A Weird Kid Grows Up On The West Side Of Chicago

Director: Ben Guest, Patrick Rowland

United States

Runtime: 6:53



Los Angeles, Patrick Rowland, 50, rehearses his one-man show about growing up on the west side of Chicago, convincing his mother to buy an Atari, and making his first friend.

The King of Time

Director: Erinn Hayes

United States

Runtime: 12:45



An overworked man heads into a cabin in the woods hoping to fall into a time loop so he can finally relax.

Pistachio

Director: Adriana Trajkovski, Jesse Rothenberg

Chicago

Runtime: 10:43

Reese can't finish anything… until a determined pistachio makes her realize it's hard to finish anything alone.