2026 Official Selection: Arthouse/Experimental – Short
A trans-dimensional visitor lands in the desert and gathers specimens, only to find the one that could set him free.
🏆 Winner:
Grand Jury Award: Best Score – Short Film
Filmmakers Award: Outstanding Short Film – Arthouse/Experimental
Filmmakers Award: Outstanding Direction – Arthouse/Experimental
Watch from the festival:
Program 10 – Shorts Block – Avant-garde Spotlight · Sat, Aug 22, 2026 · 8:00 PM
- Director(s): Mark Steger
- Writer(s): Mark Steger
- Producer(s): Mark Steger
- Key Cast: Mark Steger, Paul Donald, John Grady, Jimbo Matison
- Editor(s): Mark Steger
- Cinematographer(s): Mark Steger, Kyoko Takanaka(additional Cinematography)
- Production Designer(s): Mark Steger
- Sound Designer(s): Mark Steger
- Composer(s): Robert Crouch
Language: English
Runtime: 10m
Country: United States
Synopsis: Imago is an experimental odyssey of a trans-dimensional being who lands in the desert and gathers curious specimens. The symbiotic visitor may represent the larval stage of a more developed entity that requires an outside stimulus to complete its metamorphosis – and set it free.