Author: Film Invasion Los Angeles

2026 Official Selection: Comedy – Short

A family where everyone has a special secret.

Program 14 – Shorts Block- Eclectic Spotlight · Sat, Aug 22, 2026 · 10:00 PM — Get Tickets →

• Director(s): Samip Raval
• Writer(s): Samip Raval
• Producer(s): Sonali Sundararaj
• Key Cast: Behzad Dabu, Fred Sanders, Gabriel Brown, JoNell Kennedy, K.T. Thangavelu, Nikita Chaudhry, Titi Lee
• Editor(s): Samip Raval
• Cinematographer(s): Tamas Harangi
• Production Designer(s): Sean Harvas
• Sound Designer(s): Kunal Rajan
• Composer(s): Adrian Disch, Joshua Flores

Language: English

Runtime: 15m

Country: United States

Los Angeles Premiere

Synopsis: A family gathers to celebrate an anniversary. Over the course of the afternoon, a series of revelations take place that change their lives and relationships forever.

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2026 Official Selection: Documentary – Feature

What is masculinity? And what is it doing to us?

Program 02 – MASC · Fri, Aug 21, 2026 · 7:15 PM — Get Tickets →

• Director(s): Andy Motz
• Producer(s): Brandon Morrissey, Taylor Rae
• Editor(s): Cecilio Escobar
• Cinematographer(s): Giselle Gonzalez, Hank Groat
• Sound Designer(s): Polar Sound
• Composer(s): Eric Phillips

Language: English

Runtime: 1h 14m

Country: United States

Los Angeles Premiere

Synopsis: In a world of pundits and politicians seeking to “reclaim manhood,” a young queer filmmaker journeys to discover non-toxic masculinity across class, race, and gender in America today, leading him to confront his own religious upbringing, pastor father, and what he was taught it means to be a man.

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2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Horror

An insomniac, hired gun begins to question her sanity when she runs into one of her previous victims alive and well.

Program 17 – Shorts Block – Vibrant Spotlight · Sun, Aug 23, 2026 · 2:15 PM — Get Tickets →

• Director(s): Matt Van Tine
• Writer(s): Rich Van Tine
• Producer(s): Matt Van Tine, Rich Van Tine, Tim Simek, AnaElise Beckman, Ryan Kuna
• Key Cast: Aly Trasher, Tim Simek, William Gabriel Grier
• Editor(s): Matt Van Tine, Ed Morales
• Cinematographer(s): Ryan Kuna
• Production Designer(s): Rick Quitoriano
• Sound Designer(s): Eric Romero
• Composer(s): Royce Stubbs

Language: English

Runtime: 15m

Country: United States

Synopsis: An insomniac, hired gun begins to question her sanity when she runs into one of her previous victims alive and well.

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2026 Official Selection: Feature Film – Documentary

Understanding the world of Psilocybin assisted psychedelic therapy and those that are turning to the treatment.

Program 21 – Journeys · Sun, Aug 23, 2026 · 5:30 PM — Get Tickets →

• Director(s): Christopher James Cramer
• Producer(s): Christopher James Cramer, James Dunovan, Devin Brooke, Ariel Barber
• Key Cast: Dr. Lida Fatemi, Dr. Douglas Wingate, Dr. Luepker
• Editor(s): Christopher James Cramer
• Cinematographer(s): James Dunovan
• Sound Designer(s): Andrew Pitts
• Composer(s): Production had 8 composers

Language: English

Runtime: 1h 57m

Country: United States

Synopsis: Understanding the world of Psilocybin assisted psychedelic therapy and those that are turning to the treatment. Providing a look into micro-dose and full "Heroic" dose treatment with key topics including Veterans, PTSD, depression, end-of-life care, childhood trauma, ethics, costs of treatment, indigenous history and the science of psychedelic therapy.

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2026 Official Selection: Featurette – Documentary

Turn Off the Machines follows Ethan Hughes, a radical homesteader in mid-coast Maine who lives entirely without electricity, global supply chains, or modern technological comforts.

• Director(s): Joseph El-Khoury, Muhammad Yusuf Khattak
• Producer(s): Joseph El-Khoury, Muhammad Yusuf Khattak, Jack Ruefli
• Key Cast: Ethan Hughes

Language: English

Runtime: 42m

Country: United States

World Premiere

Synopsis: Turn Off the Machines follows Ethan Hughes, a radical homesteader in mid-coast Maine who lives entirely without electricity, global supply chains, or modern technological comforts. Raised in Gloucester to working class parents, an early tragedy shattered a happy childhood and set him on a path of radical resistance. Living deliberately below the poverty line, Ethan’s life is not a retreat but a protest against capitalism, war, and ecological collapse. The film explores his convictions, his family’s daily rhythms, and the tensions that arise when belief meets the demands of life.

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2026 Official Selection: Sci-Fi – Featurette

A group of middle aged men turn to an AI for help becoming "an Alpha"

Program 01 – Shorts Block – Frenetic Spotlight · Fri, Aug 21, 2026 · 7:00 PM — Get Tickets →

• Director(s): Joseph Wesley
• Writer(s): Joseph Wesley, Rachel Kriegshauser, Eric Fisher
• Producer(s): Eric Fisher
• Key Cast: Ptolemy Slocum, Marcuis Harris, Laura Niemi
• Editor(s): Eric Fisher
• Cinematographer(s): Joseph Wesley
• Production Designer(s): Rachel Kriegshauser
• Sound Designer(s): Jacob Proctor
• Composer(s): Christopher Doucet

Language: English

Runtime: 32m

Country: United States

Los Angeles Premiere

Synopsis: An exclusive personal development boot camp promises to remake the lives of middle aged men in crisis. Doug joins the program in the hopes of getting over his divorce, only to fall prey to a nefarious artificial intelligence that specializes in manipulating insecure men.

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2026 Official Selection: Short Film – SciFi

A man discovers he and his ex girlfriend are both dating the same hivemind.

Program 06 – Shorts Block – Unbridled Spotlight · Fri, Aug 21, 2026 · 9:45 PM — Get Tickets →

• Director(s): Nathan Deshawn Bouie
• Writer(s): Nathan Deshawn Bouie
• Producer(s): Jayla Hodge, Ami Coulibaly
• Key Cast: Jai’Reeh Demond, Akira Jackson, Mckayla Fontanez
• Editor(s): Noah Radant
• Cinematographer(s): Paul Carrabba
• Production Designer(s): Callan Low

Language: English

Runtime: 20m

Country: United States

Synopsis: On the night he’s supposed to integrate with his Hive-mind alien girlfriend, James, a man with deep commitment issues, discovers his ex is also dating the same Hivemind.

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2026 Official Selection: Arthouse/Experimental – Short

In this Surrealist cinema poem, a woman processes the waves of grief and finds solace in becoming one with her art.

Program 16 – Shorts Block- Visionary Spotlight · Sun, Aug 23, 2026 · 2:00 PM — Get Tickets →

• Director(s): CK Thornton
• Writer(s): CK Thornton
• Producer(s): CK Thornton
• Key Cast: Chelsea Yakura-Kurtz
• Editor(s): Stephanie Williams
• Cinematographer(s): Geffen Shichor
• Production Designer(s): Julia Vela; Shirley Guo
• Sound Designer(s): WA Reeves
• Composer(s): Nick Shadel

Runtime: 12m

Country: United States

Synopsis: CHICKEN SALAD is a surrealist film exploring grief and the raw and chaotic emotions of heartbreak through dreamlike, thought-provoking visuals. The act of art becomes a vehicle for our subject’s healing; she merges with her creations, blending her artwork into reality. "Chicken Salad" ultimately showcases how art provides a path to expression, acceptance and love in the face of profound loss.

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2026 Official Selection: Music Video

He fell for two loves in the same breath of time. Neither would share him. So he was forced sober from them both, left to live through aching withdrawals and haunting memories.

Program 05 – Shorts Block – Subversive Spotlight · Fri, Aug 21, 2026 · 9:30 PM — Get Tickets →

• Director(s): August Falcon
• Writer(s): August Falcon
• Producer(s): August Falcon
• Key Cast: August Falcon, August Falcon, Lyra, Jakey Lucky
• Editor(s): August Falcon
• Cinematographer(s): Jordan Rennert, Omri Ohana, Piotrek Naumowicz
• Production Designer(s): August Falcon
• Sound Designer(s): August Falcon and Jonah Bailor
• Composer(s): August Falcon

Runtime: 5m

Country: United States

Los Angeles Premiere

Synopsis: A masked man is haunted by memories of Timothy and Annalise, two romantic soulmates who arrived in the same thread of time, and when neither would share him, he lost them both. What’s left is a slow unraveling that strips him to the bones, haunting memories surfacing like withdrawal symptoms through the changing seasons of mourning. SOBER isn’t just about moving on, It’s about reclaiming the part of himself he lost in them.

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2026 Official Selection: Short Film – Horror

The safest places have become the most deadly.

Program 05 – Shorts Block – Subversive Spotlight · Fri, Aug 21, 2026 · 9:30 PM — Get Tickets →

• Director(s): Sam Balcomb
• Writer(s): Sam Balcomb
• Producer(s): Andrew Vogel
• Key Cast: Courtney Bandeko
• Editor(s): Jesse Soff
• Cinematographer(s): Sam Balcomb
• Production Designer(s): SiggySooky
• Sound Designer(s): Rainfall Films
• Composer(s): Jeff Dodson

Language: English

Runtime: 8m

Country: United States

Los Angeles Premiere

Synopsis: Madalyn wakes up to find a wedding ring on her finger and a stranger’s belongings in her home. Something is very wrong, and as her world spirals around her on the Fourth of July, Madalyn discovers that no one is safe.

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