Film Invasion – L.A. & Lima

2026 Official Selection: Drama – Short

Some fears ask for nothing—and take everything

• Director(s): Mikheil Gabaidze
• Writer(s): The short film was based on Anton Chekhov’s "Death of a Civil Servant" story
• Producer(s): Sofiko Komakhidze, Elene Jafaridze
• Key Cast: David Jakeli, Zaal Goguadze, Tatia Tatarashvili
• Editor(s): Amiran Vadachkoria, Shota Gujabidze
• Cinematographer(s): Mamuka Chkhikvadze
• Production Designer(s): Luka Beselia
• Sound Designer(s): Naiko Kadidze

Language: Georgian

Runtime: 15m

Country: Georgia

Synopsis: The film’s central theme is the condescending attitude of a simple civil servant towards high-ranking government officials. The short film was based on Anton Chekhov’s "Death of a Civil Servant" story.
The film’s main character, a man, sneezes in a concert hall and puts a high-ranking official in an embarrassing situation. Despite apologizing, the main character feels a slavish fear that ultimately proves fatal to the man’s life.

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2026 Official Selection: Sci-Fi – Short

Some matches should never be made.

• Director(s): Bud Myrick
• Writer(s): Bud Myrick, Kevin Hoffer
• Producer(s): Michael Greenspan, Bud Myrick
• Key Cast: Erica Ibsen, Philip Michael
• Editor(s): Bud Myrick, Benjamin Djahanbani
• Cinematographer(s): Joshua Hess, Mark Kohl
• Production Designer(s): Ellen Lenbergs
• Sound Designer(s): Dal Lowe

Language: English

Runtime: 14m

Country: United States

Los Angeles Premiere

Synopsis: A beautiful young woman craving connection risks revealing her true nature—only to fall for the wrong man, igniting a night of passion, poor decisions, and consequences you can’t sweep under a rug.

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2026 Official Selection: Screenplay – Screenplay – Feature Film

Bad men make beautiful mourners.

• Writer(s): Caprice Castano

Language: English

Country: Not Specified

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When a detective is sent to investigate what appears to be the ritualistic suicide of seven women, it becomes clear their grieving husbands know more than they let on. The longer he questions them, the less certain he becomes of what happened, or of his own grip on reality. As the truth surfaces, it reveals something more dangerous than a crime: the power these husbands hold over the town, over each other, and over anyone who stands against them.

When a detective is sent to investigate what appears to be the ritualistic suicide of seven women, it becomes clear their grieving husbands know more than they let on. The longer he questions them, the less certain he becomes of what happened, or of his own grip on reality. As the truth surfaces, it reveals something more dangerous than a crime: the power these husbands hold over the town, over each other, and over anyone who stands against them.

2026 Official Selection: Sci-Fi – Short

A daughter’s quest to reunite with her father.

• Director(s): Gabriel Fontes
• Writer(s): Gabriel Fontes
• Producer(s): Camila Fontes, Su Tonani, Jonas Vaz
• Key Cast: Elisa Rosati Rodrigues, Olivia Torres, Rafael Tepedino, Regina Braga
• Editor(s): Gabriel Fontes
• Cinematographer(s): Gabriel Fontes
• Production Designer(s): Su Tonani
• Sound Designer(s): Pier Valencise
• Composer(s): Fabio Mondego

Language: Portuguese

Runtime: 17m

Country: Brazil

Los Angeles Premiere

Synopsis: Guided by a mysterious voice, a little girl that doesn’t fit anywhere leaves on a journey to meet her father again.

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2026 Official Selection: Animation – Short

A surreal mythology following the journey of a firstborn child.

• Director(s): Olivia G Porrill
• Writer(s): Olivia G Porrill
• Editor(s): Olivia G Porrill
• Cinematographer(s): Olivia G Porrill
• Production Designer(s): Olivia G Porrill
• Sound Designer(s): Olivia G Porrill
• Composer(s): James Gray Gasket Gordon

Language: No Dialogue

Runtime: 9m

Country: United States

Los Angeles Premiere

Synopsis: A firstborn child is delivered into a strange world. After passing the first threshold of birth, she must encounter a new one: what lies beyond the world that she was born into, and what the consequences are if she does not pass through. A mythology on the right of passage of a child who must become their own being, and the unique circumstance of being the first child to endure it.

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2026 Official Selection: Drama – Short

Azra seeks solace from bullying classmates and her strict mother by a serene riverside, where she develops an unspoken bond with a girl who joins her on the opposite shore.

• Director(s): Ilgın G. Korugan
• Writer(s): Ilgın G. Korugan
• Producer(s): Sığla Unal
• Key Cast: Ece Doğa Bayraktar, Selin Şemsettinoğlu, Gülhan Kadim, Dilara Vural
• Editor(s): Tuvana Simin Günay
• Cinematographer(s): Ahmed Hamdi Eren
• Production Designer(s): Kristin Cansu Palancı
• Sound Designer(s): Aniket Solanki
• Composer(s): Esin Aydıngöz

Language: Turkish

Runtime: 17m

Country: Türkiye

Synopsis: Alienated by bullies at school and her strict mother at home, Azra seeks solace by a serene riverside. There, she develops an unspoken bond with a girl who joins her on the opposite shore, opening herself up despite her fears.

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2026 Official Selection: Arthouse/Experimental – Short

EQUAL is a cinematic exploration of Richard Serra’s sculpture of the same name on display at the Museum of Modern Art.

• Director(s): Tom Bessoir

Language: No Dialogue

Runtime: 4m

Country: United States

Los Angeles Premiere

Synopsis: EQUAL consists of eight forged-steel blocks stacked in pairs. Each rectangular block measures 5 feet X 5 1/2 feet X 6 feet and weighs 40 tons. The blocks are rotated and stacked so that the top and bottom blocks align differently. Yet the four stacks are each 11 feet tall.

This simple form makes me think about space, mass, weight, and time. Like the sculpture, my film seeks to both overwhelm the viewer and invite contemplation.

THIS FILM SHOULD BE PLAYED LOUD IN A DARK ROOM

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2026 Official Selection: Comedy – Short (under 20 mins), Drama – Short

• Director(s): Zac La Roc
• Writer(s): Zac La Roc, Olivia Allen
• Producer(s): Nick Cassavetes, Rooter Wareing, John Pierce, Hannah Swayze
• Key Cast: Hannah Kepple, Sydney Taylor, Kayla Blake, Philip Michael, Chad Crone, Olivia Allen, Vel Nine, Justin Ellings
• Editor(s): Bella Erikson
• Cinematographer(s): Daniel Contaldo
• Production Designer(s): Chelsea Parker
• Sound Designer(s): Jonathan Wales
• Composer(s): Harley Parker

Language: English

Runtime: 18m

Country: United States

Synopsis: Dylan and Lizzy are best friends, growing up in a typical dystopian suburbia. Dylan has a plan to take her mom’s boyfriend’s car for the night. The two of them drop acid, steal the car, and the wild sequence of events that ensue over the next nine hours is one for the books. Dylan is all gas, no brakes. Lizzy is more in touch with the risk verses benefit equation. The unlikely duo are still inseparable, and their journey is as entertaining as it is dangerous. In the end, we

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2026 Official Selection: Screenplay – Screenplay – Feature Film

Let the culture clashes and love affairs begin!

• Writer(s): Bren Bennington Dahl

Language: English

Country: Not Specified

An adventure seeking college grad joins the Peace Corps, gets posted in the Congo, and takes a wild ride through culture clashes and love affairs.

An adventure seeking college grad joins the Peace Corps, gets posted in the Congo, and takes a wild ride through culture clashes and love affairs.

2026 Official Selection: Drama – Short

Every ending is personal

• Director(s): Ramana Wills
• Writer(s): Roger Soffer
• Producer(s): Ramana Wills, Ahava Wills
• Key Cast: Daniel MacPherson, Zoë Bleu
• Editor(s): Ramana Wills
• Cinematographer(s): Ian Michael Lee, Ian M. Conner
• Composer(s): Ruslan Biryukov, Robb Martson

Language: English

Runtime: 4m

Country: United States

Synopsis: Ordered to end the world, a general finds himself split between a sunlit field where a woman waits: real, remembered, or hoped for. In one world, his hand hovers above the button. In the other, he reaches towards her. To which world does he truly belong, and which will survive his touch?

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