’26 LINEUP

Danny Is My Boyfriend (Made in LA) (USA)

Directors: Mechi Lakatos, Lucy Sandler

Producers: Lucy Sandler, Mechi Lakatos, Rachel Brunner, Joey Fitzsimmons, Trace Le

Cast: Lucy Sandler, Mechi Lakatos, Brooke Smith, Rachel Brunner, Maleah Goldberg, Michelle Thompson

After discovering they’re dating the same man, a recovering codependent living with her mother and a socially awkward babysitter fumble their way through a series of misguided schemes, enlisting a parade of eccentric and unqualified accomplices in a half-baked mission to get revenge.

Dump of Untitled Pieces (İsimsiz Eserler Mezarlığı) (Turkey) – North American Premiere

Director: Melik Kuru

Producers: Hilal Şenel, Fahriye İsmayilova, Simla Güran (co-producer)

Cast: Manolya Maya, Ekremcan Arslandağ, Tuğrul Tülek, Tülin Özen, Ceylan Özgün Özçelik, Emrah Özdemir, Okan Avcı, Cüneyt Yalaz

Facing imminent eviction, an idealistic young photographer and her hapless roommate attempt to sell her work to galleries for the first time, embarking on a bumpy journey through the collapsing art market of Istanbul.

Matapanki (Chile) – North American Premiere

Director: Diego “Mapache” Fuentes

Producer: Tomás Santelices

Cast: Ramón Gálvez, Diego Bravo, Antonia McCarthy, Rosa Peñaloza, Rodrigo Lisboa

After obtaining superpowers that are activated by alcohol, a young punk will try to make a change in society, but due to a serious mistake, he will end up unleashing an international conflict against him.

TEN WILL (Made in LA) (USA) – World Premiere

Director: Max DeFalco

Producers: Max DeFalco, Cheyenne Slowensky

Cast: Mikul Robins, Donna Dymally, Alicia Hecht, Terrell Lamb, Kathleen Deming, Sonny Frank, Peggy Fields Richardson, Harvey Fisher

When his van breaks down, a recently released convict tears through the streets of LA, colliding with everyone in his path in a desperate attempt to register on time as a sex offender.

THE KEY (LA CLEF) (France) – North American Premiere

Director: Paul G. Sportiello

Producer: Emilie Huynh

Cast: Sylka, Bruno Clairefond, Alain Guillot, Dorothée Deblaton

The True Story of Real Hidden People.

The Old Man and the Parrot (El Viejo y La Cotorra) (United States) – World Premiere

Director: Gabriel de Varona

Producer: Kevin Ondarza

Cast: Ruben Rabasa, Serafin Falcon, Rene Lavan, Isabella Bobadilla, Mia Rose Chamaro

With a taxidermy parrot and pistol in hand, Praxi, breaks into the home of a mute spiritual guru who trapped his lover’s soul inside the parrot years ago. Praxi must convince the guru’s estranged daughter to guide her father in freeing his lover’s soul in this darkly comedic tale of love and the afterlife.

The Plan (Made in LA) (United States) – World Premiere

Director: Jessica Barr

Producers: Jessica Barr, Alexander Spenser Gould, Sarah Whelden, Kelly Wilcox / Executive Produced by Madhouse Films and Firestarter Productions

In one unbroken take, a group of disillusioned young adults readies themselves for an irreversible act they believe will change the world.

Three Colors: Pan-African (Made in LA) (USA) – World Premiere

Directors: Elijah Davis, Allison A. Waite, Tyler Ocasio Holmes

Producers: Elijah Davis, Dami Olatunji, Jack McMann, Joseph Agboola, Ben Ephraim, Christen Vanderbilt Ellis, Asar Saint Lamont, Jaala Alston, Amy Roach

Cast: Loretta Devine, Bashir Salahuddin, Peyton Alex Smith, Sibongile Mlambo, Stephen Bishop, Lathan Ava, Kimrie Lewis

A college football star scrambles to save his career after a devastating injury fractures his self-worth; an African immigrant mother evades deportation as an unlikely group of heroes rally around her; the star of a Black family sitcom questions his role as the studio forces his show into racist caricature to boost ratings.

Tony Odyssey (Made in LA) (Antônio Odisseia) (Brazil) – World Premiere

Director: Thales Banzai

Producers: Thales Banzai, Camila Cornelsen, Mario Peixoto

Cast: Kelson Succi, Iraci Estrela, Sandro Guerra, Antônio Pitanga, Leci Brandão, Teuda Bara, Luiz Bertazzo, Chico César

Tony and his best friend, Ivy, rob the bar where he works and steal a new drug that takes them into a surrealist Brazilian odyssey to meet God.

WHISPERINGS OF THE MOON (Made in LA) (Hong Kong, Cambodia, India) – North American Premiere

Director: Yuqing Lai

Producers: Siddartha Jatla, Lily Yang, Esther Li

Cast: Sopheanith Thong, Deka Nine

Nisay, an actress haunted by loss, returns to Cambodia and to Thida — a love once forbidden. Bound by the weight of family and society, their passion survives only in memory and performance, until it must fade away.

50 Meters (Egypt, Denmark, Saudi Arabia) – US Premiere

Director: Yomna Khattab

Producer: A.A. Films

Cast: Yomna Khattab, Akram Khattab

Through a complex and emotionally layered father-daughter journey set in a Cairo community swimming pool, Yomna explores her existential questions surrounding career, parenthood, and mortality.

A Free Daughter of Free Kyrgyzstan (Switzerland)

Director & Producer: Leigh Iacobucci

Cast: Zere Asylbek

A fearless young singer challenges her oppressive culture through bold music videos, risking everything to amplify women’s voices despite dangerous opposition.

HOUSE 4 (Haus 4) (Germany) – World Premiere

Director: Philipp Schaeffer

Producers: Paul Hartmann, Franzis Unger

With exceptional access, HOUSE 4 documents a year in the life of inmates at Berlin’s youth prison — can therapy change their lives?

KINGS OF VENICE (Made in LA) (USA)

Directors & Producers: Sveinn Ingimundarson, S.D. Saltarelli

Cast: Scotty Freedman, Ernesto Russo, Sonia Ode Lucci, Carl Tabor, Brian Wan, Larry Nagler

As pickleball sweeps the nation, the paddle tennis diehards of Venice Beach dig in for one final, ridiculous stand.

Silver (Poland, Norway, Finland) – North American Premiere

Director: Natalia Koniarz

Producers: Maciej Kubicki (TELEMARK), PIRAYA, IV Films

A visual look at the inhabitants of the highest mine in Bolivia, whose deaths weigh as much as the mined silver, exploring human endurance, spirituality, and labor costs.

SNOWLAND (USA)

Director & Producer: Jill Orschel

Cast: Cora Lee Witt, Becca Fischer

A former child bride from a notorious polygamous sect escapes her dark past by creating a fantasy world as a way to survive.

The Bulldogs (USA) – World Premiere

Directors: Ori Segev, Noah Dixon

Producers: Drew Johnson, Alexander Hyde

Following a catastrophic train derailment, The Bulldogs follows the residents of a small rural community in East Palestine, Ohio, as they navigate an uncertain path to recovery.

The LeMieurs (USA) – World Premiere

Director: Sammy LeMieur

Producers: Collin Colaizzi, Sammy LeMieur

Cast: Beverly, Tim, Seth, Kyle, Steve, Mikey, Eli, Jim, John LeMieur

Fearing regret and desperate to keep hold of their history, the five sons of a small-town Minnesota matriarch must reconcile her aging, while her three grandsons running a funeral home face death head-on.

The Projectionist (USA) World Premiere

Director: Alexandre Rockwell

Producers: Quentin Tarantino and Jack Auen

Cast: Vondie Curtis-Hall, Karyn Parsons, Kasi Lemmons, David Proval, Kevin Corrigan, and Michael Buscemi.

A reclusive projectionist is haunted by a wrongful conviction and the loss of his wife. He lives in solitude inside a fading art house theater until one fateful night when his past resurfaces, forcing him to confront the truth, rekindle love, and find peace in the glow of the final reel. 

Under The Rainbow: The Curious Crimes Of The Ruby Slippers (Made in LA)  (USA) World Premiere 

Directors: Seth Gordon and Nikki Calabrese

Producers: Seth Gordon and Nikki Calabrese 

When the original Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz are stolen from a small-town museum in Minnesota, a maze of clues and calamities unfolds—colliding the heartland with Hollywood and big-time crime

11 (Philippines) – World Premiere

Director: Bebe Go

Producer: Martika Ramirez Escobar

Cast: Gabby Padilla, Tona Lopez, Joanne Cesario, Jao San Pedro, Vi-an Tan

When an ongoing apocalypse halts the production of Gabby’s new film, she escapes to see her artist friend Tona in La Union, a former booming beach town and strategic site for a US military base.

A Story About You (USA) – World Premiere

Director: Joseph E. Austin II

Producers: Denise Yolén, Jeremy Harris, Joseph E. Austin II, Shannon Wallace, Kimberly Hines Cast: Shannon Wallace, Pernell Walker, Denise Yolén, Monique Lindsey, Adwoa Duncan-Williams, Shiree Adkins

A man is forced to come to terms with his past as he navigates his week with various love interests.

BRB (Made in LA) (USA) – World Premiere

Director: Kate Cobb

Producers: Kevin Bigley, In The Rye Productions, Chicago Media Angels

Screenwriters: Michael Waller, Sydney Blackburn

Cast: Autumn Best, Zoe Colletti, Beth Lacke, Keith Kupferer, Richard David, Dan Haller, Cristian Lager

Set in the era of dial-up and AIM away messages, a love-sick teenage girl and her older sister embark on a road trip to meet her online boyfriend, spiraling into chaos as secrets are revealed.

CLOVERS (Made in LA) (USA)

Directors & Producers: Jacob Hatley and Tom Vickers

Cast: Jennifer Paschal, JD Cranford, Sharon McNeill

The denizens of a strip-mall casino in Asheboro, North Carolina endure two tumultuous years.

Santa Zeta (Spain) – North American Premiere

Director: Antonio Munoz de Mesa

Producer: Jordi Monedero

Cast: Nekane Otxoa, Africa Giron, Arlette Torres, Ivan Villanueva, Darci L. Strother, Izoko, Jordi Monedero

YouTuber by day, vigilante by night.

Zumeca (Dominican Republic) – World Premiere

Director & Producer: Maler

Cast: Angela Canó, Ruben Ochandiano, Miguel Dionisios Ramos

Based on the true story of the first Family of the Americas between a Taino and a Spaniard, which started the colonization of the “New World.”

Back On Track (United States of America) – World Premiere

Director: Peter Tkac

Producers: Peter Tkac, Peter Gilbert

Cast: Chris Rivera, Bri Solomon, Tamirat “T” Ives-Rublee, The Triad Trackers Wheelchair Basketball Team

After a random shooting left him paralyzed, Chris Rivera rediscovered life through the Triad Trackers, a wheelchair basketball squad that redefines success beyond wins and losses.

BRAILLED IT (Made in LA) (USA) – World Premiere

Directors: Salome Cummins, Isaiah Gauthier, David Grabias, Christopher Morgan, Brendon Schulze

Producers: Anne Edgar, David Grabias, Alison Kohlhardt

Cast: Salome Cummins, Isaiah Gauthier, Christopher Morgan, Lynn Wu, Brooke Petro

Blind and low-vision kids take control of the cameras and capture their own experiences at the annual Braille Challenge — a weekend of high-pressure competition and raw coming-of-age moments.

The Tallest Dwarf (USA)

Director: Julie Forrest Wyman

Producers: Lindsey Dryden, Shaleece Haas, Jonna McKone, Julie Forrest Wyman

Cast: Julie Wyman, Sofiya Cheyenne, Rebecca Cokley, Chandler Crews, Sarah Folkins, Matthew Jeffers, Katrina Kemp, Mark Povinelli, Aubrey Smalls

Visually striking, humorous, and touching, THE TALLEST DWARF is both personal and political – inviting audiences to rethink identity, disability, and what it means to belong in a world that wants to change who you are.

YOU LOOK FINE (Made in LA) (USA) – U.S. Premiere

Director: J. Snow

Producers: Aaliyah Williams, Marlon Wayans, Rick Alvarez

Cast: J. Snow

Trapped in a hospital bed during a sickle cell crisis, a comedian turns the camera on himself — and his disease — to document the brutal, funny, and deeply human story behind the pain no one sees.

Cat & Nat (USA) – World Premiere

Director: Aaron Hughes

Producer: Aaron Hughes

Cast: Natalie Labarre, Tom Bayne, Nina Kiernan, Susan Hwang, Nora Feher, Elise Raven, Jo Palazuelos-Krukowski, Aaron Hughes

Disturbing fortune cookie predictions send a girl and her cat into a surreal spiral.

Daddies Boi (Made in LA) (USA)

Director: Jason Avezzano

Producers: Louie Rinaldi (Executive Producer), Zoe Tyson (Executive Producer), Kimberly Parker, Gregory Kasunich

 Cast: Louie Rinaldi, Zoe Tyson, Todd Sherry, Tarek Ziad, Milan Patel

As youth and options dry up for two aging sugar babies, they must plunge into the bizarre “desire economy” via a provocative app.

Disc (USA)

Director: Renzo Montoya

Producer: Renzo Montoya

Cast: Prentice Myles, Soulo Smith, Dominic Wong, Whitney Sarah Louis

A street rapper promotes his latest single in the Big Apple, but he is challenged by the arrogant competition around the block.

Puke Bitch (United States)

Director: Sam Tricomo

Producers: Sam Tricomo, Brandon Fecteau, Jaclyn Iskow

Cast: Kimberly Cruchon Brooks, Jaclyn Iskow, Brandon Engel, Jalen Wilson Nelem, Olivia Kiefer, Zakiyyah BG

Siblings Dove and Larry revel in wild nights and mocking their foster mother in a bleak small town harboring many connections to death.

Soft Boil (Made in LA)  (United States)

Director: Alec Goldberg

Producers: EP: Camille Wormser, Alec Goldberg; Producers: Hannah Connery, Vivian Kerr, Clayton Susick, Don Ohmer, Drue Robertson, Hunter Milano

 Cast: Camille Wormser, Madison Shamoun, John Gemberling, Vivian Kerr, Patrick Tabari

Soft Boil is a comedy about the chaotic life of Lulu, who takes a job as a nanny, only to discover that her new boss isn’t who she expected.

The Human, Will : Will’s Will (United States) – World Premiere

Director: Edward Bursch

Producer: Edward Bursch

Cast: Joe Pera, Will Sterbenz

A depressed insurance claims adjuster vows to exercise Free Will after his pet goldfish Frodo is shot and killed.

Vicky Wakes Up (Made in LA) (USA) – World Premiere

Director: Victoria Blade

Producers: Victoria Blade, Aaron Pagniano, Lisa Anderson, Sheila Kennedy, Dani Abraham, Maria Mercedes

Cast: Victoria Blade, Mario Silva, Yvonne Senat Jones, Matt Wool

Stuck in a dead-end office job, Vicky lives an uninspired existence until she’s confronted by a mystical pop star.

After That (在那之後) (Made in LA) (United States) – World Premiere

Directors: Xinhao Lu & Mufeng Han

Producers: Savory Liu & Yuqin Hong

Cast: Jim Lau

A man named Xinhao wanders the uninhabited city of the future. After memorializing his past, he disappears.

Beaks (Becs et Ongles) (France) – North American Premiere

Director: Xavier Demoulin

Producer: Melcoton Films

Cast: Lauréna Thellier, Raphaël Thierry, Michel Masiero

When 20-year-old Anaïs, burdened with debt, inherits her father’s last fighting rooster, she has no choice but to learn how to make it fight. And mourn the past.

Beneath the Night (Germany) – North American Premiere

Director: Maximilian Karakatsanis

Producers: Maximilian Karakatsanis, Linus Krömer

Cast: Peter Schneider, Daniela Holtz, Flavia Hunziker, Fehmi Göklü, Stefan Lampadius

A metro driver with colorful hair is unexpectedly chosen as the face of a public transport advertising campaign, blurring the lines between the visible and hidden. Shot on 16mm analog film.

Charlie is Not a Boy (Made in LA) (USA) – World Premiere

Director: Pol Kurucz

Producers: Judit Stalter, Pol Kurucz, Ernest Faisztl, Gabor Rajnai

Cast: Brooks Ginnan, Máté Mészáros, Gigi Spelsberg, Ágnes Bánfalvy

In a crumbling household ruled by a perverted father, a hushed soul clings to the magic of his eccentric grandmother until his safe haven unravels, forcing him to choose between the masks he wears and the truth of who he is.

Child’s Fare (United Kingdom) – U.S. Premiere

Director: Kirsty McLean

Producer: Kieran Pádraig Smyth

Cast: Neil Leiper, Kate Bracken, Amy Williamson, Isla Mercer

When lonely twelve-year-old Abby is left outside the pub by her dad, her feelings of rejection worsen throughout the day, leading to a violent outburst.

Clarities (USA) – World Premiere

Directors: Daniel Jaffe & Michelle Uranowitz

Producers: Chloe Sabin, Daniel Jaffe, Michelle Uranowitz

Cast: Michelle Uranowitz, Nigel Defriez, Julia Crockett, Katie Porter, Michael Potts, Jayne Uranowitz, Nicolas Noréna, Matthew Wilkas

An ominous chain text spreads across the world as Earth’s first hotel rocketship prepares for launch.

Closer in Strife (Canada)

Director: Alec Nikoghossian

Producer: Alec Nikoghossian

Cast: Rosalia Evereklian Vassilian, Lilit Ani Jabrayan

A grandmother and her grandchild’s distant relationship is momentarily disrupted after an unforeseen devastation occurs in Beirut.

Crazy For You (Loquita por ti) (Spain)

Director: Greta Díaz Moreau

Producer: Pau Pérez Puig

Cast: Irene Balmes, Jon López

Rural Spain, Y2K. Alma is 16 years old and desperate to be seen by José, the star bullfighter, but it will be harder than she expects.

Deadweight (Dögsúly) (Hungary) – North American Premiere

Director: Bese Komáromy

Producer: Gábor Osváth

Cast: Csilla Pásztor, Gáspár László, Gergely Váradi, Bálint Kuttner

A young woman attempts to connect, even as bodies pile up, while something lurks behind her and eats everything.

Dyspepsia by Salty Biscuits (Jonmo Theke Jolchi) (Bangladesh) – North American Premiere

Director: Ahsabul Yamin

Producer: Emon Bin Anwar

Cast: Saroar Mim, Aung Shing Thowai Marma, Moin Khan

A paranoid young man, convinced a bug he swallowed is living in his stomach, embarks on a darkly absurd quest with his friend to find relief before his mind and body spiral out of control.

Fantasies of a Rescue Dummy (UK)

Director: Adrian Maganza

Producers: Adrian Maganza, Alisa Tritenko

Cast: Jack Worsnop, Ginevra Casati, Cary An, David Blair

A rescue dummy gets forgotten at the bottom of a swimming pool.

Harajuku, FL (United States / Japan) – World Premiere

Director: Andrés Gimenez

Producer: Lakshmi Ruiz

Cast: Orlando Urdaneta, Tomas Ryu Perez, Eric Taveras, Daniela Llanes, Eigo Tanaka, Eita Ishizaka, Mica Moses

Miami, Tokyo, expensive fish eggs, and father–son turmoil… in a blender.

In Another Life (Made in LA) (United States of America)

Director: Tristan Blue

Producer: Tristan Blue

Cast: William Robert Jackson, Tristan Blue

An elder queer hermit searches through coastal soundscapes in pursuit of a mysterious cave they believe will allow them to commune with a past self.

It Means Hope (Yani Omid) (Iran) – World Premiere

Director: Shadi Karamroudi

Producers: Shadi Karamroudi, Pooyan Sholevar

Cast: Shadi Karamroudi, Sonia Sanjari, Esmail Kamali Dehghan

An encounter between two women—one forced to appear in a confession video, and the other, a member of the video crew.

Jonathan (Belgium / Kenya / Ethiopia / South Sudan) – World Premiere

Director: Lieven Corthouts

Producers: Lieven Corthouts, Zippy Kimundu

Cast: Nyawel Maluth Meth, Nyabile Biel

After years of war, Nyawel, a South Sudanese woman living in Kenya, travels back to her hometown in search of her missing son and mother. On the long bus journey, she meets others with broken ties. As the landscape slips by, so does time, will she find them, or is everything already lost?

KARUPY (Canada) – U.S. Premiere

Director: Kalainithan Kalaichelvan

Producers: Shaista Roshan, Alison Almeida

Cast: Sumathy Balaram, Arrthami Siva-Kuruvinth, Smrithi Dhanasekar, Unnikannan S S, Umeash Siva, Ranjith Joseph

At her 65th birthday, Karupy makes an unexpected announcement: she will be ending her own life that very night, sparking a whirlwind of emotions amongst her family.

Levantamuertos: Cumbia for the Dead (Levantamuertos) (Mexico)

Director: José Eduardo Castilla Ponce

Producers: Magnolia S. Orozco Osegueda, Claudia Garcés, Jose Eduardo Castilla Ponce

Cast: David Illescas, Vitter Leija, Lyn May, Ruben Cristiany, Kala Martínez

With his unique gift of communicating with the dead, a cumbia-loving embalmer sets out on a highway road trip with a corpse, searching for the money that the deceased had hidden.

Lost Wax (Canada / Nigeria) – U.S. Premiere

Director: Omorose Osagie

Producers: Grace Shutti, Momo Spaine

Cast: Eyiyemi Olivia Rogbinyin as Osas; Wumi Tuase as Mercy’s Mom; Diana Egwuatu as Mercy; Pamilerin Ayodeji as Egie

When a young girl disappears from a Benin city apartment complex, a bronze caster is haunted by grief for this stranger in unexpected ways.

SPEEDY! (South Korea / USA) – North American Premiere

Director: OH Jiin

Producer: OH Jiin

Cast: Kim Gyuna, Lee Kyoung Hoon, Hong Sung Choon, Leem Seung-min, Ban Hae Young, Bae Yeonwoo

Seoul, 1989. Jung-min wants to become a speed-reading prodigy, just like Dong-hyun—the coolest guy in town, who can finish an entire book in just 60 seconds!

The Chair (Made in LA) (USA)

Director: Dustin Tan

Producers: Maleah Goldberg, Davin Tan

Cast: Al Warren, Jakob Longcob

A carpenter makes a chair for a customer, but it’s not a normal chair.

The Fan Man (Canada) – World Premiere

Director: Austin Hutchings

Producers: Zenna Davis-Jones, Liam Vanderploeg, Austin Hutchings, John Comeau

Cast: Nathan Hare, Fergus Moore, Elijah Freshco, Cleve Jones, John Comeau

A lonely tenant finds a man in his bathroom ceiling fan.

To All The Girls I Never Banged: I’m Sorry (United Kingdom) – World Premiere

Director: Harry Plowden

Producer: Harry Plowden

Cast: Joe Pass, Billy Hinchliff, Thomasin Lawson

A dark secret is exposed when Ed and Nath, two Brits abroad, compete for the same girl while leading a hostel bar crawl in Budapest.

To Continue Knowing (You) (Switzerland) – World Premiere

Director: Beth Barnes

Producer: Zurich University of the Arts

Cast: Isabelle von Stauffenberg, Jakob Fessler

As an irritable young couple travel home, a misunderstanding occurs and relationship issues surface.

We Used to Take the Long Way Home (Vietnam / U.S.A.)

Director: An Nguyen

Producers: Max Retik, Hoa Pham

Cast: Thao Hien, Cong Thanh, Thu Giang, Thien Hoang

Returning to Vietnam for the first time since middle school, a teenage girl reunites with old friends for a nostalgic summer roadtrip to ‘Lake Perfect’.

_____ in Paris (USA) – World Premiere

Director & Producer: Mark Elijah Rosenberg

Cast: Mark Elijah Rosenberg, Anonymous

When we took a trip to France to decide our future, I filmed everything but you—shielding our affair lest your husband find out. Do these secrets still sting?

Correct Me If I’m Wrong (如你所愿) (Germany, USA)

Director: Hao Zhou

Producer: Tyler Hill

Torn between love and tradition, a southwest Chinese family tries to purge a mysterious entity from their queer heir.

Domestic Demon (Ընտանեկան Հարաման)  (Made in LA) (USA, Portugal) – North American Premiere

Director & Producer: Anahid Yahjain

Cast: Anahid Yahjian

A housebound mother’s hunger for agency and control among the mutating textures and temporalities of her home sets off an uncanny transformation.

For Every Apricot (Canada, Iceland)

Director & Producer: Kaia Fortis Scott

Cast: MaryBeth Ryan Larone

The unlikely story of a daughter in search of a ‘miracle’.

In Exchange For Flesh (USA)

Directors: Sandro Ramani, Corey Devon Arthur

Producer: Sandro Ramani

When two incarcerated artists secretly document a routine prison practice, they risk their lives to expose a state policy that blurs the line between safety and sexual abuse.

La Mayordomía (Canada)

Director & Producer: Martin Edralin

In Xochimilco, families wait decades for the opportunity to care for a Baby Jesus icon at home for one year.

Leveret Road (Rang du lièvre) (Canada) – US Premiere

Director: Tim Bouvette

Producer: Jeanne Gourd (Cadeaux Studio)

Cast: Jeanne Baribeau, Geneviève Allard, Daniel Baribeau

10-year-old Jeanne, diagnosed with dysorthographia, ADHD, dyscalculia, and a developmental coordination disorder, must still learn to succeed in school.

Mother’s Influence (UK) – North American Premiere

Director: Meg Wriggles

Producer: Léa Luiz de Oliveira

A young filmmaker tries to get a better understanding of her unconventional mother.

No Matter The Weather (Beau temps, mauvais temps) (Canada) – US Premiere

Director: Florence Lafond

Producers: Patrick Francke-Sirois, David Francke-Robitaille, Florence Lafond

Cast: Renée Lafond Matte, Monique Lafond, Florence Lafond

After Renée, 83, breaks her ankle, her granddaughter Florence steps in as her caregiver: an intimate reflection on aging, love, grief, and the heartbreaking awareness that their time together is slipping away.

Panther Pat (USA) – World Premiere

Director: Ashley Brandon

Producers: Dennis Hohne, Nevo Shinaar, Mark Mitten

Cast: Patricia Palinkas

In 1970, Patricia Palinkas became the first woman to play professional football. Panther Pat traces this high-stakes moment in sports history and the shattering of the gender barrier in America’s game.

Ramón Who Speaks to Ghosts (Spain, Canada, Mexico) – US Premiere

Director & Producer: Shervin Kermani

Cast: Pedro Moisés Herrera Concepción, Ida Joa Langer López, Tamara Batista Moreno, Tiziana Maio

After a volcanic eruption, Ramón walks the island of La Palma with his microphone, looking for ghosts.

STILL STANDING (USA)

Directors & Producers: Victor Tadashi Suarez, Livia Albeck-Ripka

After the Los Angeles wildfires leave thousands of homes contaminated with toxic ash, residents face an impossible choice: should they risk their health to return home?

SWEET WATER (Maya Hilwa) (Iraq) – World Premiere

Director & Producer: Ali Nabeel

Cast: Qisma

Sixty-year-old beggar Qisma wants to end her life. But her dog, Bobby, is holding her back.

The Good Farmer and the Failed Son (Ireland) – North American Premiere

Director: Ailill Martin

Producer: Peter Kilmartin

Cast: Jack Rogers, Bryan Rogers

A drag queen and his father consider the traditions around inheritance and what they may mean for the future of their family farm.

A Bloody Situation (ميـمعة دمويـة) (UK, Palestine) – US Premiere

Director & Producer: Nerian Keywan

Cast: Aida Kaadan, Mouna Hawa

Through radio snippets and salon chatter, teen Nara meets Ms Moodswings, the personified menstruation blood blob. A tapestry of interrupted life, where growing up unfolds amidst implied socio-political chaos.

A Flame the Colour of Air (Canada)

Director, Producer, Screenwriter: Emily Pelstring

Cast: Jessica Mensch

A speculative vision exploring femininity and eroticism, based on the texts of a medieval Catholic mystic.

blinks in mimi’s singing voice (USA) – US Premiere

Director, Producer, Screenwriter: Natalie Xie

Cast: Christy Karacas, Isac Su

Sleep paralysis and glimpses of wonder.

Bootstrapping for the Boobied (USA)

Director & Producer: Stella Chen

Cast: Stella Chen, Keaton Jordan, Sharada Venkateswaran

Maxed out, burnt out, and sex-starved, Amber Su submits to a glamorous self-help guru whose mentorship transforms repression into possession, birthing a new self: the worksona.

Brain to Meninges (머리에서 뇌척수막까지) (South Korea)

Director & Producer: Chaehyeok Lim

After living with holes in my meninges for 10 years, I felt that there was a passage through which memories are passed between my brain and meninges. Through this, my memories flow by my brain like water.

Busy Bodies (Made in LA) (USA)

Director: Kate Renshaw-Lewis

Producer: Eric Ackerman

Screenwriter: Kate Renshaw-Lewis

Tiny workers run a domesticated factory under the supervision of giant hands. This absurdly inefficient yet fantastically convenient solution to disposable creation poses a question: how do we get rubber gloves?

How To Build A Sand Castle (UK)

Director: Nour Khamis

A shore, a call, a castle, and what is carried back.

Hungry Hollow (USA)

Director: Sarah Ruyle

Cast: Sarah Ruyle, Phillip Walker

A girl left for dead gets devoured by forest spirits.

ima wa ima (now is now) (UK, Taiwan, Hong Kong)

Director & Producer: Greg Keung Chun Yam

Cast: Hebe – Ting-Jui Chen, Mike – WeiFan Wang, Brocaster – MCJJ

An office worker’s encounters with a caterpillar unlock childhood memories, looping through time, blending the mundane and the magical.

One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six (淼淼) (Made in LA) (USA) – North American Premiere

Director: Yingdan Lai

Producer: Kangmin Kim

Cast: Jenny Jingyi Wang, Zhen Li, Lydia

In a confined world of discipline, a girl’s quiet longing unfolds through a box of chocolate, where desire and control begin to dissolve.

Play Fight! (USA)

Director & Producer: Katrina Larner

Cast: Anna Macleod, Jewel Lee-Johnson, Sophia Gatti, “Creature”, Katrina Larner

Five little girls play games, tell secrets, run, jump, and giggle… and jump and jump and jump and jump and—

Starlit (Made in LA) (USA) – World Premiere

Director & Producer: Shannon Lee

Cast: Molly Blakowski, Shannon Lee, Alan Jennings, Beth Murphy

Three teenage girls sneak out into the night to meet up with a crew of energy drink bootlegging aliens.

Tears (Rozdarcia) (Germany, Poland) – North American Premiere

Director: Paulina Ziolkowska

Producers: Karsten Matern, Piotr Szczepanowicz

A film about the impossibility of making a decision. A world filled with possibilities and a lost woman who may not want to choose at all.

Transitional Object (USA) – World Premiere

Director: Shayna Strype

Producer: Steve Cossman

A young girl’s beloved stuffed snowman guides her through imagined landscapes of memories, fears, and dreams.

Wan Wan (USA, Japan)

Director & Producer: Mayuko Kobayashi

Cast: Noriko Ooshima

A film about a grandmother, a little boy she named Neepo, fireworks, and a magical flying dog.

Witness: An Organima Film (Canada)

Director & Producer: Nik Arthur, Ben Wittkugel

Meticulously hand-animated with organic matter, the film renews our child-like ability to see hidden life in small universes.

OKAY (Made in LA) (United States) – World Premiere

Director: Andrew Kightlinger

Producer: Lila Yacoub

Screenwriter: Andrew Kightlinger

Cast: Kathleen Quinlan, David Warshofsky, Amy Huckabay

Struggling with the loss of her husband, a widow processes her grief by searching for him amidst the cosmos.

Climate Control (USA, Germany)

Director: Sarah Lasley

Producer: Nicola Waugh

Doc Cast: Hannah Huber, Branden Brown, Andres Barajas, Mallory Merlo, Luke Wilson

A director making a documentary about the perils of fossil fuel extraction is subverted by an AI agent that wants to tell a generic love story.

Diana & Minerva (Italy) – World Premiere

Director: Francesca Occhionero

Producer: -orama

Cast: Chloe Crawford, Patricia Bermúdez, Diana Arevalo De Barrenechea, Minerva Juarez De Facundo

In a retro pink Mexican kitchen, the never-told encounter between mythological goddesses Diana and Minerva resurfaces in two contemporary women whose drifting voicemails unravel a new debate around empathy, civility, and the natural world.

Ghost of Home (家的幽灵) (China/USA) – World Premiere

Director: Chen Xie

Producer: Guang Ren

Cast: Meiyue Huang, Qingsheng Xie, Chenke Xiao, Feiping Huang

On the day my grandfather’s spirit was to depart and enter his new home, I began searching for the traces he left behind through different visual forms.

I Was There (UK, Poland)

Director: Kamila Kuc

Producer: Reed O’Beirne

Cast: Kamila Kuc

A haunting exploration of familial bonds, intergenerational memory, and the enduring impact of shared narratives. Filmmaker Kamila Kuc steps into the emotional stream of inherited family history as the lines between documentary, testimony, and fiction blur.

I would have liked to make a different film (Ich hätte lieber einen anderen Film gemacht) (Germany) – North American Premiere

Director: Suse Itzel

Producers: Academy of Media Arts Cologne & Suse Itzel

How can I talk about sexual violence? How can I live after a childhood full of violence? How do I remember?

Now That We Are Sending You to The End (United States) – North American Premiere

Director: Blake Knecht

Producer: Isaac Knecht

Cast: Finley Berkabile

A young girl predicts the end of time as the desert begins to disappear, and direct-on-film techniques parallel the landscape’s collapse.

SOMEONE TO STEAL HORSES WITH (USA, Italy) – North American Premiere

Director: Dylan Pailes-Friedman

Producers: 56 Bones, Il Varco Cinema

Cast: Masaki Ishikawa, Anna Lawrence, Tino Martyn Kellighan, Corey Hughes, Cara Jocelyn Delevingne

A horse reflects on memory, disturbing the daily routines of citizens in Los Santos, San Andreas, during the press release for his new book “Someone to Steal Horses With.”

Whose Woods Are These (USA)

Director: Kate Nartker

Producer: Kate Nartker

A haunting family mystery unfolds through woven fabric, exploring memory, heritage, and the connection between cloth and narrative.

BEAR (Scotland, UK)

Director: Kate Hammer

Producer: Isabella Bassett

Cast: Kate Hammer, Hannah Jarrett-Scott, Susannah Laing, Joshua Haynes

When Jude wakes up and remembers she has a job interview that she’s already late for, she must try to get across town to land the job, along with the giant, sentient teddy bear that follows her everywhere.

Becoming Ollie (England) – World Premiere

Director: Annalise Valentino

Producer: Annalise Valentino

Cast: Ollie Robinson, Lisa Robinson, Matt Robinson, Victoria Kendrick-Mcgavigan, Poppy Parker

At age nine, a childhood stroke reshapes a family’s world; creating a film together gives two siblings a way to share what had previously been difficult to explain.

BLINDSIDED (Made in LA) (USA)

Director: Patrick Hogan

Producer: Ana Krista Johnson

Cast: Crystal Loverro, Florence Wilder, Jaime Lewis

The most terrifying things are the ones we don’t see coming.

Everhand (United States)

Director: Shane Hillier

Producers: Sarah Beth Budd, Lee Cleaveland

Cast: Sarah Beth Budd, Lee Cleaveland, Ron Williams

When a one armed farmer orders a mysterious machine, he and his wife must face off with a company rep in order to reclaim their humanity.

explant / implant (USA)

Director: Josh Weissbach

Producer: Josh Weissbach

A lifetime of surgeries continues with an upgrade in battery life and a downgrade in scar tissue when the filmmaker has his original pacemaker replaced after sixteen years.

Familiar Stranger (UK)Doc 

Director: Ace Mahbaz

Producer: Sophie Stacey

Cast: Rachel Shenton, Duffy

First date. Unexpected Plot Twist.

Girl Of Wind (吹梦无踪) (China) – U.S. Premiere

Director: Nanxi Yuan

Producer: Wu Yujie

Cast: Yangyang

Yang Yang, a solitary deaf girl with a passion for free climbing skyscrapers, lives in a silent world without wealth or power, driven only by her untamed and free spirit. 

Going Nowhere Fast (Made in LA) (Canada / USA) – World Premiere

Director: Dylan Paffe

Producers: Dylan Paffe, Andres Torres, Sofia Bonami

Cast: Margo Mooney, Austin Robert Smith, Patrick Trudeau

Three adults living with disabilities navigate an unconventional love triangle in this bittersweet portrait of resilience and connection.

HERE WE ARE AGAIN (Made in LA) (United States of America) – World Premiere

Directors: Hughes Ransom, Justin Lee

Producers: Veronica Kompalic, Gia Rigoli

Cast: Eros de la Puente, Shiv Nadkarni, Lizzy McGroder

A depressed man decides to finally get out of bed, except his bed won’t let him.

Murphy’s Ranch (Made in LA) (USA)

Director: John Michael Riva Jr.

Producers: Indeana Underhill, Hosea Chanchez, John Michael Riva Jr.

Cast: Lee Pugsley, Hosea Chanchez, Edward Fletcher, Jack Doke

A routine pool-cleaning job leads two brothers into a hidden compound where curiosity quickly becomes a threat.

The Bear Hunt (Australia) – North American Premiere

Director: Lily Drummond

Producer: Sarah Moulton

Cast: Alexandra Davis, Lauren Koopowitz, Chrissie Page

A 12-year-old’s attempt to make her teddy bear “normal” before her birthday becomes a poignant journey toward embracing difference.

The Knight (Australia) – North American Premiere

Director: Lotte Sweeney

Producers: Morgan Wright, Ben Golotta, Lotte Sweeney, Maiah Stewardson

Cast: Isadora Sweeney, Sidney Debba, Tamara Lee

Claude has urges that need to be explored – in private. A hot, disabled teenager concocts a world of medieval pleasures in her bedroom.

Unlimited, Forever and Ever, No Matter What (United States) – World Premiere

Director: Jayme Coveliers

Producers: Mitchell Camarda, Kaustubh Singh, Kamal Sehrawy, Jesse Schroeder, Sofia Voss

Cast: Lisa Coveliers, Adelaide Leonard, Mitchell Camarda, Elizabeth Robbins

When a chronic pain flare-up throws her life off balance, a former athlete must decide between muscling through or putting her daughter first.

DEAD GRANDMA (USA) – World Premiere

Directors: Rachel Kempf & Nick Toti

Producers: Rachel Kempf & Nick Toti

Cast: Dawn Linneman, Barron Scott, Ashley Rae Spillers

Grandma died at the worst possible moment.

Monkey Bar (Canada)

Director: Mya Van Dyk

Producer: Jacinta Gaspar

A sad monkey grapples with their harsh reality while having a smoke.

Paul’s Portrait (Made in LA) USA) – World Premiere

Director: Andrea Gonzalez Mereles

Producers: Rebecca Blumhagen, Andrea Gonzalez Mereles; Associate Producer: Jessie Epstein

Cast: Paul Chiou, Kun Sheng Hou

Paul has a physical disability: he’s paralyzed from the neck down. He cares about helping others and works on digital accessibility.

Pickup (Пикап) (Russia, USA) – World Premiere

Director: Viktoriia Lapushkina

Producers: Anzhelika Tokar, Viktoriia Lapushkina

Cast: Elizaveta Ishcenko, Arseny Sergeev, Evgeniya Lazareva

Trying to complete a pickup-class assignment, a shy girl slips past her confident rivals and ends up on a rooftop smoking area where she finds a guy about to jump.

Staring Contest (USA) – World Premiere

Director: Courtney Sposato

Producers: Mark Sposato, Courtney Sposato

Two friends are having a staring contest when something enters and everything changes.

The Stars, and All the Planets and the Moon (USA)

Director: Shayna Strype

Producers: Lisa Cisneros, Mark Roberts

Cast: Mark Roberts

A man reflects on losing his best friend.

Three Thousand Five Hundred (Trois mille cinq cent) (Canada) – World Premiere

Director: Jèrèmi Roy

Producers: Jèrèmi Roy, Camille Demers-Lambert, Patrice Lavoie

Cast: Rose-Anne Lavoie, Patrice Lavoie, Camille Lavoie-Beaudoin

When the housing market comes knocking on a cardboard house door.

You, Rock (Made in LA) (USA)

Director: Daniel Maggio

Producer: Leo Lauchere

Cast: Leo Lauchere

An angry man makes an important discovery while skipping rocks.

an excision spell (USA)

Director: Kearra Amaya Gopee

Producer: Kearra Amaya Gopee

Cast: Kearra Amaya Gopee

an excision spell (2020) is an intra-communal call to arms and self-determination in the face of white supremacist violence.

ANIMIST UNCONSCIOUS (Turtle Island / Lenape Territory)

Directors: Zion Estrada, Emanuel Admassu

Producer: Zion Estrada

When sound, abstraction, and LiDAR imaging awaken Metro Atlanta’s animist unconscious, a displaced landscape is compelled to reckon with its histories of erasure as Black life resurfaces through animist persistence and collective splintering.

Auras (Made in LA) (Tibet / India / Mexico / Turtle Island) – World Premiere

Director: Tenzin Phuntsog

Cast: Tenzin Phuntsog

an experimental self portrait

DZATA: The Institute of Technological Consciousness (South Africa)

Directors: Francois Knoetze, Amy Louise Wilson, Russel Hlongwane

Producers: Francois Knoetze, Amy Louise Wilson, Russel Hlongwane

Cast: Thulisa Mayalo, Jacques Lukoji, Anesu Alex, Philimon Rukodzi, Ragel Mahera, Peacemore Patsika, Nicole Goto, Gomez Bakwene

In fabricating a fictional institute and its archive, the artists explore and imagine vernacular technological practices operating across the African continent.

I AM (Nigeria / Ghana / Turtle Island)

Director: Ijeoma Iloputaife

Ijeoma Iloputaife’s filmic poem attesting to autonomy, spiritual expansiveness, spacetime and belief in one’s self reflects on life over the sounds of Fela and the Africa 70 while luxuriating in the aesthetic beauties of nature.

maono mzimi / unbroken spaces of vision (Canada / Uganda)

Director: Sonya Mwambu

Cast: Sonya Mwambu

Maono Mzimi is a 30-minute 16mm and digital hybrid performance in which loss is explored through space and motion.

Nsala (Democratic Republic of Congo) – U.S. Premiere

Director: Mickael-Sltan Mbanza

Producer: Petna Ndaliko

Colonialism, Extractivism, Body and Land

You Do Not Exist (Made in LA) (USA) – North American Premiere

Director: Dwayne LeBlanc

Producer: Dwayne LeBlanc

Cast: Barrington Darius, Maurice Powell, Andrea Ellsworth, Cam Lee

A young man lingers in his yard beneath the flight paths of South Central Los Angeles, listening to planes overhead as he reflects on distance, memory, and the worlds just beyond his reach.

Za Mwezi (Made in LA) (Turtle Island / Tovaangar) – North American Premiere

Director: Matazi Weathers

A true happening of some things i remember in ritual or songs of the mind and moon mesmerize in the hypnosis of orbit

A Voice from the Hut (USA, Nepal) – World Premiere

Director & Producer: Prashanna Subedi

Cast: Medhavi Pandit, Sophiya Karki, Rachit Pandey, Sukriti Dhungel, Kshitij Kayastha

A talented 13-year-old village girl dreams of winning a music contest hosted by her idol, but is isolated in a hut by tradition during menstruation. She must find a way to reach her idol with her singing.

Before Closure (遗忘清单) (Made in LA) (USA)

Director & Producer: Haocheng Liu, Bryan Sng

Cast: Kehara Edirisinghe, Emanuel Pangilinan-Lane, Lydia Jialu Li, Morin 默伶

While Murph is moving out of her apartment after ending a long-term relationship, she finds a box of her ex-boyfriend’s old things and sorts through them to find closure.

Corpse Pose (Made in LA) (USA)

Director & Producer: Sean Hucknall

Cast: Jaed Footitt, Brendan O’Brien, Auden Day, Roy Gentes, Kadence Johnson, Ivka Boguszewski, Nick Gordinier, Ethan Richmond

An experimental musical following a heartbroken man’s nocturnal odyssey.

The Time Before (UK) – North American Premiere

Directors: Leo Metcalf, Mike Golembewski (Interactive Design)

Producer: Leo Metcalf

Cast: Anouk Lawless-Monnot, Simon Chambers, Bean Downes, Leo Metcalf

Caught between waking life and dreams, Olly delves into his childhood memories, navigating fantastical dream worlds his sister created to shield them from family strife.

This is buzz (Made in LA) (USA)

Director: Mark Pellington

Producers: Mark Pellington, Liza Hughes, EB George

Cast: The Edge, Adam Clayton, Chris Gore, Michael Franti

A mind-blowing music documentary about the first immersive TV show on MTV when MTV was cool.

WebDoc Memoria Rocas (Forging Dreams) (Chile)

Director & Producer: Ivan Torres Zagal

Cast: Ana Becerra, Cosme Caracciolo, Jorge Silva, Miguel Lawner, Javier Rebolledo

MemoriaRocas uncovers the silenced history of a former Chilean detention and torture center, tracing the origins of state repression during Pinochet’s dictatorship through an immersive interactive documentary experience.

In Sickness and In Health (Made in LA) (United States) – World Premiere

Director: Alexandria Collins

Producer: Masora Fukuda

Screenwriter: Montserrat Luna-Ballantyne

Cast: Yumarie Morales, Rufino Romero, Luis Fernandez-Gil

While on a romantic getaway to reconnect as a couple after her husband’s grueling exorcism, a devout wife must confront her fears that the ritual failed and her husband is still possessed.

Keepsake (Made in LA) (United States) – World Premiere

Director: Ritvik Dhavale

Producers: Eduardo Ayres Soares, Connie Qin

Screenwriter: Bushra Burney

Cast: Nida Khurshid, Anna Khaja, Behzad Dabu, Samiya Khan

A year after her father’s passing, Saira tries to connect with her mom and brother but struggles as they seem to have moved on without her by starting a Pakistani Drama podcast.

Pack (Made in LA) (United States) – World Premiere

Director: Peiqi Peng

Producer: Aishwarya Sonar

Screenwriter: Jax Ball

Cast: Kory Mann, Amalya Barseghyan, Saffron Rose, Erika Marks

A young werewolf tries to befriend a group of werewolf hunters while keeping their identity hidden.

Seaweed Snacks (Made in LA) (United States of America) – World Premiere

Director: Sylvia Ray

Producer: Andrés L. Correa

Screenwriter: Brandyn Johnson

Cast: Patrick Cage II, Kamal Bolden, Jaxon Compas, Cambridge Compton, Taehee Kim

A hard-edged dad just wants to survive another birthday party, but when a try-hard super dad won’t take “no” for an answer, things get real awkward…real fast.

Tradwife (Made in LA) (United States)

Director: Jacob Combs

Producers: Casey Naranjo, Jaycie Luo

Screenwriter: Laura Hunter Drago

Cast: Madeleine Arthur, Alex Rich

An actress turned tradwife influencer finally finds her dream audience, but when a troll exposes the cracks in her picture-perfect marriage during a livestream, she stages a high-stakes dinner that might just save her show–or end the act for good.