SHORT FILMS PROGRAM 3
Lightly Ghosted
Directed By: Garrett Sammons, 10 minutes
A contented ghost spends his days stirring tea in peaceful oblivion, blissfully unaware that he has shuffled off this mortal coil. His tranquil afterlife is thrown into chaos when two young paranormal investigators—one a true believer, the other a shameless fraud—accidentally tear the veil between their worlds. Told through cleverly colliding parallel timelines, this lighthearted spectral comedy delights in asking the ultimate question: who’s really haunting whom?
Divide
Directed By: Rani Deighe Crowe, 10 minutes
In the wake of their mother’s passing, two estranged siblings with sharply opposing political views reluctantly reunite to clean out the family home. What begins as a tentative reconnection quickly unravels when a dispute over a sentimental heirloom reignites years of unresolved childhood wounds. As old grievances collide with deep-seated ideological differences, the siblings must confront the painful question of whether the divide between them has grown too wide to ever bridge.
Gaia and the King: an Eco-Fable
Directed By: Laura Lewis-Barr, 5 minutes
In this enchanting animated fable, Gaia—the living spirit of the Earth—seeks an audience with a powerful and stubborn King whose actions threaten the natural world. Through wit, wonder, and timeless wisdom, she endeavors to teach him a lesson that could change the fate of the planet. Whimsical yet urgent, this short eco-fable reminds audiences of all ages that the earth’s greatest lessons often come from its quietest voices.
Shoot, Shovel and Shut Up
Directed By: Trần Hoàng Calvin, 15 minutes
The Clifford family pins all their hopes on selling their dilapidated, impoverished farm and starting fresh somewhere new. But when the discovery of an endangered bird on the property threatens to collapse the entire sale, young Andy faces an impossible moral dilemma. He must choose between protecting a fragile life and saving his family’s future—a choice distilled into three grim words: shoot, shovel, and shut up.
Stories Retold
Directed By: Scott Berry, 11 minutes
The intertwined threads of love, memory, and loss are woven together into a deeply moving tapestry of human experience. As the past and present collide, familiar stories take on new meaning when viewed through the lens of what has been gained—and what can never be recovered.
A Boy Named Choo Choo
Directed By: Ethan Williams, 15 minutes
In a bleak, dystopian world where human beings are reduced to fleshy currency, a boy known only as Choo Choo serves as a living transit system, ferrying passengers through a nightmarish landscape. When his handler steals his meager savings, Choo Choo is pushed to the breaking point and sets out on a dark path toward revenge. Shot in striking black and white, this surreal and unflinching short film plumbs the depths of exploitation, grief, and lost innocence in a world stripped bare of its humanity.
Paint
Directed By: Angeline Ameloot, 2 minutes
Two paintings hanging side by side in a museum come to life in a spirited debate about the visitors who parade past them each day. With sharp wit and clashing perspectives, the canvases offer a whimsical commentary on art, perception, and the absurdity of being endlessly observed.
The Ballad of the Man Who Once Was
Directed By: Sebastian Rivera-Mendoza, 6 minutes
After a grueling day beneath the hoods of cars, auto repairman Arturo settles into a quiet bar to enjoy a well-earned glass of beer. He strikes up an easy conversation with a fellow patron named Manny, and for a brief, warm moment the two men trade stories about their lives. But their newfound camaraderie is violently cut short when an uninvited force of darkness steps through the door, shattering the evening’s calm and forever altering Arturo’s world.
SELF
Directed By: Mo T, 6 minutes
A young, insecure teenage girl stands before her reflection, searching for something she cannot quite name. But the longer she gazes into the mirror, the more the image staring back begins to shift, revealing truths she has tried desperately to suppress.
Parlay
Directed By: Chris Luongo, 4 minutes
A gambling addict finds himself spiraling deeper into obsession as mainstream sports no longer satisfy his insatiable need for a fix. Driven to increasingly obscure and absurd competitions, each new bet raises the stakes—and the desperation.
The Cut
Directed By: Jeremy Brockman, 27 minutes
When a troubled military veteran returns to his hometown determined to mend the broken bond with his estranged brother, he expects the hardest battle will be earning forgiveness. But an unforeseen challenge emerges that threatens to derail his fragile journey toward healing before it has truly begun. This emotionally charged drama explores the invisible wounds of service and the stubborn hope that family can still be the thing that saves us.