Interviews

With The Farmer’s Daughter, director Melissa Bloom turns regenerative farming into both a family story and a philosophy of filmmaking. The stop-motion short follows a daughter fighting to preserve her family farm by rethinking its relationship with the land, while its production embraces that same principle through natural materials and eco-conscious methods.

In Creators, director Nikolay Sysuev turns the pursuit of online attention into a darkly comic study of recognition, responsibility, and moral drift. Following an aspiring content creator whose manufactured act of heroism spirals beyond his control, the short blurs comedy and discomfort while questioning what happens when life is experienced through the safety of a camera.

In 1981, filmmakers Andy and Carolyn London revisit the strange, uncomfortable terrain of adolescence through a memory shaped as much by feeling as by fact. Set in suburban Long Island, their Sundance-selected animated short follows 14-year-old Douglas through a birthday party that unexpectedly becomes a lesson in desire, masculinity, and the bewildering rituals of growing up.

In The Turtle, director Joe Bongiovanni turns an intimate portrait of a marriage into an exploration of vulnerability, masculinity, and the emotions we struggle to express. Drawing in part from Bongiovanni’s own experiences as a combat veteran, the short follows Barbara and Tony as seemingly ordinary moments begin to expose the emotional distance beneath their relationship.

Drawing from his own family history, writer-director Nicholas Paskhover turns an intimate story of love and memory into something increasingly unsettling in Dance with Me. Inspired by his grandfather’s experience as a Holocaust survivor living with dementia and his grandmother’s devotion through his final years, the short moves between past and present as trauma begins to reshape reality.

In just eight minutes, Luxor turns a simple lottery errand into a darkly comic exploration of greed, addiction, and the seductive belief that a better life might be just around the corner. Written and directed by Jack Serra, the short follows the passive yet opportunistic Victor as he is unexpectedly pulled into a rapidly escalating struggle over a winning ticket.

In Food for the Soul, filmmaker Chisom Chieke turns questions of family, cultural expectations, and identity into a warm romantic comedy rooted in the Black diaspora. Following its world premiere at the 2025 BlackStar Festival, the short has continued to connect with audiences through its portrait of Nigerian-American artist Ada and her Black American partner Trey.

Better Together: Furman’s Championship Quest begins with heartbreak. After Furman’s devastating last-second loss in the 2022 Southern Conference Championship, director Richmond Weaver saw something larger than basketball: a story about failure, resilience, and what it takes to come back together.

With Pangea, filmmaker, writer, and actor Mimi Davila transforms a deeply personal story into an intimate exploration of identity, race, longing, and the search for belonging. Set over the course of a single day and night in New York City, the 15-minute short follows two Latina artist ex-lovers whose emotionally charged reunion forces them to confront old wounds, shifting perceptions, and the complicated idea of what "home" really means.

David St. Clair's feature debut, The Lonely Crowd, takes the familiar discomfort of a first date and transforms it into an emotionally driven thriller that explores modern relationships, loneliness, and the assumptions we make about one another. Blending romance, suspense, and social commentary, the independent feature proves that compelling character work can be just as gripping as high-stakes action.