"Hiding in shadows where we don't belong living in darkness to hide." Sometimes people who need help, support, or affirmation go to unlikely sources in these short films, which range from the playful to the intense. A melancholic teen finds a fellow adolescent who she thinks is a kindred spirit in Jaehee Jeong's Wanna Die Wanna Kill (South Korea 2024, 22m). A harsh breakup is an opportune time for a woman to collect her friends in Eliza Huberth's Milquetoast (US 2024, 9m). In Shokoufeh Ahmad's Remove Before Use (Iran 2025, 8m), a grieving husband finds an unexpected solution to his trauma. A groundskeeper on an estate finds an unusual person with whom to share his troubles in Nick Dugan's Foxhole (US 2025, 13m). And a drag performer has an epiphany while memorializing his late mother in Atakan Yilmaz's Hi Mom, It's Me, Lou Lou (Turkey 2024, 20m). Don't miss this incredibly vivid, memorable collection of stories. —Sterling Hedgpeth
Total run time: 72 min