
BEST FILM ~ SMALL SHORTS
FIVE FACTS ABOUT THE MOON
Joshua Van Horn (Houston, TX)
A film collage showing an interconnected series of facts about the moon.

BEST FILM ~ MICRO SHORTS
BATCAN
Riu Lohri, David Riedener (Lucerne, Switzerland)
A man's can - a hero's struggle

PEOPLE'S CHOICE ~ SMALL SHORTS
Two siblings on a trip to their grandmother's house find their contrasting personalities lead to clashes, tender moments, and a mix of humor, warmth, and chaos.
Emma Page (Chicago, IL)
GRANDMA'S

PEOPLE'S CHOICE ~ MICRO SHORTS
An angry man makes an important discovery while skipping rocks.
Daniel Maggio (United States)
YOU, ROCK
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS ~ SUMMER 2025
(in order of appearance at the screening)
1
Rejecta Film Festival

Jeff Ryan
Brooklyn, NY
After getting rejected by Tribeca, I took things into my own hands — by running a film festival out of a van across the street.
4
Anyone

Thao Tran
Melbourne, Australia
A woman's authentic self lies masked beneath Vietnamese opera-inspired personas, as mixed-media captures her tangible reality while hypnotic phenakistoscopes reveal the endless performances spiraling through her mind.
7
Top Fast Food Toy Collection

Kristopher Kempski, Pieter Miller
United States
A father and son in Malaysia create a museum to share their personal collection of 88,000 fast food toys and items.
10
Spun Out

Tommy Adzema
Tallahassee, Florida
When chasing a yarn ball, an anxious paper collage cat falls in the gears at the center of the earth.
13
THE HERO

Gabe Figueroa
Los Angeles, CA
An Influencer attempts one brave, historic act in order to save humanity from destruction.
16
Hang

Sam Slowik
Milwaukee, WI
This stop motion short features the song HANG of Milwaukee punk band Bad Crime, as Lego man and rig build their spaceship.
19
Catch and Exterminate

Summer Purks
Tallahassee, FL
Cocky pest control employee Elliot receives a call from a high-strung homeowner about a "bat," but upon arrival she finds herself in over her head, and in contact with a paranormal being with a nasty bite.
22
The Postman

Gavin Irvine
United Kingdom
A man went looking for the mail and couldn't find it anywhere.....
25
egg

Amandeep Singh
New York
an experiment on how food brings us together
28
12,000 to 1

John Meyers Ben Meyers
Frederick, Maryland
At the end of her shift, a faulty light switch at a bowling alley forces its overnight custodian to change her perception of what her future might hold.
31
The Vickerilla Family Reunion

Charles Lay
United States
A set of fleeting memories from a families annual reunion in the Catskill Mountains.
34
It's Your Night, Babe!

Andrea Zile Bish
Chicago, IL
A bachelorette party goes off the rails when a pizza delivery guy shows up.
37
Tiers of Fear

Mia Colebrooke
Chicago, IL
An unlucky fellow is melodramatically hunted down through the hallways of a backstage theater.
40
Lock

Diego Royer, Melville Danielian
Montreal, Canada
Paradise, a secure and connected neighborhood where life is good, except for a donut-eater.
3
Closing Time

As night falls, a tired waitress is in for a spine-tingling surprise when she discovers a mysterious masked intruder in her car.
6
BATCAN

A man's can - a hero's struggle
9
The Slow Leak - 20 Years In The Life Of A Leak

Witness my 20-year relationship and the life changes of a strange black goo on the local subway stairs.
12
Harmonica Do's and Don'ts

Animals and objects should be made aware of these do's and don'ts for the harmonica.
15
A Date With Death

A young woman takes a bold risk when she decides to go on a date with Death, who she stumbled across on a dating app.
18
Hot Diggity Dog

Traìne heads out into a snowy field to play a burning piano; choosing a passionate life over a fear of failure.
21
Grandma's

Grandma’s is a comedy about two siblings on a trip to their grandmother's house, where their contrasting personalities lead to clashes, tender moments, and a mix of humor, warmth, and chaos, offering a sweet slice-of-life exploration of family, tension, and the funny complexities of sisterhood.
24
The Way of My Life

After a long day at work, a young woman returns home to face her struggling family.
27
Out of Order

An obselete cleaning robot has its daily life turned upside down when the brand new and efficient model comes in to replace it.
30
Headspace

This is a short animation that explores a person's state of mind and emotions, represented by an ever-changing forest scene.
33
Five Facts About The Moon

A series of facts about the moon.
36
Breathe

39
You, Rock

An angry man makes an important discovery while skipping rocks,
2
Rime and Reesin - Biking

Sean Rohani
Irvine, CA
Reesin must save a duckling from Rime, his best friend (read: Stockholm Syndrome captor)
5
Birds of a Feather

Katie Cobos
Rochester, NY
A talkative parrot attempts to befriend a boy with Tourette's syndrome
8
Night Crawling

Clarksville, TN
A small cryptid becomes separated from its friends and finds help from an unexpected source.
11
The Last Goodbye

Ahlaam Yasmin
Chicago, IL
After a breakup, Nic and Kitty reunite at a park to clean up loose ends. Sometimes, relationship changes aren’t for better or worse—it’s just different.
14
When Life Gives You A Lawnmower

Moon Abbott
Chicago, IL
Things go awry as 1950s couple Dick and Brenda prepare for company.
17
Roadkill

Colleen Goldberg
Chicago, IL
When Maggot befriends a bright blue cat after accidently burying them alive, life starts to get a bit weird.
20
Get In Here

Louis Waxman
United States
Somebody beckons you to come inside.
23
Cat & Fish

Nilram Ranjbar
Iran
My film is a very short stop-motion workshop about helping others; love and friendship.
26
The Wishing Wand

Jane Fraser
Nevada City, CA
If you had a magic wand, what would you wish for? When Jane’s pug Maisy destroys her favorite wand, disaster turns into wonder when a new wand serendipitously arrives at the door. Jane discovers that with one wave, sweet things can happen.
29
Unknown Callers

Tim Best
United States
Don't answer the phone.
32
tracks

Jake Panek
Chicago, IL
A frenetic montage of CTA trains, set to the blistering beat of street drummers.
35
Call Me Crazy

Carlos Lerma
Chicago, IL
Would you break your arm for somebody who broke your heart?
38
SCOUT

Leah Bleich
Los Angeles, CA
A woman books an hour of horseback riding, but finds her horse to be a little different than expected.
41
Madeleine's water Bombs

Barbara Dupont
France
There's no age limit to being mischievous
4
Anyone

A woman's authentic self lies masked beneath Vietnamese opera-inspired personas, as mixed-media captures her tangible reality while hypnotic phenakistoscopes reveal the endless performances spiraling through her mind.
7
Top Fast Food Toy Collection Documentary

A father and son in Malaysia create a museum to share their personal collection of 88,000 fast food toys and items.
10
Spun Out

When chasing a yarn ball, an anxious paper collage cat falls in the gears at the center of the earth.
13
THE HERO

An Influencer attempts one brave, historic act in order to save humanity from destruction.
16
Hang

This stop motion short features the song HANG of Milwaukee punk band Bad Crime, as Lego man and rig build their spaceship.
19
Catch and Exterminate

Cocky pest control employee Elliot receives a call from a high-strung homeowner about a "bat," but upon arrival she finds herself in over her head, and in contact with a paranormal being with a nasty bite.
22
The Postman

A man went looking for the mail and couldn't find it anywhere.....
25
egg

an experiment on how food brings us together
28
12,000 to 1

At the end of her shift, a faulty light switch at a bowling alley forces its overnight custodian to change her perception of what her future might hold.
31
The Vickerilla Family Reunion

A set of fleeting memories from a families annual reunion in the Catskill Mountains.
34
It's Your Night, Babe!

A bachelorette party goes off the rails when a pizza delivery guy shows up.
37
Tiers of Fear

An unlucky fellow is melodramatically hunted down through the hallways of a backstage theater.
40
Lock

Paradise, a secure and connected neighborhood where life is good, except for a donut-eater.
3
Closing Time

Tané Hopper
Chattanooga, TN
As night falls, a tired waitress is in for a spine-tingling surprise when she discovers a mysterious masked intruder in her car.
6
BATCAN

Riu Lohri, David Riedener
Lucerne, Switzerland
A man's can - a hero's struggle
9
The Slow Leak - 20 Years In The Life Of A Leak

Ramona Clifton
Brooklyn, NY
Witness my 20-year relationship and the life changes of a strange black goo on the local subway stairs.
12
Harmonica Do's and Don'ts

John Akre
Cincinatti, OH
Animals and objects should be made aware of these do's and don'ts for the harmonica.
15
A Date With Death

Izzy Shepard
Atlanta, Georgia
A young woman takes a bold risk when she decides to go on a date with Death, who she stumbled across on a dating app.
18
Hot Diggity Dog

Kathleen Krenitsky
United States
Traìne heads out into a snowy field to play a burning piano; choosing a passionate life over a fear of failure.
21
Grandma's

Emma Page
Chicago, IL
Grandma’s is a comedy about two siblings on a trip to their grandmother's house, where their contrasting personalities lead to clashes, tender moments, and a mix of humor, warmth, and chaos, offering a sweet slice-of-life exploration of family, tension, and the funny complexities of sisterhood.
24
The Way of My Life

Tunç Can Keskin
Istanbul, Turkey
After a long day at work, a young woman returns home to face her struggling family.
27
Out of Order

Léandre Bonsaint
Quebec, Canada
An obselete cleaning robot has its daily life turned upside down when the brand new and efficient model comes in to replace it.
30
Headspace

Rebecca Hanson Czerny
Buffalo, NY
This is a short animation that explores a person's state of mind and emotions, represented by an ever-changing forest scene.
33
Five Facts About The Moon

Joshua Van Horn
United States
A series of facts about the moon.
36
Breathe

Chicago, IL
39
You, Rock

Daniel Maggio
United States
An angry man makes an important discovery while skipping rocks,
2
Rime and Reesin - Biking

Reesin must save a duckling from Rime, his best friend (read: Stockholm Syndrome captor)
5
Birds of a Feather

A talkative parrot attempts to befriend a boy with Tourette's syndrome
8
Night Crawling

A small cryptid becomes separated from its friends and finds help from an unexpected source.
11
The Last Goodbye

After a breakup, Nic and Kitty reunite at a park to clean up loose ends. Sometimes, relationship changes aren’t for better or worse—it’s just different.
14
When Life Gives You A Lawnmower

Things go awry as 1950s couple Dick and Brenda prepare for company.
17
Roadkill

When Maggot befriends a bright blue cat after accidently burying them alive, life starts to get a bit weird.
20
Get In Here

Somebody beckons you to come inside.
23
Cat & Fish

My film is a very short stop-motion workshop about helping others; love and friendship.
26
The Wishing Wand

If you had a magic wand, what would you wish for? When Jane’s pug Maisy destroys her favorite wand, disaster turns into wonder when a new wand serendipitously arrives at the door. Jane discovers that with one wave, sweet things can happen.
29
Unknown Callers

Don't answer the phone.
32
tracks

A frenetic montage of CTA trains, set to the blistering beat of street drummers.
35
Call Me Crazy

Would you break your arm for somebody who broke your heart?
38
SCOUT

A woman books an hour of horseback riding, but finds her horse to be a little different than expected.
41
Madeleine's water Bombs

There's no age limit to being mischievous