Independent Shorts Awards

A LatinaX woman is forced to choose between her culture or a future with the man she loves.
Directed by Ana Lydia Monaco (USA)

James Miller Williams is a struggling carriage maker. Ira Jackson is an escaped slave. Hugh Nixon Shaw is a fire and brimstone preacher without a church. Bootjack Mary is a middle aged prostitute. John Henry Fairbanks is a silver spoon landowner. They all have one thing in common, they smell opportunity when oil is discovered in the fields of Black Creek. While some strike it rich with gushers, others luck runs out and wells run dry. The gripping true story highlights the struggles, greed, and racism endured in the intersecting lives of five original Hard Oilers. Inspired by true historical events through the 1850s-1860s in Black Creek, Ontario, Canada.
Directed by Aaron Huggett (Canada)

A bereaved teenager’s plan to finish fixing his father’s car is upended when he has to babysit his young neighbor to pay for parts.
Directed by Jordan McAfee-Hahn (USA)

A young woman is forced to reunite with the father she has had no contact with for over 10 years.
Directed by Stephen Gates (UK)

Marc lost everything.
Without any solution to fill the financial bankruptcy that led to the loss of his relationship, he decided to join a band of outlaws to make a robbery.
Directed by Arnaud Mizzon (France)

“Crush” is a psychological thriller that centers on a writer named Greyson Michelson who is trying to move forward from her past suicide attempt. When the Suicide Survivors Association reaches out to Greyson to ask her to write a speech about her past struggles, Greyson uses the opportunity to try to move beyond what happened. However, while doing so, she begins to be tormented by her mental illness. As Greyson becomes consumed by her writing, she discovers a new, darker side to her girlfriend and, ultimately, herself.
Directed by Heather Harris (USA)

A 7-minute 3D-remix of feature films from the 1950s and 60s which were projected on glass and rephotographed in stereoscopic 3D with a photo camera.
Directed by Virgil Widrich (Austria)

An office rivalry as old as time comes to an enthusiastic head when middle management decides that the men in the warehouse need to get back to work.
Directed by Bruce Nachsin (USA)

A vampire seeking to end his curse faces the consequences of his bloody past while his victim’s life hangs in the balance.
Written by Adam Lapallo (USA)

An African American family reunites for its annual barbecue get together where one of the youngsters introduces his new girlfriend from South Korea which results in a funny cultural and social clash.
Directed by Freddie Basnight (USA)

After her relationship abruptly ends, a woman isolates herself in a new apartment and attempts to rebuild her life. Her sister recommends a pop-wellness, self-help guide that focuses on organizing, tidying, and simplifying life, written by an artist-turned-newsletter writer-turned influencer. As she falls deeper into the world of the book, the woman finally feels in control of her life for the first time in years – but nothing can stop her as she attempts to obtain, and maintain, An Aspirational Space.
Directed by GG Hawkins (USA)

Do you really believe that you can buy a smile in 5 rupees? Is it worth to buy a smile which defines the status of our life, which conveys the essence of our reality? A lot of people outside are searching for this smile which can change their moments, days or maybe a year too. Are not we enough capable to gift a smile to one who is ready to buy it? We don’t treat poor people as our fellow mates. Time has come for us to think twice. The film is about poor street children and social awareness.
Directed by Kushal Dasgupta (India)

A girl is dead. And she’s just the first.
Julia is a pretty typical teen, except that a deadbeat drunk for a father and the murder of her best friend have made her fearless and brave beyond her years. When Julia and her friends secretly visit the abandoned “Tillie” mural at the old Palace Amusements, they seem to unsettle something. Then, as they spend the day at the local carnival, Julia’s friends start to go missing. Julia will have to get to the bottom of the disappearances, or – who knows? – she may be next.
Directed by Olivia Anton (USA)

Teaser for a drama/mystery TV miniseries about a sorority legacy who’s life is put in jeopardy when she learns the fatal truth behind the disappearance of one of her sorority sisters from that sister herself.
Directed by Elena C. Lockleis (USA)