Section

Short Film Programs

Discover the thrills of the short form in this year’s program, which includes international award winners, surprising documentaries, narrative thrills, slow burns, and lush pleasures, from an exciting new generation of filmmakers.

Short Film Programs

SHORTS: An Escape Room of One’s Own

Program SHORTS: An Escape Room of One’s Own From rooms to wombs, the curious architectures that trap, vex, and sometimes offer sweet relief. A bustling SoCal…

Short Film Programs

SHORTS: Animation: Jumping the Line

Program SHORTS: Animation: Jumping the Line Working in stop motion, traditional 2D, digital 3D, cutout, paint, and more, these short films from around the…

Short Film Programs

SHORTS: Beloved

Program SHORTS: Beloved An ode to Toni Morrison's monstrous love, wandering ghosts, and the unruly histories that stick to skin and…

Short Film Programs

SHORTS: Fight Me, Bitch!

Program SHORTS: Fight Me, Bitch! Sometimes, feminism is shaped like a fist, a Tinder swipe, or the last dumpling. From the mean girl,…

Short Film Programs

SHORTS: Full Contact

Program SHORTS: Full Contact Both mundane and performative, the physical contact in these shorts—dancing, fighting, touching oneself, flying into cars— tap into…

Short Film Programs

SHORTS: Get Out!

Program SHORTS: Get Out! From a romp with an ancient deity and an encounter with a mysterious figure to an awkward night…

Short Film Programs

SHORTS: Go For Broke

Program SHORTS: Go For Broke Chasing windmills means inventing new rules in these vibrant stories--from an elaborate ruse to win a father's love,…

Short Film Programs

SHORTS: International Competition

Program SHORTS: International Competition A cinematic conflagration of flowering desires, rumbling dissent, and neighborhood curiosities electrify this year's competition for best short…

Short Film Programs

SHORTS: Jorts

Program SHORTS: Jorts Jeans meet shorts in these fresh takes on awkward lengths, '90s nostalgia, and thinking outside the denim box.…

Short Film Programs

SHORTS: LAST NIGHT IN HAWAI’I

Program SHORTS: LAST NIGHT IN HAWAI’I From an astronaut spitting at the apocalypse to a young thief safeguarding the Hawaiian flag, these shorts span…

Short Film Programs

SHORTS: REEL VOICES

Program SHORTS: REEL VOICES Reel Voices empowers high school youth, one film at a time--tackling topics like self love, intergenerational trauma, and…

Short Film Programs

SHORTS: SHE EXPERIMENTS

Program SHORTS: SHE EXPERIMENTS Take a break from Normal with a slate of unusual shorts that play, scratch, and explode what takes…

Short Film Programs

SHORTS: SHORTS FOR SHORTIES!

Program SHORTS: SHORTS FOR SHORTIES! A selection of family-friendly shorts to empower and excite the coming generation of bright, young dreamers and achievers.

Short Film Programs

SHORTS: TEMP LIFE

Program SHORTS: TEMP LIFE Whether full-time or temp, stories that defy the work/life divide and remind us that some of the strangest…

Short Film Programs

SHORTS: Virtual Reality

Program SHORTS: Virtual Reality By popular demand, virtual reality is back at SDAFF, this time from the shores of Asian America.