2026 Films

How to Watch

Jump to:

• Spotlight Films
• Official Selections – Features
• Official Selections – Shorts

Tickets to individual films or shorts program can be purchased at the door on the day of the show for $15. Tickets to spotlight films can be purchased in advance using links below.

All-access passes are $60.

Theaters

Theater #1
Challenger Learning Center IMAX
Theater #2
Fogg Planetarium
Theater #3
Challenger Learning Center Cinema B
Theater #4
Cap City Video Lounge
Theater #5
Kleman Plaza (on the green)
There’s also live music here!

Learn more about our 2026 venues.

Legend

🍊 = A Freshly Squeezed Florida Film
🦩 = In competition for the Florida Filmmaker Award
🏆 = In competition for Audience Favorite Awards
🎬 = First-time filmmaker
✏️ = Student filmmaker

Award winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony on Sunday, Oct 11 at 5:45 p.m. in Theater #2.

A film by Costa Karalis

A slice of life collage of the strange and wonderful people inhabiting a small southern town.

Frogtown is a genre‑breaking, reality‑bending debut feature about a woman determined to prove the existence of a magical swamp creature she befriended as a child. Set in a tiny Florida town of 5,000 dreamers and told through the lens of a documentary crew, the film blurs truth and fiction until viewers are never quite sure what’s real, what’s imagined, or what forgotten wonder they might still carry. Equal parts heartfelt, uncanny, and absurd, Frogtown invites audiences into a world where belief becomes an act of defiance and growing up doesn’t have to mean letting go.

The film marks the first feature from Costandinos “Costa” Karalis, a first‑generation Middle Eastern American filmmaker whose work thrives in the liminal space between the fantastic and the mundane. A graduate of Florida State University’s College of Motion Picture Arts with shorts recognized by BAFTA‑LA, CamerIMAGE, NFFTY, and the Cannes Film Festival, Costa describes Frogtown as “a strange little movie” born from a search for wonder. It’s his ode to the eccentric dreamers of small Southern towns. It’s an absurd, affectionate exploration of believing in strange things and the magic that can still be found there.

Director/Writer: Costa Karalis
Producer: Evan Barber

2026 | 85 mins | US | Color | 🍊🦩🏆🎬 | Documentary, Hybrid, Fantasy

Friday, Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m.
Theater #1

The filmmakers are expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

A film by Liz Sargent

Take Me Home follows Anna, a Korean adoptee caring for her aging parents in a delicate, often precarious balance of mutual need. When a brutal Florida heat wave fractures their routine and exposes the limits of what Anna can shoulder, she’s left facing an uncertain future, until she begins to imagine and build a world where she can finally thrive. Expanded from Liz Sargent’s acclaimed Sundance short, the feature is an intimate, clear‑eyed portrait of a family navigating adoption, disability, and the quiet crises of suburban caregiving. With newcomer Anna Sargent (making her acting debut), Ali Ahn, and Victor Slezak forming a deeply affecting ensemble, the film reveals the indignities of the American health‑care system, the structural barriers facing disabled people, and the fragile hope of chosen community. By turns devastating and quietly optimistic, Take Me Home confronts an impossible situation while tracing a path toward Anna’s independence.

Writer‑director Liz Sargent, a Korean‑American adoptee and two‑time NY Emmy winner, brings emotional precision shaped by her background in choreography and her experience growing up as the middle child of eleven. Her work consistently explores adoption, disability, and family dynamics, culminating in this debut feature, which earned the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance and the Lighthouse Award at the Lumen Awards. Sargent’s earlier adoptee‑centered short Strangers’ Reunion (2019) was released worldwide, and her proof‑of‑concept Take Me Home premiered at Sundance in 2023 before winning the Grand Jury Prize at the American Cinematheque PROOF Film Festival and being featured at the White House for the 25th Anniversary of the Olmstead Act. The feature went on to win AT&T Untold Stories at Tribeca—one of the largest production prizes in the world—and premiered in U.S. Dramatic Competition at Sundance 2026, followed by an international debut at the Berlinale.

Director, Writer: Liz Sargent
Producers: Apoorva Guru Charan, Minos Papas, Liz Sargent
Principle Cast: Anna Sargent, Victor Slezak, Marceline Hugot, Shane Harper
Distribution: Willa

2026 | 91 mins | US | Color | 🏆🎬 | Drama, Coming of Age

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 1:15 p.m.
Theater #1

A film by Aaron Brookner and Rodrigo Areias

Nova ‘78 is an electrifying journey into the heart of 1970s counterculture, built around never-before-seen footage from the legendary Nova Convention. This explosive three-day event in New York City celebrated William S. Burroughs’ return to America after living over twenty years in Latin America, North Africa, Paris, and London.

It brought together icons such as Patti Smith, Frank Zappa, Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, Allen Ginsberg, Merce Cunningham, John Cage, and many more. A cultural time capsule on the enduring power of creative freedom, the footage captures backstage moments, candid encounters, and raw performances at the heart of the downtown scene.

Originally shot on 16mm by filmmaker Howard Brookner and long considered lost, the footage also marked the beginning of his cult classic Burroughs: The Movie.

Original score by The Legendary Tigerman.

1978/2025 | 78 mins | UK, Portugal | In English | Documentary, Historical, Art, Music

Directors: Aaron Brookner, Rodrigo Areias
Producers: Paul Vaccaro, Aaron Brookner, Rodrigo Areias
Cinematography: Howard Brookner, Tom DiCillo, Jim Lebovitz
Sound Recording: Jim Jarmusch, Howard Brookner
Featuring: William S. Burroughs, Lenny Kaye, Patti Smith, Laurie Anderson, Frank Zappa, Julie Heyward, Timothy Leary, Anne Waldman, Merce Cunningham, Brion Gysin, Philip Glass, John Giorno, James Grauerholz, Rebecca Christensen, Allen Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky, Steven Hall, Steven Taylor, Jackie Curtis, Melody London, Lucien Carr, John Cage, Les Levine, Robert Anton Wilson, Terry Southern, Ed Sanders
Courtesy: Pinball London (UK)

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
Theater #1

A film by Spencer Levy

Andre follows a young man who unexpectedly inherits a small fortune. It’s an event which sends him drifting through a series of surreal, aimless encounters with eccentric strangers. What begins as a windfall becomes a dreamlike journey through the overlooked corners of his world, revealing the strange, tender, and unpredictable rhythms that shape a life untethered.

Spencer Levy, a Cuban‑American filmmaker from Florida, centers marginalized people, places, and histories in his work. His films blend intimate storytelling with a strong visual sensibility, bringing forgotten narratives into focus and challenging audiences to reconsider what they’ve overlooked. With Andre, Levy turns his lens toward Tallahassee, crafting a love letter to the city’s quiet beauty and to the people and places that often exist in its margins. The film pulses with the heartbeat of Tallahassee; its hidden stories, its uncelebrated corners, and the humanity that resides within them.

Director, Writer, Producer: Spencer Levy
Principal Cast: Emmanuel Routsis, Paige Mousseau, Dylan Gillespie, Jewel Hovland, Griffin Hayes, David Whitty, Kevin Hutcheson, Aaron Watson, Ty Brown

2026 | 82 mins | US | Black & White | 🍊🦩🏆🎬 | Drama, Comedy

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 3:00 p.m.
Theater #1

The cast members Emmanuel Routsis, Dylan Gillespie, and Griffin Hayes are expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

A film by Otilia Portillo Padua

Deep in Mexico’s forests, two Indigenous mycologists seek to reconcile the past and present
while reimagining the future for themselves and the changing world they inhabit.

Daughters of the Forest is a story of entanglements: between humans and mushrooms; the visible and the invisible; generational knowledge and modern science. This immersive sci-fi documentary takes us on an unexpected, sometimes speculative exploration to reconsider the perceptions and experiences of both the human and non-human inhabitants of our world.

Director: Otilia Portillo Padua
Producer: Otilia Portillo Padua, Paula Arrolo, Elena Fortes
Principal Cast: Eliseete Ramirez Carbajal, Julieta Serafina Amaya Pérez

2026 | 95 mins | Mexico | In Spanish, Tlahuica, Zapotec, Mazatec w/ English subtitles | Color, B&W | Documentary, Science, Experimental, Environmental

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 1:00 p.m.
Theater #1

A film by Patrick Xavier Bresnan

First They Came for My College chronicles the political takeover of New College of Florida after Governor Ron DeSantis stages an unprecedented coup at the state’s beloved public honors college. As students and professors suddenly find themselves on the front lines of a nationwide assault on academic freedom and diversity, the film captures a community fighting to preserve its identity, its values, and its future. What unfolds is both urgent and intimate, a portrait of young people and educators refusing to surrender to a manufactured culture war.

The film is directed by Patrick Bresnan, whose precise, evocative cinematic images have long challenged mythic notions of American life. Bresnan’s work spans award‑winning shorts and features, including The Rabbit Hunt (Sundance, Berlinale; Cinema Eye Honor winner), Skip Day (Directors’ Fortnight Grand Jury Prize), Pahokee (Sundance 2019), and Naked Gardens (Tribeca, IDFA). He also served as cinematographer on the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Boys State. With First They Came for My College, Bresnan brings his vérité sensibility to one of the most consequential education battles in the country, illuminating the human stakes behind a political flashpoint.

Director: Patrick Xavier Bresnan
Writer: Leah Marino, Ivete Lucas
Producers: Holly Herrick, Zackary Drucker, Monique Walton, Heather Courtney

2026 | 105 mins | US | Color | 🍊🦩🏆 | Documentary

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 3:30 p.m.
Theater #1

The director Patrick Xavier Bresnan and New College students Calypso Camacho and Lindsey Jennings featured in the film are expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion moderated by Ryan Ray.

A film by Stephen Maing, Eric Daniel Metzgar

The Great Experiment is a sweeping, immersive time capsule of American civil society at one of the most volatile moments in recent history. Filmed between 2017 and 2020 without traditional interviews, the documentary observes the country in real time, capturing the textures, contradictions, and emotional currents of a nation wrestling with identity, democracy, and deepening polarization. Through its associative, perspective‑shifting structure, the film reframes familiar images of American life to reveal the complexity beneath them—inviting audiences to look again, think more critically, and consider what it means for a country long described as “the last great experiment in democracy” to endure.

The film is the latest work from Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Stephen Maing and Eric Daniel Metzgar, whose decades‑long commitment to ethically grounded, artistically ambitious nonfiction storytelling shapes every frame. Maing, known for Union and Crime + Punishment, and Metzgar, acclaimed for Reporter and Life. Support. Music., bring a shared belief in cinema’s ability to illuminate the human condition beyond binaries of left and right, us and them. Together, they craft a portrait of America that resists easy analysis, instead offering space to witness, reflect, and rediscover a sense of wonder and hope amid fracture. In a moment when democratic discourse feels increasingly fragile, The Great Experiment stands as an invitation to pause and to see the diverse lives of this country with renewed clarity.

Director, Producer: Stephen Maing, Eric Daniel Metzgar
Producer: Farihah Zaman

2026 | 100 mins | US, Mexico | Black & White | 🏆 | Documentary

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 5:15 p.m.
Theater #1

A film by Michael Glover Smith

Hekla, a determined Chicago actress, races through auditions, breakups, and self-doubt over the course of one chaotic day, risking her heart and career to claim her voice and step fully into the artist and woman she’s meant to be.

Michael Glover Smith is a Chicago-based filmmaker, author, and college professor. His most recent feature, the award-winning Relative, stars Wendy Robie (Twin Peaks) and is distributed by Music Box Films. His other work includes Mercury in Retrograde (2017), starring French film icon Roxane Mesquida, Rendezvous in Chicago (2018), and Cool Apocalypse (2015). His first book, Flickering Empire: How Chicago Invented the U.S. Fim Industry (Columbia University Press, 2015), co-written with Adam Selzer, is an acclaimed non-fiction study of film production in Chicago during the silent-movie era. His second book, Bob Dylan as Filmmaker: No Time to Think, was published by McNidder & Grace in 2026.

Director: Michael Glover Smith
Writers: Michael Glover Smith, Elizabeth Stam
Producers: Aaron Wertheimer, Elizabeth Stam, Michael Smith
Principal Cast: Elizabeth Stam, Mary Tilden, Sadieh Rifai, Brookelyn Hebert, Wendy Robie

2026 | 88 mins | US | B&W, Color | 🏆 | Comedy, Drama

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 1:00 p.m.
Theater #2

Filmmaker Michael Glover Smith, cast members Elizabeth Stam and Conor Foley will be present for a post-screening Q&A.

A film by Jess Zeidman

Human Theories is a playful, experimental mosaic of what it means to be alive and endlessly bumping into one another. Told through forty loosely connected vignettes, the film captures the humor, awkwardness, and quiet poignancy of trying—and often failing—to connect in a city overflowing with people. Shot over the course of a year across New York City with a rotating ensemble of more than fifty actors and non‑actors, it becomes a living, breathing love letter to the city’s rhythms, seasons, and strange, beautiful contradictions.

Brooklyn-based filmmaker and writer Jess Zeidman brings her signature blend of humor, complexity, and inclusivity to her first feature as director. Known for writing and producing Tahara (a NYT Critics’ Pick) and producing projects like Summer Solstice and Our Home Out West, Zeidman approaches Human Theories with a spirit of experimentation and collaboration. Filmed month-by-month with a small crew and an ever-changing cast, the project mirrors the unpredictability of city life itself—full of laughter, tension, discovery, and the bittersweet satisfaction of creating something that feels both intentional and entirely unexpected. The result is an ode to the messy, funny, frustrating, and deeply human experience of simply being alive.

Director, Writer: Jess Zeidman
Producers: Jess Zeidman, Arno Mokros, Yoko Kohmoto, Tam Sackman, Leo Gallagher, Paula Andrea Gonzalez-Nasser, Camille Casmier, Ryan Martin Brown

2026 | 70 mins | US | Color | 🏆 | Comedy

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 12:45 p.m.
Theater #4

A film by Jennifer Kroot

Hunky Jesus is a vibrant, concert‑driven documentary celebrating the San Francisco Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence—an iconic, global order of queer and trans “nuns” who confront guilt, shame, and exclusion with joy, irreverence, and radical compassion. Filmed with a theatrical eye and inspired by the observational spirit of the Maysles Brothers and the whimsical surrealism of Fellini, the film interweaves the 2023 Hunky Jesus competition with intimate interviews, Monty Python‑esque animation, and rare archival footage. Against a backdrop of rising drag panic and religious‑right hostility, the Sisters emerge as cultural rockstars: dazzling performers, spiritual renegades, and community caretakers who redefine what liberation and belonging can look like.

Director Jennifer M. Kroot, whose acclaimed documentaries The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin, To Be Takei, and It Came From Kuchar premiered at festivals including SXSW and Sundance, brings her signature blend of curiosity, empathy, and cinematic flair to the story. A Bay Area native and member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Kroot captures the Sisters in full drag and full humanity, revealing the personal histories, vulnerabilities, and resilience behind their larger‑than‑life personas. With dramatic chapel‑lit interviews, backstage moments, and the emotional pulse of a community that found spirituality after exclusion, Hunky Jesus offers a compassionate, exuberant portrait of queer joy and the power of chosen family.

Director: Jennifer Kroot
Producers: Brian Benson, Gerry Kim
Principal Cast: Honey Mahogany, Sister Roma
Narrator: George Takei

2025 | 84 mins | US | Color | 🏆 | Documentary, LGBTQIA+

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 2:30 p.m.
Theater #4

A film by Dylan Melcher

Jellyfish Season follows Jay, Kay, and Zee, three lifelong friends quietly worn down by the routines that have drained their sense of purpose. Hoping to jolt themselves back to life, they escape to the Florida coast for a weekend they’re determined to make meaningful. Instead, the trip unravels into strange, dreamlike encounters that blur fantasy and reality, pushing each man into his own private spiral. Long‑suppressed insecurities surface, identities wobble, and the question of whether reinvention is still possible hangs over them. The result is a surreal, genre‑bending comedy about male friendship, midlife drift, and the absurd lengths we go to in search of meaning.

Filmmaker Dylan Melcher works at the intersection of narrative and commercial storytelling, grounding his films in character, atmosphere, and tactile detail. Drawing from indie cinema and documentary realism, he gravitates toward stories of ordinary people in quiet moments of transformation, an impulse that shapes Jellyfish Season both thematically and visually. Shot on 16mm film, the project embraces the intention, presence, and imperfection of an analog process, mirroring the film’s exploration of vulnerability, restraint, and the subtle ways connection reveals itself. Made at a moment when waiting for permission no longer felt possible, Melcher’s debut feature is rooted in the friendships that shaped him—funny, awkward, tender, and emotionally honest—captured with a human texture that reflects the very relationships at its core.

Director: Dylan Melcher
Writer: Matthew Walker
Producer: Destiny Greer

2026 | 95 mins | US | Color | 🍊🦩🏆 | Comedy, Drama, Sci-fi

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 4:30 p.m.
Theater #4

The filmmaker Michael Curtis Johnson is expected to be present for a post-screening Q&A with the audience.

A film by Adam Kritzer

Lost Cause is a sharp, allegorical musical in which a Yom Kippur service unravels into an improvised therapy session for a powerful, polarizing bureaucrat, like Stephen Miller, an unelected architect of policy whose impact far exceeds their public visibility. As the congregation struggles to reconcile ritual, repentance, and responsibility, the work draws heavily on the writings of Rebecca Garten, whose permission Adam must secure. Skeptical but curious, Rebecca agrees to attend a reading, setting the stage for a meta‑theatrical confrontation between art, ethics, and the people who shape national narratives from the shadows.

Adam Kritzer brings his eclectic background as a filmmaker, educator, and collaborator to this daring new project. Adam’s career has spanned work with Peter Sellars on Toni Morrison’s Desdemona, producing acclaimed independent films such as Chocolate Heart, Lace Crater, and Froth & Bubble, and directing his own feature Good Funk. A Middlebury graduate with a Master’s in Education from the University of Pennsylvania, Adam now lives in New York City with his partner‑in‑crime and their schnauzer, Upton Sinclair. With Lost Cause, he channels years of artistic inquiry into a bold, provocative exploration of power, accountability, and the stories we choose to tell.

Director, Writer, Producer: Adam Kritzer
Principle Cast: Julie Halston, Sarah Schulman, Olli Haaskiv, Lindsay Burdge, Brandy Burre, Bill Bowers, Adam Kritzer

2025 | 83 mins | US | B&W, Color | 🏆 | Musical, Comedy

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 11:00 a.m.
Theater #2

A film by Voyeurism (Kelly Kay Hurcomb, James Watts)

Messy Legends follows a pack of wayward millennials as they careen through one chaotic night on Montreal’s Plateau strip, each chasing their own regressive, nostalgia‑soaked quest and losing the plot in spectacular fashion. Loud, unruly, and propelled by a banging original soundtrack, the film channels the delirious momentum of a party that never quite ends. Shot guerrilla‑style on a micro‑budget and performed by a mix of seasoned actors and not‑so‑seasoned artist friends, the film plunges straight into the grime, glow, and unpredictable humanity of Montreal nightlife.

Created by Voyeurism—a filmmaking duo and band from Montreal comprised of Kelly Kay Hurcomb and James Watts—Messy Legends is a full‑throttle synthesis of their recent work, expanding on their 2023 short Messy Legend, which screened at Fantasia (winning the INIS Creativity Prize), Mammoth Lakes, Midwest Weird Fest, and more. The feature premiered at the 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award for Best Quebec Feature – Gold.

Director, Writer: Kelly Kay Hurcomb, James Watts
Producer: Kelly Kay Hurcomb
Principal Cast: Kelly Kay Hurcomb, James Watts, Melina Trimarchi, James Goddard, Tranna Wintour, Garrett Johnson, Guillaume Mansour, Rufina Ip, Tara Desmond, Mitchell Cohen, Marlee Macmillan, Lukie Lovechild, Jamie Lee Hurcomb, Shane Mclean, Nancy Webb, Emelia Hellman, Travis Cannon, Anthony Assaf

2025 | 99 mins | Canada | In English, French | Color | 🏆 | Comedy

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 6:45 p.m.
Theater #4

A film by Kevin Contento

The Moths & The Flame offers a tender and poetic portrait of Black fatherhood in Pahokee, Florida, where the stereotype of the absent father is quietly and powerfully contradicted through everyday acts of care. Over the course of a year, filmmaker Kevin Contento follows a group of young men as they raise children, support their families, and navigate the rhythms of community life. Through patiently observed vignettes—set in kitchens, laundromats, neighbourhood gatherings, and birthday celebrations—the film reveals lives grounded in responsibility, affection, and solidarity. Interwoven with spiritual poetry, including passages from Farid ud-Din Attar’s Sufi parable The Moths and the Flame, the film transforms the landscape of Pahokee into a space of reflection, dignity, and possibility. Accompanied by the mystical compositions of legendary hip-hop producer 4th Disciple, The Moths & The Flame is an intimate and deeply optimistic meditation on family, devotion, and belonging.

Born in Plantation, Florida, in 1990, Colombian-American filmmaker Kevin Contento brings a profoundly personal perspective to the film. Having grown up alongside many of its subjects and recently become a father himself, Contento approaches the community with trust, familiarity, and care. His work blends documentary, narrative, and experimental techniques, drawing inspiration from both the lived realities of Florida and the spiritual teachings of Sufi literature. Premiering in the Berlinale Forum, The Moths & The Flame exemplifies Contento’s distinctive cinematic voice—one that finds beauty and revelation in the everyday while challenging dominant narratives through attentive, compassionate observation.

Director: Kevin Contento
Producers: Kevin Contento, Breven Warren
Principle Cast: Jean Voltaire, Malik Hall, Wiltavious Mckelton, Tavion Dent
Score, Sound Design: 4th Disciple

2026 | 97 mins | US | Color | 🍊🦩🏆 | Drama, Documentary, Black, Poetry, Coming of age

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 1:45 p.m.
Theater #3

A film by Rob Rice

When the buffet where Zeke’s mom works closes down, he’s forced to entertain the advances of a rich regular, George, who is weirdly obsessed with becoming his dad. George works in corporate real estate developing housing that is uglier than anyone deserves. He “generously” offers to take Zeke under his wing and show him how, with a little elbow grease, he could do the same one day.  With help from his ideological friends, George is ultimately making a case for his image of the American 20th century, which he sees as a flawless cultural form everyone should work to reproduce. Problem is… Zeke isn’t buying it. Squarely in Gen Z, he simply isn’t moved by those ideas.  Receiving no positive reinforcement from Zeke, George grows increasingly deranged, anxious he won’t be able to prove his value to his nebulous overlords by taking on a son. As George unravels, Zeke only hardens, and sets out to sever his attachment to George, and to his vision of the future, by force.

Director, Writer: Rob Rice
Producer: Megan Pickrell, Matthew Porterfield, Amy E. Powell, Rob Rice
Principal Cast: Jack Dylan Grazer, Jason Matsumoto, Eugene Sun Park

2026 | 90 mins | US | Color | Dark comedy, Drama

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 7:15 p.m.
Theater #2

A film by Daniel Fiore

Shelby is an intimate portrait of a man whose life in the Louisiana swamps borders on myth. Living alone among dense cypress, deep water, and untamed wildlife, Shelby has carved out an existence defined by adventure, danger, and ingenuity. The film immerses viewers in his world of underwater logging, treasure hunting, and unpredictable encounters with the wild, an environment where nature’s secrets and human resilience meet in striking, often surprising ways. What begins as a story of swamp survival gradually reveals a deeper, more human narrative: a man shaped as much by hardship and vulnerability as by bravado and skill.

Emmy Award–winning cinematographer Daniel Fiore brings decades of experience—from Deadliest Catch to National Geographic—to this documentary, but Shelby is also the product of a personal journey. Fiore first sought characters for a television series, only to discover in Shelby someone far more complex than a larger‑than‑life swamp dweller. Years spent alongside him in the bayou transformed a professional search for authenticity into a genuine friendship, granting Fiore access to moments that could never be staged. Through this film, he shares the Shelby he came to know: humorous, resilient, deeply human, and far richer than the television persona many remember. If audiences leave the theater feeling they’ve truly met Shelby, Fiore has achieved his purpose.

Director, Editor: Daniel Fiore

2025 | 74 mins | US | Color | 🏆🎬 | Documentary, Portrait

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 5:30 p.m.
Theater #2

A film by Julien Elie

Where the Rio Grande meets the sea, the dunes attract rare sea birds and the last remaining wild ocelots of the U.S. But the swamps have been drained, beaches closed and homes bought-out to make room for the new launch facility of SpaceX.

Shifting Baselines questions the consequences of this frenetic new space race: are these visions of a promising future or simply crazed ambitions leading us ever more swiftly to our own demise? Somehow, the entirety of the hopes and dreams, the fears and misgivings of our human-species are on display here, in the small Texan town of Boca Chica. 

Director: Julien Elie
Producers: Andreas Mendritzki, Aonan Yang, Julien Elie

2025 | 100 mins | Canada | Black & White | Documentary, Space

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 10:45 a.m.
Theater #1

This film screening is preceded by the short film Robert and June (and all the time in the world). Learn more >>

A film by Taylor Olson

Stitches is a psychological body‑horror anthology that follows three isolated men as they submit to rituals of “healing” that warp into spectacles of self‑destruction. An AI‑guided cleanse, a public livestream of penance, and an experimental drug trial each begin as attempts at repair but quickly unravel into grotesque performances, where pain becomes currency and suffering becomes content. In a world ravenous for voyeurism — and increasingly mediated by artificial intelligence — the film asks why we keep filming harm, why we share it, and why watching someone break can feel disturbingly familiar. Each segment exposes the violence we inflict on ourselves in pursuit of transformation, and the cultural hunger that rewards it.

The film marks the first horror work from Taylor Olson, a queer former athlete‑turned filmmaker whose career spans award‑winning features, television, and performance. A Canadian Screen Award nominee, Olson’s debut Bone Cage swept the FIN Atlantic International Film Festival and earned more than 30 accolades worldwide, followed by Look At Me, which premiered at Slamdance 2024 and he Best Narrative Feature award at 2024 Tallahassee Film Festival. With Stitches, Olson turns inward, embodying multiple roles that serve as fractured reflections of their own history with shame, disordered eating, performance, and trauma. The result is a visceral, intimate, and unsettling exploration of healing as spectacle and the prison that forms when the world won’t stop watching.

Director, Writer: Taylor Olson
Producers: Taylor Olson, Tieren Hawkins
Principle Cast: Taylor Olson, Rob Wells

2026 | 80 mins | Canada | Color | 🏆🎬 | Horror, Body Horror, Experimental

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 10:30 p.m.
Theater #4

A film by Michael Curtis Johnson

The Undiscovered Country is a ensemble drama that unfolds in the wake of a college student’s unexplained disappearance. As her classmates struggle to make sense of her absence, a mosaic of overlapping memories, fragmented conversations, and shifting perspectives begins to reveal the complex truths they have concealed from one another, and from themselves. Through an intimate exploration of grief, guilt, friendship, and self-deception, the film examines how the stories we tell can both connect and divide us.

Written and directed by Michael Curtis Johnson, The Undiscovered Country continues the filmmaker’s exploration of young lives at pivotal crossroads. Johnson’s feature, Savage Youth, was selected for the Venice Biennale College Cinema program and premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival. His debut feature, Hunky Dory, earned top awards at Slamdance, Atlanta, Nashville, and the American Film Festival. A graduate of the American Film Institute Conservatory’s directing program, Johnson is also the founding chair of the University of North Alabama’s Department of Cinematic Arts & Theatre.

2026 | 70 mins | US | Color | 🏆 | Drama, Mystery, Ensemble

Friday, Oct. 9 at 5:00 p.m.
Theater #2

The filmmaker Michael Curtis Johnson is expected to be present for a post-screening Q&A with the audience.

Michael Curtis Johnson will also be a guest instructor at the TFM Actors Workshop on Friday at 2:45 p.m.

A film by Taylor Olson

What We Dreamed of Then is an intimate, non‑linear portrait of Gideon, a once‑vibrant young father now living invisibly houseless and struggling to maintain a fragile connection with his estranged daughter. Moving fluidly between past and present, the film traces the quiet routines, emotional negotiations, and fragile hopes of someone surviving on the margins. Inspired by works like The Florida Project, Werewolf, and Murmur, Taylor Olson crafts a deeply researched, emotionally authentic exploration of invisible homelessness, revealing how easily a life can slip out of view.

Writer‑director Taylor Olson is a queer former athlete and one of Canada’s most compelling emerging filmmakers. A Canadian Screen Award nominee, Olson’s debut Bone Cage earned more than 30 awards worldwide, followed by his sophomore feature Look At Me, which premiered at Slamdance 2024 and won Best Performance at the Canadian Film Fest as well as the Best Narrative Feature award at 2024 Tallahassee Film Festival. His third feature, What We Dreamed of Then, continued that momentum—winning Best Dramatic Feature at Cinequest, earning multiple Best Actor awards, securing a theatrical release through Vortex, and landing on Crave. Olson’s television work includes the CSA‑nominated Hey Halifax, Hello! Today! and directing for This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Disrupt, TPB+, and Bell Fibe TV1.

Director, Writer: Taylor Olson
Producers: Sandy Hunter, Steve Foster, Britt Kerr
Narrator: Taylor Olson, Christie Burke, Parveen Kaur, River Price-Maenpaa, Hugh Thompson

2025 | 104 mins | Canada | Color | 🏆 | Drama

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 3:45 p.m.
Theater #3

💥🔫 A Retro Invasion Under the Stars

The Martians are landing on Kleman Plaza — and they’re right on time for the 30th anniversary of Tim Burton’s gloriously unhinged sci‑fi spoof Mars Attacks! Join us outdoors under the stars for a free screening that celebrates everything delightfully weird about 90s cinema: bubble‑helmeted aliens, retro ray guns, and a cast so stacked it feels like Burton dared Hollywood to say no.

Bring blankets or chairs (no pets unless they can outrun a death ray) and settle in for a night of campy chaos. When Mars Attacks! premiered in 1996, its blend of B‑movie nostalgia and political satire felt cheeky; today, its send‑ups of media frenzy, government bluster, and general human ridiculousness feel… well, eerily familiar. Somehow, Burton’s green invaders have aged into accidental prophets.

Whether you’re a longtime fan or just here for the Martian mayhem, this is the perfect way to experience Mars Attacks! — outdoors, with a crowd, on a warm Florida night, exactly as the aliens intended.

In the 25 years since its release, Mars Attacks! has had a surprisingly viable shelf life. After a quarter-century spent slapping his good name on disappointing remakes and franchises, Mars Attacks! may well be the last whiff of that Burton magic so cherished by generations of angsty teens, the swan song of an era before self-styled outcasts outgrew their spooky niche and spilled their nerd viscera all over the front offices. Despite its long-held “Rotten” status, the film’s A-list ensemble cast, genuinely impressive Industrial Light and Magic effects, and Death Valley-dry comedic tone have aged spectacularly. 

-Caroline Golum, Screen Slate

1996 | Rated PG-13 | 105 mins | US | Color | Comedy, Sci-fi, Camp

Director: Tim Burton
Writers: Jonathan Gems (based on the Topps trading cards created by Len Brown & Woody Gelman)
Producers: Tim Burton, Larry J, Franco, Timothy DeLuca
Principle Cast: Jack Nocholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Natalie Portman, Jim Brown, Pam Grier, Tom Jones, Lisa Marie, Rod Steiger, Paul Winfield

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 8:00 p.m.
Kleman Plaza on the green!

Tally’s own The Disasternauts will take the stage before the film at 7:00 p.m.!

Bring your blankets or chairs and settle in under the stars with us for this special edition of Tallahassee Downtown’s Movies in the Park!

FREE to the public!

Presented in partnership with:

A film by Philip Hartman

Philip Hartman’s priceless artifact of New York’s pre-gentrification East Village follows down-and-out jukebox operator Macabee Cohn, played with deadpan melancholy by David Brisbin, who wanders the cheap tenements, dive bars, and derelict streets of the East Village in search of a mysterious woman in a striped dress. 

No Picnic premiered at the 1986 Sundance Film Festival, where Peter Hutton won the Best Cinematography prize for his gorgeously evocative black-and-white imagery, working with producer Doris Kornish, Emmy Award–winning director Mike Spiller as assistant cameraman, animator Lewis Klahr as boom operator, Christine Vachon as assistant sound editor, with assistance from, among other notables, Jacob Burckhardt and Jeff Preiss. Scored by Ned Sublette, the soundtrack features The Raunch Hands, Fela Kuti, Charles Mingus and Student Teachers.  –Film Forum

Director, Writer: Philip Hartman
Producers: Doris Kornish, Chris Sievernich
Cinematography: Peter B. Hutton
Principle Cast: David Brisbin, Luis Guzmán, Steve Buscemi, Richard Hell, Claire Bauman, Ryan Cutrona, Lizzie Olesker, Greg Masters, Ned Sublette

1987 | 88 mins | US | B&W | Drama

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 9:15 p.m.
Theater #2

“A forgotten eighties NYC movie is back, scuzzier and better than ever. No Picnic captures New York’s boho hipster Lower East Side on the edge of Reagan-era gentrification — and a new restoration just saved it from obscurity.”

— David Fear, Rolling Stone

A film by Jess Johnson and Simon Ward

A breathtaking fulldome journey into a universe of shifting architectures, surreal creatures, and impossible landscapes, XYZZY transforms the planetarium into a living, dreamlike world. Created by acclaimed New Zealand artists Jess Johnson and Simon Ward, the film combines hand-drawn visual artistry, immersive animation, and an original musical score to transport audiences through a reality where the familiar and the fantastical collide.

Surrounded by vibrant colors, labyrinthine environments, and ever-changing cosmic vistas, viewers are carried through an experience that is at once playful, awe-inspiring, and deeply mysterious. Designed specifically for dome presentation, XYZZY invites audiences to surrender to the unknown and experience storytelling on a truly monumental scale.

2023 | 40 mins | New Zealand | Animation, Fantasy

Friday, Oct. 9 at 3:45 p.m.
Theater #2

A film by Jem Cohen

A portrait of artists June Leaf and Robert Frank at their homes in Nova Scotia and New York City.

Director, Writer, Camera: Jem Cohen
Principal Cast: Robert Frank, June Leaf

2025 | 20 mins | US, Canada | Color, B&W | Portrait, Experimental

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 10:45 a.m.
Theater #1

This short film precedes the feature Shifting Baselines.

A film by Ben Creech

A freewheeling video essay about Bob Dylan’s under-examined work as a filmmaker, based on the book by Michael Glover Smith.

Director, Editor: Ben Creech
Writers, Producers: Michael Glover Smith, Ben Creech
Sound Editor, Mixer: Isa Hernandez

2026 | 33 mins | US | Color | 🏆 | Documentary, Experimental, Portrait

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 5:30 p.m.
Theater #3

Filmmaker Ben Creech is expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion along with filmmaker and author Michael Glover Smith who will also read an excerpt from his book prior to the screening.

Aunt Jessica Will Fix Everything For You

A film by John David Stevenson

Aunt Jessica helps her nephew get away with murder.

2026 | 72 mins | US | Color | 🍊🦩🏆 | Crime, Drama

The filmmaker John David Stevenson and actor Julie Stevenson are expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

Friday, Oct. 9 at 4:45 p.m. in Theater #3

Carter Country

A film by Bobby Buccellato

Carter Country follows the two-year journey of America’s most unlikely Presidential candidate Jimmy Carter and his small town that followed him every step of the way. This documentary seeks to capture the forgotten spirit of 1976, the last great Presidential election of the 20th century, when a small town in Georgia suddenly became the political capital of the world.

2026 | 84 mins | US | Color, B&W | 🍊🦩🏆🎬 | Documentary, Biographical, Historical

Friday, Oct. 9 at 4:30 p.m. in Theater #1

River Obscura: Secrets of a Blackwater River – Episode Two

A film by Samuel Carlton Tedder

Musician and filmmaker Sammy Tedder draws continual inspiration from the wild beauty of the Sopchoppy River and its winding tributary creeks in this second installment of his nature films about this blackwater river. The rich biodiversity of this wild place is documented and accompanied by an original music score inspired by his decades of filming this unique area.

2026 | 76 mins | US | Color | 🍊🦩🏆 | Documentary, Nature, Local Interest

Friday, Oct. 9 at 2:30 p.m. in Theater #1

Afterlife

A film by Charles Scott Bell

Haunted by grief in a near-future where sadness can be outsourced, April Neal considers a new outpatient procedure: an AI implant that can replicate her mind, replace it with a digital copy, and spare her loved ones the pain of loss. Set one product launch from today, Afterlife is an introspective sci-fi thriller about art, identity, and the slow erasure of the self in the age of artificial intelligence.

2025 | 24 mins | US | B&W, Color | 🍊🦩🏆🎬 | Sci-fi, Drama

The filmmakers Charles Scott Bell, Cierra Bell, and Brian Jackson are expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

Screens as part of the program Shorts 7 – ALT/ESC

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 1:30 p.m. in Theater #2

Atrocious (Atroz)

A film by Nicolás Sánchez Márquez

Led by a dark figure, the men with bandaged faces torment what little Deo has left, and seem to offer him what he didn’t even know he was searching for: answers.

2025 | 31 mins | Mexico | In Spanish w/ English subtitles | B&W, Color | 🏆 | Thriller, Experimental

Screens as part of the program Shorts 6 – Dark Corners

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 8:30 p.m. in Theater #4

Babesmilk

A film by Elisha Mlotek

After a humiliating public outburst lands her in court-mandated community service, Sally Babesmilk becomes fixated on reclaiming the plaque honoring her legacy as Guam’s first female jet ski instructor. What follows is an increasingly absurd and theatrical attempt to restore her sense of greatness. Babesmilk is a guerrilla comedy shot on location, featuring Chamorro and local performers from the islands of Guam, Samoa, Fiji, Saipan, and Chuuk.

2026 | 12 mins | US | Color | 🏆 | Comedy

The filmmaker Elisha Mlotek is expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

Screens as part of the program Shorts 3 – Awkwrrrd

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 3:15 p.m. in Theater #2

Becoming

A film by Aidan Forte

In 1969 at St. Patricks Seminary, a devout young priest-in-training will do anything to keep his contraband porno mag from being discovered — and the secret contained within.

2026 | 15 mins | US | Color | 🏆✏️ | Comedy

Screens as part of the program Shorts 3 – Awkwrrrd

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 3:15 p.m. in Theater #2

Bent

A film by Sam B. Jones

Bentlee, age 12, comes from an extended family of demolition derby drivers. He shows the junk car he got from his older brother Ethan to compete in his very first derby. The film follows Bentlee through the day of the event, watching his emotions swing between fear and excitement as he prepares for this unusual coming-of-age ritual.

2026 | 17 mins | US | Color | 🏆 | Documentary, Portrait

Screens as part of the program Shorts 2 – Portraits

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 11:15 a.m. in Theater #3

Big Top: A Flying High Circus Story

A film by James Alessandrelli, Allie Alessandrelli

The FSU Flying High Circus was devastated when a tornado blew down their tent. Before they can return to shows, they must rebuild what students refer to as their “home away from home.” Their comeback story is filled with laughter, passion, and collaboration.

2026 | 22 mins | US | Color | 🍊🦩🏆🎬 | Documentary, Local Interest

The filmmakers James Alessandrelli, Allie Alessandrelli, and Celina Dezzuto are expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

Screens as part of the program Shorts 1 – Local Lens: Tallahassee

Friday, Oct. 9 at 12:45 p.m. in Theater #1

Bigger Than Luigi

A film by Miléna Mikael-Debass

Outside the courthouse where Luigi Mangione stands accused of murdering a health insurance CEO, a diverse group of protesters rally. These demonstrators’ personal stories reflect deep fractures in class and power in America.

2026 | 16 mins | US | Color | 🏆 | Documentary, Social, Portrait

Screens as part of the program Shorts 8 – Against the Current

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 1:45 p.m. in Theater #3

Capsule

A film by Juan Pablo Montagut

In an enclosed studio, a photographer and a writer drift between creation and desire, getting caught in a cycle of intimacy and detachment while struggling to build a true connection.

2026 | 6 mins | US | Color | 🏆✏️ | Drama, Thriller, Romance

Screens as part of the program Shorts 6 – Dark Corners

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 8:30 p.m. in Theater #4

Cottonmouth

A film by Cole Johnson

Based in the humid heart of rural Alabama, this is the tale of Chip and Fish — two twenty-something drifters bound together by dreams, dependency, and addiction. Haunted by lost love and failed fatherhood, Chip spirals toward a reckoning with his past as he tries to reconnect with Day, the mother of his daughter, Anya. What begins as a night of underground music and misguided hope descends into violence and revelations illuminated by burning bonfires. Cottonmouth is a fractured love story about broken men grasping for grace in a world that’s given them none.

2025 | 16 mins | US | Color | 🏆✏️ | Drama, Southern Gothic

Screens as part of the program Shorts 5 – Coming Through

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 7:15 p.m. in Theater #3

Dear Beloved

A film by Jared Callahan

A creative cohort of queer and transgender artists build community across prison walls by publishing incarcerated-produced comic books.

2026 | 12 mins | US | Color | 🏆 | Documentary, Portrait, Social, Art

Screens as part of the program Shorts 8 – Against the Current

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 1:45 p.m. in Theater #3

Double Dipper

A film by Norman Nathaniel Mayorga, Hector Zumbado

In a world turned apocalyptic due to the high temperature of the sun, ice cream has become a necessity for human survival. Our main character, The Wanderer, comes across an ice cream stand that offers a free scoop to new customers. After accidentally dropping his free scoop, The Wanderer is forced to impersonate someone else to get a new free scoop. However, his greed does not go unpunished.

2025 | 8 mins | US | B&W | 🏆✏️ | Dark Comedy, Horror, Experimental

Screens as part of the program Shorts 9 – In Black & Color

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 3:45 p.m. in Theater #2

Echoes Of Smoke: The Erasure Of Smokey Hollow

A film by Raniah Michelle Braclet

Before Cascades Park became the beautiful public park that the people of Tallahassee know now, it was Smokey Hollow, a tight-knit, working-class Black community. In the late 1800s to the 1960s, the State of Florida had an idea of a “picturesque look” for the drive into the capital city of Florida. Through public depictions of the community as “slums” and “dumps,” the Capitol gained public support. The leading figures in keeping this history alive detail the reality of the community that used to be located just outside Florida’s Capitol.

2025 | 18 mins | US | Color | 🍊🦩🏆🎬✏️ | Documentary, Social, Local Interest

Screens as part of the program Shorts 1 – Local Lens: Tallahassee

Friday, Oct. 9 at 12:45 p.m. in Theater #1

F Minor

A film by Josh Litman

A struggling musician is plagued by feelings of insecurity when he discovers he was never a target of his music teacher’s predatory behavior.

2025 | 15 mins | US | Color | 🏆 | Dark Comedy

The filmmakers Josh Litman and Jason Nott are expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

Screens as part of the program Shorts 3 – Awkwrrrd

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 3:15 p.m. in Theater #2

The Flowerkeeper

A film by Nora Long

After a tumultuous decade of searching for her purpose, Sophie, a Floridian flower farmer, has found it in growing blooms sustainably and sharing them with her community. As she navigates the challenges of her fourth growing season, she must stay resilient in the face of uncertainty, proving that her dedication can create a place where even the most fragile things thrive.

2025 | 17 mins | US | Color | 🍊🦩🏆 | Documentary, Portrait

The filmmakers Nora Long and Ben Tschirgi, including Sophie Wettstein, (the Flowerkeeper!), are expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

Screens as part of the program Shorts 2 – Portraits

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 11:15 a.m. in Theater #3

The Girlies

A film by Natalie Couture

Antics! Estrogen! Escapades! Hijinks ensue when The Girlies are forced to face the unexpected. Produced by a female-led crew of silly people, The Girlies is a 21st century love letter to silent film, physical comedy, and analog filmmaking. The film was shot on three different types of 16mm Kodak film stock with one digital cut-away, and the title cards and opening credits were captured in-camera and composited digitally. The result: a wacky, kitchen-sink of genres and technologies that contrasts the modern with the classic at at every turn.

2024 | 9 mins | US | B&W, Color | 🎬 | Comedy

Screens as part of the program Shorts 9 – In Black & Color

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 3:45 p.m. in Theater #2

The Goodie Bag

A film by Yossi Sloane

A marketing student embarks on a networking meeting with an older woman, only to discover she has no plans on being professional.

2026 | 8 mins | US | Color | 🏆 | Comedy, Fantasy

Screens as part of the program Shorts 9 – In Black & Color

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 3:45 p.m. in Theater #2

The Gun

A film by Randall Christopher

Based on the short story by Philip K. Dick. On a distant planet all life has been annihilated through war, but when a group of scientists decide to explore the surface they find a terrifying automatic weapon which still functions.

2025 | 12 mins | US | Color | 🏆 | Animation, Sci-fi

Screens as part of the program Shorts 7 – ALT/ESC

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 1:30 p.m. in Theater #2

The Hands Of God

A film by Luke Michael Panzo

A mother cow and her now-grown calf graze within the quiet boundaries of their rural home. As the day passes, subtle intrusions begin to surface, reminders that the world around them is not entirely their own.

2025 | 5 mins | US | Color | 🍊🦩🏆✏️ | Experimental

Screens as part of the program Shorts 9 – In Black & Color

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 3:45 p.m. in Theater #2

How The Lonely Keep

A film by Nathan Sellers

Weeks after her disappearance, a local teen returns to the places she knew best, while an unseen hand holds the secret of why she may never be found.

2025 | 9 mins | US | Color | 🏆 | Thriller, Arthouse

Screens as part of the program Shorts 6 – Dark Corners

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 8:30 p.m. in Theater #4

I Wanted To Hear Your Voice

A film by James Pellerito

After eight years of caring for his mother with severe dementia, a son struggles through their daily care routine. Recorded voicemails serve to show the progression of the disease, underscoring the frustration, isolation and burnout that comes with intensive caregiving.

2025 | 12 mins | Color | 🏆 | Documentary, Portrait

Screens as part of the program Shorts 2 – Portraits

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 11:15 a.m. in Theater #3

I’m Going To Be A Diamond Someday

A film by Jeremy Drummond, David Poolman

Frank Newsome was born in Pike County, Kentucky in 1942 and was one of twenty-two children who grew-up in the Old Regular Baptist Church. Following in the footsteps of his father, Frank worked as a coal miner and after almost two decades in the mines, contracted black lung and was forced to retire.

2026 | 27 mins | US, Canada | Color | 🏆 | Documentary, Portrait, Experimental

Screens as part of the program Shorts 2 – Portraits

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 11:15 a.m. in Theater #3

It’s A Wonderful Night Of The Living Dead

A film by John Bell, Dan Bell

It’s a not-so-wonderful life for George Bailey when a horde of flesh-eating ghouls come to town on Christmas Eve. In this horror comedy mashup, two classic films are re-imagined as a darkly humorous fever dream. George, a frustrated businessman, navigates his night seemingly unaware of the looming threat of the undead; as Barbara, a woman from out of town, runs for her life through the streets of Bedford Falls. When George and Barbara come face to face with the living dead, they must fight to make it through the night and find their way back to their families.

2025 | 9 mins | US | B&W | 🏆🎬 | Comedy, Horror, Experimental

Screens as part of the program Shorts 9 – In Black & Color

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 3:45 p.m. in Theater #2

Jonás

A film by Patricio De La Maza Mendizabal

In rural Mexico, Jonás, a teenager who will soon become a father, has secretly decided to run away.

2026 | 16 mins | Mexico | In Spanish w/ English subtitles | Color | 🏆 | Drama, Coming of age

Screens as part of the program Shorts 5 – Coming Through

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 7:15 p.m. in Theater #3

Julie Takes A Walk

A film by Frankie Pedersen, Shea Vassar

Julie’s life choices have always been dictated by her family, but this all changes when she is told just moments before her wedding that she was adopted. Confused and shocked, she runs away and follows the only clue she has to a small town on the other side of Oklahoma.

2025 | 14 mins | US | Color | 🏆🎬 | Comedy, Drama

Screens as part of the program Shorts 5 – Coming Through

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 7:15 p.m. in Theater #3

Kitty

A film by Lizzie Hart, James Newman

Neurodivergent Kitty, lover of trinkets and Kate Bush, finds her favorite jumper ruined and must find a replacement. When the perfect jumper seems unattainable, she’s left with one choice: sell her precious items, or risk losing the jumper forever.

2026 | 15 mins | UK | Color | 🏆🎬 | Comedy, Drama

Screens as part of the program Shorts 3 – Awkwrrrd

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 3:15 p.m. in Theater #2

Knitting Club

A film by Diogo Abrantes, João Rito

Miguel, a delivery guy, drops off red yarn at a knitting club run by three overly eager grannies. When they insist he stays for tea, he discovers they take their craft very seriously, and that he’s about to become their latest masterpiece.

2025 | 5 mins | Portugal | In Portuguese w/ English subtitles | Color | 🏆🎬 | Horror, Comedy

Screens as part of the program Shorts 6 – Dark Corners

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 8:30 p.m. in Theater #4

The Last Shuttle

A film by Jordan Mazzarella, Quinn Michael K

With Earth on the brink of collapse, a selfish scavenger discovers a lost nonverbal girl whose family can save them both, leading him on a journey that reminds him of his humanity.

2026 | 22 mins | US | Color | 🍊🦩🏆🎬 | Suspense, Sci-fi

The filmmakers Jordan Mazzarella, Quinn Michael Kirschenbaum, and Dustin Ropp are expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

Screens as part of the program Shorts 7 – ALT/ESC

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 1:30 p.m. in Theater #2

Local Art Is Not A SCAM

A film by Rob Yoho

Local Art is Not A SCAM is a Florida documentary that follows Alex O’Connell and Justin J. Moore, producers of Super Cool Awesome Music Services (SCAMS), and the mounting of their annual music and art festival known as Noise Feast, a 36-hour marathon event designed to showcase breadth and depth of the Tallahassee avant-garde arts scene.

2025 | 16 mins | US | Color | 🍊🦩🏆✏️ | Documentary, Music, Art, Experimental

The filmmakers Rob Yoho, Lanie Whitaker, and Nicole Davis are expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

Screens as part of the program Shorts 1 – Local Lens: Tallahassee

Friday, Oct. 9 at 12:45 p.m. in Theater #1

Metal

A film by Samuel McIntosh

Benny, a man in a brutal metal helmet, has been kept chained up in a basement all his life, with nothing but a television playing old cartoons to keep him company. One night, when his television loses connection, he pulls himself free of his chains in a fit of rage and escapes. He sets off into the world, struggling to find his footing in the strange metropolis.

2025 | 15 mins | US | Color | 🏆 | Horror, Comedy

Screens as part of the program Shorts 6 – Dark Corners

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 8:30 p.m. in Theater #4

Miniature Man

A film by Dylan A Taylor

A disillusioned man seeking to escape his routine finds newfound solace when one of his model train figures mysteriously comes to life. As their relationship deepens, he is forced to confront his feelings of indecision, avoidance, and isolation.

2026 | 15 mins | US | Color | 🍊🎬 | Drama, Fantasy

The filmmakers Dylan A Taylor and Angel Avalos, and actors Matthew Walker and Ana Gorayeb are expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

Screens as part of the program Shorts 7 – ALT/ESC

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 1:30 p.m. in Theater #2

The Nothing Club

A film by Tanner Hirten, Mickey Hirten

Kylie Quinn is a high school sophomore only concerned with graduating as fast as she can. But when she tries to start a club to accomplish her goal, she must interview members of other clubs to learn what the value of community really is.

2026 | 37 mins | US | Color | 🍊🦩🏆✏️ | Comedy, Coming of age

Screens as part of the Regional Filmmaker Showcase

Friday, Oct. 9 at 3:15 p.m. in Theater #3

Oyster Rockefeller

A film by Alec Castillo

A documentary short chronicling the life and lost history of the Gulf Coast’s wealthiest oyster.

2025 | 5 mins | US | Color | Animation, Comedy, Mockumentary

Screens as part of the program Shorts 9 – In Black & Color

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 3:45 p.m. in Theater #2

Saba

A film by Liron Topaz

In an abstract and symbolic world where gravity is reversed, a unique bond forms between a grandfather and his grandson. As Saba, the grandfather guides the boy through this surreal reality until a violent storm strikes, tearing one of the ropes anchoring their home – and with it, their life together.

2026 | 10 mins | US | Color | 🏆 | Animation, Drama, Fantasy

Screens as part of the program Shorts 7 – ALT/ESC

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 1:30 p.m. in Theater #2

Same Water

A film by Martine Granby

Drawing from institutional and personal archives, this film revisits a colored-only riverside recreation space that existed alongside a celebrated whites-only water park in Silver Springs, Florida, exposing the layered histories of segregation and unequal access to nature and leisure in Jim Crow America.

2025 | 22 mins | US | B&W, Color | 🍊🏆 | Documentary, Social, Historical, Experimental

Screens as part of the program Shorts 8 – Against the Current

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 1:45 p.m. in Theater #3

Short Film About Regret And Nudes

A film by Eliana Henrich

2026 | 1 min | US | Color | 🏆 | Experimental

The filmmaker Eliana Henrich is expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

Screens as part of the program Shorts 9 – In Black & Color

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 3:45 p.m. in Theater #2

Sighting

A film by Kyle Smith

An encounter between a feared forest creature and an ambitious and curious nature enthusiast takes an unexpected turn.

2026 | 18 mins | US | Color | 🏆🎬✏️ | Drama, Comedy

Screens as part of the program Shorts 3 – Awkwrrrd

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 3:15 p.m. in Theater #2

Spheres

A film by Martin Gerigk

Spheres is an homage to life, a poetic essay that drifts through a series of expanding spheres, each revealing a different layer of our shared reality, from the microscopic to the mythical. The film is an exploration of how the smallest vibrations of existence echo outward into the vast architecture of being and cosmos, a breathing meditation designed to remind us of the wonders of our incomprehensibly beautiful world.

2026 | 6 mins | Germany | B&W, Color | 🏆 | Experimental

Screens as part of the program Shorts 9 – In Black & Color

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 3:45 p.m. in Theater #2

Stew To Eat

A film by Nathaniel Jameson, Alex Saltiel

The stew is almost ready, but there is one thing missing… a dark adventure of unrequited love, societal decay, and insatiable hunger.

“Pitch-perfect expressionism… cartoonish briskness alternating with poignancy… a world created out of faces and blackness… It’s also incredibly funny!”

– Guy Maddin on Stew to Eat

2025 | 25 mins | US | B&W | 🏆 | Experimental

Screens as part of the program Shorts 9 – In Black & Color

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 3:45 p.m. in Theater #2

Sudden Death

A film by Andrew Moore

Thirty-something takes, and three hours later, a team of filmmakers have one more chance at success, or else it will all have been for nothing.

2026 | 17 mins | US | Color | 🍊🦩🏆 | Thriller, Drama

The filmmakers Andrew Moore, Colin Kirkpatrick, and Grace Myatt are expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

Screens as part of the program Shorts 6 – Dark Corners

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 8:30 p.m. in Theater #4

Tesoro

A film by Samuel Correa

Tesoro is a drama about David, a Colombian immigrant boy staying at the Chateau motel in Panama City Beach, Florida. On the Fourth of July, David is left alone with little supervision and must find what it means to grow up in a place that isn’t fully his home.

2026 | 10 mins | US | B&W | 🍊🦩🏆✏️ | Drama, Coming of age

The filmmakers Samuel Correa, Ariya Beckler, and Juan Martinez are expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

Screens as part of the program Shorts 5 – Coming Through

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 7:15 p.m. in Theater #3

Thank You For Listening

A film by Gene Gallerano, Bob Ray

Joshua Ray Walker faces the fragility of life as he confronts a life-altering cancer diagnosis. As he prepares to return to the Grand Ole Opry, the film captures an intimate portrait of an artist grappling with mortality while confronting the legacy he will leave behind.

2026 | 27 mins | US | Color | 🏆 | Documentary, Portrait, Music

Screens as part of the program Shorts 2 – Portraits

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 11:15 a.m. in Theater #3

This Conversation Has Been Removed

A film by Andrew Nolan

When Peter and Jill engage in an online comment war, they learn just how wrong “making it personal” can go.

2025 | 7 mins | Ireland, UK | Color | 🏆 | Comedy

Screens as part of the program Shorts 7 – ALT/ESC

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 1:30 p.m. in Theater #2

To Write Love

A film by Owen Dubeck

In February 2006, 19‑year‑old Renee Yohe was at the edge of death; with drugs in her system and a self‑inflicted wound on her arm, she was denied entrance into a Florida rehab facility, leaving her friends to spend five days looking after her while she detoxed. Renee ultimately decided to write about her experience in a MySpace post at a time when it was taboo to talk about self‑harm. Her writing traveled around the world, reaching millions who had no other outlet to express how they were feeling, and—powered largely by the punk rock scene and then the music scene at large—the story grew beyond anyone’s expectations into a global movement that helped save thousands of people’s lives.

2026 | 21 mins | US | Color | 🍊🏆 | Documentary, Social

Screens as part of the program Shorts 8 – Against the Current

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 1:45 p.m. in Theater #3

Twig

A film by Alec Lipscomb

Twig takes place over the course of a summer day at a skate park. A determined 13-year-old boy struggles to land the simplest trick, yet he believes he’s destined for greatness. As he attempts to drop into the pool, he uncovers a group of skaters, their troubled pasts, and something deeper within himself.

2026 | 17 mins | US | Color | 🍊 | Drama, Coming of age

Screens as part of the program Shorts 5 – Coming Through

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 7:15 p.m. in Theater #3

A Very Special Person

A film by Paul Taylor

After alienating her co-workers, a self-absorbed woman turns to her enabling chatbot for advice.

2025 | 7 mins | US | Color | 🏆 | Drama, Comedy

The filmmaker Paul Taylor is expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

Screens as part of the program Shorts 7 – ALT/ESC

Sunday, Oct. 11 at 1:30 p.m. in Theater #2

Why Shells.

A film by Barrett Lesly Shuler

A docu-style narrative exploring memory loss, legacy and how we remember.

2025 | 23 mins | US | Color | 🍊🦩🏆 | Documentary, Portrait, Fantasy, Comedy

The filmmakers Barrett Lesly Shuler, Donovan Edelstein, and actor Jared Howell, are expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

Screens as part of the program Shorts 3 – Awkwrrrd

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 3:15 p.m. in Theater #2