arnewsteam
Dances With Films: LA has announced the film lineup for next month’s return of Los Angeles’ largest indie film-focused film festival (June 18-28) for its 29th edition platforming films not produced by studios or with big budgets. Those films include DWF: LA’s critically-acclaimed Midnight Horror and Genre, and Pilots sections, as well as continuing the celebration of music, dance, and family-friendly programming in the Downbeat and Kidz sections. This year’s packed schedule will be bookended by the world premieres of Jay Silverman’s drama Yale with Caitlin McGee, Kevin Dunn, and Rachael Harris, as the Opening Night selection, and Adam Hoelzel’s thriller Tender with Jesse Garcia, Jess Weixler, David Koechner, and Robert Longstreet, on Closing Night. In an environment where multiplexes can struggle to consistently fill houses, DWF: LA expects to once again draw record-breaking audiences to its screenings and events at the TCL Chinese Theatre on 6925 Hollywood Blvd. in the Ovation Complex.
This year’s DWF: LA’s lineup includes 279 films, including 41 narrative features, 17 documentary features, 4 midnight features, 33 television and streaming pilots, and 184 short films (99 narrative and 21 documentaries, 32 midnight, 15 Kidz section, 17 Downbeat/Music), with an impressive number of films making world, North American, or U.S. premieres.
Dances With Films has built an indisputable reputation as a discovery film festival that year in and year out features the most world premieres of any festival in Los Angeles and a significant discovery festival in the US. Additional narrative features (beyond the two gala selections) making their world premieres in June include: Andrew David Paterson’s American Flake, Jay Diaz’sAngeleno, Brian L. Tan’s Bandit, John Brownell’s Coin, Sean Perry’s Coaled Blood, Daniel Katz and Brad Dickson’s Dave vs. Hollywood, Joel David Santner’s Directors’ Commentary, Gerald Fillmore’sFace Love, Mädchen Amick’s Fractured, Rachel Carey’s Good Thoughts, Doug Bremner’s The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg, Jordan Rowe’s Hamilton House, Jonathan Oster’s Jane’s Not Here, Jason Laurits’ Loves Company, JJ Lippman’s Mind Games, Stephen McNamee’s Muffled, Robyn Symon’s Queen of Shock, D.J. Hale’s Rescued, Dustin Brown’s Solidarity, David Ketterer Spencer’s Souvenir, RJ Zabasky’s Sync, Marcus Niehaus’ Tales From the Crypto, Gregory J. Green’s Tempest, Debra De Liso’s Wilma, Wu, and a Stripper Named Lorraine, and Njedeh Anthony’s Yellow Broken Road. Making their North American Premieres will be Tristan Barr’s Deathkeeper, Aleksandra Hansen’s Life at Sandy’s, and Scott Tinkham and Michael Woloson’s Littermates, and Mason Howard’s U A P.
Feature-length documentaries making their world premieres at DWFLA include: Kern Konwiser’s Autumn Gold, Hrag Yedalian’s Beneath the Ashes: The Past Reimagined, Cam Lui, and Michael Schnee’s Better Call Babs, David Booth Gardner’s The Last Place on Earth, Beatrix Ryle’s My Name is Gitta, Jordan Kronick’s Peaking: Psychedelics and the Pursuit of Happiness, Jon Bolerjack’s Stan Lee: The Final Chapter, Brad Alexander’s Tell Me About Tomorrow, and Boaz Dvir’s To Kill a Nazi.
Dances With Films’ founders, Leslee Scallon and Michael Trent, said, “For close to three decades Dances With Films has exhibited ‘The Power of Indie Film’ and this year’s lineup is filled with unique and diverse voices from filmmakers working outside of the studio system and without the benefit of bigger budgets, will entertain and surprise film lovers with the cinematic magic DWF is well-known for. As always, we couldn’t be more thrilled to introduce them all and connect our filmmakers with audiences, film distributors, and other industry veterans in the best way imaginable: at the TCL Chinese Theatres right in the heart of Hollywood.”
Thursday, June 18 features the World Premiere Opening Night presentation of Jay Silverman’s drama Yale. The film focuses on a woman who must find and ask for help from the father who abandoned her when she was a child in order to save her son, who needs an emergency kidney transplant. The film stars Caitlin McGee, Dominic Leeder, Kevin Dunn, and Rachael Harris.
Sunday, June 28, DWF: LA offers another world premiere as its Closing Night selection, Adam Hoelzel’s drama Tender. The film follows a couple trapped in a failing marriage and drowning in debt who discover a hidden stash of gold buried within the walls of their home. What begins as a lifeline quickly spirals into danger, as the pair devise a high-stakes plan to offload the fortune and escape their financial ruin. The impressive cast includes Jesse Garcia, Jess Weixler, David Koechner, Robert Longstreet, Mark St. Cyr, Keli Price, Stephen Ellis, Robert Peters, and Sonja O’Hara.
Additional highlights among the narrative feature films making their world premieres include Jay Diaz’s home grown drama Angeleno. The LA-based story follows a first-generation Latino American whose filmmaking dreams have taken a back seat to family responsibilities and crises that derailed him in his youth. However, a new opportunity might finally help him break through and convince him that it’s never too late in a city built for dreamers. Also making its world premiere, David Ketterer Spencer’s Souvenir focuses on two estranged friends whose unexpected encounter leads to an unexpected day-long adventure through New York City as they attempt to return a dead self-help guru’s lost wallet. The cast includes Janeane Garafalo, Ruby Cruz, and Eric Berryman. Mädchen Amick makes her feature film directorial debut with the thriller Fractured. Based on a true story, and starring Bruce Dern and Julia Ormond, the film centers on a woman whose past filled with tragedy and trauma catches up with her when an ex-boyfriend shows up and triggers memories of her father’s death. Adam Jumba’s Lone Rider stars Jack Alcott as a young man whose impulsive decision to steal back his beat-up ’89 Mustang from his estranged father leads to a quixotic journey through middle-of-nowhere diners, old stomping grounds, and midnight highways, crossing paths with old friends, strangers, and moments that feel like echoes of another life.
Matt Flanders’ romantic comedy How to Date Again follows Michael (Rob Mor), a heartbroken animator struggling to re-enter the dating world after a devastating loss. He finally meets Leigh (Natasha Loring), an emotionally intuitive record exec and they embark on a spontaneous California coast road trip to confront their pasts and learn how to heal. The film also stars Haley Joel Osment and Kevin Nealon. Jason Lauritis’ fish out of water comedy Loves Company will make its world premiere at DWFLA. In the film, a faded game show personality is rescued after a car crash in the Everglades by his #1..and only…fan. The outcast woman soon reaches her limit with his bad behavior, but now she can’t get rid of him. The cast includes Rachel Dratch, Jack Plotnick, Sarah Baker, and Dustin Ingram. Guy Jacobson’s screwball comedy Out of Order stars Brandon Routh as an ambitious lawyer who accepts a job offer from a big snobbish rival law firm; that is, until his current boss suffers a heart attack and begs him to take one last case. Convinced he can do it, he decides to swing both positions until he realizes that he is now representing opposite sides of the same case. The film also stars Brooke Shields, Sandra Bernhard, Sam Huntington, and Luis Guzman.
Dances With Films: LA has an equally strong slate of documentaries with a number of films making their world premieres. One of the films making its debut is Cam Lui, and Michael Schnee’s Better Call Babs which places the audience in Babs Fry’s iconic van for a ride along, witnessing her Red-Cross award-winning work of recovering lost pets and rehabilitating feral dogs, but through the personal challenges that shaped the woman she is today. Also making its world premiere is Boaz Dvir’s To Kill a Nazi, which follows the saga of Michel Cojot’s journey to find Klaus Barbie and get revenge for Cojot’s father’s death at Auschwitz. Rob Arthur’s Frampton traces Peter Frampton’s rise to global rock and roll fame, the struggles that tested his identity and resilience, and his relentless reinvention. As personal sacrifices surface, the cost of fame becomes clear. Now facing a degenerative muscle disease, Frampton confronts his limits with urgency and grace. Making its world premiere is Jon Bolerjack’s Stan Lee: The Final Chapter which looks at Lee’s experiences at conventions where Stan’s signatures and memorabilia were converted into millions of dollars and rival hucksters double-crossed each other to control his fortune.
Dances With Films’ critically acclaimed Midnight section of films including the following features making their North American premieres: Tristan Barr’s Deathkeeper pits a reclusive angel against a charming demon in disguise in order to save a possessed woman. Mason Howard’s U A P takes place during a Fourth of July reunion, where five friends discover a mysterious sphere that draws the attention of government forces and private interests, and is possibly manipulating humanity itself. Making its world premiere is Stephen McNamee’s Muffled, where two true crime enthusiasts return to their hometown to solve the mystery of what happened to their childhood friend, who had vanished without a trace.
The pilots category platforming projects with streaming and broadcast ambitions has a varied selection of programming including Alexander Jeffery’s Fixation. Inspired by true events the series begins following the death of a young Korean woman which is deemed routine until an autopsy uncovers something far more sinister. Making its World Premiere is the docuseries People of the West. Directors on the project are Christopher Nataanii Cegielski, Phillip Montgomery, and Josh Baker. The docuseries reveals the untold history of California through Indigenous eyes, from creation to the present day, cutting through myth to expose the forces that shaped the land we now call California. Also making its world premiere are funny high-concept projects like Zach Trent’s Knighted, about a scientist who inadvertently drops a medieval knight into his living room, and now must teach the knight how to survive in the scientist’s modern world. Another high concept pilot making its debut is Paige Ivy’s Pain in the Neck. Set in a post-apocalypse Hollywood, an actress must deal with a zombie landlord, and her vampire roommate, who she might just be falling in love with. Another pilot with an LGBTQIA+ romance is Mandy Fabian’s You Are Here, which follows a fifty-something single gay man, and his tight-knit circle of friends navigating life, friendship, sex, and the horrors of dating after 50.
DWF: LA’s prodigious short films lineup includes the world premiere of Alyssa Limperis and Emily Murnane’s Going Home in which a woman decides to go to her childhood home and visit her parents after suffering through a really bad day. The film stars Limperis and Patton Oswalt. Page Kennedy’s Macbeth in Compton delivers a hip-hop-infused reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy set in 1990s Compton. Jeff Perreca’s sci-fi short Conflicting Reports has characters finding themselves in a situation described by two mysterious broadcasts. One claims that aliens have arrived and are peaceful. The other says they’re hostile invaders. The cast includes Noel Fisher, Meghan Leathers, Guillermo Diaz, and Andrew Jacobs. Also making its world premiere is Jingbei Bai’s American Boy. The very timely drama tells the story of an undocumented Chinese immigrant, finding joy in a classic night out with his two friends, until their celebration is cut short by ICE agents. Other short highlights include the world premieres of Katherine Connor Duff’s This Little Piggy Went to Market, which explores parasocial relationships, female financial autonomy, and the effect of the insatiable gaze of social media, Darcy Miller’s Captain Milo, a touching look at a child’s defensive fantasies, and Autumn Palen’s outrageous globe-trotting coming of age EDM-themed romp Breakfast At Berghain, produced by DWF’s own Frankie Campisano.
For more information about the Dances With Films: LA film lineup, events, passes, and tickets, go to: https://danceswithfilms.com/.
The 2026 Dances With Films: LA official selections:
OPENING NIGHT SELECTION
Yale WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 123 min.
DIRECTOR: Jay Silverman
Based on a true story about a troubled woman who must confront her deadbeat father who abandoned her as a child as the last ditch effort to find a donor kidney for her dying son.
CLOSING NIGHT SELECTION
Tender WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 95 min.
DIRECTOR: Adam Hoezel
After inheriting a modest house in a dying town, Billie and Mick believe they’ve finally found stability, until crushing debt, old resentments, and a shocking discovery buried within their walls threaten to tear them apart. As the couple is forced into a dangerous alliance to protect their future, Tender becomes a darkly intimate portrait of marriage under pressure, where love, money, and survival blur into something unrecognizable.
ADDITIONAL NARRATIVE FEATURES
Again Again
USA, 2025, 99 min.
DIRECTORS: Mia Moore, Heather Ballish
American Flake WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 82 min.
DIRECTOR: Andrew David Paterson
Angeleno WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 83.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Jay Diaz
Bandit WORLD PREMIERE
Indonesia/USA, 2026, 109 min.
DIRECTOR: Brian L. Tan “BLT”
Before the Call
South Korea/USA, 2025, 62 min.
DIRECTOR: James Choi
Bravado
USA/Wales, 2026, 106 min.
DIRECTOR: Alex Hanno
Coaled Blood
USA, 2026, 130 min.
DIRECTOR: Sean Perry
Coin WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 76 min.
DIRECTOR: John Brownell
Dave vs. Hollywood WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 88 min.
DIRECTORS: Daniel Katz, Brad Dickson
Dead Deer High
USA, 2026, 101 min.
DIRECTOR: Jo Rochelle
Directors’ Commentary WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 84.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Joel David Santner
Edie Arnold is a Loser
USA, 2026, 73 min.
DIRECTORS: Megan Rico, Kade Atwood
Face Love WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 96 min.
DIRECTOR: Gerald Fillmore
FracturedWORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 72 min.
DIRECTOR: Mädchen Amick
Good Thoughts WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 109 min.
DIRECTOR: Rachel Carey
The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 92 min.
Hamilton House WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 83 min.
DIRECTOR: Jordan Rowe
Heartworm
USA, 2026, 107 min.
DIRECTORS: Miriam Louise Arens, Mitchell Arens
Hekla
USA, 2026, 89 min.
DIRECTOR: Michael Glover Smith
How to Date Again
USA, 2025, 96 min.
DIRECTOR: Matt Flanders
Isle Child
USA, 2025, 91 min.
DIRECTOR: Thomas Percy Kim
Jane’s Not Here WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 105 min.
DIRECTOR: Jonathan Oster
Life at Sandy’s NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
USA/Norway, 2026, 75 min.
DIRECTOR: Aleksandra Hansen
Littermates NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 87 min.
DIRECTORS: Scott Tinkham, Michael Woloson
Lone Rider
USA, 2025, 87 min.
DIRECTOR: Adam Jumba
Loves Company WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 94 min.
DIRECTOR: Jason Laurits
Mind Games WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 96 min.
DIRECTOR: JJ Lippman
Out of Order
USA, 2025, 95 min.
DIRECTOR: Guy Jacobson
Queen of Shock WORLD PREMIERE
Mexico/USA, 2026, 86 min.
DIRECTOR: Robyn Symon
Rescued WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 127 min.
DIRECTOR: D.J. Hale
Smile… The Worst is Yet to Come
USA, 2025, 84 min.
DIRECTOR: Chloe Lenihan
Solidarity WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 98 min.
DIRECTOR: Dustin Brown
Souvenir WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 88 min.
DIRECTOR: David Ketterer Spencer
Sync WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 121 min.
DIRECTOR: RJ Zabasky
Tales From the Crypto WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 93 min.
DIRECTOR: Marcus Niehaus
Tempest WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 95 min.
DIRECTOR: Gregory J. Green
This Will Never Work
USA, 2025, 87 min.
DIRECTORS: Marina Tempelsman, Niccolo Aeed
Wilma, Wu, and a Stripper Named Lorraine WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 94 min.
DIRECTOR: Debra De Liso
Yellow Broken Road WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 108 min.
DIRECTOR: Njedeh Anthony
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
4000 Days
USA, 2026, 110 min.
DIRECTOR: Daniel E Catullo III
Autumn Gold
USA, 2026, 71 min.
DIRECTOR: Kern Konwiser
Beneath the Ashes: The Past Reimagined WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 63 min.
DIRECTOR: Hrag Yedalian
Better Call Babs WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 59 min.
DIRECTOR: Cam Lui, Michael Schnee
The Burning: The Untold Story of Africa’s Refugee Crisis
USA/Nigeria, 2025, 86 min.
DIRECTOR: Isabella Alexander-Nathani
Cabali and the Tiki Mug Obsession
USA, 2025, 96 min.
DIRECTOR: Josh Dragotta
Frampton
USA/UK, 2026, 104 min.
DIRECTOR: Rob Arthur
Holy Ghetto
USA/Israel, 2026, 83 min.
DIRECTOR: iLan Azoulai
Kratom: Side Effects May Include
USA, 2025, 78 min.
DIRECTORs: Jamie Neese, Jason Neese
The Last Place on Earth WORLD PREMIERE
USA/Indonesia, 2026, 102 min.
DIRECTOR: David Booth Gardner
My Name is Gitta WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 93.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Beatrix Ryle
Peaking: Psychedelics and the Pursuit of Happiness WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 95 min.
DIRECTOR: Jordan Kronick
Reservation Redemption
USA, 2026, 60 min.
DIRECTORS: Brenda Fisher, Blake Pickens
Sell Your House
USA, 2026, 95 min.
DIRECTORS: Eric Foss, Brandon Pickering
Stan Lee: The Final Chapter WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 110 min.
DIRECTOR: Jon Bolerjack
Tell Me About Tomorrow WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 120 min.
DIRECTOR: Brad Alexander
To Kill a Nazi WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 101 min.
DIRECTOR: Boaz Dvir
MIDNIGHT FEATURES
.
Deathkeeper
Australia, 2025, 91 min.
DIRECTOR: Tristan Barr
Jump Scare
USA, 2025, 98 min.
DIRECTOR: Donnie Hobbie
Muffled WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 90 min.
DIRECTOR: Stephen McNamee
U A P NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 106 min.
DIRECTOR: Mason Howard
PILOTS
Baddie WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 17 min.
DIRECTOR: Steven Yee
Banana
USA, 2025, 28 min.
DIRECTORS: Raghav Puri, Kieran Barry
Bigg County Restorations
USA, 2025, 17 min.
DIRECTOR: Dan Angelucci
Burning Bridges WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 35 min.
DIRECTOR: Jorge Yanes
Bridal Party
USA, 2026, 26 min.
DIRECTOR: Mckenzie Salvatierra Custin
Chet Bond: License to Chill
USA, 2025, 25 min.
DIRECTOR: Blake Sherwyn
Codependent
USA, 2026, 25 min.
DIRECTOR: Caitlyn Phu
CVNT
USA, 2026, 16 min.
DIRECTOR: Nicole Higgins
Delicate Condition WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 36.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Bailey Castle
Delivering Destiny w/Amir Mo WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 23 min.
DIRECTOR: Amir Mo
Farther Along
USA, 2025, 14 min.
DIRECTORS: MJ Bernier, Emily Draper
Fixation
USA, 2026, 35 min.
DIRECTOR: Alexander Jeffery
Level Up
USA, 2025, 17.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Gabrielle Roberts
I Could Eat – Episode 3 WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 14 min.
DIRECTORS: Rick Bedrosian, Sonja Stark
It’s Getting Late with Owen Reed WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 44 min.
DIRECTOR: Ryan Dougall
Knighted WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 23 min.
DIRECTOR: Zach Trent
Matched
USA, 2026, 24 min.
DIRECTOR: Elvira Ibragimova
Misguided
USA, 2025, 5.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Mariah Marasco
Mort
USA, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTORS: Larry Ziegelman, Terry Ziegelman
Nobody F#cking Leaves
USA, 2026, 28 min.
DIRECTOR: John Mossman
Pain in the Neck WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 41 min.
DIRECTOR: Paige Ivy
Penguin House: Credit Limit WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Chris Alden
People of the West WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 60 min.
DIRECTORS: Christopher Nataanii Cegielski, Phillip Montgomery, Josh Baker
The Reverb NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 30 min.
DIRECTORS: Jordan Ruttert, Janie Ruttert
Son of a Bikram
USA, 2025, 18.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Johnny Rey Diaz
Strand
USA, 2026, 28 min.
DIR: Austin Gorski
Toxic-ish WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 38 min.
DIRECTOR: Corey Grant
The Trinity
USA, 2026, 37 min.
DIRECTOR: Emmanuel Mertis
Witches WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 26 min.
DIRECTOR: Gethin Aldous
Womb Room
USA, 2026, 22 min.
DIRECTOR: Nicole Treston Abranian
You Are Here WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 30 min.
DIR: Mandy Fabian
Zaddies WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 28 min.
DIRECTOR: John Frank Uranday
Zen Room WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Layne Marie Williams
SHORT FILMS
NARRATIVE SHORTS
Aayat WORLD PREMIERE
USA/India, 2025, 16 min.
DIRECTOR: Sonia Bhatia
Achiever
USA, 2026, 13.5 min.
DIRECTOR: CharlieTraisman
All That’s Left WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 10 min.
DIRECTOR: William D. Hellmuth
American Boy WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Jingbei Bai
The Art of Inflation
USA, 2025, 22.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Brett Wietecha
At What Cost? NORTH AMERICA PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 20.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Ant Roberson
Bembé
USA, 2025, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Zayre Ferrer
Beware the Wolves WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 19 min.
DIRECTOR: Alex Bush
Bigote Or (The Happy Anarchy of Bureaucracy)
USA, 2026, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Rafael A. López
Birthday Bird WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 7.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Heather Brumley
Björn WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 16.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Kristofer Pitzek
The Blistering Blundering West WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 15 min.
DIRECTOR: Quinton Buxton
Breathe, Brother, Breathe WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 19 min.
DIRECTOR: Arman Khaghani
Buckets
USA, 2025, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Drew van Steenbergen
Burro
USA, 2025, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Hannah Lerner
Captain Milo WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Darcy Miller
Chloé NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
France, 2025, 18 min.
DIRECTOR: Madeline Stephenson
Clean Getaway
USA, 2025, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Patricia Rigney
Conflicting Reports WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 20 min.
DIRECTOR: Jeff Perreca
Cornerman WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 17.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Sam Findlay
Corps-À-Corps WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 8 min.
DIRECTOR: Nikki Kobrick
The Country They Call Life WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 20 min.
DIRECTOR: Grace Sims
Dissection Day
USA, 2025, 15 min.
DIRECTOR: Rachel Thomas Medwid
Dog Years
USA, 2025, 10.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Rex Provost
Don’t Watch Without Me WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Avi Kaye
Dream of Emptiness WORLD PREMIERE
Vietnam, 2026, 26 min.
DIRECTOR: Thien Hoang Bui
Dres the Thief WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 3 min.
DIRECTOR: Tomas Vegara
Drones WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 22.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Steve Acevedo
Dropping Off WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 14 min.
DIRECTORS: Will Mayo, Ian Scott McGregor
Early Human Media
USA, 2025, 11.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Adrian Delcan
Escape
USA, 2026, 5 min.
DIRECTOR: Jasmine Russ
Everything Is Brand
USA, 2026, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Brett Weiner
The Expiration of Darius Campbell WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 7 min.
DIRECTOR: Charlie Roth
Extraña
USA, 2025, 7 min.
DIRECTORS: Paloma Ronquillo, Ryan Fajet
Fabric
USA, 2025, 15 min.
DIRECTOR: Frank Sun
Fat WORLD PREMIERE
Ireland, 2026, 19.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Dolores Rice
For Your Future Wife WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Megan Petersen
Foxtails
USA, 2025, 9 min.
DIRECTOR: Alejo Perez-Stable Husni
Godpower WORLD PREMIERE
USA/Nigeria, 2025, 16.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Geoff Browne
Going Home WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 15 min.
DIRECTORS: Alyssa Limperis, Emily Murnane
Good Not Great
USA, 2026, 22 min.
DIRECTOR: Nick von Gremp
Good Vibes Only WORLD PREMIERE
Canada, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Sarah D’Ambrosio
Growing Still NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
New Zealand, 2025, 12.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Alyx Duncan
Hand on Camera
USA, 2025, 25 min.
DIRECTOR: Phillip Alexander
Hi Mom WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 3.5 min.
DIRECTOR: SM Goldberger
Hold For Applause WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 10 min.
DIR: Nicole Treston Abranian
Homecoming
USA, 2026, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Skyler Knutzen
I Love You More Than Dinosaurs
USA, 2025, 15 min.
DIRECTOR: Tyler Coon
In the Kitchen WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Babe Howard
Inshallah WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 18.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Sibel Damar
Inside These Walls
USA, 2026, 18 min.
DIRECTOR: Melissa Fisher
Jacob, Side Smirk, Nose Kiss WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 9 min.
DIRECTOR: Zac Kish
Jasmine.Home.Mother.
USA/UK/Lithuania, 2026, 15 min.
DIRECTOR: Ugnė Skonsmanaitė
Just My Luck
USA, 2025, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Nicholas Pitts
Kill the Macoui NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
France, 2025, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Mathieu Le Roux
King of Games
USA, 2025, 9 min.
DIRECTOR: Tyler Cino Maradiaga
Las Hadas de la Sombra
USA, 2026, 21 min.
DIRECTOR: Ryan Jenkins
Late Shift
USA, 2026, 8 min.
DIRECTOR: Britta Johnson
Less Than Nothing U.S. PREMIERE
Canada, 2025, 14 min.
DIRECTORS: Reagan Henderson, David Michan
Light Go Shining WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Max Olson
Look Out!
USA, 2025, 7 min.
DIRECTOR: Brian Carroll
Lotion
USA, 2026, 10 min.
DIRECTOR: Bri Rodebaugh
Macbeth in Compton
USA, 2025, 19.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Page Kennedy
Magic Is Cool WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 20 min.
DIRECTOR: Barrett L. Shuler
Memorabilia WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 16 min.
DIRECTOR: Patrick Elmore
Mimi the Mime WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 23 min.
DIRECTORS: Nikos Spiridakis, Kit Moynihan
Never to Return
USA, 2026, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Tyler Smith
Nip
USA, 2026, 13 min.
DIRECTORS: Thea Brooks, Taylor Karin
Nourish! WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Casey Bischel
Old Literature WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Silas Gobat
Oma WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 10 min.
DIRECTOR: Shane Bannon
One and Done Tour
USA, 2025, 15 min.
DIRECTOR: Preston Pimentel
One Twenty-Six WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 13.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Dan Lesser
Pale Shelter WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 16 min.
DIRECTOR: Edward Robles
Patchwork WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 14 min.
DIRECTOR: Holly Cook
Pittsburgh
USA, 2025, 17 min.
DIRECTOR: Ali Marsh
Plastic Pastures WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Darren Rubin
Precious Light
USA, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Nickon C. Hemati
Projectionist WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 13.5 min.
DIRECTORS: Pat McCoy, Nicolas Alexandre
Ramon Makes a Movie
USA, 2025, 13.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Haley Kirton
Ready For My Close-Up
USA, 2025, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Elijah Guo
The Resistance WORLD PREMIERE
Belgium/USA, 2026, 13.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Natalie Schwan
River Maid
USA, 2026, 17 min.
DIRECTOR: Colin J. Mason
She’s Nonbinary
Canada, 2026, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Jess McLeod
The Shorn Lamb
USA, 2025, 14 min.
DIRECTOR: Emily Rolen
Shortcut WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 14 min.
DIRECTOR: Christina de Leon
Siren WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 10.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Aja Corynn
Soñado WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 16 min.
DIRECTOR: Darren Alberti
The Souvenir WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 16 min.
DIRECTOR: Adam Tiller
The Spanish Lesson
USA, 2025, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Simone Stadler
Stale Air
USA, 2025, 18.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Sarah Leibman
Stand Clear’ The Closing Doors
USA, 2026, 7 min.
DIRECTOR: Stacey Sargeant
Still Mine WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 6 min.
DIRECTOR: Blythe Haaga
Stuffed WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 8 min.
DIRECTOR: Callie Carpinteri
Take Five WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Daniel Weingarten
Truant WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 19 min.
DIRECTOR: Robyn Wholey
We Didn’t Know Why
USA, 2025, 7 min.
DIRECTOR: Evan Henderson
The Worm’s-Eye View of the Bird
USA, 2025, 6 min.
DIRECTOR: Karen Zipor
You Could’ve Been a Nurse
USA, 2025, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Meg Mateo
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
24 Hour Sanctuary WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 10 min.
DIRECTOR: MG Nava
A Slice of Home
USA, 2025, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Pauline Tran
All Of Us Girls
USA, 2025, 23 min.
DIRECTOR: Yifeng Wang
The Art of Sharing WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 20 min.
DIRECTOR: Ric Serena
The Asset WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 30 min.
DIRECTOR: Ravit Markus
Body of Work WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 25 min.
DIRECTORS: Odin Wadleigh, Cassidy Rast
Call of the Jab WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 16 min.
DIRECTOR: Fletch Power
Cookie, Love
USA, 2025, 9.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Sari Arambulo
Dual Wielder WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 16 min.
DIRECTOR: Julia Boyd
Echoes From the Kitchen: A Tale of Comida and Cultura WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Chef Eddie Garza
Find Your Voice WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 25 min.
DIRECTOR: Roger Love
I Paint Monsters WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 20.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Ben Woolverton
Invinceble
USA, 2026, 23 min.
DIRECTORS: Beth Gage, George Gage
Lady Chief WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Broms
Marigold
USA, 2025, 6 min.
DIRECTOR: Dusty Dale Barker
Mitad WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 23 min.
DIRECTORS: Alyssa Callahan, Claire Gostin
Mike and Billy’s American Pie
USA, 2025, 20 min.
DIRECTOR: Erin P.S. Zimmerman
The Righteous Road Trip WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 40 min.
DIRECTOR: Vanessa Roth
Roll Modelz
USA, 2025, 12.5 min.
DIRECTORS: Oliver Rodriguez Dickson, Yahir Tzec-Carrasco
Stack WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 8 min.
DIRECTOR: Randolph Buffington
Thanksgiving for Angels
USA, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Rebecca Corry
Three Brothers in Shanghai WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 17 min.
DIRECTOR: Nick Andrus
Where We Played: Voices From the Fire WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 9 min.
DIRECTORS: Nat Wolff, Austin Cauldwell
MIDNIGHT SHORTS
A Deal in Liberty WORLD PREMIERE
Canada, 2026, 15 min.
DIRECTOR: Palmer Wells
A Little R&R WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 18 min.
DIRECTOR: Bryan Bockbrader
The Bones Exist
USA, 2026, 14 min.
DIRECTORS: Kelsey Bollig, Matthew DuVall
Breakfast at Berghain WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 14 min.
DIRECTOR: Autumn Palen
The Candle WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 9 min.
DIRECTOR: Ren Ariel Sano
The Death of Therapy
USA, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Jared Hirsch
The Deep Vessel WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 20 min.
DIRECTOR: Sean Cruser
Demon Dog WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Vanessa Newell
Dual
USA, 2025, 20 min.
DIRECTORS: Nitasha Bhambree, Declan Mulvey
Four Itchy Boys WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 13 min.
DIRECTOR: Andrew Hebert
House Cat
USA, 2026, 14.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Kyle Spleiss
The Intimacy Coordinator
USA, 2026, 15 min.
DIRECTORS: Jack Mullany, Terry Mullany
Into the Static WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 6 min.
DIRECTORS: The Burbank Brothers
Knifeman
USA, 2025, 14.5 min.
DIRECTOR: MP Hayes
Lady Puritan
USA, 2026, 15.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Gustine Füdickar, Justin Streichman
The Last Cheap House U.S. PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 10.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Meg Favreau
Legend Has It
Canada, 2025, 16.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Thomas Lorber
The McRoommate
USA, 2025, 1.5 min.
DIRECTOR: The Perez Bros
Mimic
USA, 2024, 6 min.
DIRECTOR: Thomas Hindy
Physical Touch
USA, 2025, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Kendra Baude
Playtime WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 3 min.
DIRECTOR: Paul Hollingsworth
Pleasure-Seeking
Australia, 2025, 14.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Michaela Holmes
The Shed WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 7 min.
DIRECTORS: Christina K. Moore, Judy Choi, Sabrina Almeida, Winnie Kemp
Silent Scream WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Tommy O’Rourke
Starflare WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 14.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Christine W. Chen
Stay In
USA, 2025, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Michael Buran
Tame
USA, 2025, 11.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Will Schneider
Tasty Bones
USA, 2026, 5 min.
DIRECTOR: Ronald Short
This Little Piggy Goes to Market WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 14.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Katherine Connor Duff
Tick
USA, 2025, 14 min.
DIRECTOR: Sam Permar
Ultra Juice
USA, 2025, 3.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Carl Conway Maguire
Waltz for Isabelle U.S. PREMIERE
USA/Mexico, 2026, 15 min.
DIRECTOR: Emiliano Figueroa
DOWNBEAT
1.21 Gigawatts (Director’s Cut)
USA, 2025, 6 min.
DIRECTORS: Erik Deutscher, Tamara Gray
Bus Driver WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 3.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Karen Haglof
Dance On My Own WORLD PREMIERE
Australia, 2026, 3.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Lachlan Dinley Jones
Energy
USA, 2024, 6 min.
DIRECTOR: Greyfaen Eastland
Glass House WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 4.5 min.
DIR: Carla Troconis
Hanalei I Ka Pilimoe WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 3 min.
DIRECTOR: Carolina Espiro
Listen To The Lambs WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 6 min.
DIRECTORS: John W. Snyder, Laura Milosch
Money U.S. PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 4 min.
DIRECTOR: Jordyn Apostolache
Ohio Song (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO) WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 4 min.
DIRECTOR: Rebecca Shapiro
Out of Mind WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 4 min.
DIRECTORS: Kacey Fifield, Varvara Aristakesyan
Pacific Coast Highway
USA, 2025, 4 min.
DIRECTOR: Alfred Thomas Catalfo
Pirate Radio
USA, 2025, 3.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Alfred Thomas Catalfo
Pussy on the Floor WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 3 min.
DIRECTOR: Chris Osborn
Quartermain and Victoria WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 4 min.
DIRECTORS: Summer Purks, Katie Limentato
Second Skin WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 3.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Anil Baral
Shiny Things
USA, 2025, 3.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Tristan Pelletier
You Make Me Wanna Dance WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 3 min.
DIRECTORS: Neil Miguel Watson, Trinity Bliss
DANCES WITH KIDZ PRO SHORTS
Added Flavor WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 11 min.
DIRECTOR: Mike Dowling
Cake
USA, 2025, 14 min.
DIRECTOR: Erick Juarez
Four Square
USA, 2025, 14 min.
DIRECTOR: Eli Staub
Gotta Get Up and Dance
USA/Singapore, 2025, 2 min.
DIRECTOR: Jenny Hersch
I Got Next
USA, 2026, 17 min.
DIRECTOR: Christopher Baxter
Pan Gyul
Nevis, 2025, 17 min.
DIRECTOR: Juliette Jeffers
Rock, Paper, Destiny
USA, 2025, 17 min.
DIRECTOR: Tess Paras
DANCES WITH KIDZ BY KIDZ SHORTS
The Energy Detective WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2026, 2 min.
DIRECTOR: Sophia Inghilleri
Joy WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 4 min.
DIRECTOR: Owen O’Meara
Let’s Erase Extinction WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 33 min.
DIRECTOR: Andrew Barratt
The Parts We Keep
USA, 2026, 9 min.
DIRECTORS: Hana Marie Kim, Liliana Patel
Rose Tinted Nostalgia WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 28.5 min.
DIRECTOR: David Mahmoudieh
Sol WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2025, 4 min.
DIRECTOR: Paulina Monroy-Freyre
This Or Life
USA, 2026, 4 min.
DIRECTOR: Winslow Burnett
UNPlural “New Home”
USA, 2026, 2 min.
DIRECTOR: Angel Gaeta
ABOUT DANCES WITH FILMS
Now in its 29th year, Dances With Films champions the unflinching spirit at the very core of the independent film scene. With most film festivals relying heavily on celebrity, DWF have relied on innovation, talent, creativity, and sweat equity that revolutionized the entertainment industry. And that reliance continues to prove successful with alumni moving on to write, direct, and produce celebrity-studded vehicles, star in blockbuster movies, and television series, produce multi-million-dollar film and create hot TV shows.
Comments
Loading…