OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

Bite Club (Kim Huynh, 20 mins) A young werewolf named Adron goes looking for his missing brother. He begins his search at the last place his brother was seen, the elusive venue for supernaturals called Bite Club. Adron gets thrown into a dangerous world where vampires and werewolves are not the only ‘supes’ out there.

Catch Your Heart! (YANG, WAN-JING, 4 mins) There is a doll looking forward to love in a special claw machine. The doll always believes that a prince will lead her to a wonderful life. However, the person who is interested in it is a girl. So the doll begins to fight with the girl in order to not be clawed. 

Comic Conventions (Iz Gutierrez, 19 mins, CA) Manny created a comic book about his personal life, he also made a video blog. Manny is also Latinx, therefore, he made the main character in the comic white, so he can sell the idea to Hollywood! 

EXT (Adrian Bobb, 8 mins, CAN) In the snow-covered ruins of 24th century Toronto, AEGIS, a humanoid war machine, leads a team of five robot-bound digital-humans into the the real world (aka the “E-X-T”) to retake an enemy-occupied server installation vital to the survival of their digital homeworld.

Freya (Camille Hollett-French, 16 mins) Jade considers FREYA (her Federally Regulated Enquiry and Yield Assistant) a friend. But when a one-night stand doesn’t go as planned, Jade is forced to question FREYA and the system she represents. Set in the not-too-distant future, FREYA ​will make you second guess your relationship with technology, social media, and The State.

Lonelyboy (David Doucette, 15 mins) A young girl with supernatural powers accidentally befriends a monster. Starring Cali Jennings, Matthew McCulloch

Make A Wish (Dinh Thai, 8 mins, CA) A light-hearted comedy about the sweetest fiancé giving her boyfriend the best birthday present ever. Starring Edward Hong, Josephine Chang, Roman Moretti

Midnight Rose ( Vanessa M. H. Powers, 8 mins, MN) A young superheroine must make a great sacrifice to protect her secret identity when a caring educator takes note of her mysterious injuries and becomes suspicious. Starring: Calli Medley, Emily Boldry, Lee Fillingsness  

Monster Mash (Joy Lai, 3 mins) Even being a monster, still, it deserves true love.

One Last Monster (Gene Kim, 20 mins, NJ) The young, brave but inexperienced Empress Eura of Adin faces her greatest challenge when she is forced to choose between trusting or killing a monster that arrives on Adin with a dire warning.

OUTCAST (Royce Adkins, 14 mins) An ex super solider with chronic asthma fights to prove his worth.

Overkill (Alex Montilla, 15 mins) A film with a comedic take on a familiar setup: when too-woke-for-their-own-good college kids are terrorized by an unstoppable masked killer, the final girl must outsmart him to survive. Only in this movie, the killer literally cannot be stopped (or killed).

Pepper (Kate Felix, 7 mins) Weylon is looking for a hired hand and Fidelma needs the job desperately, but her duties in the dark barn might prove beyond her tolerance. Like Cujo with a feminist twist, this independent, low-budget short film was shot on location in Caledon, Ontario and is the second film from emerging director Kate Felix. 

PEW! PEW! PEW! (Loren Dunn, 12 mins, New York) When Miles tries to rejoin his crew at Sci! Fi! Con!, Anita is having none of it. But before she can send him packing, the devious Lord Moro launches an ambush, forcing these old friends to reunite in an epic, cosplay “blaster” battle! Starring: Mackenzie Astin, Matthew DeCapua, Shannon DeVido, Criena House, & Brian McCarthy

Reality Check (Adam Nelki, 15 mins, UK) Frank, a socially anxious introvert, goes after the help of the renowned psychologist, Dr Rick.

Retrieval (Nick Azzaro, 10 mins) In the year 2143, a young woman confronts her childhood trauma within a virtual reality therapy session. Starring: Sarah Lee Harter, Ryon Thomas, Carli Duda, Sandy Mölling, Janet Carter, Jeff McDonald

Robo Wingman (Peter Bune, Dan Fowler, 5 mins) The dating scene is tough, especially if you’re a revived bioengineered superhuman cyborg law enforcer. For RoboCop, meeting women can be harder than dealing with dirtbags and crimelords. But with the Terminator T-800 as his wingman, he just may be able to meet Ms. Right!

Roughneck (Andrew Hardaway, 14 mins)  A mind-bending exploration of memory and consciousness. In the near future, mankind lives in a world where advanced technology removes negative emotions from the human experience and replaces them with a vision of a perfect human existence. But when a decorated soldier loses his wife, he finds himself experiencing something that shouldn’t be possible… pain. After he can no longer hide his grief from the world, he is targeted as a dangerous outlier, who may hold the fate of society in his hands.

Sundown Trail (Luke Guidici, 14 mins) In a post-apocalyptic world where toxic mushrooms have made the air deadly to breathe, a timid boy must learn to trust a thieving bandit in order to save his dying father.

Superheroes and Me ( Liam Burke and Mark Hellinger, 7 mins, AUS) An affectionate portrait of the many ways that superheroes inspire us. With contributions from superhero stars, comic creators, and costume-clad fans, Superheroes & Me unmasks how these escapist fantasies can bring people together and provide hope in difficult times.

The Grown Up Mermaid (Jason Eksuzian, 16 mins)  A parody of the The Little Mermaid, The Grown-Up Mermaid is a “where are they now” portrait that finds Ariel and Prince Eric slumped into a mediocre marriage and life that neither looks nor feels anything like the magical world “up there” Ariel fantasized about.

The Last Resort (Lance Lucero, 10 mins) A ghost story set in the old west. In a lawless land, Colorado territory 1873, justice will prevail. Sometimes the spirit of a Bounty Killer never dies. Shot on film.

To Be Forgotten (Masa Gibson, 24 mins, NY) A recovering addict trying to erase the online records of his past transgressions gets a call from a mysterious company that claims it can help him be forgotten—not only by the Internet, but by all the people that ever knew him and by the natural world itself. Starring: Ryan Kay

Transfert (Jonathan Degrelle, 13 mins) 1967: IV Reïch. The Germans won the war. ISAAC, a survivor of the concentration camps, is sent by Max, a Nazi officer, in the middle of the Second World War to recover a strange mechanism. But during his quest, he will be facing his worst nightmare …

Unboxed: The Art of Action Figure Photography (Mike J. Marin, 17 mins) Writer/director Mike J. Marin introduces the art medium of action figure photography in this short documentary.

Watershed (Maxime Beauchamp, 14 mins, CAN) While scavenging around an empty city after a water-borne virus has killed off most of the Earth’s population, a lone survivor finds a sliver of hope when she encounters a young Mandarin girl who may be able to chemically manufacture clean water.

Zealandia (Bruno du Bois, 15 mins)  In 2032, Zealandia has become the only virus free country left on earth but at a high cost to its population due to intrusive medical regulations. But, could the bag carried by a fearless woman be the downfall of this oppressive state? 

A Blaster In The Right Hands: A Star Wars Story (Richard de Carvalho, 19 mins, AUS) On the trail of a crashed Imperial Shuttle, two bounty hunters collide over a valuable cargo, only to discover they’re not the only hired guns around.

Duel of the Dyad (Mason Drumm, 3 mins) A fun, stop motion reimagining of JJ Abram’s epic lightsaber battle from The Rise of Skywalker.

Living in Crime Alley (Rob Ayling, 9 mins) A single father struggles to bring up his child, a huge fan of the dark knight, in downtown Gotham, known to citizens as Crime Alley.

Miles: A Spider-Man Fan Film (Tarrell Christie, 24 mins) When Peter Parker disappears after a catastrophic event, 19 year old Miles Morales takes on the mantle of Spider-Man to stop The Shocker from pulling off his next heist.

Star Wars: Origins (Phil Hawkins, 20 mins) Two archeologists make an amazing discovery that has the power to unite the World during a critical moment in history – if they’re not silenced first.

The Beacons Of Gondor (Scott Paterson, 6 mins) Middle Earth is under siege, the Beacons of Gondor must be lit!

The Confessions of the Bat (Ronnie Henry, 10 mins) It is the anniversary of Bruce Wayne’s parents, and he has serious doubts about his calling.

The Other Wayne (John-Paul Nickel, 7 mins, CA) Years ago, Bruce Wayne had a brother who helped him create his iconic crime fighting suit. But why has no one ever heard of this brother? What happened to the other Wayne?

Wild James (AJ Vaage, 11 mins)  On the edge of the wilderness in Northern Alberta, James – living with abilities he doesn’t yet comprehend – must fight for his freedom in a world that refuses to understand him. Rejected for being different, damned to live a life on the run, his feelings denied by his oldest friend, and cornered by men that hate “his kind,” James must take control of his life and embrace his wildness.

Pallidus (Chelsea Jade McEvoy, 14 mins)  The crew of the spaceship Hiraeth discover they are hauling a deadly cargo in this gritty, retro style sci-fi film.

Popped Culture (Spencer Flynn, 5 mins)   After ‘rescuing’ Princess Futura by blowing up her homeworld, Kid Conrad must make things right. A proof of concept for a television show-video game hybrid. 

Zenith Run (Anthony Ferraro, 7 mins)  In A Galaxy Gone Mad A Rookie Bounty Hunter And Embezzler Team Up With A Rouge Hard Driver In The Zenith To Defeat The Mysterious Boss And Save Planet Zigon From The Corporate Hit List. Their Only Hope Is To Make A “Zenith Run”

Jack the Radio: Creatures (Justin Zimmerman, 3 mins)  Jack confronts creatures both real and imaginary on an extraordinary visual animated roller coaster, created with some of the comic world’s finest artists. Jack emerges triumphant, reborn – and the singer of the best band around to boot.

Shock the Monkey: Low Octane (Jennifer Yarbrough, RJ Vinalon, 4 mins) Heavy metal meets Peter Gabriel meets stop-motion animation meets a new comic book antihero, Mister Simian.

Voodoo Doll (Bill Plympton, 3 mins) When a song title doesn’t get used by the time a notebook is full, I make sure it gets transferred to the next one. The phrase ‘voodoo doll’ kept surviving notebooks, but never fitting the cadence of a chorus