USA Tag Archive

Live Action

Taryn Ward Reckons With Disorientating Grief in His Quiet, Contemplative Short ‘NEST’

Immersing audiences in isolating silence, Taryn Ward details crafting his intimate portrait of a man mourning his late brother in his now empty house.

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Live Action, Premiere

Carissa Gallo Navigates Inner Turmoil and External Expectations as a Woman in Shutting Off Drama ‘Someday It Is’

Carissa Gallo explores the quiet tension of inner conflict vs outward perfection as a woman's deep malaise prompts her to flee her life for a desert motel.

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Awards, Documentary

Joshua Seftel Finds the Weight of Absence in the Specific and Small in Oscar-Winning Doc ‘All the Empty Rooms’

Stripping back commentary and even dialogue, Joshua Seftel builds a documentary film about gun violence from silence and the objects children left behind.

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Animation, Awards

How Nathan Engelhardt & Jeremy Spears Turned a “Love-Letter to Stop-Motion” into Oscar-Contender ‘Forevergreen’

Challenged by truth to materials, Nathan Engelhardt & Jeremy Spears developed a unique replacement animation system to give digital assets a physical weight.

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Awards, Live Action

Sam Davis Crafts an Ode to Vulnerability Via Men Who’d Never Dream of Showing It in Oscar-Winner ‘The Singers’

Through wholly unconventional casting, Sam Davis spotlights the unsung talents at the heart of his genre-bending short about men finally being heard, together.

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Awards, Documentary

Craig Renaud Mines 20 Years of War Journalism in Tribute to His Brother in ‘Armed Only With a Camera’

Craig Renaud discusses facing the impossible task of turning a tragedy into a cinematic tribute while wrestling with the ethical boundaries of showing death.

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Live Action, Premiere

A Real Life Marketplace Encounter Leads to the Wildly Entertaining Fever Dream That Is Olivia Accardo’s ‘Baby Tooth’

Olivia Accardo reveals how her encounter with a local seller led to her absurdist comedy short offering a potential boat buyer way more than he anticipated.

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Awards, Live Action

Julia Aks & Steve Pinder Turned Bloody Shame Into Period Parody in Oscar-Nominated ‘Jane Austen’s Period Drama’

Corset comedy, cramps and Academy glory; co-directors Aks & Pinder unpack the pun-inspired joyfully bloody road of their hilarious Oscar-nominated short.

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Film Festival

13 Standout Short Films from Sundance 2026

From familiar names to emerging voices, we dive into the 2026 Sundance lineup to spotlight thirteen must-watch short films.

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Live Action, Premiere

Mylissa Fitzsimmons Navigates the Messy Territory of Performing Adulthood in Two-Hander Motel Drama ‘I’m Not Sure’

Mylissa Fitzsimmons unpacks crafting a predatory game, blocking actor movement in a cramped motel to amplify the tension of every glance and approach.

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Live Action, Premiere

Annika Chavez Turns a Shared Bathtub Into an Uncertain Stage of Fluid Friendship in Her Wry Short ‘Three Minutes’

Annika Chavez breaks down how experimentation within an organic shoot helped her capture the unspoken weight of a life-changing moment shared in a bathroom.

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Live Action

Temperatures & Tensions Rise as a Grifter Faces the Music in Chelsie Pennello’s Hectic Comedy ‘Cherry-Colored Funk’

Orchestrating a symphony of controlled chaos, Chelsie Pennello & Corbett Blair reveal how they used the tiny confines of an ice cream shop set to full effect.

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