2021 ShortFest Archive
Short Films
After 16 years of living fully, Billie has rejected the mainstream use of "electrophobes," devices her peers use to combat their negative emotions. When a fire threatens her town, and warnings and reports begin to invade her life, she is forced to reconsider her stance. How much negativity can she take?
In competition for Best International Short.
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.
In competition for Best Midnight Short.
Inside a lab, a robot is created. Like a newborn, it analyses its surroundings with the primitive senses and limited knowledge it has. While exploring such fundamental concepts as distance, weight, light and size, the robot tries to perform basic physical tasks that would resemble natural human motion.
In competition for Best Student International Short.
A sobering and powerful watch, The Long Goodbye imagines a dystopian near future and sees Riz unpack his feelings towards his country.
In competition for Best of the Festival Award and Best Live-Action Short 15 Minutes and Under.
With the help of powerful data-mining technology, customers at Realm, a virtual reality facility, can create virtual facsimiles of real-life places and people. This hyper-personalization is what attracts clientele like Cecily, a young woman wavering between repression and obsession.
In competition for Best Student Animated Short and Best LGBT+ Short.
In the near future, a young working-class Latino is wrongfully arrested. Realizing he has no means of recourse in the fully automated and privatized justice system, he attempts to reach a human who can set things right.
In competition for Best Midnight Short and Best U.S. Short.
A lonely old man pays a visit to Yoruga, one of the last animals on Earth.
In competition for Best Live-Action Short 15 Minutes and Under.