HollyShorts' Full 2026 Programme

The Essential Guide to HollyShorts 2026

Jul 27, 2026

Executive-produced projects from Zoe Saldaña, Margot Robbie, Barry Keoghan, Idris and Sabrina Elba, Serena Williams and more also headline the 2026 programme.

The HollyShorts Film Festival returns this summer for its 22nd edition, continuing its legacy as one of the world’s premier showcases for short-form cinema. Taking place August 13–23, 2026, at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatres and venues throughout Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, the Oscar®-qualifying festival will present 430 films selected from thousands of submissions from filmmakers around the globe.

Among this year’s headline premieres is Renée Zellweger’s directorial debut They, while Martin Freeman stars in Little Bug, the story of Laika, the first dog to orbit Earth aboard a Soviet space mission. Michael Keaton directs and stars opposite Kyra Sedgwick in Sweetwater, while Alexandra Shipp makes her directorial debut with For Niko, in which she also stars. Vincent Cassel leads the sports drama The Colosseum, and Michael Caine lends his voice to the poetic wartime drama Bobby.

Additional marquee selections include Selah, Lara Everly’s comedy-drama starring Milana Vayntrub; It’s Complicated, written by and starring Iman Karram and executive produced by Zoe Saldaña; and The Sisters of Scott County, featuring Kaitlyn Dever and Ava Phillippe. Michael Gandolfini and Christopher Meloni lead Sophia Meloni’s coming-of-age comedy Chop Cheese, while Lara Condor, Owen Teague and Kaia Gerber star in Get Her Back!, written by acclaimed New York playwright Leah Nanako Winkler and executive produced by Margot Robbie.

Other featured titles include Renée Marie Petropoulos’ Souvenir; See You, Soon, starring Asante Black and Isaiah John; Gregory Kasunich’s Meeting Your Maker, starring Jonathan Kite; Callum Adams’ Townies (or, My Little Town), starring Maren Lord and Michel Gil; and Rachel Olson’s Homebodies, starring Sam Richardson and Martha Kelly.

Other notable live-action shorts include the Jordan Peele-produced horror Spilled Milk, directed by Jared Leaf and starring J. Alphonse Nicholson and Kid Cudi; Charlie Dennis’ The Pigs Underneath, executive produced by Jordan Peele; Alanna Longo’s Am I a Bad Person?; the comedy-horror FruitHead, starring Bradley Whitford; Emily Alpren and Marchelle Bradanini’s Floored, starring Mara Wilson; Hazart’s Stay for the Q+A, starring Jim Cummings; Kendra Jo’s Please Return Your Cart, starring Russell Hornsby and Kimrie Lewis; Aristides Mantilla’s In the Still of the Night, starring Academy Award winner Yalitza Aparicio; and Nell Riley’s Missed, starring Anna Camp.

Among the standout British entries is Joke, directed by Bob Cryer, son of legendary comedian Barry Cryer, featuring an all-star cast including Dame Judi Dench, Stephen Fry and Alison Steadman. Pippa Lore Feldberg Collins’ Gobstopper, starring Mia McKenna-Bruce and Annabel Scholey, is executive produced by Barry Keoghan and Simon Curtis, while BRUVVAS, directed by and starring Katie McGuinness, features Ben Whishaw. Also screening is Darius Norowzian’s Fox, starring Todd Von Joel and Kierston Wareing. Zak Jarvis’ Signal starring Emmy award winner, 2 x BAFTA nominee Christopher Eccleston as Ray, a railway Signalman whose routine night shift turns into a race to save a life after spotting Billy - a distressed young man trespassing on the tracks, played by BAFTA winner Jack Rowan.

Other notable British selections include David Ledger’s sock-puppet comedy Odd Socks, starring Sandi Toksvig and Paterson Joseph; Alex Lanipekun’s Echoes, featuring Ashley Walters, Nathalie Emmanuel and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, and executive produced by Nicholas Pinnock; Sai Karan Talwar’s I Am the Prize, starring Russell Tovey; Still Life, starring Ophelia Lovibond; How to Hide It, executive produced by Idris and Sabrina Elba; Kat Butterfield and Daniel Audritt’s Life Goes On, starring David Bradley; and Catherine Joy White’s documentary Swim Sistas, narrated by Naomie Harris, exploring the relationship between Black women and swimming.

The documentary programme includes The Revolution Against Death from Oscar-nominated director Joshua Oppenheimer; Daniel Straub’s A Short Documentary About a Giant Pencil; and Victoria Trow’s Eructation, following the woman attempting to break the world record for the loudest burp.

Animation highlights include Pigeons, directed by Amos Sussigan and featuring the voice of Andy Serkis, and Stephen P. Neary’s Sundance-winning Living with a Visionary, narrated by James Cromwell. Natasha Lyonne, Yara Shahidi and Daveed Diggs lend their voices to ChikaBOOM!, while Oscar-nominated Butterfly and Academy Award-winning The Girl Who Cried Pearls further strengthen the animated programme. Also screening is Apart, directed by Pola Maneli and written by Academy Award winner Spike Lee, a moving story of two boys whose friendship is tested during apartheid in South Africa. Rounding out the programme is Send Nudes, directed by Student Academy Award nominee David Sick.

The festival’s music video programme includes Gorillaz’s The Mountain, The Moon Cave & The Sad God and Jack White’s Archbishop Harold Holmes, starring John C. Reilly.

Led by Emmy Award-winning producer Jessica Badawi since its launch in 2024, HollyShorts’ Sports programme returns with another exceptional lineup. Serena Williams executive produces Zina, a documentary chronicling the remarkable life and career of tennis pioneer Zina Garrison, while four-time NBA champion Stephen Curry joins two-time Academy Award® winner Ben Proudfoot to co-direct The Baddest Speechwriter of All, exploring the extraordinary life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s trusted lawyer and speechwriter, Clarence B. Jones. Also featured is Grenadye Alaso! 1974–2026, directed by Leo Volcy and executive produced by Grammy Award-winning Haitian producer and DJ Michael Brun alongside U.S. soccer legend Jozy Altidore, celebrating Haiti’s return to the FIFA World Cup after 52 years.

As one of the world’s leading Oscar®-qualifying short film festivals, HollyShorts offers Academy Award® qualification in four categories: Best Short Film Grand Prize, Best Live-Action Short, Best Documentary Short and Best Animated Short, making it a key launchpad for filmmakers seeking recognition on the international stage.

Expanding beyond this year’s official selection, HollyShorts is launching two global film fund initiatives with a combined $40,000 in prizes.

The HollyShorts Film Festival Short Film Fund will award one filmmaker a $25,000 prize package, including a $10,000 production grant from IMGN, a Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K, one-to-one mentorship from acclaimed filmmakers and industry executives, Kodak production support for both the winner and runner-up, and an official world premiere at the 2027 HollyShorts Film Festival.

The festival is also introducing the HollyShorts & Film.io Audience-Validated Competition, presented in partnership with Film.io Studios and the Film.io platform. Open to completed short films, the initiative provides filmmakers with an audience-driven discovery platform where they can build momentum, compete for $15,000 in cash awards, and position future projects for financing opportunities.

Celebrating more than two decades of championing emerging talent and bold storytelling, the HollyShorts Film Festival continues to be a vital force in discovering the next generation of filmmakers from around the world.

As accredited press, Rialto 5:15 will be covering HollyShorts 2026 with reviews, interviews, features and exclusive festival coverage in the lead up to, and throughout, the event.

The Lineup

8:38

1020

¡Que Suene La Banda!

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“Attention is a Drug” Documentary

“CGI” by the Full Circle Boys (official music video)

(0,∞)

#StopAsianKate

300 Feet Tall

32B

45 Years Left

4Girls

A Crime Across Four Landscapes

A Goldfish’s Memory

A Man Who Takes Pictures of Flowers

A MOTHER’S LOVE

A New Inferno

A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching

A Scent

A Short Documentary About A Giant Pencil

A Soil A Culture A River A People

Aaron and His Dad Try to Find Closure & Lucy Celebrates Andie’s Birthday at Universal CityWalk Hollywood

Acid City

Ackee and Saltfish

Addicted to It

Admin

Agnès

Alberta and the Possum

Ali

Am I A Bad Person?

Ambush | Kameen

AMERICA

Anthrax - The Edge Of Perfection (Official Music Video)

Anyone lived in a pretty how town

APART

Archbishop Harold Holmes

Are We Still Married?

Artichoke

Assembly Required

Aurora

B for Boys

baby talk

Back to the Dark Ages

Baggage

Banshee

BEA

Beatport x Miller Mix: Australia

Beatport x Miller Mix: Georgia

Beautiful Girl

Before Anything Happens

Béla Tarr

Benny’s Second Birthday

Beshert

Betty St. Clair

Beware C*ckblocking Ghosts

Beyond The Mind

Big Nose

Birds of Paradise

Birth is For P*ssies

Black Cab

Bleeder

Bleeding Edge

Blondi

Blooky: The Book Who Wanted to be Read

BLOOM

Bobby

Body Song

Boys of Summer

Braving the Night

Bread Will Walk

Breezeblock

BRUVVAS

Bundle

But I’m Your Brother

Butt-Face

Call It All Love

Call Me Crazy

Callback

Camp Oleander

CAN I PUT YOU ON HOLD

Captives

Carpenter Brut - The Misfits / The Rebels

Cecilia Is Only Eight Years Old

Celeste in the Summer

Certain Thomas

Chi Mangia Solo

ChikaBOOM!

Child of the Rouge

Chocolate

CHOKE

Chop Cheese

Christmas Ambulance

Christmas Angels

Clucky’s

Concrete Kids

Contrast Therapy

Copy, Save

cowgirl

Cracked

CRASHCAT

Creators

Crip Club

Crisis Actor

Cruda Verdad Dura Moral

Crystal Mountain

Dark Skin Bruises Differently

Day in the Death

Dear Upstairs Neighbors

Death of a Parent

Degree of Certainty

Delay

Desi Dad

Diana the Huntress

Diego

Dirt

DISC

Do I Know You From Somewhere?

Doctor Death Grip

DON’T BREAK

Don’t Forget to Dance

Down the Length

Drifting, South

Dua Ji

Eat

Echoes

ECHOES BENEATH THE HILL

EDGAR: Enhanced Data Gathering Analysis Robot

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe!

El Frío Que Guía Luz

El Tiguere

ENOUGH

Epic Yarn

ERUCTATION

EUROPA

Everything Must Go

EXTREMIST

Face Punch

FarEye

Fault

FAUX BIJOUX

Fawn

Fennel

Fight for the Fantasy

Firebird

First Out

Fjallferð

FLOOR

FLOORED

Flower of the Dawn

FLY

FOLLOWING

For Niko

Foreign Body

Fox

From Sidney, With Love

FruitHead

Gallina

Gauze

Gender Studies

Get Her Back!

Getar Hero

Gimme

Glitterbomb

Gobstopper

Gorillaz: The Mountain, The Moon Cave & The Sad God

Grenadye Alaso! 1974-2026

Grown

Habibi

Haram Salami

Hazirun

Hector and Cheo

HESPERIA

Hide

HIGH VOLTAGE

Higher Education

HOLY SHIT

Homebodies

Hot Sheet Motel

How Brief

How To Hide It

Hummingbird

Hunting

HYENA

I Am The Prize

I Got My Brother

I THINK ABOUT KILLING YOU

I Wanna Go Home

I Want to Hook Up With Dylan But My Social Score Is Negative Ten Trillion

I’m Glad You’re Dead Now

I’m Not Home

If You Really Love Me, Outlive Me

Imprint

In The Flesh

In The Still Of The Night

Infinite Rifts

Intervention!

It Comes In Waves

It’s All Fine

It’s Complicated

It’s OK, Johnny

Jane

Jeff Hilliard - Love Myself

Jeriflex - “I Choose Today”

Joke

JÓZEFA

Karayr (Cave)

Katya

kaya (ᜃᜌ)

King of the Iron Will

KINK

Kit

KITE

Knitting Club

KPOP Smoothie

La Lucha de Lucía

Last Man Up

Last Stand at Butte City

Laundreams

Laundry Day

Leaving the Light

LEOPARD

Life Goes On

Lift Me Up

Lightning Bug

Listen

Little Bug

Little Chaplin

Little Problems

Living with a Visionary

LOOP

Love Bomb Squad

Lovebug

LUCHA

Lunch Box

Lynyrd Skynyrd “Free Bird” (Official Music Video)

Main Character

Make Sense

Mango Seed 《芒果芯》

MANTIS STREAM! LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE

Mary the Widow

Mataron A Pedro

Meeting Your Maker

MerryGo

Mesopotamia, TX

Metafear

Method

Method Cowboy

Micro Bangs

MIDDLEMARCH: Miss Brooke

Midnight Drop

Miles of Life

MILK BLEB

Million Dollar Man

Miriam

Missed

MOKUNIN 黙認

Mon Taxi

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