Jamarcus Rose & Da 5 Bullet Holes opens with a sobering quote from Huey P. Newton about the fear of dying without meaning, a statement that frames the short film’s intent and its emotional destination. Inspired by true events, writer-director Marcellus Cox delivers a compact, heartfelt drama about mentorship, lost potential, and how quickly hope can be taken away. The film introduces Jamarcus, a talented high school baseball prospect, in his bedroom surrounded by trophies, music blaring as he imagines himself on the mound.
Read MoreBeyond is Calling (2025)
Beyond Is Calling is a strikingly eerie short horror film from director Frank Palangi and writers Christopher Pelton and Clarence Carter, adapted from their own chilling short story. Even in its brief runtime, the film manages to immerse viewers in a tense, unsettling atmosphere, showcasing a dark vision of fear that lingers long after the screen goes black. Palangi’s direction is confident, balancing suspenseful pacing with haunting imagery that elevates the story beyond typical short-form horror.
Read MoreShadows the Clown (2025)
Shadows the Clown is a chilling and inventive short horror film from director Frank Palangi and writer Christopher Pelton, adapted from Pelton’s short story collection Toe In The Water. In this brief but memorable journey, we are drawn into the terrifying world of a young girl whose imagination gives life to a nightmare clown—a manifestation that blurs the line between psychological terror and supernatural horror. The film excels at building tension in a compact runtime.
Read MoreRoom Number 4 (2025)
Frank Palangi’s Room Number 4, written by Christopher Pelton and inspired by the short story collection Toe In The Water, is a suspenseful and psychologically driven short horror that makes its mark in a compact runtime. The film explores the intersection of fear, guilt, and the supernatural, centering on the tension behind a single mysterious door. Palangi and Pelton craft a story that lingers, tapping into the unsettling idea that our past actions can follow us in unexpected—and haunting—ways.
Read MoreWho Hugs the Sea (2025)
In Who Hugs the Sea, Egyptian filmmaker Mahmoud Mahmoud delivers a deeply meditative short that drifts between dream and reality, emotion and abstraction. Known for blending spiritual reflection with cinematic experimentation, Mahmoud—an independent director and screenwriter, member of both the Egyptian Syndicate of Cinematic Professions and the Australian Academy of Cinema & Television—once again uses film as a poetic vessel for human experience. This is not a movie to be “understood” so much as felt. Mahmoud’s storytelling draws inspiration from masters like Tarkovsky, Kim Ki-duk, and Fellini, using silence, symbolism, and shifting time as his tools.
Read MoreSoyboy (2025)
Adrian Hui’s Soyboy is a sharp, unsettling, and oddly tender short film that captures the alienation of a generation drowning in convenience. But what makes this surreal meditation on self-image and disconnection truly linger is the performance by Jack Johnstone as Killian, a performance that’s as raw as it is magnetic. Johnstone commands every frame. His Killian is a product of the algorithm: numb, curated, detached, yet there’s an aching vulnerability beneath his blank stare.
Read More7eventh 7irkle (2025)
Ty Brueilly’s 7eventh 7irkle is not just a short film—it’s an unsettling journey into the subconscious, a fever dream that dares its audience to wrestle with fear, faith, and the fragile boundaries between salvation and damnation. As the eleventh entry in Brueilly’s ever-evolving Shucks Cinematic World, this 16-minute experimental horror short pushes further into the symbolic and surreal, immersing viewers in a kaleidoscope of images drawn from Dante’s Divine Comedy while layering in the filmmaker’s signature raw intensity. From its opening imagery of serpents, owls, and horses to its haunting circus and masked gatherings, the film brims with allegory.
Read MoreSign Your Name (2025)
There’s a moment in Sign Your Name when Xavier Edwards’ character, Artist X, quietly mutters, “I’m evolving as an artist.” It’s a telling line that not only defines his character’s arc but mirrors the film itself, a personal, often intimate short about change, artistic freedom, and staying true to oneself in the face of industry pressure. Inspired by the journey of real-life musical icon Sananda Maitreya, Sign Your Name tells the story of Artist X, a breakout R&B star struggling to break free from the formulaic expectations of his record label.
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