EXTREMELY SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL 2026
Screenings Friday & Saturday, May 29-30 (8PM)
Online Streaming Monday-Friday, June 1-5
Guest juror Adam Sekuler
Sponsored by: Saint Arnold Brewery, Pinball Pizzeria, and Ice House Radio
Screenings and streaming has concluded
Aurora Picture Show presents this annual, eclectic showcase of contemporary short films (3 minutes or shorter) of all kinds from around the world. Featuring a range of creative approaches, expressions, and genres, the 29th annual Extremely Shorts Film Festival includes 34 short films from the United States, Mexico, United Kingdom, France, Portugal, the Netherlands, Australia, China, Nigeria, and Ukraine. Guest juror Adam Sekuler and some of the participating filmmakers will be in attendance for in-person screenings, with post-screening receptions featuring music provided by Ice House Radio DJs, beverages provided by Saint Arnold Brewing, and Pinball Pizzeria. The program will be available to stream at the top of this page Monday-Friday, June 1-5. Program information and award winners are listed below.
Guest Juror Adam Sekuler is a filmmaker, curator, and educator based in Detroit. He currently teaches film at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. His award-winning documentaries The Flamingo (2024), 36 Hours (2019) and Tomorrow Never Knows (2018) have screened at forums and festivals worldwide– including at the Cinémathèque française, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Film Society of Lincoln Center, Anthology Film Archives, Walker Art Center, and the Museum of the Moving Image. As an editor, he's worked with directors Robinson Devor, Courtney Stephens, Pacho Velez, and Stephanie Spray. Sekular is former Program Director of Northwest Film Forum, was Founder and Curator of Radar: Exchanges in Dance Film Frequencies (2013-2018), and is guest programmer for the Pickford Film Center’s upcoming documentary film festival.
Audience Choice Award:
Ya Hanouni Lyna Tadount and Sofian Chouaib (France, 3:00)
While a mother and father put their baby to sleep, a competition arises between them. Who will manage to get the baby to say the first word?
Juror’s Award:
The Sound of Music of the War Vyacheslav (Slavik) Bihun (Ukraine, 2:00)
How does the war sound? How does it feel to be at a frontline?
"There is something quietly devastating about this film from Ukraine. A soldier sits in the space between explosions, listening not to the bombs themselves but to the silence that follows them. The war never leaves the frame entirely, it rumbles somewhere beyond the horizon, low and constant, like weather. But what emerges here is a portrait of attention, of tenderness surviving inside a great catastrophe. In this moment, when the war risks becoming abstraction, the film insists on the fragile humanity still flickering underneath it all." - Guest juror Adam Sekuler
Program:
The Best Film In The World Joshua Van Horn (TX, United States, 2:02)
This is the best film in the world. This is not an opinion. It’s data. You will laugh. You will cry. You will update your Letterboxd at 2 a.m.
23rd and Ely Diva and Lisa E. Harris (TX, United States, 2:04)
Time travelers pop into Houston, Texas and scope out the scene.
Ladi & Hayo Nandini Mahbubani (Nigeria, 2:00)
In a cramped Lagos shop, a man is determined to get the perfect picture for his American visa, and tests the patience of a weary photographer.
The Bookshop Matthew Harris (United Kingdom,1:30)
A reflection on the transformative power of books and the unique atmosphere of independent bookshops as spaces where time dissolves and imagination wanders.
FREE CRADLE Julia Barbosa Landois (TX, United States, 1:21)
An animated poem about oak tree galls and caretaking.
hand to earth, earth to hand Julia Yezbick (MI, United States, 2:20)
Artist Allana Clarke working in her garden and studio.
I found some old footage of a tree Krista Leigh Steinke (TX, United States, 3:00)
An experimental contemplation of our changing planet. The materiality of film becomes a metaphor for time and the ephemeral nature of the physical world.
Dance Film Kelly Gallagher (NY, United States, 1:07)
Focussing on the spectator of a dance instead of the dancer, this personal film is about the act of watching and what it means to look at someone with love.
Ya Hanouni Lyna Tadount and Sofian Chouaib (France, 3:00)
While a mother and father put their baby to sleep, a competition arises between them. Who will manage to get the baby to say the first word?
Lachrymose Aras Petrasiunas (Australia, 2:57)
The circular frustrations of a young boy confined to his suburban island.
Pauwi Angel Casuga and Xavier Serratos (TX, United States, 1:31)
Based on the experiences of the animator, this short film explores the difficulties as a first-generation American defining what home is to them.
Choo,choo,choo,choose Xiaohan Sun (China, 2:06)
A mother walks with her little girl, but stops to chat with a neighbor. The girl pulls, shouts, and wonders how they might ever notice her and stop.
Investigation of a Mother Alex Fliszar (MA, United States, 2:42)
A personal documentary in which the director interviews her grandmother while looking for her own mother in her memories.
almost but not so selfassured Petra van der Schoot (Netherlands, 2:57)
An experimental film inspired by a scene from the movie Titanic before its sinking.
touch film Scott Northrup (MI, United States, 2:34)
A camera-less Super 8 flicker film made by hand-processing the film and pairing the chance imagery with a mash-up of pocket-dialed voicemails.
I Was Proud of You William Bryant Rozier (IN, United States, 2:41)
Exploring themes of community and tradition in the lowriding culture through learning how to hop a car.
Oh No, Scottie! Jonathan Kiefer (CA, United States, 2:00)
At the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge, what did he just see?
GODZILLA’S DAY OFF! Myra Sito Velasquez (NY, United States, 2:47)
Even monsters need to chillax!
Shirime Nathan Bayless (TX, United States, 0:48)
A man encounters something strange while walking alone in the city one night...
The Postman Gavin Irvine (United Kingdom, 1:14)
When a postman delivers a letter to the wrong address, he discovers a quicker mode of transport than foot… But will any mail ever be delivered again?
Pixielation Kyle Silfer (NM, United States, 3:00)
An In-Game-Boy-camera experimentation with pixilation, video feedback, and stop-motion with a Wurlitzer organ score.
94 seconds of ‘94 (uncut) Lori Felker (IL, United States, 1:37)
Warning: Meaning alters daily. 94 uncut seconds of MTV recorded in April of 1994 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Moon Honey Tears Virginia L. Montgomery (TX, United States, 1:00)
A surreal film inspired by the classical Grecian myth of the weeping moon goddess, Selene, who yearns for connection with the Earth.
Utopias (Sketch #1) Shanna Maurizi (MI, United States, 3:00)
A coastal area of Mexico that once organically blended local villages and foreign transplants is undergoing an uncomfortable transformation.
sunset Hannah Spector (TX, United States, 3:00)
Watching a sunset in West Texas, one begins to dissolve into the pinks and purples and oranges.
Bookshelf Love Joel Potrykus (MI, United States, 1:30)
A young woman discovers a secret admirer in an unexpected location.
Happy Birthday Vania Vasquez and Cynthia Bergen (TX, United States, 2:24)
When Sofia throws a surprise birthday party for her husband, her protective older sister Lisa has another surprise in mind.
Maelstrom Kathleen M. Quillian (CA, United States, 0:46)
Intense spiritual or emotional turmoil, confusion, conflict. A powerful, disorienting force. These are not normal times.
Too Soft Emily Peacock (TX, United States, 2:20)
A marshmallow appears to recover from the trauma of being roasted. This small act of destruction reveals itself as a quiet reflection on vulnerability.
The Sound of Music of the War Vyacheslav (Slavik) Bihun (Ukraine, 2:00)
How does the war sound? How does it feel to be at a frontline?
BIRTH OF FLORENCIA Aurelio Castaneda (TX, United States/Mexico, 3:00) Florencia was born, but no one can say exactly how or when. A classic genesis story.
Panorama Ausra Linkeviciute (United Kingdom, 2:51)
At a Soviet-era apartment block, we overhear the sound of Lithuania’s daily news layered with domestic sounds from within the flats.
Mobile Devices, 16fps Paul Echeverria (MI, United States, 1:00)
Using Eadweard Muybridge’s photography as source, this film employs glitch-generated visuals to question our relationship with technology
At the Lab Josh Weissbach (CT, United States/Portugal, 3:00)
In the distance, a woman’s fingers are utilized as a musical instrument as a scene unfolds around her and the adjacent musician.
