2026 Official Selection: Horror – Short

Runtime: 12m

What if enslaved people came back from the dead as zombies but only ate white people?

• Director(s): David Dylan Thomas
• Writer(s): David Dylan Thomas
• Producer(s): Stephanie Malson, Maurice Gaston
• Key Cast: Davon Cochran, Walt DeShields
• Editor(s): Raquel Davis
• Cinematographer(s): Jalen Ramseur-Williams
• Production Designer(s): Jai Monee
• Sound Designer(s): Timothy Day
• Composer(s): Gangstagrass

Language: English

Country: United States

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True story, beneath Washington Square, an urban park in Philadelphia, lie buried the bodies of hundreds of enslaved people. What if, one night, they all came back as zombies, but they only ate white people?

Source: FILA

2026 Official Selection: Screenplay – Screenplay – Feature Film

When his brother makes a decision that breaks open his life and leaves Taylor utterly alone, he ventures into the chaos of discovering and owning his queerness.

• Writer(s): Daniel Talbott

Language: English

Country: Not Specified

Los Angeles Premiere

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Taylor lives on his own in the house where he was raised, His parents both gone. He travels far out of New Orleans each week to care for his wayward older brother Cody—their family a tightly closed island of two. When his brother makes a decision that breaks open his life and leaves Taylor utterly alone, he emerges from the smallness of his existence and ventures into the chaos and swirl of the French Quarter and greater New Orleans, whose eclectic inhabitants, lost souls,

Source: FILA

2026 Official Selection: Animation – Short (under 20 mins), Arthouse/Experimental – Short

Runtime: 8m

• Director(s): El Comondear
• Writer(s): Jenya Lano
• Producer(s): Jenya Lano
• Key Cast: Jenya Lano
• Editor(s): El Comondear
• Sound Designer(s): Bogdan Lyba

Language: English

Country: United States

World Premiere

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Set after a global digital collapse known as “The Quiet Year”, the film follows a human and a Synth-born as they explore humanity’s long journey and the moment that sparked its awakening. Through their exchange, the Synth learns that humans, AI, and the universe itself arise from the same source of awareness. The story offers a hopeful vision of creation as an ongoing loop—one that continues through every new form of life.

Source: FILA

2026 Official Selection: Animation – Short

Runtime: 12m

Winning takes everything you’ve got

• Director(s): Mike Stamm
• Writer(s): Mike Stamm
• Producer(s): Mike Stamm, Dimos Vrysellas
• Key Cast: Bob Carter, Cadence Winter, Jack Carter, Ray Scarborough
• Editor(s): Mike Stamm
• Cinematographer(s): Mike Stamm
• Production Designer(s): Matt Evans
• Sound Designer(s): Sweet Justice Sound
• Composer(s): Abraham Darwich, Zach Heyde

Country: United States

Los Angeles Premiere

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The Ottoman, a hotshot mechanic and amateur robot gladiator, is looking forward to proving himself in the arena against the reigning Tournament champion and his massive mechanical Scorpion. But when his obsession with winning endangers the lives of his wife and son, the Ottoman must face some harsh lessons about what victory truly requires.

Source: FILA

2026 Official Selection: Screenplay – Screenplay – Pilot/Series

A struggling actor, while navigating his own personal demons, stumbles upon an unexpected source of income and inspiration: reading eulogies for the deceased.

• Writer(s): James Crisp

Language: English

Country: Not Specified

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A struggling actor is hired by a dying bar regular to crash his unwanted funeral and perform a brutally honest self-written eulogy. When the performance shocks the room and reminds him he still has talent, he accidentally launches a bizarre new career giving the dead the final word.

Source: FILA