4th Annual Dances With Films – NY
Announces lineup of 160 narrative, documentary,
and Midnight features, family films, pilots, and shorts
kicking off the new year
(January 15-18)
Recently cited as one of MovieMaker’s “Coolest” film festivals,
DWF: NY will feature 30 Feature-length films, and
television/web series pilots making World Premieres
Dominik Sedlar’s VINDICTA makes is the Opening Night selection,
and Salvatore Sciotino’s ROOF makes its World Premiere
as the Closing Night selection.
Vindicta, Roof
New York, NY (December 15, 2025) – Dances With Films announced the film lineup for the 4th New York City edition of the bicoastal indie-film focused film festival juggernaut. January 15-18 will kick off the new year with several feature-length narratives, documentaries, and midnight films making their debut, with pilots, family films, and short films also enjoying the singular cinema showcase that DWF provides as part of the only true-indie film festival with a foothold in both Los Angeles and New York City. Dominik Sedlar’s Vindicta is the Opening Night feature selection, and Salvatore Sciortino’s Roof will make its world premiere as the Closing Night selection.
Recently selected by MovieMaker Magazine as one of its “25 Coolest Film Festivals”, as well as being cited earlier in the year by Dread Central as a top 40 festival programming horror/genre films Dances With Films is now entrenched as a go-to film festival platforming true-indies. In less than five years, it has taken its place alongside NYFF and Tribeca as a prime launching pad and showcase for cinema, while introducing fresh, new filmmaking talent on a big stage for audiences and critics.
This year’s highly anticipated DWF NY lineup includes of 157 films, including 20 narrative, 9 documentary, and 4 midnight features, 21 television and streaming pilots, 6 family films, and 97 short films (56 narrative, 15 documentary, and 26 midnight). All screenings will take place at Regal Union Square (850 Broadway).
In addition to Sciortino’s Roof, additional feature length films making their world premieres are Geoffrey Davin’s Aliens Are Coming!! On Monday!!!, Walter Kim’s Banana Split, Colmcille Donston’s By the Grape of God, Peter Odiorne’s The Cereal Aisle Effect, Craig Downing’s Dad Genes, David Michán and Ed Alexander’s The Girl Inside the Photograph, Isabelle Armand and Glendora Collaborative’s Glendora, Ilan Azoulai’s Holy Ghetto, Alexandra Speith’s I Know Exactly How You Die, Nicholas Pineda’s Infirmary, Jamie and Jason Neese’s Kratom: Side Effects May Include, Zach Schnitzer’s Loafers, Dana Reilly’s Our Body Electric, Chloe Lenihan’s Smile… The Worst is Yet To Come, Paul Schwartz’s Stop Time, Sabbuur Ikhlas’ Untouchables: The Story of St. Benedict’s Fencing, and Mirza Esho’s Where Sweet Dreams Die
Television, web series pilots, and episodics making their world premieres include Dan Angelucci’s Bigg County Restorations – Pilot, Blake Sherwyn’s Chet Bond: License to Chill, Ron L. Wilson’s Clear & Far, Lauren Reins’ Enneagram in Movement – “The Achiever”, MJ Bernier and Emily Draper Farther Along, Henry Parker-Elder and Shaun Wu’s Henry By the Hour – Episode 5, Joanna Harmon, Noah Bremer, and Nic Murphy inCharacter – Episode 1: The Birthday, Adrienne Lunson’s Kenji (The Dedication), Mariah Marasco’s mockumentary Misguided, John Mossman’s Nobody F*cking Leaves, Matthew Avant’s Roots & Relics, and Tyler Rubner’s Winnie.
Chosen to be on Moviemaker Magazine’s “Coolest Film Festivals” list for the past two consecutive years, Dances With Films’ rapid growth in New York City along with its current place as L.A.’s top film festival for platforming truly independent filmmaking, makes DWF the only film festival organization offering “discovery” titles in major film festival events in both of those cities. Showcasing brand new work by filmmakers on both coasts, most of which have yet to be seen or picked up for distribution has become a hallmark for Dances With Films’ Founders and Directors Leslee Scallon and Michael Trent.
Scallon and Trent said, “Being at the start of the year for the first time emphasizes fresh starts and kicking off new projects and Dances With Films has always been about discovering new talent and providing a platform for new films to help them get distribution and representation furthering their careers. Our New York City fests share the energy and excitement the city is known for which just emphasizes the thrill of seeing great new work and helping our ever-growing family of filmmakers take their next steps toward realizing their dreams.”
Thursday, January 15 will feature Dominik Sedlar’s Vindicta. The vengeance drama begins when a young girl’s parents are murdered in front of her. After she escapes, she seeks refuge with family friends before embarking on a campaign of revenge towards those responsible for destroying her life. An unlikely connection with a handsome young Nazi Officer brings introduces an unexpected possibility of romance. However, she is still consumed by vengeance at any cost, no matter what or when. The film stars Devon Ross, Jack Bandeira, and Pip Torrens.
Closing Night on Sunday, January 18, will feature the world premiere of Salvatore Sciortino’s Roof. The high tension survival tale focuses on two co-workers who discover they’ve become trapped on the roof of a skyscraper. The inconvenience becomes a fight for survival over the course of a long, hot holiday weekend. As they attempt increasingly dangerous ways to escape and survive, they form a unique and unexpected friendship. The film stars Asif Ali and Bella Heathcote.
Damned If You Do
Among the many notable films in the narrative slate is Evan Metzold and Jake Rubin’s Damned If You Do about a rock star, a tech mogul, and a high-profile activist must rely on an old classmate to try and escape Hell’s grasp before their deal with devil comes due – at their 25th high school reunion. The film’s cast includes Kate Siegel and two-time DWF alumni Mike Flanagan.
Aliens Are Coming!! On Monday!!!, Banana Spilt, The Cereal Aisle Effect
Additional narrative feature films making their world premieres include Geoffrey Davin’s mockumentary Aliens Are Coming!! On Monday!!! which centers on an online group of alien believers who discover more than the reality of the invasion which they’re sure is coming. Walter Kim’s Banana Split follows the sparks between a grieving brother and his sister’s friend when they are unexpectedly forced to share her apartment after her death. Colmcille Donston’s comedy By the Grape of God focuses on two priests on a crazy wine tasting weekend searching for the perfect communion wine. Peter Odiorne’s The Cereal Aisle Effect is a story that serves as a love letter to the American consumer, which in this case are found in a small coastal grocery store during a hurricane that never quite arrives. Zach Schnitzer’s Loafers hearkens back to the mumblecore heyday (even including an appearance by Joe Swanberg) as it follows two best friends navigating the shifting terrain of their relationships when faced with post-grad life’s realities.
Also on narrative world premiere front are Nicholas Pineda’s mystery Infirmary revolving around the disappearance of a security guard disappeared during his first night shift at an abandoned psychiatric hospital. Chloe Lenihan’s Smile… The Worst is Yet to Come is about a couple retreating to California’s Big Bear Lake for a weekend hoping to rekindle their dwindling romantic flame. Paul Schwartz’s Stop Time follows the intertwined stories of a photographer and a theatrical lighting designer over the course of 24 hours in New York City until they meet at the opening of Peter’s gallery show, with unexpected consequences for both of them. From the creators of Taxi Driver and American History X comes Mirza Esho’s Where Sweet Dreams Die, a raw portrait of obsession and rage in modern America, as an Italian-American restaurateur reeling from the loss of his New York landmark, becomes fixated on a Middle Eastern refugee cab driver whom he believes has taken the life he deserved.
The Midnight category’s world premieres include David Michán and Ed Alexander’s The Girl Inside the Photograph where a lonely teenage girl searching for her lost cat begins to uncover the gruesome history of her house – and the possibility that she and her mother could soon be its latest victims. Alexandra Speith’s I Know Exactly How You Die focuses on a hack writer whose slasher-fiction novel manifests in real life. Now he must figure out how to finish his story without getting his protagonist murdered.
Holy Ghetto
The equally world premiere-rich documentary category at DWF NY include Craig Downing’s Dad Genes, which looks at a former sperm donor’s discovery that he’s fathered dozens of children, transforming him from anonymous donor to unconventional family man. Isabelle Armand and the Glendora Collaborative group’s Glendora reveals a stirring tale of identity, heritage, and community in the Deep South. ILan Azoulai’s Holy Ghetto follows four women trafficked and trapped in Tel-Aviv’s red-light district, bound by hope. Jamie and Jason Neese’s Kratom: Side Effects May Include investigates the lethal consequences and regulatory gaps surrounding a plant-based extract found in energy supplements that some claim has cost thousands of lives, found in everyday locations such as gas stations. Dana Reilly’s Our Body Electric follows three elite women bodybuilders competing to be Ms. Olympia, the most coveted muscle show title. Sabbuur Ikhlas’ Untouchables: The Story of St. Benedict’s Fencing is a film about the sport of Fencing that isn’t about the sport of fencing at all.
Enneagram in Movement – “The Achiever”, Chet Bond: License to Chill, Winnie
Well established as a film festival that platforms television, web series pilots, and episodics on the big screen, Dances With Films: NY will emphasize discovery with several world premieres. Those include Dan Angelucci’s Bigg County Restorations – Pilot, which is a long running fictional reality show that takes place at Bigg County Restorations, an antique restoration shop located in scenic Bigg County, USA. Blake Sherwyn’s Chet Bond: License to Chill follows the famous secret agent’s son as he leverages his network to gain employment at American intelligence agency, MI7. Ron L. Wilson’s Clear & Far focuses on two spoiled step-sisters who turn to selling marijuana to make ends meet when their rich parents cut them off. Lauren Reins’ Enneagram in Movement – “The Achiever” blends documentary, dance, and psychology in an innovative exploration of identity, featuring dancers who embody each of the nine Enneagram personality types. MJ Bernier and Emily Draper Farther Along sets up a classic odd couple situation when an uptight perfectionist allows his devil-may-care father, a minister, to move in after his mother dies. Henry Parker-Elder and Shaun Wu’s Henry By the Hour – Episode 5 centers on a 30-something Asian man who rents himself out to people who need a friend.
Additional television pilots, wed series, and episodics making their world premieres are Joanna Harmon, Noah Bremer, and Nic Murphy inCharacter – Episode 1: The Birthday which features ordinary people in stand-alone stories of extraordinary proportions. Adrienne Lunson’s Kenji (The Dedication) focuses on a woman facing the shameful secret of who her son’s father really is and the deal she made with the devil for her his future. Mariah Marasco’s mockumentary Misguided follows a group of misfit guides who lead tourists–and us–through the streets of New York City. DWF alumni John Mossman’s Nobody F*cking Leaves pits a woman with a secret and some powers at her disposal versus the family she ran from years before. Matthew Avant’s Roots & Relics looks at the history a family has history must deal with. Tyler Rubner’s Winnie centers on a former childhood star of a family band who decides to make a comeback.
Chocolate Cake
DWF NY’s strong short films slate features several notable comedians. David J. Foley’s Cry of the Coyote stars Joe List (Netflix’s The Standups, Last Comic Standing), while Nick von Gremp’s Good Not Great features Matt Pavich (Last Week Tonight with John Oliver). Alisha Ketry’s Your Own Flavor stars comedienne Alyssa Limperis (Peacock’s No Bad Days).
Other standout performances include Jack Craymer and Jesse Suchomel’s Chocolate Cake, starring Jaeden Martell (St. Vincent, Stephen King’s It, Knives Out), as well as Britney Young (GLOW, Stone Creek Killer) in Lain Ewing’s short film Performance Review.
In addition, several Broadway alumni appear in the short film program, including Stan Brown (Water for Elephants) in Alexander Jeffrey’s The Old Man at the Bar, and marks David Hull’s (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, The Book of Mormon, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) directorial debut in The Long-Reigning King of Rollercastle Skateland, which features Michael Hitchcock (Nobody Wants This, Best in Show) and Carolyn McCormick (Law & Order).
For more information about the Dances With Films NY film lineup, events, passes, and tickets, go to: https://danceswithfilms.com/.
The 2026 Dances With Films NY official selections:
OPENING NIGHT FEATURE
VINDICTA
Countries: USA/UK, Running Time: 124 min.
Director: Dominik Sedlar
In just one moment a young girl’s world shatters when her parents are murdered in front of her. After fleeing, she seeks refuge with family friends before becoming the embodiment of rage and revenge towards those responsible for destroying her life. An unexpected connection with a handsome young Nazi Officer generates a moment of respite, but she is consumed by vengeance at any cost, no matter what or when.
CLOSING NIGHT FEATURE
ROOF World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 89 min.
Director: Salvatore Sciortino
Two co-workers facing terrible life choices get trapped on the roof of a skyscraper during a long, hot holiday weekend. The inconvenience becomes a fight for survival as they attempt increasingly dangerous ways to escape, while forming a unique and unexpected friendship.
ADDITIONAL NARRATIVE FEATURES
A SIMPLE MACHINE
Country: USA; Running Time: 98 min.
Director: Mark Hoffman
In order to get out of debt, an indecisive young man makes a series of radically frugal lifestyle choices without telling his girlfriend that he’s going to fix up an old bike and go off the grid.
ALIENS ARE COMING!! ON MONDAY!!! World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 67.5 min.
Director: Geoffrey Davin
An online group of alien believers meets in person to wait out the invasion which they believe is coming on Monday. In the process, they find the family they didn’t know they were looking for.
BANANA SPLIT World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 93 min.
Director: Walter Kim
When a scheduling mishap forces grieving photographer Peter to share his late sister’s New York apartment with the bold and chaotic Alice, an unexpected weekend unfolds. As the two Asian Americans clash, bond, and explore the city, they confront identity, loss, and the strange intimacy of shared spaces.
BY THE GRAPE OF GOD World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 96 min.
Director: Colmcille Donston
Two priests embark on a madcap wine tasting weekend in Solvang, CA to find the perfect communion wine only to spiral into a full on identity crisis.
THE CEREAL AISLE EFFECT World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 87 min.
Director: Peter Odiorne
Set in a small coastal grocery store during a hurricane that never quite materializes, The Cereal Aisle Effect is a rogue love letter to the American consumer — a story about strangers, abundance, and the search for meaning in a world that already has everything.
DAMNED IF YOU DO
Country: USA; Running Time: 107 min.
Directors: Evan Metzold, Jake Rubin
After selling their souls to the devil as teenagers, a rock star, a tech mogul, and a high-profile activist must rely on an old classmate to try and escape Hell’s grasp before the contract’s deadline: their 25th high school reunion.
FANBOY
Country: USA; Running Time: 83 min.
Director: Bean McKee
Allen, a socially awkward young man on a personal pilgrimage to Columbus, Ohio, immerses himself in the world of college football in hopes of reconnecting with his estranged father. As the 2014 football season unfolds, Allen becomes lost in a whirlwind of sensory overload and culture shock. With no clear plan, he must decide whether to settle into his new surroundings at his father’s alma mater or take bold, sometimes reckless steps to carve out a place for himself.
GAZELLE
Country: USA/Turkey; Running Time: 100 min.
Directors: Nadir Saribacak, Samy Pioneer
After fleeing political turmoil in Turkey, a music teacher starts a new life in New York, determined to bring his family to safety. As he faces an unforgiving immigration system and the isolation of exile, his sense of time and hope begins to blur. Gazelle is a psychological drama about displacement, endurance, and the quiet resilience of those caught between two worlds.
INFIRMARY World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 85 min.
Director: Nicholas Pineda
In 2023, a security guard disappeared during his first night shift at an abandoned psychiatric hospital. The recovered bodycam footage reveals a series of disturbing events investigators still can’t explain.
KAISHAKU
Country: USA; Running Time: 104 min.
Director: Harry Locke IV
Amidst financial desperation, a struggling mother reluctantly becomes the “spotter” for her friend’s suicide, but when the unthinkable happens, she finds herself entangled in a nightmarish battle between guilt and the supernatural.
THE LEGEND OF JUAN JOSE MUNDO
Country: USA; Running Time: 94 min.
Director: Michael Walker
Set in suburban NY in 1984. Julie Gornick hosts a charismatic, larger than life Spanish exchange student. As he starts hooking up with the girls in her class, Julie falls in love with him. Or what she thinks is love.
LOAFERS World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 87 min.
Director: Zach Schnitzer
Amid a post-grad haze, best friends Isaac and Cameron navigate the shifting terrain of their relationships, grappling with the deeper question of whether their once unbreakable friendship can survive the weight of change.
NO CHOICE
Country: USA; Running Time: 95 min.
Director: Nate Hilgartner
A young woman becomes unexpectedly pregnant and starts having harrowing, prophetic dreams that she will die if she can’t get an abortion.
SMILE… THE WORST IS YET TO COME World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 84 min.
Director: Chloe Lenihan
An LA-based couple grappling with a series of personal and professional losses retreats to Big Bear Lake for a weekend hoping to rekindle their dwindling romantic flame.
STOP TIME World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 78 min.
Director: Paul Schwartz
The intertwined stories of Peter de Vries, a photographer, and Adrianna Maier, a theatrical lighting designer. Both are carrying heavy burdens of sadness: burdens that mutual friends of theirs believe each could lighten for the other. Over the course of 24 hours in New York City their lives circle, until they meet at the opening of Peter’s gallery show, with unexpected consequences for both of them.
THEATER IS DEAD
Country: USA; Running Time: 88 min.
Director: Katherine Dudas
A bright-eyed engineering student ditches circuits for the stage, landing the lead in a prestigious play, but when the drama turns demonic and the theater director starts demanding blood, she realizes this dream role might just be her final act.
WHERE SWEET DREAMS DIE World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 90 min.
Director: Mirza Esho
From the creators of Taxi Driver and American History X comes a raw portrait of obsession and rage in modern America. Luca Brunello, an Italian-American restaurateur reeling from the loss of his New York landmark, becomes fixated on a Middle Eastern refugee cab driver whom he believes has taken the life he deserved. As Luca’s American Dream crumbles, paranoia takes hold, and he spirals into a dangerous delusion—blaming the government and the president for his failures. What begins as quiet resentment erupts into a volatile collision of identity, fear, and desperation on the streets of a divided city.
ZOE
Countries: Italy/Spain/France/UK; Running Time: 101 min.
Directors: Emanuela Galliussi. Dean Ronalds
Zoe, an Italian woman, has all the things that should make a person happy, but she’s not. On Mardi Gras a boy dressed as a wizard grants her a wish at three chances to live the life she’s always yearned for. Zoe discovers herself living in Ibiza, London and Paris experiencing three new lives of “what if”. On this magical journey she’ll reconnect with her inner child finding a balance between body, mind and spirit. On returning home from her adventure, Zoe meets the little wizard only to discover his magic was much more than she could have ever imagined.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
DAD GENES World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 62 min.
Director: Craig Downing
A former sperm donor’s discovery that he’s fathered dozens of children thrusts him into the global spotlight and transforms him from anonymous donor to unconventional family man.
GLENDORA World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 74 min.
Directors: Isabelle Armand, Glendora Collaborative
Set in a remote corner of the Deep South, Glendora reveals a stirring tale of identity, heritage, and community.
HOLY GHETTO World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 83 min.
Director: ILan Azoulai
Four souls trapped in Tel Aviv’s red-light district are intertwined in sex trafficking and addiction. Bound by hope, they embark on a spiritual journey to transcend their personal ghettos.
KRATOM: SIDE EFFECTS MAY INCLUDE World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 78 min.
Directors: Jamie Neese, Jason Neese
Kratom: Side Effects May Include investigates the lethal consequences and regulatory gaps surrounding a plant-based extract found in everyday locations such as gas stations. With gripping stories of victims and the sometimes controversial advocates who argue its benefits, this groundbreaking feature documentary explores the complex narrative of Kratom—an unregulated substance that some claim has cost thousands of lives.
OUR BODY ELECTRIC World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 91 min.
Director: Dana Reilly
Following three elite women bodybuilders competing to be Ms. Olympia, the most coveted muscle show title. Offering a behind-the-scenes look at women sculpting themselves into anatomical works of art, this feature-length film is both a testament to the power of athletics and an intimate portrait of women defying societal expectations.
UNTOUCHABLES: THE STORY OF ST. BENEDICT’S FENCING World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 94 min.
Director: Sabbuur Ikhlas
A film about the sport of Fencing that isn’t about the sport of fencing at all.
VELVET VISION
Country: USA; Running Time: 138 min.
Director: Bart Everly
Filmmaker Bart Everly follows James Bidgood of Pink Narcissus fame as he attempts to shoot again, featuring John Waters, Christian Louboutin and many others.
THE WORK… A CONVERSATION
Country: USA; Running Time: 89 min.
Director: Eve Annenberg
Three friends, 82, 86 and 90 enjoy a possibly last lunch. As it turns out these seemingly staid, tea-drinking Brits were the irrepressible triumvirate who formed a backbone of the formidable Juilliard Drama Division, auditioning, training, hiring, sometimes expelling cultural icons from Kevin Kline and Robin Williams to Wendell Pierce, Laura Linney, Adam Driver, etc. Eve Shapiro, Margot Harley and Elizabeth Smith are BFF’s, lesbians, indomitable,…slightly unfathomable.
ZZASLOW K-427
Countries: USA/Afghanistan; Running Time: 78 min.
Director: Robert Ham
A black Labrador named Zzaslow K-427, the longest-serving mine dog of the post-9/11 era, guides a soldier and a son toward healing. Paired with handler Juan Colón-Estrada through three Afghanistan deployments, Zzaslow’s nose saves lives; years later, he connects Juan with Adam Zaslow, who lost his father on 9/11, forging an intimate story about duty, grief, and an unbreakable bond.
MIDNIGHT FEATURES
ACOLYTE
Country: USA; Running Time: 93 min.
Director: Cameron A. Tubbs
After a mysterious incident, Kai fled his home in rural Appalachia thinking he would never look back. But seven years later, after his mother’s death, he returns hoping to repair his relationship with his estranged brother Russ. As they try to put the past behind them, strange and disturbing things begin happening around their home in the mountains: locals going missing, break-ins, and strange sounds coming from the basement. Soon Kai is forced to confront the dark legacy of their family — and how you can never really escape your past.
THE GIRL INSIDE THE PHOTOGRAPH World Premiere
Country: Canada; Running Time: 108 min.
Directors: David Michán, Ed Alexander
During an investigation into the disappearance of her cat, lonely teenage Freya Lundstrum begins to uncover the gruesome history of her house. Each new piece of information points to one conclusion -inhuman precedence lurking within the walls of 230 Briar Rd. realizing that she cannot defeat the enemy alone, Freya seeks the help of two former occupants. But, time is running out for Freya to save herself and her mother from becoming the house’s latest victims.
I KNOW EXACTLY HOW YOU DIE World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 87 min.
Director: Alexandra Spieth
When his slasher-fiction novel manifests in real life, hack writer Rian Burman has to finish his story without getting his protagonist murdered by a seriously sadistic Stalker who will stop at nothing to have her.
SATURNALIA
Country: USA; Running Time: 85 min.
Director: Daniel Lerch
The year is 1979, and Miriam Basconi has been shipped off to the prestigious Alstroemerias Academy, a preparatory school for America’s elite orphaned children. Miriam must survive the cruel and sadistic behavior of Headmistress Ms. Hemlock. From day one, Miriam can tell something is off with her new home. Now she must discover the truth of what’s happening to her fellow students behind closed doors. But instead, she uncovers the surreal world living and breathing inside of Alstroemerias Academy.
PILOTS – TV & WEB
BIGG COUNTY RESTORATIONS – PILOT World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 17 min.
Director: Dan Angelucci
Bigg County Restorations is a long running fictional reality show that takes place at Bigg County Restorations, an antique restoration shop located in scenic Bigg County, USA. Each week, Pops Bigg tries to restore an antique for a celebrity guest, while his kids Britney and Junior go on a fantastical adventure.
BUNKER TIME!
Country: Canada; Running Time: 20 min.
Director: Justin Miller
In the early 60s – the height of the Cold War – TV host Auntie Pearle wrote, directed and starred in a public-access kids’ show that aimed to prepare children for life underground. Deemed too disturbing to air, the show was buried for years; only now, in even more disturbing times, is Bunker Time! fit to be unleashed on the public. Co-starring comedy icon Colin Mochrie, and puppets!
CHASERS
Country: USA; Running Time: 31 min.
Director: Erin Brown Thomas
A starry-eyed musician chases her crush through an L.A. party while desperately dodging the heartbreaking secret that could shatter her pursuit.
CHET BOND: LICENSE TO CHILL World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 25 min.
Director: Blake Sherwyn
After graduating college, Chet Bond leverages his professional network (his dad’s boy) to gain employment at American intelligence agency, MI7. A surveillance team posing as a documentary camera crew is deployed to make sure his antics don’t compromise the safety of our nation.
CLEAR & FAR World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 19 min.
Director: Ron L. Wilson
Two spoiled step-sisters (Skye and Megan) turn to selling marijuana to make ends meet when their rich parents cut them off. But before their criminal contact agrees to supply them, they must prove their intelligence and resourcefulness.
COMMITTEE ANIMAL
Country: USA; Running Time: 13 min.
Director: Robert Redfield
An overworked and under-appreciated team of misfit designers race the clock to overcome a supply chain crisis and out-of-touch management to meet an impossible deadline. The animal kingdom will never be the same again.
ENNEAGRAM IN MOVEMENT – “THE ACHIEVER” World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 37 min.
Director: Lauren Reins
Enneagram in Movement blends documentary, dance, and psychology in an innovative exploration of identity, featuring dancers who embody each of the nine Enneagram personality types. The Enneagram is a profound and ancient framework that maps nine core personality patterns and the motivations behind them. The pilot follows Haley, a rising New York dancer and type three “The Achiever,” whose identity is built on performance and success. Burned out, injured, and struggling with mounting anxiety and a fear of failure, she stands on the edge of losing everything she’s worked for. When an unexpected creative opportunity challenges her to trade achievement for truth, Haley begins a powerful journey toward vulnerability, authenticity, and self-remembering.
FARTHER ALONG World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 14 min.
Directors: MJ Bernier, Emily Draper
After his mother’s death and being dumped by his boyfriend, an uptight perfectionist allows his devil-may-care father, a minister, to move in.
FORKED
Country: USA; Running Time: 17 min.
Directors: Julia Sears, Carolyn Braver
Forked is a six-episode dramedy web series about a woman navigating sobriety while living at home in the Bible Belt with her religious parents and narrating dragon fantasy erotica audio books in her childhood closet. Until she gets caught.
GOD DAM
Country: USA; Running Time: 3 min.
Director: Abigail Hill
A mockumentary about two beavers that work in a post office.
HENRY BY THE HOUR – EPISODE 5 World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time:24.5 min.
Directors: Henry Parker-Elder, Shaun Wu
A 30-something Asian man rents himself out to five people looking for friendship and connection.
INCHARACTER – Episode 1: The Birthday World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 18.5 min.
Directors: Joanna Harmon, Noah Bremer, Nic Murphy
Each episode of inCharacter features ordinary people in stand-alone stories of extraordinary proportions. All characters are played by actors… except for one. The protagonist. In Episode 1 – The Birthday, we follow four participants as they individually meet their “father” for his birthday, and he has some upsetting news to share.
IMMIGREAT
Country: USA, Mexico; Running Time: 55 min.
Director: Brandon Widener
An immigrant from Mexico who once risked everything for a better life in the U.S. now uses his success to uplift others — a story of resilience, regeneration, and the perpetual power of giving back.
KENJI (THE DEDICATION) World Premiere
Country: Japan; Running Time: 38 min.
Director: Adrienne Lunson
Upon receiving her son’s published book, Kiko decides to tell her life-long best friend Midori about a shameful secret, who her son’s father really is and making a deal with the devil for her son’s future. How far would you go for your child’s future success?
LINDY
Country: USA; Running Time: 26 min.
Director: Nick Collette
A young man’s poor decisions have driven him back to a hometown he has forgotten. Feeling his failures are now behind him, he must confront the life he abandoned as the weight of the world sits just beyond the horizon.
MISGUIDED World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 5.5 min.
Director: Mariah Marasco
In this mockumentary, a group of misfit guides lead tourists–and us–through the streets of New York City, giving eccentric takes on its history while trying to find direction for themselves in the present.
NOBODY F*CKING LEAVES World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 28 min.
Director: John Mossman
A woman with a secret so deep even she doesn’t remember it lives a life of comfort with little memory of her past. But when she is abducted by the family she ran from years before, it all comes rushing back — along with some badass powers she doesn’t have full control of.
PICK ME UP
Country: USA; Running Time: 7.5 min.
Directors: Brian Regal, Nat Anglin
Two gig workers accept a moving job on an app and find themselves stuck in the middle of a messy divorce.
ROOTS & RELICS World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 23 min.
Director: Matthew Avant
Every family has history. Some have a piece of it.
THE WAR ON STRAWS
Country: USA; Running Time: 19 min.
Director: Eleanor Vigneault
A period piece from 2015– a bad year to be a plastic straw. And perhaps a worse year to be in the business of them.
WINNIE World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 35.5 min.
Director: Tyler Rubner
A former childhood star of a family band, who’s fallen out of the limelight tries to make a comeback 9 years after his last public appearance. Set in the late 1960s at the dawn of the counter-culture revolution, Winnie’s success at making it back into the public eye encounters various road bumps along the way; both culturally and domestically for the times have changed and so has his family.
FAMILY FILMS
DUNGEON OF DECEIT World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 15 min.
Director: Chris Edgar
A pre-teen boy who loses himself in video games to escape his parents’ conflict is unexpectedly thrust into the world of an adventure game he’s playing.
ESCAPE: THE TRUE STORY OF MORRIS SCHNITZER
Country: Canada; Running Time: 21 min.
Director: Hector Herrera
In 1941, a teenage Jewish boy, Morris Schnizter, loses his true identity when he flees the Nazis. Escape: The True Story of Morris Schnitzer is the incredible account of how he gets it back.
MACHINE HEART
Country: USA; Running Time: 9 min.
Director: Hilarion Banks
A machine built to be a warrior, is at home on the battlefield but its life is threatened when its heart can’t handle falling in love.
SEE YOU TOMORROW
Country: Japan; Running Time: 9 min.
Director: Keiya Ando
A five-year-old boy wakes to find his beloved dog has died. As he drifts through the moment in a quiet daze, memories of their time together begin to surface—joyful moments, missed chances, things left unsaid—leading him to feel the quiet ache of regret for the very first time.
STRAIGHT LACED
Country: USA; Running Time: 21 min.
Director: Cynthia Gibb
When a conscientious honors student buckles under the academic pressure in her town of overachievers and overearnest parents, she resorts to a desperate choice that leaves everyone in her life rethinking whether getting into the “right” college matters at all.
WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?
Country: USA; Running Time: 6 min.
Director: Sung Eun (Grace) Park
In this animated musical, the main character spends another one of her sleepless nights, contemplating what’s been causing her life go off track– or rather, WHO.
SHORT FILMS
NARRATIVE SHORTS
A BOY LIKE ME
Country: UK; Running Time: 14.5 min.
Director: Deana Taheri
A GAME FOR TWO (EN LEK FÖR TVÅ)
Country: Sweden; Running Time: 14.5 min.
Director: Theodor Solin
AFTERLIFE World Premiere
Country: USA, China; Running Time: 6 min.
Director: Yimeng Wang
AFTER WHAT HAPPENED AT THE LIBRARY
Country: USA; Running Time: 15 min.
Director: Syra McCarthy
AN EVERYDAY OCCURRENCE
Country: USA; Running Time: 14.5 min.
Director: Virginia Hepp
ANIMALS.
Country: USA; Running Time: 22.5 min.
Director: Maya Gray
THE APPLE PICKER’S SON
Country: USA; Running Time: 16.5 min.
Director: Yang Zimik
ARMAN
Country: USA; Running Time: 12.5 min.
Director: Farzad Kiyafar
BEING DEAD SHOULD BE EASY
Country: USA; Running Time: 13.5 min.
Directors: Claire Harris Matson, Drew Brandon Jones
BLOOD OR WATER World Premiere
Country: Canada; Running Time: 19 min.
Director: Kristina Mileska
BUKRA
Country: USA; Running Time: 14.5 min.
Director: Alex Aljouni
CAKE
Country: USA; Running Time: 6.5 min.
Director: Caro Ribeiro
CALL IT FATE
Country: Netherlands; Running Time: 15 min.
Director: Jikkie Schelling
CHOCOLATE CAKE
Country: USA; Running Time: 13.5 min.
Directors: Jack Craymer, Jesse Suchomel
COOL ME DOWN
Country: USA; Running Time: 14 min.
Director: Alexandra Weir
CLEAN GETAWAY World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 11 min.
Director: Patricia Rigney
CRY OF THE COYOTE World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 10.5 min.
Director: David Foley
CURTAINS World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 10 min.
Director: Oskar Peacock
DELIBERATE
Country: USA; Running Time: 14 min.
Director: Marta Roncada
DEPENDENT
Country: Australia; Running Time: 12 min.
Director: Joseph Chebatte
DISSECTION DAY
Country: USA; Running Time: 15 min.
Director: Rachel S. Thomas-Medwid
DOG YEARS World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 10.5 min.
Director: Rex Provost
DON’T TELL MAMA
Country: USA; Running Time: 10 min.
Director: Chloe Leigh King
DRIVING LESSON
Country: Canada; Running Time: 17 min.
Director: Gillian Gordon
ELVIRA
Country: Canada; Running Time: 10 min.
Director: Sarah Segal-Lazar
FARSI WITH MAMAN
Country: USA; Running Time: 10 min.
Director: Omid Iranikhah
FIREFLIES IN THE DUSK
Country: USA; Running Time: 18 min.
Director: Jonathan Hammond
FIX THE FAUCET
Country: USA; Running Time: 10.5 min.
Director: Jennifer Gouchoe
GIFT
Country: USA; Running Time: 6.5 min.
Director: Annika Chavez
GOOD NOT GREAT World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 22 min.
Director: Nick von Gremp
HOMEBODY World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 21.5 min.
Director: Shruti Parekh
HUMAN RESOURCE World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 19 min.
Director: Henry Chaisson
I’M A WINNER
Country: USA; Running Time: 12.5 min.
Director: Randa Newman
KANSAS, 1989
Country: USA; Running Time: 13 min.
Director: Clayton Dean Smith
THE LAST JOB
Country: USA; Running Time: 14 min.
Director: Stuart Valberg
THE LONG-REIGNING KING OF ROLLERCASTLE SKATELAND
Country: USA; Running Time: 13 min.
Director: David Hull
MACHO MAN World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 11 min.
Director: Daniel Cloud Campos
MASCLOOKING
Country: USA; Running Time: 9 min.
Director: Jonathan Hammond
MIRIAM World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 12.5 min.
Directors: Lauren Blumenfeld, Jennifer Chambers
MY FAVORITE MURDERER
Country: USA; Running Time: 9 min.
Director: Tina Carbone
OBVIOUS ISSUES World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 11.5 min.
Directors: Patrick Dooley, Allison Flom
THE OLD MAN AT THE BAR
Country: USA; Running Time: 11.5 min.
Director: Alexander Jeffery
PERFORMANCE REVIEW
Country: USA; Running Time: 11.5 min.
Director: Lain Ewing
RABBIT RABBIT
Country: USA; Running Time: 15 min.
Director: Jennifer Graves
READY FOR MY CLOSE-UP World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 11.5 min.
Director: Elijah Guo
RECESSES
Country: USA; Running Time: 15.5 min.
Director: Dylan Trupiano
SONG OF SILENCE
Country: USA; Running Time: 15 min.
Director: Vasilisa Kuzmina
THE SPANISH LESSON
Country: USA; Running Time: 12 min.
Director: Simone Stadler
STATUS: ACTIVE
Country: USA; Running Time: 9.5 min.
Director: Bob Morley
SUBWAY CRUSH
Country: France, USA; Running Time: 3 min.
Director: Oriana Ng
SUNFLOWER World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 12 min.
Director: Fran Mendez
TURPENTINE
Country: USA; Running Time: 14 min.
Directors: Rita Konopasky, Luke Konopasky
WALTZ FOR THREE
Country: France, USA; Running Time: 18 min.
Director: Oriana Ng
WAR
Country: USA; Running Time: 7 min.
Director: Danny Shepherd
WHERE’S MY PACKAGE?! World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time:10.5 min.
Director: Jesse Cowell
YOUR OWN FLAVOR
Country: USA; Running Time: 11.5 min.
Director: Alisha Ketry
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
BLACK BOYS BEING BEAUTIFUL
Country: USA; Running Time: 5.5 min.
Director: Kelvin Z. Phillips
FIR TRADERS
Country: USA; Running Time: 20 min.
Director: Sara Goldblatt
HER FIGHT, HIS NAME: THE STORY OF GWEN AND ERIC GARNER
Country: USA; Running Time: 30 min.
Director: Brad Bailey
IN EXCHANGE FOR FLESH
Country: USA; Running Time: 15 min.
Directors: Sandro Ramani, Corey Devon Arthur
I SNUCK INTO THE WORLD SERIES
Country: USA; Running Time: 5 min.
Director: Alec Nguyen
MAKING AWARENESS
Country: USA; Running Time: 8 min.
Director: Susan Wasserman
MARIGOLD
Country: USA; Running Time: 6 min.
Director: Dusty Dale Barker
MIKE & BILLY’S AMERICAN PIE
Country: USA; Running Time: 20.5 min.
Director: Erin P.S. Zimmerman
NAAZ
Country: USA; Running Time: 14 min.
Director: Bakhtawar Tagar
PRODIGAL DAUGHTER
Country: USA; Running Time: 19.5 min.
Directors: Nancy Peng, Steven Xiuyuan Chen
REMNANTS
Country: USA; Running Time: 22.5 min.
Director: Michael Catenacci
STICKMAN: ART FOR THE REBEL SOUL
Country: Canada; Running Time: 3 min.
Directors: Kalyn Edworthy, Kimberly Gray
TALK STRAIGHT, DUDA
Country: USA; Running Time: 22 min.
Directors: Eduardo Maia
WE’RE FINE
Country: Ukraine, USA; Running Time: 25 min.
Director: Misha Karpenko
YONSEI
Country: Japan, USA; Running Time: 37 min.
Directors: Rachel Michiko Whitney. Jeff Mizushima
MIDNIGHT SHORTS
A.W.A.R.E.
Country: USA; Running Time: 11 min.
Director: Zack Abramowitz
BLINDSIDED
Country: USA; Running Time: 8 min.
Director: P. Patrick Hogan
BRICK BOY
Country: USA; Running Time: 10 min.
Director: Scott Vasey
CRACKED
Country: USA; Running Time: 5 min.
Director: Jessica Rizk
CROWDED OUT
Country: USA; Running Time: 8.5 min.
Director: Brian Lederman
THE DEATH OF THERAPY
Country: USA; Running Time: 13 min.
Director: Jared Hirsch
DOMESTIC BLISS
Country: USA; Running Time: 10.5 min.
Directors: Jennifer Scott, Nicole Townsend
DRY JANUARY
Country: USA; Running Time: 19 min.
Director: C.J. Arellano
GIMME
Country: USA; Running Time: 14 min.
Director: Steven Schloss
GRIZZLY PEAK
Country: USA; Running Time: 14 min.
Director: Jason Ragosta
HIVEMIND DELUXE
Country: USA; Running Time: 10 min.
Director: Chris Alan Evans
KNIFEMAN
Country: USA; Running Time: 14.5 min.
Director: MP Hayes
LEGEND HAS IT
Country: Canada; Running Time: 16.5 min.
Director: Thomas Lorber
MAD ISLAND
Country: USA; Running Time: 17 min.
Director: Nick Peet
MIMIC
Country: USA; Running Time: 6 min.
Director: Thomas Hindy
MIRROR
Country: China; Running Time: 5 min.
Director: Kathy Hu
MOTHERFACE World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 11.5 min.
Director: Mark Grillo
MY DEAD DAD’S FUNERAL
Country: USA; Running Time: 12.5 min.
Director: Jamie Manelis
RADIOCHROME
Country: USA; Running Time: 12 min.
Director: Ryan Alexander Huang
SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 6.5 min.
Directors: Allison Fan, Fred Midgley
SHAE I
Country: USA; Running Time: 13.5 min.
Director: Ben Fox
STAY IN World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 11.5 min.
Director: Michael Buran
TICK World Premiere
Country: USA; Running Time: 14 min.
Director: Sam Permar
TRAD
Country: USA; Running Time: 12 min.
Director: Dave Bekerman
VIOLET VENDETTA
Country: USA; Running Time: 11 min.
Director: Ted Hayden
YOU CAN’T TALK TO THE DUDE
Country: USA; Running Time: 15.5 min.
Director: Lucas Murphy
ABOUT DANCES WITH FILMS
Now in its 29th year, Dances With Films champions the unflinching spirit at the very core of the independent film scene. With most film festivals relying heavily on celebrity, DWF have relied on innovation, talent, creativity, and sweat equity that revolutionized the entertainment industry. And that reliance continues to prove successful with alumni moving on to write, direct, and produce celebrity-studded vehicles, star in blockbuster movies, and television series, produce multi-million-dollar film and create hot TV shows.