Student Filmmaker Showcase
Shorts Package
K-12 Division
Where We Left Off
2025, PG-13, US, Drama, 10 minutes
Florida Premiere
Director: Hunter Nickless
Producer: Hunter Nickless
Writer: Sofia Xavier
Cast: Hunter Nickless, Sofia Xavier
Childhood sweethearts Vivian and Grant grew up believing they had their future all planned out. But when a secret comes to life, their plans to attend the same college — and live out their happily ever after — are upended.
Pulpitum
2025, NR, US, Science Fiction, 15 minutes
Florida Premiere
Director: Caleb Reese Paul
Writer: Caleb Reese Paul
Cast: Carly Gold, Martin Fisher, Hudson Paul, Johanna Putnam
Determined to find her missing sister, Claire investigates her small town’s mysterious church rituals and battles fragmented visions, cryptic encounters, ever-present surveillance and a dangerously unorthodox society.
College/University Division
The Lonely Life of Lint
2024, G, US, Animation, 3:50 minutes
Florida Premiere
Director: Sarah Sklar
Producers: Sarah Sklar, Matt Groening
Writer: Sarah Sklar
A lint creature becomes aware of its isolation and loneliness inside the dryer vent of a local laundromat and sets out to make a friend.
Veil of Valor
2025, NR, US, Drama, 8 minutes
Florida Film
Director: Emily Rice
Producer: Emily Rice
Writer: Emily Rice
Cast: Kalina Karadavis, Milton Lyles, Leah Hayes
The quiet resilience of a military spouse is tested after her husband deploys, leaving her to care for their young daughter and face her own battle with loneliness.
Holy Cow
2025, NR, US, Animation, 2:16 minutes
World Premiere
Florida Film
Director: Karthik Swaminathan
Writer: Karthik Swaminathan
Cast: Alexis Kubin, Daniel Smith
In this animated film, a young boy in India becomes frustrated by all the cows in the road, constantly impeding his way to school. But after he rejects the sacred animal, a holy cow shows up to teach him a lesson.
Wrestle-Off
2024, NR, US, Sports Drama, 19 minutes
Florida Premiere
Director: Sabatino Ciatti Jr.
Producers: Maria-Sara Santoro, Evan Hartney, Max Pearce, Arden Sarner
Writer: Sabatino Ciatti Jr.
Cast: Jillian Rezen, Sam Jacobs, Marlana Dunn, Gus M. Darden, Mason Eaglin
Wrestle-Off is a story of grief, perseverance and quiet resilience as high school senior Alex, fueled by her late father’s passing, returns to wrestling, determined to earn a varsity spot on the all-male team her dad once coached.
Midnight Monsters
2025, G, US, Animation, 2:27 minutes
World Premiere
Florida Film
Director: Lauren Best
Producer: Emma Stapel
Writer: Keely Myers
A baby bunny must overcome her fear of the dark to confront a sinister wolf made entirely of shadows after she believes the big, bad wolf stole her beloved carrot plushie while she slept.
What the Heaven!
2025, NR, US, Dramedy, 13 minutes
Florida Premiere
Filmmakers in Attendance
Director: Richard Yan
Producers: Mahan Malhotra, Lily Kim
Writer: Richard Yan
Cast: Richard Yan, Shine, Price Collier, Alice Irvin, Eliza Bent, Alex Arinkin, Casper M. Wong, Diego Goldfrank, Ashley Zhou
When a Chinese American film student is visited by the ghost of his recently deceased father, the student is not only forced to confront the supernatural but is enlisted by the ghost to resolve unfinished business before he can pass on to the afterlife.
Irrational Geographic
2025, PG, US, Animation, 2:13 minutes
Florida Premiere
Florida Film
Director: Katie Gibbs
Writer: Katie Gibbs
Irrational Geographic follows two animal actors on the set of a wildlife documentary. Despite their ability to converse like human beings, the animals are not always cooperative. Join the film crew as they attempt to capture an intense chase scene between the two.