A Selection of Short Films Packaged by Theme
Opening Night Presentation
Opening Night Shorts
79 minutes
Film Premieres
Filmmakers in Attendance
Florida Film
Foreign Language with English Subtitles
The 18th annual Naples International Film Festival opens with a showcase of five short films that explore change, connection and loss, including a trumpeter wrestling with family legacy, a dog inspiring love and grief, a Florida man using art to overcome a devastating spinal injury, three retired men waging war against technology and hospice patients facing mortality.
Jazz Infernal
My Dog: The Paradox
Body of Work
We Were Here
Life Goes On
Thursday, October 22 • Artis—Naples
6pm Red Carpet Walk, 7pm Film Presentation
Shorts Package 1
Because We Care
97 minutes
Film Premieres
Filmmakers in Attendance
Juried Film
Florida Film
Foreign Language with English Subtitles
Care takes many forms in these six stories about the relationships that shape us, from a single father navigating his daughter’s adolescence to two ballerinas confronting the stresses and joys of dancing in Miami while showing how relationships help us grow.
Rose
Two Tears
32B - Internal Issues
Daddy's Girl
Father on Fire
Candy Bar
Friday, October 23, 4:15pm
Sunday, October 25, 2:15pm
Shorts Package 2
Unexpected Outcomes
76 minutes
Film Premieres
Filmmakers in Attendance
Juried Film
You never know where life will take you. In these five stories of unexpected turns, a one-hit wonder chases one last concert in Ireland while a former therapist teaches AI empathy as familiar situations veer somewhere surprising.
The Collateral
Emergency Accommodation
Crisis Actor
Nostalgie
The Decision Making Center
Friday, October 23, 11:45am
Saturday, October 24, 7:30pm
Shorts Package 3
The Art of Animation
85 minutes
Film Premieres
Juried Films
From the playful to the profound, these nine films showcase animation’s ability to tell deeply human stories — whether following a penguin’s workout routine, a husband navigating his wife’s vivid hallucinations or characters confronting grief, memory and survival.
The Whistle
Paper Trail
Sunspark
La Fille du Lac
Leg Day
Les Vieux
Living with a Visionary
Plus
Saba
Friday, October 23, 1:30pm
Sunday, October 25, 6:45pm
Shorts Package 4
True Stories: Artists at Work
81 minutes
Film Premieres
Filmmakers in Attendance
Art takes many forms in these three documentaries exploring the lives behind the work, from Cindy Sherman’s experiments with identity to the artisans preserving Carrara’s hand-carving tradition and the women cartoonists bringing their perspectives to The New Yorker.
Cindy Sherman: Picture This
Eterni: The Last Marble Sculptors
Women Laughing
Saturday, October 24, 1:50pm
Sunday, October 25, 11:30am
Shorts Package 5
True Stories: How We Carry On
68 minutes
Film Premieres
Juried Film
Florida Film
These four documentaries explore how people carry forward what matters most, from preserving the personal and professional legacy of beloved illustrator Richard Scarry to a formerly incarcerated man helping others rebuild their lives after prison.
The Second Life of Freddie Nole
Like Father
The Art of Sharing
One Last Order
Friday, October 23, 11:30am
Sunday, October 25, 4:15pm
Shorts Package 6
Student Filmmaker Showcase
85 minutes
Film Premieres
Florida Film
Filmmakers in Attendance
Foreign Language with English Subtitles<
Student filmmakers from K-12 and University divisions bring fresh perspectives to eight heartfelt, funny and imaginative stories, from two musicians trying to sustain both their art and their relationship to a migrant worker whose desperate search for employment leads him to become a literal watchdog.
K-12 Division
Evanescence
The Hard Way Home
The Chip
College/University Division
Franken Struck
Gardeners
Timbertown: The Squirrel and the Lumberjack
Watchdog
Buck and Burrow
Saturday, October 24, 2pm