The Oscar®-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival has unveiled the full programme and official poster for its 22nd edition, with an expansive lineup of 430 films spanning narrative, documentary, animation, sports, music videos and emerging voices from around the world.
Running August 13–23, 2026, across the TCL Chinese Theatres and Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, the festival once again cements its position as one of the industry’s leading launchpads for short-form filmmaking and Academy Award® contenders.
This year’s programme is led by an impressive roster of established filmmakers and talent making their mark behind the camera. Renée Zellweger makes her directorial debut with They, while Martin Freeman stars in Little Bug, inspired by the story of Laika, the first dog sent into space. Michael Keaton directs and stars opposite Kyra Sedgwick in Sweetwater, Alexandra Shipp makes her directorial debut with For Niko, Vincent Cassel headlines sports drama The Colosseum, and Michael Caine lends his voice to the wartime drama Bobby.
Executive producers across the 2026 slate include Academy Award winner Zoe Saldaña, Margot Robbie, Barry Keoghan, Idris and Sabrina Elba, Serena Williams, Jordan Peele and Spike Lee, alongside filmmakers and creatives continuing to champion emerging talent through the short film format.
Among the headline premieres are It’s Complicated, written by and starring Iman Karram and executive produced by Zoe Saldaña; Get Her Back!, starring Lana Condor, Owen Teague and Kaia Gerber with Margot Robbie serving as executive producer; The Sisters of Scott County, featuring Kaitlyn Dever and Ava Phillippe; Chop Cheese, starring Michael Gandolfini and Christopher Meloni; Selah, starring Milana Vayntrub; and Homebodies, featuring Sam Richardson and Martha Kelly.
The live-action programme also includes Jordan Peele-produced horror Spilled Milk, starring J. Alphonse Nicholson and Kid Cudi, Charlie Dennis’ The Pigs Underneath, FruitHead starring Bradley Whitford, Floored starring Mara Wilson, Stay for the Q+A with Jim Cummings, Please Return Your Cart starring Russell Hornsby and Kimrie Lewis, In the Still of the Night starring Academy Award winner Yalitza Aparicio, and Missed featuring Anna Camp.
British cinema is strongly represented, led by Bob Cryer’s Joke, featuring Dame Judi Dench, Stephen Fry and Alison Steadman. Other notable UK selections include Gobstopper, executive produced by Barry Keoghan and Simon Curtis; Katie McGuinness’ BRUVVAS starring Ben Whishaw; Zak Jarvis’ Signal, starring Christopher Eccleston and Jack Rowan; Alex Lanipekun’s Echoes featuring Ashley Walters, Nathalie Emmanuel and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett; I Am the Prizestarring Russell Tovey; Still Life with Ophelia Lovibond; How to Hide It, executive produced by Idris and Sabrina Elba; Life Goes On starring David Bradley; Fox starring Todd Von Joel and Kierston Wareing; and documentary Swim Sistas, narrated by Naomie Harris.
The documentary slate includes Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Revolution Against Death, Daniel Straub’s A Short Documentary About a Giant Pencil and Victoria Trow’s Eructation, while animation highlights feature Andy Serkis in Pigeons, James Cromwell-narrated Living with a Visionary, ChikaBOOM! with voices from Natasha Lyonne, Yara Shahidi and Daveed Diggs, Academy Award-winning The Girl Who Cried Pearls, Oscar-nominated Butterfly, Spike Lee-written Apart and Student Academy Award nominee David Sick’s Send Nudes.
Music videos remain a key strand of the festival with official selections including Gorillaz’s The Mountain, The Moon Cave & The Sad God and Jack White’s Archbishop Harold Holmes, starring John C. Reilly.
The festival’s dedicated Sports programme, curated by Emmy Award-winning producer Jessica Badawi, returns with another high-profile selection. Serena Williams executive produces Zina, chronicling the life of tennis pioneer Zina Garrison, while four-time NBA champion Stephen Curry co-directs The Baddest Speechwriter of All alongside two-time Academy Award winner Ben Proudfoot. Also featured is Grenadye Alaso! 1974–2026, executive produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Michael Brun and former U.S. international footballer Jozy Altidore.
Beyond the official selection, HollyShorts is expanding its commitment to emerging filmmakers through two new funding initiatives worth a combined $40,000. The HollyShorts Short Film Fund will award one filmmaker a $25,000 prize package, including a $10,000 production grant from IMGN, a Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K, Kodak production support, industry mentorship and a guaranteed world premiere at the 2027 festival. The newly launched HollyShorts & Film.io Audience-Validated Competition will provide completed short films with an audience-driven discovery platform and $15,000 in cash awards.
As one of the world’s leading Oscar®-qualifying short film festivals, HollyShorts continues to offer Academy Award qualification in four categories—Best Short Film Grand Prize, Best Live-Action Short, Best Documentary Short and Best Animated Short—reinforcing its role as one of the industry’s most influential platforms for discovering the next generation of filmmaking talent.
The complete 2026 programme and official festival poster are available now via HollyShorts ahead of the festival’s return to Hollywood this August.
| 8:38 |
| 1020 |
| ¡Que Suene La Banda! |
| …oh |
| “Attention is a Drug” Documentary |
| “CGI” by the Full Circle Boys (official music video) |
| (0,∞) |
| #StopAsianKate |
| 300 Feet Tall |
| 32B |
| 45 Years Left |
| 4Girls |
| A Crime Across Four Landscapes |
| A Goldfish’s Memory |
| A Man Who Takes Pictures of Flowers |
| A MOTHER’S LOVE |
| A New Inferno |
| A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching |
| A Scent |
| A Short Documentary About A Giant Pencil |
| A Soil A Culture A River A People |
| Aaron and His Dad Try to Find Closure & Lucy Celebrates Andie’s Birthday at Universal CityWalk Hollywood |
| Acid City |
| Ackee and Saltfish |
| Addicted to It |
| Admin |
| Agnès |
| Alberta and the Possum |
| Ali |
| Am I A Bad Person? |
| Ambush | Kameen |
| AMERICA |
| Anthrax – The Edge Of Perfection (Official Music Video) |
| Anyone lived in a pretty how town |
| APART |
| Archbishop Harold Holmes |
| Are We Still Married? |
| Artichoke |
| Assembly Required |
| Aurora |
| B for Boys |
| baby talk |
| Back to the Dark Ages |
| Baggage |
| Banshee |
| BEA |
| Beatport x Miller Mix: Australia |
| Beatport x Miller Mix: Georgia |
| Beautiful Girl |
| Before Anything Happens |
| Béla Tarr |
| Benny’s Second Birthday |
| Beshert |
| Betty St. Clair |
| Beware C*ckblocking Ghosts |
| Beyond The Mind |
| Big Nose |
| Birds of Paradise |
| Birth is For P*ssies |
| Black Cab |
| Bleeder |
| Bleeding Edge |
| Blondi |
| Blooky: The Book Who Wanted to be Read |
| BLOOM |
| Bobby |
| Body Song |
| Boys of Summer |
| Braving the Night |
| Bread Will Walk |
| Breezeblock |
| BRUVVAS |
| Bundle |
| But I’m Your Brother |
| Butt-Face |
| Call It All Love |
| Call Me Crazy |
| Callback |
| Camp Oleander |
| CAN I PUT YOU ON HOLD |
| Captives |
| Carpenter Brut – The Misfits / The Rebels |
| Cecilia Is Only Eight Years Old |
| Celeste in the Summer |
| Certain Thomas |
| Chi Mangia Solo |
| ChikaBOOM! |
| Child of the Rouge |
| Chocolate |
| CHOKE |
| Chop Cheese |
| Christmas Ambulance |
| Christmas Angels |
| Clucky’s |
| Concrete Kids |
| Contrast Therapy |
| Copy, Save |
| cowgirl |
| Cracked |
| CRASHCAT |
| Creators |
| Crip Club |
| Crisis Actor |
| Cruda Verdad Dura Moral |
| Crystal Mountain |
| Dark Skin Bruises Differently |
| Day in the Death |
| Dear Upstairs Neighbors |
| Death of a Parent |
| Degree of Certainty |
| Delay |
| Desi Dad |
| Diana the Huntress |
| Diego |
| Dirt |
| DISC |
| Do I Know You From Somewhere? |
| Doctor Death Grip |
| DON’T BREAK |
| Don’t Forget to Dance |
| Down the Length |
| Drifting, South |
| Dua Ji |
| Eat |
| Echoes |
| ECHOES BENEATH THE HILL |
| EDGAR: Enhanced Data Gathering Analysis Robot |
| Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe! |
| El Frío Que Guía Luz |
| El Tiguere |
| ENOUGH |
| Epic Yarn |
| ERUCTATION |
| EUROPA |
| Everything Must Go |
| EXTREMIST |
| Face Punch |
| FarEye |
| Fault |
| FAUX BIJOUX |
| Fawn |
| Fennel |
| Fight for the Fantasy |
| Firebird |
| First Out |
| Fjallferð |
| FLOOR |
| FLOORED |
| Flower of the Dawn |
| FLY |
| FOLLOWING |
| For Niko |
| Foreign Body |
| Fox |
| From Sidney, With Love |
| FruitHead |
| Gallina |
| Gauze |
| Gender Studies |
| Get Her Back! |
| Getar Hero |
| Gimme |
| Glitterbomb |
| Gobstopper |
| Gorillaz: The Mountain, The Moon Cave & The Sad God |
| Grenadye Alaso! 1974-2026 |
| Grown |
| Habibi |
| Haram Salami |
| Hazirun |
| Hector and Cheo |
| HESPERIA |
| Hide |
| HIGH VOLTAGE |
| Higher Education |
| HOLY SHIT |
| Homebodies |
| Hot Sheet Motel |
| How Brief |
| How To Hide It |
| Hummingbird |
| Hunting |
| HYENA |
| I Am The Prize |
| I Got My Brother |
| I THINK ABOUT KILLING YOU |
| I Wanna Go Home |
| I Want to Hook Up With Dylan But My Social Score Is Negative Ten Trillion |
| I’m Glad You’re Dead Now |
| I’m Not Home |
| If You Really Love Me, Outlive Me |
| Imprint |
| In The Flesh |
| In The Still Of The Night |
| Infinite Rifts |
| Intervention! |
| It Comes In Waves |
| It’s All Fine |
| It’s Complicated |
| It’s OK, Johnny |
| Jane |
| Jeff Hilliard – Love Myself |
| Jeriflex – “I Choose Today” |
| Joke |
| JÓZEFA |
| Karayr (Cave) |
| Katya |
| kaya (ᜃᜌ) |
| King of the Iron Will |
| KINK |
| Kit |
| KITE |
| Knitting Club |
| KPOP Smoothie |
| La Lucha de Lucía |
| Last Man Up |
| Last Stand at Butte City |
| Laundreams |
| Laundry Day |
| Leaving the Light |
| LEOPARD |
| Life Goes On |
| Lift Me Up |
| Lightning Bug |
| Listen |
| Little Bug |
| Little Chaplin |
| Little Problems |
| Living with a Visionary |
| LOOP |
| Love Bomb Squad |
| Lovebug |
| LUCHA |
| Lunch Box |
| Lynyrd Skynyrd “Free Bird” (Official Music Video) |
| Main Character |
| Make Sense |
| Mango Seed 《芒果芯》 |
| MANTIS STREAM! LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE |
| Mary the Widow |
| Mataron A Pedro |
| Meeting Your Maker |
| MerryGo |
| Mesopotamia, TX |
| Metafear |
| Method |
| Method Cowboy |
| Micro Bangs |
| MIDDLEMARCH: Miss Brooke |
| Midnight Drop |
| Miles of Life |
| MILK BLEB |
| Million Dollar Man |
| Miriam |
| Missed |
| MOKUNIN 黙認 |
| Mon Taxi |
| More in Common Part 1 |
| More in Common Part 2 |
| MORTY |
| Mother and Ulysses |
| Muddy |
| My Dog: The Paradox |
| My Girlfriend Turned Into a Worm |
| My Plastic Mother |
| Nail-Biter |
| NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH |
| Never Give Up! |
| Never Tonight |
| Next |
| Night Feeds |
| NO WORRIES |
| Nobody Knows the World |
| Not Valid for Travel |
| Odd Socks |
| One Last Order |
| One More Cup |
| Oneiros |
| PALE SUN |
| PANGEA |
| Pankaja |
| Paper Angels |
| Paper Pilots |
| Papillon (Butterfly) |
| Paving The Way |
| Pencils Down |
| Perfectly Normal People |
| Peter |
| PHANTOM CAROUSEL |
| PIGEONS |
| Playground Director |
| Please Return Your Cart |
| Plumped |
| Poisoned Skies |
| Power Trip |
| Quinn |
| Reflections Under The Electric Sky |
| Remedy in the Rhythm |
| reTIRED |
| Riffel |
| Room of the Absolute |
| Saba |
| Sad and Lovely |
| Sand |
| SANDWICH |
| São Paulo, New York |
| Sauna Sickness |
| SAVAGE |
| Save the Date |
| Scissors |
| Scope |
| Scraps |
| See You, Soon |
| Selah |
| SELFLESS |
| Send Nudes |
| SET PACE |
| SHE CHOSE WAR |
| SHORT KING |
| shut the fuck up, when WE speak |
| Shutterspeed |
| SIGNAL |
| Silver Anniversary |
| Slay The She-Wolves |
| SNACK ATTACK |
| Son of a Bikram |
| Son Of War |
| Souvenir |
| Spill The Frijoles |
| Spilled Milk |
| SPROUT |
| Stalling |
| Stay for the Q + A |
| STEEL BALLET |
| Still Life |
| Stud |
| SUMMER PROJECT |
| Supper |
| Supreme Clientele 2 |
| Susurros |
| Sweetwater |
| Swim Sistas |
| SYNC |
| Tadpole |
| TAINTED LOVE |
| Taji |
| Take Me to Your Merch |
| Talk Me |
| Tash – “Attention is a Drug (Remix)” |
| Temporal Takedown |
| TERM |
| Thanks To Meet You! |
| The Angry Bird |
| The Baddest Speechwriter of All |
| The Baker’s Hotline |
| The Barbershop |
| The Beard |
| The Chimney Sweeper |
| The Color |
| The Colosseum |
| The End Is at Hand |
| The Girl Who Cried Pearls |
| The Going Rate |
| THE GUN |
| The Impression |
| The Inheritance |
| THE INTERVIEW |
| The Intimacy Coordinator |
| The Kalgan Horse |
| The King of the Full Moon Night |
| The Late in Life Guide to Modern Day Lesbianism |
| The Lemonade Stand |
| The Liars of Black Mountain Road |
| The Lovers |
| The Macks – Dually of Man x The Modern Grape |
| The Most Beautiful Girl in the World |
| The Oracle |
| The Pigs Underneath |
| The Portrait |
| The Second Life of Freddie Nole |
| The Seeing Eye Dog Who Saw Too Much |
| The Sisters of Scott County |
| THE SPECTACLE |
| The Ticket |
| The Time My Grandmother Was Held Hostage by Bank Robbers |
| The Turning Point |
| The Unnamed |
| The Veil |
| The Waddles |
| The Walls |
| The Witches of Pool Bottom |
| The Worm |
| Them That’s Not |
| THEY |
| They Haunt Him |
| Thick Skin |
| This Conversation Has Been Removed |
| TIRAMISU |
| TO BITE A DOG |
| Too Romantic |
| Townies (or, My Little Town) |
| Toy Gun |
| Tu Viens D’où |
| Une Fugue (To the woods) |
| UNVEILED |
| Useless |
| Vengeance Is All I Have |
| verbs |
| VERSE |
| Viewfinder |
| Violet and Marlowe Rob a Bank |
| VITAL |
| VULTURES |
| WAIT |
| Water Cooler |
| Wax Girl |
| We Dream In Colour |
| We Were Here |
| Wet Leg – pokemon |
| Weval — Open Up That Door |
| What’s Happiness |
| When the Geese Flew |
| When The Revolution Doesn’t Come |
| When They’re Gone |
| White Agbada |
| Why Do You Hate Me? |
| WildKind |
| With Tapes and Toasts in the Car (Im Auto Tapes und Butterbrot) |
| With Time |
| Woman Land |
| Woman Reclining on Grass |
| YAOGUAI |
| You Tryna Say You Love Me? |
| You’re Not Safe |
| ZINA |
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