Official 2026 Selections
Top 100. All winners. One weekend.
These films and scripts were hand-selected by our judges from submissions across the globe — and every single one is an official award winner. This is your guide to festival weekend.
ALL FILMS AND SCRIPTS LISTED BELOW BY ALPHABET
Browse the full lineup, bookmark this page, and we'll see you on the big screen.
October 15–18 · WME Theater Village 8 · Show Low, AZ
A Second Chance
Director: Kyra Crespin
Faith - Short 11:30 Minutes
After surviving a traumatic car accident, 14-year-old Kilah struggles to cope with what she experienced and the memories that continue to haunt her. During a family visit, her grandmother, Abuela, gently draws her back into the warmth of family through cooking, faith, and memories.
A Song of Sorrow
Director : Jorrit Van Der Kooi
Faith - Drama Short 15;30 Min
After losing her young daughter, a grieving mother struggles with faith, purpose, and the weight of memory—until an unexpected new beginning forces her to confront whether life still holds meaning, love, and hope.
BACKGROUND
Writer : Joe Leone
Short Script Drama 11 Pages
A soft-spoken man who spends his life unheard and overlooked discovers, only after his death, that his quiet presence meant more than anyone realized, forcing those he left behind, and himself, to confront the weight of what was never said
SCRIPT
Bawdy Count
Writer : John Kestner
Feature Script 103 Pages
A broken romantic joins a divorce recovery group and realizes he's the only sane person when they reveal their plan to kill their exes.
SCRIPT
Behind Silent Eyes
Directors : William Collinson & Ian Goehring
Documentary - Short 13:16 Min
SynThe True story of Ianu Tebetru - his life and journey, Raised in a Romanian orphanage where he suffered termatic abuse, he believed his dreams had come true when at seven years old, Ianu was adopted by an American couple. But his adolescent years were disrupted by his attachment disorder and delinquent behavior until at age twelve, his adopted parents gave him up to the state and into the care of social services.
Blood Will Have Blood
Director: John Kestner
Dark Humor Short 14:55 Min
An actress returns to the stage to play Lady Macbeth in a local production just as she discovers that her husband is having an affair with one of her best friends, and Lady Macbeth has advice about what she should do next.
CANINE ROYAL
Director : Brian Neill Hoff
Animation - AI Assisted 1Hr 34 min
The Glitz. The Glam, The Greatest Heist of all Time!
'CANINE ROYALE' is a laugh-out-loud animated anthropomorphic spy adventure that follows the world’s most charming canine detective, 00K9, (pronounced Double Oh K nine) as he teams up with glamorous poodle superstar Tinky Bigmoore for a high-stakes mystery in the dazzling, multi-species metropolis of Furrywood! When Tinky’s priceless Pink Diamond dog collar is stolen, shock ripples through the city’s glittering entertainment scene. Devastated, Tinky turns to her influential father, Arthur Wetbottom, a powerful oil tycoon, who calls in elite operative 00K9 from the International Animal Spy Headquarters.
CITIZEN’S REVIVAL
Director : Becca Finley
Documentary Feature 1hr 20min
Citizens Revival is an educational, awareness film first and foremost that lives in community. Much like democracy itself, it is driven by the people: every participant, educator, public servant, and audience member who engages with it. As filmmakers, we did not set out to make a traditional “documentary” as much as to create a living, breathing document that can call in our communities for the much more important work to come
Crowning Achievement
Director : Robert Darwell
Documentary Feature 1hr 47 min
Crowning Achievement, produced and directed by award-winning documentary filmmaker Robert Darwell, is a sweeping, nostalgic portrait of the iconic American institution told through the voices of the women who lived it. Spanning nine consecutive decades—from BeBe Shopp Waring, Miss America 1948, to Madison Marsh Morris, Miss America 2024—the film weaves together intimate interviews with thirteen remarkable titleholders.
EMERGENCY
Director: Jorrit Van Der Kooi
Drama Micro Short 1:40 min
A 911 dispatcher named Lydia receives a distressing call from a confused elderly woman who believes she has been kidnapped and doesn’t know where she is. As Lydia tries to calm her and gather information, the situation becomes tense and unclear, with another voice entering the scene. As the call unfolds, a surprising connection between past and present begins to emerge, forcing Lydia to interpret what’s really happening
EVERY STEP COUNTS
Director: Lori Lyle
Documentary Short 28:21 Min
A 68 year old man tries to finish 100 ultramarathons to honor the memory of his mother.
Evie’s Christmas Gift
Director: Dawn Fields
Drama/Horror 8:30 min
A bratty 10-year-old girl learns a SCARY lesson about opening her gifts before Christmas morning.
Eye for an Eye
Director: Ashley Bowers
Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopian, Neo-Western 20 Min
A scavenger in a post-apocalyptic combine attempts to flea their tyrannical leader's control, but will her sister (their leader) let her.
Fragile Storm
Director: Dawn Fields
Drama/Thriller 10:00 Min
A scared young woman goes to extreme measures to escape the clutches of a terrifying older man only to realize the shocking and heartbreaking truth about why she's really there. A film about one of the deadliest issues of our time.
From Pharm to Table
Writer: Yvette Noel
Horror Short Scrip 7 Pages
We get a look into the all-American family of the late 80s: The Atkins. A time when families were plugged into each other and not a screen. Susan is the heart of the house, and it never skips a beat with her. She is the wife of Steve Atkins and a devoted mother to two teenagers: Billy and Maddy Atkins. Susan runs a tight ship, and with the ever-changing times, she does her best to keep their home a place of peace and safety. She gets a little assistance from the family doctor. What seemed like a miracle pill turned into a tragedy. Her family will never be the same.
SCRIPT
Gone Fishing
Writers: Brandon Salaz, Salvatore Arnoldo
Coming of Age Feature Scrip 108 Pages
A dramatic coming-of-age feature about a confused teenage outcast, Miles, who has no father and grew up idolizing his uncle, David. However, as he gets older, he realizes that his uncle is less than perfect, and the two have a traumatic falling-out. After graduating high school, Miles goes out in search of his uncle, who lives off the grid, hoping to reconcile their relationship. In doing so, he will confront their shared trauma and discover the kind of man he wants to be.
SCRIPT
Hog Heaven : The Pigz Brotherz Story
Director: Scott Simerly Jr
Documentary Short 10:50 Min
For 40 years, the Pigz Brotherz have been a staple of Raleigh's music scene at the iconic Berkeley Cafe, but as the city changes, what happens to the art that built it?
Through the eyes of Danny Squires, the band's charismatic lead singer, we witness a journey of resilience, nostalgia, and transformation, both personal and in the city at large.
Incel
Director: David Stallings
Romantic Drama Short 22:30 min
Cole is a young man who has called himself an incel for years. He's never been with a woman, never been truly seen by one, and he's built a quiet life around the certainty that he never will be. When his coworkers drag him to a strip club for his birthday, he meets Sabrina — a woman whose stage name is Penny, whose stripper persona is one of many quiet performances, and whose attention to Cole reveals something neither of them expected.
IN MONSTER’S HANDS
Writer: Darren W Burch
True Crime Feature Script 120 Pages
A true-crime horror story of a broken police detective searching for a homicidal sexual predator targeting elderly couples in violent home invasions across the country and hiding among Romani Gypsy conmen who prey upon damaged property owners of epic-level natural disasters.
SCRIPT
In the dead of Winter
Director: Rick Aydelott
Documentary Feature 1 hr 33 min
n the Dead of Winter is a documentary that chronicles a decade of the underground heavy metal festival “Dead of Winter Fest,” an annual event that brought together bands and fans from across the country in defiance of harsh conditions and limited resources. Organized by the nonprofit group Keep Children Rockin, the festival became more than just a music gathering—it evolved into a grassroots movement dedicated to supporting youth music programs and preserving the spirit of independent metal culture.
Inherited
Director: Michelle Wolett
Micro short Drama 1:20 min
The beliefs we carry are not always our own. INHERITED uncovers the subtle ways insecurity, shame, and self-doubt are passed down—and the courage it takes to stop the cycle
I’ve Got you
Director: Joshua B Porter
Romantic Drama Feature 1 hr 48 min
A young man’s final wish sends his estranged brothers back to the mountain cabin of their childhood. There, they must confront a painful past as one battles his own demons and the other finds an unexpected chance at love. I’ve Got You is a heartfelt story of grief, forgiveness, hope, and family.
LAST MINUTE SUBSTITUTION
Writer: Joe Leone
Action-Thriller Feature Script 118 pages
A conflicted Iranian captain, FBI Intelligence Analyst, and a US soccer star must stop a global terror network using a World Cup siege to trigger international war and bury a world-changing energy secret.
SCRIPT
LE CROQUEMIDOR
Director: Francis Renaud
Drama Short 18:00 Min
Thirteen-year-old Juliette lives alone in a small house with her mother, who is exhausted by the difficulties of everyday life and the absence of a father.
One morning, Juliette skips school and decides to run away.
LIFE
Director: Jorrit Van Der Kooi
Inspirational Micro Short 1:40 Min
Two teenagers stand at the edge of a forest as an older man signals the start of a race. As they run, the path repeatedly splits, marked by signs like Acceptance, Compassion, Rewards, Past, and Future. Each choice leads them in different directions, shaping their journey in unexpected ways.
Life After
Writer: Autumn Libengood
Short Script 55 Pages Drama
A priest unable to escape his shame. A pastor haunted by her memories. Neither knows how the trauma of their past will affect their future.
SCRIPT
Life Interrupted
Director: Jeff Reynolds
Inspirational Featurette 46:14 min
Life Interrupted is the journey of 5 cancer survivors and caregivers. We hope
to inspire a community of hope and life after the call, you have cancer!
MAKING UNQUIET
Director: Michelle Bauer Carpenter
Documentary Short 25:00 Min
Making Unquiet is a powerful new film that explores the emotional landscape of bipolar disorder—and the profound gaps in understanding that often leave it undiagnosed for years. Through a moving blend of interviews, original music, and visual storytelling, the film invites audiences into a deeply human experience shaped by both struggle and resilience.
Meals That Matter
Director: Stjepan Alaupovic
Documentary Short 22:00 Min
Meals That Matter is an intimate documentary that follows The Joy Bus, a nonprofit delivering chef-prepared, nutritious meals to people navigating cancer. Through reflective, heartfelt commentary from Joy Bus clients, the film offers a glimpse into what nourishment really means.
Measured in Thread
Director : Brian O’Connor
Horror Short 14:44
A victim awakens from a peaceful dream and enters a sterile nightmare as she is forced to listen to her captor recite classic lines of verse while enduring unspeakable cruelty.
Moi, Fabienne
Director: Hamon Keven & Cathelineau Renaud
Drama Short 14:29 Min INTERNATIONAL
Fabienne grew up amidst domestic violence and confinement in a religious boarding school. At 18, she endured a series of assaults and kidnappings, but refused to disappear. On camera, she recounts with dignity her journey of survival and her rebirth through speaking out. Now a renowned casting director,she bears witness for all those who were unable to escape
My Mom the Mouse
Writer: Brian Weilert
Stop Motion script Drama Series
In this poignant stop-motion mini-series, a middle-aged man's late-night kitchen encounter with a mysterious mouse sparks a whimsical, emotional journey through his family history. Blending sharp humor with profound grief, he revisits eccentric childhood memories and unresolved goodbyes to his late mother, navigating a beautifully handcrafted, tactile landscape toward healing, reconciliation, and long-overdue emotional closure.
SCRIPT
Necessary Betrayals: The Lector
Writer: Brian Weilert
Historical Drama Feature Script 111 Pages
Against the backdrop of 1929 Havana, a newly unemployed schoolteacher becomes the "voice" of a restless cigar factory, unwittingly stepping into the crosshairs of an underground revolution and a devastating web of political intrigue, love, and betrayal. Necessary Betrayals is a sweeping historical drama exploring the power of the human voice, the heavy cost of idealism, and the blurred lines between loyalty and survival. It captures a poignant collision between labor, literature, and revolution, exploring how ideas remain the one thing no tyrant can truly tax.
SCRIPT
Night Of Hate
Director: Wolfgang Bodison
Drama Short 16:01 SHOWCASE SCREENING - Not in Competition
After the 16th street church bombing rocks Birmingham's black community, a devoted husband and wife clash over the meaning of justice when grief threatens to break their promises of non-violence and pushes them toward a choice that could cost them everything.
No Strangers
Director: Tyler James Regan
Western Fictional 15:00
In 1847, the Mexican-American War rages across the borderlands. After a harrowing escape from the prejudices of the US Military, an Irish immigrant finds himself an unexpected ally in the desert, where the pair share experiences in two countries that are rapidly changing.
Ocean Child
Writers: Beverly Nault & Marilyn Swick
Fantasy Short Script 25 Pages
A ten-year-old girl in a wheelchair discovers she comes from a mermaid bloodline and must secretly balance life on land with her extraordinary new identity beneath the sea.
SCRIPT
Pickle Boy
Director: Brady Hayes
Comedy/Coming of Age Short 18:17
Lost after college and stuck working as a pickle mascot, journalism graduate Derrick has no idea what his next step is until his conspiracy-obsessed best friend Oliver recruits him for a bizarre investigation. What starts as an absurd mission leads Derrick to rediscover his passion, purpose, and appreciation for the unpredictable chapter of life he’s in.
Pilot- IN MONSTER’S HANDS
Writer: Darren W Burch
True Crime Pilot Script 50 Pages
Pilot episode of a six-part, true-crime miniseries about a homicidal, sexual predator targeting elderly couples in home invasions, while traveling across the country with a criminal Gypsy Crime Clan that otherwise scams damaged property owners plagued by massive monsoons, a historic hurricane, tornadoes, and a killer cyclone.
SCRIPT
PROMISE OF PROTECTION
Writer: Diane Dresback
Medical Mystery Feature Script 109 Pages
A medical mystery thriller. What secrets could drive a father to reach out to his son after 25 years of silence? Joe wants closure—instead, he stumbles into a conspiracy threatening thousands of lives. When he uncovers his father's involvement in hidden experiments, he's thrust into a dangerous world of covert operations and lethal secrets
SCRIPT
RE-CARRY YOUR BURDENS
Writer: Patrick Trejo Jr.
Mystery Drama Script 65 Pages
Trauma needs to be forgotten, or that's what Jeremey Jones thinks, trying to reclaim his life by taking the bait for a dangerous security job, leading him into a scandal that will burn away all that was meant to be forgotten
SCRIPT
ROOMS
Director: Levi Elizaga
Suspense Short 10:45 Min
A curious young woman enters an abandoned mansion and discovers its rooms hold a hidden dimension of truth that spans generations; a truth she may not be able to escape.
Rule Number One
Director: Ron Pekara
Thriller/Mystery Short 9:46 Min
Lightspeed Arcade is the kind of place kids never want to leave — neon lights, endless games, and an employee everyone adores. Alexus knows every machine, every rule, and every regular by name. To the families who visit, she’s the heart of the arcade. To manager Frankie, though, something about her has started to feel… off.
Running on Faith
Director: Marilyn Swick
Inspirational/Faith Short 3:22 Min
This is our original song and music video for the film of the same name, "Running On Faith", about a 17 year old barrel racer as she balances rodeo life, acting, and high school while chasing her dreams with discipline and dedication guided by the 3 G's: God, Grace, & Grit!
Step 19
Director: Brady Hayes
Drama Short 7:00 min
A young man recovering from a devastating injury pushes through pain, anger, and setbacks as he fights to reach the nineteen steps that symbolize everything he fears he has lost
Terminal
Director: Diane M. Dresback
Drama Short 11:22 min
Attending a regular support group for the terminally ill is difficult enough, but when one member goes above and beyond for another, it shows how selfless humans can be.
THE APOLOGIST
Writer: Joe Leone
Dramedy Short Script 13 Pages
A professional “Apologist” paid to deliver life’s hardest truths is hired by his ex-wife to apologize for his own betrayal. When control replaces sincerity, he faces the one conversation he can’t script.
SCRIPT
The Best Horse Show Ever
Writer: Beverly Nault
Coming of Age Feature Script 91 Pages
When a bookish, horse-obsessed tween moves to rural Texas with hopes to fit in, she discovers a horse riding community consumed by the pressure to win. Determined to bring back the fun, she turns her overgrown backyard into a no-pressure horse show of silly games and kooky awards, risking the very friendships and acceptance she’s been trying to earn
SCRIPT
The Encore
Writer: Tony Noyes
Drama Short Script 23 Pages
Rodney was once certain he was destined for greatness. Now finding himself middle aged, the talented but forgotten musician scrapes by playing half-empty bars, getting paid in drinks, and clinging to dreams of the record deal that never came. Living gig to gig and renting from his roommate, Tim, a hospital orderly, Rodney refuses to let go of the belief that one big break is all he needs.
SCRIPT
The Ghost’s Father
Writer: Delrey Pearson
Supernatural Thriller Feature Script 99 Pages
The Ghost’s Father is a prestige supernatural thriller that fuses practical engineering logic with haunting, character-driven horror. Designed as a 2-hour pilot event, it plays like a contained feature film while seeding a serialized season arc. Think Haunting of Hill House meets MythBusters with the emotional weight of Manchester by the Sea
SCRIPT
The Last Train
Director: Jeff Lane
Fantasy Short 7:54 Min
At a desolate train station Grace waits for someone she loves on a train that may never arrive. The train she longs for is no ordinary ride—it’s a haunting journey into a time loop from which no passenger returns. Torn between hope and reality, Grace must choose whether love is worth the cost of never moving forward.
The Lost Lion
Writer: Laura Koons
Drama Feature Script 120 Pages
A 15th century Scotsman is torn between true love and a self-imposed vow to keep the bloodline pure for his future children, causing a war within.
SCRIPT
The Sixty Year Detour
Directors : Ken Feinberg, Giacomo Arrigoni, Kat Hawkes, Craig D. Tollis
Drama Short 21:26 min
The 60 Year Detour began with a simple question: What is the difference between simply existing and truly being alive?
The film follows Luke across six decades as he searches for fulfillment in all the places we’re told to look—success, money, status, relationships, technology, and self-improvement. What interested me wasn’t the idea that Luke had wasted those years, but that perhaps the ambition, love, loss, mistakes, and wrong turns were all necessary. Sometimes what looks like a detour is the journey itself.
The Thousand Year Old Woman
Writer: Delrey Pearson
Mystery Drama Episode 8 Script 52 Pages
After surviving a fatal incident, Hong Seol becomes the host of Jung Bogo, a thousand-year-old soul, drawing the attention of Detective Ha, who soon dies and is reborn as Princess Min, revealing a parallel cycle of reincarnation. As memories, artifacts, and identities from past lives begin bleeding into the present, Seol/Bogo demonstrates growing power while uncovering a hidden system manipulating events across lifetimes—hinted at through attacks, forged evidence, and tarot warnings about a larger force known as the Boss Banker.
SCRIPT
The Thrift Store Dress
Director: Suresh Cedrick Pereira
Romance Musical Feature 1 hr 20 min INTERNATIONAL
In the impoverished Oklahoma Panhandle of the 1930s, a young girl receives an unexpected gift—a second-hand dress that becomes a symbol of hope amid hardship. As relentless dust storms ravage the land and families struggle to survive, an innocent friendship blossoms between the girl and a boy in her classroom
V.E.N. Awaken. Align. Ascend
Director: Ofelia Abi-Ad
Psychological Thriller short 22:52 min
A vulnerable woman searching for belonging is drawn into V.E.N., an exclusive empowerment network led by a magnetic motivational speaker who promises to help women become the best versions of themselves. As she is pulled deeper into V.E.N.’s seductive world of rituals and transformation, the line between empowerment and control begins to disappear. She soon realizes that belonging may come at a price—and becoming who she’s meant to be may cost her identity and free will.
Where He Last Stood
Director: Jeff Lane
Drama Thriller short 9:07 min
After her teenage son Daniel vanishes without a trace, Marlene spends every day searching the forgotten corners of the city where the homeless and addicted struggle to survive. Armed only with his photograph and an unshakable hope, she wanders abandoned lots, alleyways, and derelict buildings, asking strangers the same question she has asked for years: "Have you seen my son?"
