Short of the WeekShort of the Week

Where the Black Sand Burns is a beautiful short film. I use that adjective in a literal sense – shot amid the natural splendor of the volcanic Canary Islands, featuring unusually striking cinematography, and anchored by a luminous central couple, director Lore Loyens’ ...

High school students often have so many bottled-up, confusing feelings that they rarely express, let alone have the proper forum in which to do so. In Quaker, with a charming approach rooted in kindness and honesty, writer/director Giovanna Molina crafts a narrative that recreates the raw intimacy of the last Quaker meeting for seniors on the ve...

Billy and Riley’s date is going well – so well, in fact, that she invites him back to her place. She can barely hide her excitement at connecting with a fellow Indigenous person, but could this positive reaction be hiding something darker? Writer-director ishkwaazhe Shane McSauby blends romcom, dark comedy, and genre in The Beguiling, crafting an eff...

It’s easy to become preoccupied with people we don’t truly know – the stranger we pass each day, the fellow gym-goer who shares our routine, the kind assistant at a local shop – but often these obsessions are best left at a distance. It’s precisely this kind of infatuation that underpins Max Distance, Marissa Goldman’s off-kilter SXSW comedy, which follows a daydre...

Inspired by our recent feature of MANTIS STREAM! LIKE & SUBSCRIBE – which screened at SXSW in 2026 – we’re turning our&n...