A Los Angeles-based short film festival Salute Your Shorts Film Festival has announced its 8th edition full lineup. Additional to the robust lineup includes a Palm Springs International ShortFest's Young Cineastes Award guts by Margaux Calla Susi, Katie Aselton's Oh, Christmas Tree starring Mark Duplass, a Cannes's Directors' Fortnight selection Lemon Tree, and Cindy Lee's The Last Ranger which recently won The Clover & Maggie Award at Cleveland International Film Festival 2024.
The festival will take place exclusively in person from August 16-18 at the Assistance League Theatre in Los Angeles. Tickets and passes will be available soon.
[Updated] Here is the full lineup for the 2024 Salute Your Shorts Film Festival.
27
DIR. Flóra Anna Buda
Alice is 27 years old today. Even though she is suffocating a bit, she still lives with her parents and tends to live in her dreams to escape her dreary everyday life. After a psychedelic party on a factory roof, she has a serious drunken bike accident. Will this give her the courage to become an adult?'
A Crab in the Pool
DIR. Alexandra Myotte, Jean-Sébastien Hamel
In a run-down neighborhood, Zoe and her little brother Theo are left to fend for themselves. A young adolescent, Zoe is a ball of anger haunted by an intimate terror. Theo, still a child, flees reality into a fantastical world. During a scorching summer day, the two children will have to burst the abscess of their relationship so as not to lose each other.
A Lien
DIR. Sam Cutler-Kreutz, David Cutler-Kreutz
On the day of their green card interview, a young couple confronts a dangerous immigration process.
Any Sign At All
DIR. Faryl Amadeus
Clutching at straws and running on fumes, a desperate young woman’s indecision about the future of her unborn child has her looking for signs from the universe. Stranded at a crossroads, will the future finally reveal its plan?
AUXILIAIRE
DIR. Lucas Bacle
During a night of doubt, Marc, a carer dreaming of becoming a chef, has to admit to Quentin, his friend with a motor disability whom he has been taking care of on a daily basis for years, that he will surely not return to work on the following day.
Beeps
DIR. Kirk Johnson
Sam can't sleep. His bedroom is surrounded on all sides by chirping smoke alarms, the sign of a low battery. So he does what any bleary-eyed problem solver would do...he sets out on an odyssey to find the annoying chirp and in the process, learns about himself, his neighbors and his place in the world.
BITE
DIR. Jorey Worb
After being sexually assaulted by her dentist, a formerly confident young woman endeavors to find the power within herself to stand up to her attacker. Based on the writer/director's personal experience.
Border Hopper
DIR. Nico Casavecchia
When a Latinx filmmaker is offered a dream-job abroad, she discovers a supernatural way to navigate the US immigration system and get the coveted travel permit she desperately needs. But what seems like a magic solution soon shows unexpected consequences.
Chauncey
DIR. Reilly Anspaugh, Daniel Rashid
Zoe is afraid to introduce her new boyfriend to her old stuffed animal, Chauncey.
Children of Light
DIR. Minkyu Kang
In the 1960s, a Korean boy (16), kidnapped and assaulted at a juvenile center on a remote island, must escape with his rival to survive.
Complications
DIR. Ivar Aase
An intimate cam session unexpectedly turns into a suspenseful, life-and-death situation.
Da's
DIR. Chris Aitken
Male pride is put to the test after two adults collide and call upon an unusual method to solve their dispute.'
David Again
DIR. Adam Elliott
'David Again' tells the story of David Dennis, his road to recovery from drug and alcohol addiction, and his lifelong friendship with actor Jon Cryer. It is a story about redemption, the power of friendship, and the promise that it is never too late to ask for help.
Dead Cat
DIR. Annie-Claude Caron, Danick Audet
What were Catherine and Louis thinking when they chose a cat with distinctive white spots? It would have been much easier to replace if they had picked the all-back one! Now, they will have to tell their daughter Sophie that Nugget’s dead. Unless….
Fairplay
DIR. Zoel Aeschbacher
A teenager in search of recognition, a worker ready to do anything to hit the jackpot, a senior executive at the end of his career who wants to prove to himself that he is still alive. Three characters who are losing speed on the competition highway...
Favourites
DIR. Nick Russell
Two parents face an impossible choice when their family camping trip turns deadly.
Female Captive
DIR. Brit Crawshaw, Josh Hayward
A dive inside the mind of a female captive as all the different parts of her fight over what is true and what to do.
FISHMONGER
DIR. Neil Ferron
In this supernatural dark comedy, a pathetic Irish fishmonger must survive a sex pact with an ancient fish creature in order to save his mother's soul from burning in hell.
Flail
DIR. Ben Gauthier
An added farce for the attention economy, Flail follows a distracted personal assistant as she frantically prepares for her boss’s birthday party. With her sullen brother David in tow, Allie careens through a blur of gridlocked parking garages and fast-casual salad chains, all part of her desperate quest to achieve a single thing that she initially set out to do.
Good Condition
DIR. Frank Mosley
Barry's starting over.
guts
DIR. Margaux Susi
Desperate for help, a woman in recovery asks an unlikely stranger on a dinner date.
Hide Your Crazy
DIR. Austin Kase
A young man’s surprise birthday dinner for his girlfriend is not met with the response he was expecting, leading to the most frightful night of their lives.
HOODIE
DIR. Renée Felice Smith, Chris Gabriel
HOODIE is a surreal, mental health dramedy about a seemingly successful young woman’s internal struggle with crippling depression.
ILY, BYE
DIR. Taylor James
Siobhan (Meg Stalter) is a quirky, socially anxious mess who can't seem to keep a job. Thanks to the help of her best friend Gary (Kanoa Goo), she scores an interview with his boss, Mr. Litchfield (Rainn Wilson). When her call to schedule the interview goes to voicemail, Siobhan panics and leaves a series of unhinged messages. Not wanting to lose the interview, she embarks on a chaotic mission to delete the voicemails herself...
Incident
DIR. Bill Morrison
INCIDENT reconstructs a Chicago police shooting from 2018, reassembling the event and its immediate aftermath from a variety of viewpoints, including surveillance, security, dashboard, and body-worn cameras as a continuous, synchronized split-screen montage.
Jane Austen's Period Drama
DIR. Julia Aks, Steve Pinder
England, 1813. In the middle of a long-awaited marriage proposal, Miss Estrogenia Talbot gets her period. Her suitor, the dashing Mr. Dickley, mistakes the blood for an injury, and it soon becomes clear that his very expensive education has most certainly missed a spot.
Learning English
DIR. Jean Liu
Hannah’s first week in the US isn’t going as expected. Rejected by everyone she meets, it seems nobody has time to practice English with her. When she is propositioned by a couple looking for a phone sex participant, she uses the conversation as an opportunity to expand her vocabulary. She quickly realizes that this is a situation where online translators just won’t cut it and she’ll have to dig deep into language skills in order to help this couple cum.
Lemon Tree
DIR. Rachel Walden
At a Halloween carnival, a young father steals a magician's rabbit to impress his ten year old son. The thrill of the petty theft quickly dissolves into reality when the young boy is tasked with getting himself, his father, and his new pet home safe.
Loser
DIR. Colleen McGuinness
LOSER follows 22 year-old ALICE, who works at a frozen yogurt shop, on what turns out to be an unforgettable day of her life.
Makayla's Voice: A Letter to the World
DIR. JULIO C PALACIO
In the heartwarming short documentary, “Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World”, we are introduced to a remarkable young girl whose spirit and determination defy all expectations. Makayla, a black teenage girl, has spent her life grappling with a rare form of autism that rendered her essentially nonverbal. However, her parents, filled with unwavering belief in their daughter's potential, embarked on a transformative journey to discover the true depth of Makayla's inner world.
Martyr’s Guidebook
DIR. Maksymilian Rzontkowski
In "Martyr's Guidebook" Tony is the ultimate good guy—sometimes to a fault. From nabbing the smallest slice of cake in grade school to guiding lost strangers in the city, his kindness knows no bounds. He also shares a flat with a giant Angel.
My Tomato Heart
DIR. Benoît Le Rouzès Ménard
Madeleine is forced to quit her position at the neighborhood grocery store. Except that her job is her whole life; her colleagues, her only family. The quinquagenarian spends her last days of work fighting to save what is near and dear to her heart…
Nepotism, Baby!
DIR. Tij D'oyen
After her nepotism fails her, a fame obsessed young woman fabricates a conspiracy to jumpstart her career.
Noggin
DIR. Case Jernigan
No sugarcoatin’ it, you’ve got brain damage from multiple sclerosis. Your memories are fading so gather everything left in that noggin, like paper and ink and photos and love of course. Start with the foundation and don’t give up! Soon you’ll have a palace.
Oh, Christmas Tree
DIR. Katie Aselton
16 year-old Claire and her father Ben try to recreate a few of their favorite Christmas traditions.
One Happy Customer
DIR. WATTS
Set in the red-light district of a heightened world that mischievously blends live action and animation, One Happy Customer follows the daily routine of an older sex worker. Luring clients in, snatching up their cash, and using her special trick to leave them satisfied—and more importantly, to get them out of her hair as quickly as possible. She’s listless, even bored.
Paper
DIR. Charles Wahl
PAPER follows three interweaving stories about the vicious cycle of debt and desperation. A recent widow who has fallen behind on life’s necessary expenses, a professional debt collector with his own expensive habits, and a loanshark’s enforcer trapped within his own wheel of obligations.
Paris 70
DIR. Dani Feixas Roka
Jan must take care of his mother, who is ill with Alzheimer's disease. He has no experience as a caregiver, but he will have to overcome challenges and seeks the best way to make his mother feel better. It's a story of family love, realistic and moving. A tribute to caregivers and Alzheimer's patients that has transcended into the social sphere.
Pisko the Crab Child is in Love
DIR. Makoto Nagahisa
Pisko's father is a crab while her mother is human. Pisko falls in love with her teacher, but gets her heart broken when he leaves her because she is a crab child. Her friend Kubokayo encourages Pisko to go on a trip, where she then confesses her feelings. This is a love story about Pisko.
Room Tone
DIR. Michael Gabriele
When a sound guy's attempt to capture “room tone" is constantly thwarted by the noisy antics of his coworkers, he takes extreme measures to achieve silence.
Run Amok
DIR. Nitzan Mager
Meg, professional teacher's pet and amateur harpist, decides to stage a full, musical reenactment of the shooting that took place at her high school in honor of the 10 year anniversary.
Sanctuary
DIR. John Haley, Julia Szromba
In the first city to ban abortion in Ohio, a lifelong resident grapples with the transformation of her hometown.
Sangre Violenta / Sangre Violeta
DIR. Edna Diaz, Arturo R. Jiménez
Why does the Mexican government consider the feminist movement a bigger threat than most drug cartels? The compelling short documentary 'SANGRE VIOLENTA / SANGRE VIOLETA' interweaves three powerful narratives, shedding light on the motivations behind their activism in Mexico. These stories include a radical feminist collective, an inspiring survivor of an acid attack, and a grieving father who tragically lost his seven-year-old daughter to femicide.
Sis
DIR. Miranda Haymon
In this surrealist black comedy, a woman’s curiosity in her ex-crush’s new girlfriend complicates after their cosmic meet cute at a Brooklyn rooftop party.
Take Me Home
DIR. Liz Sargent
After their mother’s death, a cognitively disabled woman and her estranged sister must learn to communicate in order to move forward.
Tennis, Oranges
DIR. Sean Pecknold
A robotic vacuum suffering from burnout quits its job at a hospital and sets out to find community and a greater purpose on a quiet street where two lonely rabbits are stuck in perpetual loops.
Terminally Ill
DIR. Chris Cole
When a rapper is summoned to his grandmother's deathbed, he engages in a madcap freestyle in a desperate attempt to prevent her from dying.
The Anne Frank Gift Shop
DIR. Mickey Rapkin
Is there a wrong way to talk about the Holocaust? That's the question at the heart of THE ANNE FRANK GIFT SHOP, a dark comedy about anti-Semitism that packs a vital and timely message. When a high-end design firm presents its plans to reimagine the gift shop at The Anne Frank House, the company's overt appeal to Generation Z sparks a debate about collective trauma, the Holocaust and tote bags.
The Art of Weightlessness
DIR. Moshe Mahler
The Art of Weightlessness is an animated short film documentary that chronicles the evolution of Artist and Performer, Bill Shannon. Born with a degenerative hip condition, Bill developed new ways to express himself through dance and skateboarding on crutches.
THE LAST RANGER
DIR. Cindy Lee
When young Litha is introduced to the magic of a game reserve by the last remaining ranger, they are ambushed by poachers. In the ensuing battle to save the rhinos, Litha discovers a terrible secret.
The Tornado Outside
DIR. Maria Tomazou
Anna lives in a perfect house, but living on the edge of a tornado can be difficult. When she ventures outside, she is forced to face the chaos that she usually hides away from.
This Is Where I Learned Not To Sleep
DIR. Anne de Mare, Kirsten Kelly
Part quest for justice. Part journey towards healing. Decorated Nashville cop Mark Wynn wrestles with his own violent childhood while working to reform decades of domestic violence mishandling, cover-ups, and abuse from deep within law enforcement.
Tight
DIR. Jessica Barr
A woman grappling with difficulty finding sexual pleasure after childbirth falls back on an old coping habit.
TR(ol)L
DIR. Yourgo Artsitas
In 1999, a chain letter began to matriculate around online message boards. The goal? Get New Kids On The Block’s 1989 music video “Hangin’ Tough” on Total Request Live. Why? Cuz it wud b funny lmao.
Transylvanie
DIR. Rodrigue Huart
Ewa is a 10-year-old girl living in a high building in a quiet town. She's an odd, lonely child and for good reason: she's convinced of being a vampire. Fascinated by Hugo, 15, she dreams of turning him into a vampire too, so that she can overcome her loneliness. When Ewa opens up to him, she gets bullied by teenagers from the neighborhood. Hurt in her body and soul, she's ready to act in the creepiest, sickest ways to prove her identity to the world.
Two Women Make a Lunch Plan
DIR. Elizabeth Archer
Two women—who have neither seen nor heard from one another in quite some time—run into each other while out and about and make a plan to get lunch sometime in the future.
Commentaires