Showcasing some of the best short films from across the country, the Canadian Shorts program sees more submissions than all other categories combined! This program dates back to Year One of the Fest and has featured a who’s who of Canadian film, including films from heavyweights like Zacharias Kunuk and Denis Villeneuve. Carefully curated and culled from an incredible range of work from established and emerging storytellers, our 2025 lineup demonstrates the very simple truth that sometimes less is more. All films in this program are automatically considered for our Best Canadian Short Award, presented on March 2 at the KCFF Awards Party!

JULIAN AND THE WIND
Director: Connor Jessup

Two boarding school roommates share a strange experience with sleepwalking.

SHOOT
Director: Roger Galvez

A young man, struggling with rejection and isolation in a new city, faces another setback after a failed job interview. Seeking escape, he retreats into his imagination, where he becomes a larger-than-life persona and finally finds the victory and recognition he’s been longing for.

STRANGERS

Director: Leah Doz

After missing their bus on a cold winter night, a young girl confronts the limits of her mother’s love.

HER BODY
Director: Amelia Moses

A surreal encounter on an isolated beach forces a young woman to confront her reality.

FANTAS
Director: Halima Elkhatabi

For the duration of a summer afternoon, Abby seeks to bring together two parts of herself. Two worlds that had never yet met and are going to collide in a surreal urban western.

THE BEST
Director: Ian Bawa

Powerful waves of grief threaten a South Asian bodybuilder’s confidence in this bold character study.

LOSING YOUR HOME
Director: Emmanuel Rioux

During long months of anguish, brief hopes and uprooting, Jeannette and Frances struggle, alone and surrounded, against a phenomenon that is becoming more and more pronounced: losing your home.

UASHESHKUN
Director: Normand Junior Thirnish-Pilot

A father tries to save the soul of his daughter, lost in darkness.

Programmer: Christian Kelley

Total Running Time: 90 minutes

Content advisory: violence,

Normand Junior Thirnish-Pilot

Normand Junior Thirnish-Pilot is an Indigenous screenwriter and director from the community of Uashat mak Mani-utenam in Côte-Nord, Québec, Canada. His nation is called the Innu Nation. Normand has been passionate about cinema since his early childhood. This art allows him to tackle difficult subjects and others that are close to his heart.