The KCFF26 Local Shorts program presents both experienced and emerging talents, showcasing story-tellers with distinct styles that disrupt existing norms and conventions. This year’s selection welcomes diverse forms and genres, including dance, ecological science fiction, queer fiction, and video-game animation. The lineup addresses local and global issues and dreams of different worlds. All films in the program are eligible for “Best Local Short Award”, which will be announced at our KCFF Awards Show on the final day of the Fest.

Please note: these films are not yet rated and may contain violence and/or disturbing themes. Viewer discretion is advised.

BODY LOVE (d. Shanique Naomi Peart)

BODY LOVE is a short dance film that explores womanhood and the relationship we have with our bodies. It’s a multidisciplinary collaboration project with the goal of highlighting and celebrating the journey of womanhood and body positivity, using visual art, poetry, dance, and acting. We focus on a single individual and her struggle as she shifts from her external battle into her internal world.

BUTTERFLIES (d. Zav Jenabian)

A celebration of love and resilience, BUTTERFLIES follows Quinn and Josh, who met in their high school special education program. They reflect on a prom night that turned a mother’s fears into a moment of triumph. Through heartfelt stories and reenactments, this short documentary challenges perceptions of disability, demonstrating that love knows no boundaries and that those little moments of joy are always worth celebrating.

GET REAL (d. Percy Kaye, Erica Guo & Nicholas Paragas)

Whiz can’t accept that his two best friends, Telly and Billiam, are moving away for college, so he traps them all in a video game so they can never be separated. After a big fight, Whiz accepts the sad reality, and they all leave the game together.

KELLY’S APARTMENT (d. Suzanne Lacey & Kate Stephens)

After moving to an off-campus apartment in the shadow of the former prison for women, known locally as P4W, a queer university student is visited by ghostly apparitions and is forced to face her own haunting reality.

This film is a success story that highlights the power of the KCFF community. The directors were participants in the KCFF 2024 Pitch Competition. They did not win, but Mike Jourard, a first-time KCFF volunteer, was so inspired that he stepped up to arrange financing so the film could be made.

NIVINGAJULIAT (d. Tess Girard & Shelby Lisk)

Artist Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona depicts the Inuit legend of Sedna the Sea Goddess in her latest wallhanging, reinterpreting the narrative in a feminized context, allowing the heroine to be self-sufficient, empowered, and free of patriarchal violence.

PSYCHOTERRA (d. Emily Pelstring & Naomi Okabe)

Two scientists from the Technomystic Ecology Lab develop technology that processes the ecological grief contained within a database of audio testimonials. In their lab, located deep inside a cave, they alchemize these feelings into a seed archive for an unknown future.

THE CALL (d. Silas Howse)

Iris, a lonely and depressed young adult who is just trying to make it through each monotonous day, gets their life upended by a mysterious being. They speak with the wisdom of someone who’s walked their path before. Iris is taunted by this ‘Other Self’, so when the work day ends and Other Self beckons for them to follow, they do, trying to figure out who they are and why they won’t leave them alone. When Iris confronts Other Self once more, they begin interrogating Iris – attacking their life, their job, their gender. Iris’ anger builds, and when they explode, Other Self disappears. Angry, curious, and desperate for the truth, Iris is led down two paths in an attempt to find Other Self, where they find – and finally accept – who they truly are.

VINCENT ON THE ISLAND (d. Emma Macklin & Daniel Karan)

A woman spending a day on the Toronto Islands is recruited by a kid with a video camera to make a movie.

Programmer: Vincent E.

Total Running Time: 82 minutes

Content advisory: death imagery

Tess Girard, director

Erica Guo, director

Suzanne Lacey, director

Shelby Lisk, director

Naomi Okabe, director

Emily Pelstring, director