FANTASTIC FEST PRESENTS THE 2025 SHORT FILM LINEUP
Austin, TX - Tuesday, August 26, 2025 — Fantastic Fest is thrilled to announce the short film lineup for the 20th anniversary edition of Fantastic Fest, which runs from September 18th through September 25th, 2025 at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, TX.
This year’s short film programming team, led by veteran curators Jean Lauer and Varun Raman, was rounded out by the addition of genre devotees Brad Abrahams and Rocco T. Thompson. Together, they have assembled a selection of films sure to delight, amaze, and horrify in the manner that audiences have come to expect… and in ways that expand the fest’s programming horizons even further.
The 2025 program includes the four flagship competitions familiar to Fantastic Fest audiences: FANTASTIC SHORTS, SHORT FUSE, SHORTS WITH LEGS, and DRAWN AND QUARTERED. In celebration of the 20th festival, a special sidebar entitled ALUMS AND OTHER DEMONS is specifically dedicated to showcasing a variety of films by talents whose work has graced our screens in previous editions. This year’s themed sidebar, FANTASTIC INDIA, is dedicated to showcasing voices from India and Indian Diaspora, and is presented in partnership with Indie Meme and Wench Film Festival.
The short film selections are rounded out by an array that will open for features throughout the festival, including in the Burnt Ends category, which audiences will not want to miss. World premieres, award-winning films, ATX cineastes, new works by alums, and first-time filmmakers abound!
The complete lineup, divided by program, is as follows:
FANTASTIC SHORTS
Our flagship block puts every genre into a blender and pulverizes them into a sentient, technicolor slurry. This new life-form probes the human condition, inside and out, from the corporeal to the cerebral — transporting us to a dimension filled with such wondrous sights including floating farmers, nefarious skeletons, politicking donkeys, and highly coveted cow udders.
ESTHER
USA, 2025
World Premiere, 13 min
Director - Joey Hunt
An aging matriarch is reluctant to move out of her dilapidated — and literally under water — home for reasons her daughter does not fully understand, but which hold sway over them both.
FARMERS!?
Ireland, UK, 2024
Regional Premiere, 15 min
Director - Freddie Leyden
A close-knit community of farmers are faced with the sudden death of a creatively frustrated friend, and they're not really sure how to express their emotions.
FLOOR
Republic of Korea, 2025
US Premiere, 14 min
Director - Jo Bareun
A dedicated husband does battle with noisy upstairs neighbors in this white-knuckle fight choreography showcase from South Korean filmmaker Jo Bareun.
GIANT SKELETON
Canada, 2025
International Premiere, 5 min
Director - Austin Birtch
Despite its humorous and DIY approach, this is a deadly serious cautionary tale. Respect your local yard skeleton.
LOK
Bangladesh, 2025
International Premiere, 4 min
Director - Mahmuda Sultana Rima
Village men are disappearing. What does the local "witch" know, and what spells might she be casting?
PARTY ANIMAL
UK, 2025
International Premiere, 12 min
Director - Ali Gill
A barber spirals into a conspiracy-fueled rabbit hole when he discovers his local politician is actually a donkey in disguise. Nabhaan Rizwan (BBC's Informer) stars in this absurdist satire on single-issue obsessives.
QUESTION THE DEADBOLT
USA, 2025
Regional Premiere, 3 min
Director - Ethan Harris
As a woman stands outside her apartment door, intrusive thoughts pervade her stream of consciousness.
ROUGE
Saudi Arabia, 2024
American Premiere, 12 min
Director - Samaher Khalid Mously
A news anchor seeks out cosmetic surgery in response to the pressures of ageism in her workplace in this Saudi Arabian selection from writer/director Samaher Khalid Mously.
SAMMI, WHO CAN DETACH HIS BODY PARTS
Indonesia, 2025
Regional Premiere, 19 min
Director - Rein Maychaelson
Reminiscent of Weerasethakul in the best of ways, yet unique in all its own. SAMMI is a beautiful and haunting tale about a man who can do exactly what the title says, told by those whose lives were touched by him most.
WALL UDDER
USA, 2025
World Premiere, 9 min
Director - Alexandra Hayden
In a world where the highest status symbol is an udder installed on your wall, the ultimate question is: would you f*** the Wall Udder?
SHORT FUSE
Home is where the horror is in our annual collection of shorts guaranteed to tickle your funny bone and chill the remaining 205. From houseboat stalk-‘n’-slash to genital transmogrification, beastly wedding gifts to nightmarish pregnancies, existentially troubling threesomes to very bad roommates and the liminal terrors of driving rideshare — this year’s Short Fuse finds the scary in the unsettling everyday. We guarantee you'll never look at nipple cream the same way again. Go ahead, slather some on!
ALL THESE FACES ARE STARTING TO LOOK BIZARRELY FAMILIAR
Australia, 2025
International Premiere, 19 min
Director - Callum Moore
Closing time at an empty cinema takes a turn from a surreal odyssey into lingering, late-night terror when an unhinged theatergoer confronts two bored staff members.
BURRO
USA, 2025
World Premiere, 11 min
Director - Hannah Lerner
A nurse’s all-consuming need to be a mother leads her to desperate, mystical measures in this transfixingly eerie world premiere short from writer/director Hannah Lerner. .
DHET!
Bangladesh, 2025
US Premiere, 9 min
Director - Ummid Ashraf
A motorcycle ride-share driver’s routine pickup spirals into an Escher-esque nightmare in this Bangladeshi liminal horror.
DO NO HARM
Netherlands, 2025
World Premiere, 11 min
Director - Eron Sheean
One rainy night turns deadly when an off-duty nurse kills an intruder whose pathology is otherworldly. Eron Sheean writes and directs this boat-bound horror thriller from the Netherlands.
THE DYSPHORIA
Australia, 2025
US Premiere, 13 min
Director - Kylie Aoibheann
Aussie filmmaker Kylie Aoibheann brings a queer edge to classic demonic horror with the tale of a transgender woman who turns to the occult in order to fulfill her ultimate desire.
FEED
Canada, 2025
International Premier, 6 min
Director - Nancy Urich
If you don't yet have enough troubling associations with the postpartum period, you will after these six milky minutes.
OPEN WIDE
USA, 2025
Texas Premiere, 10 min
Director - Sam Fox
A young woman seriously gets the ick after arranging a threesome with a bizarre couple — only to discover they're far more open than she ever bargained for. From Fantastic Fest alum Sam Fox (FCK'N NUTS).
TALK SHIT
USA, 2025
Texas Premiere, 13 min
Directors - Boyfriends (Will Thede & Ben Weiss)
Think you've got bad roommates? Wait till you meet Taylor! Will Thede & Ben Weiss (a.k.a. BOYFRIENDS) present a camp spin on the hell of cohabitation and breaking up with your worst friend.
A YEAR OF MARRIAGE
México, 2025
US Premiere, 19 min
Director - Pablo Camargo López
Wanna know the secret to a happy marriage? Turns out it's a hairy, flesh-munching creature in a box. Pablo Camargo López's monster drama takes a bite out of the patriarchy in this Spanish-language answer to Stephen King's THE CRATE.
SHORTS WITH LEGS
Get ready for your annual dose of films that everyone warned you about. Equal opportunity offenders and peculiar heroes abound, mixed up in inane and insane circumstances, pursuits you can cheer on, and aspirations you will loathe. A truly global selection of visionary titles that will have you squirming, singing, gasping, laughing, and maybe even imploding! We can only hope!
APPETITE OF A NOBODY
Australia, 2025
World Premiere, 16 min
Director - Amanda Kaye
Gerald just wants to make friends, but his hunger for raw meat is a real problem. His housemates' attempts at empathy and intervention are met with incredulity and descent into bloody madness.
BLONDI
UK, 2025
International Premiere, 19 min
Director - Jack Salvadori
Writer/director Jack Salvadori and legendary iconoclast Peter Greenaway invite you to witness the final days of Adolf Hitler's life... from the perspective of his dog. Yes, you read that right!
THE CHASTITY SWEATER
USA, 2025
World Premiere, 9 min
Director - Emery Matson
Writer/director Emery Matson spins a yarn about a young woman who — after coming into possession of a cursed garment — finds only fawning, virginal respect from men when all she seeks is a good lay.
THE LAST CINNAMON ROLL
USA, 2025
Texas Premiere, 9 min
Director - Michael Langan
Have you ever wanted — no, needed — something so badly that you'd go on a cosmic quest to get it? Come relive the faded glory of the '90s mall food court as a father desperately tries to forge a connection with his reluctant daughter... over a sacred cinnamon roll.
PEN MARI
UK, 2025
World Premiere, 13 min
Director - Siôn Marshall-Waters
A man is forced to scour the black market for a horse’s skull in order to fulfill an ancient Welsh folk tradition, in this psychedelic exploration of life, death, rebirth, and rural identity.
SEISMIC BRAIN IMPLOSION
Singapore, 2025
World Premiere, 7 min
Director - Alistair Quak
Comprehension is overrated in this dimension-hopping, body-contorting, penis-splattering sci-fi that ponders the power of the human brain and the meaning of life.
STONE OF DESTINY
Czech Republic, 2025
North American Premiere, 10 min
Director - Julie Černá
When a sentient singing rock is struck with the urge to move house, it sets off on a beautiful and uncertain journey of self-discovery. Before you know it you'll be singing along to this animated musical, which premiered at Berlinale.
WATER SPORTS
Philippines, 2025
North American Premiere, 20 min
Director - Whammy Alcazaren
Two Filipino schoolboys fall in love at the end of everything. A homo-apocalyptic tidal wave of lo-fi digital graphics, tiny gym shorts, and bottles of pee from Whammy Alcazaren.
YAZZA
Finland, 2025
American Premiere, 5 min
Director - Francisco Lacerda
Welcome to the sub-genre of Portuguese fantastic cinema dubbed "Azoresploitation." The more left unsaid, the better. But even if we tried, we'd be at a loss for any coherent words. Content warning: everything.
DRAWN & QUARTERED
Our animation block continues to be a fest highlight with a selection of handspun marvels as diverse in style as they are strange in content. Take a time out from the rat race and become your fullest self as a spoke in a human bike, travel with forest creatures in an episodic Lynchian journey to bury your best friend, go on a date with the terrifying Krasue of southeast Asian folklore, or break cinematic reality entirely with some doodled bobbies and a bank robber, and so, so much more.
AMARELO BANANA
Portugal, Hungary, 2025
Regional Premiere, 13 min
Director - Alexandre Sousa
An insomniac stumbles upon a commune of sorts in his apartment building. At first he is intrigued but quickly finds it difficult to extricate himself from their delusions.
A BREATH OF MINDFULNESS
USA, 2025
Regional Premiere, 9 min
Director - Milly Cohen
Let this short be your therapy session for the day. Or cause you to seek it out. Either way, just breathe.
COSMIC CRASH
Germany, 2025
Texas Premiere, 2 min
Director - James Smith
Chaos, blood, and guts erupt when a malevolent alien creature crash-lands at a scientific lab in this wild stop-motion microshort from Fantastic Fest alum James Smith (DEMONS IN THE CLOSET).
CREATURE MOUNTAIN
USA, 2025
World Premiere, 8 min
Directors - Loring Weisenberger & Camille Lecoq
A wolf, a mouse, and a bird encounter mysterious phenomena on a trek to fulfill their pal Gerry's last wishes. A somberly amusing stop-motion tale of friendship presented in four episodes sprinkled throughout the D&Q program, and a taste of what's to come in the extended series.
FAČUK
Croatia, Slovenia, 2025
American Premiere, 13 min
Director - Maida Srabović
A young woman in a rural village carries an illegitimate baby (a "fačuk"). As she nears giving birth, she weathers waves of judgement whilst uncertainty and fear threaten to subsume both mother and child.
THE FLING
Australia, 2025
American Premiere, 4 min
Director - Jemma Cotter
Jemma Cotter pays homage to the John Carpenter classic in this live-action stop-motion lesbian rom-com. A body horror smorgasbord of weird limbs, throbbing pustules, and whipping extraterrestrial tongues.
THE GNAWER OF ROCKS
Canada, 2025
American Premiere, 14 min
Director - Louise Flaherty
A tale of two young women who, enticed into a cave by colorful stones, find themselves trapped by the Mangittatuarjuk, the Gnawer of Rocks. They turn to their wit, the wisdom of their elders, and the strength of their community to fend off the monster.
PSYCHEDELIC IN THE SKY
USA, 2025
Texas Premiere, 11 min
Director - Matthew Salton
Documentaries are rare at Fantastic Fest. Short docs even rarer. And short, animated documentaries? As rare as habitable planets in our galaxy. But after experiencing this touching story about extraterrestrial contact, you'll know why it was among our first favorites.
SISOWATH QUAY
France, 2025
US Premiere, 16 min
Directors - Stéphanie Lansaque & François Leroy
Nakry's first date becomes a waking nightmare when she morphs into a flying creature out of Cambodian folklore. A doomed romance rendered in uncannily expressive character models and live backgrounds.
THERE'S A ROBBERY IN PROGRESS
USA, UK, 2025
Regional Premiere, 4 min
Director - Morgan Miller
When a British police officer intervenes in a robbery, he finds himself frozen in time and questioning his reality. From Fantastic Fest alum, Morgan Miller (WOMAN WHO HATES PLANTS).
THIS EDIBLE AIN’T SHIT
USA, 2025
Regional Premiere, 8 min
Director - Frank Volk
A weed-laced brownie transforms a young man's quiet Halloween at home into a day-glo landscape of fear in this rotoscoped short from animator Frank Volk.
ALUMS AND OTHER DEMONS
In honor of Fantastic Fest's 20th anniversary, we decided it wasn't enough that alums and their films are mixed in throughout the 8 days, we wanted to bring a bunch of them together in one room to share with us their recent short film projects. Representing alums from features and shorts, with roles both in front of and behind the camera, we offer a smattering of selections from all over the world to right here in the ATX that are sure to delight, scare, and inspire.
THE BRIDE'S CURSE
USA, 2025
Austin Premiere, 20 min
Directors - Alex Kavutskiy & Jerzy Rose
Do you ever lie to your loved ones? After watching this enchanting, modern take on a cautionary folk tale, you'll never do so again.
CHÄIR
USA, 2025
World Premiere, 6 min
Director - Chris McInroy
A man’s life unravels when his new Scandinavian flat-pack chair comes with some seriously sinister assembly instructions. From Austin filmmaker and Fantastic Fest multi-alum Chris McInroy (GUTS, WE JOINED A CULT, SKEETER).
JACQUES THE GIANT SLAYER
USA, 2025
World Premiere, 22 min
Directors - Aaron Moorhead & Justin Benson
The mythical beasts Moorhead & Benson (SOMETHING IN THE DIRT, SYNCHRONIC, THE ENDLESS) take a childhood tale we know and love, and thoroughly twist and dement it in a way only they could. They also star in the film, and for some reason, they're speaking French.
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY
USA, Laos, Thailand, 2025
North American Premiere, 20 min
Director - Mattie Do
Filmmaker Mattie Do (THE LONG WALK) deftly blends the history of colonialism in Laos during the French Indochina period with a reimagining of a familiar fabula, in which the new ideas and customs brought by the Europeans are of no use against a timeless and devastating curse.
SORROW DOESN’T SLEEP AT NIGHT
Chile, 2025
World Premiere, 9 min
Directors - Josefina Montino Cabrera & Martín André
Explore the unresolved guilt left behind after the loss of a loved one through a lonely man, his pet cat, and an evocative handmade landscape of rippling felt.
SPANKED BY A GHOST
USA, 2025
Regional Premiere, 12 min
Director - Katelyn Douglass
A woman experiences a sexual awakening when she’s spanked by an unseen specter — and becomes determined to relive that incomparable otherworldly pleasure.
TINIEBLAS
Spain, 2025
World Premiere, 15 min
Directors - Raúl Cerezo & Carlos Moriana
A young woman comes across a strange tape recording whilst at her grandparents' home. Past, present, trauma, and transfers of consciousness collide and collude to ensure the next generation is born.
FANTASTIC INDIA
A Presentation in partnership with Indie Meme and Wench
Indian cinema has a vast layered history and a remarkable range of storytelling traditions. Fantastic India presents an incisive look at the evolving landscape of Indian genre cinema, focusing on horror, fantasy, and the surreal with a fresh perspective. While Indian cinema has long engaged with genre, many films remained bound to familiar clichés and imported tropes. Today, a new wave of filmmakers is shaping work rooted in authentic narratives that reflect the diversity and depth of Indian experiences.
This sidebar showcases films that move beyond formulaic depictions of ghosts and monsters, embracing psychological tension, folklore, social realities, and innovative storytelling. They confront fears and myths shaped by specific cultural contexts, local environments, and both urban and rural life.
Among them are works by women filmmakers, bringing authorship and perspective to a space where they have too often been invisible. These films make that perspective visible, shifting the frame, the focus, and the fear. Their presence signals a broader but still fragile shift in Indian genre cinema, which remains premature due to limited funding, minimal infrastructure, and a lack of development pipelines that restrict experimentation and visibility despite clear creative potential.
Fantastic India expands the vocabulary of genre, presenting narratives uniquely Indian in voice and texture, free from Western horror frameworks. Blending satire, surrealism, and political commentary, these films capture an evolving cinematic imagination and challenge conventions.
Fantastic India is a celebration of what’s emerging and an invitation to imagine what’s next.
DEMONS
India, 2023
Texas Premiere, 16 min
Director - Adesh Prasad
From the mind behind TUMBBAD comes a queer horror tale where the monsters inside are as dangerous as the ones outside. Blood-soaked, unflinching, and impossible to shake, and winner of Best Gore at Atlanta Horror Film Fest.
FROM ME TO YOU
Vietnam, 2024
Texas Premiere, 20 min
Director - Simret Cheema-Innis
In a near-future Vietnam reshaped by alien influence, one man’s escape from societal expectations plunges him into a surreal, erotic, alien-infested underworld — winner of Best Special Effects at the Tokyo Horror Film Festival.
LANDFILLS OF DESIRE
India, 2025
World Premiere, 7 min
Director - Sapna Moti Bhavnani
On Kashmir’s Dal Lake, a Rantas (Kashmiri witch) moves through the night in search of herself. Featuring Toby Poser (MOTHER OF FILES) who embodies her in word and spirit, this world premiere drifts between silence, longing, and the supernatural.
THE LAST RIDE
India, 2025
US Premiere, 23 min
Directors - Vijesh Rajan & Yashoda Parthasarthy
On the crowded streets of Mumbai, a rideshare driver’s last fare of the night takes odd turns, forcing him to reevaluate his priorities. A sharp blend of horror, satire, and social bite, and winner of the Silver Audience Award for Best Asian Short at Fantasia 2025.
MOTI
India, 2025
Regional Premiere, 16 min
Director - Yash Saraf
A beloved family dog undergoes a sudden and bewildering transformation, calling into question its sense of identity and place in the world.
NIGHT OF THE BRIDE
India, 2023
Regional Premiere, 7 min
Director - Virat Pal
A forced marriage turns into a waking nightmare as a young woman, held hostage by her would-be in-laws, finds a way to fight back. Honorable Mention, Wench Film Fest 2024 for Atmospheric Storytelling.
RAJAS & THE WOLF GIRL
USA, 2025
Texas Premiere, 14 min
Director - Nidhi Reddy
A chance encounter at a freak show leads to self-acceptance and a new outlook on life and love. From Austin-based filmmaker, Nidhi Reddy.
WHODUNIT
India, 2023
Fantastic Fest Reprisal, 7 min
Director - Aditya Nair
Six actors engage in a surreal game of "whodunit" wrapped within a mysterious advertisement. A reprisal selection from Fantastic Fest 2023's Short Fuse competition.
PAIRED WITH FEATURES
As is our tradition, Fantastic Fest audiences will be treated to a variety of short form cinema at this year’s event, including the following selections that screen throughout the program in front of feature films.
BENNY’S SECOND BIRTHDAY
USA, 2025
World Premiere, 12 min
Director - R.J. Glass
The evil kid trope gets a modern paranoiac twist in this world premiere ROSEMARY'S BABY-esque creeper from writer/director R.J. Glass.
BLUE VIOLET
UK, 2025
Regional Premiere, 10 min
Director - Josie Charles
Director Josie Charles and writer/lead Esme Allen bring raw intimacy and a sick sense of humor to this queer found-footage memory play on a relationship gone south.
EVERY SINGLE DAY AS A PARENT
USA, 2025
World Premiere, 7 min
Director - Steven Demmler
A touching family portrait that asks: would you do anything for your child, no matter how much they've f'd up?
FRANKENBABES FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE!
USA, 2025
Texas Premiere, 10 min
Director - Andrew Bowser
A bevy of reanimated beauties turn on their oppressors in this crowd-pleasing slice of retro-styled schlock from Andrew Bowser, featuring Jimmi Simpson (WESTWORLD) and Dana Ashbrook (TWIN PEAKS).
THE PARISH
UK, 2025
International Premiere, 13 min
Director - Matt R. Smith
It's a bold move to make an homage to one of the greatest scenes in contemporary cinema, by one of the most singular directors of our time. But this is a vision all unto its own, and will impart a feeling that'll stay with you long after.
PLANT MOMS
USA, 2025
World Premiere, 8 min
Director - Kayla Lane Freeman
Get to know your neighbors, they said! It’ll be fun, they said! Austin local Kayla Lane Freeman’s quirky, gross-out comedy will make you think twice about attending your next propagation party.
QUIETNESS
Spain, 2025
US Premiere, 9 min
Director - Gonçalo Almeida
The mundanity of Yessica's days spent cleaning up after hotel guests is broken by a disembodied voice only she can hear in this ambiguously unnerving offering from Gonçalo Almeida and cinematographer Mika Altskan.
THE RUG
Canada, 2025
Texas Premiere, 11 min
Director - Sean Cisterna
Leave it to a crew of seniors to make a subversive anti-landlord horror film about an insatiable second-hand floor rug.
SAINT MARIA’S WAY
UK, 2024
Regional Premiere, 7 min
Director - Chris Turner
Chris Turner's seriously spooky found-footage ghost story questions whether surveillance truly keeps us safe, all told through the perspective of CCTV cameras.
STEAK DINNER
USA, 2025
Regional Premiere, 8 min
Director - Nathan Mark Ginter
A toxically insecure woman's dinner date is derailed when her partner brings home an injured, otherworldly mollusk in need of intensive care. From Fantastic Fest alum Nathan Mark Ginter (THE THIRD EAR, THE BUSINESSMAN, LAST SEEN).
STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
Taiwan, 2024
Texas Premiere, 21 min
Director - Deborah Devyn Chuang
A cake triggers a psychosexual untethering for 16-year-old Lolo in this kinkily seductive and disquieting gem from Taiwanese-American filmmaker Deborah Devyn Chuang.
BURNT ENDS
Burnt Ends is an exclusive component of Fantastic Fest programming. This section seeks to champion eccentric independent cinema, from micro-budget genre experiments whose aesthetics and sensibilities provoke or defy mainstream conventions to inspired obscurities deserving of a larger cult audience. Like BBQ “burnt ends,” these films may not be to a general audience’s taste, but those who have acclimated to their delicacy know that they are, in fact, the best.
ANIMAL MATH
USA, 2025
World Premiere, 15 min
Director - Robbie C. Ward
A fantastical hand-illustrated journey through a magical world, over 6 years in the making from artist Robbie C. Ward.
EMILE IS MISSING
Australia, 2024
US Premiere, 16 min
Directors - Sam Carson & Félix Morreo
A trans filmmaker’s girlfriend becomes a literal ghost in the machine in this haunting screen life meditation on image as self and the dread of being perceived from writer, director, and actor, Sam Carson.
GIRLS NIGHT OUT
USA, 2025
World Premiere, 3 min
Director - Ashley Sengstaken
OMGGG it's a girls night out! C u @ the club, biotch! xoxo
ONE NIGHT CHERUB
USA, 2025
Texas Premiere, 7 min
Director - Austin King
While Nick waits for his app hookup, Rod, to show up, a demonic cherub tries to kill him.
