• The History of Us

From personal to shared histories, this collection of films looks at the stories that shape us—the politics, the moments, the people.

Short Films

Beautiful!

Shot on VHS, a pair of filmmakers take a pregnancy test the night before a music video shoot.

In competition for Best Documentary Short.

Let My Body Speak

A filmmaker reconstructs the pain of the past absorbed by her body.

In competition for Best Documentary Short.

Mission: Hebron

In Israel, soldiers are recruited at the age of 18. Only a couple of months later, they are tasked with policing Palestinian civil life. Their missions can include breaking into family homes, enforcing lockdowns, or arresting children. Six ex-soldiers face the camera to share their experience in Hebron, the most unstable city in the West Bank.

In competition for Best Documentary Short.

Seahorse

While teaching swim lessons at a local community pool, young Yezidi wrestles quietly with her fearsome memories of crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

In competition for Bridging the Borders Award and Best Student Documentary Short.

Souvenir Souvenir

A young filmmaker's decade-long struggle to make a movie out of his grandfather's Algerian war souvenirs unearths painful truths for them both.

In competition for Young Cineastes Award and Best Animated Short.

We Have One Heart

After his mother dies, Adam unearths letters his parents exchanged decades ago. This presents an opportunity for him to find out more about the father he never knew.

In competition for Young Cineastes Award and Best Animated Short.

2021 ShortFest Archive