Friday, June 14 at 7:30 p.m.: Q&A with ALOK director Alex Hedison and film subject Alok, THE MASTERPIECE director Alex Lora, and DREAMCREEP actor Ian Edlund
Please note that there are additional showtimes of 2024 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL SHORTS TOUR that screen with open captions (on-screen display of dialogue and sounds). For those showtimes, click here.
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour is a 110-minute theatrical program of seven short films curated from the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, including three Festival Award–winning titles. Considered the premier showcase for short films and the launchpad for many now-prominent independent filmmakers, the Festival includes fiction, documentary, and animation projects from around the world. Throughout its 40 editions, the Festival has supported short films by providing a platform for both established and emerging filmmakers to connect with audiences. Driven by innovation and experimentation, the Short Film Program seeks out filmmaking’s most original voices.
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour program is a sampling of Festival offerings and a testament to the unique storytelling potential that the format holds. Audiences who missed the 2024 Sundance Film Festival — which took place online and in person in Park City, Utah, January 18–28 — can enjoy a mix of fiction, documentary, and animated shorts that are funny, sad, inspiring, and full of strong characters. The Festival’s Short Film Program has long been established as a place to discover talented directors, such as alumni Andrea Arnold, Lake Bell, Damien Chazelle, Destin Daniel Cretton, Jay and Mark Duplass, Debra Granik, Rashaad Ernesto Green, Reinaldo Marcus Green, Todd Haynes, Sterlin Harjo, Don Hertzfeldt, Sky Hopinka, Shaka King, Lynne Ramsay, Dee Rees, Joey Soloway, Taika Waititi, and many others.
Program
Essex Girls / U.K. (Director: Yero Timi-Biu, Screenwriter: Busayo Ige, Producers: Angela Moneke, Simon Hatton) — After an incident at her high school pulls her into the orbit of the only other Black girl in her year, “Essex Girl” Bisola is plunged into a journey to discover a whole new side of herself. Fiction. Drama. BIPOC. Women-Centered. Cast: Busayo Ige, Corinna Brown, Maisie Smith, Adrianna Bertola, Krysstina Frempong, Rebecca Dike.
Yero Timi-Biu is an award-winning writer-director who recently directed on ITV drama Three Little Birds and was second unit director on BBC/Amazon thriller Chloe. Timi-Biu has also written on shows for Sky and Netflix and has original shows and adaptations in development with studios internationally. Her shorts have played in competition at festivals such as London Film Festival and Hamptons International Film Festival.
Bug Diner / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Phoebe Jane Hart) — A dissatisfied marriage, a secret crush, and workplace fantasies come to a head in a diner run by a mole with a hot ass. Fiction. Animated. Comedy. Cast: Jacob Levy, Phoebe Hart. 2024 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Jury Award: Animation.
Phoebe Jane Hart is an artist and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. Working primarily in stop-motion animation, Hart creates films that focus on the human psyche through dark humor and surreal imagery. She graduated with an MFA in experimental animation from California Institute of the Arts. Her short JamieSonShine has screened at Slamdance and won a Director’s Choice Award at the Thomas Edison Film Festival.
The Masterpiece / Spain (Director and Producer: Àlex Lora Cercós, Screenwriter and Producer: Lluis Quilez, Screenwriter: Alfonso Amador, Producers: Sandra Travé, Josemari Martínez, Néstor López) — Leo and Diana, a wealthy couple, meet Salif and Yousef, two scrap dealers, at a recycle center. Offering them more junk, Diana invites them to their mansion, but the immigrants actually might be the ones with something she wants. Fiction. Drama. International. Cast: Daniel Grao, Babou Cham, Melina Matthews, Adam Nourou, Guido Grao. 2024 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Grand Jury Prize.
Àlex Lora Cercós is a Spanish filmmaker, winner of seven Emmys and two Gaudí Awards, who has been nominated for a Goya and for the Student Academy Awards. The Masterpiece is his third movie at Sundance. Unicorns is his first feature. He has also co-written and edited We Are Living Things (2022) and co-directed The Fourth Kingdom (2019) and Thy Father’s Chair (2016).
ALOK / U.S.A. (Director: Alex Hedison) — A compelling portrait of Alok Vaid-Menon, acclaimed nonbinary author, poet, comedian, and public speaker. Executive-produced by Jodie Foster. Nonfiction. Biography. LGBTQ+. Cast: Alok Vaid-Menon, Dylan Mulvaney, Chani Nicholas. Produced by Natalie Shirinian, Elizabeth Baudouin, and Meggan Lennon.
Alex Hedison is an internationally acclaimed photographer, artist, and actress. She is a critical voice in both the artistic and LGBTQ+ communities. ALOK marks Hedison’s directorial debut. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her wife, Oscar-winning actor/director Jodie Foster, and their dog, Ziggy.
Dream Creep / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Carlos A.F. Lopez, Producers: Megan Leonard, Bobby McHugh, Jonathan Caso, Zeus Kontoyannis) — A couple awakens in the night to sounds emanating from an unlikely orifice. Fiction. Horror. Cast: Ian Edlund, Sidney Jayne Hunt.
Carlos A.F. Lopez is a multifaceted filmmaker with over a decade of experience in the Seattle underground/DIY scene. His short film Ghosting the Party premiered at Nashville Film Festival 2017 and won a Special Jury Prize. Previously Lopez produced The Procedure, winner of the Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.
Pathological / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Alison Rich, Producers: Bridgett Greenberg, Ingrid Haas, Avtar Khalsa, Peter Principato, Todd Ruhnau) — A woman who’s a pathological liar wakes up one day to discover her lies have become true. Fiction. Comedy. Women-Centered. Cast: Alison Rich, Meaghan Rath, Luke Cook, Adam Lustick, Heather Pasternak, George Kareman.
Alison Rich is a comedic writer, director, and actor. She’s pumped to return to Sundance with her narrative short Pathological. Her previous short Training Wheels played at the Festival in 2022. Rich currently has a feature in development with Becky Sloviter (Palm Springs). Her writing credits include SNL and The Goldbergs. Acting credits include The Other Two, The Goldbergs, and Drunk History.
Pisko the Crab Child is in Love / Japan (Director and Screenwriter: Makoto Nagahisa, Producer: Yasuo Suzuki) — Pisko’s father is a crab while her mother is human. Pisko falls in love with her teacher but is heartbroken when he leaves her because she is half-crab. Pisko finally finds love and companionship with her friend Kubokayo. Fiction. Comedy. International. BIPOC. Women-Centered. Cast: Aiko Kano, Saya, Maki Fukuda, Kanta Sato. 2024 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Special Jury Prize for Directing.
Makoto Nagahisa was born in Tokyo and became a film director after working in advertising. In 2017, he wrote and directed the short film And So We Put Goldfish in the Pool, which won the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. His feature film We Are Little Zombies was part of the official selection for Berlinale and other international film festivals. Upcoming projects include directing a TV series produced by A24.