Austin's Independent Short Film Festival - Austin Shortsfest
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Saturday, 8/15 at Eastside cinema
Austin Shortsfest
Shorts 2 - Red Block - Saturday, 8/15 at 3:30 PM
The Red Block brings together 8 films that thrive on suspense, uncertainty, and escalating tension. From psychological thrillers and grounded crime stories to unsettling horror, each film places its characters under extraordinary pressure, where every decision carries weight and safety is never guaranteed
95 min. total run time
2026 Austin Shortsfest August 15 at Eastside Cinema
Stay in the Car
Director Calvin Ghaznavi
Drama Short, USA, 8 min.
In the dead of night, fifteen-year-old Salem waits in her mother’s run down El Camino. She’s told again and again to “stay in the car” while her mom and her violent partner disappear into empty buildings and dark parking lots. Hours drag on and in the backseat, Salem twists and turns, her small movements filling the silence. The night continues and the car feels less like a place of safety and more like a cage. As the hours stretch on and sirens echo in the distance, Salem faces a choice whether to remain trapped in her mother’s world, or step outside the car and into her own uncertain freedom.
My Wife
Director Aaron Garcia
Experimental Short, USA, 6 min.
My Wife is a beautiful woman, she keeps my home in order, makes sure I make it to work on time, and is an adequate cook.
Whatever It Takes
Director Angus J Penland
Horror Short, USA, 8 min.
A maid discovers her employers terrible secret and must do whatever it takes to survive.
Free Pizza
Director MG Gillis-Gambrell
Narrative Short, USA, 3 min.
Oscar has let his quarter-life crisis dictate a pizza delivery boy's fate.
Garden Valley
Director Manuel Navarro
True Crime Short, USA, 28 min.
Inspired by the horrific Mann family murders of spring 1988, Garden Valley follows two friends lost in a haze of hard rock, reckless choices, drugs, and volatile romance. Set against the bleak landscape of the Garden Valley trailer park on San Antonio’s Southside, the story unfolds over one fateful day—April 14, 1988—when their lives descend into chaos, obsession, and the lingering psychological shadows of violence.
Habits
Director Shaira Berg
Horror Short, USA, 11 min.
In a world shattered by a mysterious contamination, survival means staying clean. Lila and Jake a pregnant couple, cling to rituals that keep threat at bay until one mistake unravels everything. Habits is an intimate portrait of OCD in a life ruled by fear.
Dogwood Pass
Director Mitchell Qualls
Narrative Short, USA, 21 min.
Dogwood Pass is a contained, character-driven thriller about guilt, grief, and the cost of forgiveness. Mary, a withdrawn ex-convict haunted by a tragic past, accepts a ride from a magnetic stranger after a chance meeting at a bar. As they travel a desolate highway at night, an unsettling encounter reveals a devastating connection between them: Mary’s long-ago mistake shattered another family. What begins as quiet companionship turns into a tense moral confrontation where revenge, empathy, and mercy collide, forcing each character to face the question of whether punishment or forgiveness can truly end suffering.
Idle/Wild
Director Kaitlin Fontana
Horror Short, USA, 12 min.
Dating is hard. So when Annie suggests a unique first date — meet me at Idyllwild campsite, and bring your tent — Berit decides to go for it. Is this how it all starts? Or how it ends?
IDLE/WILD was filmed on location in Big Bear, CA.