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Crime, Chaos & Heart: “Spare!” Wins Top Narrative Honor at Cal Film Festival — Fall 2025
This season, the top honor at Cal Film Festival goes to Spare!, a sharp, darkly comedic short film written and directed by Jules Cales and Balthazar Ullmann (France). What begins as a grim assignment for two hapless henchmen ends in runaway chaos: a story about luck, desperation, and the irresistible absurdity of two men who stumble…
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Jury Picks — Fall 2025 Highlights
In addition to the top honor this season — Best Narrative Short (Grand Jury Prize) awarded to Spare! (France) — Cal Film Festival’s jury team highlights a select group of films that made a strong impression through their storytelling, craft, and creative vision. These Jury Picks are not awards — they are a recognition of distinctive filmmaking that stood out within this…
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Fall 2025 – Short Script Competition
Very Soon Now by Jeremy Heilmeier (USA) Outstanding Achievement Award A sharply constructed one-night horror thriller that uses primal fears — isolation, dead phone lines, a stranger in the house — to create a terrifying countdown. Jess, a college-age babysitter, finds herself in a secluded home surrounded by dark woods, spotty cell service, and a…
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Fall 2025 – Award Winners
California International Short Film Festival is pleased to announce the award winners for the Fall 2025 season. Fall 2025 Award Winners – Genre Competitions Fall 2025 Award Winners – Technical Competitions This quarter has submissions from 17 countries with total runtime of 21:55:34, plus the short scripts, and the following breakdowns: Official Selection: 51.1% Nominations:…
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The Shame of the Truth
Ethan goes out to dinner with his girlfriend to celebrate the grand opening of his best friend’s restaurant but when the time comes for him to admit a painful truth, the evening takes a turn. by Mike Klug (USA)
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Semicolon
An isolated blue marble navigate through their surroundings and establishes connections with self, partner, and the community. by Ye Chen (USA)
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Espresso
Set in LA 2015, we follow the rise of an actor, Andrew Thompson, during a chemistry read for an upcoming superhero movie, while falling in love in the process with his soon-to-be co-star. by Adlih Alvarado (USA)
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Viscountess and Maidservant
The whimsically dreary peace in the land of old Freevakia is shaken when a peasant mob attacks the viscount’s mansion seeking fiery vengeance. With little more than what they can pack into a battered yet magically useful old trunk, the surly Viscountess and her trusty Maidservant are forced to flee, docking – naturally – in…
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A Lasting Place
Caught in a loop after dying from complications of dementia, a failed painter awakens at the bottom of his father’s urn, trapped in a surreal limbo. As he drifts through a decaying childhood home, he confronts fractured versions of himself-his younger, older and present selves-unraveling a life marked by regret, lost love and artistic failure.…
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For the Love of Money
Brian and Joe, life long friends, have a crisis in their friendship after Brian comes into some money. by Joseph Kowalski (USA)
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The Ones Who Can Fly in Their Dreams
An art student (ADA) meets with a spirit (LYO) in her dreams, opening a new world’s door where time and space do not exist. After being rejected through her artwork, Ada embarks on a journey to discover her true self. by Yiğit Batuk (Turkey)
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The Road to Til
The Road to Til follows disability rights advocate Chhitup Lama as he travels to Til Village in Nepal’s Humla district, high in the Himalayas. Rising temperatures have accelerated glacier melt, triggering a flood that has destroyed the village’s bridges and cut off road access. As Chhitup travels through remote mountain communities on his way to…
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Job Seeker
Jun-ho, a 29-year-old, goes on job interviews on weekdays and enjoys one-night stands on weekends. He somehow comes across Jin-yeong, a college graduate who is currently seeking a job. Jun-ho hides the fact that he’s currently unemployed. They eventually meet up under the premise that they both want a casual relationship. But on the first…
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There is Always Tomorrow
Maria Giglio, trapped in a Miami apartment by agoraphobia, shuts out the world. When a delivery worker slips polaroid glimpses under the door, a fragile connection sparks, challenging her fears. by Alessandra Greco (USA)