Slamdance ’26: Short Film Round-Up, Part One
The 2026 Slamdance Film Festival is officially over! Well, the in-person portion of the festival ended, but the virtual festival is live on the Slamdance Channel! From February 24 to March 6, you can catch up with selections from the fest from the comfort of your own home. All of these short films, plus part two of the round up, and more are available on the Slamdance Channel now!
Murphy’s Ranch
courtesy of Murphy’s Ranch
Murphy’s Ranch is an example of why you should never go to a house in the Hollywood Hills. Weird things happen up there behind the tall iron gates of the multimillion-dollar houses, and two pool cleaners on a routine job are about to discover some of those secrets.
Two brothers, Asher (Lee Pugsley) and Nate (Hosea Chanchez), find themselves in the back yard of a very rich man who doesn’t want them there. The brothers have been called because the pool seems to have a leak, but their job takes a back seat when they see a kid (Jack Doke) sitting in a pool chair. He’s odd, asks insensitive questions, and has strange sketches in his book. While the brothers are initially quick to write him off, they start to realize something might not be right in this home.
Murphy’s Ranch is part of the Unstoppable Shorts program, but its ending makes the viewer wish this was either the pilot of a TV show or the beginning of a narrative feature. Comparisons will likely be made to Get Out because of some of the themes that emerge toward the end of the film. Writer/director John Michael Riva Jr. has managed to craft a richly textured look at the dark shadows of American history that continue to loom, even though we’ve been taught that certain ideologies were long buried.
Hopefully, Riva Jr. will have an opportunity to expand Murphy’s Ranch, should that be what he’s interested in exploring. The world of genre storytelling allows him to comment on the past and present, their intersection, and how compassion can lead the way forward.
Staring Contest
courtesy of Staring Contest
Staring Contest is one of two short films in this round-up that is part of the 99 Special program. These are films not connected by genre or format, but by length. It’s a celebration of DIY filmmaking that’s 99 seconds or less.
The two clay characters at the center of writer/director Courtney Sposato’s Staring Contest are a cute little bunny and a fox. They’re the best of friends, as proven by their matching Best Friends lockets, and they’re in the middle of a staring contest. It’s interrupted, and then their world is upended.
For one minute, Sposato effectively tells a story of what it means to be an “Other” in a space that’s supposed to be safe. In her director’s statement, Sposato says that the basis for Staring Contest came from her daughter beginning preschool. Every parent has been at least a little nervous about sending their kid to school, but with school shootings, ICE raids, and other acts of violence that permeate even the smallest of classrooms, it’s even more daunting.
Although this film was inspired by her concerns as a parent, it’s interesting that it’s rooted in the experience of a child her daughter’s age. It’s filled with the confusion and lack of understanding that a child would feel if they were in that position, because in no world should a child be aware of this type of violence. Staring Contest is a potent reflection of the beauty of friendship that’s too often ruined by the coldness of the world.
Dyspepsia by Salty Biscuits
We all grew up hearing some version of the urban legend that if you eat a watermelon seed, you’ll have a watermelon growing in your stomach before you know it. The fruit changes based on where you live, but the general paranoia remains. In Ahsabul Yamin Riad’s Dyspepsia by Salty Biscuits, it’s not a fruit seed that creates this all-consuming anxiety, but an insect.
On Johnson’s (Saroar Mim) plate of rice is a small bug. After he accidentally eats it, Johnson becomes wholly convinced that the bug is still living. With the help of his friend (Aung Shing Thowai Marma), Johnson embarks on a quest to rid his body of the insect before he loses his mind.
Dyspepsia by Salty Biscuits has the distinct honor of being the first-ever short film from Bangladesh to be screened at the Slamdance Film Festival. The short may have come from thousands of miles away, but it quickly becomes clear that Riad’s voice is right at home in the weird world of Slamdance. This is a festival that celebrates new, distinct voices, and that’s Riad.
The sound design is one of the movie’s strongest attributes. The gurgling, bubbling noises that come out of Johnson’s stomach will make the viewer squirm, and, if they enjoy toilet humor from time to time, laugh. Part body horror without the blood and guts, part hangout flick, Dyspepsia by Salty Biscuits is a strange little short about the manifestations of our anxieties. On top of that, it’s a fart-laden ode to what friends will do for one another.
One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six
“Whoever took my chocolate, I wish you turn into a pig.” Anyone who’s had the sweets they’ve been dreaming about stolen from beneath their nose can relate to the plight at the heart of Yingdan Lai’s One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six. MiaoMiao is a young girl at a strict boarding school. She has been given a box of chocolate balls, a rare treat for her. As the day goes on the balls start to disappear, and MiaoMiao grows desperate to keep order.
The animation of One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six is deceptively simple. It’s pencil drawings, but they’re so intricate and alive once they’re animated. So many aspects of these drawings are moving, but never in a distracting or overwhelming way. The busyness of the animation captures MiaoMiao’s youthfulness. Mirroring that animation is the sparse score. Short, fleeting sounds from clarinets and other woodwinds react to the movements of MiaoMiao. The music is attuned to her breathing, her emotions. The combination of the visual actions and the music is whimsical and imaginative, so the viewer can return to the childlike world MiaoMiao lives in. One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six feels rooted in a place and experience. It’s one of those examples of a film being so specific that it speaks to a universal set of emotions. Curiosity, frustration, and wonder run rampant in this charming short.
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