How To Lose Weight and Look Great
US Documentary
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Concertina
Mexico / Canada Experimental Narrative
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Crusoe Of Tin City
Australia Narrative
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Frida
Germany / Italy Narrative
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0.2 Milligrams of Gold
Brazil / Belgium Experimental Documentary
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Ang Motel
US Narrative
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GATHERING SPEED
Germany Music Video for Oliver Earnest
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Night/Line
USA / Austria Experimental Documentary
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Parallax
Japan Animation
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Sandstorm (Mulaqat)
Pakistan Narrative
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Sunday
US Experimental Music Video for Auditorium
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Sweetheart
Brazil / US Music Video for Johnny Franco
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Tangent 61
US Animation
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Telos or Bust
US Documentary
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The Art of Avila Rose
US Documentary
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The Brother Mike Tapes
US Documentary Comedy
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The Many Benefits of Heartbreak
US Experimental
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There's a Bison on The Prairie
US Animation
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Uqi
US Comedy
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Watch Films Rub Up

2023 IS OUR 18TH ANNUAL FESTIVAL
GLOBAL FILMS TO VIEW WITH WONDER

THE SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF SHORT FILMS

SF Shorts explores a wide range of genres and cultures without dividing them into niches. Fueled by a focus on presenting artful stories, SF Shorts is about what people see every day but now stare at in wonder. SF Weekly praised SF Shorts for its “concentrated inspiration, breathtaking craft, and unabashed entertainment value.”

Film Round-Up 2023

Surveying this year’s selections, definite themes emerge. Not surprisingly, it boils down to humanity’s position relative to anything else. But more specifically, the most presented theme was of “ritual” followed closely by the theme of “the afterlife” followed by “a questioning of reality” followed thereafter by “spirituality” and “societal crises.”

Perhaps one could say that these themes are more the result of the psychology of the staff at sf shorts. However, sf shorts tends to select films for the quality of their form and/or content, over the subject matter. Let quality be considered the best communication of the zeitgeist.

Film Round-Up 2022

Watching our 2022 slate of films reveals a bigger picture of themes seeking answers to universal mysteries. A mythos questioning order and chaos pervades. One of the things that films do best is to take you where you couldn’t otherwise go, whether through physical location or within the psychology of another. Short films in particular have the advantage of a more direct filmmaker vision, unencumbered by the compromises of larger productions; and they provide a glimpse into the future directions and players of storytelling. Making an independent work of art requires incredible dedication. We commend the following films.

Film Round-Up 2021

Each year, SF Shorts choses a selection of short films which not only entertain but also provoke thought and scratch the core human itch to connect with the world around us. The group of films screening this year is no exception. Read our brief thoughts about each below.

Film Round-Up 2020

Each year, SF Shorts choses a selection of short films which not only entertain but also provoke thought and scratch the core human itch to connect with the world around us. The group of films screening this year is no exception. Read our brief thoughts about each below.