DIFF SHORTS Film Festival has announced the lineup for the 2025 event, which will be held October 17 through 19 at Angelika Film Center & Café located in Mockingbird Station. With a goal of elevating short films and celebrating shorts filmmakers, the second annual DIFF SHORTS Film Festival 2025 will feature 12 themed film blocks with 85+ films, Q&As, industry panels, daily red carpets, and receptions for filmmakers and sponsors.
“With the exciting launch last year of the inaugural DIFF Shorts Film Festival, we are very pleased to present the second edition in October,” said James Faust, DIFF Artistic Director. “This year’s festival will feature more than 85 short films that showcase this unique and powerful medium for storytelling. Audiences can expect everything from laugh-out-loud comedies to moving dramas and edge-of-your-seat horrors—all packed into three unforgettable days.”
Programmers Choice Awards at the DIFF SHORTS Film Festival 2025 will be given for Best Narrative Film, Best Texas Film, Best Music Video, Best College Student Film, Best Animated Film, Best Documentary Film, and Best First-Time Filmmaker.
Audience Awards will be given for Best Narrative Film, Best Texas Film, Best Music Video, Best College Student Film, Best High School Student Film, Best Animated Film, Best Documentary Film, and Best First-Time Filmmaker.
This year’s Shorts Blocks bring together an exciting mix of stories and styles—something for every kind of movie lover. From heartfelt journeys through grief to fresh perspectives from high school filmmakers, from family-friendly adventures and coming-of-age tales to explorations of identity and relationships, the lineup is as varied as it is vibrant. Audiences can also look forward to late-night thrills, sports-themed stories, Latino voices, music videos, and everything in between. Each block is curated to showcase the creativity and diversity of voices shaping today’s short-film landscape, making every screening its own unique cinematic experience.
“Short films are where filmmakers can push boundaries—experimenting with structure, style, and story in ways that feel bold and alive,” said Amber Ekleberry, DIFF Director of Programming. “The films in this year’s lineup pack a real punch. They’re daring, inventive, and will stay with audiences long after the lights come up.”
DIFF SHORTS 2025 Official Selections | Directors | Countries of Origin
FILMS:
#1 BAD DAD – Natalie Camou – United States
AFRICAN FAMILY DINNER – Ibrahim Mursal – Norway, Somalia, Sudan
APOLLO – Giles Perkins – United States
ARROYO – John Garcia – United States
A VERY CROWDED ROOM – Nate Wilburn – United States
A WOMAN IS MANY THINGS (JUST FINE ISN’T ONE OF THEM) – Chase Musslewhite – United States
BANANAHEAD – Christopher Greenslate – United States
BATTLE OF LA – Patrick Pizzolorusso – United States
CONFESSION: BASED ON A TRUE STORY – Tommy Alexander Shumate – United States
CRAB CLAW – Steve Sanders – United States
DATING – Ammad Shaikh – United States
DELIVERY – Victor Brasil Salgado – United States
DOGS OUT OF TIME – Braden Bickle – United States
DRAINOMANIA – Christopher Greenslate – United States
DRIP – Vicente González – Colombia
ECHOES OF POMEGRANATE – Alex Bijan Zandi – United States
EGG TIMER – Rosie May Bird Smith – United Kingdom
EL BAR DE HERNANDO – Andres Felipe Bernal Farias, Maria Gomez – Colombia
FIND ME IN THE VOID – Denver Humphrey – United States
FLASH WARNING – Allegra Leguizamo – United States
FORCE 5 – David Marshall – United States
FOREVERGREEN º Nathan Engelhardt & Jeremy Spears – United States
FUTURE IS PANARAMA – Muschirf Shekh Zeyn – Syrian Arab Republic
GHOSTED – Chris Gray – United States
HASTA EN LA LUZ – Valeria A Avina – Mexico
HIGHBINDER – Max Galante – United States
I DO WITHOUT YOU – Vivian Miranda – United States
IN LOVING MEMORY OF MY TRANSGRESSIONS – Jorge. – United States
IT’S ALL GOOD – David Chausse – France
IT’S ALWAYS IN YOU – Kayla Gilchrist – United States
KARAVIDHE – Eoin Doran – United Kingdom
KITTY BRAVO IN FREEFALL FAILURE – Spencer Bryant – United States
KRÖNINGEN – Sebastian Storgaard – Sweden
MAY HEAVEN FORGIVE US – Andrés Buitrago – Colombia
MIME – Gabri Blankson – United States
- MITTENS – Glenn Maxwell – United States
NECHES – Katy McCarthy – United States
NO BIRTHDAYS OR BAPTISMS – Omar Castillo, Juan Fernando Ramírez, Luis Fernando Ramírez – Mexico
OMELET SUNDAY – Nolan Ladison – United States
OUTLAWS – Edy Miguel Recendez – United States
POP FLY – Aaron Roman – United States
POW! – Joey Clift – United States
RAGAMUFFIN – Kaitlyn Mikayla – United States
RED ROSE – Levi Cooper – United States
ROCK PAPER SCISSORS – Franz Böhm – United Kingdom
SENDER UNKNOWN – Lauren Coggiola – United States
SHIT FOR MUM – Rocío Rubio – Spain
SPRAY BOTTLE – Jenna Kanell – United States
STARDUST – Christian Meola – United States
STARS BY TINA – Janie Mars – United States
SWORDPLAY – Noah Sutton & Nathan Paine – United States
THE 21 – Tod Polson – United States
THE DEATH OF JAMES – Sam Chou – Canada
THE HAITIAN SNAP – Stefan Puente – United States
THE MAN IN THE UPPER ROOM – Sean Alan Stone – United States
THE PICNIC – Cory DeMeyers – United States
THE RODITI RULE – Ella Hestand, Charity Robinson – United States
THE THINGS WE KEEP – Joanna Fernandez – United States
TO WRITE THE ENDING – Shaler Keenum – United States
TRAUMA MINES – Wes Evans Heidenreich – United States
UNTIL DAYLIGHT COMES – Madysen Dougherty – United States
UNTITLED ARTIST – Lilly Goba – United States
VOX HUMANA – Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan – Philippines
WAR – Danny Shepherd – United States
WHEN EVERYTHING WAS BLUE – Christina Chironna – United States
ZIDDH – Aryaman Adik – India
MUSIC VIDEOS:
ANTISOCIAL – Tobias Rothacker – Germany
BUTTER BEAN – BELLY ACHE – Arius Ziaee, Dave Merson Hess – United States
COWBOYS AND INDIANS: LEAVING FOR GOOD – Paul Armstrong – United States
HANGOVER – Chloe Desaulles – United States
LOVELY MIND – Leopoldo Calderas – United States
WONDERLAND – Andrew Goldfarb – United States
OH ROSIE! – Alexia Lewis – United States
SUNRISE ACADEMY: SUNKISSED – Julian Sol Jordan, Yakob Dye – United States
THORNS – Judd Myers – United States
WHEN WILL I EVER LEARN – Timothy Bubel – United States
For more information, visit https://diffshorts2025.eventive.org/. Festival Passes are $75 (Senior and Student Passes are $50). Tickets are $10 for each Shorts Block.
Support for the DIFF SHORTS Film Festival 2025 is provided by DIFF SEASON PARTNERS: Akin, AT&T Discovery District, Burned to Light Media & Video Production, Cinépolis Victory Park, Commerce House, DFW MSP, FilmFrog, FlexEtc, Harwood, Movico, Nowadays Orange Productions, Violet Crown, and Virgin Hotels Dallas; GOVERNMENT AND FOUNDATION SPONSORS: The City of Dallas Office of Arts & Culture, Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District, Moody Fund for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, TACA, and Texas Commission for the Arts; DIFF SHORTS SPONSORS: Hospitality Sponsor – Virgin Hotels Dallas; Filmmaker Lounge Sponsor – Mockingbird Station. (Sponsor List as of 09.09.2025)
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