Hollywood, CA (August 17, 2026). The Oscars and BAFTA qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival returns this summer for its 22nd edition. This is continuing its legacy as one of the world’s premier showcases for short form cinema. Taking place from August 13–23 in Los Angeles —and streaming globally via Bitpix. This milestone year will feature a star-powered and diverse lineup, chosen from a record 7,500 submissions worldwide.
Logline: In a basement-turned boy cave. A band rehearsal spirals into chaos as creative tensions and personal drama push four teenage musicians to the brink. After their frustrations explode into a physical altercation, music is the only thing that can bring them back together.
Written and directed by Gerard Vidal Barrena, starring Isaias Badilla, Nii Adu Clerk, Leo Blumenfield and Archer Carr-Engler, produded by Sophiyaa Nayar along with Gerard Vidal Barrena. With songs is by Gerard Vidal Barreena. The film is a New York production as part of the Grad Film program at NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Forming a music band is a delicate and emotionally complex bond. It means building something with people you care about and admire; a compromise to carry out a life project. The purest and most chaotic relationships I’ve ever known were with my teenage rock band, and the rehearsal room was where we found ecstasy, fell in love, fell out of it, and made up. Again and again. With “B for Boys” I set out to explore the sensitive and vulnerable side of friendships between boys and the bridging power of music. Sometimes music saves the friendship. Sometimes it can’t, but it always leaves a mark. – Gerard Vidal Barrena
About Gerard Vidal Barrena
Gerard Vidal Barrena (Barcelona, 1995) is a filmmaker, screenwriter and musician based in New York. He is part of the Grad Film program at NYU Tisch School of the Arts as a La Caixa Foundation Fellow.
His debut feature “Les dues nits d’ahir” (“Yesterday’s Two Nights”, 2020), which he co-directed, co-wrote, and scored, premiered at the Málaga Film Festival, where it won the Biznaga de Plata for Best Direction and Best Actor, and went on win the Audience Award at the Gaudí Awards. His earlier short “Celebration” (2016) premiered at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, and was awarded at the Sitges Film Festival.
As a musician, he makes music under the stage name The Bird Yellow. By 22, he released his debut album “Little Kids” (2018), which was very well received by the media. After three studio albums, his music has accumulated more than one million Spotify streams. His songs blend intimate songwriting with cinematic arrangements, and his live performances are known for their closeness and emotional intensity.
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