HollyShorts 2026 Champions Authentic LGBTQ+ Voices with Diverse Short Film Line-Up

Los Angeles, CA (August 2nd, 2025). The Oscar® and BAFTA-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival returns for its 22nd edition from August 13–23, 2026. HSFF takes place at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood. It is presenting an outstanding LGBTQIA+ programme that celebrates the breadth and diversity of queer storytelling.

Justin H. Min stars in Callback in which a seemingly joyful career breakthrough throws a couple into emotional turmoil. (0, ∞) (“Zero, Infinity”) features Brandon Wilson, Alex Blue Davis, Marianne Rendón and Cheech Manohar. They star in a heartfelt story about two men navigating the surprisingly emotional process of applying for a mortgage together. Renée Marie Petropoulos offers an intimate portrait of teenage love and consent in her SXSW-winning short Souvenir. It stars Tanzyn Crawford and Emily Grant, and Gallina examines childhood friendship. Also, belonging through the eyes of a young boy confronted with impossible choices.

Carlton Daniel´s FLY follows an ambitious ballet dancer whose rivalry blossoms into something deeper during auditions for a coveted apprenticeship. While It Comes in Waves captures a young man’s quiet awakening over one transformative summer. HIGH VOLTAGE explores the blurred line between friendship and first love. Hummingbird follows a sheltered Catholic schoolgirl who risks everything for one unforgettable night with her openly queer classmate. Delay centres on a gay Chinese father whose journey to attend his son’s wedding takes an unexpected turn. While Diego explores sexuality, disability and masculinity within a close-knit Romani family.

Horror titles include Camp Oleander, transforming the conversion camp narrative into an unsettling folk horror. While Barrett Carroll makes his directorial debut with Eat, blending queer desire with visceral body horror after two strangers connect through a kink app. The Beard imagines a chilling near-future America where being queer has become a felony. In The Flesh delivers dark psychological horror through the story of a seemingly perfect housewife harbouring dangerous obsessions. Method Cowboy offers a razor-sharp satire of Hollywood and performative identity as a struggling actor pretends to be gay to land the role of a lifetime. While Scissors reinvents the slasher movie with a queer twist, turning the hunter into the hunted.

Among the Animation selection are The Lovers. Which reimagines Filipino mythology through the story of a seafood chef drawn into a forbidden romance with a mythical sirena. While Addicted To It delivers a fast-paced and inventive satire of smartphone addiction.

Other LGBTQ+ highlights include PANGEA. Offering a lyrical meditation on love, memory and artistic reinvention as a woman spends one final day trying to revive both her former lover’s creativity and their shared past. The Late in Life Guide to Modern Day Lesbianism affectionately spoofs 1990s corporate training videos with a hilarious introduction to contemporary lesbian culture. While Betty St. Clair follows a Chinese American Drag Queen as she prepares for a high-stakes performance. Olivia Scott Welch and Savy Jackson stars in Audrey Cicerello´s Grown, while Ken Barnett stars in Eyal Resh´s Save the Date about an engaged couple trying to capture the perfect ´Save the Date´ photo.

Founded in 2005, HollyShorts has become one of the world’s leading showcases for short-form filmmaking, championing emerging talent while presenting work from acclaimed filmmakers across every genre. The festival continues to provide an important platform for LGBTQIA+ filmmakers whose work challenges conventions, celebrates authenticity and expands the possibilities of short-form storytelling.

The complete list of Official Selections is available HERE.

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