HollyShorts 2026 Programme: Martin Freeman in Little Bug, and Dame Judi Dench in Joke

You will find executive-production from Zoe Saldaña, Margot Robbie, and Barry Keoghan at HollyShorts 2026. Also, Idris and Sabrina Elba, Serena Williams and more also headline the HollyShorts 2026 programme.

Los Angeles, CA (July 30, 2026). The HollyShorts 2026 Film Festival returns this summer for its 22nd edition. Continuing its legacy as one of the world’s premier showcases for short-form cinema. Taking place August 13–23, 2026, at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatres and venues throughout Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, the Oscar®-qualifying festival will present 430 films selected from thousands of submissions from filmmakers around the globe.

Among this year’s HollyShorts 2026 headline premieres is Renée Zellweger‘s directorial debut They. While Martin Freeman stars in Little Bug. The story of Laika, the first dog to orbit Earth aboard a Soviet space mission. Michael Keaton directs and stars opposite Kyra Sedgwick in Sweetwater. While Alexandra Shipp makes her directorial debut with For Niko. In which she also stars. Vincent Cassel leads the sports drama The Colosseum. And, Michael Caine lends his voice to the poetic wartime drama Bobby.

Additional marquee selections are Selah. A Lara Everly’s comedy-drama starring Milana Vayntrub. It’s Complicated is written by and starring Iman Karram and executive produced by Zoe Saldaña. The Sisters of Scott County, featuring Kaitlyn Dever and Ava Phillippe. Michael Gandolfini and Christopher Meloni lead Sophia Meloni’s coming-of-age comedy Chop Cheese. While Lara Condor, Owen Teague and Kaia Gerber star in Get Her Back!, written by acclaimed New York playwright Leah Nanako Winkler and executive produced by Margot Robbie.

Other featured titles at HollyShorts 2026 include Renée Marie Petropoulos’ Souvenir; See You, Soon, starring Asante Black and Isaiah John; Gregory Kasunich’s Meeting Your Maker, starring Jonathan Kite; Callum Adams’ Townies (or, My Little Town), starring Maren Lord and Michel Gil; and Rachel Olson’s Homebodies, starring Sam Richardson and Martha Kelly.

HollyShorts 2026 includes notable live-action shorts include the Jordan Peele-produced horror Spilled Milk, directed by Jared Leaf and starring J. Alphonse Nicholson and Kid Cudi; Charlie Dennis’ The Pigs Underneath, executive produced by Jordan Peele; Alanna Longo’s Am I a Bad Person?; the comedy-horror FruitHead, starring Bradley Whitford; Emily Alpren and Marchelle Bradanini’s Floored, starring Mara Wilson; Hazart’s Stay for the Q+A, starring Jim Cummings; Kendra Jo’s Please Return Your Cart, starring Russell Hornsby and Kimrie Lewis; Aristides Mantilla’s In the Still of the Night, starring Academy Award winner Yalitza Aparicio; and Nell Riley’s Missed, starring Anna Camp.

Among the standout British entries is Joke, directed by Bob Cryer, son of legendary comedian Barry Cryer, featuring an all-star cast including Dame Judi Dench, Stephen Fry and Alison Steadman. Pippa Lore Feldberg Collins’ Gobstopper, starring Mia McKenna-Bruce. Annabel Scholey is an executive production by Barry Keoghan and Simon Curtis. While BRUVVAS, directed by and starring Katie McGuinness, features Ben Whishaw. Also screening is Darius Norowzian’s Fox, starring Todd Von Joel and Kierston Wareing. Zak Jarvis’ Signal starring Emmy award winner, 2 x BAFTA nominee Christopher Eccleston as Ray, a railway Signalman whose routine night shift turns into a race to save a life after spotting Billy – a distressed young man trespassing on the tracks, played by BAFTA winner Jack Rowan.

Other notable HollyShorts 2026 British selections include David Ledger’s sock-puppet comedy Odd Socks, starring Sandi Toksvig and Paterson Joseph; Alex Lanipekun’s Echoes, featuring Ashley Walters, Nathalie Emmanuel and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, and executive produced by Nicholas Pinnock; Sai Karan Talwar’s I Am the Prize, starring Russell Tovey; Still Life, starring Ophelia Lovibond; How to Hide It, executive produced by Idris and Sabrina Elba; Kat Butterfield and Daniel Audritt’s Life Goes On, starring David Bradley; and Catherine Joy White’s documentary Swim Sistas, narrated by Naomie Harris, exploring the relationship between Black women and swimming.

The documentary programme includes The Revolution Against Death from Oscar-nominated director Joshua Oppenheimer; Daniel Straub’s A Short Documentary About a Giant Pencil; and Victoria Trow’s Eructation, following the woman attempting to break the world record for the loudest burp.

Animation highlights include Pigeons, directed by Amos Sussigan and featuring the voice of Andy Serkis, and Stephen P. Neary’s Sundance-winning Living with a Visionary, narrated by James Cromwell. Natasha Lyonne, Yara Shahidi and Daveed Diggs lend their voices to ChikaBOOM!, while Oscar-nominated Butterfly and Academy Award-winning The Girl Who Cried Pearls further strengthen the animated programme. Also screening is Apart, directed by Pola Maneli and written by Academy Award winner Spike Lee. A moving story of two boys whose friendship is tested during apartheid in South Africa. Rounding out the programme is Send Nudes, directed by Student Academy Award nominee David Sick.

The festival’s music video programme includes Gorillaz’s The Mountain, The Moon Cave & The Sad God and Jack White’s Archbishop Harold Holmes, starring John C. Reilly.

Led by Emmy Award-winning producer Jessica Badawi since its launch in 2024, HollyShorts’ Sports programme returns with another exceptional lineup. Serena Williams executive produces Zina, a documentary chronicling the remarkable life and career of tennis pioneer Zina Garrison, while four-time NBA champion Stephen Curry joins two-time Academy Award® winner Ben Proudfoot to co-direct The Baddest Speechwriter of All, exploring the extraordinary life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s trusted lawyer and speechwriter, Clarence B. Jones. Also featured is Grenadye Alaso! 1974–2026, directed by Leo Volcy and executive produced by Grammy Award-winning Haitian producer and DJ Michael Brun alongside U.S. soccer legend Jozy Altidore, celebrating Haiti’s return to the FIFA World Cup after 52 years.

As one of the world’s leading Oscar®-qualifying short film festivals, HollyShorts offers Academy Award® qualification in four categories: Best Short Film Grand Prize, Best Live-Action Short, Best Documentary Short and Best Animated Short, making it a key launchpad for filmmakers seeking recognition on the international stage.

Expanding beyond this year’s official selection, HollyShorts is launching two global film fund initiatives with a combined $40,000 in prizes.

The HollyShorts Film Festival Short Film Fund will award one filmmaker a $25,000 prize package, including a $10,000 production grant from IMGN, a Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K, one-to-one mentorship from acclaimed filmmakers and industry executives, Kodak production support for both the winner and runner-up, and an official world premiere at the 2027 HollyShorts Film Festival.

The festival is also introducing the HollyShorts & Film.io Audience-Validated Competition, presented in partnership with Film.io Studios and the Film.io platform. Open to completed short films, the initiative provides filmmakers with an audience-driven discovery platform where they can build momentum, compete for $15,000 in cash awards, and position future projects for financing opportunities.

HollyShorts is celebrating over two decades of championing emerging talent and bold storytelling. The HollyShorts Film Festival continues to be a vital force in discovering the next generation of filmmakers from around the world.

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