Short Slot 3 - Bodies in Crisis

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BECALMING

Directed by Shelby Slager
Narrative Short
United States | 9 min | 2025

Cleo and Wes are ready to move into the next chapter of their lives: expanding their family. Thinking that her breast pain is a sign that she’s pregnant, Cleo is surprised by her negative pregnancy test and the diagnosis that follows. becalming is a short film bringing awareness to Inflammatory Breast Cancer, an atypical presentation of Breast Cancer that is very aggressive and fast growing.

FIRELINE

Directed by Robin Takao D'Oench
Narrative Short
United States | 13 min | 2024

FIRELINE tells the story of an inmate firefighter desperately trying to call home while battling a wildfire with his crew.

Today, 30% of CalFire Fire Dept. is supplemented by prison labor despite no clear pathway to employment upon release. FIRELINE is a tribute to the unsung heroes on the frontlines in the battle against climate change.

The film stars Bobby Soto (The Tax Collector, Flamin’ Hot) and is produced by Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad and Indeed’s Rising Voices Program.

HUMAN RESOURCE

Directed by Henry Chaisson
Narrative Short
United States | 19 min | 2025

A desperate HR manager will do anything to save her staff from termination during a brutal hostile takeover.

MALIGNANT PRACTICE

Directed by Kristin Catalano
Documentary Short
United States | 34 min | 2025

MALIGNANT PRACTICE is an animated short film based on the medical misfortune of a young woman whose breast cancer was missed by a doctor and a mammogram. This true story emphasizes the flaws within our healthcare system and the importance of being one’s own healthcare advocate.

MANIFEST

Directed by Andrew Gibbs
Narrative Short
United States | 14 min | 2025


A struggling woman joins a research study hoping for quick money, but buried past trauma drags her into a nightmare she can’t wake up from. The deeper she falls, the more reality starts to bend.