Cal Film Festival

The Best Short of Spring 2026 at Cal Film Festival is the film that doesn’t use death as the ending, but as the beginning. The Last Goodbye, directed by Kailey Wolf, tells the story of Basia, who hides behind her conservative family’s expectations, when she reunites with a woman she went on a date with at her grandmother’s funeral.

In addition to the top honor this season — Best Narrative Short (Grand Jury Prize) awarded to The Last Goodbye (USA) — Cal Film Festival’s jury team highlights a select group of films that made a strong impression through their storytelling, craft, and creative vision. These Jury Picks are not awards — they are a recognition of distinctive filmmaki

Murder on Mute by Pete Johnson and Quinn Katherman (USA) Best Short Script Murder on Mute is a sharp workplace dark comedy that takes one of the most mundane experiences of remote employment — someone being stuck on mute during a Teams meeting — and turns it into a frantic story about corporate exhaustion, friendship, insecurity, […]

California International Short Film Festival is pleased to announce the award winners for the Spring 2026 season. Spring 2026 Award Winners – Genre Competitions Spring 2026 Award Winners – Technical Competitions This quarter has submissions from 20 countries with total runtime of 22:29:26, plus the short scripts, and the following breakdowns: Offic

Cal Film Festival is pleased to announce the Spring 2026 award nominations. These finalists were shortlisted from an official selection pool with an acceptance rate of 47.7%, drawn from submissions representing 20 countries.

Pie in the Sky” is an enchanting music video that marries playful animation with the raw power of original recordings at Abbey Road Studio One, and a resplendent orchestral performance at the Barbican Concert Hall, London. The video opens with world-acclaimed pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet leading the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Robert Z

Filmed among the wild ponies of Newborough Warren in northern Wales, “My Home Is A Mountain” is a meditation on time, nature, and the wild grace of creatures who live entirely in tune with their surroundings. It stands as a plea for environmental protections to preserve the remaining wild habitats that exist in the world.