Shorter Is Better Program – MFF26
You’ll be amazed by what happens when filmmakers present all the emotion and visual delight of a feature film in a fraction of the time. We took our favorite short films from around the world and put them into neat little packages for your viewing pleasure.
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The Films
Shorts: Date Night
Shorts Program
Romance
Your 2026 Milwaukee Film Festival isn't complete without a Date Night. Fall in love with these ten tales full of…
Your 2026 Milwaukee Film Festival isn't complete without a Date Night. Fall in love with these ten tales full of heartwarming meet-cutes, steamy encounters, hilarious hurdles, and the secrets to making it all last.This program includes the following short films:Chappell Roan - “The Subway” | Amber Grace JohnsonDISC | Blake Winston RiceDivine Intervention | Ravenna TranForcefield of Love | Liz Moskowitz, Riley EngemoenHouston, We Have a Crush | Omer Ben ShacharHUGS | Nicolas FongIvar | Markus TangreNarrated By | Khaya FraitesThe Second Time Around | Jack HowardTwo Ships | McKinley Benson
Shorts: Let's Get Animated
Shorts Program
Animation
Take the inventive, dazzling energy of our Rated K: For Kids shorts and turn it toward the messy, complicated side…
Take the inventive, dazzling energy of our Rated K: For Kids shorts and turn it toward the messy, complicated side of being all grown up. From bizarre misadventures to a singular new creation from two-time Oscar-nominee Don Hertzfeldt, these darkly funny, poignant, and visually stunning animated shorts prove that "cartoons" are more than just child's play. AGES 13+This program includes the following short films:1981 | Andy London, Carolyn London9 Million Colors (9 milionů barev) | Bára AnnaBrain Space | Laura TofaridesBusy Bodies | Kate Renshaw-LewisMangittatuarjuk (The Gnawer of Rocks) | Louise FlahertyOvary-Acting | Ida MelumPaper Trail | Don HertzfeldtWater Girl (Fille de l’eau) | Sandra Desmazières
Shorts: Most Dramatic
Shorts Program
Drama
A Sundance Jury Award winner, messages from beyond the grave, and a major Hollywood callback for one partner but not…
A Sundance Jury Award winner, messages from beyond the grave, and a major Hollywood callback for one partner but not the other, are just a few of juicy dramas in this new Shorter Is Better program. It's everything you love about film festival dramas—but six for the price of one!This program includes the following short films:Albatross | Amandine ThomasCallback | Matthew PucciniCrisis Actor | Lily PlattNervous Energy | Eve LiuTake Care | Brittany AshleyThe Oracle | JJ Adler
Shorts: Out of this World
Shorts Program
Sci-Fi
Fantasy
Enter this portal into strange worlds, haunting folklore, and uncover a sure fire way to defeat AI in this collection…
Enter this portal into strange worlds, haunting folklore, and uncover a sure fire way to defeat AI in this collection of sci-fi, fantasy, and genre shorts. Brace yourself for adrenaline-pumping stories that will leave you on the edge of your seat.This program includes the following short films:Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting | Alexander ThompsonOvergrown | Nathan GinterSpanked by a Ghost | Katelyn DouglassTaga | Jill Marie SachsTalk Me | Joecar Hanna-ZhangWe Were Here | Pranav Bhasin
Shorts: Stranger Than Fiction
Shorts Program
Documentary
An explosive moment with a beached whale, a world record attempt, and the origins of an iconic 80's tune—you'll find…
An explosive moment with a beached whale, a world record attempt, and the origins of an iconic 80's tune—you'll find all this and so much more in our annual parade of documentary shorts that have to be seen to be believed.This program includes the following short films:Coming Home | Joanna RudnickEructation | Victoria TrowLuigi | Liza MandelupOh Whale | Winslow Crane-MurdochOH YEAH! | Nick CanfieldThe Baker’s Hotline | Emily Schuman, Dave SchumanWe Were The Scenery | Christopher Radcliff
Shorts: Surprise, Surprise
Shorts Program
Comedy
It's no surprise why this comedy shorts program has become a Festival favorite. 94 minutes bursting with creativity, hilarious reveals,…
It's no surprise why this comedy shorts program has become a Festival favorite. 94 minutes bursting with creativity, hilarious reveals, and jaw-dropping twists, SHORTS: SURPRISE SURPRISE is the perfect pick-me-up for your MFF experience. I would tell you more, but that would ruin the surprise!This program includes the following short films:A Very Normal Seeming Man | Allamaprabhu PattanashettyBaa-baa! | Teresa JuksaarBalloon Animals | Anna BaumgartenCandy Bar | Nash EdgertonHalfway Haunted | Sam RudykoffPassarinho | Natalia García AgrazReplay | Phil MazoShe Raised Me | Ben LewisThe Weird Guy | Sandy Honig
Shorts: The Best Damn F*#@ing Midnight Program Ever. Shit.
Shorts Program
Horror
Cult
Enter a f*#@ed up world of chaos, creeps, and gallonsssss of pus. <3 From twisted intimacy to surreal transformations, wild…
Enter a f*#@ed up world of chaos, creeps, and gallonsssss of pus. <3 From twisted intimacy to surreal transformations, wild late-night humor to gnarly nightmares, these eight films push boundaries, dare discomfort, and guarantee you’ll leave the theater wide awake. It's an after-hours party for festival-goers 18+.This program includes the following short films:Channelvue | Brandon TauszikHomemade Gatorade | Carter Amelia DavisImago | Ariel ZengotitaMAN EATING PUSSY | Emily LawsonRéel | Rodrigue HuartTongue | Lim Da seulTuna Tartare | Lena GreeneWax | Alexandre Forgues
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