BFX Film Festival Shorts
Official Selection 2026
UK Shorts
Crimson Machine
Directed by: Sai Hein Nay Zar
Crimson Machine follows a factory worker whose state of mind begins to unravel after encountering a mysterious alien object.
Two Black Boys in Paradise
Directed by: Baz Sells
Crimson Machine follows a factory worker who begins to unravel after encountering a mysterious alien object.
Soliste
Directed by: Luke Angus
A lonely Inuit must endure the endless summer daylight to be reunited with his lost love.
The Ballad of Pale Blue Dot
Directed by: Duncan Rudd
Starting at the atomic scale, we discover how earth was formed, its mis-spent youth, its adventures in parenting and its feelings towards us.
Grave
Directed by: Oz Durose
A gravedigger, haunted by guilt, is chased down by the secret he would rather keep hidden.
International Shorts
At Night
Directed by: Pooya Afzali
In the midst of war, a man watches his beloved one by lighting the three matches he has left.
Rob and Zom-The Power of Friendship
Directed by: Colin Gordon McCall
A zombie can’t stand his annoying robot companion, but finds that an imperfect friendship might be better than being alone.
Flower Bot
Directed by: Celio Dubus, et al.
In a scorching hot desert, Betty, a young robot still grieving her kind, discovers a miraculous flower.
You Play Too Much
Directed by: Rob Shaw
Lil’ Robbie (Fred Armisen) , an elementary school kid growing up in 1980’s Philadelphia has to navigate being a nerdy outsider in a tough environment. .
Fall of Ikaros
Directed by: Lea Skowasch
An animated-short film reimagining Ikaros’ myth through his mother’s eyes. As Ikaros chases the sky and pushes beyond his limits.
Dad Said
Directed by: Livia May
Young Freya loves her dad, even though he doesn’t always give the same amount of love back. She learns that it’s not always easy to get recognition from your parents.
Experimental
Chrysalis
Directed by: Andy Lomas
A video for Max Cooper’s concert at the Royal Albert Hall created using computational simulation of biological processes.
Death Of Fles
Directed by: Zechen Huang
body is found torn apart. Three enigmatic witnesses recount fragmented memories of its soul.
Spiralling
Directed by: Elva Au
Set in 1980s Hong Kong in the Kowloon Walled City, ‘Spiralling’ is a story about Iris, a 29-year-old pregnant woman who receives a distressing phone call.
Total Pixel Space
Directed by: Jacob Adler
Total Pixel Space contains every possible digital image, including films of your entire life, every life you never lived.
VFX Shorts
Brocolopolis
Directed by: Rehan Khan, Charlotte Foster
A nefarious butterfly hunter ventures into the forest in pursuit of a rare and elusive strawberry butterfly..
Buzz Stop
Directed by: Rehan Khan, Charlotte Foster
This micro-short VFX film follows commuters around Entomopia – a city in which public transport systems are all giant insects.
Dream Brew
Directed by: Ben Bayliss, Anthony Hampshire, Joel Dutton
The project is designed to be used as an uncommissioned advertisement for the company “Dreambrew” – an iced coffee brand.
AI Assisted
Georges
Directed by: Alphonse Marcel
At the dawn of the 20th century, a filmmaker named Georges sets out to create a motion picture depicting a journey to the Moon.
The Tale of the Peony
Directed by: Yuqing Liu, Jintao Sun
The Tale of the Peony is an AI-generated experimental short film inspired by the life of the late Tang dynasty poet Yu Xuanji.
New Talent
Insider
Directed by: Longyin Zhou
A treasure hunt through memory and self leads the panda to embrace the long-forgotten version of himself.
Death Of Fles
Directed by: Zechen Huang
A body is found torn apart. Three enigmatic witnesses recount fragmented memories of its soul.