Dances with Films Shorts Block 2025

WRESTLE-OFF
USA, 2024, 19.5 min.
WRITER/DIR: Sabatino Ciatti Jr.
PRODS: Maria-Sara Santoro, Max Pearce, Evan Hartney
CAST: Jillian Rezen, Sam Jacobs, Marlana Dunn, Gus M. Darden, Mason Eaglin

Fueled by her late father’s belief that she belonged on the team, Alex returns to wrestling her senior year in the wake of his passing. Determined to earn a varsity spot on the all-male team he once coached, she grapples with grief and the challenge of proving herself. With support from her father’s protégé, Coach James, and rising tension with her mother, Marissa, Alex must make a defining choice: confront her nemesis, Hunter, head-on—or cut weight to avoid him. WRESTLE-OFF is a story of grief, perseverance, and quiet resilience— starring Jillian Rezen and inspired by wrestler Skylar Grote.

B!TCH I'M EARLY (B.I.E.)
USA, 2024, 6.5 min.
WRITERS/DIR/PROD: Jesse Cowell
CAST: Jesenia, Michelle Batista, Cary Hite, Shari Ellis, Hilary Walker, Alex Spence, Elizabeth Tsung, Marissa Parness, Guy Rader

In the corporate world, being FIRST is all that matters. Two women, a generation apart, find themselves locked in an absurd battle for a coveted promotion. Desperate to outshine each other, the ladies escalate their rivalry from petty arguments to an all-out race to the office. “B!tch I’m Early” delivers a masterclass in comedic timing and mounting tension with an eclectic, diverse cast to back it up. This six-minute gem manages to pack the punch of a full feature, hilariously skewering corporate culture while reminding us that in the rat race, we’re all running in circles.

HEAVEN AND NATURE
USA, 2024, 8 min
WRITERS/PRODS: Brandon Johnston & Lindsay Chambers
DIR: Steven Fierberg
CAST: Lindsay Chambers, Jenny Cooper, Brandon Johnston

Set in the late 1950s, childhood sweethearts are confronted with the realities of their relationship as adults and are forced to acknowledge that situations are not always what they appear to be. They must ask themselves what they are willing to sacrifice to live the American Dream.

NWA (BLACK)
USA, 2024, 20.5 min.
WRITER/DIR: Hans Augustave
PRODS: Hans Augustave, Bruno Vernaschi, Raashauna Payne, Matthew Romanski
CAST: Nathaniel Sainvilien, Macc Plaise, Roland Lane

Frantz, a first-generation Haitian-American, is tasked with getting a haircut without the usual supervision of his strict immigrant father Jean. Left to his own devices, Frantz decides on a more trendy haircut, connecting him to the Black American culture his father warned him not to embrace. His journey spotlights the dichotomy of what it means to be Black in America when one’s identity has already been shaped by a different Black diasporic experience.WHAT THE

WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON.
USA, 2025, 17 min.
WRITER/DIR: Greg Rubner
PROD: James Panetta
CAST: Myah Daniels, Nate Pringle, Alexandre Chen

Three distinct people struggle to comprehend a rapidly evolving world.