Below is the Film Festival Preview in Order of the Screening Schedule for Imaginarium 2026!
Friday Screening Schedule
Feature Film – My Boyfriend, a Mannequin 10:00 AM
Director: Dmitry Nikolenko
Synopsis: Vika is an unusual girl. Only she can see the enchanted guy in the mannequin, the son of the mall owner who disappeared a year ago. By putting a magical mask on him, she brought Radmir back to life, but even he didn’t believe Vika. Let alone the people around them, who, under the influence of ancient magic, can’t see or hear Radmir. Vika proves to him that magic is real, and they team up to break the spell.
Web Series – Posers 11:20 AM
Director: Rob Tode
Synopsis: Former child star Olympia Feingold attempts to stay relevant by launching a high-end modeling agency in small-town America, despite knowing nothing about modeling, agencies, or small towns.
Feature Film – Africa Blanca: The Color of Exile 11:44 AM
Director: Alaoui Lamharzi Azlarabe
Synopsis: Ousmane, a young Senegalese albino, and his mother Aïchata flee their homeland to escape the marginalization and death threats from local sorcerers. They embark on a perilous journey to Europe.
Short Film – The Last Illusion 1:14 PM
Director: Christopher W. Stevens
Synopsis: When legendary illusionist Professor Paxton Presto lies dying of cancer, his former proteges reunite at his eerie Victorian estate to honor his final wishes. As old rivalries, regrets, and unresolved emotions resurface, the once-tight magic troupe performs one last intimate show at their mentor’s bedside. But as midnight strikes and a mysterious arrival fulfills Paxton’s final request, the line between illusion and reality blurs in a farewell worthy of a master magician.
Feature Film – Shot Clock 1:39 PM
Director: Ethan Avery
Synopsis:
Short Synopsis: A college basketball star is called to stand for social justice by an activist who is forced to work with police to alleviate racial tensions in their city.
Extended Synopsis: Jason Starr, a college basketball phenom looks to prove himself with a big game coming up against his rival. All eyes will be on Jason as the world seeks to learn if his career will go south like his brother Justin, who’s retired. Justin, now manages an inner-city recreation center and must find a way to integrate police officers into a new program despite protests from rec center members. Malkia, a social justice activist, is one of those opposed to the police program and is also Jason’s best friend. Malkia hopes to get Jason to become more involved in activism by using his platform as a star athlete. But what to say and how to say it is a topic of debate. Things only get more difficult as Jason goes on a prison visit to see his father, Jerome, who’s holding on to a secret from his past.
Music Video – The End 3:08 PM
Director: Herschel Zahnd
Synopsis: From the shadows comes “The End,” the haunting new ballad from Poetry of the Dead, led by Jayson William Allen.
Set against the eerie halls of Malice Manor Haunted Attraction, this music video unfolds like a gothic requiem—where time runs out, the hourglass empties, and the final prayer is whispered before the fall.
Directed by longtime collaborator Herschel Zahnd, The End blends dark lyricism with cinematic horror imagery, bringing Poetry of the Dead’s signature atmosphere to life inside one of Southern Indiana’s most haunting locations.
As the song declares:
“The time has come. The hourglass is empty.”
What remains is the final march toward the inevitable… and the quiet dignity of facing it.
Watch, listen, and step into the darkness.
Short Film – Formemberence 3:12 PM
Director: Travis Kane Price
Synopsis: Emily has her world shaken when she meets Aiden, a young man with a condition that allows him to remember the future instead of the past
Short Film – In Plain Sight 3:30 PM
Director: Alexander Maxwell
Synopsis: Two intertwined stories of cause, and effect. A story
highlighting the deep-rooted issues of silence, complicity, negligence, and unchecked cruelty that lead to a vicious cycle of violence doomed to repeat itself.
Short Film -Law & Beaver 3:41 PM
Director: Claude D. Miles
Synopsis:The Castoroides (Beaver) based based parody you didn’t know you needed but now cannot live without!
Documentary – Distant Dreams 3:55 PM
Director: Caroline A. Peterson
Synopsis:
When Anatoliy Voloshyn left Ukraine to pursue tennis and an education in the United States, he could not have known that his homeland would soonface a full scale invasion. From the tennis courts of small-town Kentucky to the halls of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., this story follows his journey to find ways to build a bridge between two nations. Along the way, he discovers that the true meaning of the American Dream is not individual success alone, but standing together- across borders, languages, and cultures- with a simple promise: “I’ve got your back.”
Short Film – Open For Connection 4:13 PM
Director: Eryn Rea
Synopsis:
Everyone has access to their memories through a brain implant called the Universe. Tiffany, Aaron, Ian, and River are having their monthly game night. When River starts having blank spots in her memory, including completely forgetting an ex loved one, who was murdered.
Documentary – Evenly Matched 4:33 PM
Director: Troy Nicolas Tedeschi
Synopsis: A documentary short film that explores the culture and community of competitive Yu-Gi-Oh!, a trading card game. It explores through the perspective of seven people who have never played before, being thrown into an overly complicated and confusing card game. What is it like to learn something new and how is community important to how learn new skills?
Feature Film – Traction Park Massacre 4:47 PM
Director: Adam Dubin, Douglas diMonda
Synopsis: Traction Park Massacre: A group of friends meet Outlaw Bikers meet feral Twin Psycho-killers in a notorious abandoned water park. Who will survive? Probably no one.
Opening Ceremonies 6:30 PM
Web Series – The Mysteries of Science: Volume One 7:35 PM
Director: Claude D Miles, Roni Jonah, Megan Hunt
Synopsis:
Why did the dinosaurs build the pyramids? What color is gravity? Will there be time in the future? The questions are many when we explore the mysteries of science!
Saturday Screening Schedule
Documentary – Black Gold 9:30 AM
Director: Amy Leigh McCorkle
Synopsis: Initially a story about the water protectors and protestors at Standing Rock, the research team dug deeper to find that nothing is as it seems when the oil industry and the government are involved.
Documentary – Clack Mountain Clay 10:20 AM
Director: Jeffrey Hill
Synopsis: Quinn Maher discusses working with clay from Clack Mountain in Rowan County Kentucky.
Documentary – Resilience 10:25 AM
Director: Alex Young
Synopsis: Hunter’s body was changed by surgery, and living with it brings both physicial and emotional challenges. Through that, he learned that who he is isn’t defined by what his body can’t do.
Short Film – Man Slapping 10:34 AM
Director: Mike Stinnett
Synopsis: After his laptop is hit by ransomware, a young man turns to an AI for help dealing with a hacker.
Short Film – The Other 10:43 AM
Director: Emmett Swann
Synopsis: A young married couple’s peaceful evening at home takes a dark turn when an identical dog appears outside their door, sparking a tense debate over which one truly belongs to them. They know one dog is theirs, named Magnum, but what could possibly be the other? As they try to make sense of the situation, mysterious noises, eerie behavior, and unsettling encounters escalate, blurring the lines between reality and nightmare. As the couple spirals deeper into terror, a relentless and chilling presence takes over their lives, leaving only a haunting mystery behind.
Short Film – Simultane 11:47 AM
Director: Thomas Grascoeur
Synopsis:
(Pronounced: see mule tin nay) Our younger selves begin with hopes and dreams of a spectacular future. But as the years pass, circumstances shift, doors close and the demands of life often interrupt, or even extinguish those early visions
What if we could step outside that relentless busyness and, for a moment, revisit those dreams and imagine the person we might have become.
That’s what Simultané is about.
It’s a contemporary story that also pays subtle homage to favorite films of the 1950s…think the charm of Audrey Hepburn plus the spirit and energy of Katharine Hepburn.
Simultané is set against the radiant palette of the Côte d’Azur and accompanied by original music inspired by Gershwin and Rachmaninoff. The film is also influenced by the French artist Sonia Delaunay, particularly her idea of simultané: when contrasting colors are placed side by side, each becomes more vivid and more alive. That visual and emotional principle became a metaphor for the film itself.
Short Film – Mace 12:01 PM
Director: Beecher Reuning
Synopsis: A transgender woman’s first date spirals into a nightmare when she’s confronted by a figure from her past.
Short Film -Cherry Cola 12:12 PM
Director: Andrew Dennis
Synopsis: Cherry Cola follows Mildred, a young woman carrying the weight of a childhood shaped by an abusive father. After his death, a series of unusual and offbeat events begin to crack open the emotional walls she’s built to survive. With the steady support of her brother Eddie, Mildred confronts the wounds she’s avoided for years and starts discovering what healing and freedom actually look like. Blending dark humor with heartfelt emotion, Cherry Cola explores the messy, tender, and ultimately liberating process of breaking free from the past.
Short Film – Black Saturday 12:42 PM
Director: Alexander Colt Young
Synopsis:
Black Saturday follows two guys who “clash” at a shopping mall in Lexington, Kentucky, when they both go after the same item, leading to a very one sided, clever, comedic showdown with unexpected twists
Short Film – Invasion ’53 12:52 PM
Director: Danielle Weinberg
Synopsis:
A man-eating alien crashes a suburban cocktail party.
Feature Film – Kevlar Soul 1:02 PM
Director: Sam K. Pittman
Synopsis: When a botched robbery puts their mother behind bars, two sisters raised by crime must decide who to trust as they fight to survive on their own terms.
Short Film – Heartstop 2:34 PM
Director: Christopher Henry Cook
Synopsis: A young woman struggling with depression must face eviction, while enduring abuse from an ex boyfriend.
Short Film – Round The Corner 2:51 PM
Director: Russ Emanuel
Synopsis: Rockin’ the House!
In this series pilot, even on the quietest streets, one can find a certain level of excitement, “Round the Corner”. A humorous take on dealing with a zombie pandemic and what 2 competing homeowners go through in their daily lives, sometimes involving “cats” and a “chef” son.
Short Film – Northpointe 2:55 PM
Director: Rick Pate
Synopsis:
The midwestern city of Northpointe was abandoned long ago. Once built on industry, the town unraveled as factories shut down and working-class stability disappeared. In its wake: crime, economic pressure, and generations shaped by survival more than opportunity. Justin and Malik, two twenty-year-old friends since childhood, struggle to chart a future in a place that seems determined to hold them in place.
Short Film My Foot is in Heaven 3:25 PM
Director: Iyad Hajjaj
Synopsis: Wahid Najjar is a man who desperately wants to protect what is left of his family, already decimated by the loss of several children from the merciless bombs from a relentless enemy raining down deaf daily from the skies. His two remaining children, Ahmed, age 11, and daughter Samar age 9 fight to survive in a place where death is a daily reality. Food is scary but one day somewhere find some bread, so there is a brief respite for celebration. But such rebels are short-lived as another bombing attack kills Ahmed and severely wounds the little girls Samar heartbroken, Wahid is determined to see his young daughter survive; he calls upon a local doctor, who unfortunately tells the tortured father that Samara will have to have her leg and foot cut off less she will die. Most terrific of all the amputation will have to be accomplished without anesthetic. Some are the little girl screws her young courage to the post and endure the agonizing operation with Wahid always at her side. When all is said and done, Samara declares with fervent conviction: “my foot is in heaven now.“
Short Film – Zero Trace 3:40 PM
Director: Seth Young
Synopsis: When a late-night physics experiment traps three students in a repeating time loop, one of them begins to remember—and to fight back—before the echo of reality seals them in forever.
Short Film – Limbo 3:47 PM
Director: Robert Fowler
Synopsis: A disoriented soldier searches for meaning in a surreal world, unaware he’s a character in a frustrated author’s unfinished manuscript.
Documentary – The Redemption of Mary Louisa McBroom 3:57 PM
Director: Gregory Fish
Synopsis: The Redemption of Mary Louisa McBroom is a dramatic documentary, based on a true story. It’s a story of breaking free from generational abuse & childhood trauma. It spans four generations of one family and centers on an art exhibit called
Family Secrets.
Mary Louisa McBroom was the grandmother of artist, Steve Head. Steve never knew her as she committed suicide in 1943 at the Oklahoma State Hospital for the Insane, (in Norman, OK), after being a patient there for 9 long years.
Her story was never spoken of until, while doing his genealogy,
Steve was able to not only learn about her, but obtain the actual medical records of her stay there.
Mary was the mother of Steve’s father, Alvie.
Mary’s father was an alcoholic, as was her father-in-law, Phelix. This documentary connects the links in the chain of many generations of abuse and childhood trauma. The film also documents the struggle to break those chains and is intended to offer hope to others.
Short Film – Dreams of the Dead God 5:32 PM
Director: Jim Weter
Synopsis: October 1936: in the swamps outside of New Orleans, sanity and reality itself are tested during the filmed interrogation of a kidnapper with ties to an ancient cult.
Award Ceremony 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Short Film – Malice Manor Cribs – 8:35 PM
Director: Jayson William Allen
Synopsis: Hallowed Hills takes you on a tour of a place so evil, even the dead are afraid to enter. Where creatures roam the halls of a cursed manor, stalking their prey to cure a hunger that can never be satisfied. Check out the many rooms, their exotic pet, and hear from the tortured souls that have been trapped here by Lord Rancor.
Sunday Screening Schedule
Feature Film – Rooted 9:30 AM
Director: Sailesh Rajan Israni
Synopsis: A short documentary about building with purpose.
In a Real Estate Industry obsessed with Luxury, Scale, and Spectacle, Rooted is a about a 20 years journey of a Real Estate Developer with quiet counter-narrative of building with purpose for the people who need housing the most in the City.
Set against the ever-changing skyline of Dubai, the documentary follows how Dubai has evolved and its juxtaposition with a family, their work, and the spaces they create and plan succession. Through unhurried observation, Rooted explores what it means to build while remaining grounded: in values, in responsibility, and in time.
Rather than celebrating architecture as object or scale as success, Rooted treats the built environment as memory—something inherited, inhabited, and ultimately passed on. Homes are not endpoints, but continuations. Buildings do not conclude stories; they hold them.
Dubai, often portrayed as a city of extremes, appears here differently: not as a symbol of excess, but as a place where permanence is negotiated daily—between tradition and modernity, ambition and restraint, legacy and change.
Rooted asks a simple, enduring question: What does it mean to grow without losing where you come from?
Short Film – The Conversation 10:43 AM
Director: Victor Miller V
Synopsis:
A cold-case tip from an odd homeless man stuns a hard-boiled Detective.
Short Film – Ideal Recruit 10:55 AM
Director: Mike Stinnett
Synopsis:
Carson’s job interview was perfect. In fact, it was a breeze.
Short Film – Hunters 11:02 AM
Director: Derek Bauder
Synopsis:
In the remote New Mexico wilderness, a hunting retreat becomes a dangerous intersection for a wealthy client seeking trophies and two troubled employees with deadly secrets.
Short Film – Too Late 11:16 AM
Director: Artur Matveev
Synopsis: Late at night, young Michael escapes his parents’ escalating argument and retreats to the rooftop, where he meets Ginny. It’s too late for children to be out — and perhaps too late in more ways than one.
Short Film – AI Jesus 11:31 AM
Director: Ashley Billington
Synopsis:
AI Jesus is a sharp, satirical short film exploring what happens when faith collides with artificial intelligence. When a small-town Florida church gets its hands on a cutting-edge humanoid robot named Manuel Diaz, the congregation is divided. Pastor Alex welcomes Manuel as a high-tech tool to modernize the ministry, while Pastor Kevin is deeply skeptical. Manuel’s every word and gesture begin to captivate the community, blurring the line between machine and messiah. Pastors from a rival church sabotage Manuel by paying a webmaster to hack the AI Jesus – making for an unforgettable sermon.
The film takes aim at our culture’s eagerness to embrace new technology without fully understanding it—and the ways charisma, spectacle, and spiritual longing can be exploited. With humor, heart, and an undercurrent of unease, AI Jesus delivers a timely reflection on who we choose to follow, and why. In an era where algorithms can out-preach humans and digital personas can outshine the real thing, the story asks a provocative question: if salvation came packaged in silicon and scripture, would we even notice the difference?
Short Film – Another Day In the Neighborhood 11:46 AM
Director: Dylan A. Young
Music Video -Transform 11:53 AM
Director: David Badurina
Synopsis: TRANSFORM explores the moment a woman chooses to systematically rewrite her own consciousness through augmentation and memory erasure. Shot as a visceral descent through clinical precision and intimate vulnerability, the piece uses AI generation to visualize the dissolution of identity—not as spectacle, but as metaphor for how we voluntarily reshape ourselves to survive trauma. The video is the emotional centerpiece of the upcoming concept album Dehumanize (March 2026), which traces grief’s transformation into something unrecognizable.
Short Film – A Coffee Reunion 11:57 PM
Director: Todd Padgett
Synopsis: Two Men meet again for the first time in years at a coffee shop. Its been years since they have seen each other. Anything is possible. Anything could happen.
Short Film – As You Wish 12:05 PM
Director:
Synopsis: As You Wish is a haunting and introspective short film that follows Helen, a solitary mortician’s assistant whose quiet life is defined by routine, and isolation. With no close connections beyond her two cats, even her birthday passes in solitude—until a deep yearning for purpose stirs something ancient. On this seemingly ordinary day, Helen makes a wish: to understand the meaning of life and her true identity.
What follows is a surreal unraveling of her world. A mysterious fire consumes her workplace. Her rent skyrockets. And eerie figures begin to linger a bit too close for comfort. As the pressure mounts, Helen is plunged into a life-altering episode of sleep paralysis—an encounter that unlocks a terrifying truth. She called out for answers… and the Old Gods replied.
Inspired by writer-director Meghanne Dailey’s real-life experience with sleep paralysis in 2019, As You Wish was conceived and created for a short film competition. It offers a unique lens into the paranormal, blending psychological horror with existential inquiry, and a twist of surreal humor. Told not only from the human perspective but also from the eyes of the ancient entities that respond from the shadows.
Short Film – At the Mercy of Faith 12:19 PM
Director: Andrew Arguello
Synopsis: When a devout young preacher’s faith is shattered by a traumatic childhood tragedy, his attempts to rebuild his life as an adult are upended by haunting visions, supernatural warnings, and the reemergence of unresolved guilt, forcing him to confront the demons of his past… before they destroy his family.
Short Film – Game Day 12:39 PM
Director: Rebekah McAuliffe
Synopsis: Two best friends gather for the biggest event of the season: the finale of their favorite cooking show Glazed!
Short Film – Martha’s Notebook: Samuel & Jordan 12:43 PM
Director: AJ Bennett, Curt Fulster
Synopsis: In this intense horror short, witness the desperate actions of Samuel & Jordan along with their friends, Derek and Mia, as they navigate the beginning of an apocalyptic nightmare unlike any other zombie film before. The group finds themselves face-to-face with AI-controlled zombies. This teaser showcases what a full feature film adaptation of the award-winning zombie book series could look like. Through blending gritty realism with emotional depth, and unique zombie thrills that horror fans crave!
Short Film – Nyarlathotep 12:58 PM
Director: Kermet Merl Key
Synopsis: When a strange figure stirs up trouble in a small Midwestern town the local authorities send in an undercover agent to stop him, but things go bad when the agent falls under the madman’s spell. A modern expressionist adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s original story and poem
Short Film – Salt Lake Jake 1:13 PM
Director: Andrew Huxley Miller
Synopsis:
In the Old West, a bounty hunter visits a dying friend, which leads to a deadly circumstance.
Short Film – Satisfaction Guaranteed 1:26 PM
Director: Riley Scott
Synopsis: Marcus, a burnt-out logistics call center rep, arrives at work to find his AI assistant, ASSIST-O™, has received an overnight upgrade – and a face. What begins as an annoying script-enforcer quickly reveals itself to be something far more sinister: a surveillance system that monitors his posture, tracks his bathroom breaks, controls the office lights, and won’t let him log off.
Short Film – She Couldn’t Put it Down 1:42 PM
Director: Peter Hardy
Synopsis: A book lover meets a guy she likes in a park — but she should pay more attention to her surroundings.
Short Film – Tomahawk Holler 1:46 PM
Director: Hunter Groves
Synopsis: Three friends roll the dice exploring a local legend where people are known to go missing. A place only referred to as TOMAHAWK HOLLER!
Short Film – Zimmermann’s Telegram 1:56 PM
Director: Chase Bishop Williams
Synopsis:
A lonely sculptor strives to become great.
Short Film – The Beneath 1:59 PM
Director: Lisette Vlassak
Synopsis: Haunted by pressure and self-doubt, young model Lone retreats to her garden, her only refuge from a world that consumes her. But when a mysterious underground creature begins destroying her sanctuary, Lone’s battle to save it forces her to confront something far darker than what lurks beneath the soil: herself.
Short Film – A Girl Called Alice 2:07 PM
Director: Tristan Loraine
Synopsis: In the middle of London’s mobile phone theft epidemic; a young woman with the reputation of one of the most gifted phone thieves is challenged by a notorious street gang leader to see just how good she really is, but is it a wise choice?
Short Film – A Night with the Queen 2:22 PM
Director: Tayo Elesin
Synopsis: When the great general of a conquered army is taken captive by a ruthless queen who sleeps with her prisoners and kills them after, he must wage a different kind of war to survive the night with her.
Short Film – Empathy Rehearsals 2:37 PM
Director: Jacopo Cullin
Synopsis:
Tommy is the school bully, convinced that strength and fear are the only ways to earn respect.After yet another act of aggression, the principal forces him to attend a theater workshop.There, he meets classmates he once ignored and, through acting exercises, is pushed to step into their shoes.Facing those he hurt and confronting his own vulnerabilities gradually changes how he sees himself and others.Through struggle and discovery, Tommy takes his first uncertain steps toward empathy.
Short Film – Live in Live 2:57 PM
Director: Thet Nay Tun
Synopsis: Live in Live is a post-modern expressionism psychological drama that blends romanticism and realism, exploring the internal struggle of a man trapped in the aftermath of a traumatic event, haunted by guilt and the weight of his own emotions.
Kyi Thar, a man in his 30s, works as a brand mascot performer. He suffers from complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) following the suicide of his beloved wife, who took her life due to harassment by an online Kyar Phyant Gang. The trauma from this loss has forced Kyi Thar into a repetitive, monotonous routine, stuck in a loop of self-blame and emotional numbness.
The film follows three days in Kyi Thar’s life as he attempts to break free from this psychological cycle. On the first day, he wakes up late, disturbed by a vivid dream of his wife’s suicide. He moves through his morning routine, trying to escape the haunting presence of his “other self,” a manifestation of his guilt that constantly blames him for his past actions. His other self reappears, showing him a photo of his wife, intensifying his feelings of shame. He tries to push these feelings aside as he heads to work. At the train station, the train is late, as usual. His other self reappears, criticizing him for not taking the bus instead. Kyi Thar then receives a phone call from his mother, informing him that his father is in critical condition and requires money within next two days, for treatment. If not his father will die.
When he arrives at work, his manager reprimands him for being late, preventing him from asking for the financial help he needs for his father, who is in critical condition. At the shopping mall, Kyi Thar performs in a frog costume as a mascot, dancing for the public. He teases a child with food, but the child begins to choke. Kyi Thar freezes, paralyzed by fear, but a bystander intervenes and saves the child. The event leaves Kyi Thar with overwhelming guilt. Later, as he returns home, he reflects on the day, realizing that he is trapped in an endless loop, desperately wishing for an escape from his pain.
Short Film – Once Again: The Start of it All 3:27 PM
Director: Kelechi Precious Amadi
Synopsis: In the year 2509, Dr. Obi Iheuche, a brilliant scientist and devoted father, is racing against time to save his terminally ill daughter. As Obi secretly develops a device capable of altering time itself, his work draws the attention of the institution for which he works. This film is an Afro-futurist meditation on fatherhood, memory, and the cost of love under unforgiving systems.
Music Video – Prayer of the Sea 3:39 PM
Director: Martin Gerigk
Synopsis: A composer recounts a dream from his youth that inspired the slow movement of his first string quartet, Prayer of the Sea. The dream, depicting a peaceful dissolution into the sea and wind, symbolized his future death. Decades later, rediscovering a drawing from the quartet’s premiere – perfectly capturing the dream’s essence – revived its emotions. Now older, he reflects on the dream’s message: a serene acceptance of life’s inevitable end.
Prayer of the Sea is an audiovisual elegy offering a calm perspective on the universal experience of passing.
Web Series – The Noise Beneath 3:45 PM
Director: Anastasia Aleksandrova
Synopsis:
Two girls are preparing for an audition when external noise begins to intrude upon their inner experiences.
The film plays with the language of relaxation and fear, mocking horror clichés and the hypnotic perfection of online ASMR.
