After Dark Shorts Block | DIFF 2026

DESERTSCAPE PROUDLY PRESENTS THE "AFTER DARK" SHORTS BLOCK

An effective collection of shorts for Desertscape attendees who like slightly edgier fare.

*Some of these films may contain mature content (Language, Adult Themes, Blood, Violence, Sexual Situations)

The films in the After Dark Shorts Block are as follows;

The Seeing Eye Dog Who Saw Too Much | 17 Mins | U.S.A. | Utah Premiere

Directed by Eric Jackowitz

Starring Ethan Edenburg, Thomas McGovern, Anna Garcia, Mellissa Villasenor

In 1975, Italian director Enrico Januzzi began filming a giallo set in Rome - a feverish tale of a blind violinist who rises to first chair of the symphony, only to find herself stalked as a black-gloved killer murders her fellow musicians one by one. The only witness: her seeing-eye dog. Production collapsed after a week, and the footage was presumed lost, until its rediscovery in 2025. Painstakingly restored by WBAZ Films, this surviving fragment is presented here for the very first time.

Do Not Watch | 6 Mins | U.S.A. | World Premiere | (Possible Q&A)

Directed by Andy Matthews and Aaron Tharp

Starring Archelaus Crisanto, Whitney Rivers

*Followed by a filmmaker Q&A

After an argument with his wife Courtney, Nick reluctantly starts digitizing his family’s old home videos, only to uncover something that was never meant to be seen.

Pandora, Inc | 12 Mins | U.S.A. | Utah Premiere

Directed by Joe Lueben

Starring Jacob A. Ware

While his wife and kids are out of town, a stressed-out illustrator risks losing everything when DAWN—an alluring A.I. creation—mysteriously arrives at his home and begins to seduce him.

A Seat at the Table | 10 Mins | U.S.A. | Utah Premiere

Directed by Hayes Tufts

Starring Jeff Brosy, John Reddy, Shonda Feather

When Ben brings his new boyfriend, Chuck, home for Thanksgiving dinner, the two must navigate the growing tension as Chuck is not who Ben's family was expecting.

Missoula | 7 Mins | U.S.A. | No Premiere

Directed by Jacob Hamblin

Starring Dave Martinez, Ryann Bailey, Lorenzo Silva

*Followed by a filmmaker Q&A

Based on true events. During the height of the Satanic Panic in 1980s Montana, a late-night hunting trip leads three teenagers into the heart of something evil lurking within their small town.

BOA | 25 Mins | Canada/France | French | Utah Premiere

Directed by Alexandre Dostie

Starring Dimitri Doré, François Sagat, Jean-Louis Loca

Zosimus the patriarch is about to die and Leonidas, the youngest monk in his community, sees in it as an omen of their grim faith. Deeply shaken and forced to venture into the city, Leonidas discovers a brotherhood of an entirely different order than his own: the bodybuilders of the Boa Gym. Convinced that he is destined to save his congregation from their own weakness, Leonidas rediscovers the power of his physical body and begins a radical transformation.