2026 Academy Awards® Nominees Screening Series—Short Film Showcase and Filmmaker Conversations

LACMA members are invited to join FILM at LACMA for a short film showcase featuring compelling and awards-contending short films.

Perfectly A Strangeness
In the dazzling incandescence of an unknown desert, three donkeys discover an abandoned astronomical observatory and the universe.
A sensorial, cinematic exploration of what a story can be. Followed by a conversation with director, writer, and producer Alison McAlpine.

Butcher's Stain
Samir, a Palestinian butcher working at an Israeli supermarket, is accused of tearing down the Israeli hostage posters in the break room. Samir sets out to prove his innocence in order to keep the job he desperately needs. Followed by a conversation with writer, director, and featured actor Meyer Levinson-Blount and producer Oron Caspi.

The Singers
Inspired by the 19th-century short story, The Singers follows a group of down-on-their-luck bar patrons as they find unexpected connection through an impromptu sing-off. Followed by a conversation with director, cinematographer, and editor Sam Davis and actors Chris Smither, Mike Young, and Will Harrington.

Jane Austin's Period Drama
In the middle of a long-awaited marriage proposal, Miss Estrogenia Talbot gets her period. 
Followed by a conversation with co-writer and director Steve Pinder and co-writer, director, and featured actor Julia Aks.

Two People Exchanging Saliva
An absurdist tragedy set in a repressive society where kissing is punishable by death, and people pay for things by receiving slaps to the face. Angine, an unhappy woman, shops compulsively in a department store. There, she becomes fascinated by an ingenious salesgirl. Despite the prohibition of kissing, the two become close, raising the suspicions of a jealous colleague. Followed by a conversation with directors Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh and actresses Luàna Bajrami and Vicky Krieps.

All the Empty Rooms
Reporter Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp embark on a cross-country journey to memorialize the bedrooms of children lost to school shootings, highlighting the urgent need for action against the rising epidemic of gun violence. Followed by a conversation with featured participant Steve Hartman.

This screening is hosted by Slipstream, a LACMA-approved third-party screening platform. If you have not previously registered with Slipstream, you will be asked to provide a valid email address and set a password to create an account.