Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival

Opens April 18, 2026

21 Years of Sci-Fi and Fantasy Shorts

Celebrate 21 years of spellbinding cinema at the Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Film Festival (SFFSFF) this June at SIFF Cinema Uptown. For two decades, MOPOP and SIFF have put a spotlight on visionary filmmakers, showcasing innovative short films that transport audiences to brand-new worlds.

The animated and live-action shorts are carefully curated and judged by a panel of film critics. Previous selections have transcended the screen, earning international distribution, Academy Award nominations, museum exhibitions, and more.

Join us this spring for captivating screenings, a filmmaker Q&A, and an awards ceremony as we celebrate 20 years of groundbreaking cinema and fearless storytelling.

April 18 Tickets: $22 SIFF Members, MOPOP Members, Students | $24 Regular
April 18 Screenings: Block 1 & 2 Films

April 19 Tickets: $12 SIFF Members, MOPOP Members | $17 Students | $18 Regular
April 19 Screenings: Day 2 Films (Next Generation Filmmakers)

Day 1 Schedule:

2:30 PM - Doors Open
3 PM - Block 1 Begins
4:45 PM - Intermission
5:45 PM - Block 2 Begins
7:20 - Awards Ceremony & Filmmaker Q&A

Tickets

Select showtime for pricing and tickets.

Saturday, April 18, 2026

SIFF Cinema Uptown

3:00 PM

Sunday, April 19, 2026

SIFF Cinema Uptown

1:00 PM

BLOCK 1

CONTENT WARNINGS: DISCUSSION OF RACIAL VIOLENCE, RACIAL SLURS, LANGUAGE, ANIMATED GORE

LOVEBUGS

My Only Friend is a Robot Named Beans

Anika Kan Grevstad, USA, 13 min.

Ruby finds her lonesome routines disrupted when she makes an unlikely new friend: a mail-order robot.

ALPHA 27

Play Again?

Rita (Rui) Chen, USA, 4 min.

Faced with the end of their world, two time travelers say their last goodbyes.

HENCHMEN CHRONICLES

The Burden

Tish Arana, USA, 15 min.

When culture vultures apply for citizenship on a new planet founded by Black Earthlings, three judges must decide how to deal with folks who want everything but the burden.

EN MEMORIA

En Memoria

Roberto Fatal, USA, 11 min.

In a dystopian future, a mother struggles to finish making her daughter's quinceañera dress.

REDMAN

Redman

Edith Morris, United Kingdom, 1 min.

I went to Lofoten, Norway and captured a giant red man on Super 8.

DETLEV

Detlev

Ferdinand Ehrhardt, Germany, 13 min.

A constantly freezing man in his forties drives to a lonely petrol station every evening to perform a bizarre warming ritual. When he is observed by a stranger one night, his world begins to crumble into shameful pieces.

EMPANO GELASIUM

Empano Gleasium

Joe Bowden, USA, 10 min.

A couple uses their love for each other and a magical spell to summon a galactic deity, but when they recite the spell's magic words, they learn there's more to magic than love...

BUTTERFLY KISS

Butterfly Kiss

Zohar Dvir, Germany, 10 min.

After an argument over an unexpected marriage proposal, Carol is left horrified to discover that their partner Ray has turned into a butterfly. Will love win?

I METAMAN™

Chester Travis, New Zealand, 5 min.

A lonely woman turns to a cutting-edge dating service, hoping technology might succeed where love has failed.

GOD IS SHY

God is Shy

Jocelyn Charles, France, 15 min.

During a train ride, Ariel and Paul pass the time sketching their deepest fears. Their game takes an unexpected turn when Gilda, a mysterious passenger, intrudes on their exchange. Yet, her relationship with fear seems far less innocent than their playful drawings.

BLOCK 2

CONTENT WARNINGS: LANGUAGE, GRAPHIC VIOLENCE/GORE, EXPLICIT SEXUAL SITUATIONS, SEXUAL ASSAULT

SKIN

Skin

Urvashi Pathania, USA, 12 min.

When an Indian American woman visits a mysterious skin-lightening clinic, she discovers its horrifying true nature.

ÅTERSÅDD

Emanu Garnheim, Sweden, 14 min.

The Traveler tries to create new life on a dead planet, inhabited only by the mysterious dust worms. But life only seems to be possible through sacrifice.

MILKSHAKE

Milkshake

George Tsereteli Ortiz, USA, 4 min.

Flying through outer space in a beat-up pickup truck, a man convinces his younger brother to stop at an asteroid gas station for a milkshake.

Enseñame Como Morir (Show Me How to Die)

Gerardo Maravilla, USA, 14 min.

After her grandmother passes away, a grieving Mexican-American woman becomes fascinated with learning what it feels like to die, leading her to a mysterious facility and a strange journey.

BREADSONG

Breadsong

Katariina Aule, Estonia, 16 min.

In the 19th century, a rural family hears a pop song from the future. Each replay comes at a cost that eventually threatens to break them apart.

ULTRA JUICE

Ultra Juice

Carl Conway Maguire, USA, 4 min.

A lonely man finds friendship in an unexpected place: his new vape.

ROUGE

Rouge

Zoé Arene, Belgium & France, 16 min.

In this adaptation of "Little Red Riding Hood", nothing goes as expected: "Hoodie" boldly asserts her desires without fear or shame, the Wolf is far from a predator, and Grandmother is losing her mind. But the Narrator hasn’t had the last word yet…

SPACE DADDY

Space Daddy

Stephen Carruthers, United Kingdom, 10 min.

Twenty-something twink Andy has a hookup with a mysterious hunk he meets on the dating app Strangr—with some… out-of-this-world consequences.

DAY 2

CONTENT WARNINGS: LANGUAGE, GORE, DISCUSSION OF SEXUAL SITUATIONS, FRIGHTENING IMAGES

NEXT GENERATION FILMMAKERS

CHECK PLEASE

Check Please

Shane Chung, USA, 10 min.

Two headstrong Koreans can't agree on who's treating who to dinner, causing their casual restaurant outing to spiral into a martial arts deathmatch.

ALIENATED

Alienated!

Andrew Erbskorn, USA, 3 min.

After his home is attacked by monsters, Gary, the janitor, is forced outside to fix the damages, but hijinks ensue when the monsters start hunting him!

TOM'S ALIEN SPACE ADVENTURE

Tom's Alien Space Adventure

Grahm Molloy, USA, 11 min.

A young ambitious astronaut makes an emergency landing on an unknown planet. Little does he know that the aliens waiting there are just as crazy as him!

GENESIS AND THE SEEDS

Genesis and the Seeds

Rowdy Stephens, USA, 11 min.

Hundreds of thousands of years ago, a suffering humanity lived on Mars. Genesis, a rogue cosmic dreamer, pushes to send two humans to Earth with strong hopes of preserving humanity’s grace.

HUNGRY HOLLOW

Hungry Hollow

Sarah Ruyle, USA, 6 min.

A gaggle of forest sprites mingle and cavort at the local watering hole, so to speak.

ANCORA

Ancora

Rocío Granillo Posse, Argentina, 14 min.

A boy seeks to find himself in a world in the not too distant future where people have forgotten their spiritual dimension until he meets a girl who shows him that there is still hope.

THE PARKING TICKET FAIRY

The Parking Ticket Fairy

Lily Andrews, USA, 12 min.

A hopelessly earnest fairy battles the brutal reality of being assigned the humiliating job of "Parking Ticket Fairy."

MY LAST DAY ON EARTH

My Last Day on Earth

Pauliina Leskinen, United Kingdom, 4 min.

A lonely astronaut’s final day on Earth.

GALE

Gale

Sean Kim, Canada, 9 min.

When her village is inadvertently destroyed by an ever-earnest gentle giant, Gran, the lonesome town matriarch, will have to let her guard down if she ever hopes to befriend the hulking construct and rebuild what has been lost.

UNWOUND

Unwound

Keira Grace Schehl, USA, 2 min.

An engineer is obsessed with recreating a wind-up ballerina from his childhood music box. As he struggles to perfect his creation, he finds himself trapped in a deadly dance.

GODDAMN'S GREAT BIG ADVENTURE: THE DATING CRISIS!

Goddamn;s Great Big Adventure: The Dating Crisis!

Lulu Mckown, USA, 3 min.

Goddamn, an adorably naive sock, ventures out to find love and runs into a few problems along the way.

DYSMORPHIC

Dysmorphic

Saul Pena, USA, 2 min.

In suburban silence, a boy struggles with the negative perception of himself.

FORBIDDEN FEAST

Forbidden Feast

Hank Swift, USA, 10 min.

Bill and Lewis try out a new dinner spot in this Lunchian horror classic.