2025 Atlanta Spotlight Film Festival

A GUEST FROM ELSEWHERE

Ethan Anderson / United States / 08:40

A stop motion 1930s fairy tale follows a monster that yearns to be a part of civilized human society. After an unfortunate mishap, the monster’s hopes of being one with the humans is put on trial.

GOD DAM

Abigail Hill / United States / 02:43

A mockumentary about two beavers that work in a post office. The camera crew observes a typical work day for Clint Eatswood, the energetic manager, as he attempts to clean up the mess created by his unenthusiastic employee, Humphrey Damiels.

DRAGFOX

Lisa Ott / Switzerland, United Kingdom / 08:10

Sam's search for identity gets interrupted by a mysterious neighbourhood fox. Together they embark on a magical journey to the attic to discover the surprising things they might have in common, and how to celebrate the ways in which they differ.

HOLY HEAVÊNESS

Farnoosh Abedi, Negah Khezre Fardyardad, Mohammad Ghaffari / Iran / 10:00

The unbearable lightness of the death of loved ones… There are wounds in life that eat away at you like leprosy…The weight of the death of loved ones sometimes becomes so overwhelming that to get rid of this weight another birth is inevitable.

LONELY ISLAND

Kristie Kish / United States / 04:22

Lonely Island is a mixed-media short film about a starving man washed ashore on a mysterious island where he befriends a crab who helps him survive. A nightmarish fever-dream narrative taking place within a collage jungle and painted sea, Lonely Island is a tale that reflects humanity and its relationship to the non-human world.

NEXT SHOW IN 90 MINUTES

John T. Hill / United States / 07:20

A routine both natural and unnatural unfolds in the heart of one of America's most cherished landscapes.

NOSTRIL 

Michael Dondero, Shengnan Dong / United States / 04:30

A stop-motion animated short about Lala, a sleep-deprived woman kept awake by her husband’s obnoxious snoring. When the sound becomes so powerful that it quite literally sucks her into his nose, Lala finds herself in a terrifying battle against the boogery germ creatures that dwell within. 

TEASER TRAILER

JJ Gibson / United States / 03:04

The ultimate trio of unlikely heroes battle an action movie teaser trailer that's out to kill them.

A fast-paced, off-the-wall, cosmic horror-comedy that satirizes modern action movie marketing. The film takes the familiar stereotypes of classic film genres and turns them on their head to create something wild, crazy, and unapologetically silly.

THE FLOCK OF FORGOTTEN FACES

A.B. Osborne, Emily McBrayer Hogue / United States / 05:40

A grungy and expressive animated short about the truths we conceal to fit in.

A bird-like girl named Lacuna finds herself aboard a mysterious train with passengers wearing masks.  As Lacuna discovers the unique faces under these masks, she draws the attention of the authoritarian Conductor.

THE GARDEN SEES FIRE

Kiera Faber, Benjamin Faber / United States / 15:00

A surreal stop-motion journey through hidden identities and environmental collapse, this hand-painted 16mm film blends natural imagery, puppet animation, and immersive sound to create a disorienting, dreamlike world where reality and fantasy collide.

¡TAXI!

Pamela Restrepo / United States / 2:35

A 1980s Manhattan cab driver, host to an ever-changing cast of characters, reminisces about a time when he drove a director to a film set and landed an acting gig.