Flickers‘ Rhode Island International Film Festival, the largest film festival in the Ocean State, arrived in Los Angeles Wednesday night to kick off its award-winning shorts showcase at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. The Oscar-qualifying festival will be in L.A. for the next two weeks, screening the best of its shorts programming for Hollywood’s consideration and enjoyment.
Preceding last night’s screening in the museum’s Ted Mann Theater was an industry panel featuring Warner Bros. Discovery’s director of legal affairs Courtney McNulty, Film Frontier Studios’ VP of budgets and acquisitions Matthew S. Robinson and casting director Deborah Aquila. The panelists discussed the value of festivals, markets, representation and connection in the filmic arts. RIIFF director of community engagement Ericka Atwell-Cardona introduced the showcase to the audience, saying, “We’re here to watch their work, celebrate their voices, and most importantly support them as they rise. Because at RIIFF, we don’t just believe in talent. We believe in community.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 10: (L-R) Abbey White, Deborah Aquila, Matthew Robinson and Courtney McNulty speak during Flickers’ 2025 Award Winning Shorts Showcase And Industry Panel at The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on September 10, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for Flickers’ RIIFF)
Getty Images for Flickers’ RIIFF
Wednesday’s screening block was titled “Encountering the Unknown.” It featured eight award-winning shorts from RIIFF’s line-up that deal with uncertainty or fate. The titles were best animated short audience award winner “Retirement Plan,” directed by John Kelly; best live action short winner “The Most Powerful Human on Earth,” directed by Andrew Richardson; best animated short “Ovary-Acting,” directed by Ida Melum; best editing winner “A Sisyphean Task,” directed by Gus Flind-Henry and George Malcher; best documentary short winner “Voices from the Abyss,” directed by Irving Serrano and Victor Rejón; best comedy short winner “Cake,” directed by Caro Ribeiro; audience choice best short narrative winner “How I Learned to Die,” directed by Manya Glassman; and New England Filmmaker Award winner “My Kind of People,” directed by Joe Picozzi. The short films came from five countries around the world and showcased uproarious and introspective voices in independent cinema. A Q&A with filmmakers in attendance followed the screening.
“Encountering the Unknown” will continue to play Sept. 12-18 at Glendale’s Laemmle Theater. A second shorts program, titled “Breaking Boundaries,” will then play at the Laemmle Sept. 19-25. “Breaking Boundaries” will include Breaking Boundaries Award winner “In The Clouds,” directed by Alexandra Bahiyyih Wain; best performance winner “Amarela,” directed by André Hayato Saito; best cinematography winner “Ne Me Quitte Pas,” directed by Karim Huu Do; Alternative Spirit Award and best LGBTQ short winner “A Thing About Kashem,” directed by Bijon Imtiaz; best screenplay winner “Last Day in Sofia,” directed by Denis Spiridonov; and documentary short audience award winner “The Window on Death Row,” directed by Linda Catherine Freund.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 10: (L-R) Scout Lyons, George Malcher, Shawn Quirk, Gus Flind-Henry and Michele Noble attend Flickers’ 2025 Award Winning Shorts Showcase And Industry Panel at The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on September 10, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for Flickers’ RIIFF)
Getty Images for Flickers’ RIIFF
RIIFF executive director Shawn Quirk said, “These two weeks of short films provide a dynamic and exciting selection of some of the world’s top talent in the film industry. All of the filmmakers represented in this year’s Awards Showcase represent the next generation of independent cinema, and they are all going to be on the top of everyone’s radar from here on out.” Since becoming an Oscar-qualifying festival in 2002, RIIFF has seen 94 of its films go on to receive Oscar nominations, taking home 14 wins.
RIIFF proper took place in Providence and Westerly, R.I., Aug. 5-10 earlier this summer. The organization provides year round programming and support for local filmmakers, and the festival will return to Rhode Island again Aug. 4 – 9, 2026.
