SUNDAY | FEB 8
The Price Center, 222 W. San Antonio St
10AM - TEXAS STANDOUTS
A Lone Star Showcase of shorts worth checking out…
CHEETO PUFF (San Marcos/ATX, 3min)
A seductive bass track on revenge, produced by Anna Madewell. Directed by Zac Witte.
BLOOD BOX (Pflugerville, 5min)
A visceral examination of the quiet war we fight inside our own minds, inspired by real experiences with PTSD & mental health struggles. Directed by Joshua Raley.
TANGELO IS NOT A FROG (Webster, 7min)
What makes a frog a frog? What gives a frog its frogginess? Is a frog less a frog if that frog can't swim? Do you have to be like everyone else to belong? Directed by Brett Alistar Redden.
CRUDE (Luling, 15min)
An ordinary day in the life of oil worker Joey Crude. Or is it? Directed by Jody Stelzig.
FRANCINE (ATX, 18min)
A young woman with a supernatural ability to see into people’s memories uses it to hunt down the people who have wronged those she looks into. Directed by Julian Montez.
DADDY WAR BUCKS (Allen, 20min)
In a post-WWII Louisiana, a Polish veteran is set up by his boss to scheme an old man out of his home. As the situation spins out of control, the con reveals itself to be something yet more sinister. Directed by Jake Abraham.
SWEETWATER, TEXAS (Flower Mound, 23min)
A queer environmental journalist & her gun-toting grandma lock horns on their drive out to Sweetwater, where their cousins host the World’s Largest Rattlesnake Roundup. Directed by Kaytie Nielsen & Nick Nielsen.
Total runtime: 1 hour 31min
12:30 PM - BEST OF THE FEST - LONESTAR SHOWCASE
The Lost River crew’s favorite Texan-made shorts of our 2026 festival
ERASERHEAD (San Marcos, 5min)
A music video inspired by the David Lynch’s film of the same name, featuring original music by Chief and the Doomsday Device & Geoff B. Directed by Terelle Williams & Nicholas Butler.
THE TIME CAPSULE (ATX, 6min)
Four childhood friends reunite to dig up a time capsule after 30 years... & encounter some unexpected visitors. Directed by Michael Charron.
YER SMACKIN (ATX, 7min)
An exasperated older brother celebrates his birthday with the person he loves the most—his whiny, obnoxious little sister. Directed by John Field Brown.
EL LLORON (Rio Grande Valley, 17min)
Felip is a professional mourner, compensated for lamenting & comforting grieving families during funerals. Directed by Rodrigo Moreno-Fernandez.
ON DYING OF DEMENTIA IN A CAPITALIST SYSTEM (ATX, 15min)
An animated exploration of the contradiction between for-profit institutions & the deep humanity of care workers & residents. Directed by Anne Lewis.
THE NIGHT WE MET (Japan/ATX, 11min)
On the night of Setsubun – the Japanese celebration to welcome spring & drive away evil spirits – a boy & his father have a disturbing encounter at a local grocery store, blurring lines between myth & reality. Directed by Fumiya Hayakawa.
ROOFTOP LEMPICKA (Vietnam/ATX, 20min)
A girl in Saigon befriends an enchanting waitress who has just moved into their family′s house as a tenant, expanding her understanding of the world. Directed by Hang Luong Nguyen.
Total runtime: 1hr 21min
2:30 PM - SCARY TEXAS
Smattering of shudder-inducing shorts from across the Lone Star State
MR. MITTENS (ATX, 10min)
Mr. Mittens lived with a loving family until one day they decided to neuter him, leaving him with no choice but to get revenge on every person involved in the removal of his testicles. Directed by Glenn Maxwell.
IT DRAWS CLOSER (San Marcos, 5min)
A young woman discovers the creature she just sketched is in the bedroom with her. Directed by Joshua David Matthews.
I WAS GONE FOR A WHILE (Houston, 10min)
On the hottest day of summer, a young girl in search of adventure unknowingly encounters a sexual predator. Directed by Sarah Gaston.
TRANSMUTE (San Anto, 6min)
A young dancer, consumed by a dark obsession, stages a surreal performance in her apartment, surrounded by pink balloons, set to a haunting tune, for an audience of one. Directed by Valerie Garza.
AFTER HOURS (Spring Branch, 5min)
During her nightly cleaning routine, an elderly janitor realizes she is being hunted by a dangerous creature. She's forced to make a difficult choice between her own survival & that of a frightened young girl. Directed by Natalie Grace Daubert.
REST STOP (San Marcos, 7min)
A couple stops at a rest stop & are met with something that doesn't want them to leave. Directed by Kate Patterson.
SOUS VIDE (ATX, 9min)
After attending the funeral of her Scandinavian fiancé's mother, an American woman must decide whether to honor the mom's last wishes by partaking in a time-honored family tradition: eating her corpse. Directed by Luke Van Garza & Martha Louise Van Garza.
PREDATOR’S MARK (Fort Worth, 10min)
A pair of biology doctorate students – ex-lovers turned reluctant colleagues – encounter a strange phenomenon in remote Texas while conducting field research: an unnerving predator preying on the local ecosystem. Directed by Jacob Mejia.
THE SPACE BETWEEN (Buda, 15min)
Laura stumbles upon an old, strange pair of glasses on a walk home – unbeknownst to her, they possess a dark power. Directed by Joseph Santa Cruz.
GARDEN VALLEY (San Anto, 28min)
Drawn from the horrific Mann family murders of Spring 1988, the film follows two friends lost in a haze of heavy metal, reckless parties, drugs & turbulent romance on the Southside of San Anto. Directed by Manuel Navarro.
Total runtime: 1hour 45min
5:15 PM - A GAME IN THE WOODS (ATX, 1hr 21min)
Rich people really do import exotic animals to hunt in Texas – the director just poured gasoline on that match & lit it with a 1980s Zippo
After a Texas rancher dies, his granddaughter & her girlfriend discover masked hunters at his ranch competing in a twisted game of life & death. Will they – & their already rocky romance – survive the brutal carnage? Directed by Mike McCutchen.
7:15 PM - THE INQUISITOR (USA, 1hr 38min)
In 1972, Barbara Jordan – from Houston’s 5th Ward – became the first Southern Black woman to join Congress: one of many firsts in her career as a trailblazing political leader, a prominent force in the Watergate hearings & a liberal, lesbian icon. Premiered at Tribeca Film Fest, featuring interviews with Jasmine Crockett & Dan Rather, narrated by Oscar-nominated actress Alfre Woodard. Directed by Angela Lynn Tucker.
All candidates for elected office in Hays County, of any political party, are invited at the start of the film to briefly introduce themselves and share what from Barbara Jordan’s legacy they might wish to embody in their own commitment to civil service.
SUNDAY | FEB 8
Live Oak Hall Film School at Texas State University157 East Sessom Dr
9:30AM - EMERGING SHORTS
Compilation of brief Lone Star State narratives
WHEN WE LOCK EYES (Germany/Pearland, 6min)
A music video about how love can be a fever dream: one day it's real & beautiful, the next day it's ugly & gone, featuring an original song by Emma Kate. Directed by Brianna Gapsiewicz.
FISHY FISHY (Lufkin, 4min)
A suicidal girl tells her therapist about how she envisions her next life as a fish. Directed by Amaya G. Elijah.
APOCALYPSE PROOF (ATX, 6min)
Two drug peddlers make ends meet in the post-apocalypse. Directed by Kieran A Gibbs.
THE INTERVIEW (Nacogdoches, 6min)
With his roommate’s help, a young man navigates the stressful process of readying for an interview with an enigmatic employer. Directed by Dawson Earl Henderson.
1054 ON CONGRESS (Denton, 7min)
An expecting father takes some "medicine" that unknowingly sets off a chain reaction of dire consequences. Directed by Nicholas Johanningmeier & Troy Shaun.
SEMINOLE (San Marcos, 9min)
A girl gets her period the first night in a new foster home & figures out how to cope with it. Directed by Sydney Alexa Marsalis.
ROLE OF A LIFETIME (ATX, 9min)
A struggling actor attempts to secure a role that would change his life forever. Directed by The Fox.
POOL SHARKS (San Marcos, 12min)
Two best friends have a night out at their favorite dive bar before one gets married - yet that can’t find a damn quarter anywhere in order to play a game of pool. Directed by Brooklyn Poutra.
THE BURRITO (San Marcos, 15min)
After a historic Texas winter storm leaves three twenty-somethings isolated without reliable food, water or electricity, they must use ingenuity to feast upon their final food source, a frozen burrito. Directed by Kim Davis, Jr.
Total runtime: 1hr 12min
NOON - COPS, ROBBERS & JUST PLAIN TROUBLE BLOC
Texas-made shorts that feature protagonists on both sides of the law
THE BIG SLIP (Conroe, 6min)
Two detectives discover the harrowing truth behind a bizarre series of deaths. Directed by Sean Gentry.
UNWELCOME HOME (Irving, 9min)
As a man prepares for his first day of work, strangers barge into his apartment: trashing his kitchen, hijacking his living room, & napping in his bed. Will he stand up for himself or let his world unravel to avoid being late? Directed by Abhinav Anjana Sai Yerramreddy.
ON ONE (Rio Grande Valley, 9min)
A boy is seized by border agents while helping his school’s coach. As protests erupt in a South Texas town, a private reckoning unfolds between brothers: the coach & the agent who led the raid. Directed by Emanuel Ibañez.
PIZZA GUY RETURNS (Ft Worth, 10min)
A timid delivery driver unknowingly interrupts a cult meeting & must fight for his survival as interdimensional chaos ensues. Directed by Philip Summers.
RIDIN’ DIRTY (Houston, 12min)
When three unlikely strangers find $2 million in stolen money it sets them on a thrilling adventure dodging criminals, corrupt cops & an embattled US Senator through Houston’s underground. Will they survive the night? Directed by Coby Rich.
TOXIC ABUSE (ATX, 20min)
An ambitious detective doesn't realize how her alcohol addiction is ruining her career professionally & personally – nor does she see the path awaiting her. Directed by Robert Cantu.
I THOUGHT IT’D BE WORTH IT (Taiwan/San Marcos, 21min)
When a reserved freshman & his overbearing, rude roommate come into conflict, a single act of sacrifice forces them to face who they are. Directed by Mulder Liu & Andrew Todd Blackhurst.
Total runtime: 1hr 27min
2:30 PM - TRANSITIONS BLOC
Varied sampling of new Texas-made shorts where change is a constant
I REMEMBER THE ALAMO (BUT CAN’T RECALL HER NAME) (San Anto, 6min)
A Richie B music video following two young guys enjoying San Antonio nightlife on the River Walk. Directed by Cynthia Garcia.
I WISH THINGS WERE DIFFERENT (Luling, 8min)
A normal lesson turns unpleasant when a struggling actor confronts his teacher about his own short-comings. Directed by Ryan Flores.
DELUSION (Denton, 10min)
Torn between therapy & the stage, a rising actor confronts the night success shattered his grip on reality & the truths he’s spent years avoiding. Directed by Angel Somarriba.
ZIZANIA (San Marcos, 13min)
A San Marcos River nymph comes to new revelations about mankind & its impact on the ecosystem, forced to learn to evolve or succumb to changes around her. Directed by Olivia Rodriguez.
CHANGE (Lakeway, 10min)
A once successful woman – now living out of her car with her teenage daughter, desperate for gas money to get to her mother's house & a possible job – decides to become a street musician. Directed by Cynthia Ann Huerta-McKown.
ELEPHANTS (ATX, 15min)
Poolside, sipping cocktails, a pair of social media influencers grapple with a pivotal moment – a deep, underlying tension – in their seemingly perfect lives. Directed by Cassie Bryant Hay.
APPLE PI (College Station, 20min)
Aaron's dream of running a tutoring service turns into a nightmare upon learning his phone’s previous owner had offered a different kind of "private lessons." Directed by Ivan Rivero & Jonathan Tippett.
GHOST LIGHT (Houston, 31min)
A budding romance leads to a love that stretches through time. Directed by Michael Grossman.
Total runtime: 1 hour 53min