Stories of our most sacred and preciuos beings facing a spectrum of insurmountable odds with strength and resiliency that is imbedded ancestrally within them from generations before them.&nbsp; These shorts programs may differentiate from the shorts programs presented at our in-person festival screenings due to the various geoblocking restraints on each film.

Two brothers try to hold on to themselves inside a colonial boarding school designed to erase who they are. Per-Josef Idivuoma (Gákte Biera) was born and raised among what the Americans call Rudolf in the town of Idivuoma in Northern Sweden.

Triggering Historical Trauma (Residential Schools, Indian Act, Sixties Scoop)

Vieljažagaid iežaska jáhkku (Brothers of Faith)

On a quest to save his parents’ marriage, 10-year-old Jimmy takes a mythical journey through his imagination to the underworld, where he learns the ways of courage and sacrifice. Raymond Edwards is a director and cinematographer who has been working in the film industry for 15 years. Those years were spent working his way up through the camera department, from clapper loader to DOP.

In 1826 Aotearoa, a small girl in an isolated setting comes into first contact with two facets of colonization: a foreign infectious disease and the first horse she’s ever seen. Awanui Simich-Pene (Ngāpuhi/Ngāti Hauā) is a New Zealand–based filmmaker of Māori and Croatian descent. Awanui has been a working director since 2006.

First Horse

While a mom and dad try to put their baby to sleep, a competition arises between them: Who will manage to get the baby to say their first word? Lyna Tadount and Sofian Chouaib met in art school in Paris, France, co-directed Ya Hanouni, and continue to work as directors and photographers in Paris. ﻿

Ya Hanouni

Braids follows a young Native American boy, Raven, who grapples with identity, tradition, and societal pressures in a world that often misunderstands his heritage, forcing him to balance cultural integrity with conforming to societal expectations. Elise Beers Aachix̂ Qağaduug is an enrolled member of the Unangax̂ (Unangan/Aleut) Native American Tribe and a dynamic dancer and choreographer with EarthWorks Dance Company.

Braids

A Tayal daughter becomes a hostage to save her people, fracturing her family amid colonial war. Hsueh-Bin Chieh is a Paiwan filmmaker, director, and screenwriter from Taimali, Taitung.

A Bridge in the Mist

Short Film Program:  Children of Resilience

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Please note that not all films screened during the in-person Festival will be available online. Online Festival works are subject to location geoblocking and distribution rights. Access to online screenings starts on Monday, June 8, 2026 at 10:00 AM ET and ends Sunday, June 14, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET; this cutoff applies to all forms of access, including online single tickets purchased after June 11, 2026 (which is the last day to purchase for a guaranteed 72-hour access window).

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