Short films
Explore our award winning shorts
Where the Witch Lives (2022)
Length
15:00
Genre
Horror, Drama
Director
Mariel Sharp
Maude Michaud, Quirk Films
Producer
Lake Delisle (Blood Quantum), Catherine Bérubé (Beau is Afraid), Alex Rice (Twilight), Margaux Vaillancourt
Starring
Synopsis
After moving into an old isolated house with her newly-single mother and her little sister, 12 year old Cassie begins to suspect that her family is being tormented by the spirit of a sadistic River Witch.
"An enchanting story with a dark subtext."
-Eye for Film“A twisted coming of age story…"
-Haddonfield Horror“…sure to leave audiences shrieking in both fear & excitement.”
-Shock YaAwards & Festival Highlights
World Premiere | Fantasia Int, Film Festival | Montréal, CAN) | 2022
Nominated, Minerva Award | FilmQuest Film Festival | Utah, USA | 2023
Official Selection, Sohome Horror Film Festival | London, UK | 2023
Official Selection, Rendez-vous du Cinéma Québécois | Montreal, CAN | 2023
Official Selection, Festival Regard Sur le Court-Métrage | Quebec, CAN | 2023
Official Selection, Festival Courts d'un Soir | Montreal, CAN | 2023
Official Selection, Final Girls Berlin Film Festival | Berlin, GER | 2024
Made with support from
Distributed by
MonsterDykë (2021)
Length
4:00
Genre
Horror, Romance
Starring
Kaye Adelaide, Andromeda
Mariel Sharp & Kaye Adelaide
Director
Mariel Sharp & Kaye Adelaide
Producer
Synopsis
A transgender sculptress has a lesbian awakening when her artwork comes to life and rocks her world.
"a fan favourite, bringing a blush to even the most closeted monster-f***Ker."
-Ubyssery"... A piece that is both interesting as well as quietly empowering"
-Scared Sheepless"Never has a sex scene between a human and a statue offered so much heart and humor."
-Nightmarish Conjurings"…Honestly, impossible to look away from."
-Morbidly Beautiful“…a remarkable piece of horror comedy”
-Castle of Chills"...Full of the joy of self-realisation.”
-Eye For Film"...uses every moment of its run time to entertain, shock and comment on the inherent queerness of horror”
-Screen Queens“ a truly heartwarming and steamy story of union between two outcasts."
-Ghouls Magazine“…a trans lesbian love story for the ages.”
-Fathers on Holy GoreAwards & Festival Highlights
Winner, Jury Prize | HUMP! Film Festival | USA | 2022
Winner, Best Short Film | Scream Queer | Rome, ITA | 2021
Winner, Audience Award | Final Girls Film Festival | Berlin, GER | 2022
Winner, Best Narrative Short | Erotic & Bizarre Art Film Festival | ESP | 2021
Winner, Best Erotic Short Film | Hallucinea Film Festival | Paris, FR | 2021
Winner, Best Erotic Short Film | Hallucinea Film Festival | Paris, FR | 2021
World Premiere | Fantasia Int. Film Festival | Montréal, CAN) | 2021
US Premiere | Newfest LGBTQ+ Film Festival | New York , USA | 2021
Official selection | Frameline LGBTQ+ Film Festival | San Francisco, USA | 2021
Official selection | Fringe Queer Film & Arts Festival | London, UK | 2021
Official selection | Dreamachine Int. Film Festival | Los Angeles, USA | 2022
Official selection |Nitehawk Shorts Festival | New York, USA | 2022
Official selection | Queer Film Festival Utrecht | Utrecht, NLD | 2022
Official selection | Soho Horror Film Festival | London, UK | 2022
Official selection | SLASH Fantastic Film Festival | Vienna, AUT | 2022
Official selection | LGBT+ Film Festival Poland | Warsaw, POL | 2023
Official selection | The Bush Film Festival | Brooklyn, USA | 2023
Official selection | Queer Fear Film Festival | Winston-Salem, USA | 2023
Official selection | Spookfest Film Festival | San Francisco, USA | 2022
Official selection | Vienna Shorts Film Festival | Vienna, AUT | 2023
Official selection | Poppy Jasper Int. Film Festival | California, USA | 2024
Official selection | San Diego Halloween Film Festival | San Diego, USA | 2024
Official selection | Transition Film Festival | Vienna, AUT | 2022
Official selection | 36th FilmFest Dresden | Dresden, GER | 2024
Official selection | Cineffable 35th Int. Film Festival | Paris, FR | 2023
Don’t Text Back (2020)
Length
14:00
Genre
Comedy, Horror
Mariel Sharp & Kaye Adelaide
Director
Mariel Sharp & Kaye Adelaide
Producer
Nancy Webb & Danielle Lapointe
Starring
Synopsis
A woman seeks the help of an energy healer to rid herself of a cursed necklace that strangles her every time she doesn't text back her bad Tinder date.
"engaging performances and a wickedly funny script…a queer breath of fresh air."
-Nightmarish Conjurings“…kicking toxic masculinity’s ass, New Age witchcraft & insightful humor…”
-Sonic Cinema"Mariel Sharp and Kaye Adelaide become honorary lesbian moms to their audience"
-Flip Screened“…A cinematic experience that’s not to be missed."
-Tilt Magazine"Don’t Text Back is an example of exactly why we need more lesbian filmmaking."
Film Daze“Quippy, funny, and unsettling… Don’t Text Back does what a good horror should.”
-The CutAwards & Festival Highlights
Winner, Best Canadian Short | Fantasia Int. Film Festival | CAN | 2020
Official Selection | Newfest LGBTQ+ Film Festival | New York, USA | 2020
Official Selection | Blood in the Snow Film Festival | Toronto, CAN | 2020
Official Selection | Final Girls Berlin Film Festival | Berlin, GER | 2021
Official Selection | Imagine This Women's Int. Film Festival | New York, USA | 2020
Official Selection | Out For Blood Queer Film Festival | Cambridge, UK | 2020
Official Selection | North Bend Film Festival | Washington, USA | 2020
Official Selection | Brooklyn Horror Shorts | Brooklyn, USA | 2020
Official Selection | Rainbow Visions Int. Film Festival | Edmonton, CAN | 2020
Official Selection | Mikro FAF | Belgrade, SRB | 2020
Official Selection | Bleedinham Horror Festival | Washington, USA | 2020
Official Selection | Soho Horror Film Festival | London, UK | 2020
Official Selection | Marseille Int. Cineverse Film Festival | Marseille, FR | 2021
Official Selection | FilmQuest Film Festival | Utah, USA | 2021
Official Selection | Salem Horror Fest | Salem, USA | 2021
She Keeps Me (2021)
Length
16:00
Genre
Thriller, Drama
Erica Orofino
Director
Producer
Rachel Dagenais, Katerina Keca
Starring
Mariel Sharp
Synopsis
The strained relationship between two sisters reaches a dangerous climax in this exploration of family ties, mental illness, and self sacrifice.
"…She Keeps Me is a movie that connects people."
-We are Moving Stories“Among the treasures that screened at the Atlanta Film Festival”
AtlantaFI“…A Masterpiece of Love and Sacrifice”
-Hollywood North MagazineAwards & Festival Highlights
Winner, Best Canadian Short | Pendance Film Festival | Toronto, Canada | 2022
Nominated, Best Canadian Short | Female Eye Film Festival | Toronto, Canada | 2022
Official Selection | Atlanta Film Festival | Atlanta, USA | 2022
Official Selection | 16th Hamilton Film Festival | Ontario, CAN | 2021
Official Selection | OFFA Oakville Film Festival | Ontario, CAN | 2022
Official Selection | Beyond Cary Film Festival | North Carolina, USA | 2022
Couleur du moment (2018)
Length
15:00
Science-Fiction, Documentary Futurism
Genre
Jeremy Sandor
Director
Mariel Sharp
Producer
Vlad Alexis, Astrida Auza, Kaeten Bonli, Leonore Claire Herrem
Starring
Synopsis
A speculative fiction mocumentary following five employees during their last day on the job at a color forecasting agency before being replaced by humanoid robots.
“Cinema Politica's Documentary Futurism project seeks to usher in a new kind of filmmaking that brings actuality into conversation with speculation, and realism with the imagination. Taking inspiration from Afro-futurism, Indigenous futurism, speculative fiction and non-fiction, these 15 films inaugurate a new genre while deploying filmmaking approaches and contexts associated with documentary in order to imagine, speculate and represent future worlds.”
Awards & Festival Highlights
World Premiere | Cinemathèque Quebecois Canada | 2019
Nominee, Best Experimental Film | ALT Film Festival | Toronto, Canada | 2019
Official Selection | Junction North Int. Documentary Film Festival | Ontario, CAN | 2019
Official Selection | Gimli Film Festival | Ontario, CAN | 2019
Official Selection | Cinematic Panic | Memphis, USA | 2019
Official Selection | Artango International Queer Festival | Moscow, RUS | 2019
Official Selection | Portland Unknown Film Festival | Portland, USA | 2019
Official Selection | Bedford Falls Film Festival | New York, USA | 2019
Official Selection | Mirror Mountain Film Festival | Ottawa, CAN | 2019
Official Selection | Les Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma | Montreal, CAD | 2018
Commissioned and Distributed by Cinema Politica’s Documentary Futurism Project
Dulce Hogar (2018)
Length
9:00
Genre
Dystopia, Horror
Gio Olmos
Director
Producer
Blanca Alicia Loaria P, Zuleyka Rojo Enk, Nathalie Hernández Bejarano, Juan Guillermo González, Alvaro Espinoza, Melina Camacho, Edmundo Mosqueira, Diana García
Starring
Mariel Sharp
Synopsis
In a rundown building, Susana, the doorkeeper, sets out to collect the monthly rent. From the first floor to the highest balcony, the excruciating nature of the transaction jeopardizes the safety of the lodgers.
“Set in a mysterious sun-scorched crumbling tenement where the rent is paid in a horrifically human fashion, Olmos capitalizes on the audience’s lack of information to build suspense.”
-Anatomy of a Scream“Olmos' work shows great creativity in its script.”
-Horreur Quebec“…A wide range of interesting characters that represent the different struggles and situations of those living in poverty.”
-Morbidly BeautifulAwards & Festival Highlights
Official Selection | Fantasia Int. Film Festival | Montreal, CAN | 2018
Official Selection | TOHorror Film Fest | Torino, ITA | 2018
Official Selection | Nitehawk Shorts Festival | New York, USA | 2018
Official Selection | Festival de Cinema de Caruaru | BRA | 2018
Official Selection | SPASM Film Festival| Montreal, CAD | 2018
Official Selection | Twin Cities Horror Festival | Minneapolis, USA | 2018
Official Selection | Bloody Mary Film Festival | Toronto, CAN | 2018
Official Selection | Frostbiter: Icelandic Horror Film Festival | ISL | 2018
Official Selection | Zinema Zombie Fest | Bogota, COL | 2018
Official Selection |Paris International Fantastic Film Festival | Paris, FR | 2018
Official Selection | Meme Pas Peur Fantastic Film Festival| Reunion Island | 2019
Official Selection | Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre | ARG | 2019
Official Selection | Final Girls Berlin Film Festival | Berlin, GER | 2019
Official Selection | BFI Future Film Festival | London, UK | 2019
Official Selection | Festival Int. de Cine de Terror y Fantasía| Lima, PER | 2019
Official Selection | San Diego Latino Film Festival | San Diego, USA| 2019
Official Selection | Chattanooga Film Festival | Tennessee, USA | 2019
Official Selection | Macabro Film Festival | Meixco City, MEX | 2019
Official Selection | Sick Chick Flicks Film Festival | North Carolina, USA | 2019
Official Selection | Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival | Vancouver, CAN | 2019
Official Selection | CINEQUEST Film Festival | California, USA | 2020
Undress me (2017)
Length
12:00
Genre
Body Horror
Amelia Moses
Director
Producer
Lee Marshall, leigh Alderson
Starring
Mariel Sharp
Synopsis
A socially awkward college freshman begins to experience a mysterious and gruesome physical deterioration after a chance encounter at a frat party.
“Blunt and ruthless, the film’s greatest asset is its unflinching portrait of gore...”
— Little White Lies“...this 12-plus minute quickie will without a doubt have the rabid gorehounds applauding at its usage of unprocessed viscera – great stuff, indeed.”
-Dread Central“…a chilling character study featuring truly disturbing special effects...”
- Gruesome Magazine
“Undress Me is horror in its purest form.”
— The Slaughtered BirdAwards & Festival Highlights
Official Selection | Fantasia International Film Festival | CAN | 2017
Official Selection | Chattanooga Film Festival | USA | 2017
Official Selection | Etheria Film Night World Tour | USA | 2017
Official Selection | Film Quest Film Festival | USA | 2017
Official Selection | Nitehawk Shorts Festival | USA | 2017
Official Selection | Final Girls Berlin Film Festival | GER | 2017
Official Selection | Courts Mais Trash | BXL | 2018
Official Selection | Festival Rojo Sangre | AR | 2017
Official Selection | A Night of Horror International Film Festival | AUS | 2017
Official Selection | Monster Fest | AUS | 2017
Official Selection | Salem Horror Fest | USA | 2017
Official Selection | Spasm Film Festival | CAN | 2017
Official Selection | Ax Wound Film Festival | USA | 2017
Official Selection | Lusca Film Festival | CAR | 2017
Official Selection | Nightmares Film Festival | USA | 2017
Official Selection | Mayhem Film Festival | UK | 2017
Official Selection | Celluloid Screams | UK | 2017
Official Selection | Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival | USA | 2017
Official Selection | Sydney Underground Film Festival | AUS | 2017
Official Selection | Women in Horror Film Festival | USA | 2017
Official Selection | Portland Horror Film Festival | USA | 2017