Taste a selection of highlight short films from Show Me Shorts Film Festival. These inspiring and thoughtful stories include long-distance love on a distant planet, precocious children up to mischief, a whole town waiting for bad luck to pass, and a man stuck in a time loop. Comedy, science fiction, romance, and coming-of-age classics abound.

Run Time: 99 min

Rating: M - Domestic violence, drug use, offensive language

Life Goes On

Drama, 19m, United Kingdom

BAFTA winner David Bradley stars as a man in end-of-life care who is waiting for the sweet release of death, but unfortunately for him, he’s stuck in an infinite time loop.

Dir/Writ/Prod: Kat Butterfield, Daniel Audritt

Agapito

Drama, 15m, Philippines

It’s the last day of the month. Bowlers flock to the lanes of a bowling alley that has seen better days. Mira, the manager, decides to close early for a special visitor.

Dir/Writ: Arvin Belarmino, Kyla Romero

Prod: Jon Galvez, Carlos Ortiz, Mick Quito

113 Words for You Today

Science Fiction, 13m, China, Taiwan, United States

On a frozen planet where every word costs energy, a worker endures silence, storms, and solitude, saving his words for the one that matters most.

Dir/Writ/Prod: Bo Qing Tang

Dir: Lan Zeng

Socks

Coming of Age, 15m, NZ

In small-town NZ, a young Māori boy feels an unexpected bond with a Mormon missionary.

Dir/Writ: Todd Karehana

Prod: Samantha Dutton

Candy Bar

Comedy, 6m, Australia

A young girl thinks a man in the candy bar line looks like her dad.

Dir/Prod: Nash Edgerton

Writ: Damon Herriman

Prod: Serena Paull

Ciggie

Coming of Age, 11m, NZ

In the bush behind their suburban houses, two children tell stories, tease, and confide in each other, all while sharing their first cigarette.

Dir/Writ: Isaac Ieremia

Prod: Lucie Lesnard, Keeti Ngatai-Melbourne

Hai Davai (Let’s Go)

Comedy, 16m, Moldova

On the cusp of leaving her rural Moldovan village for a new life abroad, Nina is stopped, quite literally, by an old superstition: a black cat has crossed the road.

Dir/Writ/Prod: Vlad Gradescu

Writ: Paula Macovoz

Prod: Valentin Zuza, Lucien Formichella