Roswell Shorts kicks Off This Weekend: Nineteen Films, Two Evenings, One Historic First Season

The inaugural season of Roswell Shorts Indie Film Festival lands in New Mexico this September, and it promises to be an interstellar event. On September 26–27, 2025, the International UFO Museum & Research Center will open its doors to cinephiles, filmmakers, and the curious public for two nights of bold, boundary-pushing storytelling.

With 19 official selections spanning continents, genres, and techniques—from traditional narrative to stop-motion, experimental cinema, and AI-driven works—this first-ever edition sets the stage for Roswell to become a hub for short-form creativity.

Festival Director Dewey Paul Moffitt notes:“With Roswell Shorts, we’re creating something meaningful here: a showcase for short films from around the world, presented in the most imaginative of settings. Bringing Season One into the UFO Museum is the perfect reflection of that.”

Day One: Friday, September 26

The festival opens Friday afternoon with a powerful quartet of films that immediately set the tone.

The Family Photo (USA, 9 min)

A visually arresting 3D animation by John Norris Ray and Maria Victoria Sanchez, this short imagines a photograph left on the moon sparking a cosmic ripple across time and space. It blends heart, nostalgia, and speculative wonder—perfect for Roswell.

To Fly (Iran, 15 min)

Mohsen Khademi crafts a mystical coming-of-age tale about a girl, her beloved duck, and the magical journey their bond inspires. Steeped in Iranian village life and folklore, it offers a lyrical counterpoint to the opening program.

Deadline (Israel, 12 min)

Idan Gilboa’s stop-motion black comedy follows two elderly women who confront bureaucracy, mortality, and devotion to their cats—all with deadpan humor and surprising tenderness.

The second block brings viewers from environmental questions to existential dread and petty rivalries.

Elias AI (Mexico, 11 min)

Marco Casado uses artificial intelligence not just as subject matter but as a filmmaking tool, blending reflections on deforestation and digital storytelling. The result: a poignant reminder of humanity’s environmental and creative responsibilities.

Dressed for Dinner (Italy, 10 min)

Andrea Verardi’s surreal AI-assisted narrative plunges into a restaurant of unsettling revelations. It’s short, sharp, and hauntingly dreamlike.

The Rivals (Sweden, 25 min)

Fraser James MacLeod explores friendship, nostalgia, and petty jealousy in this Swedish gem. With its longer runtime, it unspools like a novella—deliberate, intimate, and ultimately universal.

As the evening deepens, the tone shifts again—toward obsession, noir, and grotesque comedy.

The Gift (Canada, 11 min)

Sundeep Singh’s genre-bending AI-enhanced short follows a father whose search for a dragon toy for his daughter spirals into obsession and peril.

Xpendable (USA, 30 min)

Walter Ernest Haussner’s darkly comic noir reimagines Evan Hunter’s The Last Spin. With smoky atmosphere and razor-sharp dialogue, it’s a modern noir standout.

Head (USA, 6 min)

Keith Ruggiero’s quirky narrative tells the story of a lonely man whose bizarre forehead growth leads him to unexpected love. Equal parts grotesque and tender.

The closing block brings suspense and grit.

Children of Icarus (USA, 7 min)

Gary Fieldman’s chilling short about a father’s cult confession to his daughter is stripped down, taut, and unsettling.

Expenses (USA, 11 min)

Also by Fieldman, this tight narrative follows a hitman on a budget, blending menace with black humor.

The block concludes with a keynote discussion featuring Fieldman himself—a chance to dive into the mind behind two of the evening’s most striking shorts.

Day Two: Saturday, September 27

Saturday opens with playfulness and expands into mystery, suspense, and experimental depth.

Lovely Lola Jean (USA, 3 min)

Matt McKee directs this vibrant music video featuring Andrew Wiscombe. Cosmic, musical, and fun, it’s a lighthearted start to the day.

The Reach (Italy, 18 min)

Luca Caserta adapts Stephen King’s short story of Stella Flanders confronting a lifelong fear. The film balances gothic atmosphere with human resilience.

Invaders of the Valley Saloon (USA, 12 min)

Dustin Tidwell delivers a New Mexico twist on alien lore: extraterrestrials descend on an Old West saloon. It’s playful, genre-bending, and perfect for Roswell.

The evening continues with mystery and suspense.

Untitled: The Lost Painting by Thomas Daley (USA, 30 min)

Sean Ryan’s Staten Island dark comedy follows a recovering gambling addict hunting for a lost family painting—unraveling conspiracy along the way.

Night Shift at Ned’s (USA, 25 min)

Hagen Mattingly’s Atlanta-set thriller finds a seasoned waitress uncovering sinister truths during the graveyard shift. Tension builds with every minute.

The festival’s longest block brings documentary, experimental, and suspense together for a powerful finale.

Dayton Guitars (USA, 16 min)

D. Emmet Wilson’s documentary celebrates Dennis Rotterman’s journey from Dayton, Ohio to crafting guitars for rock legends. A heartfelt portrait of artistry and connection.

The Space Between Attack and Decay (USA, 29 min)

Jessica Kourkounis directs this bold experimental short starring Boris McGiver, with narration by James McAvoy. A scientist abandons his mission to save the world in pursuit of a shimmering, surreal figure.

Steal the Words (USA, 20 min)

Amy Maki’s suspenseful tale unfolds on the edge of a faded oil boomtown, where one oilman takes bizarre steps to maintain control. A brooding, atmospheric closer.

Awards Presentation

After Saturday’s screenings, the festival culminates with an awards presentation—celebrating the voices, risks, and craft that made Roswell Shorts’ first season unforgettable.

Why Roswell?

Staging the festival in the International UFO Museum is no accident. Roswell has long been synonymous with mystery, the unexplained, and humanity’s search for meaning beyond the stars. By planting an international short-film showcase here, Roswell Shorts aligns itself with that tradition—inviting audiences to experience cinema as an act of discovery.

Event Details

What: Roswell Shorts Indie Film Festival

When: September 26–27, 2025 | 4–8 p.m. each day

Where: International UFO Museum & Research Center, Roswell, NM

Tickets: Donation-based at the door or www.roswellshorts.com

Final Thoughts

In just two nights, Roswell Shorts Season One manages to span continents, genres, and imaginations. From Stephen King adaptations to Iranian folklore, from stop-motion comedy to AI-driven surrealism, the lineup of 19 films proves that short form remains cinema’s boldest frontier.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO VIEW THE FILM TRAILERS: www.roswellshorts.com