Junk Dump Film Festival 2026: Day One

About this event

Museum of the Moving Image and Junk Dump Magazine will present Junk Dump’s sixth annual short film festival. Junk Dump Magazine is a not-for-profit arts organization that produces a semi-annual print publication and events like Junk Dump Film Festival, which highlights emerging and underrepresented filmmakers working at the intersection of video art and storytelling. The festival presents a curated program of narrative, animated, and experimental short films made by artists using unique processes to tell singular and engaging stories. This year’s selection was guest judged and curated by two New York–based filmmakers. Caroline Mariko Stucky (she/they) is an award-winning Swiss-Japanese cinematographer, and the founder and creative director of CM8 Productions, a film and video production company specializing in independent films, music videos, and fashion films. Sidney Rose White is a Texas-born actress, model, and illustrator based in New York City. She can be seen in Wes and Kyra, HULU’s Red Is the Color of Beauty, Awesome, and Schon! Magazine’s Sheltering with You. Day One programming will include a selection of seven narrative and documentary shorts. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers. Screening run time approx. 100 min. Featuring: Vowels Dir. Rafael De Leon. 2025, 5 mins. U.S. Ava needs to record a self-tape, but her speech impediment keeps getting in the way. SHORT KING Dir. Yoni Azulay. 2026, 10 mins. U.S. An insecure, status-obsessed man spirals into obsession and sabotage after a charming guest calls him “short” at his surprise birthday party. The Lion of Teranga Dir. Marcus Quinn. 2025, 14 mins. U.S. While chasing a championship with his team, a young basketball player is drawn into an unsettling incident with his coach, threatening his friendship with his closest teammate. Sweet Tooth Dir. Benji Tucker. 2025, 13 mins. U.S. As Doe Town gears up for its 55th Annual Smile Contest, undefeated champion Bucky Bantershire…