About the Showcase:
Since 1989, The American Pavilion has offered unparalleled experiences in Cannes to film students and emerging filmmakers from around the world. AmPav’s Emerging Filmmaker Showcase provides an opportunity for filmmakers to have their works seen by Cannes Festival and Film Market attendees. Finalist Films will be screened in a screening room in the Palais.  Each of our five categories of exceptional and diverse 2026 films (Emerging Filmmaker Showcase, LGBTQ+ Showcase, Student showcase, Emerging Documentaries and Student Documentaries) will be showcased to our American Pavilion audiences followed by a live filmmaker Q&A.  Jury Award prizes will be awarded to filmmakers.

EMERGING FILMMAKER SHOWCASE
PRESENTED BY GOLD HOUSE

OFFICIAL SELECTION OF FILMS

CANNES 2026

EMERGING FILMMAKER STUDENT SHOWCASE
Tuesday, May 19 – 5:45pm to 7:35pm

AT WHAT COST?
2025, 20:38 min., USA, Sci-Fi, Drama, University of Southern California

Writer/Director: Ant Roberson
Producer: Mike Werner, Charlotte Marcoulis, Simeon Payne-Narcis
Cast: Quincy Everidge, Ayanda Dube, Obum Eji, Raquelle Wallace
In a drought-ravaged future where society relies on a mind-altering government drug, an obsessive scientist must choose between curing his addicted younger brother or protecting his pregnant wife before the drug turns him into something inhuman.
Trailer | Instagram

BLOOKY: THE BOOK WHO WANTED TO BE READ
2026, 5:42 min., Canada/Mexico/USA, Animation, USC School of Cinematic Arts

Writer/Director: Pablo Diaz De Leon Hicks
Producer: Shagun Kanwar, Nathania Djuhar
Cast: Cherry Guo, Adrian Garci, Allie Costa, Christopher Borkovec, Arturo Pulido Tomas, Joshua Luper
A brand-new little book gets lost in the vast maze of a grand library and journeys through every section in search of where he belongs, only to realize that the most meaningful place to be isn’t always where you fit in best.
Trailer | Instagram

EAST DID MEET WEST
2025, 15 min., USA, Romance, Drama, History, Chapman University, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts

Director: Aiko Lozar
Writer: Aiko Lozar, Alexis Berganio
Producer: Alexis Berganio
Cast: Kev Martinez, Tatyana Aravena, Eliza Kanter, Sharon Gardner, Francisco Martin, Aaron Smithson, Seth Goyal, Adam Acosta
Inspired by the 1930s court case Roldan vs. Los Angeles County, Filipino Salvador Roldan and English Marjorie Rogers must find a way to convince an attorney to fight for their marriage despite the anti-miscegenation laws of the time.
Trailer | Website | Instagram

FUEL UP
2026, 15:27 min., USA, Sports, Drama, University of Southern California

Writer/Director: Anne Koolen
Producer: Sonia Bhatia, Maggie Mingjun Zheng, Dhruvraj Singh Bhati
Cast: Casey Burke, Rick Kumazawa, Mark Simich, Joe Guintu
Haunted by the nightmare of her boyfriend’s deadly race car crash, Ava must conquer her fear of racing before she loses the dream they once shared forever.
Trailer | Instagram | Instagram

HER WEDDING
2026, 19:20 min., China, Subtitles, Drama, Columbia University New York

Director: Qinting Wang
Writer: Qinting Wang, Tiankuo Men
Producer: Jieying Amy Wu
Cast: Yi Wang, Niu Sun
On the day of her arranged marriage, a bride reclaims the ceremony meant to contain her.
Trailer | Instagram

IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
2025, 11:34 min., USA, Documentary, Loyola Marymount University

Director: Megan Whitham
Producer: Megan Whitham, Hannah Butler
Cast: Taylor Leigh Aguilar
Halfway through her M.F.A. in film production, Taylor Leigh Aguilar unexpectedly goes blind, derailing the dream she chased since high school. Yet as she grieves her sight, she discovers that with flexibility and ingenuity, her filmmaking vision might not be lost after all.
Trailer | Facebook | Instagram

KATTI (unfriend)
2026, 14 min., India/USA, Subtitles, Drama, Chapman University, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts

Director: Kanishka Aggarwal
Writer: Kanishka Aggarwal, Akshita Namjoshi
Producer: Kanishka Aggarwal, Wenfeng Li
Cast: Siyona Ailiani, Ashi Sharma
In a vibrant, multi-generational Indian household, 8-year-old Bittoo finds herself sidelined after the birth of her baby brother. Mischievous, observant, and desperate for affection, she seeks connection from her father, aunts, grandmother, even her exhausted mother but finds her only consistent, if reluctant, anchor in her teenage sister, Mitthoo. But even Mitthoo is pulling away, lost in her own secret.
Trailer | Website | Instagram

EMERGING FILMMAKER LGBTQ+ SHOWCASE 
Wednesday, May 20 – 9:00am to 10:50am

BIG BASS
2024, 13:46 min., USA, Documentary, LGBTQ+

Director: Drew Dickler
Producers: Nikki F Heyman, Jennie Kamin, David Sherwin
Cast: Drew Dickler, Cheryl Bruttomesso, Eva Malkasian
What does it mean to feel seen by others before you’re ready to see yourself? A filmmaker travels back to 1997 to revisit a dream-like memory from second grade that centers around her queer identity, her legendary PE teacher and a mysterious large plastic fish.
Instagram

DANDELION
2025, 19:59 min., USA, Drama, Comedy, Coming-of-Age, LGBTQ+, American Film Institute Conservatory
Director: Fiona Obertinca
Writer: Corey Pinchoff
Producer: Tori Ichikowitz
Cast: Vic Michaelis, Ava Lalezarzadeh, Kristin Carey, Butch Klein, Sarah Cortez
In 1970s Los Angeles, rebellious queer teen MARGARET gets thrown out of yet another foster placement and finds herself in the company of a mysterious social worker who’s tasked with finding her a new home before the break of dawn. At odds and forced to travel the city together, Margaret realizes that running may not be her only option.
Trailer | Instagram

QUEERBAIT
2025, 10:07 min., USA, Erotic Thriller, LGBTQ+

Writer/Director: Nate Gualtieri
Producer: Bara Kim, Jesus Garcia
Cast: Sydney Mae Diaz, Matthew Floyd Miller
A precocious classics student is invited to dinner after he piques the interest of a tenured professor. But when his teacher’s mentorship starts to push boundaries, he’s forced to make a choice: protect his academic future, or preserve his dignity?

SO BE IT
2025, 7:28 min., USA, Animation, Documentary, LGBTQ+, University of Southern California

Writer/Director: Matthew Sorgie
Producer: Liya Yang, Shagun Kanwar
Cast: Rochelle (Shelley) Diamond, Barbara Belmont, Richard Zaldivar, Joselito Laudencia, Joe Heally, Gordon Bellamy, Bruce Keelan, Nitin Kale, Jim Raidl
So Be It is an animated documentary offering a rare and tender portrait of lifelong queer love. Through candid conversation, the film shares the stories of 5 LGBTQIA+ couples reflecting on resilience, commitment, and the privilege it is to love and be loved.
Trailer | Instagram 

WELCOME TO TOOL SHED
2026, 22:11 min., USA, Documentary, LGBTQ+

Director: Daniel Talbott, Andrew Klaus-Vineyard
Producer: Rachna Khatau, Daniel Talbott, Andrew Klaus-Vineyard, Noel Do-Murakami, Jonah Sirota, Orphan Andy Films 
A searing dive into the colorful community of queer senior citizens who congregate at the Tool Shed, a long-standing leather bar and sanctuary for queer people in Palm Springs, CA. The film examines the generation who never expected to become senior citizens in the face of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and decades of oppression, who now find themselves trailblazers again as the first openly LGBTQ seniors.
Trailer | Website | Instagram

ZARI
2024, 19:16 min., USA/India, Drama, Coming-of-Age, LGBTQ+

Writer/Director: Shruti Parekh
Producer: Kajri Akhtar, Shruti Parekh
Cast: Aesha Soni, Kamal Batra, Richa Kalra, Kundan Kumar 
American teen Neelu feels like a fish out of water amidst preparations for her sister’s wedding in Delhi until she forges a brief and unexpected connection with Zeyb, a quiet sari store clerk who moonlights as an internet drag queen.
Trailer | Website | Website | Instagram | Instagram

EMERGING FILMMAKER SHOWCASE
Wednesday, May 20 – 6:00pm to 7:50pm

THE DRIVE
2025, 12:21 min., USA, Drama, Suspense, Historical

Writer/Director: David Arrow
Producer: Leon Derriey
Cast: Amber Paul, Allen Guy Willcox, Rivers Duggan, Blair Newman, Victoria Spitalieri, Andrew Arrow, Emma Carpio, Madison Chung, Candice Clarke
It’s a warm November day in the early 1960s, and Liz has just picked up the kids for her weekly carpool. Little does she know that this will be a drive she’ll never forget.
Trailer | Website | Facebook | Instagram

LAWYERED UP
2025, 18:48 min., USA, Sci-Fi, Dramedy

Writer/Director: Tatiana Blackington James
Producer: Tatiana Blackington James, Olia Zimarova
Cast: Virginia Reece, Jude Lanston, Josh Breslow, Susan Rudick
A betrayed woman hires a divorce lawyer who seems to be the perfect man. Is he too good to be true?
Trailer | Website |Instagram

LUKI AND THE LIGHTS
2024, 10:40 min., USA, Animation

Director: Toby Cochran
Screenwriter: Toby Cochran
Writer: Toby Cochran, Sascha Groen, Janna Brouwer-Schouten, Anjo Snijders
Producer: Adrian Ochoa
Cast: Anjo Snijders, Kendra Vernon, Toby Cochran
LUKi, a charming and upbeat robot known for living life to the fullest, confronts a life-altering ALS diagnosis.
Trailer | Website | Instagram

A MATTER OF TIME
2025, 9:14 min., USA, Drama

Writer/Director: Ana Milena Rojas Alarcon, Brian Patrick Hoffman
Producer: Ashlee Espinal
Cast: Priscila Buiar, Blanca Harnett, Brielle Dardashtian, Hilary Ervin, Garrett Cummings
Milena, a DACA recipient mother, faces a life-altering crisis one evening when her routine with her daughter, Sofia, is disrupted by an impending ICE raid. As ICE agents close in, Milena’s mother urges her to flee. In the midst of a tense escape, Milena encounters an ICE officer who, touched by a shared moment, offers her a brief chance to evade capture. The film underscores the personal and systemic struggles faced by immigrants.
Trailer | Website | Instagram

MONSTER SLAYER
2025, 21 min., USA, Animation, Documentary

Director: Catie Skipp
Producer: Grace Oathout, Catie Skipp
Cast: Stephanie ‘Monty’ Montgomery (Self)
After Monty is assaulted at the strip club where she works, she weaponizes public art to exact justice against a system’s refusal to act.
Trailer | Website | Instagram

POISONED SKIES
2026, 10:45 min., USA, Drama

Writer/Director: Caroline Friend
Producer: Nadia Fedchin, Caroline Friend
Cast: Julia Goldani Telles, Christopher Stanley, Kyle Mac, Michael Otis, Samuel Dunning
In 1954, an ambitious scientist on the brink of presenting groundbreaking pollution research is forced to make a moral decision when she becomes the target of a mining company responsible for a deadly smog disaster. Based on a true story.
Trailer | Website | Instagram

SAVERIO
2025, 13:50 min., USA, Dramedy, Drama, Socially Conscious

Writer/Director: Ellen Ancui
Producer: Connie Jo Sechrist, Ellen Ancui
Cast: Quincy Cho, Roberto Medina, Scott Alin, Georgie August, Liv Lindell, Joy Hana Park, Renny Madlena, Pablo Sanfrancisco, Parion Roberts, Joanna Cretella
Mae, an ambitious, Korean American influencer, finds an elderly, Mexican man abandoned in her car, and must choose between her own ambition and an unsupportive healthcare system, and unwittingly journeys toward a new destination.
Trailer | Website | Facebook | Instagram