Key West Film Festival - Shorts Lineup

SXSW Winners, John C. Reilly, Haley Joel Osment Highlight Key West Film Festival Short

Film Lineup.

Riding the wave of being named to Moviemaker Magazine’s esteemed “Top 25 Coolest Film

Festivals in the World,” The Key West Film Festival has launched its short film lineup for the

14th Annual Festival, led by World Premieres, Florida Filmmakers, and Festival Winners.

The 2025 roster is highlighted by award winners from prestigious film festivals across the globe, including SXSW, Berlinale and Tribeca. The festival will be shining a spotlight on The

Sunshine State with its Florida Filmmaker and Florida Student Filmmaker Programs, including several World Premieres from hometown Key West storytellers.

The short film slate will focus on uplifting and entertaining work throughout its lineup of 50

films, selected from a record number of submissions. Highlights include SXSW 2025 Jury

Winner for Best Animated Short Retirement Plan, directed by Irish filmmaker John Kelly,

voiced by Harry Potter star Domnhall Glesson; Winner of the Crystal Bear for Best Short Film

at the 75th Berlinale, Little Rebels Cinema Club, directed by Khozy Rizal; and Silver Hugo

Winner at the Chicago International Film Festival, Passarinho, directed by Mexican filmmaker

Natalia Garcia Agraz.

The short film lineup also offers a few doses of big screen starpower by way of Academy Award nominees John C. Reilly and Haley Joel Osment, Emmy winner Alan Cumming, and the aforementioned Gleeson.

Outstanding work from Florida Filmmakers will take center stage at the 14th Annual Festival.

Storytellers from Miami to Orlando to the hometown Key West will be lighting up the screens this month. In addition, the festival will be heralding the next generation of storytellers with its Florida Student Filmmaker Program. Featured filmmakers hail from the Florida State University, Lynn University, and Ringling College of Art and Design, plus teen talents from West Palm Beach’s G Star School of the Arts and Lakeland’s Harrison School for the Arts.

KWFF's Director of Programming for Short Films is Mike McNamara, while the feature film dept is headed by Michael Tuckman. Screening venues for this edition of the festival include Williams Hall and The Regal Key West.

For the full lineup of Comedy, World Narrative, Florida Filmmaker, Documentary, World

Student Filmmaker, and Florida Student films, please click here.