Dozens upon dozens of short films screened at the 2024 Burbank International Film Festival, giving up-and-coming filmmakers the chance to see their hard work screened at the AMC Burbank 16. Shorts screened in multiple different blocks, with genres ranging from drama, comedy to fright fests. In no particular order, here are my favorite shorts I saw at the festival, all featuring inspiring creatives worth keeping an eye out for:

Tacenda

Sometimes you see a short film that unexpectedly, often wordlessly, tears its way into your heart. Tacenda is one of them.

Tacenda, which translates to meaning the things left unsaid, beautifully plays into audience expectations with the romantic question: will they or won’t they? Written and directed by sibling duo Luke and Rita Konopasky, Tacenda follows two close high school friends, Noah (Matt Davies-Morris) and Dillion (Grace Johnson), as Dillion prepares to leave for college on the East Coast. The two revisit their favorite spots and memories in Los Angeles as the audience is left to question their future together.

Noah and Dillion share a meaningful connection made all the more powerful by their inability to fully open up to each other. Davies-Morris is the focal point of the entire picture, perfectly portraying Noah’s internal battle over how to navigate Dillion leaving.

Matched with stunning cinematography by Cooper Finn that paints every scene with a warm, nostalgic embrace and one of the most inspired end-credit songs in recent memory, Tacenda is a testament to the things better left unsaid… as heartbreaking as it may be. Sometimes, words just don’t do the trick.

The Miracle of You

Featuring the most stark tonal shift of any short film in the entire festival, Richard Tanner’s bleak script starts like a calming ASMR or meditation video. It’s unclear what deeper ideas it has on its mind. But after a certain point, the experimental The Miracle of You reveals itself to be much darker — and with it, what Tanner and director Peter Spruyt’s sick form of humor is all about (and I mean that as a high compliment).

Without spoiling anything, The Miracle of You tackles society’s glorification of violence and, as Tanner bluntly put it at the post-screening Q&A, “excusing bad behavior.” Spruyt matches bright, rosy colors and hollow, overwhelming flashes of white to create an unsettling effect. There’s nothing else like it at the festival and for that reason alone, this short is destined to linger in your head.

La Bruja

Several student thesis films were programmed during the festival as well. One of the standouts was Manuel Villarreal’s AFI film La Bruja, an enticing and impressive twirl of fantasy and realism harkening to the works of Guillermo del Toro and Tim Burton.

Following the death of his mother, 8-year-old Pablito (Oscar Reyez) is left in the care of his Abuela (Elena Campbell Martinez). Pablito is initially resistant to Abuela’s story about the Bruja Del Mar but once he listens in, the fairy tale comes to life for audiences to discover. As the imaginative story unfolds, Pablito and Abuela are forced to flee immigration agents in real life.

With intricate practical sets captured through Villarreal’s wondrous eye and Georgina Gutierrez’s detailed production design, La Bruja stands out as one of the most fully realized visions of the festival. It’s an ode to grief, the universality of storytelling and our human need to latch onto worlds beyond our own — even to the stories we’ve heard time and time again.

Don’t Pause the Game

What starts as a simple video game duel between two best friends turns into a dramatic reckoning about the state of their relationship. When one of them is diagnosed with cancer, the two must reckon with its fatality and what they mean to each other. There are no easy answers given in Don’t Pause the Game, only the sadness and comfort of holding onto people for as long as you can.

Connor Rensuch and Duncan Novak give standout performances in this contained, emotionally raw drama from director Joshua Carone. The plot remains fairly simple and the number of locations totals one, allowing the rich dialogue to shine as the characters dig through difficult truths in real time. While many of the shorts at the festival impressively managed multiple different sets (including interiors and exteriors), Carone’s short showcases how less is oftentimes more.

Good Morning

Many short films throughout the festival displayed generational fears about the state of the world and where we may be headed if things don’t turn around. One such story, Good Morning, tackled this with subtly effective satire.

James Raudabaugh’s film follows a family as they get ready for just another day in their lives. The most ominous detail, however, is revealed in the extensive preparation the two kids must go through (including wearing ridiculous vests) to get to school safely. Good Morning almost plays like a shorter version of a Black Mirror episode. But in this case, the specific details kept from the audience only make it more eerie by the end. For this family, it is just another day. And there’s no shaking that.