History
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2017
June 24 – The inaugural Los Angeles Dance Shorts Film Festival was founded by Nicole Spring and held at the Lyric Hyperion in Silver Lake.
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2018
June – The Los Angeles Dance Shorts Film Festival moved to Mimoda Studio in Mid-City for its second annual festival.
October – In collaboration with the California Heritage Museum in Santa Monica, LA Dance Shorts curated “Dance Films on the Lawn,” a free event showcasing films by local Los Angeles filmmakers.
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2019
June – The festival held its annual event at Mimoda Studio for the second consecutive year. The following day, participating filmmakers joined the public for a free panel discussion at Radiant Space, an art gallery in Hollywood.
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2020
November – Due to COVID-19, the Los Angeles Dance Shorts Film Festival was postponed from June to November and transitioned online with two free programs. The virtual festival was highly successful, roughly quintupling its audience per screening. Additionally, the festival hosted two Zoom discussions with participating filmmakers, which were open to the public.
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2021
November – LA Dance Shorts returned to an in-person format at Mimoda Studio, filling the theater to capacity. The festival also offered a virtual component and hosted a Zoom discussion with participating filmmakers.
December – In collaboration with StandardVision, an excerpt from an award-winning film was screened on a large-scale media facade on the exterior of the Marriott at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles.
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2022
The Los Angeles Dance Shorts Film Festival officially became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and adopted its new name: Los Angeles Dance Film Festival (LA Dance Film Fest). The festival was previously run by Betsy Uhler Colombo, Lex Roman, Maritza Navarro, and Felicia Guzman.
September – “Dance Films on the Lawn”
In partnership with the California Heritage Museum in Santa Monica, the festival curated a free outdoor screening featuring films by local Los Angeles filmmakers.November – Annual Film Festival at Mimoda Studio
The festival held its annual program both in person and virtually, including a Zoom panel discussion with participating filmmakers.December – Collaboration with StandardVision
An excerpt from an award-winning film was showcased on a large-scale media facade on the exterior of the Marriott at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles. -

2023
August – In collaboration with the California Heritage Museum in Santa Monica, the festival curated “Dance Films on the Lawn,” a free event showcasing local Los Angeles filmmakers.
November – LA Dance Film Fest held its annual festival at Mimoda Studio, alongside its first Dance Filmmaking Masterclass. The festival was also presented virtually and featured a Zoom talk/panel discussion with participating filmmakers.
December – In collaboration with StandardVision, excerpts from award-winning films were screened on a large-scale media facade on the exterior of the Marriott at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles.
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2024
Restructure – The Los Angeles Dance Film Festival took a year off from holding events to restructure as an organization.
The festival was re-envisioned with guidance from the 2024 Board of Directors: Steven J. Butler, Lolly, Nicole Spring, Felicia Guzman, and Alyssa Thompson.
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2025
August – LA Dance Film Festival’s 8th Annual Film Festival was held at The Eastwood Performing Arts Center in Hollywood!
A filmmaker discussion was hosted virtually.
September – In collaboration with StandardVision, excerpts from award-winning films were screened on a large-scale media facade on the exterior of the Marriott at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles.
Official Selections
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Congrats to our 2025 Official Selections! We’ll update this soon.
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CORNERBOY, Kai Kurve (Germany)
Demons, Humbi Entress (Switzerland)
CANVAS, Sophia Stroller (USA)
Thick Skin, Laura Steiner (Colombia)
Beast, Iwona Pasińska (Poland)
Walks with Me, Kati Kallio (Finland)
The Whirlwind, Julia Ponce Diaz (USA)
Luce, Valeria Galluccio (Canada)
Entanglement, Nuno Serrão (Portugal)
SOMA, Arturo Bandinelli (UK)
The Keeping of the Bees, Christina Belinsky (USA)
NEW BORN, Alexander Devyatchenko Soldak (Belarus)
NEKANE, Clara Rodríguez Arasanz (Spain)
Still Life, Ryan Renshaw (Australia)
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Going Down, Cailin Leigh Manning (USA)
Ahead, Behind, Ben V Kadie (USA)
木ノ内 周 (Shu), Mike Schwartz (USA)
PALACE, Megan Doheny, Ilya Nikurov & Omer Ben-David (Israel)
Bonheur / Happy Place, Maxime Beauchamp (Canada)
to be near you. , Ali Kenner Brodsky & Jarret Blinkhorn (USA)
Bustin' Loose, Karla Puno Garcia (USA)
Immensity - the horizon is not a destination, Isabele Rosso (USA)
Heart of the Earth, Lindsay Gilmour (USA)
SHE, Emil Dam Seidel (Denmark)
STAVROPOL, Andrew Margetson (UK)
"la fuga dei cervelli", Mathieu Mondoulet & Thibaut Eiferman (France)
Birdsong, Claudine Liang (Singapore)
When the Night Falls, Kimmo Leed (Finland)
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Through Glass, Marek Partyš & 420PEOPLE Dance Company (Czech Republic)
Amadeus, Ahong Cheung, Septime Webre (Hong Kong)
Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá, Nancy Fernanda Rivera Gomez (USA)
to the bones of this home, Sarah Butler (USA)
Lady Be Good, James Kinney & Pierre Marais (USA)
Burnout, Joshua Vendetta Nash & Gemma Pons Alsina (UK)
BREATH, Larissa Korolkovas & Fernando Haddad (Brazil)
Project 3, Daniel Hassine (Israel) T
okyo ‘20, Yuya Matsutaka (Japan)
2020, Katya Telegina (Russia)
SUNDAY, Ani Taj (USA)
Lisa, Manoela Gonçalves (Switzerland)
Moving Barcelona, Jevan Chowdhury (UK)
Scapelands, Katie Beard & Naomi Turner (UK)
REKT, Jamiel Laurence (UK)
A Part, Erika O'Neill, Simon Hjortek (Sweden)
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WAKE, Katie Beard & Naomi Turner (UK)
Dreams of Waking, Aeric Meredith-Goujon (USA)
For The Time Being, Heidi Duckler (USA)
BEEHIVE (do you want me to bee), Luigi Coppola (Italy)
A Hard day’s night, Benjamin Hoffman & Mathieu Mondoulet (France)
Breath In, Melissa Barak (USA)
Alive, Carissa Dorson (USA)
Liminality, Jennifer Akalina Petuch & Annali Rose (USA)
Underground, Jun Bae (USA)
Røtter, Raven Jackson (USA)
EGO, Dan ‘danidge’ Lowenstein (UK)
The Bull | El Toro, Audrey Bow (Canada)
NILYNDA, Jill Crovisier (Luxembourg)
Atena/Nets, Mark Freeman (Ghana/USA)
Golden, Kate Mitchell (USA)
Control, Saemi Kwak (Korea)
daydreaming, Peter Litwinowicz (USA)
Teorema, Massimiliano Bomba (USA)
Collective Loss, Alyssa Thompson (USA)
Toporzeł, Iwona Pasińska (Poland)
OLHE-SE (Look at Yourself), Ilana Paterman Brasil (Brazil)
Between the Lines, Jen Guy Metcalf (USA)
Making Men, Antoine Panier (Belgium)
She, Adele Thomas (Canada/USA)
Apple, Jiang Xiong (China)
The Sum Of All Parts, Lukas Timulak & Peter Bilak (Netherlands)
Y’U, had things to do in the other world, Joyce Islas, Mariana Fernández, Julio López & Sebastián Rojo (Mexico)
WEARNHEM, Alberto Villanueva & Jurrien Schobben (Netherlands)
Traces, Alex Murrull (Spain) AGON,
MANUEL NOGUEIRA (Brazil) Burden,
Lawrence Fung (USA)
Claim, Keely Song (USA)
Fragments, Can Heinrich Toepffer (Germany)
The Grid, Jeffrey Prioleau (USA)
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ANIMA, Matthieu Belin (China)
MASS, Fu LE, (France)
Pilgrimage, Marlene Miller (Canada)
Brute, Cass Mortimer-Eipper (Australia)
Between silences, Rich Ferri, Ali Kenner Brodsky (USA)
SOHAM - The Swan, Usha Rajeswari,
Divya Devaguptapu (India)
The Field, Holly Wilder (USA)
ETA, Talia Shea Levin (USA)
BOOKANIMA, Shon Kim (Korea)
Particles, Matthew McKee (USA)
Blind, Katariina Raty (Finland)
Surprise Yourself, Jade Hale-Christofi (USA)
Takako VS. Nine Lives, Lauren Wolkstein (USA)
as-phyx-i-a-tion, Nadav Heyman (USA)
Unspoken Words, Zoe Rappaport (USA)
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Movement Never Lies, Angèle Mathangkool-Robert (France)
Ghost Story, Sarah Elgart (USA)
The Dérive, Tanin Torabi (Iran)
Georgeta Varvarici “Drift”, Sven D. (Germany)
Mirage, Adrian Hashimi, Jamal Swift (USA)
A Reflecting Pool Of Visuals, Jeff Prioleau & Shelley Siller (USA)
The Nature Of Consciousness, Jen Guy Metcalf (USA)
Ballet Atha Cliath, Howard Jones (Ireland)
Digital Afterlives, Richard James Allen (Australia)
The Unity Of Dance, Michael Bromberg & Kyle Lau (USA)
Underneath, Charlie Stellar (USA)
Lake Enchanto, Ben Dolec (USA)
Training, Homer Liwag (USA)
All Of Her, Thyrn Saxon & Rami Shafi (USA)
Let Her Out, Corynne Bisson (Canada)
Joni-My Sun And Life, Aramayis Hayrapetyan (Armenia)
Intervenciòn Intervenida, Franziska Lisa Wolf (Spain)
InterState, Ilana Goldman (USA)
Shadow Play, Nathan Proctor (USA)
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Confrontation, Shannon Janet Smith & Steven Butler (USA)
Ready, Samuel Asher Kunzman & Nel Shelby (USA)
Trapped, Alicia Mullikin (USA)
Shaping Scars, Zsolti Szabo “Sholtay” (UK)
Focus On Mexico, Olivia Mia Orozco (USA)
Warehouse Samba, Gabriel Shalom (USA)
Uath Lochans, Simon Fildes & Katerina McPherson (UK)
Dear Good Sons, Meir Schraiebr & Omri Drumlevich (Israel)
Here We Go Again, Nathan Cohen & Johan T. Anderson (USA)
Stopgap In Stop Motion, Stephen Featherstone (UK)
Defiance, Mitchel Federan (USA)
Eve Mutso - Unknown, Aldo Palumbo (UK)
Connection Lost, Marilu Aguilar Moreno (Mexico)
Ima Ima, Marina Magalhaes (USA)
Caminatore, Angela Rosales Challis (USA)
Helena, Nadav Heyman (USA)
Awards
Festival Jury Award Winner - Behind Closed Doors, Director Lisa Eaton
Audience Choice Award Winner - Behind Closed Doors, Director Lisa Eaton
StandardVision Showcase Award - Hong Kong Ballet - Tutu Academy, Directed by Dean Alexander
StandardVision Honorable Mention - WE, Directed by Sarah Elgart
StandardVision Honorable Mention - If I Were You, Directed by Margot Gelber
StandardVision Honorable Mention - A Night in Napoli, Directed by Lucía López
Award Judges: Josh S. Rose, Steven J. Butler, Lolly, Felicia Guzman & Nicole Spring & Caroline Haydon (StandardVision).
2025
2023
Festival Jury Award Winner - CORNERBOY, Director Kai Kurve
Audience Choice Award Winner - CANVAS, Director Sophia Stroller
StandardVision Showcase Award - Demons, Director Humbi Entress
StandardVision Honorable Mention - CANVAS, Director Sophia Stroller
StandardVision Honorable Mention - Thick Skin, Director Laura Steiner
Guest Award Judges: Josh Rose, Ali Kenner Brodsky, Andrew Margetson & The StandardVision Team.
2022
Festival Jury Award Winner - Going Down, Director Cailin Leigh Manning
Audience Choice Award Winner - 木ノ内 周 (Shu), Director Mike Schwartz
StandardVision Showcase Award - Ahead, Behind, Director Ben V Kadie
Guest Award Judges: Steven J. Butler, Kailee McMurran, Fu LE & The StandardVision Team.
2021
Festival Jury Award Winner - Through Glass, Director Marek Partyš & 420PEOPLE Dance Company
Audience Choice Award Winner - Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá, Director Nancy Fernanda Rivera Gomez
StandardVision Showcase Award - Amadeus, Director Ahong Cheung & Septime Webre
Guest Award Judges: Nadav Heyman, Olivia Mia Orozco, Nicole Spring & The StandardVision Team.
2020
Audience Choice Award Winner - WAKE, Director Katie Beard & Naomi Turner
Audience Choice Award Winner - Dreams of Waking, Director Aeric Meredith-Goujon
2019
Festival Jury Award Winner - ANIMA, Director Matthieu Belin
Festival Jury Award Winner - MASS, Director Fu LE
Guest Award Judge: Sarah Elgart.