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Official Selections 2026

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8 seconds

Saturday August 8th - 11:00 AM

Venue: Fat Elephant Theatre

 

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Runtime - 01:18:56 minutes

Directors

Jean-Marie Vinclair
Producer
Martin Bertier
Helen Olive
Jean-Marie Vinclair

In 2005, when filmmaker Jean-Marie Vinclair filmed the unveiling of the ‘Raymond Vinclair’ plaque in the square that will bear his name, he was stunned: why was this relative, who died as a martyr in Germany during the Second World War

A QUIET STORM

Saturday August 8th - 11:00 AM

Venue: Council Chambers 

 

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Runtime - 29:44 minutes

Directors

BENJAMIN NICOLAS
Producer
Janier Charier
BENJAMIN NICOLAS
Xavier Terra
Rumi Tominaga

Maïto, a 14-year-old Krump dance prodigy from suburban Tokyo, navigates the pressures of school and a demanding career. Through the raw energy of his dance, he channels his unspoken emotions and the silent sacrifices of his mother in this intimate family portrait

Armadillo Man: The Trips of Jim Franklin

Saturday August 8th - 6:47 PM

Venue: Fat Elephant Theatre

 

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Runtime - 26:14 minutes

Directors

Emil Lozada
Producer
Chris Bourke
Arnelle Lozada
Marcus Peterzell
Amy Slotnick
Nick Strauss

Armadillo Man: The Trips of Jim Franklin tells the story of Jim Franklin - the iconic concert poster artist who helped establish the Austin music venue, Armadillo World Headquarters, and is credited with making Austin “weird.” At the intersection of psychedelic art, outlaw country, and rebellion, Jim Franklin is an artist whose larger-than-life personality helped define 1970s Austin counter-culture. 

BAMAKO CHIC: Threads of Power, Color and Culture

Saturday August 8th - 4:42 PM

Venue:  Youth Center

 

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Runtime - 27:00 minutes

Directors

Maureen Gosling
Maxine Downs, PhD
Producer
Maureen Gosling
Maxine Downs, PhD

In the 1960s, a small group of self-empowered Malian women sparked a revolution, inspired by beauty – and economic survival. The seemingly humble women's activity of hand-dyeing cloth blossomed into a symbol of cultural pride in West Africa and African diaspora communities, economic sustenance and international fashion.

Behind the Beard: Making Santa Real

Saturday August 8th - 12:45 PM

Venue: Youth Center

 

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Runtime - 01:15:30 minutes

Directors

Brandon Rice
Producer
Phillip L. Wenz
Kate Longfield-Rice
 

They wear the red suit not for the spotlight, but for the moment when a child's eyes go wide and something real passes between them. Behind the Beard: Making Santa Real follows the men and women who have made Santa & Mrs.

Cairo Between Two Palaces

Saturday August 8th - 4:42 PM

Venue: Fat Elephant Theatre

 

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Runtime - 52:00 minutes

Directors

Nezar AlSayyad
Producer
Nezar AlSayyad

CAIRO is one of the oldest and greatest cities of the Arab and Muslim world, and a city that has been the subject of much fascination by historians, architects, filmmakers, tourists and ordinary citizens.

Chinese in Napa Valley: The Forgotten Community that Built Wine Country

Saturday August 8th - 2:55 PM

Venue: Youth Center

 

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Runtime - 55:37 minutes

Directors

Jeff Hamilton
Producer
Kaitlyn Scott Moxon
Jeff Hamilton
John McCormick

Based on the book by John McCormick. Chinese in Napa Valley reveals the pivotal yet long-overlooked contributions of Chinese immigrants to Napa County. Through archival images, family stories, and expert insight, it uncovers the labor, resilience, and community life that helped shape the valley.

Days of Pilgrimage

 

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Runtime - 01:30:50 minutes

Directors

Taiga Kobayashi
Producer
Taiga Kobayashi

Born in Sapporo, Japan, in 1986. He received an Associate Bachelor's degree from the Sapporo School of The Arts, Industrial Design Department (Craft Design Studies). From 2007, he worked in photography and theater in Sapporo and Tokyo.

Diverse House

 

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Runtime - 28:00 minutes

Saturday August 8th - 4:42 PM

Venue: Fat  Elephant Theatre 

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Directors

Carmen Vidal
Producer
Carmen Vidal

In Paraguay, a country where homophobia, violence, and discrimination against transgender people are unfortunately all too common, there is a unique refuge: Casa Diversa. 

Eternal Trees, Eternal Mountains

Sunday August 9th - 11:00 AM

Venue: Fat Elephant Theatre

 

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Runtime - 55:14 minutes

Directors

Harsha S Reddy
Christopher Chekuri
Producer
Christopher Chekuri

In 1998, a young American student ventures into the forests of south India to study tigers. What he finds instead changes the course of his life.

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Father Time, why men are born to nurture

Saturday August 8th - 4:42 PM

Venue: Council Chambers

 

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Runtime - 52 minutes

Directors

Jacqueline Farmer
Producer
Anne Labro

Becoming a dad is the start of an extraordinary adventure in a man's life — but it’s also a biological transformation, the scale of which was unimaginable, just two decades ago.

Guardians of Oakland Chinatown

Saturday August 8th - 4:42 PM

Venue: Youth Center 

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Runtime - 23:00 minutes

Directors

Jiayi Li
Producer
Jiayi Li

An observational-participatory documentary capturing the fierce struggle against anti-Asian hate in the wake of COVID-19. Told through the lens of a community filmmaker, Guardians of Oakland Chinatown reveals the physical and cultural guardians—elders, business owners, women—who refuse to let violence erase their neighborhood

HUNTING THE STONE: Suiseki in the West

Saturday August 8th - 6:47 PM

Venue: Youth Center

 

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Runtime  26:46 minutes

Directors

Kristin Zethren
Producer
Kristin Zethren

This documentary explores the ancient Asian art of stone appreciation-where naturally formed stones are discovered, contemplated, and elevated as works of art-and its unexpected evolution in the modern West. Filmed across California.

Hyphen

Saturday August 8th - 6:47 PM

Venue: Council Chambers

 

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Runtime - 01:38:00 minutes

Directors

Reine Razzouk
Producer
Reine Razzouk

When Nicole reveals to her childhood friend and cousin, Reine, that she’s been addicted to heroin since she was 13, they decide to document Nicole’s rehab journey.

​I'm leaving and I'm becoming Pope

Saturday August 8th - 2:55 PM

Venue: Fat Elephant Theatre

 

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Runtime - 01:01:43 minutes

Directors

Antonello Carbone

At the heart of the film is Antonello's personal story, his stubbornness in remaining firmly attached to his homeland despite the myriad challenges of everyday life. However, incivility, boredom, social depression, and love eventually spur him to leave in search of something new and a place where "people still look up to the sky."

I Wanted To Hear Your Voice

Saturday August 8th - 11:00 AM

Venue: Council Chambers

 

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Runtime - 12:56 minutes

Directors

James Pellerito
Producer
David Barba

After eight years of caring for his mother with severe dementia, a son struggles through their daily care routine. Recorded voicemails serve to show the progression of the disease, underscoring the frustration, isolation and burnout that comes with intensive caregiving.

Island of Dreams

Saturday August 8th - 2:55 PM

Venue: Council Chambers

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Runtime - 52 minutes

Director 

Alvaro Jimenez, Cliff Orloff

Island of Dreams delivers an intimate portrait of Cuba in a time of crisis.

What makes someone leave everything and everyone they know and love, and forego their familiar culture, to make their way into an unknown future in an unknown land?  What makes someone stay where they live despite hardship and deprivation? 

Memory for Burial

Saturday August 8th - 1:05 PM

Venue: Fat Elephant Theatre

 

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Runtime - 01:01:00 minutes

Directors

Charlotte Jarrix, Maud Guillaumin
Producer
Norbert Balit, 

Survive against all odds. In 1940, Benjamin Orenstein, just a teenager, was sent to his first concentration camp in Poland. The start of a journey that will mark him for life. After years of silence, he testifies on one of the darkest pages in history

Night Shift

Saturday August 8th - 1:05 PM

Venue: Council Chambers

 

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Runtime - 29:04 minutes

Directors

Megumi Lim
Producer
Marian Prysiazhniuk
Tetiana Burianova
Yevhen Yakovenko

In the dark hours of Kharkiv's curfewed nights, a quiet tension hums through its empty streets.

PULPA

Sunday August 9th - 11:00 AM

Venue: Youth Center

 

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Runtime - 04:11 minutes

Directors

Brianna Benitez
Producer
Charlie Manrique Douglas
Brianna Benitez
Bowie Maitland

A glimpse into the life of Maria, a street vendor who sells mangoes.

Raíces: El día nos espera (Roots: The day awaits)

Saturday August 8th - 11:00 AM

Venue: Youth Center

 

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Runtime - 28:42 minutes

Directors

Adán Ávalos
Producer
Adán Ávalos
Anup Kulkarni
 

Raíces: El día nos espera (Roots: The Day Awaits) is a poetic anthology of four short documentaries that explore the emotional landscapes of migration, cultural heritage, family unity, and self-healing across the Americas.

Red Earth: Cobalt Miners of the Congo

Saturday August 8th - 1:05 PM

Venue: Youth Center

 

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Runtime - 11:00 minutes

Directors

Samuel George

The world runs on lithium batteries, and lithium batteries require cobalt. Eighty percent of that cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In Red Earth: Cobalt Miners of the Congo, the people behind this global supply chain tell their own stories—miners who dig by hand in perilous conditions to extract the metal powering our clean energy future. Through their words, we confront the human cost of technological progress.

Shucking Tradition

Saturday August 8th - 6:47 PM

Venue: Youth Center

 

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Runtime - 18:22 minutes

Directors

David Helfer Wells
Producer
David Helfer Wells

In coastal New England, where pond after pond of aquaculture stretches as far as the eye can see, seafood is not just a meal but a way of life. Shucking Tradition follows a cohort of forward-thinking, hard-working New England women who bring new energy and perspectives to aquaculture or oyster farming, an industry layered with history.

THE UNFIXING

Saturday August 8th - 6:47 PM

Venue: Fat Elephant Theatre

 

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Runtime - 01:26:49 minutes

Directors

Nicole Betancourt

After a surfing accident triggers inexplicable symptoms that leave Nicole unable to work or parent her children, she embarks on a quest of self-discovery. Guided by dreams, nature, and wisdom from others, she weaves an immersive diary of destruction, trauma, love, and renewal. Her journey transforms grief into a new story as she begins to see beauty and regeneration in the world around her.

The Congress

Saturday August 8th - 1:05 PM

Venue: Youth Center

 

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Runtime - 10:56 minutes

Directors

Eko Krisna
Producer
Gabriel Diamond
Phil Collis
Matthew Beighley
Chris Metzler

Indonesian activist, Rukka Sombolinggi believes the key to confronting the climate crisis is to unite and mobilize the Indigenous communities who are often impacted the most

The Land We Fight For

Saturday August 8th - 1:05 PM

Venue: Council Chambers​​

 

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Runtime - 39:17 minutes

Directors

Dimitri Nasennik
Writer
Dimitri Nasennik
Producer
Vsevolod Priakhin

Ivan and Argo, both 67 years old, once served in the Soviet Army and later built their lives on the land — one in Ukraine, the other in Estonia.
Ivan, a Ukrainian farmer and veteran of the ongoing war, takes care of the farm while his son fights at the front.

The Sacrifice Zone

Saturday August 8th - 1:05 PM

Venue: Youth Center

 

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Runtime - 14:36 minutes

Directors

Daniel Lir
Bayou Bennett
Producer
Martha Dina Argüello
Emma Silber
Lillian Hogle
Mithzy Hernandez

The Sacrifice Zone is a gripping short documentary that follows the Aguirre family of Kern County, California—four generations of Chicano activists whose legacy began with the United Farm Workers and Cesar Chavez. Today, they face a new threat: Big Oil’s latest greenwashing scheme known as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS).

Tree of Fire: A Story of Love and Resilience

Sunday August 9th - 12:45 PM

Venue: Fat Elephant Theatre

 

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Runtime - 01:13:48 minutes

Directors

Margaret Magnus
Ben Hoffman
Producer
Margaret Magnus

Tree of Fire is a heartfelt story of loss, survival, and spiritual connection. After a devastating fire, a once-thriving oak – blessed by Avatar Meher Baba – rises from the ashes to offer love and solace. 

UNSPOKEN

Sunday August 9th - 11:00 AM

Venue: Youth Center

 

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Runtime - 51:30 minutes

Directors

MACIEJ ADAMEK

A portrait of 26-year-old Matthew - a young man who stutters and wants to realize his childhood dream. He wants to become a Polish champion in acrobatics.

Thank You Sponsors...

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Supported in part by the Measure H Community Enhancement & Investment Fund from the City of Rancho Cordova.

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