Junk Dump Film Festival 2026: Day One

Museum of the Moving Image and Junk Dump Magazine will present Junk Dump’s sixth annual short film festival. Junk Dump Magazine is a not-for-profit arts organization that produces a semi-annual print publication and events like Junk Dump Film Festival, which highlights emerging and underrepresented filmmakers working at the intersection of video art and storytelling. The festival presents a curated program of narrative, animated, and experimental short films made by artists using unique processes to tell singular and engaging stories.  

This year’s selection was guest judged and curated by two New York–based filmmakers. Caroline Mariko Stucky (she/they) is an award-winning Swiss-Japanese cinematographer, and the founder and creative director of CM8 Productions, a film and video production company specializing in independent films, music videos, and fashion films. Sidney Rose White is a Texas-born actress, model, and illustrator based in New York City. She can be seen in Wes and Kyra, HULU’s Red Is the Color of Beauty, Awesome, and Schon! Magazine’s Sheltering with You. 

Day One programming will include a selection of seven narrative and documentary shorts. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.

Screening run time approx. 100 min.  

Featuring:  

Vowels
Dir. Rafael De Leon. 2025, 5 mins. U.S. Ava needs to record a self-tape, but her speech impediment keeps getting in the way.  

SHORT KING
Dir. Yoni Azulay. 2026, 10 mins. U.S. An insecure, status-obsessed man spirals into obsession and sabotage after a charming guest calls him “short” at his surprise birthday party.  

The Lion of Teranga
Dir. Marcus Quinn. 2025, 14 mins. U.S. While chasing a championship with his team, a young basketball player is drawn into an unsettling incident with his coach, threatening his friendship with his closest teammate.  

Sweet Tooth
Dir. Benji Tucker. 2025, 13 mins. U.S. As Doe Town gears up for its 55th Annual Smile Contest, undefeated champion Bucky Bantershire begins to unravel when his long-suppressed Sweet Tooth resurfaces, singing, dancing, and dragging him into sugary chaos.  

Why Can’t We All Get Along?
Dir. Nicholas Liam Dinner. 2025, 14 mins. U.S. Two drifting friends recovering from substance abuse reconnect with their mutual ex on the eve of their 5-year high school reunion. Bad habits and emotional manipulation test their relationship as the boys ask the question: are we meant to be friends? 

Purely Patricia
Dir. Jasper Soloff. 2026, 13 mins. U.S. This intimate short documentary follows New York style icon Patricia Fox, a woman who treats every day as an occasion to dress up. Known for her exuberant fashion and joyful presence, Patricia embodies a life lived in color and self-expression. But beneath the twirls and textures lies a quieter reckoning with time.  

Always Dreaming
Dir. Jasmine Garcia Delossantos. 2025, 7 mins. U.S. A housekeeper shares her dreams and ambitions as her daily work routine consists of cleaning hotel rooms during Oregon’s busiest tourist season. 

Hometown Famous
Dir. Vivian Wolfson and Asher Kaye. 2026, 20 min. U.S. Hometown Famous follows the tumultuous 30-year-long history of northeast Ohio’s premier Fleetwood Mac tribute band, exploring the significance of tribute bands in modern American music culture.

Tickets: $17.50 / $12 senior and students / $10 youth / $7 MoMI members. There is a $1.50 transaction fee per ticket for all online purchases. The cost of admission may be applied toward a same-day purchase of a membership. 

Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission.