toronto Lift-Off 2026

Network Round Shorts

Monday 29th June – Sunday 5th July 2026

2. One More Photo

1. What Remains

Director, Writer, Producer//Corey Bond

Producers// Marina Marangoni, Taylor Nodrick

Country of Origin // Canada

Synopsis //A couple in the late stages of pregnancy come face to face with a physical manifestation of their grief.

2. FOXBODY

2. The Missing Piece

Director, Writer, Producer// Emanuel Fidalgo

Producer// Cliff Noonan

Country of origin// United States

Synopsis // Clarence tries to recreate his late mother’s signature dish from a recipe she left him, but the last ingredient is an illegible smudge. Drifting through dual crises of grief and identity, he meets Emi, a bodega store owner insistent on helping with the dish but focused on mending his spirit.

2. CHAIN

3. Mu

Directors// Jessica Ngo, Hoang-Hai Luu

Country of Origin // Canada

Synopsis // Mu is a young mage struggling to get through her day as she is mourning the loss of her late mother

2. CHAIN

4. IRADOH – 3 Acts of Brotherhood

Directors// Kaique Alves, Thiago Eva

Writers// Kaique Alves, Audrey Nobrega, João Monteiro, Angerson Vieira

Producers// Eduardo Saraiva, Juliana Furtuoso, Priscila Pina, Mônica Cason

Country of Origin // Brazil

Synopsis // Inspired by real events and the alarming number of women who go missing in Brazil each year, this musical short film tells the story of a mother who vanishes without a trace—leaving behind three young sons.

As they grow, each son takes a radically different path: one becomes a musician, one becomes a lawyer, and the other falls into crime. The film explores how trauma, environment, and individual choices shape human destiny—underscoring how the absence of a mother can echo through generations.

2. CHAIN

5. Contrition

Director, Writer // Marco Beyermann

Writer, Producer // Ben Keenanc

Producer// Alice Lazaar

Country of Origin // United Kingdom

Synopsis // Based on a true story. Damien, a man in his 40s, is haunted by a traumatic childhood event—A violent IRA hostage situation, he can’t shake, After years of searching he finally tracks down Brendan, one of the masked men responsible, masquerading as a priest. Driven by a mix of anger and a desperate need for closure, Damien arrives at Brendan’s church, filled with unresolved pain. As the two confront their shared past, the tension escalates, revealing the complex web of guilt, remorse, and the possibility of forgiveness.”

2. CHAIN

6. For Every Apricot

Director // Kaia Fortis Scott

Country of Origin // Canada

Synopsis //For Every Apricot is a short animated documentary that follows a story told by the filmmaker’s grandmother. As a young girl on Christmas Eve, she boards her first-ever plane alone, travelling in search of a rumoured “miracle drug” that could cure her father’s cancer. Blending live-action interviews, archival 16mm and 8mm family footage, and a range of animation techniques—stop motion, collage, and 2D—the film explores themes of aging, memory, and the circular patterns of life. As her grandmother reflects on her father’s illness alongside her own, Apricots becomes both a deeply personal family portrait and a universal meditation on resilience.

2. CHAIN

7. Becoming the Butterfly

Director, Writer,Producer// Olivia-Autumn Rennie

Writers// Prateek Mohanty, Bob Murphy

Producers//Denielle Elliott, Suze Berkhout

Country of Origin // Canada

Synopsis // In the aftermath of a devastating stroke, Dagian finds himself lost in a surreal ocean of fading memories. With the unwavering support of his wife and daughter, Dagian embarks on the most challenging journey of his life: a metamorphosis from his pre-stroke self, to the person who emerges in the process of recovery.

2. CHAIN

8. Geminate Flower

Director, Writer //June Sham

Writers// Samuel Wu, Thomas Wong

Producers// Wylie Chan, Kathy Wong

Country of Origin // Hong Kong, Japan

2. CHAIN

9. Memories of Alba

Director, Writer, Producer // Aldair Acosta Moctezuma

Country of Origin // Mexico

Synopsis // Tatao grows up alongside his grandmother Alba, held together by a routine that shapes their everyday life. When memory begins to fade, their relationship transforms, revealing how love endures even as memories slowly disappear.

2. CHAIN

10. Distant Mourning

Director// Mina Ghahremani

Producers // Daniela Navarro, Dahlia Williams

Country of Origin // Canada

Synopsis// Mahboubeh grew up in 1970s Iran at the time of the Islamic Revolution, the eldest of seven siblings. In her late teens, her father began accusing the family of murder plots against him, causing her parents to separate and most of the responsibility of her siblings to fall upon her. After her siblings grew, she immigrated with her husband to Canada at 36- and now, at 56, her father has died. Alone without her family, she mourns by analyzing her balance of anger and sadness- did her father just die, or did she already lose him 40 years ago?

2. CHAIN

11. The End of Our Own Making

Director, Writer // Cam Patterson

Producers// Darcy Fehr, Fay Kelman

Country of Origin // Canada

Synopsis //Another day in the office turns into 14 minutes of terror, ending with a disturbing realization that mankind is doomed.

2. CHAIN

12. AI’s Silent Omissions

Director // Nozomu Kubota

Country of Origin // Japan

Synopsis // When generating images using AI, many people discard images that do not depict five fingers, considering them as defective.
I attempted to interview someone with ectrodactyly, a condition in which the hand has a different number or arrangement of fingers. When generating images using AI, many people discard images that do not depict five fingers, considering them as defective. AI engineers, too, devote their programming skills, massive GPU power, and electricity to advancing AI so that it can accurately generate five-fingered hands. However, in this pursuit of “progress,” the lives of minorities—such as those with three fingers or polydactyly—are completely overlooked and effectively erased in the shadow of technological evolution.

2. CHAIN

11. Young Wild World

Director, Writer// Yaman Deniz Anıl

Producer // Serap Çiftçi Mayer

Country of Origin // Türkiye

Synopsis // The strange tension and competition in a restaurant between the waiter and the second cook forces the young waiter to meet a decision.

2. CHAIN

12. Shut In

Director, Writer // Anastazia Rae
Producer // Vimalan Raviraj

Country of Origin // Canada

Synopsis // An agoraphobic hoarder battles their anxiety while the fear of the outside world tries to get in and force them outside.

2. CHAIN

13. Soft Rules – Rotten

Director, Writer// Max Boccalari

Writer// Dave Dunno

Producer//Max Boccalari

Country of Origin // Ireland

Synopsis // Music video by the Irish band ‘Soft Rules’.

2. CHAIN

14. The Cold Mountains

Director, Writer, Producer // Karthik Kesiraju

Country of Origin // Canada

Synopsis // A short film capturing a winter journey through the mountains of British Columbia, Canada. Told through natural sound and minimal voice-over, it explores silence, stillness, and the feeling of being fully present in nature.

toronto Lift-Off 2026

Network Round Shorts

2. One More Photo

1. What Remains

2. FOXBODY

2. The Missing Piece

2. CHAIN

3. Mu

2. CHAIN

4. IRADOH – 3 Acts of Brotherhood

2. CHAIN

5. Contrition

2. CHAIN

6. For Every Apricot

2. CHAIN

7. Becoming the Butterfly

2. CHAIN

8. Geminate Flower

2. CHAIN

9. Memories of Alba

2. CHAIN

10. Distant Mourning

2. CHAIN

11. The End of Our Own Making

2. CHAIN

12. AI’s Silent Omissions

2. CHAIN

11. Young Wild World

2. CHAIN

12. Shut In

2. CHAIN

13. Soft Rules – Rotten

2. CHAIN

14. The Cold Mountains

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