Genre Gems Film Festival Announces Anticipated Short Film Lineup

The inaugural Genre Gems Festival will bring five days of adventurous forms of genre cinema to Ottawa, running October 1 to 5, 2025. From horror to comedies and beyond, the

festival will spotlight a carefully curated programme of acclaimed titles from Sundance, Berlin, Cannes, Fantasia, Locarno, and TIFF, many making their Ottawa premieres.

Due to the recent success of Hollywood genre films at the box office, the festival aims to provide a counter-cultural slate of standout discoveries from the festival circuit. Adjacent to its curatorial spirit, the programming team is composed of experienced Gen-Z and millennial industry professionals. They have previously worked at festivals such as TIFF, Hot Docs, Fantasia, Blood in the Snow, the Ottawa International Animation Festival, the European Union Film Festival, and International Film Festival of Ottawa.

2025 Short Film Lineup:

Genre Gems will screen ten unique short films from around the globe at its inaugural edition. The diverse selection will screen in front of ten different features at the festival, highlighting a diverse lineup of Canadian & international gems.

“In August of this year, we posted an open-call for short film submissions. Admittedly, it was a difficult task selecting the titles. As a first-time festival, we’re working under tight budgetary restrictions." comments David Cuevas, the Festival Director. “Our curation of shorts at this year’s Genre Gems Film Festival perfectly compliment their assigned features.We want the shorts to inspire local filmmakers to think outside the box. These unique Genre exercises effectively tell their unique stories under impressive budgetary and time restrictions. We hope that these short films leave a big impression amongst attendees.”

“We’re excited to kick off the inaugural collection of short films at Genre Gems,” says film programmer Kassy Gascho. “Curated from rising filmmakers, these shorts push the notion of genre in bold and unexpected directions. Each one offers a distinctive, memorable style that we can’t wait to share with audiences. Short form work deserves to be seen on the big screen, and the Genre Gems team is excited to give our selected titles that spotlight.”

Without further ado, here are the selected short films that will screen at this year’s Genre Gems Film Festival:

Stratospheric Shorts - Bite-sized Breakthroughs (in 16 mins or less)

A Divine Comedy: What the Hell - Valerie Barnhart - 8 Min - Canada - 2024

Preceding Dead Lover (October 1st at 6:30 PM at the Mayfair Theatre)

Would You Love Me If I Were a Worm? - Aaron Alter - 13 Min - Canada 2025

Preceding A Useful Ghost (October 1st at 9:15 PM at the Mayfair Theatre)

Seismic Brain Implosion - Alistair Quak - 7 Min - Singapore - Canada 2025

Preceding The Piano Accident (October 2nd at 9:15 PM at the Mayfair Theatre)

The Sphinx - Jesse Padveen - 16 Min - Canada - 2025

Preceding Zodiac Killer Project (October 3rd at 6:30 PM at CineStarz St. Laurent)

Leap of Passion - Jae Hyung Kim - 4 Min - South Korea - 2024

Preceding Buffet Infinity (October 4th at 9:00 PM at CineStarz St. Laurent)

Check Please - Shane Chung - 9 Min - USA - 2024

Preceding The Last One for the Road (October 4th at 3:30 PM at Mayfair Theatre)

French Lessons - Kyle Garrett Greenberg, Anna Maguire - 7 Min - USA - 2025

Preceding The Regulars (October 5th at 11:00 AM at Mayfair Theatre)

I Killed Osama!? - Carl Fry, Maxwell Nalevansky - 4 Min - USA - 2025

Preceding Dracula (October 5th at 4:00 PM at Mayfair Theatre)

Le Tour De Canada - John Hollands - 5 min - Canada - 2025

Preceding The Hyperboreans (October 5th at 7:30 PM at Mayfair Theatre)

Giant Skeleton - Austin Birch - 4 Min - Canada - 2025

Preceding Resurrection (October 5th at 9:15 PM at Mayfair Theatre)

Festival Details:

With a focus on quality over quantity, Genre Gems aims to connect Ottawa’s vibrant film community with daring new voices in cinema and to engage younger audiences eager for innovative storytelling.

Genre Gems is designed for cinephiles who crave discovery, curating a lean but powerful lineup of the world’s most talked-about genre films, bringing global cinema to Ottawa in an intimate, community-driven setting.

The first edition of the Genre Gems Film Festival will take place at the Mayfair Theatre and ByTowne Cinema from October 1 - 5, 2025. General Admission tickets are $15 CAD. Festival passes are $150 CAD ($120 early-bird). Early Bird passes go on-sale August 22nd at 6:00 PM. The special rate ends on September 18th.

For more information, visit www.genregems.ca or follow @GenreGems on X, Facebook and Instagram.

About Genre Gems:

Running from October 1 to 5, 2025, the inaugural edition of Genre Gems aims to deconstruct, destigmatise, and promote adventurous storytelling within the context of genre cinema. From horror films to westerns, the carefully curated programme will spotlight hot festival titles from Sundance, Berlin, Cannes, Fantasia, Locarno, and TIFF for prestigious Ottawa premieres.