Part of Nitehawk Shorts Festival 2026: Opening Nite

Run Time: 96 min. Format: DCP Release Year: 2026

For this year’s Opening Nite program we have shorts from several festival alumni and other first time filmmakers. With stories grappling with devotion and desire takes on relationships that are sometimes hilarious, other times haunting, each demonstrates a form of connection, whether it spans time or falls flat, or is complicated by outside forces.

Q&A moderated by Cristina Cacioppo, Nitehawk Cinema

Main Man
John de Menil, 10 min.
Abe and Erwin are two minor guys connected across history by their feelings of having peaked.

Crab Diane
Ryan McCown, 17 min.
A young woman, tired of working at a seaside diner, reaches out to cosmic forces.

Going Dark
Kate diRienzi, 10 min., world premiere
A catholic school girl competes with her drama teacher for her friend’s affection.

HoleY
Bavly Soliman, 20 min.
While visiting New York from Egypt, Christian-Orthodox Mark decides to lose his virginity, confronting cultural and religious restrictions.

Leaf Peeper
Vito A. Rowlands, 2 min.
A frantic frolic in Fall foliage. A stop-motion autumn adventure. A symphony in blaze orange.

Even in the Light (Hasta en la Luz)
Valeria A Avina, 15 min., NYC premiere
This visceral psychological drama follows Sofia, a tender and imaginative child navigating a fractured home filled with silence, secrets, and shadows.

Doctor Death Grip
Amber Schaefer, 20 min., NYC premiere
An autofiction writer’s viral essay about her six-fingered boyfriend’s porn addiction tests a couple’s already deteriorating relationship.