Mayhem Film Festival announces Short Film Showcase 2023

Mayhem Film Festival is delighted to announce the 15 films that will make up this year’s Short Film Showcase. The festival will take place at Broadway, Nottingham on 12-15 October 2023. 

Mayhem initially started as a single selection of shorts almost 20 years ago, and the Short Film Showcase remains at the heart of the festival, playing midway through the Saturday of the festival. The 19th edition’s showcase includes films from five different countries, from filmmakers making their first appearance at the festival, as well as long-time friends of Mayhem. This year, the team worked with The Nottingham Horror Collective’s Emily Malone to shortlist the line-up from all the films submitted to the festival. 

The 15 films from this year’s line-up, in alphabetical order are:

ABSOLUTION, PARSIN
Dir. Jack Nop, UK, 4m55
The imagined perpetrator in a famously unsolved true-crime case, “Who Put Bella Down the Wych Elm”, is confronted about his past by an unearthly Bison in this Stop-Motion animated short film.

ANGELS [UK Premiere]
Dir. Samantha Aldana, US, 7m18
When a farmer caring for her dying mother discovers a creature with strange abilities, she's forced to confront her ideas about right and wrong.

BLEEP
Dir. Ben S. Hyland, UK, 8m20
A couple's relationship is pushed to the brink as they investigate a strange noise that's woken them in the night.

CLAUDIO'S SONG
Dir. Andreas Nilsson, UK, 9m41
A young man faces the wrath of criminals that target people who are famous on the internet; when their scheme fails things take an unexpected turn.

DEAD ENDERS
Dirs. Fidel Ruiz-Healy & Tyler Walker, US, 12m08
Disaffected, young gas-station clerk Maya doesn't care about much besides messing with her manager and getting her beer discount at the end of the midnight shift. But after a sinister race of mind-controlling parasites are set loose by irresponsible oil drillers, Maya realises that there might be more to life than spending all your waking hours stacking shelves for a corporate overlord.

FORGOTTEN LAKE [UK Premiere]
Dirs. Adam Brooks & Matthew Kennedy, Canada, 7m02
The counsellors at Forgotten Lake Summer Camp are horrified to discover that the legend of the Blueberry Boy is more real than they ever imagined.

MERGER
Dir. Daniel Negret, UK, 7m45
A man's commitment to his job takes a dark and surreal turn for the worst.

NIGHT OF THE BRIDE
Dir. Virat Pal, India, 7m09
A young woman’s cry for help falls on deaf ears as a family holds her hostage. Keen on getting their only son married, who has ‘chosen' her as the one, the family is willing to go to any lengths to fulfil his wish and unite them forever. As the gagged and bound bride is dragged in for the ceremony, the events take an even more sinister and shocking turn that ends up changing the course of this unholy ritual.

PLAGGY BAG
Dir. Alex Withers, UK, 13m
When working class Zoe meets her best mate’s more privileged friends, she tries to ignore the chip on her shoulder and make a good impression. But when a single-use plastic bag comes to life and hunts down the group one by one, Zoe must face her inner rage head-on.

SANDRA GETS A NEW FRINGE [World Premiere]
Dir. Michael Beddoes & Penelope Yeulet, UK, 9m20
After making the life-changing decision to get a new fringe, a disregarded office-worker attempts to get her dismissive colleague’s attention in increasingly bizarre and violent ways.

STOP DEAD [UK Premiere]
Dir. Emily Greenwood, UK, 7m56
When a workaholic city detective and her laid-back partner try to stop a dishevelled girl staggering down the middle of a country road, they discover she’s being stalked by some unseen entity with a horrifying ultimatum: you stop moving, you die.

THE BODY WITH NO FACE
Dir. Owen Tooth, UK, 5m18
Trapped in her body by life-changing illness and a nightmarish system she can't escape, a woman fights to hold on to her humanity.

THE WILD ROOTS
Dir. Nicolas Millot, France, 13m59
Adam, a young hunter, is convinced that danger lurks in a forest plagued by strange phenomena. However, when one of his friends is found dead, this fear transforms into certainty. Adam decides to return to the woods, determined to uncover the source of this threat.

TOAST
Dir. Thomas Longstaff, UK, 1m30
A happy little piece of bread is excited to be made into a piece of toast.

WE FORGOT ABOUT THE ZOMBIES
Dir. Chris McInroy, US, 3m43
Two dudes think they found the cure for zombie bites.

“The Short Film Showcase is such an important part of the festival”, says Mayhem’s Melissa Gueneau. “Every year, we’re blown away by the quality of the films that are submitted to the festival and this year was no different. It’s our biggest showcase yet and we’re delighted to welcome back some of our alumni, as well as new talents from around the world and closer to home.”

With just over a month to go before this year’s edition takes place on 12-15 October 2023, Mayhem have also announced they will reveal their full line-up on Tuesday 12 September, with individual tickets set to go on sale at the same time.

Full Festival Passes remain available for £85, giving access to all films and events from this year’s festival. For more information, and to book passes, please visit www.mayhemfilmfestival.com 

Mayhem Film Festival takes place at Broadway, Nottingham on 12-15 October 2023.