About this Event
Every film in this block is groundbreakingly original!
Rated a Top 100 Best Reviewed Film Festival out of 14,000 festivals worldwide by actual filmmakers on FilmFreeway, Sherman Oaks Film Festival returns in 2026 with screenings, panels, mixers and more!
SOFF 2026 - Program 01 - Creativity Spotlight
Five films: Common Courtesy, The Devil's Lettuce, The Unfortunate Side Effects of Drinking with a Crippling Want, The Impossible Friend, and The People of the World v. Simon Peterson.
Common Courtesy
2026 Official Selection: Music Video
A young man faces adversity when he is asked to wait until everyone has food on their plate. This musical comedy explores familial tensions and godlike restraint.
Director(s): Tague MB Zachary, Nathan M Reiland-Smith
Writer(s): Tague MB Zachary
Producer(s): Nathan M Reiland-Smith, Tague MB Zachary
Key Cast: Tague MB Zachary, Cristopher B Zachary, Dr. Chocolate
Country: United States
The Devil's Lettuce
2026 Official Selection: Short Film - Comedy
In this 90s PSA, a rebellious teen shrugs off his father's anti-drug sermon and learns the hard way that marijuana might just be "the gateway drug to hell."
Director(s): Richard Rogers
Writer(s): Richard Rogers
Producer(s): Ryan Bedsaul
Key Cast: Ryker Baloun, Corey Landis
Country: United States
The Unfortunate Side Effects of Drinking with a Crippling Want
2026 Official Selection: Short Film - Drama
Two strangers imagine their lives together upon seeing each other at a party.
Director(s): Steven Soria
Writer(s): Steven Soria
Producer(s): Rachel Leyco, Shea William Vanderpoort, Alpha Faye
Key Cast: Rachel Leyco, Yssamei, Matt Groove
Country: United States
The Impossible Friend
2026 Official Selection: Short Film - Comedy
A play on film, in which the unpredictable Benson has become addicted to his ability to time travel, forcing his friend Parker to stage a one man intervention. This leads them to confront a lifetime of misgivings together as they try to find out if this relationship was ever really worth it.
Director(s): Kyle Allen, Anders Jay Ravenstad
Writer(s): Anders Jay Ravenstad, Kyle Allen
Producer(s): Kyle Allen, Anders Jay Ravenstad
Key Cast: Matt Cook, Kyle Allen
Country: United States
Los Angeles Premiere
The People of the World v. Simon Peterson
2026 Official Selection: Short Film - SciFi
In a world where each dying human must sit on a trial to determine which digital afterlife they will reside in, aging politician Simon Peterson must make a case for his consciousness to be uploaded to the artificial heaven instead of hell.
Director(s): Liam J Collins
Writer(s): Rosalie Lyons
Producer(s): Matthew Ciancarelli
Key Cast: Bill Welden, Crystal Porter Bazemore, Jeff Gendelman, Eric Toms, Bella Edelmann, Theodore Mark Martinez
Country: United States
Los Angeles Premiere
Event venue
LOOK Dine-In Cinemas, Glendale - Theater 8, 128 N Artsakh Ave, Glendale, United States
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.