8 Shorts to Watch on the 2026 Telluride Program

Telluride Film Festival just announced its 2026 lineup, and these are eight short films in the main program worth knowing.

A Song for the Snow Lion

Directed by Pawo Choyning Dorji

Dorji made Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, the first Bhutanese film ever nominated for an Oscar. This time he follows legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma into the Himalayas for a documentary about Bhutan's disappearing glaciers. Telluride is one of the film's first major festival screenings.

A Dance Through Time

Directed by Sarah Gavron

Gavron directed Suffragette and the BAFTA-winning Rocks, and she's bringing a new British short to Telluride that's been kept almost completely under wraps. Telluride is one of our first major looks at the film.

Maybe Tomorrow

Directed by Wafa Mustafa & Waad Al-Kateab

Al-Kateab is the Oscar-nominated director of For Sama. This time she teams up with Syrian activist Wafa Mustafa, documenting Mustafa's search for answers about her father, who was forcibly disappeared by the Assad regime. The film previously played Sheffield DocFest.

Sawyer Avenue, Sunday Afternoon

Directed by Bill Morrison

Morrison was Oscar-nominated last year for his short Incident, and his film Decasia is preserved in the National Film Registry. In Sawyer Avenue, Sunday Afternoon, he reconstructs an immigration arrest in Chicago using witness footage and federal body-camera footage. It world-premiered at Visions du Réel, where it received a Special Mention, and it's already picked up more awards and buzz since.

Love, Rendered

Directed by Liz Garbus

This might be the most controversial film on the lineup. Garbus is an Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker, and Darren Aronofsky is producing. This time they're using AI to help recreate the moment an elderly couple first fell in love 70 years ago, as the husband begins losing his memory. So yes, Telluride just selected an AI documentary for its main program. Buckle up, this could be an interesting discussion topic as we enter the final few months of the year.

The Revolution Against Death

Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer is the Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence. This time he turns the lens toward Silicon Valley and humanity's obsession with using technology to overcome death. It's not a world premiere as it previously played CPH:DOX.

The Buffalo Miracle

Directed by Ben Proudfoot

Proudfoot has won two Oscars for short documentaries, The Queen of Basketball and The Last Repair Shop, and he's bringing not one but two new shorts to Telluride. The first is The Buffalo Miracle. The film captures the real-life heroism of a McDonald's manager in Buffalo, New York, who opened the restaurant on Christmas Eve to shelter and save stranded civilians during the deadly December 2022 winter blizzard.

Witt v. Air Force

Directed by Ben Proudfoot

Proudfoot's second film is Witt v. Air Force. Again, details are still being kept under wraps, but when a two-time Oscar winner shows up at Telluride with two new shorts in the main program, we're paying attention to both.

Those are the eight shorts Telluride just put in its main program. Between Oscar winners, Yo-Yo Ma, Darren Aronofsky, AI filmmaking, and films already winning on the circuit, save these titles. We're going to be hearing about some of them all awards season.

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