Roswell Shorts Announces 31 Official Selections, Including 10 New Mexico Films

Nearly one-third of the second-edition lineup represents New Mexico filmmakers

ROSWELL, NM, UNITED STATES, August 12, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Roswell Shorts Indie Film Fest has announced 31 Official Selections for its second edition, taking place Sept. 25 and 26, 2026, at the International UFO Museum & Research Center in Roswell, New Mexico.

Ten of the 31 selections come from New Mexico-based filmmakers, representing approximately 32% of this year's program. The lineup reflects the state's growing independent film community and includes filmmakers from Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Lamy and other communities across New Mexico.

"Roswell Shorts was created to give filmmakers and audiences a focused two-day experience in a place unlike any other," said festival director Dewey Paul Moffitt. "This year's 31 Official Selections bring together distinct voices, ambitious ideas and a broad range of filmmaking styles. We look forward to presenting them in Roswell this September."

The 2026 New Mexico Official Selections are:
* A Family Matter, directed by Rylee Norman
* A Thousand Paper Cuts, directed by Sam Quinn
* Encounter, directed by Renee Pezzotta
* Hope You Come Home Soon, directed by Xander Ray Richard
* Lamy - Holding The Light, directed by Max Highstein
* Let's Raid Area 51, directed by Frans Zayas
* María Carmen, directed by Nata Aguilar
* The Custodian, directed by Gabriel Vincent
* The Storm, directed by Lauren Trujillo and Taylor Trujillo
* VESSEL, directed by Jacob McCaw

The New Mexico selections span narrative drama, documentary, horror, science fiction, comedy and experimental filmmaking. Their stories address subjects ranging from family relationships and personal loss to local history, unexplained phenomena and the creative possibilities of genre cinema.

"Since moving to New Mexico, I've been studying film production at CNM," said Renee Pezzotta, director of the Official Selection Encounter. "I'm looking forward to making more films here in Albuquerque and the surrounding area."

The complete festival lineup brings the New Mexico selections together with independent films from across the United States and abroad. The 31-film program includes narrative, documentary, animation, experimental, science fiction, horror, comedy and music video projects with an average viewing time of 11 minutes per project.

Selected Festival Highlights:

Several films in the lineup arrive in Roswell following recognized festival runs.

"Hide," directed by Brenden Hubbard and featuring Shakey Graves, follows a grieving father and daughter whose bedtime ritual protects them from a horror that visits their town each night. The film received four honors at the HorrorHound Film Festival, including Best Short Film, Best Director, Best Cinematographer and Best Supporting Actor. It also won the Jury Award for Best Thriller Short at the Anchorage International Film Festival, the Best Supernatural Short Award at the Philip K. Dick Science Fiction and Supernatural Festival, and audience awards at the Sioux City International Film Festival and Short. Sweet. Film Fest.

"Hivemind Deluxe," directed by Chris Alan Evans, is a science-fiction satire about a disillusioned woman resisting an alien collective that promises belonging at the cost of her identity. The film won Best Sci-Fi Short Film at Midwest Weirdfest and Best Director at the Cane River Film Festival. Its festival run also includes the Cleveland International Film Festival, Louisiana Film Prize, Dances With Films: NY and the Dam Short Film Festival.

"Céremony," directed by Mark Wachholz, is a dystopian visual fable created through a filmmaker-directed AI workflow. The film was named a Top 12 finalist from more than 30,000 entries in the $1 Million AI Film Award presented by 1BFS and Google Gemini. Additional recognition includes the Grand Prize at Indywood International AI Cinefest, Best Short Film and Best AI-Themed Short at the Universal Sci-Fi & Fantastic Film Festival, and a Special Jury Prize in AI Cinema at MetaCannes.

"Moonbound, An Ancestral Passage." Directed by Ika Santamaria, the film transforms a 2039 lunar-colonization mission into an exploration of migration, Indigenous memory and cultural continuity. Its protagonist, a Bronx-raised astronaut and Mayan K'iche' priestess, prepares to join humanity's first permanent lunar colony while reconnecting with her family and inherited identity.

"Migration is not a theme for me. It is the air I breathe in this city," Santamaria said. "Moonbound asks what happens when a woman from that world - Bronx-raised, Mayan-rooted - decides the moon is next. Not as escape. As continuation, as the oldest act of survival there is: carrying your ancestors with you into the unknown."

The complete list of 2026 Official Selections is available at https://RoswellShorts.com. The screening schedule, ticket information and additional festival announcements will be released through the festival website.

Roswell Shorts, a proud member of the industry's highly recognized and respected Film Festival Alliance, held its inaugural edition in September 2025 at the International UFO Museum & Research Center. The festival returns to the museum for its second year with an expanded program of independent short-form work presented over two days.

About Roswell Shorts Indie Film Fest
Roswell Shorts Indie Film Fest is a two-day independent film festival held in Roswell, New Mexico. The festival presents short-form filmmaking in an intimate setting while connecting independent filmmakers with audiences in one of the world's most recognizable destinations.

Dewey Paul Moffitt
Roswell Shorts Indie Film Festival
roswellshorts@gmail.com
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