Short films, big stories, on the big screen

Programs and screenings

Each edition presents selected short films across four programs spread over two days. Recent editions included the 2014 festival in September, the 2015 festival on October 2–3, the 2016 festival on September 24–25, the 2017 festival on October 6–7, and the 2019 festival on October 12–13.

Program themes

Program themes have included “Family Values,” which opened the 2016 festival, and the 2014 program named “SNAFU” — a World War II slang term for a chaotic situation, applied to films about puberty, identity and everyday disruption.

Selected films by year

• 2019 — grown up man (1.5 min., directed by Noemie Blondel) and reshaping beauty (7 min.)
• 2017 — Alex and the Handyman (14 min.) and Pria (22 min.)
• 2016 — Three Summer Days (8 min.) and Sign (15 min.)
• 2015 — vAGINA IS THE WARMEST COLOR (12 min.) and the typist (7 min.)
• 2014 — fruit song (3 min.) and Adults only (26 min.)

Sponsors and supporters

The presenting sponsor for the 2019 festival was Block Party, located at 8853 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069. Sponsorship packages range from a $300 Basic Package with logo placement and two festival passes, to a Program Sponsor Package at $800 with guaranteed postcard placement and podium acknowledgment, and a Presenting Sponsor Package at $1500 and up with top-tier logo placement and multiple slideshow slots.

Short films, big stories, on the big screen: the CMG Short Film Festival is an annual celebration of independent filmmaking held in West Hollywood, California. Across two days, the program presents four curated blocks of selected shorts, with themes that often turn on LGBTQ+ experience, family dynamics, and the social situations that shape everyday life. The festival gives directors a place to screen their work, and gives audiences a chance to discover voices that rarely reach the multiplex.

The lineup is organized into distinct programs, so visitors can plan a single afternoon or a full weekend of screenings. Each block carries its own editorial identity, gathering films that share a mood, a question, or a point of view. Documentaries, narrative shorts, and personal essays all appear in the mix, and the festival's program statement reflects a commitment to acceptance and to the inclusion of filmmakers from across the LGBTQ+ community and its allies.

Everything about the festival is volunteer-run from the ground up. An all-volunteer structure keeps the atmosphere intimate and community-driven, and it means that screenings, guest appearances, and sidebar conversations happen in close quarters with the people who make the films. That sense of proximity is central to the event: audiences are not passive viewers in a large auditorium but participants in a gathering built around conversation, connection, and shared attention to the craft of the short form.

Beyond the theater, the festival extends into the surrounding city with block parties, social gatherings, and a men's walk that draws participants through the streets of West Hollywood. These companion events create the kind of atmosphere where filmmakers, students, longtime supporters, and first-time attendees cross paths naturally. The city setting adds its own texture, placing screenings alongside neighborhood restaurants, street life, and the broader cultural energy of Los Angeles.

Ticket information follows a simple, straightforward structure, with advance pricing for single programs and a festival pass that covers all four programs. Advance purchases can be made online, while regular pricing applies at the box office. Members of supporting organizations receive discounted advance rates available only at the box office, an arrangement that rewards early commitment and community partners while keeping the festival accessible to students and local residents who show up on the day.

The festival also serves as a launch point for filmmakers considering submission to future programs and for students studying film and television. Submission guidance, an awards challenge, sponsor recognition, and production partnerships all sit alongside the public program, showing how a small event can build a wider local infrastructure for short-form work. By the time the final program ends, the festival has quietly expanded what a weekend of shorts can accomplish: connection, visibility, and a real sense of belonging.