Indie Street Film Festival Sets Return To Red Bank: See Details

RED BANK, NJ — The 11th annual Indie Street Film Festival (ISFF) is set to return to Red Bank this summer.

Presented by Basie Center Cinema House, the festival recently announced its complete selection, which will run for a full seven days from Aug. 17 through Aug. 23.

"ISFF is committed to fostering a space where all stories, big or small, can be shared and appreciated, offering audiences the chance to experience fresh, authentic cinema," festival officials said. "With a variety of films that push boundaries and spark conversation, this year’s festival promises to be the most exciting ISFF yet."

For 2026, the festival lineup brings over 50 innovative short films and 12 of the year’s most exciting independent feature films to screens throughout Red Bank, including features from ten festival alumni this season.

Following last year’s selection of Academy Award-nominated film "Retirement Plan," ISFF has expanded its shorts programming to include titles from over a dozen countries.

This year’s lineup will be presented across three narrative programs, three documentary programs, two New Jersey spotlight programs, and one dedicated to animation, which includes Academy Award-winning actress Renee Zellweger's directing debut.

“Once again, the films that we’re sharing this year moved us, challenged us, and delighted us, and we’re thrilled to bring these exciting independent voices to the Red Bank community,” Artistic Director Allyson Morgan said.

Jay Webb, the Executive Director and Festival Founder, added that for the past 10 years, Indie Street has shown that "storytelling is most powerful when experienced together."

“By bringing honest stories and new perspectives to Red Bank, we've created moments of laughter, connection, and community that stay with audiences long after the credits roll,” Webb said. “We’ve always taken pride in championing international voices and exceptional films beyond the studio system.”

“That commitment is reflected in our programming, with many official selections going on to major recognition — including last
year’s 'Mr. Nobody Against Putin,' which won the Oscar just six months after receiving the ISFF Jury Award,” he continued.

ISFF 2026 will kick off at the Vogel Theater with the NJ Premiere of feature narrative film "In Memoriam," written and directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and New Jersey-native Rob Burnett (The Late Show with David Letterman).

The film stars Marc Maron, and features Michael McKean, Lily Gladstone, Judy Greer, and Sharon Stone. Burnett will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A.

The slate of Narrative Feature films in-competition this year are all New Jersey Premieres.

They include Danny Madden’s "Downbeat," Walter Thompson-Hernández’s "If I Go Will They Miss Me," Charlotte Glynn’s "The Gymnast," and Adam Meeks’s "Union County."

The Feature Documentaries in competition include Shalon Buskirk and Drew Swedberg’s "in love, in memory," Gabriela Díaz Arp’s "Matininó," Amber Love’s "One Another," Seth Porges’ "Santacon," and Kaitlyn Schwalje and Alex Wolf Lewis’s "Unless Something Goes Terribly Wrong."

The winning films will be selected by a jury consisting of industry professionals, including Cayla Clements (POV), Tiana Harris (Tribeca Festival), Alex Megaro (Award-winning filmmaker), and Garrett Bess (Two River Pictures).

The winning 2026 filmmakers will be honored during a ceremony open to passholders at TRIUMPH BREWING CO. on Sunday, Aug. 23 at 4:30 p.m.

For a complete schedule of events and to purchase festival passes, please visit you can visit the festival website.

ISFF offers seven-day All-Access passes for $139 that grant access to all films, discussions, parties, art events and complimentary food/beverages from participating sponsors. Individual Film Tickets are also now on sale for $14.95.

Festival sponsor Triumph Restaurant and Brewing Company will host a special toast to film, arts, and community in Red Bank with a first look at the festival on July 30.

The preview party can be attended by making a free entry reservation, or suggested donation tickets are available that include food and a craft beer here.

The full feature film program for the 2026 Indie Street Film Festival is as follows:

OPENING NIGHT FILM: In Memoriam (United States)

CLOSING NIGHT FILM: Union County (United States)

• Writer/Director: Adam Meeks
• Cast: Will Poulter, Noah Centineo
• Will Poulter and Noah Centineo deliver pitch-perfect performances as brothers Cody and Jack Parsons, each navigating a court-mandated drug rehabilitation program in a pocket of rural Ohio hit hard by the opioid epidemic. Provided with hope for the first time since their struggles began and with the support of a tireless counselor (Annette Deao), the brothers work toward a brighter, sober future.

NARRATIVE FEATURES

Downbeat (United States)

• Writer/Director: Danny Madden
• Cast: Daniel Rashid
• Down-and-out drummer Mauro has to flee the south and crash with his sister Isa in Boston. He takes to the streets, drumming with buckets and pans in an attempt to make money and stay in Isa’s good graces, but he can’t stop screwing things up.
  

The Gymnast (United States)

• Writer/Director: Charlotte Glynn
• Cast: Ethan Embry, Margarita Levieva
• 1993. In a former mill-town devastated by loss of industry, a 16-year-old elite gymnast and her single father, a die-hard "gym dad", fight to reinvent themselves after a potentially career-ending injury.
• After the Film: A conversation with Charlotte Glynn.
  

If I Go Will They Miss Me (United States)

• Writer/Director: Walter Thompson-Hernández
• Cast: Danielle Brooks, J. Alphonse Nicholson
• Twelve-year-old Lil Ant transforms his working-class neighborhood beneath the LAX flight path into a living mythology, where family members become gods and the sky is
  crowded with endless departures. As he searches for connection with his god-like yet conflicted father, he finds support in his close-knit community that helps him reconcile myth and reality.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

in love, in memory (United States)

• Directors: Shalon Buskirk, Drew Swedberg
• After losing her firstborn son to gun violence, a mother gathers cherished memories and erased histories to connect his death to her city’s haunting legacy of racism. Refusing the carceral frameworks of true crime, this impressionistic counter-narrative refracts quiet scenes of artistic intervention, community storytelling and tender remembrance through a prism of passing time.
• After the Film: A conversation with the film team.
  

Matininó (Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico)

• Director: Gabriela Díaz Arp
• In Puerto Rico, a multi-generational group of women confront violence and abuse through a shared creative fantasy rich in colour, mythology and play in this visually arresting, kaleidoscopic documentary. Together, they build an imaginary world that becomes a space for healing, drawing on Caribbean mythology and a vivid visual language to face what they have lived through.

One Another (United States)

• Director: Amber Love
• As three of the filmmaker’s loved ones confront the possible end of close friendships, One Another follows their uncertainty, heartaches, and attempts to reconnect as they find a way forward.
• After the Film: A conversation with the film team.
  

Santacon (United States)

• Director: Seth Porges
• Today, Santacon is known as perhaps the single most hated event on the planet. A dreaded day in which tens of thousands of drunk idiots dress like Santa and invade countless cities around the world to live out their drunkest and most violent instincts. But it began as something else entirely: A piece of Dada street theater designed to shock people out of their everyday existence by creating a sense of awe and confusion.
• After the Film: A conversation with the film team.
  

Unless Something Goes Terribly Wrong (United States)

• Directors: Kaitlyn Schwalje, Alex Wolf Lewis
• As America’s aging wastewater systems begin to fail, one plant does all it can to stay afloat. Plant manager Dustin Price, together with his motley crew of unlikely heroes, battle aging infrastructure, forever chemicals and the misconceptions of an odor-averse public to keep Portland, Maine clean and healthy.
• After the Film: A conversation with the film team.
  

SHORTS PROGRAMS at ISFF 2026:

NARRATIVE SHORTS PROGRAM: THE GREATEST LOVE OF ALL
Love for another comes in all shapes and sizes — and will always defy the odds.

NARRATIVE SHORTS PROGRAM: DREAMS COME TRUE
Don’t stop believin’

NARRATIVE SHORTS PROGRAM: FAMILY LEGACY
What do we pass on to future generations?

• The Invisible Shield (Mexico) Written and directed by Maximilian Barrón
• I'm Glad You're Dead Now (France, Greece, State of Palestine) Written and directed by Tawfeek Barhom
• Stronghold (United States) Written by Anna Maria Hozian, Directed by Meghann Artes
• Jazz Infernal (Canada) Written and directed by Will Niava
• Pale Sun (France) Written by Adrian Moyse Dullin, Directed by Adrian Moyse Dullin and Jawahine Zentar
• Seniors (United States) Written and directed by Adam Curley
  

NEW JERSEY SHORTS: GOING DEEPER
All of these films have a connection to New Jersey — and an exploration of something below the surface.

• June & Naya Get a Perm (United States) Written and directed by Katrina L. Rodriguez
• Beautiful and Tortured (United States) Written and directed by
  Georganne Marie Valera
• Oracle of Delphi, Ohio (United States) Written and directed by Carter Stewart
• Fifteen Minutes of Fame (United States) Written and directed by Angelina Gabuzda
• Heavens to Betsy (United States) Written and directed by Dave Niziolek and Brendan M Walsh
• Waiting for Aphrodite (United States) Written and directed by Richard Stephen Bell
  

NEW JERSEY SHORTS: LET’S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS
Another crop of homegrown shorts! Our protagonists are working…on something.

• Beast of the Seine (United States) Written and directed by Jon Portman
• Brewer (United States) Directed by Erika Valenciana
• Mary and Joseph (United States) Written and directed by Jackson Gagliardi
• Perfect Princess (United States) Written by Chris Paseka, Directed by James Kautz
• What's Left (United States) Written by Chris Scott, Directed by Odinger Mitchell
• Dr. Sam (United States) Written by Raji Ahsan, Directed by Danielle Beckmann
  

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS: CARE
All of these protagonists are approaching the world with compassion and curiosity.

• Grappling Grace (United Kingdom) Directed by Alexander Kiehl and Misha Novak
• Mother's Influence (United Kingdom) Directed by Meg Wriggles
• Animal Eye (United States) Directed by Carlo Nasisse
• No Matter The Weather (Canada) Directed by Florence Lafond
• Woman in the Sky (United States) Directed by Max Woertendyke
• Willie and His Pigs (United States) Directed by Emily Cooper
  

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS: THE COMMUNITY
When we take care of those around us, we take care of ourselves.

• Community Theatre (United Kingdom) Directed by Lewis Baillie
• A DERAILMENT (United States) Directed by Nathan Truesdell
• La Mayordomía (Canada) Directed by Martin Edralin
• Welcome to Tool Shed (United States) Directed by Daniel Talbott and Andrew Klaus-Vineyard
  

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS: CHARACTER STUDY
Great, intimate character profiles.

• kiss kiss bang bang (Netherlands) Directed by Ollie Launspach
• Diminishing Returns (United States) Directed by Colin Whitman
• explant / implant (United States) Directed by Josh Weissbach
• The Chimney Sweeper (United States) Directed by Jack Raese
• A Wolf in the Suburbs (Canada) Directed by Amélie Hardy
• Samland (United States) Directed by Grace Poppe
  

ANIMATED SHORTS
A variety of styles and stories — but for our adult audiences.

• 1981 (United States) Written and directed by Carolyn London and Andy London
• Cabbage Daddy (Canada) Written and directed by Grace An
• The Gnawer of Rocks (Canada) Written by Neil Christopher and Louise Flaherty, directed by Louise Flaherty
• A Good Heart (Poland) Written and directed by Krzysztof Brzezowski
• Ivar (Norway) Written by Signe Dammann Anker, Directed by Markus Tangre
• Living with a Visionary (United States) Written and directed by Stephen P. Neary
• Miracle Under 34th Street (United States) Written and directed by Owen Andrejco
• Paper Trail (United States) Directed by Don Hertzfeldt
• THEY (United Kingdom) Written by Paul Smith and Renée Zellweger, Directed by Renée Zellweger
• With Tapes and Toasts in the Car (Germany) Written and directed by Kiana Naghshineh
• Venusian Roulette (United States) Written and directed by Connor Lee Rea