Lights, camera, Yountville: Short film festival pours Oscar-caliber cinema
The Yountville International Short Film Festival (YISFF) returns for the ninth time this week, Jan. 29 – Feb. 1, featuring 20 dedicated screening blocks, filmmaker Q&A sessions and VIP wine tasting events. The festival, which opens Thursday night, will screen more than 100 films at two pop-up cinemas, the Yountville Community Center’s Heritage Room and The Estate Yountville’s Barrel Room.
“We bring short films to Yountville as a way to share an artform that does not receive the recognition it deserves,” said YISFF co-founder Sinohui Hinojosa. “Most people seldom get access to short films of this caliber except at major film festivals.”
“The films are really just incredible this year, and we also have some Oscar shortlisted and nominated films,” said YISFF co-founder Bill Hargreaves.
Hargreaves and Hinojosa, both Silicon Valley businessmen, founded the YISFF in 2018 and have also successfully staged a similar event in San Jose for many years. Together they view more than 1,000 submissions annually to select their line-up which is grouped into genres including drama, comedy, documentaries, world cinema, foreign film, musicals, family, horror, animation and sci-fi.
This now well-established annual festival includes VIP wine tasting options, Q&A sessions with filmmakers, intermissions that allow time for enjoying restaurants and tasting rooms in town, as well as spontaneous live audience reactions for which film festivals are known.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits. “All of the films this year are between five and 30 minutes,” Hargreaves explained.
Once again Hargreaves and Hinojosa have selected films that caught the attention of the Academy, including one of this year’s YISFF animated shorts “Forevergreen” by Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears.
According to Hargreaves, there is not an overriding theme this year. To sample an overview of what the fest offers he says, “The opening night is always great. You get a mixed bag of short films from the festival. It is a good night to kick it off and we include a wine reception prior to the screening.”
A few notable films set for the 2026 YISFF include:
- “Learning How To Drive,” directed by Tyler Cunningham, features Alicia Silverstone and Bettina Bresnan in the cast. The comedy follows a recent L.A. transplant and struggling actress who must drive a preteen to a birthday party in Laurel Canyon.
- “Ado” directed by Sam Henderson, stars Jenifer Lewis as a drama teacher who is rehearsing Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” with her class when the school is interrupted by a shooter.
- Another familiar actor, Richard Kind, stars in “Night Session” a comedy-drama about a homeowner who turns a burglary into a therapy session, directed by Ballard C. Boyd.
“In Yountville this festival has been growing, both in terms of the films and the people coming back every year,” Hargreaves noted, pointing out that along with locals a lot of attendees are now from outside the area, including people that come back every year from as far as the East Coast and Montana.
Passes are on sale, beginning at $20 for a single-day pass to the all-access VIP pass at $249. Visit yisff.com/tickets to review all ticketing options. VIP wine tasting experiences will feature Priest Ranch, Goosecross, Jessup Cellars, Handwritten Wines, La Cave and Silver Trident wines. The festival is sponsored by the town of Yountville and its lodging establishments.
For more information and to secure tickets, visit YISFF.com.
