31ST ANNUAL CUCALORUS FILM FESTIVAL
presents
Painted Lady Shorts
SAT · NOVEMBER 22 · 2025 · 1:00 PM · THALIAN MAIN
Painted Lady Shorts
Thursday / 1:15 PM / Jengo’s Playhouse
Saturday / 1:00 PM / Thalian Main
82 minutes
Playful, provocative, and a little bit possessed, these films revel in the messy, magical, and mortifying sides of being human. From haunted hookups to holy identity crises, awkward awakenings, and cursed commitments, each story finds humor and heart in the chaos of self-discovery. Expect laughter, squirming, and maybe a little existential spanking.
Spanked by a Ghost
Director: Katelyn Douglass / 11:50
Alone in her home, a woman is spanked by an unseen entity, awakening a force she cannot control.
Juana Pelos
Director: Maria Eugenia Mealla / 7:20
Producer: Daniel Fabelo
Little Juana is entering puberty and there is only one thing that comes with that as a guarantee - body hair. Relentlessly picked on and finding no support from her conservative mother in shedding her hairy shame, Juana sees no other option but to take matters into her own hands -- and those of her rebellious sister Serena -- and crusade into the world of hair removal behind her mom’s back.
Gay Jesus
Director: Aaron Jin / 5:29
Producers: David Bradburn, Aaron Jin
Jesus tries to save humanity and fulfill his purpose on earth, but runs into some unexpected, internalized hurdles.
Denise
Director: Vanessa Anzola / 10:09
Producers: Joey Thomas, Vanessa Anzola, Maria Courie
Marley has a manipulative companion who won’t leave his side. When he goes to college he must learn how to coexist with it and find the strength to navigate the pressures in the most routine tasks.
Max Distance
Director: Marissa Goldman / 15:00
Producers: Rachel Moss, Jack Fatheree
Stuck in endless droning Zoom meetings, a programmer daydreams about the stranger next door—until she finally gets a chance at love.
This Blows
Director: Talia Smith / 12:00
Producers: Molly Clark, Diana Hull
An 11-year-old girl’s misunderstanding of a "blow job” sets her babysitter on a chaotic mission to save her at a birthday party. This is a heartfelt and hilarious coming-of-age short film about growing up, friendship, and learning life’s awkward lessons.
The Bride’s Curse
Directors: Alex Kavutskiy, Jerzy Rose / 20:00
Producers: Alex Kavutskiy, Jerzy Rose, Jay Carey
On their first night of marriage, a wife tells her husband about an ancient curse on the women in her family that threatens very specific calamity should their husbands lie. The husband, justifiably skeptical, decides to test the truth of the story.
