18 MIN | 2025 | DIRECTOR: EDDY GUDAKOV | UNITED STATES | AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

In a world like today’s, where healthcare systems are broken and underfunded, institutions like Elgin Developmental Center are left to quietly fall apart. In a tense hallway conversation, Simmonds, the ward supervisor, reveals to Ruby that Elgin is set to shut its doors, another casualty of sweeping mental health policy rollbacks and budget cuts.

Ruby tries to adjust, observing a behavior modification session where patients are rewarded with jelly beans for compliance. But when a patient makes an unsolicited advance, the situation spirals out of control.

Screens in STAY STRANGE: SHORT FILM SESSION