20th Annual Hell's Half Mile Film & Music Festival

Welcome to the 20th Annual Hell's Half Mile Film & Music Festival Virtual Festival!
The virtual experience is open to All Access, Film, and Virtual Pass Holders! Passes can be purchased at hhmfest.com. If you encounter any issues, please contact mike@hellshalfmile.com.

2026 HHM Award Winners

Features

Crime & Parody
In 2016, amateur comedian Anthony Novak created a parody Facebook page mocking his local police department. The page was satire, but police took it very seriously. In the years that followed, Anthony fought to defend his First Amendment right to criticize the government. With support from The Onion, his case reached the U.S. Supreme Court as debates over free speech and political expression intensified nationwide. But ultimately, the story of a second arrest just 15 miles from Anthony’s home revealed the most serious consequences when constitutional rights break down. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Audience Award - Best Documentary 🔥
88 min
Crime & Parody
Crystal Cross
88 min | 2025
Crystal Cross
If These Walls Could Rock
Rock stars, wild parties, and untold stories come alive at LA's iconic Sunset Marquis hotel, where music legends created unforgettable moments during the hedonistic peak of '70s and '80s rock culture. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Programmers Award - Best Documentary 🔥
90 min | 2025
If These Walls Could Rock
Marblehead Morning: 50 Years in Harmony
A one-of-a-kind concert film with nine songs featuring the folk duo of Mason Daring and Jeanie Stahl, who have been playing together for over half a century. Beyond their history, both have had fascinating careers in TV and film. The performances interspersed throughout the story of such careers and lives are something to behold. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Feature Jury Award - Score/Soundtrack 🔥
79 min
Marblehead Morning: 50 Years in Harmony
MURDEROUS follows the exploits of an emerging female filmmaker—who has had a breakout hit with her first feature—as she negotiates successive visits from very two different people who may know a lot more about her past and her work than she would ever want them (or the rest of the world) to know. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Feature Jury Award - Ensemble 🔥
107 min
Murderous
Peeping Todd
88 min | 2025
Peeping Todd
Run Amok
103 min | 2026
Run Amok
Sons of Detroit
Part love letter, part detective story, SONS OF DETROIT is a film about the quintessential American city and its misrepresented history, told through the lens of one unique family. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Feature Special Jury Awards - Best Editing; Best Director; Audience Award - Michigan Feature 🔥
105 min | 2025
Sons of Detroit
Teenage Vertigo
113 min
Teenage Vertigo
The Misadventures of Vince and Hick
A recently released-from-prison car thief gets roped in with an overly ambitious con man and must help him deliver a prized car to a dangerous kingpin within 48 hours. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Programmers Award 🔥
109 min | 2025
The Misadventures of Vince and Hick
VIOLENT BUTTERFLIES
65 min | 2026
VIOLENT BUTTERFLIES

Shorts

Arlene
Set in Kansas, 1982, the film follows the story of John, a closeted, young pastor, sent to minister to a stubborn, skeptical woman dying of cancer. They forge an unlikely bond that transforms them both - allowing them the freedom to be exactly who they are. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Shorts Jury Awards - Grand Jury Prize; Ensemble 🔥
15 min
Arlene
Backwoods Lu'au
10 min
Backwoods Lu'au
Between Man and Dog
10 min
Between Man and Dog
The Bound Prince
12 min
The Bound Prince
December, Day Zero
8 min | 2026
December, Day Zero
The Dog That Couldn't Bark
24 min
The Dog That Couldn't Bark
Doll
12 min
Doll
Downsized
10 min | 2025
Downsized
Feasting. Fine wine. Frivolity. Frank is determined to throw a truly hedonistic birthday lunch, complete with his newly acquired Duck Press. But his son, Michael is repulsed by the contraption and Frank’s constant denial of matters much more serious. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Shorts Jury Award - Lead Actor: Matthew Marsh as Frank 🔥
15 min
Duck Press
ECHSENJAGD / Lizard Hunt
4 min
ECHSENJAGD / Lizard Hunt
Everhand
10 min | 2025
Everhand
F Minor
15 min
F Minor
Forever, Liam
Alejandro and Paula’s young relationship takes a dark turn when her parents reveal a family secret: they live with the preserved corpse of Paula’s grandfather, caring for it as if he were still alive. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Shorts Jury Award - Director 🔥
23 min | 2025
Forever, Liam
Halfway Haunted
A tenant in a haunted house reluctantly teams up with a ghost to stop a real estate developer from demolishing the home they share. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Audience Award - Best Short 🔥
17 min | 2025
Halfway Haunted
The Humbug
10 min | 2026
The Humbug
In The Middle Of Something
15 min | 2026
In The Middle Of Something
Late Night Shorts
Late Night Shorts
The Liars of Black Mountain Road
13 min | 2026
The Liars of Black Mountain Road
The Lost Dog
16 min
The Lost Dog
Mall Video Store
24 min
Mall Video Store
MISSED
8 min
MISSED
My Dear Watson
12 min | 2026
My Dear Watson
Niple
17 min
Niple
Paranoia
16 min
Paranoia
Prawn Bhuna
24 min
Prawn Bhuna
RAGAMUFFIN
15 min | 2025
RAGAMUFFIN
River Maid
An aging man, numbed by loss and marking time until the end, encounters a mermaid who re-awakens a his old sense of adventure. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Shorts Special Jury Award - Best Makeup/Costume 🔥
17 min
River Maid
Rolling Film Rocking History
11 min | 2026
Rolling Film Rocking History
Ronita Rambo
13 min | 2026
Ronita Rambo
Shift: The Lisa Clark Story
15 min
Shift: The Lisa Clark Story
Shorts Block 2
Shorts Block 2
Silent Scream
12 min | 2026
Silent Scream
The Skyline
15 min
The Skyline
Synthesize Me
In April 1989, in a liminal town near Mexico City, young teenager Violeta finds a way to bring her mother's synthesizers back to life with disastrous consequences for her and her father. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Shorts Jury Awards - Screenplay; Score/Soundtrack 🔥
16 min | 2025
Synthesize Me
TwoFer
6 min
TwoFer
Under One Roof
12 min | 2026
Under One Roof
Worst Thing You've Ever Done
18 min
Worst Thing You've Ever Done
You Can Do It Alone
11 min
You Can Do It Alone
You Get What You Pay For
10 min | 2025
You Get What You Pay For

Documentary

Crime & Parody
In 2016, amateur comedian Anthony Novak created a parody Facebook page mocking his local police department. The page was satire, but police took it very seriously. In the years that followed, Anthony fought to defend his First Amendment right to criticize the government. With support from The Onion, his case reached the U.S. Supreme Court as debates over free speech and political expression intensified nationwide. But ultimately, the story of a second arrest just 15 miles from Anthony’s home revealed the most serious consequences when constitutional rights break down. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Audience Award - Best Documentary 🔥
88 min
Crime & Parody
If These Walls Could Rock
Rock stars, wild parties, and untold stories come alive at LA's iconic Sunset Marquis hotel, where music legends created unforgettable moments during the hedonistic peak of '70s and '80s rock culture. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Programmers Award - Best Documentary 🔥
90 min | 2025
If These Walls Could Rock
Marblehead Morning: 50 Years in Harmony
A one-of-a-kind concert film with nine songs featuring the folk duo of Mason Daring and Jeanie Stahl, who have been playing together for over half a century. Beyond their history, both have had fascinating careers in TV and film. The performances interspersed throughout the story of such careers and lives are something to behold. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Feature Jury Award - Score/Soundtrack 🔥
79 min
Marblehead Morning: 50 Years in Harmony
Sons of Detroit
Part love letter, part detective story, SONS OF DETROIT is a film about the quintessential American city and its misrepresented history, told through the lens of one unique family. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Feature Special Jury Awards - Best Editing; Best Director; Audience Award - Michigan Feature 🔥
105 min | 2025
Sons of Detroit
Mall Video Store
24 min
Mall Video Store
Rolling Film Rocking History
11 min | 2026
Rolling Film Rocking History
Shift: The Lisa Clark Story
15 min
Shift: The Lisa Clark Story
The Skyline
15 min
The Skyline

Narrative

Crystal Cross
88 min | 2025
Crystal Cross
MURDEROUS follows the exploits of an emerging female filmmaker—who has had a breakout hit with her first feature—as she negotiates successive visits from very two different people who may know a lot more about her past and her work than she would ever want them (or the rest of the world) to know. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Feature Jury Award - Ensemble 🔥
107 min
Murderous
Peeping Todd
88 min | 2025
Peeping Todd
Run Amok
103 min | 2026
Run Amok
Teenage Vertigo
113 min
Teenage Vertigo
The Misadventures of Vince and Hick
A recently released-from-prison car thief gets roped in with an overly ambitious con man and must help him deliver a prized car to a dangerous kingpin within 48 hours. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Programmers Award 🔥
109 min | 2025
The Misadventures of Vince and Hick
VIOLENT BUTTERFLIES
65 min | 2026
VIOLENT BUTTERFLIES
Arlene
Set in Kansas, 1982, the film follows the story of John, a closeted, young pastor, sent to minister to a stubborn, skeptical woman dying of cancer. They forge an unlikely bond that transforms them both - allowing them the freedom to be exactly who they are. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Shorts Jury Awards - Grand Jury Prize; Ensemble 🔥
15 min
Arlene
Between Man and Dog
10 min
Between Man and Dog
The Bound Prince
12 min
The Bound Prince
December, Day Zero
8 min | 2026
December, Day Zero
The Dog That Couldn't Bark
24 min
The Dog That Couldn't Bark
Doll
12 min
Doll
Downsized
10 min | 2025
Downsized
Feasting. Fine wine. Frivolity. Frank is determined to throw a truly hedonistic birthday lunch, complete with his newly acquired Duck Press. But his son, Michael is repulsed by the contraption and Frank’s constant denial of matters much more serious. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Shorts Jury Award - Lead Actor: Matthew Marsh as Frank 🔥
15 min
Duck Press
Everhand
10 min | 2025
Everhand
F Minor
15 min
F Minor
Forever, Liam
Alejandro and Paula’s young relationship takes a dark turn when her parents reveal a family secret: they live with the preserved corpse of Paula’s grandfather, caring for it as if he were still alive. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Shorts Jury Award - Director 🔥
23 min | 2025
Forever, Liam
Halfway Haunted
A tenant in a haunted house reluctantly teams up with a ghost to stop a real estate developer from demolishing the home they share. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Audience Award - Best Short 🔥
17 min | 2025
Halfway Haunted
The Humbug
10 min | 2026
The Humbug
In The Middle Of Something
15 min | 2026
In The Middle Of Something
The Liars of Black Mountain Road
13 min | 2026
The Liars of Black Mountain Road
The Lost Dog
16 min
The Lost Dog
MISSED
8 min
MISSED
My Dear Watson
12 min | 2026
My Dear Watson
Niple
17 min
Niple
Paranoia
16 min
Paranoia
Prawn Bhuna
24 min
Prawn Bhuna
RAGAMUFFIN
15 min | 2025
RAGAMUFFIN
River Maid
An aging man, numbed by loss and marking time until the end, encounters a mermaid who re-awakens a his old sense of adventure. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Shorts Special Jury Award - Best Makeup/Costume 🔥
17 min
River Maid
Ronita Rambo
13 min | 2026
Ronita Rambo
Silent Scream
12 min | 2026
Silent Scream
Synthesize Me
In April 1989, in a liminal town near Mexico City, young teenager Violeta finds a way to bring her mother's synthesizers back to life with disastrous consequences for her and her father. 🔥 2026 HHM Award Winner - Shorts Jury Awards - Screenplay; Score/Soundtrack 🔥
16 min | 2025
Synthesize Me
TwoFer
6 min
TwoFer
Under One Roof
12 min | 2026
Under One Roof
Worst Thing You've Ever Done
18 min
Worst Thing You've Ever Done
You Can Do It Alone
11 min
You Can Do It Alone
You Get What You Pay For
10 min | 2025
You Get What You Pay For