Small Budget Films Track
Small budget film making continues to improve at breathtaking speed, due in no small measure to advances in AI use. We are on the cusp of a complete revolution in movie making. It will affect everyone associated with commercial cinema, but especially studios, actors, and SFX folks. AI capabilities are already filtering down to small Indies and the more technically astute fan film makers.
That said, I’m convinced the biggest beneficiaries of AI developments will be lawyers unless everybody gets their act together. To that end, we feature a two-hour discussion regarding the legal and ethical use of AI in film-making and how to use it effectively. Please come, give us your insights, and voice your opinions! We’re interested in what you are thinking!
Here are the highlights of this year’s SBF program:
- “The Vanishing Tour” — the latest indie film starring Bonny Gordon — will be among our featured screenings. The film also boasts a cast of recognizable faces, including Brendan Wayne (The Mandalorian, Cowboys and Aliens) and Amber Benson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Shore Leave is proud to be one of the first venues in the world to screen it — an exclusive early look before its wider release.
- Mike Jitlov’s stop-motion video, The Wizard of Speed and Time, is a wonderful throw-back to the 1980s.
- A big discussion regarding the legal and ethical use of AI in film-making
- A visit from The Interfleet Broadcasting Group, who will screen their award-winning Battlestar Galactica fan film, The Stranded Warrior. They will show the video and then hold a Q&A session. This is exciting, so we’re putting them in a bigger room – y’all come!
- A couple of longer Star Wars videos
- A couple of longer Star Trek videos
- A smattering of short videos from various fictional universes
Are you looking to submit a film for our next Shore Leave convention? Use the Small Budget Film Track Submission Form!
Shore Leave 46 (2026) Films
Friday Throwback
The Wizard of Speed and Time Short Film – the original 1979 short (3 min)
The three minute short is absolutely excellent – witty, well-paced, on point, well-made, and edited down to minimum run time. It is a stand-alone version of Jittlov’s stop motion piece made for The Wonderful World of Disney special episode Major Effects (broadcast on 16 Dec 1979).
The Wizard of Speed and Time Movie – the 1988 comedy/satire movie (1 hr, 38 min)
The hour and a half movie built upon the short features copious special effects and appears to be a personal project. It is brilliant satire, of what it took to make commercial footage in 1980s union-dominated Hollywood.
Both were made by Mike Jittlov a Disney animator specializing in stop-motion animation, Rotoscoping, and pixilation. It’s fund to look for Disney influences in these videos.
Attending Group Section
Interfleet Broadcasting brings its award-winning Battlestar Galactica (original series) fan film, The Stranded Warrior. Captain Martin, a pilot with PTSD is thrust into a series of events beyond his comprehension. A secret plot of betrayal unfolds with cosmic repercussions.
Indie Film
The Vanishing Tour – directed by Patrick Meaney; starring Brendan Wayne (The Mandalorian, Cowboys and Aliens) and Amber Benson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and also starring Bonnie Gordon (Star Trek: Prodigy, Street Fighter V)
Here is a sci-fi/horror film that follows a struggling rock band whose cross-country tour falls apart. After their vehicle is carjacked and they are stranded in the remote desert, their search for salvation leads to a mysterious compound hiding dark, dangerous secrets.
AI Usage Debate
The fair use of AI is certainly a hot button topic, generating fear, anxiety, and excitement. It’s coming whether anyone wants it or not – it will force change and “break rice bowls.” It’s advancement of capabilities, speed of production, and reduction of costs are indisputable. The question is how can we employ it fairly? Who owns what? What’s fair use and what requires permission? What should be paid, and to whom?
We will show some current examples of AI-enhanced fan films, after which Royce Essig, leader of the Dark Ops fan film group, will moderate a discussion of its many sticky questions and its impacts on law and IP.
Return of the Jedi: Epilogue released Mar 2026
Luke Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano visit distant worlds seeking lost or forgotten artifacts. There was no AI used for writing the script or dialogue, but the video was made using a mix of Blender3D, Photoshop, and then AI image to video and Da Vinci Resolve.
Star Wars: Anakin Skywalker’s First Hours After Revenge of the Sith Feb 2026
Broken from Mustafar, Anakin awakens inside the medical chamber, struggling to accept what he has become. His anger threatens to consume him when he learns the truth about Padmé. In the shadows, Palpatine begins shaping his new apprentice into a weapon. This fan film expands on Anakin’s emotional aftermath and Darth Vader’s new life – his pain, rage, and the terrifying bond with Palpatine.
Star Wars: Darth Vader Visits Padme’s Tomb Before Return of the Jedi
This fan video is a scene that takes place after Empire Strikes Back, close to Return of the Jedi.
Star Wars: Darth Vader Learns that Luke Is His Son Dec 2025
Vader senses a light in the Force he cannot explain. When Boba Fett reveals the stunning truth, Vader is forced to confront everything he thought he lost. This video explores Vader’s rage, heartbreak, and the first spark of hope that challenges his loyalty to the dark side.
Star Wars
Echoes of Darkness: A Star Wars Fan Film
Set almost 30 years after Return of The Jedi, Echoes of Darkness tells the story of ragtag scavengers hired to find more recent relics on The Forest Moon of Endor. Unaware of the danger involved, the crew makes a deal that could make them rich or cost them everything..
Dawn of the Clone Wars: A Star Wars Fan Film
A young Jedi, leads a strike team on a high-stakes rescue mission, setting off a chain of events and battles that ultimately plunge the galaxy into the devastating Clone Wars
The Bounty: A Star Wars Fan Film
This is a rather silly fish-out-of-water comedy romp from Hacksmith Industries. The real purpose of this group was to build the Mandalorian Armor; the video was the excuse. But it’s fun anyway.
Remnants of the Order: A Star Wars Fan Film
Although Pai grew up under the Empire, she has hardly noticed the intergalactic war raging around her. She’ll soon find that destiny can not be kept at bay.
Star Trek
This video documents the maiden voyage of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 with Captain Robert April commanding and his wife, Commander Sarah April, the ship’s first Chief Medical Officer. It’s the story of a starship that needs a captain and a captain that needs a starship.
Echoes: A Star Trek Fan Production
Starship Intrepid finds itself in a volatile situation when it responds to a mysterious distress beacon – a high-stakes standoff with separatist ships from the Vancari Solidarity. As communications fail, both sides navigate tactical challenges and unexpected discoveries on the planet’s surface while facing the realities of their conflict.
Short Films
When two outcast teens hack into a drone delivery system to prank the girl next door, they accidentally redirect a critical shipment and find themselves entangled in a life-and-death political conspiracy.
The Last Stand on Hoth: A Star Wars Fan Film
The Battle of Hoth is not over — a small Rebel force descends to retake Echo Base. They must retrieve or destroy critical intelligence left behind – secrets that could expose Rebel strongholds. Can the Rebels hold the line and keep the ion cannon operational long enough to finish what they started?
Severus Snape and the Marauders | A Harry Potter Prequel
Set just after James Potter graduates from Hogwarts in 1978, Potter and his friends Sirius, Remus and Peter celebrate at a bar, contemplating their place in the coming war. When Snape enters, James decides to do something about Snape once and for all — with drastic consequences.
Want to know more?
Contact our Small Budget Film Director with specific questions.