PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL SHORTFEST 2026 REVIEW! Dogs have been “man’s best friend” since the dawn of time, literally, in filmmaker Matthew Serrano’s short film Xolo. It opens with cave drawings and the wisdom of ancestral indigenous people, who loved and respected dogs as much as we do today.
“…rescue dog Linus as Skippy, who searches for his missing owner…”
The star is Serrano’s real-life rescue dog Linus as Skippy, who searches for his missing owner Maria (Armida Lopez), but finds the tribal looking Xolotl (Jeremy Phillips) instead. It turns out that Maria is dead, and Skippy must convince Xolotl, the Aztec god of death, that she deserves an afterlife befitting of an excellent master.
I love the art from the cave drawings and the Aztec costume, while Xolotl has some modern comical sensibilities and Skippy is such a good boy. If you have a dog, Xolo will probably hit your heartstrings even harder; if you don’t, it may just make you want to get one.
Xolo screened at the 2026 Palm Springs International Shortfest.
