The second annual 815HORTS: A 5HORT Film Festival screened 13 acclaimed short films, including Academy Award nominee Bing Liu’s Rockford premiere of “What the Hands Do”. Liu’s latest short film debuted locally during the program’s final prime time slot, followed by an onstage 5HORT Talk interview featuring Liu and moderator Peter Hawley, 815HORTS emcee and director of the Illinois Film Office. The 5HORT Awards closed out the festivities by awarding two 2023 winners: "A Cloudy Moon" [Written by Aaron Hill, Directed and Produced by T.J. Hill] won Best Local/Regional Short Film, and "Barefoot Empress" [Directed by Vikas Khanna, Produced by Doug Roland, Executive Produced by Deepak Chopra] won Best 5HORT (Best in Show). In addition, Plus Seven Company made a charitable donation to the Rockford Public Library Foundation with a portion of net proceeds.

Presented by the City of Rockford + Rockford Film Office, 2023 815HORTS featured a 5HORT Lunch + Learn educational session to start the day at City Stage Studios followed by three screening blocks at the RPL Nordlof Center, including the 2023 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour.