Woody Harrelson Boards First Short Film As EP; Watch ‘Mary The Widow’ Starring Julie Ariola & Stephen Tobolowsky

The multi-hyphenate has boarded Mary the Widow, writer-director Ryan Noufer’s live-action short, as an executive producer. It’s the first time he’s EP’d a short, joined by Jack Piatt (The Singers) and Kevin McCormick.

“Mary the Widow is a special kind of film. It doesn’t waste a second in taking hold of your heart. It captures the joy of finding your soulmate in life while never shying away from some hard truths about aging and loss. It left me with tears in my eyes. Ryan is a filmmaker to watch,” Harrelson said in a statement to Deadline on Friday.

Watch the full short above.

In Mary the Widow, Julie Ariola stars as Mary, a widow who has barely left the house since her husband died. Her daughter Penny (Jean Villepique) signs her up for a speed-dating night for widows and widowers anyway. Across the table comes a man who only talks about himself, a man who will not stop talking at all, and a would-be sugar daddy. Then Ed (Stephen Tobolowsky) sits down. He is gentle, he is funny, and he listens. On the drive home, Mary cannot stop thinking about him, and the film quietly reveals why. Arianna Ortiz and Robert Lee Barry round out the cast.

Noufer wrote the 14-minute film for his late grandmother Mary, whose dementia shaped the story.

“This short is an ode to my late grandmother, Mary. Due to Alzheimer’s, she never quite understood I was her grandson,” Noufer said in a statement of his own. “As a child, that confused me. As an adult, it haunts me. But not all ghosts have to be bad. I hope this film is a good one.”

Switchboard will distribute the film and is campaigning it for the 99th Academy Awards as part of its 2026-27 shorts slate.

Adds Celia Aniskovich, founder of Switchboard Magazine and a producer on the film: “Ryan somehow manages to fit a whole life story into 14 minutes and takes audiences on a journey they don’t see coming. It is funny, touching, devastating, and most importantly, human. We are incredibly proud to be part of the team behind this award-winning, truly special film, and we can’t wait to share it with audiences this season.”

Mary the Widow is written and directed by Ryan Noufer and produced by Celia Aniskovich, Amina Fishburn, Brian Buxton and Trevor Alper. Executive producers are Woody Harrelson, Jack Piatt, Kevin McCormick and Sarge Anderson.

Switchboard has acquired and distributed numerous short films and documentaries including A Pocket Guide To Pigeon Watching, This Is Private, Community Theater, Mary The Widow, Oh Whale, Freeman Vines, Poreless, Rat Rod, and Saving Superman.