We’ve all been there -- nothing to do as you wait alone in a public place like a laundromat for the spin cycle to finish or for a friend who’s late meeting you at a bar.

Five years ago, two film enthusiasts, Giacun Caduff and Ryan Reichenfeld, created a solution with their idea to make a network of movie jukeboxes that incorporate short films into viewers’ everyday experience. The idea turned out to have merit and has evolved into a full-fledged international festival -- box[ur]shorts. The festival will celebrate its fourth annual awards night this Saturday.

box[ur]shorts festival director Caduff -- a Switzerland native and graduate of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television’s MFA Producers Program -- was inspired as a producer to...