The best in short films from all around the world will be featured at the Palm Springs International ShortFest.
The event recently unveiled a lineup of nearly 300 films including 50 world premieres, 10 international premieres and 33 American premieres.
The competition was intense, with more than 6,000 short films from 129 countries offered for consideration this year, creating a selection challenge for the programming team; Sudeep Sharma, ShortFest director of Programming, said in a recent Variety report.
"With such a large, high quality submission pool, the programming team had to make some difficult decisions, but we think these films represent the vibrancy and immense creativity in short films from around the world," Sharma said. "We can't wait to host the films and filmmakers at Palm Springs and are honored to be part of their journey."
Of the films chosen this year, more than 40% are the work of women directors, and approximately half were created by filmmakers of color, Variety said. The films feature talents like Ana Fabrega, Bobby Lee, Edward Norton, Tom Holland and Whoopi Goldberg, to name a few.
The Palm Spring community can experience the ShortFest event from June 20-26, with in-person screenings at the Camelot Theatres in the Palm Springs Cultural Center, the ShortFest website said. But the ultimate highlight of the festival will be the "Best of the Fest" shorts, which serve as the grand finale of the event and will take place on the last day, Monday, June 26.
Prior to that, on Sunday, June 25, a jury will announce the award winners from among those selected for the lineup, the Desert Sun reported. Winners can reap awards and cash prizes valued at $25,000. A top honor will be the presentation of five Academy Award-qualifying awards: Best of the Festival Award, Best Animated Short, Best Documentary Short, Best Live-Action Short Over 15 Minutes, and Best Live-Action Short 15 Minutes and Under.
Acclaimed the world over as a premiere showcase for short films, ShortFest has been recognized as an award-qualifying festival by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the British Academy of Film Awards, the British Independent Film Awards and the Goya Awards, the website said. The festival has also received accreditation from the Internal Short Film Conference.
To see a complete list of the featured 2023 films, visit psfilmfest.org/shortfest-2023/film-finder.