The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has granted a $25,000 award to the Palm Springs International Film Society. The funding, part of the NEA's Grants for Arts Projects initiative, will support the Palm Springs International Film Festival and Palm Springs International ShortFest.
According to a press release from the Palm Springs International Film Society, this grant is one of 1,135 NEA Grants for Arts Projects awards—amounting to over $37 million—approved during the second round of fiscal year 2024 grants. The society stated that these funds will bolster both festivals, providing exposure to the community for cinematic works by U.S. and international artists.
The press release further indicated that the Palm Springs International Film Festival is set to celebrate its 36th year in early 2025. The ShortFest Forum, which facilitates engagement between film professionals through workshops, panels, and roundtable discussions, is now in its 30th year and will take place from June 18-24, 2024.
"Projects like the Palm Springs International Film Festival and Palm Springs International ShortFest exemplify the creativity and care with which communities are telling their stories, creating connection, and responding to challenges and opportunities in their communities—all through the arts," said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson as quoted in the press release. "So many aspects of our communities, such as cultural vitality, health and wellbeing, infrastructure, and the economy, are advanced and improved through investments in art and design. The National Endowment for the Arts is committed to ensuring people across the country benefit."
"It is a distinct honor to be a recipient of this year’s National Endowment for the Arts grant," said Festival Chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi in his statement included in the press release. "This last month we personified this commitment through our Filmmaker in the Classroom workshop program by exposing youth in the Coachella Valley to an internationally renowned filmmaker. With these grant funds, we shall continue to foster that love for media arts in our education programs, as well as our ongoing presentation of the very best in domestic and world cinema to our community."