315 Shorts Set For Palm Springs Fest

Danny Glover in a scene from "This Life." Photo courtesy of the Palm Springs International ShortFest.

The 2009 Palm Springs International ShortFest announced its roster of 315 films, selected from more than 2,500 worldwide entries.  Now in its 15th year, ShortFest will showcase 76 World Premieres, 43 North American Premieres and 14 U.S. Premieres.  All selections are structured into 52 themed programs, which will screen June 23-29, 2009, at the Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs, California. See attached or visit www.psfilmfest.org for a complete list of this year’s film programs.

“We were fortunate to have a wealth of extraordinary work submitted to us from all around the world this year, which made the selection process that much more difficult,” Darryl Macdonald, Programming and Executive Director said in a statement. “The resulting line-up of short films is a richer, more diverse and accomplished collection of work than I’ve ever seen, and heralds a wealth of great new talent to enrich the film world for years to come.”

Festival attendees will be able to see a roster of films featuring familiar faces in front of and behind the camera.  Four actors will have their directorial debuts featured at the Festival including Demi Moore directing “Streak,” starring Brittany Snow, Rumer Willis and Madeline Zima; Courteney Cox-Arquette directing and starring in “The Monday Before Thanksgiving” along with Laura Dern and Rosemary Harris; Marianne Jean-Baptiste directing “Ink,” and Joseph Gordon-Levitt directing “Sparks” starring Carla Gugino and Eric Stoltz.

The selected short films are organized into 52 programs covering a variety of genres - including thrillers, horror, animation, documentaries, and comedies - and themes including family, war, art, grandparents, pet peeves, sex, memories, immigration, obsessions, couples, travel, parents, the Jewish experience, gay and lesbian lifestyles.  In addition, one of the programs will highlight short films from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts Asia, based in Singapore.  The school has students from 21 countries and a faculty of working film professionals all dedicated to educating the next generation of storytellers.

This year’s opening night screening on Tuesday, June 23, will be highlighted by award-winning live-action and animated comedy films including “Dead Bunny” (USA), “Emilia Eckle” (USA), “Expiration” (USA), “Eyelash” (Switzerland), “Multiple Choice” (Australia), “My New Toy” (Australia), “Stop Requested” (France), “The Suffering of Mr. Karpf - The Birthday” (Germany), “True Beauty This Night” (USA) and “The Williams” (France)

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A jury of three industry professionals will screen this year’s short films selected for competition in eighteen categories including Best Animation, Best Documentary, Best Live Action, Best of Festival and the Future Filmmaker Award.  A total of $94,000 in money and production prizes, including $14,000 in cash awards will be given out.  First place winners in four categories will automatically become eligible for consideration by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for a possible Academy Award nomination.  Over the course of its first 14 years, the Festival has presented 64 films that have gone on to receive Academy Award nominations. For a complete list of this year’s lineup, please visit the festival’s website. Login to recommend this article » posted on June 9, 2009 |Share Login to Leave a Comment »