To celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Palm Springs International ShortFest, Palm Springs Life has put together a history of the festival, which runs June 18-24, 2024 at the Regal Palm Springs. ShortFest was originally a segment of the Palm Springs International Film Festival starting in 1990. It grew with such popularity that the ShortFest as we know it today was launched as a spinoff event in 1995 and is now one of the most prominent short film festivals in
the world.
“Filmmakers are the core of ShortFest,” Lili Rodriguez, the Festival’s Artistic Director, told Palm Springs Life. “The choices that we make [in programming and planning] are to elevate their experience here, to help them in their careers and give them a really good Palm Springs audience. You hope that they will care as much about your festival as you care about them.”
“It’s interesting the impact a short film can have. Films evoke so much emotion, whether it’s through humor or getting you all choked up or hitting the heartstrings of an experience. They can pack so much into just a few minutes,” Jennifer Van Kamp, programming and education manager of Palm Springs International ShortFest, told Palm Springs Life.
The very first short film was made in 1878 by Eadweard Muybridge. The Horse in Motion was 11 seconds long and essentially served as a test to see what was possible with motion pictures. Today, the Academy Awards and ShortFest requirements qualify short films as having a maximum duration of 40 minutes, though many are only a few minutes long.
Dozens of countries are represented in the annual ShortFest spanning seven categories – Animation, Documentary, Live Action, Student Animation, Student Documentary, Student Live Action, and Coachella Valley Local Submission. The festival will conclude with a gala event where 20 awards will be announced, totaling $25,000 in cash prizes for the filmmakers. Five of the awards qualify for Oscar nominations, including Best Animation, Best Documentary, Best Live Action Over 15 Minutes, Best Live Action Under 15 Minutes, and Best of the Fest.
See the full lineup and purchase passes and tickets at https://psfilmfest.org/shortfest-2024.
Illustration by Danie Drankwalter for Palm Springs Life