The 11th Annual Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films & Short Film Market, held from September 20-26, 2005 at the Camelot Theatres, announces that Kathleen McInnis will join the Festival as the Director of Short Film Programming this year. The largest short film festival and market in North America screens approximately 350 films from over 40 countries annually. Over the past 10 years, 46 of the short films nominated for Academy Awards have played at the Festival, with six of the nominated films screened at last year’s Festival. Up 10 % from last year, setting a new record, the Festival has currently received more than 2,400 submissions.

Commenting on this year’s Festival, Executive Director Darryl Macdonald said, “With the addition of Kathleen McInnis as our Director of Short Film Programming for this year’s Festival, we will continue to be the premiere American venue showcasing short films and seeking out new talents and trends in filmmaking from around the world.”

McInnis is a film festival veteran, independent film producer and publicist, most recently serving as Festival Director for the Slamdance Film Festival in January 2005. Previously, she was with the Seattle International Film Festival as Director of Industry Programming and Director of Publicity / Promotion. While at Seattle, McInnis co-created the Fly Filmmaking Challenge, inviting filmmakers to make a short film in one week. As a film publicist, McInnis has worked with filmmakers on their world premiere campaigns at festivals such as Sundance, Berlin and Toronto; as unit publicist, she has worked on many films, including Coastlines, Stephen King's Rose Red and Hard Candy. As producer, her short films have played around the world at festivals including Palm Springs, Sundance, Melbourne, Rotterdam, and Seattle.

This year’s Festival is sure to produce similar success for the many talented filmmakers exhibiting their work at the event. The Festival will kick-off on September 20 with an opening night of award-winning films and audience favorites from a number of renowned international short film festivals, followed by a reception at Las Casuelas Terraza. The films displayed in each program will cover a wide variety of genres, ranging from gay and lesbian programs to family programs.

Panels of industry representatives will also be assembled to discuss trends and provide advice on short filmmaking. The Festival has already confirmed a special sidebar panel with Roger Gonin, organizer of the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival. Many of the top North American and European sales agents of short films, as well as agents and studios, attend the festival in search of new writers and directors each year. Over two-thirds of the films presented annually at the Festival are acquired or find sales agents.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences continues to honor the integrity of the decisions made at this Festival by making this one of the few qualifying festivals for their Best Short Film Awards. Last year’s ShortFest featured the Premiere of Andrea Arnold’s Wasp, which received the 2004 Best of the Festival Award and an Academy Award in the Best Live Action Short Film category. The Best Animated Short Film Academy Award winner, Ryan, also screened at the Festival and received first place in the Best Animation category. In total, 6 of last year’s short film nominees were premiered or presented at the Festival.

The Palm Springs International Festival Of Short Films and Film Market will present over 350 short films on three screens with concurrent Film Market facilities featuring over 2,400 shorts, making it the largest short film festival and market in North America. The Festival offers 20 awards in ten different categories, featuring cash prizes and/or film stock. All submitted films are eligible for film market participation for no additional submission fee. Winning films in Live Action and Animation categories are automatically qualified for nomination consideration by AMPAS in the short film categories. There is also a special student film section with awards and reduced entry fees.