Editor

Palm Springs International Short Film Festival and Market opens with Award Winning Program

The opening night for the 10th Annual Palm Springs International Short Film Festival was a successful tribute to the art of short films. Audiences enjoyed the cool theaters while out side the desert heat steamed up the competition in North America’s most prestigious short festival. With over 2000 entries over 300 films are set to screen this next week. A number of Cash and industry prizes will be awarded at the end of the festival with some winner headed to next years Canne with this festivals recognition.

PSISFF is now becoming even better known for the highly attended Short Market Place, Seminars and Panel Series. Will all entries set to part of the active Market Place filmmakers from around the world will be on hand to meet and greet potential industry notables. Helen Du Toit Director of Short Programming had a monumental task and work with a wide and diverse support from staff members to program this well respected Short Festival.

Executive Directed Daryl McDonald true spirit is to support the creative artistry of the filmmaker. To highlight the visual out come in this positive setting with such encouragement to fresh filmmakers is an exciting event. The anticipated competition will only propel the filmmakers to the next level if they are recognized at Palm Springs. In past year’s many winners within two years found themselves with feature films at Sundance and top European Festivals as well.

Award-winning live-action and animated films highlighted this year’s opening night screening. They include “7:35 in the Morning,” Youth Jury Prize, Clermont Ferrand Short Film Festival; “Flatlife,” Jury Grand Prize at Cannes International Film Festival; “Passing Hearts,” Audience Award at Berlin Film Festival, Cinematography at Aspen Shortsfest and Humanitarian Award at Cleveland Film Festival; “The Man Without a Shadow,” Best Short Film at Cannes International Film Festival and Croatia World Festival of Animation; “Trust,” Honorable Mention for Best Experimental Short at Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival; “Two Cars, One Night,” Best Drama at Aspen ShortsFest and Panorama Best Short Film at 2004 Berlin Film Festival; “Wasp,” Best Live Action Short at Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival; “We Have Decided Not to Die,” Audience Award for Best Short Film at 2004 Clermont Ferrand Short Film Festival. The screenings was then followed by an opening night reception at Las Casuelas Terraza.

The 300 short films have been organized into 43 theme programs covering a variety of topics including gay and lesbian lifestyles, celebrity shorts, crime and punishment, travel, families, comedy, games, current events, identity, love, marriage, aboriginal peoples, pets, and war and peace. The Festival will also feature early shorts from Famous Directors and the AFI Film School. Festival attendees will be able to see a roster of films featuring familiar faces from the big screen and television. The program titled “Famous Directors: Take One” will feature the humble beginnings of some of the top directors of the last three decades including David Lynch’s “Amputee,” Jane Campion’s “A Girls Own Story,” Spike Jonze’s “How They Get There,” Francois Truffaut’s “Les Mistons,” Martin Scorsese’s “The Big Shave,” Luis Bunuel’s “Un Chien Andalou” and Tim Burton’s “Vincent.”

The “Star Power” program features short films made by or featuring well-known acting talents including Academy Award winner Kathy Bates in “The Ingrate.” Other recognizable faces will include Allison Janney in “Chicken Party,” Julie Delpy in “Notting Hill Anxiety Festival” and Darryl Hannah and Jeff Goldbum in “Supermarket” directed by Ileana Douglas. Also in this program are shorts directed by Andrew McCarthy titled “News For the Church,” “Nobody’s Perfect” directed by Hank Azaria and “Betrunner” directed by Vincent Spano.


A jury of five industry professionals will screen this year’s short films selected for competition in nine categories including; Best Animation, Best Documentary and Best Live Action, Best of Festival and the Future Filmmaker Award. A total of $14,000 in prizes and an additional $6,000 in Kodak film stock, $2,500 in studio time from Casablanca Studios and an additional $4,000 in filmmaking software programs will be awarded during the Festival. Jury members include David Birdsell; Dana Brunetti, President, Triggerstreet; George Eldred, Competition Manager, Aspen Filmfest; Valerie Watts Meraz, Showtime Networks, Inc.; Pat Saperstein, Variety. First place winners will automatically become eligible for consideration by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for a possible Academy Award nomination.

Keiko Beatie