Festival to Showcase Shorts Directed by Katie Holmes, Bryce Dallas Howard, Tara Fitzgerald and Starring Troian Bellisario, John Cusack, Loretta Devine, Robert Forster, Taissa Farmiga, Patrick Fugit, Janeane Garofalo, Kat Graham, Richard E. Grant, Matt Groening, Jimmy Kimmel, Kate Mara, Rose McGowan, Sandra Oh, Jason Patric, Zachary Quinto, Amber Tamblyn, Danny Trejo, Rufus Wainwright and Kristen Wiig

Palm Springs, CA, June 2015 – It’s time to put on your shorts for the 2015 Palm Springs International ShortFest & Short Film Market. Now in its 21st year, ShortFest will showcase 330 films including 77 World Premieres, 65 North American Premieres and 19 U.S. Premieres. The selection of films for screening and competition features star-studded casts and award-winning films from 51 countries around the world. There are 54 thematically curated programs, which will screen June 16-22, at the Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs. More than 3,000 of the festival submissions are available in the Film Market for industry attendees to view. The complete line-up will be posted on www.psfilmfest.org on June 7 with the online box office launch on June 9.

“The overall quality of the films submitted to us this year was staggering, both in terms of sophisticated filmmaking technique and the diversity of the subject matter and storytelling styles,” said Festival Director Darryl Macdonald. “The difficult part for us was narrowing the 3,500 submissions down to just 330 titles for the final Festival line-up, given the wealth of exceptional work we watched. It’s a testament to the benefits of contemporary film schools and increased access to low cost technological tools that so many emerging filmmakers with a gift for storytelling are now able to parlay those gifts into accomplished, entertaining short films. It makes for one wonderful week of film watching.”

This year’s star-studded shorts feature Academy Award winners and nominees, as well as film and television stars including F. Murray Abraham in the North American Premiere of 411 (USA); Kevin Alejandro in Aden (USA/Taiwan); Kate Mara and Amber Tamblyn in the World Premiere of Almost Not Beautiful (USA); Alex Karpovsky and Troian Bellisario in the World Premiere of Amy (USA); Frankie J. Alvarez in Aphasia (USA); Janeane Garofalo in The Assistant (USA); Sharon Lawrence and Robert Forster in The Bridge Partner (USA); Michael Childers, Rufus Wainwright, Mary Wilson and Loretta Devine in the World Premiere documentary short of Coming Together for One Night Only (USA); Katie Holmes directs Eternal Princess (USA); Zachary Quinto in the U.S. Premiere of The Future Perfect (Canada); Xander Berkeley in the The Gift (UK); Jonathan Demme, Matt Groening, Kevin Pollak and Ed Asner in the documentary short I Thought I Told You To Shut Up! (Canada/USA); Billy Magnussen in A Mighty Nice Man (USA); Ian Harding in the World Premiere of Minimum Wage (USA); Kristen Wiig and Jimmy Kimmel in the World Premiere of Miss Famous (USA) produced by James Franco; Kat Graham stars in Muse (USA); Tara Fitzgerald in her directorial debut for Prick Thy Neighbour (U.K.); John Cusack in the World Premiere of Red Rider (USA); Patrick Fugit and Charlotte Ross in Rita Mahtoubian is Not a Terrorist (USA); Robert Forster in Run Fast (USA); Sandra Oh in the World Premiere of The Scarecrow (USA); Taissa Farmiga in Share (USA) directed by Pippa Bianco; Bryce Dallas Howard directs and stars in solemates (USA); Richard E. Grant narrates Teeth (UK/Hungary/USA); and Jason Patric, Danny Trejo, Rose McGowan and Marisa Coughlan in the World Premiere of The Weight of Blood & Bones (USA).

Throughout the Festival the selected short films are organized into programs covering a variety of genres – including action, comedies, documentaries, dramas, horror stories, thrillers and mysteries– and themes such as altered states, animals, animation, art, couples, crime, culture, dreams, family, games, history, jobs, kids, LGBT, romance, secrets, strangers and road stories.

David Ansen (Writer), Gregg Kilday (Film Editor at The Hollywood Reporter), Steve Greene (Assistant Editor of Indiewire's Criticwire Network), Dan Ireland (Writer/Director/Producer), Roberta Munroe (Writer/Director/Producer) and Kim Waltrip (Independent Film Producer) will serve on the ShortFest jury. Over $115,000 in prizes, including $20,000 in cash awards, will be given out in 21 categories to this year’s short films in competition. The Panavision Best North American Short Award winner will receive a camera package valued at $60,000. First place winners in four categories will automatically become eligible for consideration by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for a possible Academy Award® nomination. Over the course of 20 years, the Festival has presented 101 films that have gone on to receive Academy Award nominations. Winners will be announced on Sunday, June 22 at a Closing Night screening and reception.

The following premiere films have been selected to screen in the festival:

World Premieres:

2084 (USA), Taz Goldstein The Age of Insecurity: Little Men (USA), Adriano Valentini The Age of Insecurity: Unshakeable (USA), Adriano Valentini Alex the Magnificent (USA), Robert Monk Davis Almost Not Beautiful (USA), Sarah Jean Kruchowski Amy (USA), Jacob Chase The Aquarium (Australia), Jacobie Gray Ballon (South Korea), Sang-eun HAN, SI Dong-joo, LEE Yu-jin Basilisk (United Kingdom), Nikolai Hamel Billy the Kid (United Kingdom), Sam Johnson Bodies (United Kingdom/Ireland), B Welby-Delimere The Brief, Existential Crisis of a Young Underwear Model (USA), Brett Checkelsky, Drew Checkelsky Brothers (United Kingdom), Thordur Palsson Chisel (Philippines/USA), Rebecca Kahn Chop (USA), Conner Bell Coming Together for One Night Only (USA), Marc Saltarelli Copetin (Argentina/Spain), Ernesto Kullock The Cycle (USA), Michael Marantz, Justin Salerian, Ted Schaeffer Dániel (United Kingdom), Dean Loxton Death In Bloom (Australia/USA), Dael Oates Distance (USA), Anson Fogel, Alexandra Fuller Duke Riley Goes to China (USA/China), Kim A. Snyder Duo (France), Claudia Bottino The Friend from Tel Aviv (USA), Federica Gianni Future Dust (USA), Matthew Gudernatch Going Down (Australia), James Vinson A Grand Ole Opry (Scotland), Michael J Welsh The Great Zoo of Mr. Vanel (France), Bérenger Thouin The Grill Man (Brazil), Fabio Basso Montanari Harvey's Dream (Australia), Alexander von Hofmann Heartbreak and Beauty (Australia), Genevieve Clay-Smith, Libby Banks, Nathan Basha, Robin Bryan Homewrecker (USA), Gabe Hohreiter H Positive (United Kingdom/Spain), Glenn Paton Identity Theft (USA), Carlos Lopez Estrada I Follow You (Sweden), Jonatan Etzler Ignostech (USA), Dan Harnden Into the Surf (United Kingdom), Tom Evans I Strongly Suggest (New Zealand), Gregory Bennett Joseph's Reel (United Kingdom), Michael Lavers Kapunka (Israel), Tal Greenberg Lila & Valentin (France), Adrien Lhommedieu The Listener (United Kingdom), Michael Gilhooly Louis (France), Stéphanie Doncker Lulu (USA), Shawn Snyder Manchego (United Kingdom), Alex Kendall The Man from the Council (United Kingdom), Barnaby Southcombe Marta Rosa (USA/Mexico), Barbara Cigarroa Minimum Wage (USA), Joey Ally Mini Supreme (USA), Michael Phillis Miss Famous (USA), Shadae Lamar Smith Miss Zahra (Finland), Markus Lehmusruusu Mrs. K (South Korea), Dongneok Seo Nightlight (Switzerland/Canada), Samuel Flueckiger Nowhere Line: Voices from Manus Island (Australia/UK), Lukas Schrank Off Track (USA/Brazil), JP Jacobsen The Pitch (United Kingdom), John Hardwick Pool (Canada), Clayton Holmes Providence (USA), Michael Abbott, Jr. Recently, Long Ago (USA), Daniel Elihu Kramer Red Rider (USA), Sam Davis Relapse (USA), Rosie Haber Restoration (New Zealand), Tim Tsiklauri RPG (USA), Sadie Rogers The Scarecrow (USA), Phillip Rhys Setting Them Straight (Australia), Kaleb McKenna Silent Night (Australia), Nastassja Djalog Silver Waters (United Kingdom), Andrew Keresztes Skinless (Norway), Marius Myrmel Submarine (Brazil), Rafael Aidar Tether (Guatemala/USA), Eve Symington Touch (USA), Lulu Wang The Trail (Germany), Elke Brugger Twin Visions (USA), Louise Salter, Gavin Bowden The Weight of Blood & Bones (USA), Christopher Ekstein You Are Whole (United Kingdom), Laura Spini You're Breaking Up (USA), Mandy Fabian Zelos (USA/Iceland), Thoranna Sigurdardottir

North American Premieres:

3 Year 3 Month Retreat (Bhutan), Dechen Roder 411 (USA), Oliver Power 90 Degrees North (Germany), Detsky Graffam Alliance of the Depths (Israel), Aryeh Hasfari Another Green World (United Kingdom), Christina Hardinge Ave Maria (Palestine/France, Germany), Basil Khalil Between (Switzerland), Flo Linus Baumann Between Trees (Australia), Jayden Stevens Big Up (France), Julie-Anne Roth Bite the Bullet (Netherlands), Iman de Vries The Boiling Point (Sweden), Markus Waltå Boy Meets a Stranger (South Korea), Da-hye LEE Boy-Razor (Sweden), Peter Pontikis Bright Black (Slovenia), Rene Maurin Buddy (Belgium), Jan Roosens, Raf Roosens Carry On (Austria), Rafael Haider Chronicles of Courage (United Kingdom), Ernest Mills Criticism (Australia), Ryder Grindle Dropping Off Michael (United Kingdom), Zam Salim Edmond (United Kingdom), Nina Gantz Escalator (Norway), Christopher Nielsen Estela (Cuba), Joacenith Vargas Execution (Hungary/Romania), Petra Szőcs Exit Right (Austria), Bernhard Wenger, Rupert Höller Fernweh (Netherlands), Ena Sendijarevic Flat Daddy (Australia), Matt Holcomb The Forgiven (China/France), François Chang Gayby (Australia), Anya Beyersdorf Gift Of My Father (Iraq/UK, Netherlands, USA), Salam Salman A Good Feeling (France), Benoit Rambourg The Good Life - Over There (Norway), Izer Aliu Hassan in Wonderland (Iraq/Italy), Ali Kareem He and She (Germany), Marco Gadge A Hole in My Heart (Netherlands), Mees Peijnenburg Jachalay (Greece), Manos Gerogiannis, Yannis Zoumakis The Jacket (Austria), Patrick Vollrath Last Door South (Belgium), Sacha Feiner Last Night In Edinburgh (Scotland/UK), Bita Shafipour Linda's List (New Zealand), Angela Bloomfield, Kate McDermott The Little Death (Norway), Simon Tillaas Love is Blind (United Kingdom), Dan Hodgson Meeting Jenny (USA), Tammy-Anne Fortuin The Morrigan (Ireland/UK), Colum Eastwood Nineteen (Australia), Madeline Kelly The Orchestra (Australia), Mikey Hill Patriot (United Kingdom), Eva Riley Pebbles at Your Door (Denmark), Vibeke Bryld Pink (Australia), Lynne Vincent McCarthy Pink Boy (USA), Eric Rockey Prayers at Dawn (Turkey/USA), Pinar Yorgancioglu Pull (Australia), Christopher Stollery Rangan 99 (Iran), Tiyam Yabandeh Reality + (France), Coralie Fargeat Replika (Switzerland/France), Luc Walpoth The Sea Was Calm (Uruguay), Pablo Schulkin Semblance (USA), Bill Whirity Sowol Road (South Korea), Jong-hun SHIN Subordinate (France), Clara Leac The Summer of ABC Burns (Australia), Dannika Horvat Three Dalmatians (Norway), Ingrid Stenersen Times of Competition (Brazil), Toti Loureiro, Ruy Prado Void (Denmark), Milad Alami, Aygul Bakanova We will stay in touch about it (Germany), Jan Zabeil Year 7 (United Kingdom), Rob Leggatt Zero M2 (France), Matthieu Landour

United States Premieres:

After the End (United Kingdom), Sam Southward August (Poland), Tomek Slesicki Bernice (USA), Kristina Sorge Class Trip (Sweden), Jonatan Etzler Coach (France), Ben Adler Crocodile (United Kingdom), Gaëlle Denis Dead Air (United Kingdom), Robert Bradbrook The Future Perfect (Canada), Nick Citton The Garage (Canada), Patrick White Hole (Australia), Tony Radevski In the Shadow of the North (Canada), Raphaël Bélanger Maurice (Canada), François Jaros Morning is Broken (United Kingdom), Simon Anderson Outlier (Germany), Martin Wallner Over (United Kingdom), Jörn Threlfall Paris on the Water (Israel), Hadas Ayalon The Pig Child (United Kingdom), Lucy Campbell The Tour Guide (Israel/Germany), Amos Geva Whispers Among Wolves (Australia), Kevin Lim

Now in its fifth year, 13 films will screen in the ShortFest Online Film Festival. The select films are currently playing on a special section of the festival website (www.psfilmfest.org/onlinefest). Online voting for these films is now open and runs through June 20, with the “ShortFest Online Audience Award” announced at the Festival Award Ceremony on Closing Night. The ShortFest Online Film Festival will continue to play online through August 31.

About Palm Springs International ShortFest: Designated by AMPAS, BAFTA and BIFA as an award-qualifying festival, and accredited by the International Short Film Conference, the Palm Springs International ShortFest & Short Film Market, one of the most acclaimed short film showcases in the world, will take place in Palm Springs on June 16-22. Now in its 21st year and recently taking 8th place in the annual USA Today 10Best poll, ShortFest will showcase over 300 short films from more than 50 countries. The concurrent Short Film Market will feature a library of more than 3,000 films available to film buyers, industry and press, the only Short Film Market in North America. The ShortFest Forum programs are a four day schedule of seminars, panel discussions, roundtables and master classes staged free of charge for attending filmmakers.

The Title Sponsor is the City of Palm Springs with Presenting Sponsors The Desert Sun and Spencer’s. Major Sponsors include: Panavision, Stampede Post Productions, LA Creative, the Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, the Casting Society of America, Radiant Images, Vacation Palm Springs, Smart Source/CRE and The Australian Consulate General in Los Angeles. The official host hotel and media center is the Renaissance Palm Springs and the official rental car is Hertz.

-Edited by Vanessa McMahon; May 17, 2015