The 2018 Palm Springs International ShortFest will showcase 333 films including 42 World Premieres, 32 International Premieres, 42 North American Premieres and 13 U.S. Premieres with films coming from 62 countries around the world. There are 55 curated programs, which will screen June 19-25, at the Palm Springs Cultural Center in Palm Springs. More than 5,300 of the festival submissions will be available in the Film Market for industry attendees to view.
“We’re thrilled to be sharing this year’s lineup,” said ShortFest Festival Director Lili Rodriguez. “With an increase in submission numbers, we knew we’d have our work cut out for us, but the programming team has narrowed down the selection to a wonderful collection that includes some of this year’s festival favorites as well as amazing new discoveries. We were so impressed by the quality of these stories and we can’t wait to pack into theatres and share them with our audience this summer.”
This year’s list of films include the following:
WOLRD PREMIERES
Are You Still Singing? (USA), Directed by: Gillian Barnes
August Sun (UK), Directed by: Franco Volpi
Babygirl (Australia), Directed by: Lara Gissing
Bertie (UK), Directed by: Garry Crystal
Broken Bunny (Canada), Directed by: Meredith Hama-Brown
The Christmas Fish (Czech Republic), Directed by: Cole Stamm
Cornflower (USA), Directed by: Sam Evoy
Dead to the World (UK), Directed by: Freddie Hall
Delivery (USA), Directed by: Joe Boothe
Dima (UK), Directed by: Remi Itani
Dulce (Colombia), Directed by: Guille Isa, Angello Faccini
Fence (Kosovo), Directed by: Lendita Zeqiraj
The Fish & the Sea (Canada), Directed by: Phillip Thomas
Freaks of Nurture (Canada), Directed by: Alexandra Lemay
Good People (USA), Directed by: Gregory Kohn
How to Swim (Israel), Directed by: Noa Gusakov
The Invader’s Song (UK), Directed by: Emma Swinton
It’s a Match (USA), Directed by: Ron Najor
Keep Coming Back! (Canada), Directed by: Brendan Brady
Last Requests (USA), Directed by: Courtenay Johnson
Library of God (Norway), Directed by: Stian Hafstad
Mammoth (USA), Directed by: Ariel Heller
The Master of York (UK), Directed by: Kieron Quirke
The Mute (Vietnam), Directed by: An Pham
My Ex-Girlfriend Is a Shovel (USA), Directed by: Dezi Gallegos
Nettles (USA), Directed by: Raven Jackson
Open Wide (UK), Directed by: Behnam Taheri, Gideon Beresford
Perisher (Australia), Directed by: Gabriel Hutchings
Pink Lemonade (USA), Directed by: Christian Sprenger
A Place to Stay (USA), Directed by: Charlie Polinger
Prey (USA), Directed by: Bill Whirity
Provence (Belgium), Directed by: Kato De Boeck
Punta Cana (USA), Directed by: Andree Ljutica
Release (China), Directed by: Henry Liu
Shooter (Australia), Directed by: Andrew Carbone
Talent Night at Auschwitz: Bunk Five (USA), Directed by: Max Rifkind-Barron
Tomorrow the Sun (Switzerland), Directed by: Quentin Tomshire
Two Puddles (UK), Directed by: Timothy Keeling
The Villa (France), Directed by: Emmanuel Poulain-Arnaud
Wait for Laugh (USA), Directed by: Patrick Franklin
Yellow Line (France), Directed by: Simon Rouby
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERES
The Artist Has a Baby (Sweden), Directed by: Sanna Lenken
Bailaora (Spain), Directed by: Rubin Stein
Black Lips (Australia), Directed by: Adrian Chiarella
Denmark (France), Directed by: Max Mauroux
Dieter Not Unhappy (Germany), Directed by: Christian Schäfer
Eloise (Sweden), Directed by: Johan Rosell
Emma and the Fury (Germany), Directed by: Elisa Mishto
Falling (France), Directed by: Benjamin Vu
Fitting (Australia), Directed by: Emily Avila
Flightmode (Norway), Directed by: Liv Mari Mortensen
In the Arms of the Sea (Russian Federation), Directed by: Dmitry Moiseev
Kevlar (Sweden), Directed by: Tuna Özer
Let’s See How Fast This Baby Will Go (Australia), Directed by: Julietta Boscolo
Mamartuile (Mexico), Directed by: Alejandro Saevich
Melodi (Singapore), Directed by: Michael Kam
Mobile (Norway), Directed by: Truls Krane Meby
Mother & Baby (Ireland), Directed by: Mia Mullarkey
Mwah (Australia), Directed by: Nina Buxton
Once Upon a Time My Prince Will Come (France), Directed by: Lola Naymark
Prince’s Tale (Canada), Directed by: Jamie Miller
Pure Bodies (Belgium), Directed by: Bérangère Mc Neese, Guillaume de Ginestel
Raymonde or The Vertical Escape (France), Directed by: Sarah Van Den Boom
Red Ink (Australia), Directed by: Alex Ryan
Satán (Switzerland), Directed by: Carlos Tapia González
The School Nurse (Sweden), Directed by: Anna Brodin, Frida Sandberg
Suck It Up (France), Directed by: Jan Sitta
Sump (UK), Directed by: Mike Wozniak
Trois Pages (Canada), Directed by: Roger Gariépy
Verde (Colombia), Directed by: Victoria Rivera
Waiting Room (Netherlands), Directed by: Simone van Dusseldorp
Well Done (Israel), Directed by: Aryeh Hasfari, Omer Ben Simon
A Worthy Man (Denmark), Directed by: Kristian Håskjold
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERES
An Act of Love (Australia), Directed by: Lucy Knox
Adam & Esra (Austria), Directed by: Achmed Abdel-Salam
After/Life (USA), Directed by: Puck Lo
Benidorm (France), Directed by: Raphaëlle Tinland
Bilby (USA), Directed by: Pierre Perifel, Liron Topaz, JP Sans
Bogdan and Rose (Poland), Directed by: Milena Dutkowska
Bog Hole (Norway), Directed by: Torfinn Iversen
Bordalo II: A Life of Waste (Ireland), Directed by: Trevor Whelan, Rua Meegan
Chuchotage (Hungary), Directed by: Barnabás Tóth
From Above (Austria), Directed by: Felix Krisai
Graduation`97 (Ukraine), Directed by: Pavlo Ostrikov
Happy Today (France), Directed by: Giulio Tonincelli
Hash Key (France), Directed by: Erwan Alépée
The Hitchhiker (France), Directed by: Julien Decoin
The Hooligan Soul (Brazil), Directed by: Marco Antonio Pereira
Imfura (Switzerland), Directed by: Samuel Ishimwe
Imperial Valley (cultivated run-off) (Austria), Directed by: Lukas Marxt
Kiem Holijanda (Netherlands), Directed by: Sarah Veltmeyer
Lobster Dinner (Italy), Directed by: Gregorio Franchetti
Manicure (Iran, Islamic Republic of), Directed by: Arman Fayaz
Molt (Sweden), Directed by: Nathalie Álvarez Mesén
The Moonshiners (Finland), Directed by: Juho Kuosmanen
My Best Friend’s Shoes (India), Directed by: Ajitpal Singh Dhaliwal
A Mythology of Pleasure (Germany), Directed by: Lara Rodríguez Cruz, Jule Katinka Cramer
Nose Nose Nose Eyes! (South Korea), Directed by: Jiwon Moon
Obon (Germany), Directed by: Andre Hörmann, Samo
Paper Crane (Australia), Directed by: Takumi Kawakami
Primo (Italy), Directed by: Federica Gianni
Rå (Germany), Directed by: Sophia Bösch
Roujoula (France), Directed by: Ilias El Faris
Seascape (Belgium), Directed by: Leni Huyghe
Spacedogs (Germany), Directed by: Sophia Schönborn
Stopover (Switzerland), Directed by: Cosima Frei
A Sweet Story (Germany), Directed by: Moritz Biene
Thick Skin (Iceland), Directed by: Erlendur Sveinsson
Three Room (South Korea), Directed by: Na-yeon Lee
The Ties that Bind (France), Directed by: Yann Chemin
Virgencita (USA), Directed by: Giselle Bonilla
Wildebeast (Belgium), Directed by: Nicolas Keppens, Matthias Phlips
Wild Game (Estonia), Directed by: Jerónimo Sarmiento
Yaman (India), Directed by: Raghuvir Joshi
The Young Patissier (Germany), Directed by: Ksenia Ciuvaseva
US PREMIERES
After Dawn (Belgium), Directed by: Nicolas Graux
The Handover (Germany), Directed by: Leonhard Hofmann
Haunted (Denmark), Directed by: Christian Einshøj
The Last Refugees (USA), Directed by: Tanaz Eshaghian
Last Summer (Japan), Directed by: Asuka Sylvie
Lira’s Forest (Canada), Directed by: Connor Jessup
Midnight Confession (USA), Directed by: Maxwell McCabe-Lokos
(OO) (Korea, Republic of), Directed by: Oh Seo-ro
Rewind Forward (Switzerland), Directed by: Justin Stoneham
Rien Ne Va Plus! (Germany), Directed by: Sophie Linnenbaum
Room (Poland), Directed by: Michał Socha
Tungrus (India), Directed by: Rishi Chandna
Waiting (New Zealand), Directed by: Amberley Jo Aumua
REST OF PROGRAM
#barewithme (Finland), Directed by: Ulla Heikkilä
Abnie Oberfork: A Tale of Self-Preservation (USA), Directed by: Shannon Fleming
Achoo (France), Directed by: Lucas Boutrot, Elise Carret, Maoris Creantor, Pierre Hubert, Camille Lacroix, Charlotte Perroux
Acide (France), Directed by: Just Philippot
Allen Anders – Live At The Comedy Castle (Circa 1987) (USA), Directed by: Laura Moss
All that Remains (Belgium), Directed by: Anne-Lise Morin
All that We Carry (USA), Directed by: Erin Semine Kökdil
And Still We Will Walk On (France), Directed by: Jonathan Millet
AniMal (Iran), Directed by: Bahram Ark, Bahman Ark
Asian Girls (Australia), Directed by: Hyun Lee
Atelier (Denmark), Directed by: Elsa María Jakobsdóttir
Australia (Spain), Directed by: Lino Escalera
Ayesha (India), Directed by: Yanyu Dong
The Beaning (USA), Directed by: Sean McCoy
Beneath the Ink (USA), Directed by: Cy Dodson
The Big Day (UK), Directed by: Dawn Shadforth
Bird Karma (USA), Directed by: Willian Salazar
Birth Control Your Own Adventure (USA), Directed by: Sindha Agha
Black 14 (USA), Directed by: Darius Clark Monroe
Blackjack (Switzerland), Directed by: Lora Mure-Ravaud
Black Line (Switzerland), Directed by: Mark Olexa , Francesca Scalisi
Blind Mice (USA), Directed by: Nicholas D’Agostino
Bonboné (Palestine), Directed by: Rakan Mayasi
Bonobo (Switzerland), Directed by: Zoel Aeschbacher
Botanica (Netherlands), Directed by: Noël Loozen
Boundaries (USA), Directed by: Rhys Marc Jones
The Box (Slovenia), Directed by: Dušan Kastelic
Career Day (USA), Directed by: Ashley Deckman
Careful How You Go (USA), Directed by: Emerald Fennell
The Caregiver (Israel), Directed by: Ruthy Pribar
Caroline (USA), Directed by: Logan George, Celine Held
Catastrophe (Netherlands), Directed by: Jamille van Wijngaarden
Cat Days (Germany), Directed by: Jon Frickey
The Climb (USA), Directed by: Michael Covino
Counterfeit Kunkoo (India), Directed by: Reema Sengupta
Coyote (Switzerland), Directed by: Lorenz Wunderle
A Craftsman (USA), Directed by: Sanford Jenkins
Crisanto Street (USA), Directed by: Paloma Martinez
Cross My Heart (USA), Directed by: Sontenish Myers
Dancing Girls (Turkey), Directed by: Zeynep Köprülü
Dario (Germany), Directed by: Manuel Kinzer, Jorge A. Trujillo Gil
The Day That (USA), Directed by: Dorian Tocker
Death Metal Grandma (USA), Directed by: Leah Galant
Death of the Sound Man (Thailand), Directed by: Sorayos Prapapan
The Disinherited (Spain), Directed by: Laura Ferrés
The Door (Finland), Directed by: Jenni Toivoniemi
Down Escalation (Japan), Directed by: Shunsaku Hayashi
Dressed for Pleasure (Switzerland), Directed by: Marie De Maricourt
The Driver Is Red (USA), Directed by: Randall Christopher
Earthly People (Hungary), Directed by: Ádám Freund
Emergency (USA), Directed by: Carey Williams
End of the Line (USA), Directed by: Jessica Sanders
Été (UK), Directed by: Gregory Oke
Evaporated (Mexico), Directed by: Jimena Muhlia
Eve (USA), Directed by: Susan Bay Nimoy
Everlasting Mom (Israel), Directed by: Elinor Nechemya
Every Ghost Has an Orchestra (USA), Directed by: Shayna Connelly
Excuse Me, I’m Looking for The Ping-Pong Room and My Girlfriend (Austria), Directed by: Bernhard Wenger
Eye Contact (Australia), Directed by: Stuart Mannion
A Farewell (China), Directed by: Yifei He
Fauve (Canada), Directed by: Jérémy Comte
Feedback (France), Directed by: Margot Gallimard
Femme (USA), Directed by: Alden Peters
The Fix (USA), Directed by: Edward Jack
Fran this Summer (USA), Directed by: Mary Evangelista
Fundamental (Taiwan), Directed by: Shih-chieh Chiu
Funny Fish (France), Directed by: Krishna Chandran A. Nair
Garage at Night (Canada), Directed by: Daniel Daigle
Gaze (Iran), Directed by: Farnoosh Samadi
A Gentle Night (China), Directed by: Qiu Yang
Go Tell Your Fathers (USA), Directed by: Chloe Sarbib, Amy Taylor Rosenblum
Gustav (Ireland), Directed by: Ken Williams, Denis Fitzpatrick
Hair Wolf (USA), Directed by: Mariama Diallo
The Heights (USA), Directed by: Ryan Booth
Homegrown (UK), Directed by: Quentin Haberham
How Tommy Lemenchick Became a Grade 7 Legend (Canada), Directed by: Bastien Alexandre
Hula Girl (USA), Directed by: Amy Hill, Chris Riess
Hunter (USA), Directed by: Hilary Bell
I Have a Message for You (Italy), Directed by: Matan Rochlitz
I Have Something to Tell You (USA), Directed by: Ben Joyner, Dumaine Babcock
I’m Cold Meat (France), Directed by: Romain Laguna
Intercourse (Sweden), Directed by: Jonatan Etzler
Islands (France), Directed by: Yann Gonzalez
I Will Not Write Unless I Am Swaddled in Furs (New Zealand), Directed by: Wade Shotter
JEOM (South Korea), Directed by: Kangmin Kim
Jiejie (USA), Directed by: Feng-I Fiona Roan
JUCK [THRUST] (Sweden), Directed by: Olivia Kastebring, Julia Gumpert, Ulrika Bandeira
Kapitalistis (France), Directed by: Pablo Munoz Gomez
Kerloster (France), Directed by: Ombeline de la Gournerie
Khol (Open) (USA), Directed by: Faroukh Virani
Kimchi (USA), Directed by: Jackson Segars
Kira Burning (USA), Directed by: Laurel Parmet
Kleptomami (Germany), Directed by: Pola Beck
Krista (USA), Directed by: Danny Madden
Layam (Israel), Directed by: Assaf Machnes
Let Me Dance (France), Directed by: Valérie Leroy
The Life of Esteban (Belgium), Directed by: Inès Eshun
Liquor Store Babies (USA), Directed by: So Yun Um
Little Fiel (USA), Directed by: Irina Patkanian
Lonesome Willcox (USA), Directed by: Ryan Maxey, Zack Wright
Long Distance Relationship (Brazil), Directed by: Carolina Markowicz
Lost Property Office (Australia), Directed by: Daniel Agdag
The Love Letter (Israel), Directed by: Atara Frish
Lunch Ladies (USA), Directed by: J.M. Logan
Ma (USA), Directed by: Millicent Cho
Magic Alps (Italy), Directed by: Andrea Brusa, Marco Scotuzzi
March Fool (Canada), Directed by: Pierre-Marc Drouin, Simon Lamarre-Ledoux
Margaret and the Moon (USA), Directed by: Trevor Morgan
Mariela (Argentina), Directed by: Victoria Romero
Matria (Spain), Directed by: Álvaro Gago
Maude (USA), Directed by: Anna Margaret Hollyman
Maybe It’s Me (UK), Directed by: Dimitris Simou
Men Don’t Whisper (USA), Directed by: Jordan Firstman
Merry-Go-Round (Russia), Directed by: Ruslan Bratov
Milk (Canada), Directed by: Heather Young
Milk and Cookies (USA), Directed by: Patrick Mulvey, Andrew Ramsay
Mon Amour, Mon Ami (Italy), Directed by: Adriano Valerio
The Motion of Stars (Austria), Directed by: Jan Prazak
The Mud (USA), Directed by: Brandon Lake
The Music Lesson (USA), Directed by: Adam R. Brown, Kyle I. Kelley
My Paintbrush Bites (USA), Directed by: Joel Pincosy, Joe Egender
Negative Space (France), Directed by: Max Porter, Ru Kuwahata
Nevada (USA), Directed by: Emily Ann Hoffman
No Jail Time: The Movie (USA), Directed by: Lance Oppenheim
Nothing Important (UK), Directed by: Tara FitzGerald
Nursery Rhymes (Australia), Directed by: Tom Noakes
Observatory Blues (USA), Directed by: Eric Paschal Johnson, Conor Dooley
Offstage (Romania), Directed by: Andrei Huțuleac
One Cambodian Family Please for My Pleasure (USA), Directed by: A.M. Lukas
One Small Step (USA), Directed by: Bobby Pontillas, Andrew Chesworth
Open Your Eyes (Israel), Directed by: Ilay Mevorah
The Overcoat (UK), Directed by: Patrick Myles
Palenque (Colombia), Directed by: Sebastián Pinzón Silva
Pan (Germany), Directed by: Anna Roller
The Passage (USA), Directed by: Kitao Sakurai
Perfect Town (Switzerland), Directed by: Anaïs Voirol
Pet Friendly (USA), Directed by: Catherine Licata
Phototaxis (USA), Directed by: Melissa Ferrari
Pink Trailer (USA), Directed by: Mary Neely
Plastic Girls (South Korea), Directed by: Nils Clauss
Premonition (Chile), Directed by: Leticia Akel Escarate
The President’s Visit (Lebanon), Directed by: Cyril Aris
Propagation (USA), Directed by: Will Joines, Karrie Crouse
Quiet Hours (USA), Directed by: Paul Szynol
Rae (Canada), Directed by: Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs
Rebuilding in Miniature (Tukey), Directed by: Veena Rao
Roadside Attraction (USA), Directed by: Patrick Bresnan, Ivete Lucas
Room 140 (USA), Directed by: Priscilla Gonzalez Sainz
Rupture (Canada), Directed by: Yassmina Karajah
Saltwater Baptism (USA), Directed by: Jared Callahan, Russell Sheaffer
Salvation (Iceland), Directed by: Thora Hilmarsdottir
Sam Did It (USA), Directed by: Dominic Burgess
Sauna (USA), Directed by: Charlie Polinger
Scaffold (Canada), Directed by: Kazik Radwanski
The Sermon (UK), Directed by: Dean Puckett
Serving Joy (Australia), Directed by: Martin Sharpe
Set Me as a Seal Upon Thine Heart (Israel), Directed by: Omer Tobi
Shadow Animals (Sweden), Directed by: Jerry Carlsson
Sherbert Rozencrantz, You’re Beautiful (Australia), Directed by: Natalie van den Dungen
The Shift (USA), Directed by: Elivia Shaw, Paloma Martinez
The Shuttle (USA), Directed by: Lu Han
Signature (Japan), Directed by: Kei Chikaura
Silence Please (Spain), Directed by: Carlos Villafaina
Silica (Australia), Directed by: Pia Borg
Sin Cielo (USA), Directed by: Jianna Maarten
Sleepover (Sweden), Directed by: Jimi Vall Peterson
Souls of Totality (USA), Directed by: Richard Raymond
Spacesavers (USA), Directed by: Sarah Ginsburg
Still Water Runs Deep (USA), Directed by: Abbesi Akhamie
Stray (USA), Directed by: Andrew Boylan
Subterra (USA), Directed by: Joel Villegas
Suitable (USA), Directed by: Thembi Banks
Tammy’s Tiny Tea Time: Episode 1 (USA), Directed by: Peter Gulsvig
Tangles and Knots (Australia), Directed by: Renée Marie Petropoulos
Teddy (UK), Directed by: Christopher Sweeney
The Tesla World Light (Canada), Directed by: Matthew Rankin
Three August Days (Estonia), Directed by: Madli Lääne
Three Boys Manzanar (USA), Directed by: Preeti Mankar Deb
Trapeze, U.S.A. (USA), Directed by: Mark Anthony Green
Troll (USA), Directed by: Anu Valia
Tweener (Sweden), Directed by: Julia Thelin
Two Medusas (USA), Directed by: Scott Hamilton Kennedy
Under Mom’s Skirt (France), Directed by: Sarah Heitz de Chabaneix
Undiscovered (USA), Directed by: Sara Litzenberger
Unearthed (USA), Directed by: Erin Semine Kökdil, Zulfiya Hamzaki
Unfinished, 2017 (Mixed media) (USA), Directed by: Rafael Salazar Moreno
Unravel (Canada), Directed by: Evan Luchkow
Untitled Short Film About White People (USA), Directed by: Nicholas Colia
Ur Dead To Me (New Zealand), Directed by: Yonoko Li
The Velvet Underground Played at My High School (USA), Directed by: Anthony Jannelli, Robert Pietri
A View from the Window (USA), Directed by: Azar Kafaei, Chris Filippone
Wave (Ireland), Directed by: Benjamin Cleary, TJ O’Grady Peyton
We Are the Freak Show (Canada), Directed by: Marie-Hélène Viens, Philippe Lupien
Weekends (USA), Directed by: Trevor Jimenez
We Forgot to Break Up (Canada), Directed by: Chandler Levack
Welcome Home (Norway), Directed by: Armita Keyani
Wendy’s Shabbat (USA), Directed by: Rachel Myers
We Summoned a Demon (USA), Directed by: Chris McInroy
While I Yet Live (USA), Directed by: Maris Curran
Wicked Girl (Turkey), Directed by: Ayçe Kartal
Wild Beasts (Norway), Directed by: Sverre Kvamme
With Thelma (Belgium), Directed by: Ann Sirot, Raphaël Balboni
Would You Look at Her (Macedonia), Directed by: Goran Stolevski
Wyrm (USA), Directed by: Christopher Winterbauer
Zion (USA), Directed by: Floyd Russ
ShortFest jurors include Penelope Bartlett (Programmer for the Criterion Collection), Marc-André Grondin (Actor), Brian Hu (Artistic Director of Pacific Arts Movement, Presenter of the San Diego Asian Film Festival, Assistant Professor of TV, Film, and New Media at San Diego State University), Missy Laney (Director of Development at Adult Swim) and Ina Pira (Curator at Vimeo). Over $87,500 in prizes, including $27,000 in cash awards, will be given out in 21 categories to this year’s short films in competition. First place winners in five 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 23 years, the Festival has presented 101 films that have gone on to receive Academy Award® nominations. Winners will be announced at a brunch on Sunday, June 24.
In addition to ShortFest’s award-winning short films, each year the Festival also welcomes a long guest list of filmmakers and industry attendees for the ShortFest Forums of panels and roundtables.