Films Starring Tom Holland, Whoopi Goldberg Among Lineup for 2023 Palm Springs ShortFest

The 29th Palm Springs International ShortFest returns to the Camelot Theatres (Palm Springs Cultural Center) from June 20-26 with 50 curated programs showcasing 299 films.

Short films featuring celebrated film and TV actors include Ana Fabrega in Gold and Mud; Bobby Lee and Matt Jones in Death & Ramen; Catherine Curtin in Galapagos; Dana Delany and Dylan Baker in Troy; Edward Norton and John Turturro in High Noon on the Waterfront; Greta Lee in The Breakthrough; Hugo Weaving in Teacups; Jamie-Lynn Sigler in I’m On Fire; Judith Light as a producer on Aikāne; Ken Marino and Kate Flannery in Help Me Understand produced by Paul Feig; Margaret Cho in Gianna; Lio Mehiel in Smoking Kills; Michael Ironside in The Family Circus; Princess Nokia in Daughter of the Sea; Rachel Bloom and Pam Murphy in Heritage Day; Shannon Dang in Fanatic directed by Taran Killam; Tom Holland in Last Call; Wendi McLendon-Covey in Beautiful, FL; Wes Studi in The Roof; and Whoopi Goldberg in Three Trees.

“We are so thrilled to be bringing such incredible talent to Palm Springs to celebrate film and the craft of short filmmaking” said Artistic Director Lili Rodriguez. “We are honored to be sharing their work with our loyal Palm Spring audience and the world. We are looking forward to helping create the kind of experience only a film festival can provide.”

Each year ShortFest reflects the evolving film industry and the world at large. As reported by the filmmakers themselves, 125 out of 299 films (nearly 42%) feature women Directors, and 139 films (47%) have filmmakers who identify as non-white. Further to its mandate to showcase film excellence worldwide, this year’s slate includes more than half of the lineup from foreign countries – Canada (26), China (7), France (30), India (7) and the United Kingdom (20) – along with films from Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Palestine, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine,Uruguay and Vietnam.

The ShortFest Forum will also take place from June 23-25, with in-person panels, roundtables, and interactive events featuring industry representatives, filmmakers and additional guests. A virtual Best of the Festival will run from July 7-13, featuring a collection of ShortFest’s juried award winners.

The 2023 Palm Springs ShortFest will screen the following films:

Animation

Aikāne (USA), Directed by Daniel Sousa, Dean Hamer & Joe Wilson
Ashkasha (Spain/Argentina), Directed by Lara Maltz
Boat People (Canada), Directed by Thao Lam & Kjell Boersma
Canary (Canada), Directed by Pierre-Hugues Dallaire & Benoit Therriault
ChaCha (China/France), Directed by Chenghua Yang & Shang Zhang
Christopher at Sea (France/USA/United Kingdom), Directed by Tom CJ Brown
‘Delta Airline Saftey Video (USA/France), Directed by Jordan Michael Blake
Discussion animée entre entendeurs de voix(France), directed by Tristan Thil
Eeva (Croatia/Estonia), Directed by Lucija Mrzljak & Morten Tšinakov
Epicenter (South Korea), Directed by HAHM Hee-yoon
The Flying Sailor (Canada), Directed by Wendy Tilby & Amanda Forbis
fur (USA), Directed by Zhen Li
Ice Merchants (Portugal/France/United Kingdom), Directed by João Gonzalez
La Pursé (Brazil), Directed by Gabriel Nóbrega & Lucas René
Luce and the Rock (Belgium/France/Netherlands), Directed by Britt Raes
Make or Break (Germany), Directed by Mike Plitt & Falk Schuster
Menagerie (USA), Directed by Jack Gray
Misaligned (Poland/Latvia), Directed by Marta Magnuska
Movement (Switzerland), Directed by Valentine Moser
Mushka (USA), Directed by Andreas Deja
Pipes (Switzerland), Directed by Jessica Meier, Kilian Feusi & Sujanth Ravichandran
Pond (Switzerland), Directed by Lena von Döhren & Eva Rust
The Rainbow Dung Beetle (USA), Directed by Ellen Mowat & Cole Dupzyk
Red Rabbit (Ireland), Directed by Rory Kerr
The Sea on the Day When the Magic Returns (South Korea), Directed by Hang Luong Jiwon
Shadow of the Butterflies (France/Portugal/Qatar), Directed by Sofia El Khyari
Slow Light (Poland/Portugal), Directed by Katarzyna Kijek & Przemysław Adamski
The Social Chameleon (USA/India/United Kingdom/Hungary), Directed by Alex Ross
Spring Roll Dream (United Kingdom), Directed by Mai Vu
Sprout (USA), Directed by Zora Kovac
Stranding (USA), Directed by Ben Kadie
Sub Terra (Canada), Directed by Jeffrey Zablotny
Swing to the Moon (France), Directed by Marie Bordessoule, Adriana Bouissie, Nadine De Boer, Elisa Drique, Chloé Lauzu, Vincent Levrero & Solenne Moreau
Teacups (Australia/Ireland), Directed by Alec Green & Finbar Watson
Things that Disappear (South Korea), Directed by Kim Changsoo
Think Something Nice (Switzerland), Directed by Claudius Gentinetta
Three Trees (Canada), Directed by M.R. Horhager & Aaron Hong
Tomato Kitchen (China/USA), Directed by Junyi Xiao
Way Better (Lithuania), Directed by Skirmanta Jakaitė
Well Wishes My Love, Your Love (Sweden/Malaysia), Directed by Gabriel Gabriel Garble
Zeb’s Spider (Canada), Directed by Alicia Eisen & Sophie Jarvis

Documentary

45th Parallel (United Kingdom), Directed by Lawrence Abu Hamdan
Alpha Kings (USA), Directed by Enrique Pedraza Botero & Faye Tsakas
Amara and Ry’Shauna (USA), Directed by Kate Cohen & A.D. Freese
Away (Hungary/Belgium/Portugal), Directed by Ruslan Fedotov
Birdsong (United Kingdom/Laos), Directed by Omi Zola Gupta & Sparsh Ahuja
Black Strings (USA), Directed by Marquise Mays
Border Conversations (Germany), Directed by Jonathan Brunner
Breaking Silence (USA), Directed by Amy Bench & Annie Silverstein
Call Me Mommy (Ireland), Directed by Tara Isidora O’Callaghan
CANS Can’t Stand (USA), Directed by Matt Nadel & Megan Plotka
Chicken Stories (USA), Directed by Jonathan Pickett
Clean (Scotland/United Kingdom), Directed by Miranda Stern
Daron, Daron Colbert (USA), Directed by Kevin Steen
Dicks That I Like (Germany), Directed by Johanna Gustin
Echo (USA), Directed by Benjamin Wolin & Michael Minahan
Eco-Hack! (USA), Directed by Josh Izenberg & Brett Marty
Fata Morgana (Germany/Syria), Directed by Daood Alabdulaa
Heart of an Astronaut (Sweden), Directed by Jennifer Rainsford
High Noon on the Waterfront (USA), Directed by Billy Shebar & David Roberts
How We Get Free (USA), Directed by Geeta Gandbhir & Samantha Knowles
I Never Had Dreams of My Son (Ukraine/USA), Directed by Jason Blevins
Kaamoksen Valossa (Finland), Directed by Niko Väistö
Little to Big (Sweden), Directed by Ellinor Hallin & Ellen Fiske
Liturgy of Anti-Tank Obstacles (USA/Ukraine), Directed by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk
Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (Grandma & Grandma) (USA), Directed by Sean Wang
Oasis (Canada), Directed by Justine Martin
Parker (USA), Directed by Sharon Liese & Catherine Hoffman
Powernapper’s Paradise (Sweden), Directed by Samir Arabzadeh
Ptitsa (Poland/Ukraine), Directed by Alina Maksimenko
Puffling (United Kingdom/Iceland), Directed by Jessica Bishopp
Sanctuary (USA), Directed by John Haley & Julia Szromba
Shirampari: Legacies of the River (Peru/Spain/USA), Directed by Lucia Florez
Still Waters (USA), Directed by Aurora Brachman
Under G-d (USA), Directed by Paula Eiselt
ur heinous habit (USA), Directed by Eugene Kolb
Waking Up in Silence (Germany/Ukraine), Directed by Mila Zhluktenko & Daniel Asadi Faezi
Will You Look At Me (China), Directed by Shuli Huang

Live Action

100% USDA Certified Organic Homemade Tofu (USA), Directed by Gbenga Komolafe
48 Hours (Iran), Directed by Azadeh Moussavi
9-5 (Serbia), Directed by Maša Šarović
Aban (Iran/France), Directed by Abbas Taheri & Mahdieh Toosi
About Me (Netherlands), Directed by Ali Asgari
Accidentally Intentional (Indonesia), Directed by Kevin Rahardjo
Agustina (Mexico), Directed by Luciana Herrera Caso
AirHostess-737 (Greece), Directed by Thanasis Neofotistos
All Choked Up (USA), Directed by Allison Volk
All I Know (Nigeria/USA), Directed by Obinna Onyeri
All-inclusive (Colombia/France), Directed by Duván Duque Vargas
Almost Fall (France), Directed by Margot Pouppeville
Animal Transport (Argentina), Directed by Iván Bustinduy
Anthony’s (USA), Directed by Sabrina Greco
Aphonia (Poland), Directed by Marta Z. Nowak
Arava (Israel), Directed by Sarah Meital Benjamin
Arnasa (Spain), Directed by Raúl Barreras
The Arrival of Aliens (China), Directed by Tian Guan & Junjie Lam
Astonishing Little Feet (USA), Directed by Maegan Houang
At Dusk (Canada), Directed by Miryam Charles
August Visitor (USA), Directed by Ifeyinwa Arinze
An Avocado Pit (Portugal), Directed by Ary Zara
À La Vie á L’amore (Canada), Directed by Emilie Mannering
Baba (Canada), Directed by Anya Chirkova & Meran Ismailsoy
The Beads (Brazil), Directed by Rafaela Camelo & Emanuel Lavor
Beautiful, FL (USA), Directed by Gabriela Ortega
A Beautiful Wildflower Meadow (Poland), Directed by Emi Buchwald
Before Madrid (Uruguay), Directed by Nicolás Botana & Ilén Juambeltz
Bergie (South Africa), Directed by Dian Weys
Best Friends On A Summer Hike (USA), Directed by Mario Furloni
Between Her (Israel), Directed by Bar Cohen
Big Bang (Brazil/France), Directed by Carlos Segundo
Bizarro World (USA), Directed by Jonathan Salmon & Abdi Ibrahim
Black the Sea (Colombia), Directed by Juan David Mejía Vásquez
Blond Night (Canada), Directed by Gabrielle Demers
Blue Veil (USA), Directed by Shireen Alihaji
The Breakthrough (USA), Directed by Daniel Sinclair
Bulldozer (Denmark), Directed by Mads Koudal
Burial of Life as a Young Girl (France), Directed by Maïté Sonnet
Calcutta 8:40 am (France/India), Directed by Adriano Valerio
Call Me Mommy (USA), Directed by Haley Alea Erickson & Taylor Washington
Chomp It! (Singapore), Directed by Mark Chua & Lam Li Shuen
Claudio’s Song (United Kingdom/Ukraine), Directed by Andreas Nilsson
Closing Dynasty (USA), Directed by Lloyd Lee Choi
Colors of the Jungle (Peru/USA/Ecuador), Directed by Julio César Padilla
Confessions (USA), Directed by Stephanie Kaznocha
Coral (USA/Poland/France), Directed by Sonia Oleniak
Crarylake Boats and Floats (USA), Directed by Spencer Thielmann & Emily Berge
Creamy (Hungary), Directed by Bálint Dániel Sós
Cry It Out (USA), Directed by Musa Syeed & Kamau Bilal
D.O.D. (USA), Directed by Paul Davis
Daughter of the Sea (USA/Puerto Rico), Directed by Alexis C. Garcia
David Se Va (USA/Mexico), Directed by Joel Villegas Saldaña
A Day In February (United Kingdom), Directed by Klaas Diersmann
Dead Enders (USA), Directed by Fidel Ruiz-Healy & Tyler Walker
A Dead Marriage (Poland), Directed by Michał Toczek
Death & Ramen (USA/Hong Kong), Directed by Tiger Ji
Death Snot (USA), Directed by Charlie Schwan
Death to the Bikini! (Canada), Directed by Justine Gauthier
Diaspora (Canada), Directed by Tyler Mckenzie Evans
Donkey (USA), Directed by Matt Kazman
Drifting (Switzerland), Directed by Marion Reymond
Dún Laoghaire (USA/Ireland), Directed by William Lancaster
Ecstatic Thing (France), Directed by Benjamin Nuel
Endless Sea (USA), Directed by Sam Shainberg
Euridice, Euridice (Switzerland/France), Directed by Lora Mure-Ravaud
The Fading (Canada), Directed by Rafaël Beauchamp
The Family Circus (USA), Directed by Andrew Fitzgerald
Fanatic (USA), Directed by Taran Killam
File (Iran), Directed by Sonia K. Hadad
First Chair (USA), Directed by Ethan Montgomery & Luke Montgomery
Flail (USA), Directed by Ben Gauthier
For Those Who Don’t Know How (USA), Directed by Brian Chamberlayne
Four Nights and a Fire (USA), Directed by Alex Nystrom
Galapagos (USA), Directed by Kyle Sims
Gertrude and Yvan Party Hard (France), Directed by Louise Groult
Gianna (USA), Directed by Kait Schuster
The Glasses (USA), Directed by Sarah Smith & Frances Chewning
Gold and Mud (USA), Directed by Conor Dooley
Good Girls Club: A Virginity Odyssey (Greece), Directed by Dimitris Tsakaleas & Lida Vartzioti
Goose Egg (USA), Directed by Madeline Leshner & Zach Stone
Green Space (United Kingdom), Directed by Jamie Fraser
Grown (USA), Directed by Jamila Meloche
Guilty Pleasures (USA), Directed by George Oliver
Halmoni’s Pot (Grandma’s Pot) (USA), Directed by A. Lauren Lee
Happy Rakhi (USA), Directed by Ragini Bhasin
Help Me Understand (USA), Directed by Aemilia Scott
Heritage Day (USA), Directed by Lara Everly
Hills and Mountains (Afghanistan/Canada), Directed by Salar Pashtoonyar
Home (India), Directed by Aditi Sharma
Honolulu (USA), Directed by Maya Tanaka
Hot Rod (France), Directed by Juliette Gilot
Idiot Fish (France), Directed by Hakim Mao
I Have No Legs, and I Must Run (China), Directed by Yue Li
I Have No Tears, and I Must Cry (USA), Directed by Luis Fernando Puente
I’m Here (South Korea), Directed by Jeong Eun-uk
Immaculate (United Kingdom), Directed by Villo Krisztics
I’m On Fire (USA/Australia), Directed by Michael Spiccia
Incognito (India), Directed by Ravi Muppa
Infantry (Brazil), Directed by Laís Santos Araújo
Insta Gay (Canada), Directed by Simon Paluck
In The Garden of Tulips (USA), Directed by Julia Elihu
Invasive Species (USA), Directed by Annie Ning
I Probably Shouldn’t Be Telling You This (USA), Directed by Emma Weinswig
I See Them Bloom (Germany), Directed by Nikita Gibalenko
It Happened One Night at Melody Lanes (USA/Canada), Directed by Alex Fofonoff
It’s A Date (Ukraine/United Kingdom), Directed by Nadia Parfan
It Turns Blue (Iran/Greece), Directed by Shadi Karamroudi
Ivalu (Greenland/Denmark), Directed by Anders Walter & Pipaluk K Jørgensen
Jammed (Netherlands), Directed by Isis Mihrimah Cabolet
Junglefowl (Canada/India), Directed by Kalainithan Kalaichelvan
The Key (Belgium/Palestine/Qatar/France), Directed by Rakan Mayasi
The Kidnapping of the Bride (Germany), Directed by Sophia Mocorrea
Killing Bagheera (Germany/Syria), Directed by Muschirf Shekh Zeyn
Klette (Belgium), Directed by Michael Abay
Last Call (United Kingdom), Directed by Harry Holland
The Launch (USA), Directed by KK Apple
Lay Me by the Shore (Canada), Directed by David Findlay
Leonetty (USA), Directed by Logan Jackson
Lot’s Wife (Israel), Directed by Ori Birger
Matapang (France/Belgium), Directed by Léa-Jade Horlier
Meantime (France), Directed by Guillaume Scaillet
Me & Aydarous (Saudi Arabia/USA), Directed by Sara Balghonaim
The Melting Creatures (Chile/France), Directed by Diego Céspedes
Merv (USA), Directed by Sam Roebling
Mirage (Iran), Directed by Atefeh Salehi
More Than Friends (Israel), Directed by Omri Laron
Mouthpiece (USA), Directed by Graham Goldstein
Mucho, Mucho Amor (USA), Directed by Mariano Dongo
Mulika (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Directed by Maisha Maene
Municipal Relaxation Module (Canada), Directed by Matthew Rankin
Mysore Magic (USA), Directed by Abijeet Achar
Mystic Tiger (Spain), Directed by Marc Martínez Jordán
Nanitic (Canada), Directed by Carol Nguyen
The Newt Congress (Switzerland/Germany), Directed by Matthias Sahli & Immanuel Esser
Nian (USA), Directed by Michelle Krusiec
No Bedroom (Canada), Directed by Ryan Leedu
Nocturnal Burger (USA/India), Directed by Reema Maya
Noodles Forever (USA), Directed by McKinley Carlin
Nude (Canada), Directed by Olivier Labonté LeMoyne
The Old Young Crow (Japan/USA), Directed by Liam LoPinto
On My Father’s Grave (France/Morocco), Directed by Jawahine Zentary
On Purpose (Lithuania), Directed by Adas Burkšaitis
Our Males and Females (Jordan), Directed by Ahmad Alyaseer
Out of Water (USA), Directed by Madi Stine
The Pass (USA), Directed by Pepi Ginsberg
Pennies from Heaven (USA), Directed by Sandy Honig
The Phone Booth (Germany), Directed by Lukas März & Kilian Bohnensack
Piece by Piece (Austria), Directed by Reza Rasouli
Please Hold the Line (Malaysia), Directed by Tan Ce Ding
Poolside Inn (USA), Directed by Remington Butler
Porter (Norway), Directed by Lisa Enes
Power Signal (USA), Directed by Oscar Boyson
Presto (Iran), Directed by Keyvan Ahmadi
Prom Car ’91 (USA), Directed by Brian Otting
Pruning (USA), Directed by Lola Blanc
Queen of Pain (France), Directed by Cyril Carbonne
Rabobesto – Or How I Saved a Monster (Finland), Directed by Mari Mantela
Re-record (Ukraine), Directed by Kyrylo Zemlyanyi
Rest Stop (USA), Directed by Crystal Kayiza
Ricky (USA), Directed by Rashad Frett
Romance Package For Two (USA), Directed by Carlen May-Mann
The Roof (USA), Directed by Alexander Bocchieri
Room For One More (Australia), Directed by Jesse Vogelaar
Science Around Us (Netherlands/Indonesia), Directed by Arif Abdillah
SCRED TBM (France), Directed by Kevin Le Dortz
Sèt Lam (France), Directed by Vincent Fontano
She Always Wins (United Kingdom/USA), Directed by Hazel McKibbin
Shoes Off (USA), Directed by Joel Jay Blacker
Sibling (Belgium), Directed by Laura Van Passel
Side Hustle (USA), Directed by Abby Harri
The Silent Whistle (China), Directed by Yingtong Li
Simo (Canada), Directed by Aziz Zoromba
Simone (USA), Directed by Aisha Amin
The Singles Retreat (USA), Directed by Jo Firestone
Sisters of the Rotation (Lebanon), Directed by Michel Zarazir & Gaby Zarazir
Smoking Kills (USA), Directed by Dulcinee DeGuere
Snail (Iran), Directed by Aminreza Alimohammadi
Snow in September (Mongolia), Directed by Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
Snow White (Croatia), Directed by Lana Barić
Soleil de nuit (Canada), Directed by Fernando Lopez Escriva & Maria Camila Arias
Soon-to-Be a Zombie (Japan), Directed by Yuki Saito
Sorry I Am Late I Was Masturbating (Germany), Directed by Alena Shevchenko
So They Say (Chile/USA), Directed by Natalia Luque
(spin) (United Kingdom), Directed by Precious Wura Alabi
Split Ends (Iran), Directed by Alireza Kazemipour
Step Into The Mattress (USA), Directed by Erin Vassilopoulos
The Story of This Life (China/USA), Directed by Alex Jiang
SULAM (Ladder) (USA), Directed by Noam Argov
The Summer I Got Tough (USA), Directed by Victoria Shan Wang
Sunless (USA), Directed by Boris Vesselinov
Supermarket Affairs (Vietnam/USA), Directed by Hang Luong Nguyen
Surprise (Sweden), Directed by Laerke Herthoni
The Swimmer (Denmark), Directed by Máté Boegi
Take Me Home (USA), Directed by Liz Sargent
Tall Dark and Handsome (United Kingdom), Directed by Sam Baron
Things Unheard Of (Turkey), Directed by Ramazan Kilic
Thirstygirl (USA), Directed by Alexandra Qin
Ticks (USA), Directed by Sam Max
Tremor (Germany), Directed by Rudolf Fitzgerald Leonard
Troy (USA), Directed by Mike Donahue
Tskaltubo (Canada/Georgia), Directed by Toby Andris
Underdog (France), Directed by David Arslanian
Untitled Floating Mom Short (USA), Directed by Aidan Guynes
Untitled Movie (USA), Directed by Annie Brennen
The Vacation (USA), Directed by Jarreau Carrillo
Vernissage (Sweden), Directed by Arvin Kananian
VHS Tape Replaced (Saudi Arabia), Directed by Maha Al-Saati
Vibrator Girl (USA), Directed by Kara Strait
Wading (USA), Directed by Nada Bedair
Walk of Shame (USA), Directed by Dane Ray
Walk Out Nice and Smooth (USA), Directed by Kerry O’Neill
Wank (United Kingdom), Directed by Yasmin Afifi
Weapons and Their Names (USA), Directed by Melina Valdez
We Were Meant To (USA), Directed by Tari Wariebi
When You Left Me on That Boulevard (USA), Directed by Kayla Abuda Galang
White Ant (United Kingdom/India), Directed by Shalini Adnani
Women Visiting a City (Spain/France), Directed by Enrique Buleo
Yellow (United Kingdom/Afghanistan), Directed by Elham Ehsas
Yokelan, 66 (USA), Directed by Tang Yi
You Know Where To Find Me (USA), Directed by Sam Davis