Palm Springs International ShortFest

DELICATE GRAVITY

French films took the top prizes at the 2013 Palm Springs International ShortFest – DELICATE GRAVITY (Délicate Gravité) directed by Philippe André was awarded the BEST OF FESTIVAL AWARD, and STRANGER BROTHERS (Faux Frères) directed by Lucas Delangle was awarded the BEST OF FESTIVAL AWARD. Both films are now eligible to be submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Oscar consideration.

The 2013 Palm Springs International ShortFest award winners are:

JURY AWARDS

BEST OF FESTIVAL AWARD
DELICATE GRAVITY (Délicate Gravité) (France), Philippe André
Yvan Attal and Anne Parillaud are wonderful as two lonely spirits who come together by chance when a cell phone call to a wrong number provides the catalyst for a meeting.

PANAVISION GRAND JURY AWARD
STRANGER BROTHERS (Faux Frères) (France), Lucas Delangle
Guillaume returns to the village where he grew up to pick up the car he inherited from his father years before. Once there, he encounters his step brother, and things get a little more complicated.

FUTURE FILMMAKER AWARD – Winner received a $2,000 cash prize and a GoPro Hero 3 Camera courtesy of Radiant Images.
RHINO FULL THROTTLE (Nashorn Im Galopp) (Germany), Erick Schmitt
Bruno roams the streets of Berlin, gazing behind the many facades and surfaces as he seeks the soul of the city. Unexpectedly, he meets an ally in his quest and immediately falls in love. But she is also on a quest, and it’s one that has her leaving Bruno and Berlin very soon.

Jury Special Mention – The jury would like to give a special mention to the short film The Wall from Norway for its grit, humanity and creativity.


AUDIENCE AWARDS

AUDIENCE FAVORITE LIVE ACTION SHORT
WALKING THE DOGS (UK), Jeremy Brock
Emma Thompson stars as Queen Elizabeth in this delicious rendering of the infamous 1982 incident in which a man broke into the Queen’s bedroom while her security guard was out in the palace grounds walking the dogs.

Runner-up – GREAT (Germany), Andreas Henn

AUDIENCE FAVORITE DOCUMENTARY SHORT
NOT ANYMORE: A STORY OF REVOLUTION (USA), Matthew VanDyke
Shot on the ground with a hand held camera and told in striking first person, the Syrian struggle for freedom as experienced by a 32 year old rebel commander, Mowya, and a 24 year old female journalist, Nour, in Aleppo, Syria is exposed like no TV newscast could do.

Runner-up – SLOMO (USA), Josh Izenberg

AUDIENCE FAVORITE ANIMATION SHORT
A GIRL NAMED ELASTIKA (Canada), Guillaume Blanchet
A spirited girl made of rubber bands journeys across her corkboard universe in this delightful stop-motion film.

Runner-up – CHOPPER (Netherlands), Lars Damoiseaux, Frederik Palmaers

The ShortFest Online Audience Award went to SHELVED (New Zealand), directed by James Cunningham. The film will be available to view on the PSIFF website for the next three months.


JURY CATEGORY AWARDS 

BEST ANIMATION SHORT
First Place ($2,000) – ARTS & CRAFTS SPECTACULAR #2 (Germany),Ian Ritterskamp & Sébastien Wolf
This surreal claymation extravaganza wryly celebrates the close encounter of such disparate pop figures as Popeye and Yoko Ono during a be-in at a museum somewhere in time.

Second Place ($500) –Chopper(Netherlands), Lars Damoiseaux & Frederik Palmaers

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT OVER 15 MINUTES
First Place ($2,000) – WILD HORSES (USA), Stephanie Martin
Mireille Enos stars in this story of cruelty, courage, love and memory as two generations of women bear witness to the brutality common to wild horse roundups in the American West.

Second Place ($500) – SPRING TIDES (Les Grandes Marées) (France), Mathias Pardo

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT 15 MINUTES AND UNDER
First Place ($2,000) – WE KEEP ON DANCING (Australia), Jessica Lawton
Two distinctly disparate characters come together over a broken down Volkswagen Beetle in this sweet, amusing tale of love, loss and… car trouble.

Second Place ($500) – NOT FUNNY (No Tiene Gracia) (Spain), Carlos Violadé

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
First Place ($2,000) – LETTERS FROM PYONGYANG (Canada), Jason Lee
The tragedy of a divided Korea is powerfully evoked in this profound personal journey undertaken by filmmaker Jason Lee, who ventures with his father from South to North, across the Korean peninsula, in search of clues of his family’s unsettled past.

Second Place ($500) – DECEMBER 25 (Australia), Wendy Dent

STUDENT CATEGORIES

BEST STUDENT ANIMATION
First Place – HARALD (Germany), Moritz Schneider
Harald is a champion wrestler with a monster mother for his coach. Though his true love is growing flowers, coach mom doesn’t wanted him distracted by such trifles, so when she takes away his latest plant, Harald is forced to sieze the day.

Second Place – THE MAGNIFICENT LION BOY (UK), Ana Caro

BEST STUDENT LIVE ACTION SHORT OVER 15 MINUTES
First Place – MAGMA (Poland), Pawel Maslona
Dedicated furniture salesman Janusz always knows just how to close a sale but after an extremely rare accident at work, he finds his carefully constructed life unraveling.

Second Place – PAULINE IN A BEAUTIFUL WORLD (USA), William Thompson

BEST STUDENT LIVE ACTION SHORT 15 MINUTES AND UNDER
First Place – JUMP (Australia), Aimee Lee Curran
In a visually dazzling story about the importance of family when pursuing your dreams, Jump tells the tale of 12-year-old Edwin, a circus clown like his father, who dreams of becoming a trapeze artist..

Second Place – RELICS(USA), Jennie Allen

BEST STUDENT DOCUMENTARY SHORT
First Place – EMPTY NEST (Myanmar), Zaw Naing Oo
In one small pocket of Yangon, the urban center of Myanmar, Daw Ni Lang lives very modestly with her husband and young son. It’s a hard life, but she’s managed to raise four children who are all well-educated… if only they would call home a little more often.

Second Place – JONATHAN (Ecuador), Abe Zverow

BEST STUDENT CINEMATOGRAPHY
Leigh Lisbão Underwood (cinematographer), THE BOY SCOUT (USA)
Trapped in their car for days after an unexpected snowstorm strands them on a remote mountain road during an impromptu trip, Grant and Leah confront a life-or-death choice… With another storm on the way, should they stay or should they go.

Second Place – Tam Morris (cinematographer), JUMP (Australia)

BEST US FILM SCHOOL STUDENT FILM AWARD
First Place – MY FATHER’S TRUCK (Xe Tai Cua Bo) (Brazil/Vietnam), Mauricio Osaki
10-year-old Mai Vy skips school one day to help her father with his passenger truck for hire. Set along the countryside of Northern Vietnam, Mai Vy is soon confronted with varying shades of morality and harsh realities as she learns how things outside the classroom really are.

ADDITIONAL PRIZES The Alexis Award for Best Emerging Student Filmmaker went to OSTRICHLAND (USA), directed by David McCracken. T

Bridging the Borders Award presented by Cinema Without Borders went to THAT WASN’T ME (Aquel No Era Yo) (Spain) directed by Esteban Crespo. The runner-up was TRYOUTS (USA), directed by Susana Casares.

The next Palm Springs International Film Festival will be held January 3-13, 2014.

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The 2013 Palm Springs International ShortFest & Short Film Market will showcase 330 films including 70 World Premieres, 55 North American Premieres and 14 U.S. Premieres from June 18-24, at the Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs.  

This year’s star-studded shorts feature Academy Award winners and nominees, as well as film and television stars.  Jason Ritter in Boats Against the Current (USA); the voice of Rachel Griffiths in Butterflies (Australia); the voice of Cate Blanchett in the North American Premiere of A Cautionary Tale (Australia); Tom Sizemore in The Charlatan (USA); Christopher Lloyd in the World Premiere of The Coin (USA); Shannyn Sossamon in The Cyclist (USA); Yvan Attal and Anne Parillaud in the North American Premiere of Delicate Gravity (France); Alan Rickman in Dust (UK); Ian McKellen in the World Premiere of The Egg Trick (UK); Christopher Eccleston and Felicity Jones in the World Premiere of Emily (UK); Gerard Depardieu in Frank-Etienne (France); the voice of Bill Nighy in the North American Premiere of The Hungry Corpse (UK); Missi Pyle in Killing Vivian (USA); Brenda Blethyn and Tom Jones in the World Premiere of King of the Teds (UK); Anson Mount directs Last Time We Checked(USA); Elle Fanning in Likeness (USA); Nick Cassavetes in the World Premiere of Love and Skin  (USA) directed by Virgina Cassavetes; voices of Hugh Bonneville and Andy Serkis in the North American Premiere of The Magnificent Lion Boy (UK); Nastassja Kinski and Julian Sands in The Nightshift Belongs to the Stars (Italy) directed by Edoardo Ponti; Hugo Weaving in No Budget (Australia); David Lyons marks his directorial debut in the North American Premiere of Record (USA); Lee Meriwether in Remember to Breathe (USA); Lauren Ambrose and Adam Driver in The River (USA); Frances Conroy in Sequin Raze (USA); Shohreh Aghdashloo in Silk (USA) directed by Catherine Dent;Jordana Spiro directs Skin (USA); Denis Lavant in the North American Premiere of Spring Tides(France); Lisa Edelstein and James Le Gros in the World Premiere of Three Hours Between Planes(USA); Emma Thompson in Walking the Dogs (UK); Brooke Shields and Mireille Enos in the World Premiere of Wild Horses (USA); and Camilla Belle in Zero Hour (Mexico/USA).

Sydney Netter (Founder, SND Films), Missi Pyle (actress) and Betsy Sharkey (Film Critic, Los Angeles Times) will serve on the ShortFest jury and  a total of $110,000 in prizes, including $16,000 in cash awards, will be given out in 19 categories to this year’s short films in competition.  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.  

Eleven films have been chosen to play online at the ShortFest Online Film Festival, starting a week prior to the festival and continue to play online for two months after the end of the festival.  

Amstel (Netherlands) – It’s early Sunday morning, and Maarten has just met the girl of his dreams. Unfortunately he’s still drunk, and still with his date from the night before.  Director: Jaap van Eyck.  Cast: Tjebbo Gerritsma, Nyncke Beekhuyzen, IIke Paddenburg.

Bad Cars (USA) – An exploration of the difficulty of finding love in Los Angeles, particularly when you have a crappy car.  Director: Anthony Deptula.

Bubble Boy (USA) – Love makes everything look better (and bigger)!  Director: Tang Tao.

Bouddhi Bouddha (France) – Just back from a trip to Nepal, two friends let the mysteries of meditation and the allure of exotic lands blur the lines of their relationship. Director: Sophie Galibert.

The Mrs. (USA) – In one man’s world, it’s a good thing his wife gets up before he does. The Mrs. is one of five different films from the same script.  As part of Bombay Sapphire’s Imagination Series, Oscar winner Geoffrey Fletcher wrote a script stripped of any stage direction and asked people to imagine their film.  Director: Matt Smukler.  Cast: Paul Messinger, Bonnie Burroughs, Sean Miller.

Naptime! (USA) – Naptime! might just be that revolutionary new product that could save your life (or at least your sanity).  Play this video to learn all about it!  Director: Chris Capel.  Cast: Mallory Moye, Asif Ali, Taylor Orci.

Shelved (New Zealand) – Two industrial robots, Craig and Beano, figure they’re too cool for school until a plague starts hitting the warehouse floor: robot workers are being replaced by humans!  Can Craig and Beano survive the gathering storm?  Director: James Cunningham.  Cast: Simon McKinney, Stephen Papps, Lara Fischel-Chisholm, Penny Ashton, Peter Rowley.

Sleddin’ (USA) – A daring little boy goes on a mini winter adventure, though not all is as it seems in beautifully crafted animated short.  Director: John Pettingill.

Start the Engine and Reverse (Russian Federation) – A first date, illicit enough, but made all the more so since the couple are driving her father’s car, turns quickly into a showdown of morals and conscience on a snowy road.  Director: Andrey Zagidullin.  Cast: Lubov Novikova, Egor Kharlamov.

[caption id="attachment_4108" align="alignnone" width="550"]Sweet Crude Man Camp [/caption]

Sweet Crude Man Camp (USA) – A haunting look at the complicated realities surrounding the ongoing oil boom in the Bakken region of North Dakota.  Director: Isaac Gale.

Whateverest (Denmark/Norway) – Enter the strange world of Marius Solum Hohansen, a young failed musician who cares for his father, manages the family’s tanning salon business and posts “drug recipes” on the Internet.  Director: Kristoffer Borgli.  Cast: Marius Solem Johansen, Jan Thomsen.

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[caption id="attachment_2991" align="alignnone" width="550"]Helen Mirren in Hitchcock[/caption]

Actress Helen Mirren will receive the International Star Award at the 24th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF).  The Festival runs January 3-14, 2013.  The International Star Award recognizes an actor or actress who has achieved both critical and commercial international recognition throughout their body of work.

“With more than four decades’ worth of memorable film, television and stage performances, Helen Mirren continues to be one of the most outstanding actresses of her generation,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner.  “In Hitchcock, Mirren delivers another virtuoso performance as Alma Reville, wife to the great master of cinema, who was integral to creating his classic films including the masterpiece Psycho.  The Palm Springs International Film Festival is honored to present the 2013 International Star Award to Helen Mirren.”  Past International Star Award honorees include Javier Bardem and Gary Oldman.

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[caption id="attachment_2062" align="alignnone"]Gary Oldman in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy[/caption]

The 23rd annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF), which runs January 5-16, 2012, will present Gary Oldman with the International Star Award.  The International Star Award recognizes an actor or actress who has achieved both critical and commercial international recognition throughout their body of work.

Oldman is currently starring in Focus Features’ Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, directed by Tomas Alfredson and based on the novel by John le Carré.

“Gary Oldman is a performer whose ability to portray the most extreme of characters is a testament to the enormity of his talent,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner.  “In Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, as the embodiment of John le Carré’s classic spymaster George Smiley, he combines cunning, pathos, and cold determination when he is brought out of retirement to ferret out a double agent during the Cold War.  To this consummate talent who consistently challenges audiences to anticipate the unexpected when he performs, the Palm Springs International Film Festival is honored to present the 2012 International Star Award to Gary Oldman.”

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[caption id="attachment_2022" align="alignnone"]Charlize Theron and Patton Oswalt in Young Adult[/caption]

The film Young Adult will be honored with the Vanguard Award, for its outstanding creative ensemble, at the 23rd Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF).  Cast members from the film including Charlize Theron and Patton Oswalt, director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody will attend to accept the award.  The Festival runs January 5-16.

This is the second Vanguard Award for Cody and Reitman, who first received the honor in 2008 for Juno. Reitman recently garnered the 2010 PSIFF Best Director Award for Up in the Air, and Theron previously earned the 2006 Desert Palm Achievement Actress Award for North Country.

“What is more bittersweet than realizing that your glory days, particularly those in high school, when everything was possible, may truly be a thing of the past,” said Film Festival Chairman Harold Matzner.  “In Young Adult, a writer of teen literature gets a major reality check when her plan to reclaim a former high school sweetheart goes awry, but leads her to forge an unlikely bond with a former classmate who is similarly time warp-challenged.  It is a particular pleasure for the Palm Springs International Film Festival to present the 2012 Vanguard Award to Young Adult, a truly unique and utterly enjoyable film.  The filmmakers and cast represent the some of the best and most exciting filmmaking work of the year and have delivered a biting black comedy as deeply poignant as it is funny. It’s a pleasure to welcome for an ‘encore’ the film’s screenwriter Diablo Cody, director Jason Reitman and accomplished star Charlize Theron, all previous winners at the Festival, who continue to demonstrate the scope of their cinematic talents.”

About Young Adult
Mavis Gary is a writer of teen literature who returns to her small hometown to reclaim her happily married high school sweetheart. When returning home proves more difficult than she thought, Mavis forms an unusual bond with a former classmate who hasn’t quite gotten over high school, either. The film stars Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser and Jill Eikenberry.

Young Adult features the team behind Juno – Academy Award®-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody and Academy Award®-nominated director Jason Reitman.  Paramount Pictures released the film in select theatres on December 9 and will open wide on December 16.

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The 2011 Palm Springs International ShortFest, Short Film Festival & Film Market, which will screen June 21-27, at the Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs, announced its roster of 331 films. New this year, Palm Springs International ShortFest announced its inaugural ShortFest Online Film Festival featuring ten films playing on a special section of the festival web site starting a week prior to the festival and will continue to play online for two months after the end of the festival.

This year’s star-studded shorts feature Academy Award winners and nominees, film and television stars and studio executives.  Sarah Paulson and Wes Bentley star in After-School Special (USA); Selma Blair and Jeremy Davies in Animal Love (USA); Michael Cera stars in Bad Dads (USA); Billy Burke in David and Goliath (USA); Anthony LaPaglia in In Loco Parentis (Australia); Campbell Scott in Love, Lots of It (USA); Jason Alexander, James Avery, Sid Ganis, Amy Heckerling, Sally Kirkland, Kathy Najimy, Amy Pascal, and Joe Roth in Not Your Time (USA); Seymour Cassel and Fionnula Flanagan in the North American premiere of Pass the Salt, Please (USA); Melissa Leo in the World Premiere of The Sea Is All I Know (USA); Kirsten Dunst and Brian Geraghty in the U.S. premiere of The Second Bakery Attack (Mexico/USA); Tom Hardy in Sergeant Slaughter, My Big Brother (UK); Julia Stiles stars in Sexting (USA) directed by Neil LaBute; Keira Knightley and Colin Firth star in Steve (UK) directed by Rupert Friend; Adam Arkin, Clifton Collins, Jr., Carla Gugino and Jesse Spencer star in Tell-Tale (UK); and Jessica Chastain stars in and serves as a producer for The Westerner (USA).

In addition to familiar faces in front of the camera, some recognizable names directing shorts this year include: Peter Cattaneo directs Bunce (UK) starring Stephen Fry; David Hayter directs the World Premiere of Chasm (USA); Heather Hemmens directs the World Premiere of Designated (USA); Jay Duplass directs Kevin (Spain/USA); Terry George directs the North American Premiere of The Shore (UK); Olivia Wilde and Maria Bello serve as executive producers for the documentary Sun City Picture House (Haiti) directed by David Darg.

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