Palm Springs International ShortFest has selected 332 short films in their Official Selection of the 26th edition that will be eligible for jury award consideration. These films represent 69 countries and were selected from more than 6,000 submissions received this year. While ShortFest will not hold an in-person event, a number of the official selection films will be available to screen for free online from June 16-22, 2020.
The documentary short film Jesse Jams directed by Trevor Anderson spotlights Indigenous trans frontman of mumble-punk band Jesse Jams and The Flams. The film was an Official Selection of Outfest Fusion 2020 and recently celebrated as part of Vimeo Staff Picks.
Palm Springs Film Society announced their plans for Palm Springs International Film Festival ShortFest 2020 taking place in June in a recent update from Artistic Director Lili Rodriguez and Managing Director Rhea Lewis-Woodson. Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, an in-person festival will not take place in June, however, official selected films will screen on the festival’s website for free from June 16 to 22, 2020.
This May, Stony Brook Film Festival will offer a series of award-winning short films from past Festivals for free online. The films will be released on Tuesdays and Fridays every week through June, with the first film released on May 5 at 12:00 pm.
Ahead of Earth Day, National Geographic Documentary Films announced a new documentary short, Akashinga: The Brave Ones. Executive produced by three-time Academy Award winner James Cameron and directed by Maria Wilhelm, executive director of the Avatar Alliance Foundation, the film tells the story of Akashinga, the all-female anti-poaching unit in Zimbabwe that is facing down poachers and saving wildlife. Akashinga: The Brave Ones will have its world premiere at the EarthxFilm Festival, which will be held virtually April 22 to 27 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. The documentary short is also an official selection of the Tribeca Film Festival and will broadcast on National Geographic later this year in 171 countries and 43 languages.
When the City of Austin had to cancel this year’s SXSW Film Festival, hundreds of filmmakers lost the opportunity for their work to be seen.
Tingle Monsters is a short film starring, written and directed by Alexandra Serio. After screening at Cinequest, Final Girls Berlin and the Cleveland International Film Festival and accepted into Oxford Film Festival, FilmQuest, Montclair Film Festival and more, this short film is set for release online on May 20, 2020.
Fresh off its premiere at the Monaco International Film Festival Megan Freels Johnston released a new teaser trailer for her Twilight Zone-esque short film, Dear Guest.
The 19th annual Tribeca Film Festival announced its 2020 Shorts Program lineup of 64 diverse and captivating short films including DreamWorks Animation’s new animated short, To Gerard. For the fourth consecutive year, 40 percent of the selections are directed by female filmmakers. Queen Collective by Procter & Gamble in partnership with Queen Latifah, Flavor Unit Entertainment and Tribeca Studios is back, a program dedicated to supporting gender and racial equality behind the camera.The 2020 Tribeca Film Festival takes place April 15 – April 26.
Winners of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival jury prizes in short filmmaking were announced last night in Park City, Utah with the Short Film Grand Jury Prize going to So What If The Goats Die, directed and written by Sofia Alaoui.
