PALM SPRINGS, CA — The Palm Springs International ShortFest, a showcase of short-form cinema, will return later this year at Festival Theaters, with passes on sale Wednesday.
The 32nd iteration of the annual event will be held from June 23-29.
The seven-day competitive event is an award-qualifying festival for the Academy Awards, British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the Goya Awards.
Five Academy Award-qualifying films will be announced on June 28, with the Best of the Fest program screening to conclude the festival on June 29. Awards and cash prizes worth $25,000 will be handed out.
Officials said ShortFest Forum — a series of classes and panels featuring industry representatives and filmmakers — will be available at the Hilton Palm Springs.
Notable short films that have screened at ShortFest in previous years include the Oscar-winning documentary short “The Queen of Basketball,” Oscar- winning live action short “The Long Goodbye” and Oscar-nominated documentary short “The Devil Is Busy.”
The festival has a track record of giving filmmakers a platform early in their careers, including Ava DuVernay, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Dee Rees, Denis Villeneuve, Francesca Scorsese, Janicza Bravo, Jason Reitman, Jim Cummings and Lulu Wang.
