If the future of filmmaking is in the hands of the short-form, then the 2025 Palm Springs International ShortFest is where the revolution begins. From June 24-30, the 31st edition of this fierce, sunbaked celebration of cinema returns to the desert with 311 shorts from 64 countries, repping the rawest, weirdest, and most wildly original voices in the global film scene.
Forget your franchise fatigue and sequel sludge—ShortFest is where cinema still has a pulse. This year’s lineup includes 45 world premieres, 10 international premieres, 36 North American premieres, and nearly 100 California debuts. That’s a hell of a lot of creativity squeezed into under-40-minute runtimes, and more than 6,200 films were submitted to get here. These aren’t just “calling card” shorts—they’re cinematic explosions.
Artistic Director Lili Rodriguez put it best: this year’s fest is “brimming with inspired storytellers and experimentation… short films which push boundaries, spark conversations, and entertain audiences.” Translation? These filmmakers don’t care about the rules. They’re here to break them. Expect experimental narratives, bold aesthetics, and stories that wouldn’t survive a single pitch meeting inside a studio boardroom.
Oh, and if you’re worried short films are just amateur hour—think again. This year’s selections feature appearances from the likes of Pauline Chalamet, Ian McKellen, John C. Reilly, Shirley Chen, Albert Birney, Demi Singleton, Haley Joel Osment, Bella Ramsey, Domhnall Gleeson, Emma D’Arcy, Rosie O’Donnell, Alan C*****g, Reggie Watts, Chris Pine, and a host of other familiar faces willing to risk their reputations on weird, wonderful short-form cinema.
A moment of pure panic in How Was Your Weekend, one of the standout shorts playing at the 2025 Palm Springs International ShortFest.
“Expect experimental narratives, bold aesthetics, and stories that wouldn’t survive a single pitch meeting…”
One major highlight: a special spotlight screening of Hulu’s Paradise, the new drama created by This Is Us mastermind Dan Fogelman and starring Sterling K. Brown. The episode “You Asked for Miracles,” directed by ShortFest alum Hanelle M. Culpepper, will screen with Culpepper in attendance. Yeah, that’s the same Culpepper who helped launch Star Trek: Picard and just directed episodes of *Star Wars: The Acolyte*. You want industry cred? ShortFest’s got it in spades.
The festival is also an official Academy Award® qualifier, meaning some of these shorts are gonna make it all the way to the Oscars. With over 100 alumni shorts landing Oscar noms, this fest isn’t just a launchpad—it’s a freaking cannon.
Award categories span from Best of the Fest to Best LGBTQ+, Comedy, Midnight, and even a Vimeo Staff Pick Award (which comes with cash and serious platform love). There’s also a hearty nod to student filmmakers and young cineastes, proving this fest’s commitment to the next wave of chaos agents in cinema.
Want to talk global reach? ShortFest is bringing work from France, the UK, Canada, Spain, Brazil, China, India, Iran, Palestine, Rwanda, and a whole United Nations’ worth of countries. In a year where cinema’s borders are shrinking thanks to risk-averse megacorps, ShortFest’s programming is a reminder that stories are still alive and kicking from every corner of the planet.
And in a rare moment of stats that don’t make you want to scream: 43% of the films are directed by women. Not bad for an industry still pretending female directors are some kind of novelty act.
Tickets drop June 5 at psfilmfest.org, so grab them before they’re gone. Whether you’re in it for the strange, the funny, the terrifying, or the tender, ShortFest 2025 is your antidote to everything bloated and boring in cinema today.
This isn’t Hollywood. It’s Palm Springs. It’s hot, it’s wild, and it’s real cinema.
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