The 25th Palm Springs ShortFest is underway with a capacity crowd at its opening night gala. ShortFest is the largest gathering of short films and filmmakers in North America. It runs for seven days and features up to ten blocks of five to eight films per block. That’s a total of 300 short films and its filmmaker hoping to catch some buzz, network, finding funding for the next project, and be seen in the vacation destination known as Palm Springs. The festivities ending with an awards ceremony over the weekend and a “Best Of” screening on Monday.
Last night’s Opening Gala introduced us to the festival’s programmers, sponsors, and opportunities for filmmakers during the week. New are the filmmaker forums discussing the market for short films, production issues, pitching skills, and on Tuesday a discussion with Greener Grass‘ stars/writers Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe and how they transformed their short film into a feature.
Opening the fest were these excellent short films.
Artem Silendi (Film Threat Review) – Sisters can be sinners… just like the rest of us.
Hors piste – The two best rescue workers of the region are ready for their new mission. Despite their professionalism and determination, nothing seems to go as planned…
Men of Vision – At the turn of the 20th century, swaggering inventor Hubert Moss is in the midst of a dry spell that threatens to ruin him. Could the young acolyte who shows up at his door be his salvation?
The Name of the Son (Film Threat Review) – Tina and Fred, a couple in their fifties, are desperate in their search for a boy’s name. But for whom? And why?
Nefta Football Club – In the south of Tunisia, two soccer-fan brothers bump into a donkey lost in the middle of the desert on the border of Algeria. Strangely, the animal wears headphones over its ears.
