Films featuring Judi Dench, Stellan Skarsgard, Michael Fassbender, Helena Bonham Carter and Lily Tomlin are among the 323 shorts selected from more than 3,000 entries for this year’s Palm Springs International ShortFest & Film Market (June 19-25).

The films, coming from 52 countries around the world, will screen in 53 themed programmes, with 50 getting their world premieres, 63 their North American premieres and 21 their first US outings.

Among the featured performers, Dench and Tom Hiddleston star in Friend Request Pending, from the UK; Skarsgard is in Our Need for Consolation (Sweden); Michael Fassbender appears in the Pitch Black Heist (UK); Bonham Carter is opposite Robbie Coltrane and Tom Wilkinson in The Gruffalo’s Child (UK); and Lily Tomlin performs with Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Lucy Punch in The Procession (USA).

Also in the line-up are Howard Cantour (US), directed by Shia La Beouf, and Jesus Was a Commie (US), directed by Matthew Modine.

The festival jury will comprise Toronto festival international programmer Jane Schoettle, Variety critic Lael Loewenstein and Richard Abramowitz, president of distribution and marketing company Abramorama.

Festival director Darryl Macdonald said: “With a line-up of well over 300 remarkable new short films in the festival proper, an additional 3,000 titles in the Short Film Market, an online component and an incredibly strong roster of programs and industry participants in the ShortFest Forums, I expect this to be a banner year all around for the Festival.”

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