Short films from Estonia, South Korea, Cambodia, France and the US were among the major award winners at this year’s Palm Springs International ShortFest, which just finished its June 21-27 run in the California desert city with 300 shorts in its official selection.
The Visit Greater Palm Springs Best of the Festival Award went to Sierra, director Sander Joon’s short from Estonia about father and son car racers. Special mentions in the category went to The Great Abandonment, from India and the UK, and The Voice Actress, from Japan and the US.
The Best Animated Short prize went to The Cave, from South Korean directors Kim Jinman and Chon Jiyoung, about a boy who longs for affection from his fisherman father.
Winner of the Best Documentary Short prize was The Sentence of Michael Thompson, from the US, directed by Kyle Thrash and Haley Elizabeth Anderson and focusing on the longest serving nonviolent offender in the state of Michigan.
In the Best Live-Action Short Over 15 Minutes category the winner was Further and Further Away, director Polen Ly’s film about a woman and her older brother in rural Cambodia.
The Best Live-Action Short 15 Minutes and Under award went to The Right Words, director Adrian Moyse Dullin’s French film about a teenager and her little brother.
Winners of the festival’s top five awards may be eligible for submission to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Oscar consideration.
Other Palm Springs prizes were awarded in the Special Jury and Student Short categories.
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