The Old Young Crow Receives Best of the Festival; Way Better, Will You Look At Me, Sèt Lam and Mystic Tiger Receive Top Jury Awards
PALM SPRINGS, CA (June 25, 2023) – The 2023 Palm Springs International ShortFest announced its Festival juried and audience award winners as part of Closing Night at the Camelot Theatres (Palm Springs Cultural Center). Awards and cash prizes worth $25,000 including five Academy Award® qualifying awards were presented to the winners selected from the 299 shorts films that were part of the Official Selection. The festival took place June 20-26, 2023.
Oscar®Qualifying Awards:
The winner of these awards may be eligible to submit their short to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Oscar® consideration.
Best of the Festival Award – Winner received $5,000 cash prize courtesy of Harold Matzner, Palm Springs International Film Society’s Immediate Past Chairman
Jury: Angel An (VP of Acquisitions, Roadside Attractions); Kiva Reardon (Vice President of Film, PASTEL); Clay Pruitt (Head of Programming, Impact Distribution, Impact Distribution, Seed&Spark)
Winner: The Old Young Crow (Japan/USA), Directed by Liam LoPinto
Special Mention: 48 Hours (Iran), Directed by Azadeh Moussavi
Special Mention: Away (Hungary/Belgium/Portugal), Directed by Ruslan Fedotow
Best Animated Short – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.
Jury: Geoff Marslett (Animator/Director/Writer/Producer); Irene Soriano (Writer/Film Curator); Gabe Van Amburgh (Film Programmer and Senior Manager, SXSW)
Winner: Way Better (Lithuania), Directed by Skirmanta Jakaitė
Special Mention: Ashkaska (Spain/Argentina), Directed by Lara Maltz
Special Mention: Eeva (Croatia/Estonia), Directed by Lucija Mrzljak and Morten Tšinakov
Best Documentary Short – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.
Jury: Eugene Yi (Director/Editor/Writer, Free Chol Soo Lee); Maria Santos (Funds Program Officer, International Documentary Association); Opal H. Bennett (Producer, American Documentary | POV Shorts)
Winner: Will You Look At Me (China), Directed by Shuli Huang
Special Mention: Birdsong (UK/Laos), Directed by Omi Zola Gupta and Sparsh Ahuja
Best Live-Action Short Over 15 Minutes – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.
Jury: Colin West (Writer/Director, Linoleum); Kate Mason (Filmmaker); Rosa Morales (Artist Development Associate Manager: Narrative Programs, SFFilm)
Winner: Sèt Lam (France), Directed by Vincent Fontano
Special Mention for Performance: Brenda Cullerton in Endless Sea (USA), Directed by Sam Shainberg
Special Mention: The Newt Congress (Switzerland/Germany), Directed by Matthias Sahil and Immanuel Esser
Best Live-Action Short 15 Minutes and Under – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.
Jury: Albert Lee (Motion Picture Literary Agent, CAA); Liz Cardenas (Producer / Filmmaker, Ten to the Six Pictures); Lizzie Shapiro (Producer, The Space Program)
Winner: Mystic Tiger (Spain), Directed by Marc Martínez
Special Mentions: I Have No Legs, and I Must Run (China), Directed by Yue Li
Student Short Awards:
Best Student Animated Short & Best Student International Short – Each winner received a $1,000 cash prize.
Jury: Christine Davila (Head of Development and Production, Ojalá); Florentina Almonte (Content Acquisitions Executive at Shorts TV International); Lauren Lopez de Victoria (Film Producer)
Student Animated Short
Winner: The Rainbow Dung Beetle (USA), Directed by Ellen Moway and Cole Dupzyk
Student International Short
Winner: A Dead Marriage (Poland), Directed by Michel Toczek
Special Mention: Between Her (Israel), Directed by Bar Cohen
Best Student U.S. Short & Best Student Documentary Short – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.
Jury: Parker Hill (Writer/Director, Cusp); Francis Román (Senior Film & TV Festival Programming Manager and Leads, Shorts Programming at SXSW); Lauren Shelton (Ley Line Film Group)
Student U.S. Short
Winner: SULAM (Ladder) (USA), Directed by Noam Argov
Special Mention: Invasive Species (USA), Directed by Annie Ning
Student Documentary Short
Winner: Kaamoksen Valossa (Finland), Directed by Niko Väistö
Special Mention: Still Waters (USA), Directed by Aurora Brachman
Special Jury Awards:
Best International Short – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.
Jury: Matthew Takata (Assistant Director, Feature Film Program’s international work at the Sundance Institute); Valerie Castillo-Martinez (Filmmaker); Ugo Obioha (Agent, UTA)
Winner: Soleil de nuit (Canada), Directed by Fernando López Escriva and Maria Camila Arias
Special Mention: Infantry (Brazil), Directed by Laís Santos Araújo
Special Mention: Nocturnal Burger (India/USA), Directed by Reema Maya
Best U.S. Short – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.
Jury: Aitch Alberto (Writer/Director and NYT Best-Selling Author); Arbi Pedrossian (VP, 20th Digital Studio); Kristen Lopez (Film Editor, The Wrap)
Winner: Closing Dynasty (USA), Directed by Lloyd Lee Choi
Best Comedy Short – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.
Jury: Fawzia Mirza (Filmmaker, Signature Move); Katie White (Producer, Best Summer Ever); Kyle Jaeger (Manager, 2AM)
Winner: Flail (USA), Directed by Ben Gauthier
Special Mention: Pennies From Heaven (USA), Directed by Sandy Honig
Best LGBT+ Short – Winners each received a $500 cash prize.
Jury: Apoorva Charan (Producer, Joyland); Andrew Carlberg (Producer, Skin); Sam Feder (Filmmaker)
Winner: Blond Night (Canada), Directed by Gabrielle Demers
Winner: Burial of Life as a Young Girl (France), Directed by Maïté Sonnet
Special Mention: An Avocado Pit (Portugal), Directed by Ary Zara
Best Midnight Short – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.
Jury: Nick Romano (Creative Executive, 18hz); Sarah Lash (Senior Director, Acquisitions at Condé Nast Entertainment); Coral Wright (Director for The Spectacle TV Team at Netflix)
Winner: Nian (USA), Directed by Michelle Krusiec
Special Mention: Animal Transport (Argentina), Directed by Iván Bustinduy
Special Mention for Performance: Raphaël Quenard in Meantime (France), Directed by Guillaume Scaillet
Mozaik Bridging the Borders Award – Winner received a $1,500 cash prize.
Jury: Keely Badger; Arameh Etemadi; Vladek Juszkiewicz; Deborah Kolar; Vera Mijojlić; Chale Nafus; Ramin Niami; Bijan Tehrani.
Winner: Fata Morgana (Germany/Syria), Directed by Daood Alabdulaa
Special Mention: Border Conversations (Germany), Directed by Jonathan Brunner
Special Mention: I See Them Bloom (Spain), Directed by Nikita Gibalenko
Special Mention: The Kidnapping of the Bride (Germany), Directed by Sophia Mocorrea
Local Jury Award – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.
Jury: Diana Acosta; Marcos Garcia; Joan Heeter; Athalie LaPamuk; Kathy Kaye Retardo
Winner: Under G-d (USA), Directed by Paula Eiselt
Special Mention: Teacups (Australia/Ireland), Directed by Alec Green and Finbar Watson
Young Cineastes Award – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.
Winner: We Were Meant To (USA), Directed by Tari Wariebi
Special Mention: Amara and Ry’Shauna (USA), Directed by Kate Cohen and A.D. Freese
Special Mention: Ivalu (Greenland/Denmark), Directed by Anders Walter and Pipaluk K Jørgensen
Kids’ Choice Award – Winners each received a $500 cash prize.
Winner: Canary (Canada), Directed by Pierre-Hugues Dallaire and Benoit Therriault
Winner: Mushka (USA), Directed by Andreas Deja
Audience Awards:
Best Animated Short
Ice Merchants (Portugal), Directed by João Gonzalez
Best Documentary Short
Eco-Hack! (USA), Directed by Josh Izenberg and Brett Marty
Best Live-Action Short
Death to the Bikini! (Canada), Directed by Justine Gauthier
Best Student Short
Ricky (USA), Directed by Rashad Frett
About Palm Springs International ShortFest
Designated by AMPAS, BAFTA, BIFA and Goya Awards as an award-qualifying festival, and accredited by the International Short Film Conference, the Palm Springs International ShortFest & Short Film Market is one of the most acclaimed short film showcases in the world. The event is produced by the Palm Springs International Film Society, whose mission is to nurture and encourage new filmmaking talent, honoring the great masters of world cinema, and expanding audience horizons. Visit https://www.psfilmfest.org/shortfest-2023.
