Palm Springs, CA (March 13, 2025) – The Palm Springs International ShortFest, one of the largest showcases of short-form cinema in North America, will return for its 31st-edition this year from June 24-30, 2025. Sponsored by the City of Palm Springs, this year’s ShortFest will be presented at the Festival Theaters in Palm Springs. In addition to screenings, the ShortFest Forum will occur with classes and panels featuring industry representatives, filmmakers, and additional guests. The ShortFest Awards and cash prizes worth $25,000, including five Academy Award-qualifying awards, will be announced on Sunday, June 29. The Best of the Fest shorts will screen on the final day, Monday, June 30.
Designated by AMPAS, BAFTA, BIFA and Goya Awards as an award-qualifying festival, the Palm Springs International ShortFest and Short Film Market is one of the most acclaimed short film showcases in the world. Last year, standout selections featured at ShortFest ranged from Oscar-winning live action short I’m Not a Robot, Oscar-nominated animated short Beautiful Men, and Oscar-nominated animated short Wander to Wonder to star-driven projects like Agonist with Peyton List, ALOK directed by Alex Hedison, Fish Out of Water directed by Francesca Scorsese, Holiday House with AnnaSophia Robb, ILY, BYE with Meg Stalter and Kanoa Goo, Unsettled directed by Bella Thorne, and Vlog with Yvonne Stahovski.
Other notable films that have screened at ShortFest include the Oscar-nominated documentary short Nai Nai & Wài Pó, live-action short The Old Young Crow, Oscar-winning documentary short The Queen of Basketball, Oscar-winning live action short The Long Goodbye with actor Riz Ahmed, and more. Over the past three decades, ShortFest has also been an early platform for famed filmmakers, with alumni such as Ava DuVernay (ShortFest 2006), Jason Reitman (ShortFest 2016), Jim Cummings (ShortFest 2016), Lukas Dhont (ShortFest 2012), Lulu Wang (ShortFest 2015), Taika Waititi (ShortFest 2004), among others.
The Palm Springs International Film Society is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization whose mission is to cultivate and promote the art and science of film through education and cross-cultural awareness. The Film Society produces the Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) and Film Awards in January and Palm Springs International ShortFest in June. In addition to curating the best in international cinema, PSIFF’s Film Awards has come to be known as the first stop on the campaign trail for the Academy Awards® and its Oscar®-qualifying ShortFest is the largest short film festival and market in North America. Its Festivals, year-round member screenings and educational programs manifest the organization’s mission by nurturing and encouraging new filmmaking talent, honoring the great masters of world cinema, and expanding audience horizons. The City of Palm Springs is the title sponsor of both festivals.
For additional information and tickets, call the festival headquarters at (760) 778-8979 or visit the
website at https://www.psfilmfest.org/shortfest-2025.
