Editor

Record Number of Shorts Heat Up At Palm Springs International of Shorts Film Festival

"Wasp" Receives Best of Festival Award at Palm Springs International of Shorts Film Festival. Awards were given out in Palm Springs at the end of the largest and most respected short film festival in North America. The Palm Springs International Short Film Festival takes place during the heat of summer and heats up the competition of the short film format. What this does is set the base for shorts throughout the world for the next crop of outstanding shorts to mesmerize the world.

Now it’s tenth year and over 2,000 record setting entries,(including a solid share achieved through filmfestivals.com)PSIFSF was held from August 31st to September 6th with over 200 filmmakers in attendance. The Short Film Market was held during the Festival and the Industry visitors were on hand to take advantage of the 2000 films in the Market for viewing. More than 2,600 filmmakers and industry representatives from around the world participated in this year's Festival, including record-setting attendance by those in the business of buying and selling short films and scouting for new filmmaking talent. The seven-day fest screened more than 300 short films.

"The Festival encourages young filmmakers to make their films by providing screenings in front of large audiences and an industry marketplace for purchasing films and scripts and advice for advancing future careers," said Festival Chairman, Earl Greenburg. "There was a record-setting showing from the short film industry, both filmmakers and buyers out in full force. We have truly accomplished our goal of providing a forum for new filmmakers."

Commenting on the success of this year's Festival and Market, Executive Director Darryl Macdonald said, "Palm Springs Short Fest has been a smashing success this year. The audience, press and industry feedback on the films has been overwhelmingly positive; and the filmmakers attending the Festival are raving about what a wonderful experience they are having, praising both the organization of the event and the filmmaker-friendly atmosphere, seminars and receptions. We've enjoyed record-setting participation by industry players and filmmakers at this year's event, and buyers have been responding to the films with offers of their own - shorts are truly becoming a hot commodity in their own right."

Festival Director of Programming Helen du Toit said, "The films selected this year have raised the bar on filmmaking. Hollywood and the international film community should take note of the hot up and coming directors that were discovered and honored at this year's Festival."

Festival awards in 10 categories and three audience favorites were announced Sunday evening at an Awards Presentation held at the Camelot Theatre in Palm Springs, CA. A total of $14,000 in prizes and an additional $6,000 in Kodak film stock, $2,500 in studio time from Casablanca Studios and an additional $4,000 in filmmaking software programs including Final Draft scriptwriting software, Entertainment Partners Budgeting and scheduling software, the Hollywood Creative Directory's Guide and the internet movie guide provided by IFILM will be awarded during the Festival. Award winners receiving a first place prize are automatically eligible to submit their films to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Academy Award consideration. The 2004 Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films award winners are:

BEST OF FESTIVAL AWARD- $2,000
"Wasp," Andrea Arnold - United Kingdom

Single mum Zoe is broke and her kids are hungry. When Dave, an old flame, swings by with the offer of brief release, she has to choose between being responsible and being happy.

FUTURE FILMMAKER AWARD - $2,000
Lancelot V. Naso, "The Surprise" - Germany
When a man rushes frantically to prepare a surprise dinner for his girlfriend, it turns out she has a few surprises of her own in store for her hapless lover.

AUDIENCE AWARDS
AUDIENCE FAVORITE DOCUMENTARY SHORT
"Flowers From the Heartland," Peter Daulton - USA (First Place)

"The Triumvirate," Jean Strauss - USA (Runner-up)

AUDIENCE FAVORITE LIVE ACTION SHORT
"Chicken Party," Tate Taylor - USA (First Place)

"Cut and Run," David Harb - USA (Runner-up)

AUDIENCE FAVORITE ANIMATION SHORT
"Creature Comforts: Cats or Dogs," Richard Goleszowski - United Kingdom (First Place)
"Catching Kringle," Jeff Wadlow - USA (Runner-up)

KODAK AWARD FOR BEST STUDENT CINEMATOGRAPHY
The criteria for consideration of the Kodak Award for Best Student Cinematography included unique use of the camera, use of lighting or creative lighting techniques, unique looks or creative processing of the film, how well the camera is used to tell the story, and frame composition.

First Place (An invitation to attend the 2005 Cannes International Film Festival to showcase a clip of their film, presented by the Kodak Student Filmmaker Program, and $1,000 in Kodak film stock.)

Silvio Helbig (cinematographer and director), "Transport" - Germany
Production designer Udo Krammer accepted the award on the director's behalf. The film is set in a vivid, post-apocalyptic world, where a transport worker's insistence on following irrational orders leads him and a train driver down a very dangerous track.

Second Place ($500 in Kodak film stock)
Christian Haake (cinematographer), "Gray Zone" - Austria

SECTION AWARDS
All first place winners in these categories received a cash award of $2,000 and will be eligible to submit their films to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for Oscar consideration. Second Place recipients received a $500 cash prize.

BEST Live Action UNDER 15 minutes
First Place ($2,000) - "Goodbye, Cruel World," Vito Rocco - United Kingdom
A shy young boy deals with the death of an older neighbor by re-animating him and taking him out for a spin. All is well until the recently deceased corpse starts to take on a life of its own.

Second Place ($500) - "Strangers," Guy Nattiv & Erez Tadmor - Israel

BEST Live Action over 15 minutes:
First Place ($2,000) "True Love (Once Removed)," Kevin Thomas - United Kingdom/Iceland
In a bleak and alien landscape defined by no particular time or place, Steven discovers his future love through an illegal time machine.

Second Place ($500) "Don't Call Me Baby Anymore," Olga Gambis - France

BEST Animation:
First Place ($2,000) - "Ryan," Chris Landreth - Canada
An animated reflection of the mind of a great animator who's gone off the rails, this twisted tale of ordinary madness pays tribute to a brilliant real-life animation artist.
Second Place ($500) - "RockFish," Tim Miller - USA

BEST Documentary:
First Place ($2,000) - "Life to Live," Maciej Adamek - Poland
A group of blind children experience the fruits of life through their four senses.

Second Place ($500) - "Parents of the Year," James Scurlock - USA/Mexico

STUDENT CATEGORIES
All first place winners in these categories will receive $1,000 in Kodak film stock and will be eligible to submit their films to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for Oscar consideration. Second Place recipients receive $500 in Kodak film stock. All student filmmakers in competition are eligible for these awards.

BEST STUDENT Live Action UNDER 15 minutes:
First Place - "Marco Solo," Adrian Bosich - Australia
Poor 9-year-old Marco still shares his eccentric Italian/Australian parents' bedroom, but with the help of a vivid imagination, an obsession with Dame Edna and a warped sense of Catholicism, he creates his own personal space.

Second Place - "In the Bathroom," Olivier Venturini - United Kingdom

BEST STUDENT Live Action over 15 minutes:
First Place - "Gray Zone," Karl Bretchneider - Austria
While returning his brother Walter to a mental institute in the countryside, George thinks he has accidentally run over a child.

Second Place - "Still: Life - Seibutsu," Joe Turner Lin - USA

BEST STUDENT Animation:
First Place - "Annie and Boo," Johannes Weiland - Germany
For the first time in her life, teenager Annie runs into a real coincidence while searching for directions home. His name is "Boo," and Boo has never met a girl before...

Second Place - "Flatlife," Jonas Geimaert - Belgium

This year's five-member jury included: Jury members include David Birdsell; Dana Brunetti, President, Triggerstreet; George Eldred, Competition Manager, Aspen Filmfest; Valerie Watts Meraz, Showtime Networks, Inc.; Pat Saperstein, Variety.

The Festival also announced the Synergy Award to Aundre Johnson, a filmmaker who went out of his way to help many filmmakers throughout the week and who had three films in the Festival. He received two free days of studio time from the Casablanca Studios in Desert Hot Springs, CA. Johnson's three films included "F***ing Hollywood," "Crisis 76" and "Limo Driver."

Designated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as an award-qualifying festival and accredited by the International Short Film Conference, the Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films and Short Film Market is the largest and most important short film showcase in North America. The Festival and its concurrent 2,000 film Film Market has captured Hollywood's attention as a scouting ground for new filmmaking talent and is well attended by those in the business of buying and selling short films. The 2005 Palm Springs International Film Festival will be held January 6-17, 2005. For additional information, call the Festival headquarters at (760) 322-2930 or visit www.psfilmfest.org

Festival sponsors include City of Palm Springs, Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, The Desert Sun, Spencer's at the Mountains, CBS2, Desert Post Weekly, Kodak, Las Casuelas Terraza, The BottomLine, The Palm Springs Mall, GES - Everything Exposition, Palm Springs Life, Time Warner Cable, Caliente Tropics, IFC's Ultimate Film Fanatic Tour, Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, R&R Broadcasting Group, Ramada, Red Bull, Riviera Resort, Stockholm Kristall Vodka, Back Stage West, FOX11, KESQ3, Myriad Internet, Olden Days Catering, Tulip Hill Winery & Vineyards, Casablanca Studios, Heimark Distributing Co., IFILM, Inland Empire Film Commission, Writers Guild of America - West.