Many of us are conditioned to believe that size and/or length matters when it comes to certain things. But when it comes to short films, five minutes of celluloid or digital storytelling can pack as much of a wallop as a 90-minute+ feature film.
The 2023 Palm Springs International ShortFest will be proving this point from June 20th-26th at the Camelot Theatres. ShortFest is the largest short film festival in the US, returning for the first time post-pandemic with in-theatre film screenings, panels and roundtable discussions. Designated by AMPAS, BAFTA, BIFA and the Goya Awards as an award-qualifying festival, and accredited by the International Short Film Conference, the PS International ShortFest & Short Film Market is one of the most acclaimed short film showcases in the world.
Running during Pride Month, the ShortFest remains a touchstone for LGBTQ+ cinema across the world. The festival annually curates an LGBTQ+ short film lineup and provides awards in their Best LGBTQ+ Short category. Last year’s award winners included High Jump (directed by Lennert Madouand), with special mentions for Lucky Fish (directed by Emily May Jampel) and Tank Fairy (directed by Erich Rettstadt).
The full 2023 film program and schedule is available on their website. I was able to preview of few of this year’s selections.
Several of the best — and definitely funniest — are women’s stories with universal appeal:
- Crarylake Boats and Floats. Lane, a young adult lesbian, works at a boat rental shop. Her dull day to day routine is spiced up when a pretty renter enlists her on a secret mission.
- Gold and Mud. A hilarious but ultimately poignant short wherein a neurotic woman (an excellent, decades-spanning performance by Ana Fabrega) can’t catch a break in life.
- Gianna, which features LGBTQ fave Margaret Cho playing therapist to a client struggling with her literal inner demon.
- Canadian filmmaker David Findlay’s Lay Me by the Shore is a potent story about a queer/trans student who is forced to reconcile with their troubled past on the eve of their high school graduation.
- The Rainbow Dung Beetle is a sweet, animated short created by students at Orange County’s Chapman University. The title character is forced to disprove his late mother’s warning “When we shine, we die” soon after his new, same-sex insect neighbors move in.
While I didn’t get to screen it in advance, SCRED TBM certainly sounds intriguing: “Gabriel, a young father in a relationship, leads a double life. It is through a dedicated application and the pseudonym ‘Scred TBM’ that he is brought to live a part of his sexuality in secrecy. He scrupulously organizes his meetings in order to never be unmasked, but everything changes the day he meets a new profile.” Hmmm.
The remainder of this year’s ShortFest LGBTQ+ lineup, including several other animated shorts:
100% USDA Certified Organic Homemade Tofu
Aban
AIKĀNE
An Avocado Pit
Between Her
Burial of Life as a Young Girl
CANS Can't Stand
Christopher at Sea
Idiot Fish
Insta Gay
The Melting Creatures
Pipe
Preview by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film and stage critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.
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