‘The Old Young Crow’ Wins Top Prize at Palm Springs International ShortFest

Best Documentary Short – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.

Jury: Eugene Yi (Director, 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

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

Best International Short – Winner receiveda $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 receiveda $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 receiveda $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 receiveda $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 receiveda $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

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. Visithttps://www.psfilmfest.org/shortfest-2023.