ShortFest reveals lineup for its 32nd edition later this month in Palm Springs

The Palm Springs International ShortFest has announced its full lineup for the 32nd edition of the festival, which is set to run June 23 through 29 at the Festival Theaters in Palm Springs. Tickets will be available starting Thursday at the event’s website here.

Sponsored by the city of Palm Springs, this year’s program spans 50 curated programs featuring 329 films from 71 countries and territories — drawn from more than 7,000 submissions received from 145 countries and territories.

The lineup includes 52 World Premieres, 21 International Premieres, 40 North American Premieres, 30 U.S. Premieres, and 79 California Premieres. Tickets will be available beginning June 4 at psfilmfest.org.

“ShortFest is a lot of things, and one of the best parts is discovering filmmakers we’ll be obsessed with,” said Lili Rodriguez, artistic director of the Palm Springs International Film Society. “This year’s lineup is funny, strange, emotional, political, chaotic, gorgeous — everything short films should be. We’re thrilled to bring these filmmakers and stories to Palm Springs.”

Directors of programming Jesse Knight and Céline Roustan led the curation effort alongside the ShortFest programming team. “The most invigorating work in filmmaking continues to be in the short form,” Knight and Roustan said. “Building the lineup from a record number of submissions was no easy feat, but ultimately we were drawn to what excites us both about short films: daring, uncompromising, free, and compelling narratives and visions.”

Among the films selected are several featuring well-known film and television actors, including Christopher Meloni and Michael Gandolfini in Chop Cheese, Patton Oswalt in Going Home, Nina Dobrev in General Admission, Alan Cumming in Kiloran Bay, Melissa Joan Hart in Following, and Jena Malone in Sylvia, among others.

Of the 329 films selected, 136 — or 41% — are directed by women, as reported by the filmmakers themselves.

Festival Chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi said the event continues to serve as a launching point for emerging filmmakers.

“The Palm Springs International ShortFest has long been a place where the world’s most exciting new voices come to be discovered, and this year’s lineup is a testament to that tradition,” he said. “Through programs like our Curator Fellowship, Filmmaker Bootcamp, and Forum, we are proud to bring that global conversation home to our Coachella Valley students and desert community.”

The festival will continue two initiatives aimed at local youth. The Curator Fellowship, open to Coachella Valley residents ages 18-25, gave participants a hands-on role working alongside the ShortFest programming team to create the locally driven “Valley Visions” program, which will screen Tuesday, June 23 at 2 p.m.

The Filmmaker Bootcamp returns Thursday, June 25, offering high school students across the Coachella Valley direct access to the short film world and the industry professionals behind it.

With more than 100 alumni films having earned Academy Award nominations, ShortFest has built a record as a path to awards recognition. This year’s juried winners will be announced Sunday, June 28, drawn from five Oscar-qualifying award categories and accompanied by cash prizes totaling $30,000. Bennett Awards is the official ShortFest Awards Sponsor.

The Best of the Fest program, bringing together the festival’s top award-winning shorts, will close out the event Monday, June 29.

The ShortFest Forum, a program pairing working filmmakers with industry veterans through panels, roundtables, and hands-on sessions, returns to the Hilton Palm Springs June 26 through 28. Full Forum programming and the 2026 ShortFest Jury are scheduled to be announced Tuesday, June 9.

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