Film-Lover Alert: World-Renown 'Short Fest' Opens Tuesday In Nearby Palm Springs

PALM SPRINGS, CA -- - More than 300 short films will be screened starting tomorrow for the opening night of the 22nd Palm Springs International ShortFest.

The international festival, which will continue through June 26, will kick off with six films shown at Palm Springs' Camelot Theatre, followed by a reception at Lulu California Bistro.

ShortFest will feature the world premieres of 46 films, according to organizers, and those will include a larger international presence than ever seen in past festivals.

"Our audiences will see a broader international representation of stories than ever before," Festival Director Helen du Toit said, adding that this year's festival saw a 31 percent increase in overall film submissions. "With the new crop of talented filmmakers emerging around the world, the future looks bright indeed."

Films will be judged by a panel of six professionals from the film industry and media, including actress Molly Parker, Peter Bart of Deadline, Jeremy Boxer of Vimeo, Zorianna Kit from the Huffington Post, Rachel Samuels of Conde Nast and Alison Whitmore of Buzzfeed.

Cash prizes are available in 21 categories for this year's filmmakers, with some winners eligible for consideration by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for a possible Academy Award. Winners will be announced Sunday during the Closing Night screening and reception.

The festival will also feature entries for the 60 Seconds to Impact competition, a collaboration between ShortFest organizers and the University of California, Riverside, challenging amateur filmmakers to submit videos showcasing original stories in under a minute.

Audiences may also enjoy a full slate of panels and forums about filmmaking from technical, business and craft perspectives.

"We are showing more documentaries, more experimental films, and more of the hard to categorize, hybrid films," said Programming Director Penelope Bartlett, who noted that festival organizers "cast the net far and wide" to include more films from Africa and the Middle East, as well as ensuring more female director representation.

Tickets can be purchased at PSFilmFest.org, at the Camelot Theatre at 2300 E. Baristo Rd. or the festival office at 1700 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way, Suite 3. Ticket info here.

For other events going on around the county, see:

• Shakespeare In The Vines - Temecula
• Movie Under the Stars: Beaumont
• Murrieta's 25th Birthday Bash
• Lake Elsinore Storm 2016 California vs. Carolina All-Star Game
• World Giraffe Day at Living Desert Zoo, Palm Desert
• Murrieta's 25th Birthday Bash
• Eleven' World War II Documentary, Q and A with Director: Palm Springs Air Museum
• Riverside County July 4th Fireworks Guide 2016: Where To See The Shows

--City News Service