Palm Springs International ShortFest Picks Online Selections

Viewers can vote for their favorite

Site Staff Arts & Entertainment

Elgin Park is a fictional 1950s any town USA created entirely through miniatures and still photography by Michael Paul Smith.
Photo courtesy of Elgin Park on Facebook

 

The 2015 Palm Springs International ShortFest & Short Film Market has chosen the first 13 films to represent the ShortFest Online Film Festival.

The select films will play on a special section of the festival website (http://www.psfilmfest.org/onlinefest) starting May 26. Online voting for these films will open June 9 and run through June 20, with the “ShortFest Online Audience Award” announced at the Festival Award Ceremony on Closing Night (June 22).

The films selected for the ShortFest Online Film Festival include:

Animator vs. Animation IV (USA) – A stick figure goes to war with his maker. Inventive and compulsively watchable, this is the continuation of a series that first went viral on the web in 2006. Director: Alan Becker.

 

photo courtesy of Somewhere in palm springs

Somewhere in Palm Springs is Shag-style animated tale.

 

The Deadman (Peru) – A young man who everyone believes is dead returns to his parent’s house after seven years, followed shortly by two “detectives”… Director: Franco Finocchiaro.  Cast: Miguel Iza, Hernan Romero, Ana Cecilia Natteri, Nicolas Galindo and Renato Rueda.

Elgin Park (USA) – The story of the man behind Elgin Park, a fictional 50s any town USA created entirely through miniatures and still photography. Director: Danny Yourd. Cast: Michael Paul Smith (as himself).

Evil Mexican Child (Mexico) – The drawings of a seemingly sweet 4 year old Mexican boy wreak havoc on those depicted. When his mother realizes his father has a mistress, she suddenly is more supportive of his burgeoning talent. Director: Michael Noonan. Cast: Xochitl Hernàndez, Nyno Bernal, Anahi Davila and Max De La Rosa.

The Evolution of an Artist // Thom Jones (USA) – Thom Jones doesn’t describe himself as a “designer” (except once in a while when he’s drunk), but he’s most certainly an artist – with spray paint, with wood and with motorcycle parts. Director: Craig Brooks. Cast: Thom Jones.

 

photo courtesy of bryce dallas howard

Bryce Dallas Howard (center), who stars in the soon-to-be released Jurassic World, has directed a film at ShortFest called soulmates.

 

• Milk! (UK) – Two lactose-craving brothers will stop at nothing to get their daily dose of milk. Director: Ben Mallaby. Cast: Toby Williams and Paul F Taylor.

NYC Life: Narrated by Dorvid Attenborough (USA) – Special measures are called for when trying to find a mate in NYC. Director: Michael Slavens. Cast: David Friedlander, Marie Smith, Mike Rosengarten, Anna Elizabeth, Geoffrey Countryman, Shaun Ahuja, Tyler Jakes, Tiffany Marie Sparks, Kristen Dausch, Christina Toth, Alexandre F. Charlebois, Bianca Boragi, Timothy Hull and Jack and Milo Uhrmacher.

Russian Roulette (UK) – Lucy, lonely and lovelorn, meets a cosmonaut on Chat Roulette that may be the answer to her dreams. Director: Ben Aston. Cast: Bec Hill and Stewart Lockwood.

SAMUEL-613 (UK) – An angry young Hasidic man forgoes his controlling father in pursuit of a more seductive life in Eastern London. But the grass is not always greener on the other side of the cultural divide. Director: Billy Lumby. Cast: Theo Barklem-Biggs.

solemates (USA) – The story of love and family…as seen from a shoe’s perspective. Director: Bryce Dallas Howard. Cast: Seth Gabel, Theo Howard Gabel, Beatrice Howard, Bryce Dallas Howard, Judy Howard, Rance Howard.

Somewhere in Palm Springs (USA) – Shag-style animated tale about three gay men and their girl friend hanging out at a hotel pool, talking shit in Palm Springs. Director: Nate Clark. Cast: Nate Clark, Allen Loeb, Jennie Pierson, Drew Tarver and Jimmy Fowlie.

This Dynamic Opportunity (USA) – A not very good salesman meets an equally odd client from the internet to sell his new toothpaste brand. Director: Matt Mays. Cast: Tony Lewellen and Mike Betette.

We Are Fire (India) – Stunning documentary about a group of women (the ‘Gulabi Gang’) in red saris who join forces to help other women who have been oppressed or suffered wrongdoing in India. Director: Orlando Von Einsiedel. Cast: Champa Pal and Sampat Pal.

The ShortFest Online Film Festival will continue to play online through Aug. 31 after the end of the festival.

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