2020 ShortFest Archive
BIPOC Filmmakers
Films by Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) filmmakers.
Song of Clouds
A haunting visual fever dream. Simultaneously, a meditation on the afterlife; the journey to the other-world and what gets left behind among the living; and the pain and yearning of return.
In competition for Best International Short
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Running Time: 15
So What if the Goats Die
Abdellah, a young shepherd living in the mountains, is forced to brave the snow in order to get food and save his cattle. Once he gets to the village, he faces a supernatural phenomenon.
In competition for Best International Short
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Running Time: 24
The Speech
May 2003, Beijing, China. The SARS outbreak is real. The city is closed. Most students have been sent home. Inside a private boarding school, three eight-year-old girls have to find a way to make sense of the world.
FILMMAKER FAVORITE
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Running Time: 25
Status Pending
With immigration law under attack, five first-generation immigration lawyers (who call themselves “The Tribe”) strive to help immigrants obtain safety and status in the United States.
AUDIENCE FAVORITE
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Running Time: 26
Stay Awake, Be Ready
A motorbike crash happening before the street stalls on a street corner was embedded in the mysterious story of three young men.
SPECIAL MENTION (for creative vision): Great Palm Springs CVB Best of the Festival Award
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Running Time: 14
Stray Dogs Come Out at Night
In Karachi, Iqbal, a migrant sex worker, cannot come to terms with his illness. He convinces his uncle to take a day trip to the beach, desperate for respite. The Arabian sea beckons.
In competition for Best Live-Action Short 15 Minutes and Under
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Running Time: 11
Tattoo
The young Iranian woman had not been expecting this kind of examination. She only wanted to renew her driver’s license, but when the officials noticed a scar on her wrist and her tattoo, they began looking at her with suspicion. Suddenly she is trapped, forced to answer personal questions and exposed to insinuations. In... Read More
Running Time: 15
Tehrangeles
Nima, a teenage Iranian-American boy living in the suburbs of Los Angeles, gains an appreciation for his heritage and learns the difference between friends and “friends” on the day of his 17th birthday party that his Persian family’s throwing for him.
In competition for the Local Jury Award
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Running Time: 13
There Were Four of Us
In a room, there are four people.
In competition for Best Student Animated Short
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Running Time: 7
Thirsty
Part Little Mermaid, part vampire-comedy, the story of a mosquito who falls in love with a man after she tastes his blood. Through her eyes we explore the ups and downs of sex, intimacy, love, and a bug’s unflinching desire to feel human.
In competition for Best Comedy Short
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Running Time: 12
Tiger and Ox
In Korean patriarchal society, what does divorce mean to women? Is a fatherless family a failure? In order to find the answer to these questions, a single mother and her daughter start a conversation.
In competition for Best Documentary Short
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Running Time: 8
To Calm the Pig Inside
In a small town, myths are woven to try to understand how the people cope with devastation and trauma in the aftermath of a typhoon. A girl’s voice divulges bits and pieces of her own memory of her grandmother and mother to tie in the experiences she felt visiting this ravaged town.
In competition for Best Documentary Short
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Running Time: 19