2021 ShortFest Archive
Film Index
List of all 295 films showing at the 2021 Palm Springs International ShortFest. Note: When you attend a ShortFest screening you'll be attending a package of films grouped together.
1978
Pakistan, 1978. Lenny, a rockstar from the Christian community, is offered the chance to reinvent himself as a state-sanctioned singer. With Islamic fervor gripping the nation, he must decide if he can change with the times.
In competition for Best of the Festival Award and Best Live-Action Short Over 15 Minutes.
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8007 Marina Apartment
Situated in a small arctic Norwegian city, a group of friends has different approaches for reaching fame—throwing them into a maelstrom of betrayal and unhealthy competition.
In competition for Best Live-Action Short 15 Minutes and Under.
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Affairs of the Art
Beryl shares her own obsession with drawing while exposing the addictions of her eccentric family, which include pickling, screw threads and pet taxidermy.
In competition for Best Animated Short.
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The Affected
Minutes before take-off, a passenger on a commercial flight refuses to sit down in an attempt to prevent the deportation of a man on board.
In competition for Best Comedy Short.
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After Dark
When 17-year-old Ronnie is kicked out of her mother’s Queens apartment, she exhausts her contact list in search of somewhere to crash. With only a few bad friends to turn to, and her local bodega man out of town, Ronnie ends up on a journey throughout New York City in search of a bed.
In competition for Best Student U.S. Short.
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After-life Service
Upon arriving at the After-Life Service for souls returning to earth, Gaspard just wants to be reincarnated as a beautiful peacock. If only he had enough karma points.
In competition for Best Student Animated Short.
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Águilas
Along the scorching southern desert border in Arizona, it is estimated that only one out of every five missing migrants are ever found. This is the story of one group of searchers, the Aguilas del Desierto who amidst rising political repression and cartel violence, as well as the eternal difficulties of travel in the Sonoran Desert, carry out their solemn task.
In competition for Bridging the Borders Award, Local Jury Award, and Best Documentary Short.
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Ain’t No Time for Women
Tunis, November 2019. A group of women is gathered at the local hairdresser's on the eve of the presidential election. The salon is transformed into a town square, mirroring the internal turmoil of the country. In this female sanctuary, we get an intimate look at the county’s teenage democracy.
In competition for Best Documentary Short.
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Al-Sit
In a cotton-farming village in Sudan, 15-year-old Nafisa has a crush on Babiker, but her parents have already arranged her marriage to a young businessman living abroad. Meanwhile, Nafisa's grandmother Al-Sit, the powerful village matriarch, has her own plans for Nafisa's future. Caught between two rigid traditions, Nafisa must find a way to forge her own path.
In competition for Best of the Festival Award, Best Live-Action Short Over 15 Minutes, and Young Cineastes Award.
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Alice and the Frog
When 14-year-old Alicja accidentally gets pregnant, she escapes down a different kind of rabbit hole.
In competition for Young Cineastes Award.
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All Riders
The battle for accessibility in the New York City subway told by those fighting it.
In competition for Local Jury Award and Best Student Documentary Short.
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All Those Sensations in My Belly
While transitioning, Matia struggles with finding a genuine, intimate relationship with a heterosexual man.
In competition for Best LGBT+ Short and Best Animated Short.
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Along Came a Prince
While at a sleepaway theater workshop, a teenage boy has an encounter with an older girl that sends ripples through the camp.
In competition for Best International Short.
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American Eid
Ameena, a Pakistani immigrant, wakes up on Eid to find out that she has to go to school. Homesick and heartbroken, she goes on a mission to make Eid a public-school holiday. In the process, she reconnects with her older sister and embraces her new home, while her new home embraces her.
In competition for Local Jury Award.
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Americanized
Growing up in Oakland's hip-hop culture and playing on the high school basketball team makes it difficult for Eng to identify with her Chinese-American roots. As her sophomore year of high school comes to an end, Eng tries to find a sense of belonging within the two worlds that don't accept her.
In competition for Young Cineastes Award.
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Angh
In 1964, in rural Northeastern India, a former headhunter and his son are the last in their village to withstand conversion efforts to Christianity. Living in isolation, their entire tradition, identity and ego are at stake as they try their best to resist the social pressures of the new world.
In competition for Best of the Festival Award and Best Live-Action Short Over 15 Minutes.
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