Palm Springs International ShortFest heavy on names, Oscar cachet

For its 20th anniversary edition, the 2014 Palm Springs International ShortFest and Short Film Market will feature as many as 330 short films, including 84 world premieres. The festival will screen movies featuring the likes of Sarah Paulson, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nick Offerman, Sophia Loren, Danny Devito and Sally Hawkins.

“This year we’ve had more films submitted from more countries than ever before,” said festival director Kathleen McInnis in a statement. “There are more high-profile actors lending their weight to the short films in our program, which speaks directly to both the quality of filmmaker and filmmaking.”

The gathering, which will run June 17-23 at the Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs, will comprise 52 thematically curated programs from the shorts mainstay. First-place winners in four competitive categories will become eligible for an Academy Award nomination.

Shorts featuring Rose McGowan, Oscar Isaac, Rutger Hauer and Alex Karpovsky will also be shown.

Over the previous 19 years, 97 films presented at the festival have gone on to an Oscar nomination. More than $115,000 in prizes will be given out in 21 categories to the films in this year’s competition, including $21,000 in cash awards and a Panavision camera package.

The complete lineup will be announced on June 8 with the online box office opening for business on June 10. More information is available at www.psfilmfest.org.