Palm Springs International ShortFest

Palm Springs International ShortFest

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The 32nd Palm Springs International ShortFest took place in Palm Springs, California, from June 23 to 29, 2026. Fruit, directed by Jen Nee Lim, won the Best of the Festival Award.

Best of the Festival Award

$5,000 cash prize (USD).

Fruit No Video Available
Jen Nee Lim
FruitIn a time and place where abortion is illegal, a pregnant woman’s repeated attempts to…

Special Mention — Best of the Festival Award

Hyena Trailer
Altay Ulan Yang
HyenaIn an isolated castle, students prepare for a life-changing examination. As anticipation…

Best Animated Short Award

$1,000 cash prize (USD).

Fačuk Trailer
Maida Srabović
FačukIn a God-fearing village lying between two rivers, giving birth to a "fačuk" — an…

Special Mention — Best Animated Short Award

Special mention for craft, as reported by Film Threat.

Venezia Diorama No Video Available
Nicolas Piret
Venezia DioramaIn a series of animated art boards, the city of Venice comes alive, as it struggles,…

Best Documentary Short Award

$1,000 cash prize (USD).

Water Cooler No Video Available
Emma V.F.
Water CoolerThe Trump administration has turned immigration courts into deportation traps. As ICE…

Special Mention — Best Documentary Short Award

Plumped No Video Available
Faye Tsakas, Nora DeLigter
PlumpedIn an ode to Les Blanks' Gap-Toothed Women, women speak candidly about their experience…

Best Live-Action Short Over 15 Minutes Award

$1,000 cash prize (USD).

Marga en el DF No Video Available
Gabriela Ortega
Marga en el DFIn the wake of Selena Quintanilla’s murder, Marga’s life takes an unexpected turn at 21…

Special Mention — Best Live-Action Short Over 15 Minutes Award

Concrete Kids Trailer
Saulius Baradinskas
Concrete KidsYou can’t escape the neighbourhood! Lonely Lithuanian teenager Rokas, whose mother works…

Best Live-Action Short 15 Minutes & Under Award

$1,000 cash prize (USD).

We Were Here No Video Available
Pranav Bhasin
We Were HereIn small town India, convinced that machines are quietly replacing them, three retired…

Special Mention — Best Live-Action Short 15 Minutes & Under

Captive Audience No Video Available
Kew Lin
Captive AudienceRejected by the music industry, a disenchanted musician decides to perform to a different…

Best Student International Short Award

$1,000 cash prize (USD).

Daddy's Little Meatball Trailer
Yael Grunseit
Daddy's Little MeatballOn a once-in-a-lifetime trip to New York, an Australian period underwear salesman and his…

Special Mention — Best Student International Short Award

Orla No Video Available
Marie Lukáčová
OrlaOnce upon a time, in a rigidly ruled kingdom bordered with enchanted wilderness, a…

Best Student U.S. Short

$1,000 cash prize (USD).

Pankaja No Video Available
Anooya Swamy
PankajaPankaja, along with her daughter, Lalli, searches for her missing husband through the…

Special Mention — Best Student U.S. Short Award

Not Valid for Travel No Video Available
Jiaying Lin
Not Valid for TravelTo reunite with her long-distance partner in Toronto, a young Chinese woman boards a…

Best Student Animated Short Award

$1,000 cash prize (USD).

The Undying Pain of Existence Trailer
Oscar Jacobson
The Undying Pain of ExistenceA nude model is posing with statuesque stillness for an elite drawing class — until an…

Special Mention — Best Student Animated Short Award

Hunting Trailer
Lea Favre
HuntingToday, Lea is going in search of a subject for a documentary film. When she believes…

Best Student Documentary Short Award

$1,000 cash prize (USD).

Sole No Video Available
Haneol Lee
SoleA Korean American cobbler in Nashville, Tennessee finds peace in his simple life.

Special Mention — Best Student Documentary Short Award

California is Burning Trailer
Bennett Curran
California is BurningIn a poetic story of resilience, Altadena residents and first responders recall the…

Vimeo Staff Pick Award

$5,000 cash prize (USD).

A Crime Across Four Landscapes7 min
Aidan Weaver
A Crime Across Four LandscapesWhen a small-town crime goes awry, the evidence is scattered across four picturesque…

Best International Short Award

$1,000 cash prize (USD).

Agapito Trailer
Arvin Belarmino, Kyla Romero
AgapitoIt’s the last day of the month. Bowlers flock to the lanes of a bowling alley that has…

Special Mention — Best International Short Award

The Last Song Trailer
María Lorente-Becerra
The Last SongAfter glimpsing herself on a TV show, 67-year-old former pop star Rosario begins singing…

Best U.S. Short Award

$1,000 cash prize (USD).

See You, Soon No Video Available
Jay Pendarvis Jr.
See You, SoonAfter the death of his older brother, Amari finds himself seated across from Dominique in…

Special Mention — Best U.S. Short Award

Special mention for Linus the dog in XOLO.

XOLO Trailer
Matthew Serrano
XOLORealizing that Xolotl—the Aztec god of death—has come to take his owner, a little dog…

Best Comedy Short Award

$1,000 cash prize (USD).

We Were Here No Video Available
Pranav Bhasin
We Were HereIn small town India, convinced that machines are quietly replacing them, three retired…

Special Mention — Best Comedy Short Award

Special mention for ensemble, as reported by Film Threat.

Borderline Trailer
Johannes Vang
BorderlineA Norwegian customs officer, a Finnish poacher, and a mysterious Swedish woman meet at…

Best LGBTQ+ Short Award

$1,000 cash prize (USD).

Delay No Video Available
Wang Han-Xuan
DelayA Chinese gay father attempts to travel to his heterosexual son’s wedding in Paris, but…

Special Mention — Best LGBTQ+ Short Award

Sandra Trailer
Camila Márdila
SandraSandra is an insurance broker staying at a hotel with her team for a training session led…

Best Midnight Short Award

$1,000 cash prize (USD).

Hyena Trailer
Altay Ulan Yang
HyenaIn an isolated castle, students prepare for a life-changing examination. As anticipation…

Special Mention — Best Midnight Short Award

Flock No Video Available
Mac Nixon
FlockThe violence of mob mentality is unleashed when a remote farming community’s entire sheep…

Desert Views Jury Award

$1,000 cash prize (USD).

Agapito Trailer
Arvin Belarmino, Kyla Romero
AgapitoIt’s the last day of the month. Bowlers flock to the lanes of a bowling alley that has…

Special Mention — Desert Views Jury Award

The Barbershop No Video Available
Diêm Camille
The BarbershopAs a young foster child searches for belonging in a black barbershop in Copenhagen, he…

Young Cineastes Award

$1,000 cash prize (USD).

The Home of the Brave No Video Available
Cristina Costantini
The Home of the BraveDuring a summer of grief and fear brought on by immigration raids in Los Angeles, one…

Special Mention — Young Cineastes Award

Guardian's Grove No Video Available
Rachel Moss
Guardian's GroveLIL_QUACKO and ROTTENPOTATOES98 are best friends—online. When they meet at a party,…

Kids' Choice Award

$1,000 cash prize (USD).

Four Square Trailer
Eli Staub
Four SquareWhen an act of betrayal on the playground turns two best friends against each other, they…

Audience Award for Animated Short

$1,000 cash prize (USD).

i have a Trailer
Rory Waudby-Tolley
i have aa man lists the things that he has.

Audience Award for Documentary Short

$1,000 cash prize (USD).

I Got My Brother No Video Available
Victor K. Gabriel
I Got My BrotherDirected by Victor Gabriel for Academy Award winning Breakwater Studios in partnership…

Audience Award for Live Action Short

$1,000 cash prize (USD).

América No Video Available
Javier Arias-Stella
AméricaAmérica (10) walks every day for more than two hours to the nearest school from her small…

Audience Award for Student Short

$1,000 cash prize (USD).

Half-Moon Trailer
Hae-Sup Sin
Half-MoonAnnette travels to Korea with her adopted son to meet his birth mother and realizes that…