Palm Springs ShortFest 2023 Gives ‘The Old Young Crow’ Top Honors

“The Old Young Crow,” an American/Japanese short film directed by Liam LoPinto, took top honors at the Palm Springs International ShortFest, winning the Best of the Festival Award along with a cash prize of $5,000, the festival announced Sunday.

The win makes LoPinto’s film one of five at the festival that now qualify for the 2024 Academy Awards.

Other Oscars-qualifying short films from the Palm Springs ShortFest include: Lithuania’s “Way Better,” the Best Animated Short winner from director Skirmanta Jakaitė; China’s “Will You Look at Me,” director Shuli Huang’s Best Documentary Short winner; the French entry “Sèt Lam,” directed by Vincent Fontano, won Best Live Action Short over 15 minutes; and Spain’s “Mystic Tiger,” winner of Best Live Action Short under 15 minutes by director Marc Martínez.

The winners received a total of $25,000 in prizes in categories judged by industry luminaries, festival organizers and journalists. Read on for the complete list of winners.

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Oscar Qualifying Awards

Best of the Festival Award - Winner received $5,000 cash prize courtesy of Harold Matzner, Palm Springs International Film Society’s Immediate Past Chairman

Jury: Angel An (VP of Acquisitions, Roadside Attractions); Kiva Reardon (Vice President of Film, PASTEL); Clay Pruitt (Head of Programming, Impact Distribution, Impact Distribution, Seed&Spark)

Winner:  The Old Young Crow (Japan/USA), Directed by Liam LoPinto

Special Mention:  48 Hours (Iran), Directed by Azadeh MoussaviSpecial Mention:  Away (Hungary/Belgium/Portugal), Directed by Ruslan Fedotow

Best Animated Short – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.

Jury: Geoff Marslett (Animator/Director/Writer/Producer); Irene Soriano (Writer/Film Curator); Gabe Van Amburgh (Film Programmer and Senior Manager, SXSW)

Winner:  Way Better (Lithuania), Directed by Skirmanta Jakaitė

Special Mention:  Ashkaska (Spain/Argentina), Directed by Lara Maltz
Special Mention:  Eeva (Croatia/Estonia), Directed by Lucija Mrzljak and Morten Tšinakov

Best Documentary Short – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.

Jury: Eugene Yi (Director/Editor/Writer, Free Chol Soo Lee); Maria Santos (Funds Program Officer, International Documentary Association); Opal H. Bennett (Producer, American Documentary | POV Shorts)

Winner:  Will You Look At Me (China), Directed by Shuli Huang

Special Mention:  Birdsong (UK/Laos), Directed by Omi Zola Gupta and Sparsh Ahuja

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Best Live-Action Short Over 15 Minutes – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.

Jury: Colin West (Writer/Director, Linoleum); Kate Mason (Filmmaker); Rosa Morales (Artist Development Associate Manager: Narrative Programs, SFFilm)

Winner:  Sèt Lam (France), Directed by Vincent Fontano

Special Mention for Performance:  Brenda Cullerton in Endless Sea (USA), Directed by Sam Shainberg
Special Mention:  The Newt Congress (Switzerland/Germany), Directed by Matthias Sahil and Immanuel Esser

Best Live-Action Short 15 Minutes and Under – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.

Jury: Albert Lee (Motion Picture Literary Agent, CAA); Liz Cardenas (Producer / Filmmaker, Ten to the Six Pictures); Lizzie Shapiro (Producer, The Space Program)

Winner:  Mystic Tiger (Spain), Directed by Marc Martínez

Special Mentions:  I Have No Legs, and I Must Run (China), Directed by Yue Li

Student Short Awards:

Best Student Animated Short & Best Student International Short – Each winner received a $1,000 cash prize.

Jury: Christine Davila (Head of Development and Production, Ojalá); Florentina Almonte (Content Acquisitions Executive at Shorts TV International); Lauren Lopez de Victoria (Film Producer)

Student Animated Short

Winner:  The Rainbow Dung Beetle (USA), Directed by Ellen Moway and Cole Dupzyk

Student International Short

Winner:  A Dead Marriage (Poland), Directed by Michel Toczek

Special Mention:  Between Her (Israel), Directed by Bar Cohen

Best Student U.S. Short & Best Student Documentary Short – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.

Jury: Parker Hill (Writer/Director, Cusp); Francis Román (Senior Film & TV Festival Programming Manager and Leads, Shorts Programming at SXSW); Lauren Shelton (Ley Line Film Group)

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Student U.S. Short

Winner:  SULAM (Ladder) (USA), Directed by Noam Argov

Special Mention:  Invasive Species (USA), Directed by Annie Ning

Student Documentary Short

 Winner:  Kaamoksen Valossa (Finland), Directed by Niko Väistö

Special Mention:  Still Waters (USA), Directed by Aurora Brachman

Special Jury Awards:

Best International Short – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.

Jury: Matthew Takata (Assistant Director, Feature Film Program’s international work at the Sundance Institute); Valerie Castillo-Martinez (Filmmaker); Ugo Obioha (Agent, UTA)

Winner:  Soleil de nuit (Canada), Directed by Fernando López and Maria Camila Arias

Special Mention:  Infantry (Spain), Directed by Marc Martínez
Special Mention:  Nocturnal Burger (India/USA), Directed by Reema Maya

Best U.S. Short – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.

Jury: Aitch Alberto (Writer/Director and NYT Best-Selling Author); Arbi Pedrossian (VP, 20th Digital Studio); Kristen Lopez (Film Editor, The Wrap)

Winner:  Closing Dynasty (USA), Directed by Lloyd Lee Choi

Best Comedy Short – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.

Jury: Fawzia Mirza (Filmmaker, Signature Move); Katie White (Producer, Best Summer Ever); Kyle Jaeger (Manager, 2AM)

Winner:  Flail (USA), Directed by Ben Gauthier

Special Mention:  Pennies From Heaven (USA), Directed by Sandy Hong

Best LGBT+ Short – Winners each received a $500 cash prize.

Jury: Apoorva Charan (Producer, Joyland); Andrew Carlberg (Producer, Skin); Sam Feder (Filmmaker)

Winner:  Blond Night (Canada), Directed by Gabrielle Demers

Winner:  Burial of Life as a Young Girl (France), Directed by Maïté Sonnet

Special Mention:  An Avocado Pit (Portugal), Directed by Ary Zara

Best Midnight Short – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.

Jury: Nick Romano (Creative Executive, 18hz); Sarah Lash (Senior Director, Acquisitions at Condé Nast Entertainment); Coral Wright (Director for The Spectacle TV Team at Netflix)

Winner:  Nian (USA), Directed by Michelle Krusiec

Special Mention:  Animal Transport (Argentina), Directed by Iván Bustinduy
Special Mention for Performance:  Raphaël Quenard in Meantime (France), Directed by Guillaume Scaillet

Mozaik Bridging the Borders Award – Winner received a $1,500 cash prize.

Jury: Keely Badger; Arameh Etemadi; Vladek Juszkiewicz; Deborah Kolar; Vera Mijojlić; Chale Nafus; Ramin Niami; Bijan Tehrani.

Winner:  Fata Morgana (Germany/Syria), Directed by Daood Alabdulaa

Special Mention:  Border Conversations (Germany), Directed by Jonathan Brunner
Special Mention:  I See Them Bloom (Spain), Directed by Nikita Gibalenko
Special Mention:  The Kidnapping of the Bride (Germany), Directed by Sophia Mocorrea

Local Jury Award – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.

Jury:  Diana Acosta; Marcos Garcia; Joan Heeter; Athalie LaPamuk; Kathy Kaye Retardo

Winner:  Under G-d (USA), Directed by Paula Eiselt

Special Mention:  Teacups (Australia/Ireland), Directed by Alec Green and Finbar Watson

Young Cineastes Award – Winner received a $1,000 cash prize.

Winner:  We Were Meant To (USA), Directed by Tari Wariebi

Special Mention:  Amara and Ry’Shauna (USA), Directed by Kate Cohen and A.D. Freese
Special Mention:  Ivalu (Greenland/Denmark), Directed by Anders Walter and Pipaluk K Jørgensen

Kids’ Choice Award – Winners each received a $500 cash prize.

Winner:  Canary (Canada), Directed by Pierre-Hugues Dallaire and Benoit Therriault

Winner:  Mushka (USA), Directed by Andreas Deja