‘Bogota Story’ Wins Best of Festival at Palm Springs ShortFest M_Haris

The Palm Springs International ShortFest has announced the juried and audience award winners for its 2024 edition, which took place June 18-24. Over $25,000 in cash prizes and five Academy Award-qualifying honors were presented to the winning films, which included Esteban Pedraza’s “Bogotá Story” and Jadwiga Kowalska’s animated film “The Car That Came Back from the Sea.”

See a full list of winners below.

Oscar Qualifying Awards:

Best of the Festival Award –
• Winner: “Bogotá Story” (Colombia/USA), Directed by Esteban Pedraza

Best Animated Short –
• Winner: “The Car That Came Back from the Sea” (Switzerland), Directed by Jadwiga Kowalska

Best Documentary Short –
• Winner:” Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr” (USA), Directed by Kimberly Reed

Best Live-Action Short Over 15 Minutes presented by V Channels Corp –
• Winner: “Oyu” (France/Japan), Directed by Atsushi Hirai

Best Live-Action Short 15 Minutes and Under –
• Winner: “Complications” (Norway), Directed by Ivar Aase

Student Short Awards:

Best Student Animated Short –
• Winner: “On the 8th Day” (France), Directed by Agathe Sénéchal, Alicia Massez, Elise Debruyne, Flavie Carin, Théo Duhautois

Best Student International Short –
• Winner: “Where Insects Hide at Night” (Brazil/USA), Directed by Lucas Acher

Best Student U.S. Short
• Winner: “Primos” (Puerto Rico/USA), Directed by Ricardo Varona

Best Student Documentary Short
• Winner: “Remember, Broken Crayons Colour Too” (Switzerland), Directed by Urša Kastelic, Shannet Clemmings

Special Jury Awards:

Best International Short –
• Winner: “The Real Truth About the Fight” (Croatia/Spain), Directed by Andrea Slaviček

Best U.S. Short –
• Winner: “Trapped” (USA), Directed by Sam Cutler-Kreutz and David Cutler-Kreutz

Best Comedy Short –
• Winner: “Favourites” (Australia), Directed by Nick Russell

Best LGBT+ Short –
• Winner: “Honeymoon” (Greece/France/Cyprus), Directed by Alkis Papastathopoulos

Best Midnight Short –
• Winner: “Wander to Wonder” (Netherlands/France/Belgium/United Kingdom), Directed by Nina Gantz

Bridging the Borders Award presented by Cinemas Without Borders and 360 Media –
• Winner: “Palestine Islands” (France/Palestine), Directed by Nour Ben Salem, Julien Menanteau

Local Jury Awards:

Desert Views Award Sponsored by Silvercrest –
• Winner: “Then Comes the Body” (USA/Nigeria), Directed by Jacob Krupnick

Young Cineastes Award –
• Winner: “Guts” (USA), Directed by Margaux Susi

Kids’ Choice Award –
• Winner: “Mog’s Christmas” (United Kingdom), Directed by Robin Shaw

Audience Awards:

Best Animated Short –
• Winner: “And Granny Would Dance” (United Kingdom), Directed by Maryam Mohajer

Best Documentary Short –
• Winner: “Then Comes the Body” (USA/Nigeria), Directed by Jacob Krupnick

Best Live-Action Short –
• Winner: “The One Note Man” (United Kingdom), Directed by George C. Siougas

Best Student Short –
• Winner: “Allégresse” (Belgium), Directed by Gillie Cinneri