This week marks the beginning of the HollyShorts Film Festival. Co-founded 18 years ago by Theo Dumont and Daniel Sol, the annual Academy Awards Qualifying festival opens in a hybrid form on Thursday, August 11— in person at the TCL Chinese Theaters and virtually through the festival’s official streaming app Bitpix TV, and culminates in an Awards Gala on Saturday, August 20.
As with previous years, the winners of the three top prizes will be eligible for a nomination at the 2023 Oscars®. With almost 400 submissions for this year’s festival, the jury panel will have their work cut out for them with films spanning every genre, from animation to horror to social commentary.
Heading the panel this year will be Brian Cranston (Breaking Bad), Blair Underwood (Agents of Shield), and Jennifer Morrison (Once Upon a Time). Last year, six short films made it to the Oscars with two becoming winners, Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed’s The Long Goodbye and Ben Proudfoot’s Queen of Basketball.
In a joint statement, Hollyshorts Programmers Nicole Castro, Theo Dumont, and Daniel Sol said: “It’s truly a pleasure to announce this year’s official selections for HollyShorts as we embark on our 18th anniversary of the Oscar®-qualifying festival with 2 Academy Award winners this past year and 6 nominees. This year, we have a record of 41 countries represented in the official selections, which truly speaks to the global impact short films are having. We can’t wait to share these incredibly talented short films at this year’s festival and thank all the filmmakers who have submitted along with all of our amazing staff and incredible sponsors for supporting us.”
The festival’s opening night boasts an impressive line-up that includes Sir Steve McQueen’s prostate cancer documentary EMBARRASSED which stars Idris Elba, Ben Proudfoot’s MINK! that tells the story of the first woman of color elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. There’s Rory Keenan’s BUMP which stars Gemma Arterton, Frank Chi’s 38 AND THE GARDEN produced by Travon Free that revisits an Asian American athlete’s story. Mike Kearby’s comedy THE PROBLEM WITH TIME TRAVEL touches on climate change, and Tara Westwood’s TRIGGERED stars Isiah Whitlock Jr. and Law and Order’s SVU Robert John Burke. Coral Amiga’s CROSSHAIRS shares the story of two boys whose friendship is derailed, and Evan Miller’s THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS all-star cast includes Adrianne Palicki and Zachary Levi.
And of course, we’re super excited about the Epic/Dread Horror Program that opens with Kelsey Bollig’s KICKSTART MY HEART, Russell Goldman’s RETURN TO SENDER starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Allison Tolman. Alexandra Magistro’s LOVE YOU, MAMA starring Madeleine Arthur (ABC’s The Family), Samantha Sloyan(Midnight Mass), and Matt Biedel (Midnight Mass). More exciting films in this strand include Alexander Thompson’s BLACK DRAGON (Rồng đen), Kantu Lentz’s COCHE BOMBA, and Nuhash Humayun’s MOSHARI.
Don’t let the name fool you. The films may be short, but there is no lack of creativity and talent. Filmmakers from 41 different countries will get the opportunity to showcase their work to other top creators and industry leaders. It’s really a celebration of the diversity of filmmaking and should not be missed.
You can check out the full list of official film selections here: HollyShorts Film Festival
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