By Mabel Pais

The Oscar® Qualifying HOLLYSHORTS FILM FESTIVAL presents its 19th Annual Edition. HollyShorts screenings take place from August 10-20 at TCL (The Creative Life) Chinese Theatres, 6801 Hollywood Blvd. 3rd  Level, Hollywood, CA, 90028, followed by the annual awards gala on August 20th.

This year the documentary shorts race at HollyShorts has heated up, for the first time at the festival the winner will take home an OSCAR®-qualifying prize. There are 36 documentaries covering subjects like trauma, cults, queer photographers, and a skateboarding trans woman.

The Academy® this year granted the festival their 4th OSCAR®-qualifying award for Documentary short film, this accolade will join their other three top awards, Best Short Film Grand Prize, Best Short Animation and Best Short Live Action. The winners of these awards will be eligible to be considered for a 2024 Academy® Award!

Some of the documentary short films selected for the 19th edition include

‘How to Rig an Election: The Racist History of the 1876 Presidential Contest’ directed by Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler, narrated by Tom Hanks.

‘They Came From All Over’ directed by Academy® Award winner Rayka Zehtabchi, OSCAR® winner.

The film highlights the plight of an American small business owner.

Ben Proudfoot’s ‘Forgiving Johnny’ focuses on developmentally disabled people who are sent to prison.

Jordan Matthew Horowitz’s ‘Jack and Sam’, produced by Academy® Award winner Andrew Carlberg shares a story of two friends who survived the holocaust together and meet decades later.

LIVE-ACTION SHORTS

The star-studded live-action short film entries include Iain Softley and Disney Plus’ ‘The Shepherd’, produced by Alfonso Cuaró and featuring John Travolta.

Christopher Patrick Macken’s ‘For the Safety of Theo’ executive produced by Charlie Day, Jenn Shaw’s “Gaps”, produced by Queen Latifah.

Bella Thorne’s ‘Paint Her Red’.

Jorey Worb’s ‘Bite’ starring Troian Bellisario (Pretty Little Liars).

‘Shadow Brother Sunday’ directed by and starring Alden Ehrenreich (Star Wars).

Harry Holland’s ‘Last Call’ starring Tom Holland and BAFTA Nominee Lindsay Duncan.

Margaret Miller’s ‘Poof’ starring Catherine Curtain.

Academy® Award winner Chris Overton’s ‘In Too Deep.’

Charles Whitcher’s ‘Mundo,’ executive produced by Eva Longoria, and ‘For People in Trouble’ directed by Alex Lawther and executive produced by Matt Damon alongside Ben Afflick.

ANIMATION SHORTS

Animation short film entries feature

WB’s ‘Daffy in Wackyland,’ directed by Max Winston, and

OSCAR® nominee Andrew Pierce Chesworth’s ‘The Brave Locomotive.’

MUSIC VIDEOS

Notable music videos include Lauren Keke Palmer’s ‘Big Boss,’ and

Ron Mael, Russell Mael and Richie Starzec’s ‘Sparks’ starring Cate Blanchett.

Additional noteworthy selections include

Karen Bryson MBE’s directorial debut ‘Monochromatic.’

Kayla Abuda Galang’s ‘You Left Me on the Boulevard.’

Lauren Finerman’s ‘Flower’ produced by and starring Misty Copeland.

Lola Blanc’s ‘Pruning’ starring Madeline Brewer (The Handmaid’s Tale),

Ethan Dolan and Grayson Dolan’s ‘Nothing Left to Give.’

Conor Dooley’s ‘Gold and Mud’ starring Ana Fabrega (Los Espookys)

Rudy Martinez’s ‘Ham.’

Oscar Boyson’s ‘Power Signal.’

Michael Spiccia’s ‘I’m On Fire’ starring Jamie-Lynn Sigler (The Sopranos),

Sue Zarco Kramer’s ‘Swipe NYC’ starring Lisa Edelstein (House MD) and Bridget Moynahan (Blue Bloods).

Marta Szymanek’s ‘Eden’ produced by OSCAR® nominee Maciej Ślesicki.

Stephanie Kaznocha’s ‘Confessions’ starring Sister Alva (Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Eve Sigall (Yellow Jackets).

Michael Schwartz’s ‘Snatched’ starring Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black).

Dany Pino’s ‘Unión de Reyes (Union of Kings),’

as well as Tal Granit and Sharon Maymon‘s ‘Restraining Order’ produced by Oscar Nominee Kobi Mizrahi.

View the full list of films  and updates at hollyshorts.com. 

TICKETS

For Tickets visit hollyshorts2023.eventive.org/passes/buy

HollyShorts Film Festival (HSFF) #HSFF2023 (hollyshorts.com)

The annual Academy Awards® Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival will celebrate its 19th year in August 2023. HollyShorts (HSFF) brings together top creators, industry leaders, and companies and has launched many filmmakers into the next stages of their careers.

HollyShorts, regular on MovieMaker Magazine’s “Top 50 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee list,” also engages its community and spotlights short films year-round through monthly screenings, panels, and networking events. The festival showcases the top short films produced in 40 minutes or less. Learn more at hollyshorts.com.

This year’s hybrid celebration of short films will take place in person with screenings at the world-renowned TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and virtually through the official festival streaming platform BITPIX.

HollyShorts Film Festival will take place in-person between August 10-20th, 2023 at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, with the annual Awards Gala set to take place on August 20th, 2023.

Bitpix (bitpixtv.com)

Born out of the Oscar® Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival, Bitpix is a new Premium AVOD platform, featuring the world’s best short films. The platform is already live in alpha mode and available via Bitpixtv.com. Bitpix is streamed through the app for download on Airplay, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, AppleTV, Chromecast, IOS, Roku.

(Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Social Issues, Education, Cuisine, Health & Wellness, Spirituality, and Business)