| The 2011 Palm Springs International ShortFest, Short Film Festival & Film Market is always a great event, and this year, its roster of 331 films, selected from more than 3,000 worldwide entries, includes 45+ LGBT shorts!
Now in its 17th year, ShortFest 2011 will showcase 64 World Premieres, 58 North American Premieres and 25 U.S. Premieres. The selection of films for screening and competition features star-studded casts and award-winning films from 50 countries around the world. The Event runs from June 21 through 27, at the Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs. We hope you can join us. |
Anything for You
USA, 2010, 10 min. Over a lunch that begins like many they’ve had before, a discussion between two women unexpectedly turns away from the menu…. more |
AWOL
USA, 2010, 13 min.
Days before she’s to be deployed to Afghanistan, Joey goes home to rural Pennsylvania for Christmas and surprises her lover, Rayna. Joey opens up and shares her secret holiday wish, but Rayna has other plans…. more |
Baldguy
Norway, 2011, 12 min.
A young guy comes home to his folks with a momentous announcement to make, setting the stage for a fabulous musical set in the streets of a small Norwegian town(!)… more |
The Binding of Ishmael
Singapore, 2010, 8 min.
A son’s filial duty is stretched to the limit when his father asks him to return home for help with his younger brother. … more |
Bob
Germany, 3 min.
A little hamster tries to follow his true love around the globe, dreaming of romance in the exotic locales as they go around, and around, and around…. … more |
Cappuccino
Switzerland, 2010, 16 min.
A teen with his eyes on another boy at his school gets a rude awakening after an all-too-brief ‘date’ with the object of his desire in this delightful tale of youthful longing…. more |
Carmen Rupe
Australia, 2010, 11 min.
This fascinating documentary introduces us to 74 year old Carmen, an Aussie drag queen and former showgirl who recounts the triumphs and tribulations of her life on stage and off…. more |
Change
USA, 2010, 23 min.
On one momentous day in 2008, a young man awaits the results of two decisions that could change his life forever: the election of Barrack Obama and the success or failure of Prop. 8. If only all of life was as open to change…… more |
Charlotte
Australia, 2011, 4 min.
After a disastrous blind date, Charlotte must take a hard look at the way the world sees her…. more |
Civil Unions: A Love Story
USA, 2010, 4 min.
This short satire imagines a world where marriage doesn’t exist, and civil unions actually constitute a fair and equal happy ending for everybody…. more |
The Confession of Father John Thomas
Australia, 2011, 5 min.
In this outrageously graphic animated short, a priest gives confession to a lesbian, which liberates him enough to make his own break from the closet…. more |
Cubicle Two
United Kingdom, 2010, 10 min.
Seeking refuge from a group of bullying boys, a gay student finds himself unexpectedly sharing a cubicle with a sympathetic soul…. more |
dik
Australia, 2010, 10 min.
When a young boy draws a picture of what appears to be him rubbing his best friend’s ‘dik’, his parents are thrown into paroxysms of guilt and self doubt, accusing each other of all manner of sexual peccadilloes…. more |
Dont Brejk Maj Turbofolk Hart
Germany, 2011, 24 min.
In this provocative (and sexy) Serbian drama, mutual attraction and post-nationalist politics come head-to-head with the old ways of thinking, leading to potentially explosive consequences. … more |
Dreaming American
USA, 2011, 25 min.
A handsome young illegal immigrant finds work as a go go dancer in a gay bar while he pursues legal status and a career as an actor in New York City in this contemporary tale about the pursuit of happiness…. more |
Everyone Who Hears This Story Gets Laid
USA, 2011, 14 min.
A man delivers a vastly entertaining monologue about his sexual exploits while he was in the army in this strangely compelling one-man show…. more |
The First
USA, 2011, 13 min.
A handsome young man has first-time sex with both male and female partners, but is he more drawn to one than the other?… more |
Flyers
USA, 2011, 3 min.
For one young woman, coming out seems to be a very public affair. … more |
Further Lane
USA, 2010, 13 min.
Ben, a handsome young handyman, looks after a house in the Hamptons for a wealthy New York businessman and his family, but there’s more to this story of a seemingly simple young guy than initially meets the eye…… more |
Half-Share
USA, 2011, 29 min.
Fresh out of a long term relationship, Matt takes a time-share on Fire Island for the summer and must decide whether he can handle his eccentric new housemates on the mythical Isle of Misfit Boys. … more |
Halloween is a Drag
USA, 2011, 10 min.
Palm Springs’ legendary Arenas Street Halloween party is the subject of this lively documentary capturing the night of costumed revelry in all its splendor…. more |
Henry & Anthony
USA, 2010, 20 min.
When his young son demonstrates an ever more serious interest in things that little boys are not supposed to be interested in, Henry’s dad grapples with the conflict between his liberal beliefs and his societal instincts as a father. … more |
I Now Pronounce You Husband & Husband
USA, 2010, 20 min.
A fascinating look at the effort of New Paltz, NY mayor Jason West’s effort to wed same sex couples and the subsequent political firestorm and arrest he faced as a result…. more |
James Dean
United Kingdom, 2010, 7 min.
A family tries it’s best to get out of the driveway, but one of their daughters has decided it’s finally time to bring out the ‘real’ her…. more |
Johnny & Lyman: A Life Together
USA, 2010, 18 min.
Having met on the beach in Santa Monica in 1945, Johnny and Lyman have been partners for more than 60 years. In 2008, they joined 18,000 other gay and lesbian couples in America in applying for a marriage license. This is their story…. more |
The Kiss
Australia, 2010, 16 min.
Two girls riding their bikes through the woods on a sultry summer night come upon a fire reservoir tank and decide to take a swim, but learn once they are in the tank that getting out is not as easy as getting in. Winner: Best Short Fiction Film, Best Cinematography, Australian Film Industry Awards…. more |
Liv
Finland, 2010, 14 min.
Feisty nine-year-old Liv dislikes her father’s new partner Tony and longs for her deceased mom. When it seems she’s losing the battle for her dad’s attention, she takes an unusual revenge…. more |
Loop Planes
USA, 2010, 11 min.
A summer crush has Nick finding love at the carnival despite all appearances to the contrary. … more |
The Maiden and The Princess
USA, 2010, 17 min.
Emmy is the subject of a fairy tale writer who has been reprimanded by the higher powers to start writing stories the ‘right way’ or else. But Emmy won’t be kept down, no matter what authority insists on it. … more |
Marcela
Argentina, 2010, 9 min.
On the eve of her 40th birthday, Marcela chooses to celebrate by listing the 10 most wonderful moments in her life; trouble is after 40 years, she can only come up with 9…. more |
Moonless Night
Mexico, 2010, 13 min.
Two men are last seen together on an apartment balcony in macho Mexico, and one subsequently winds up dead on the ground below. Is it murder, or is there more to the story than may come to light?… more |
Now Here
USA, 2010, 11 min.
Set in 1985 as AIDS ravaged the gay community in New York City, this moving story recounts the story of Franco, who flirts with reckless behavior on his birthday after the love of his life falls ill with the virus…. more |
Public
USA, 2010, 14 min.
A beautiful inner-city teacher faces her own questions of identity when she tries to connect with her most difficult student. … more |
Rubdown
USA, 2010, 12 min.
Andrew, a private detective, is hired by a spa owner to check up on a hot male masseur and make sure he’s following the company’s ‘modesty’ policy. What follows is anything but modest…… more |
Shave
USA, 2010, 6 min.
A man checks into a hotel room and proceeds to pursue his fantasy until a phone call abruptly brings him back to reality…. more |
The Shower
Chile, 10 min.
Sexy, smart and soulful, The Shower tracks the traumatic final stage of a relationship and the even more frightening question of what’s next. Winner of Best Short Film at this year’s Berlin Film Festival…. more |
Snapshot
USA, 2010, 6 min.
In this lovely short story, a woman entertains her daughter’s suitor while her daughter gets ready for the girl’s first date…. more |
Some Things Are Worse Than Being Gay
USA, 2011, 7 min.
Leah has a confession to make to her overbearing Jewish parents, but the subject of her confession is not what concerns them…… more |
Time After Time
USA, 2010, 4 min.
Two young girls and a boy join in impromptu sing-along but what transpires over the musical notes is more than just a song. … more |
Tsuyako
Japan, 2011, 21 min.
In Japan, 1952, Tsuyako tries to live the life that has been set out for her—husband, children, work at the factory and care for her family. Yet when her friend arrives from Tokyo, Tsuyako finds herself entranced by the dream of a different life. … more |
Twinset
Scotland, 2010, 12 min.
This truly exceptional documentary introduces us to a man living his life as a woman in a small, quaint British town where the elderly ladies of the town accept him as one of their own…. more |
Uniformed
Spain, 2010, 18 min.
Lonely Margaret is assaulted daily by numerous ‘uniform’ messages that try to educate her to fulfill a concrete social role. But Margaret has a little secret that, once shared, will elevate her past the uniform. … more |
Vapor
Canada, 2010, 11 min.
Having carefully composed his plans, a Mexican man spends his day living it as he has always wanted to – as a homosexual who accepts himself and his needs. Genie (Canadian Oscars®) nominee for Best Live Action Canadian Short and Jutra nominee for Best Quebec Short…. more |
Verona
Canada, 2010, 24 min.
Laurie Lynd (The Fairy Who Didn’t Want To Be a Fairy Anymore) directed this elaborate take off on Romeo and Juliet, with two boys from opposing fraternities falling in love – much to the consternation of their frat brothers…. more |
Wild Imaginings
Australia, 2011, 9 min.
A young man deals with his infatuation with his best friend through his fantasy world…. more |
This Summer we’re hosting not one, but two great yoga retreats (with even more to come later in the year…but more on that later). 
We’re excited to once again be working with San Francisco-based Yogi Ken Breniman for our June Retreat, which runs from Thursday, June 14th (Flag Day – also known as the day AFTER Micheal’s birthday) and continues through Monday, June 18th. As you know if you’ve attended one of our retreats with Ken before, this one will be a fun-filled adventure with lots of yoga and wonderful fellowship! (Plus you can always extend into the next week and spend the Summer Solstice with us!)
Our Sizzlin’ Summer Yoga Retreat begins on Thursday, August 9th and continues through Tuesday, August 14th. We are welcoming Portland-based Yogi Denny Richard, who is joining us for the first time. We are really excited to be working with Denny. He’s been on our “want to” list for sometime as lots of our Portland (and Phoenix) friends have been working diligently to get us all together. We can’s wait! (Also note that Denny will be joining us for our December Retreat this year.)
