Festival Review: Palm Springs Movie Awards

The Dec 2021 to Feb 2022 edition of the Palm Springs Movie Awards is a seasonal international film festival based out of Palm Springs, California. Their mission aims to be North America’s leading film festivals for international filmmakers celebrating both short and feature films. Multiple films have been awarded to the talented filmmakers in various categories for the Dec 2021 to Feb 2022 season. Here are some of the recommended winners from this past season that are worth watching.

HOW AM I DOING – Category: Best Comedy Short

Director: Colleen Davie Janes, United States

Created by Ken Perlstein, ‘How Am I Doing’ is a dramady about a recovering alcoholic dad named Eli Meyer, a former actor who is now in his 50s living in New York City, trying to find stability in his career, life, and reconnecting with his family.  Eli is once again pursuing acting, only to have bittersweet encounters of conflicts in his middle-age life with family and addiction. The short film won ‘Best Comedy Short’, in its storytelling and witty humour that borders on absurdly funny yet relatable at the same time.

EL NIÑO LA MONTAÑA (Eng: THE BOY AND THE MOUNTAIN) – Category: Best Animated Short

Director: Santiago Aguilera, Gabriel Monreal, Chile

Winner of the Best Animated Short Film, ‘El Niño La Montaña’ follows the story of a young boy named Hernán who struggled in academics while daydreaming of his passions. After receiving failing grades in his classwork, Hernán is pushed by his father to aim high for success by putting more time on his studies.  Longing to work tirelessly to achieve his father’s expectations, Hernán realizes he was not achieving something for himself. This powerful story showcases a boyhood’s decision to make a change in his life and pursue his dream of figuratively and literally accomplish his goal of climbing to the top of the mountain.

EXPLOITED – Category: Best ‘Short’ Short

Director: Kevin Kent, United States

This “short” short film winner focuses on the definition of the film’s title, which is “the act of selfishly taking advantage of someone or a group of people in order to profit from them or otherwise benefit oneself”.  The short film’s premise is about a serious and dark topic of how a young girl was lured by a perpetrator on social media to their location and disappears from the kidnapping.  This is a silent on camera film with some hard-hitting facts of a very serious issue of kidnapping young girls in the United States.

Note: Trigger warning, viewer discretion is advised.

DIE EINLADUNG (Eng: THE INVITATION) – Category: Best Horror Short

Director: Thorsten Schade, Germany

Thomas Renner is an aspiring young project developer who was invited by a world-renowned veteran in the industry named Adam Birkenholz AG for an interview. Adam took Thomas under his wing as the Head of Project Development and was invited to a formal dinner party.  While Thomas’ dreams were beginning to flourish, the glory of his success begins turn into a horrible nightmare at Adam’s dinner party.

Note: This film contains scenes of gore, viewer discretion is advised.

THE STUCK ONES – Category: Best Experimental Short

Director: Kirk William Murray, United States

‘The Stuck Ones’ is an experimental short film mixed with thriller twists and turns that happen within a bizarre sandwich shop full of life-like mannequins.  The story involves a father-daughter reunion who visits the sandwich shop for a bit, only to learn the story behind the mannequins.  It blends thriller and horror in an unorthodox take of concepts that are unique to its story.

ONE OF US – Category: Best Actress (Alexandra Ekelöf)

Director: Adrian Burt, Sweden 

Alexandra Ekelöf portrays a character named Etika Wendt, a 22-year-old German secretary and art student, known to have been working for the German Intelligence Office in neutral Sweden as a spy during the Second World War.  She was invited to a dinner by her German boss to confront her, setting her up to deliver an incredible 5-minute monologue defending herself from being exposed as a spy.  This was an untold story based in an actual event that happened to Etika, and Alexandra really delivered on her performance of Etika’s monologue.

DANIEL. NOAH. – Category: Best LGBT Short

Director: Daniel Goldberg, United States

Daniel is a psychiatrist and old childhood friend of Noah who moved into Noah’s mother’s house to start his psychiatry practice in their home office.  Noah is a neurotic writer who spends most of his time in his mother’s house struggling in his own internal conflicts of himself.  Noah inadvertently assumes the role of Daniel’s patient each evening sharing a bathroom while brushing their teeth while finding ways to express himself to Daniel. Daniel patiently listens to Noah’s struggles and realizes Noah needed someone to talk to.

© 2022. UniversalCinema Mag.