The upcoming HollyShorts Film Festival in Hollywood will now be an official Oscar qualifying festival in not three but four categories.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences notified HollyShorts that the winner of the festival’s prize for Documentary Short will now qualify for Oscar consideration. HollyShorts’ Best Short Film Grand Prize, Best Short Animation and Best Short Live Action already qualify for the Oscars.
The 19th edition of HollyShorts is set for August 10-20 in Hollywood. It’s “known for being the catalyst for films to qualify for and go on to win Oscars,” a release from the festival noted. Riz Ahmed’s The Long Goodbye, directed by Aneil Karia and written by Karia and Ahmed, won an Oscar-qualifying award at HollyShorts and went on to claim the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short in 2022.
Ben Proudfoot’s The Queen of Basketball also screened at HollyShorts en route to its win at the 2022 Academy Awards as Best Documentary Short.
The 18th HollyShorts class photo from 2022.
Courtesy of Michael Bezjian
HollyShorts annually draws 10,000-plus attendees. Founded in by 2005 by Theo Dumont and Daniel Sol, “HollyShorts is devoted to showcasing the best and brightest short films from around the globe, advancing the careers of filmmakers through screenings, networking events, and various panels and forums,” a release states. “The festival showcases the top short films produced 40-minutes or less.”
At last year’s HollyShorts, Hallelujah, directed by Victor Gabriel, won the Grand Prix; Mulaqat/Sandstorm, directed by Seemab Gul, won Best Live Action Short, and Scale, directed by Joseph Pierce, won Best Animated Short. Ben Proudfoot’s MINK!, about Patsy Mink, the U.S. Congresswoman who co-authored the landmark Title IX legislation of 1972, won the top documentary prize.