The 2026 Palm Springs International ShortFest has officially locked in five new contenders for the upcoming Oscar race. The top juried winners at the event, North America’s largest short film festival, are officially qualified to submit for Oscar consideration.
Leading the newly eligible contenders is “Fruit,” a Singaporean entry directed by Jen Nee Lim, which claimed the prestigious Best of the Festival Award alongside a $5,000 cash prize. The film was selected by a jury that included Moana 2 co-director Dana Ledoux Miller and filmmaker Gus Van Sant.
The festival’s other automatic live-action qualifying slots went to Gabriela Ortega’s “Marga en el DF” for shorts over 15 minutes, and Pranav Bhasin’s “We Were Here” for shorts 15 minutes and under; the latter also scored Best Comedy Short. In the non-fiction and animation fields, Maida Srabović’s “Fačuk” received the Best Animated Short qualification, while Emma V.F.’s “Water Cooler” took home the Best Documentary Short honor.
Beyond the automatic Oscar-qualifying categories, several other films were recognized by the jury. Aidan Weaver’s “A Crime Across Four Landscapes” secured the lucrative $5,000 Vimeo Staff Pick Award; Jay Pendarvis Jr.’s “See You, Soon” won Best U.S. Short; Wang Han-Xuan’s “Delay” was named Best LGBTQ+ Short; and Altay Ulan Yang’s “Hyena” captured both the Best Midnight Short and a Special Mention for the overall Best of the Festival prize.
