The 19th edition of the HollyShorts Film Festival (HSFF) will take place in Los Angeles from August 10-20, 2023. The annual Academy Awards-qualifying festival brings together top creators, industry leaders, and companies and has launched many filmmakers into the next stages of their careers. HollyShorts also engages its community and spotlights short films year-round through monthly screenings, panels, and networking events.
The LGBTQ+ community is delighted to be a part of the increasing LGBTQ+ society with this year’s official selection including Gabriela Ortega’s Beautiful, FL, Logan Vaughn’s Benny & James, David Cornue’s Let It Kill You, and many more.
Some of this years exciting line-up also include Emmie Lichtenberg’s Complicated Order which follows the story of Remy, a depressed twenty-something who’s just been dumped who accidentally places a food delivery order to her estranged girlfriend’s house, and must set out on a journey to retrieve it.
David Cornue’s Let It Kill You tells the tale of a disillusioned soldier who unearths an alleged enemy combatant from a tomb, he fights to prove the man’s innocence. Fiorella Vescovi Garcia’s Mal De Amores (Lovesick) follows Natalia, “Nat” Barbieri who just discovered that her ex-girlfriend Tara is engaged to a douchey, rich, European playboy. Feeling lost and alone, Nat hooks up with Noel, a woman she meets at the bar, but it doesn’t help. Reluctantly, she knows exactly what will, a recovery meeting for other love-addicts like her.
Niki Ang’s Maxine shares the story of Allie, a newly out teen who is keeping her girlfriend a secret from her Chinese American family. Alex Bush’s Thaw follows two friends isolated in a remote farmhouse for the winter, where they enter into a game of roleplay.
Omri Laron’s More Than Friends takes an unexpected turn when a quirky lesbian mom discovers a love letter written by her 11-year-old son to another boy, she decides to take matters into her own hands. In Sofia Garza-Barba’s Peccadillo, we explore Lorenzo’s desire to explore his feminine side, which is a secret and according to his religious family, secrets belong to the devil. With a choice to make, he’ll either live a lie.
A 15-year-old boy who comes out as gay must fight for his life when his parents react with otherworldly acceptance in Michael Schwartz’s Snatched. Jill Gutowitz’s The Ladies finds Emma struggling to hide an affair with her grandmother’s best friend from her grieving grandmother and nosy cousin.
HollyShorts screenings will take place from August 10-20 at TLC Chinese Theatres followed by the annual awards gala on August 20th.
For additional information and tickets, visit https://hollyshorts2023.eventive.org/passes/buy
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