Palm Springs ShortFest: Animated Short Wins Top Prize
Palm Springs ShortFest 2025 celebrated the brilliance of animated short films, awarding top honors to a global collection of creative talent. “Budō” claimed the coveted Best Animated Short award, a stop-motion comedy poised for Oscar consideration, while “Wednesdays with Gramps” charmed audiences and the youth jury alike, securing multiple accolades. Discover stop-motion animation and student animated film winners which included “Dragfox.” These dynamic films underscore the power of storytelling in animation. News Directory 3 proudly shares these exciting developments from this year’s festival. Explore the diverse winners and the future of animation. Discover what’s next …
Animated Short Films Win Big at Palm Springs ShortFest
The Palm Springs ShortFest 2025 has honored a diverse array of animated short films, showcasing talent from around the globe. Among the top winners were Budō adn Wednesdays with Gramps, each claiming meaningful accolades.
Budō, a stop-motion comedy from Sweden directed by Amanda Aagard and Alexander Toma, secured the Oscar-qualifying Best Animated Short award, along with a $1,000 prize. The film previously earned a Special Mention at Tribeca. It follows a lonely widow in Tokyo whose life is hilariously upended by a stray cat.
A Special Mention for Animated Short went to The Little Ancestor from Canada, directed by Alexa Tremblay-Francoeur.
Lisa Ott’s Dragfox (U.K.), a stop-motion film celebrating queer identity, received the Best Student Animated Short prize, also accompanied by $1,000. Thanh Ngo’s Miao (Canada) earned a Special Mention in the same category.
Both Kids’ choice Awards went to animated productions. Wednesdays with Gramps (U.S.A.), directed by Chris and justin Copeland, took home the top prize of $1,000. The youth jury also gave a Special Mention to Forevergreen (U.S.A.), by Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears. Wednesdays with Gramps also won the Audience Award for Best Animated Short.
For more details, visit psfilmfest.org/shortfest-2025.