Aspen Shortsfest is widely recognized as one of the premier short film festivals in North America and a vital showcase for breakthrough filmmaking talent. Each April, enthusiastic audiences, filmmakers, and special guests from around the world gather in Aspen for public screenings, panels, workshops, and special events celebrating the art and craft of short-form cinema.
The festival’s longstanding relationship with the Academy Awards® continues in 2026 with two Shortsfest alumni films earning nominations. A nominee for Best Live Action Short, JANE AUSTEN’S PERIOD DRAMA earned its Oscar® qualification when it won the Shortsfest Jury Prize for Comedy in 2025. Another selection from Shortsfest’s 2025 edition, RETIREMENT PLAN was nominated for Best Animated Short.
Other recent Shortsfest selections to receive Oscar® recognition includes: THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ORCHESTRA, the winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short in 2025; BEAUTIFUL MEN and YUCK!, both nominated for Best Animated Short in 2024; and THE MARTHA MITCHELL EFFECT, nominated for Best Documentary Short in 2023.
Aspen Shortsfest is also an industry-recognized incubator for filmmakers whose careers extend well beyond shortform storytelling. Notable alumni include Reinaldo Marcus Green (KING RICHARD, BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE), Destin Daniel Cretton (SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS, SHORT TERM 12), Damien Chazelle (LA LA LAND, BABYLON), A.V. Rockwell (A THOUSAND AND ONE), Akinola Davies (MY FATHER’S SHADOW), Saim Sadiq (JOYLAND), Jason Reitman (UP IN THE AIR), Sarah Polley (WOMEN TALKING), Olive Nwosu (LADY), Max Walker-Silverman (REBUILDING), and the late Jean-Marc Vallée (DALLAS BUYERS CLUB).
This ongoing creative trajectory is reflected in successes at Sundance 2026 for several Shortsfest alumni. Directors Jack Weisman and Gabriela Osio Vanden won the Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Documentary Competition for NUISANCE BEAR, an expanded version of their 2021 Shortsfest selection of the same name. Eshref Durmishi starred in and co-produced the 2015 Shortsfest award-winner SHOK before going on to co-produce SHAME AND MONEY, the Grand Jury Prize winner in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition.
