New Film Festival Comes to Palm Springs November 9 - 11

A new film festival that showcases animated movies is coming to Palm Springs this month.  The above picture is actually taken from the animated short, "Rocket Man", featuring Elton John’s iconic song of the same title.  The film festival is called the Palm Springs International Animation Festival (PSIAF), and will feature 273 animated shorts and six full-length animated films. 

The festival is the brainchild of Brian Neil Hoff who started the event in his own backyard:  

In 2008, Hoff (a Palm Springs resident), held the first Backyard Film Festival behind his house complete with pop-up screen and projector. “When I launched [the Backyard Film Festival] in November 2008, I initially received 10 submissions, most of which were from animation directors I had kept in contact with over the years,” says Hoff. “They had additional shorts they wanted to submit, and after some intense work gaining Hollywood’s trust, we started to see the entries pour in.”

Hoff began to organize his thoughts over the next nine years. He created a method of logging entries and established communication with filmmakers. He developed relationships with animation magazines and blogs. Finally, he pitched the idea to Dimitri Halkidis, Boo2Bullying’s president and founder who was a recent recipient of the Palm Springs Human Rights Commission Community Service Award.  To learn more click on this link: https://www.palmspringslife.com/animated-expression/