Short+Sweet Hollywood Cancels, Announces Future Plans

Short+Sweet is the 'biggest little festival in the world'. Showcasing short form theatre, film, dance and more, versions of the festival are presented in 35 cities in 10 countries around the world.

Short+Sweet Hollywood celebrated its most successful festival in its 4 years in Los Angeles in 2019, showcasing open English language entries from as far as Dubai and Australia; Latinx entries from across the U.S, Mexico, Spain, Venezuela and Colombia; and the addition of an LGBTQ+ program, as well as Dance and Film.

2020 was set to deliver an even more diverse and exciting program. Unfortunately, that won't be the case as Festival Director Nick Hardcastle announced the cancellation of the Festival today.

"It is with great regret that we have had to cancel Short+Sweet 2020. While we have vigorously tried to innovate over the last 4 months to ensure that we could welcome you all back to the festival this year, recent spikes in Covid-19 cases in California and the responsive measures taken have forced us to concede that bringing our community of artists and audiences into the theatre simply won't be possible this year. However, we will be bringing you some special online events to keep you all connected with our partners at NBC, Argentum studios and our literary team here at Short+Sweet."

Jandiz Estrada Cordoso, Senior Director of Talent Development Inclusion and Grace Moss, Director of Talent Development & Inclusion for NBC Entertainment will be sharing a 'fireside chat' with Hardcastle on September 10; and Short+Sweet International Literary Manager Alex Broun, also the most performed short play writer in the world, will be giving a free lab in writing your ten minute play - A perfect opportunity to take advantage of the extra time you now have to submit for next year. All plays submitted for 2020 will still be considered for the next festival and all future festivals around the world as programs go into production again in various places that are safe to do so. Short+Sweet Sydney resumes on September 14.

Short+Sweet Film Festival will also not go ahead as planned, but all films submitted will be eligible for consideration when the festival returns next year. Open auditions for actors were to take place this weekend, July 25 and 26 at the Lee Strasberg Institute for the open English language, Latinx and LGBTQ+ programs. These are also cancelled.

"I want to personally thank everyone on our Diversity and Inclusion programming team, our writers, actors and directors as well as our partners at NBC, Argentum Studios, Global Talent Immigration and Final Draft. The West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the team at the Lee Strasberg Institute have been incredibly accommodating as we have tried to navigate this unprecedented time and we are certainly looking forward to delivering an incredible festival from the Institute when we return in 2021. We appreciate this has been a very difficult time for so many of us and we look forward to welcoming our community and new friends to our online experiences in September."

To keep updated on the online program for Short+Sweet and for the latest news on the 2021 festival, visit shortandsweet.org/festivals/shortsweet-theatre-hollywood-2020.

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