Desert Palms (2026): Cast, Story and Release Details

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

Desert Palms is a 32-minute comedy presented as a single-take immersive film. Set in a hospital waiting room across from an outdoor music festival, it follows a crowd of injured people waiting for care at an overwhelmed emergency facility.

Desert Palms is a short comedy built around an unusual and tightly contained situation: an overcrowded hospital waiting room positioned across the street from a busy outdoor music festival. The film uses a single-take live-action immersive format to place its audience inside the commotion.

With a runtime of 32 minutes, the film follows a group of injured characters as they wait to be seen by an emergency room described as extremely slow and overwhelmed. Its English and Spanish dialogue, ensemble cast and virtual-reality framing give the premise a distinctly participatory format.

Desert Palms movie details

Story without spoilers

The story takes place in a hospital waiting room while a hectic outdoor music festival unfolds across the street. A large group of injured people gathers for treatment, but the emergency facility is struggling to manage the demand. Their shared wait forms the basis of this short ensemble comedy, which unfolds in a single take as an immersive live-action experience.

What to expect

Desert Palms is categorized as a comedy and centers on crowd dynamics, an unusual public setting and the tension created by delayed medical attention. Its single-take structure and immersive-film format suggest an experience designed to keep the audience close to the unfolding waiting-room situation rather than shifting between conventional scenes. The supplied details identify both English and Spanish as spoken languages.

Cast and creative team

Tristan Seniuk directs and writes Desert Palms. The cast includes David Lowe as Karl Spellman, Richard Tanner as Will della Morte, Jordan Preston as Gus Donaldson and Matt Tramel as Rodney “Rockin’” Robertson. Ben Solenberger plays EMT Kyle, while Vishay V. Singh appears as Petey P. Deborah Benson Wald plays Tess Spellman, Rosamaria Gomez Arjón plays María Carmen Garcia, Daniel Torres plays Miguel Ramirez and Jennifer Beatty plays Krystal Reeves.

• David Lowe as Karl Spellman
• Richard Tanner as Will della Morte
• Jordan Preston as Gus Donaldson
• Matt Tramel as Rodney 'Rockin' Robertson
• Ben Solenberger as EMT Kyle
• Vishay V. Singh as Petey P
• Deborah Benson Wald as Tess Spellman
• Rosamaria Gomez Arjón as María Carmen Garcia
• Daniel Torres as Miguel Ramirez
• Jennifer Beatty as Krystal Reeves

Release and production context

Desert Palms is listed as a 2026 release with a release date of September 2, 2026. It has a runtime of 32 minutes and is identified as a comedy. The film is presented in English and Spanish. Production is credited to World without End and Produced Productions. Its listed format is a single-take live-action immersive film associated with virtual reality.

Production companies: World without End, Produced Productions

Movies Dock view

Desert Palms offers a compact premise shaped by an unusual setting and an immersive presentation. With its hospital waiting-room location, ensemble of injured characters and single-take format, the film is positioned as a short-form comedy that unfolds around one increasingly crowded situation.

Film data:
TMDB · IMDb