This is a case where a line continuation character is preferred to open parentheses.
ShortName.objects.distinct() \
.filter().values() # looks better
The need for this style becomes more obvious as method names get longer and as methods start taking arguments:
return some_collection.get_objects(locator=l5) \
.get_distinct(case_insensitive=True) \
.filter(predicate=query(q5)) \
.values()
PEP 8 is intend to be interpreted with a measure of common-sense and an eye for both the practical and the beautiful. Happily violate any PEP 8 guideline that results in ugly or hard to read code.
That being said, if you frequently find yourself at odds with PEP 8, it may be a sign that there are readability issues that transcend your choice of whitespace 🙂