Short Cut

It’s always advisable to see at least one batch of shorts during a festival. It’s rare that we get to see them on a big screen and that the filmmakers get to see them with an audience. Plus, it’s the most expedient way to see a broad range of films. Broken down by national cinema or genre there’s usually a little bit of everything.
Ducking in as the lights went down and finding a seat in the fourth row, I settle in for a diverse hour and a half of entertainment. Program 4 featured drama and comedy, live-action, animation and documentary with films from North America and Europe running anywhere from two to 20 minutes. The festival asks audiences to rate the shorts from one (poor) to four (great) and though I saw nothing that fell into the great category, all eight films were fresh and engaging.
"The Smallest River in Almirante's" writer-director Joshua Rofé actor Raphael Noblé and one of the film's producers were on-hand for the post-screening Q&A, fielding questions on their ambitious 14-minute film, which they shot in three days on location in Trinidad.
Shorts Program 5 screens Saturday at 10 p.m. and Shorts program 1 goes up Sunday at 4:30. There’s also a program of high school shorts (Sun., 3:30 p.m.) and music videos (Eclectic Mix 2, Sun. 7 p.m.). Check them out.

Comments

[Ronald Farnham]

What is your opinion about doing a Platform Theatrical Release. I am organizing one for a film that I am in. We are planning on starting in L.A. then going to the NY Tri-state area then working back across the country with the hopes of getting solid numbers and landing a US distribution deal [Theatrical and DVD].