The sixth annual DC Shorts Film Festival September 10-17 is long on entertainment. It's small in price -- and includes many free events.
About 100 films, selected from 720 submissions, will be screened. The selections are from 15 different countries, and nine are from the DC area.
The wide range includes drama, comedy, animation experimental, sci-fi, documentary, and other genres.
"Washington City Paper" named DC Shorts the city's #2 best film festival, and "MovieMaker" Magazine included DC Shorts as one of the "25 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee: 2009".
Bad news/good news: the entry fee is only $12. Really good news: lots of events are free, like the "Grand Bash" party September 11 (with a ticket from the September 11 screenings). The bash featured sneak previews, mixing with the filmmakers, free food and beverages, while a band played on at the U.S. Navy Memorial Plaza, 701 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.
Here are just some of the other free events.
-- Saturday, September 12, 11 AM. Family-friendly films, suitable for children aged 8 and older. Free screenings're at the Landmark E Street Cinema, at 555 11th Street, NW, and at the U.S. Navy Memorial Burke Theater, 701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.
"Taco Mary" by Mary Novak at DC Shorts Festival
-- Saturday, September 12, 12:30 AM. The Greenbelt (MD) Dog Training Parade Marching Drill Team, stars of "Doggie Drill Team" short -- despite the very long name of the team -- showed their stuff at the U.S. Navy Memorial Plaza.
-- Saturday, September 12, 11 PM-2AM. Midnight Madness party at Bar Louie, 701 7th Streets, NW.
-- Monday, September 14-Thursday, September 17, noon. Three short movies will be shown at the Landmark E Street Cinema: September 14, comedy; September 15, drama; September 16 documentary; and September 17 local films.
The festival includes a script competition. The winner gets $2,000 to make the film, which will be shown in the next year's festival. The fest also gives 11 awards in the various film categories, such as documentary, animated, experimental. Prizes range from cash, to a Gibson guitar, to glass trophies.
Here's a short sampling of the shorts. For the longer version, and to buy tickets, click here.
-- "Taco Mary" by Mary Novak. Mark sees the Virgin Mary in his taco, which triggers a conflict between his atheism, commercialism, and his passion for tacos.
-- "On the Road to Tel-Aviv" by Khen Shalem. Amid war and terror in Israel, riding a bus back to the city can be harrowing.
-- "The Mouse That Soared" by Kyle Bell. A famous circus flying mouse reflects upon his humble beginnings in this animated adventure in aerodynamics.
-- "So You Think You Can Dance Dance?" by Michael Sage. The Dance Dance Revolution (DDR)competition competition is explored in this documentary documentary.
-- "Clam Pie" by Dan Boylan and Guy Taylor. A gorgeous gorge on Cape Cod clams launches an older woman into a radical encounter with heaven in this experimental short.
The approximately two-hour showings offer films of one- to 27-minutes. So If you don't fancy one or more of the shorts, they'll be over before you know it.
For more info: DC Shorts Film Festival, www.dcshorts.com
Comments