Moviegoers are routinely asked to sit through 90-minutes (which can seem a lot longer if it is a Jennifer Lopez vehicle). Organizers of the DC Shorts Film Festival are expecting some film enthusiasts to stomach nearly 90 movies.
Watching 89 movies, while pretty dedicated, isn’t a daunting task when many of them clock in under 5-minutes each. It fact, it will take you longer to read this article than to watch some of these films. This is a film festival for anyone with Attention Deficit Disorder - and for those who enjoy short-form cinema.
Beginning Thursday, the DC Shorts Film Festival presents 89 movies from 14 countries at the Landmark E Street Theater (11th and E Streets, NW). Attendance has its benefits. During your next Oscar party, when your friends are scratching their heads trying to fill out their “short film” section in the betting pool, you can confidently place an extra five bucks down knowing which of the nominees is the superior film.
The festival has gathered most films into 100-minute viewings, making it possible to breeze through a dozen movies in one sitting. Saturday also features a “free family show” at 1:00 p.m. While it is billed as a “family show,” not all of the movies in the viewing are geared towards children. It might be difficult for kids to sit through Jim Voltz, Whistler (seven minutes about a man who collects memorabilia about human whistling), but older children can be entertained with most of the selection.
Anyone with a ticket to the Friday screening is also granted admittance to the 6:00 p.m. opening cocktail party at Poste Brasserie (www.postebrasserie.com). Other social events include a Sunday brunch (for those with festival-long passes) and a closing reception on Thursday, September 20 honoring the short films of women directors.
DC Shorts Film Festival
September 13-20 (Landmark E Street Theater)
Tickets: $12 per screening, $125 VIP all-week pass.
For more information, visit: www.dcshorts.com
The recently released “Paris, Je’taime” (eff my spelling) is an awesome example of a really solid collection of short films, bringing together a talented group of small and bigtime actors and directors. Check it out!
September 12, 2007 at 9:49 am