By Tessa Moran
The short film is slowly finding its niche in today’s era of limited attention spans, especially this weekend as a bevy of modern shorts are set to screen in Washington. Thursday through Sunday, a total of 102 films will screen at the fifth annual DC Shorts Festival.
The films range between 1 minute and 23 minutes, and include a variety of genres: dramas, comedies, sci-fi, documentaries and creative experimental. Among the films selected from over 750 domestic and international entries, are 13 local films. Surely, there’s something for everyone. And if you’re less inclined to your girl’s chick flick or your guy’s sci-fi thriller, just remember the next flick is at most 20 minutes away.
The “short” format is nothing new; think back to the early days of silent comedic films and news reels. It’s since been largely overshadowed by the ubiquitous and commercial feature film. Yet in the age of digital filmmaking, the low-budget indie community has embraced the form, and they’ve used it to tackle topics rarely portrayed in commercial features.
“You probably get away with more stuff in a short than you can in a feature,” admits DC Shorts Festival director Jon Gann. He points to the fest’s animated piece about drug addiction titled, A Letter To Colleen, which he says is too provocative and intense to succeed as a longer film. “Noone could sit through it.” But as a short, “it’s one of those films you can’t turn away from because you never know what can be said next,” Gann says.
“I don’t think people really appreciate [the short] as an art form,” he adds, likening it to the short story. “If you are skilled and can tell a provocative story in ten pages or ten minutes, theoretically you should have a good film.”
Other festival highlights include the Irish comedy, “The Confession,” about a young man who tries to confess his sins to a priest more interested in gossip than absolution. Another is “The List”, a 5 minute drama about a young woman who is interrogated by the CIA for espionage.
“I think they are all timely, they all have a message,” Gann says of this year’s selections. “They are just about humanity.” DC Shorts will be held September 11-18 at the E Street Landmark Cinema. Tickets are available online at dcshorts.com.
Check out our post on Barberin’s premiere at last year’s DC Shorts!
