Shortz Film Festival

I have traveled to Berlin to attend a festival screening one of my documentaries.  I have traveled to Athens to attend a screening of one of my videos.  I have traveled to various cities in Spain and this spring, will travel to France for the same reason.

But I have never travelled in the United States, outside of the Bay Area, to any film festival where my work was showing.  That's why I decided to go to the Shortz Film Festival to enjoy the festival and attend the screening of my short, The Blacksmith., which is a tone poem...no story line, just images and the like in praise of a traditional art form.

Filmmaker (made Tough Case), Jasmine (festival organizing team), and me.

                                                 

That, plus I really liked the organizers' enthusiasm and the way the festival was presented.  And I liked the logo - a pair of bright yellow boxer shorts with red polka dots.  Very cool.

Finally, the festival was outside of the Bay Area but not too far away:  Chico, California.  Very do-able.

I'm glad I went.  Some of the shorts were very, very good.  I especially liked four:  one filmed in China ("Cold Spring" by Shiyan Feng), an animation done by a young Swiss filmmaker ("La Fille aux Feuilles" of Marina Rosset), one from Chico, itself ("The Mugging" - can't remember the filmmaker's name) and a German one ("Call her Lotte" of Annekathrin Wetzel).

In addition, the parties were nice, there were interesting people there, the festival itself was in a nice venue (the El Rey Theater), and Chico is a nice place...with a huge, beautiful park near the center of town.

The El Rey Theater.