DAY THREE  November 5, 2005
AFI FEST's International Shorts Competition Keeps It Brief
by Brent Simon
If brevity is the soul of wit, it's also an important component
of those targeting for themselves a career in film. With an eye toward achieving
through doing rather than watching,
more and more aspirant writers and directors are turning to short-form film in lieu of sycophantic apprenticing. While there has of yet been no sustained,
broadly
successful commercial model for the marketing of independent shorts--several high profile Web sites have come and gone, and those that remain rely on irregular word-of-mouth smashes like TROOPERS or BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE to drive traffic--
the result has been a boon for both film festivals and their attendees.
3,000 submissions were whittled down to just over 140 feature selections at AFI FEST 2005, astonishingly,
there were even more short films submitted to Festival programmers
for consideration. Thirty-five made the final cut, grouped in four programs and screening throughout next week at the Mann Chinese
6 in Hollywood.
While some Festivals attempt
to thematically
classify
short works, this almost always ends in disaster, with one comedic straggler dragging
down a buoyant tone or one dramatic misfire resulting in unintended giggles. AFI FEST, though, takes a different
approach. "We try to incorporate a bit of our overall program into each section--that being documentary,
long-playing, short-playing, comedy, American, international and dramatic," explains Erin Anderson, AFI FEST 2005 Series Producer and ArcLight Liaison, and also a programmer for the International Shorts Competition.
"Each program then becomes a fair representation
of the best and brightest of short films available that year."
short films often have a bolder and more courageous
streak, exploring the interstices and possibilities
of cinema in a fashion that many filmmakers have long ago ceded. "Features typically have a three-act structure, while short films are not necessarily limited to that format. Because you are usually dealing with a story needing to be told in under 30 minutes, you have to get in and out, so to speak," says Anderson. "I tend to see a lot more experimentation
in short form rather than features--especially with stop motion, animation, puppetry and mixed media. Trying to construct a feature-length story while incorporating these elements can sometimes
detract from the story, and wind up being all about the technology or methods of filmmaking. Programming short films, you really get to expand your own idea of filmmaking and storytelling, and look at what chances and experiments emergent filmmakers are taking."
 The explosion of interest
in film and shift toward hands-on production over the last 15 years certainly has fueled both the demand
and opportunity for more shorts. "Because the medium is not dictated by the same laws that govern
feature films, I think short films are a showcase for most positions in filmmaking,"
Anderson adds, "from actors and directors to production designers, costumers, editors and composers."
While most of AFI FEST 2005 takes place at the ArcLight Hollywood, the International Shorts Competition
's four programs--all roughly 90 minutes in length--unfold Monday, November
7 through Thursday, November 10 at the Mann Chinese 6, only a short ride away for such a novel burst of serial entertainment."We didn't have enough theatres at the ArcLight for all of our films," Anderson admits. "Yet the films at the Mann have an advantage in that both screenings are in the evening, [and] we thought this would be a nice perk for the shorts filmmakers."
Indeed, for at least this week at AFI FEST 2005, the shorts shall inherit the Earth.
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