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| Robert Dastoli's Cats in Space. I repeat: Cats in Space! |
The Long and Short of It
It took Jon Gann less than a decade to establish DC Shorts as the premier film festival in the U.S. dedicated solely to shorts (films between 60 seconds and 30 minutes in length.) His DC Shorts Film Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary, starting today; and my, has it grown! The 11-day festival will showcase a total of 153 films from over 20 countries, across six exciting venues... not to mention a slew of parties, including a Grand Bash at the US Navy Memorial on Saturday night.
Showing 153 films ain't easy: That's where being short comes in handy. DC Shorts features 17 different 90-minute programs, each with nine films (click here for full schedule.) All screenings during the opening weekend will be followed by a 30-minute Q&A session, featuring visiting filmmakers. Tickets are available online for $12 (+ $1.60 service charge) a $3 savings over the $15 cost at each box-office (day of.) An All-Access Festival Pass is also available for $100 (+ $6 service charge) which gives you priority seating at all screenings, priority entry to all parties, a swag bag and a DC Shorts t-shirt.
Just in case you don't have time to travel around town, DC Shorts offers an exclusive Online Film Festival (with more than 120 films to choose from.) It costs 40 bucks (+ $3 service charge) and can be purchased online (click here.) It's also available at half-price ($20) at any DC Shorts box office: That's less than $.17 a film! Moviegoers who purchase the All-Access Festival Pass get the Online Film Festival at no charge.
This year's DC Shorts features a first-ever collection of short films created by Russian filmmakers, the largest ever to screen in the U.S. The program is funded with help from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and offers 16 different films (indicated by a Russian nested doll alongside its title and description.) Kudos to Jon & DC Shorts for taking the time to compose a statement, explaining why they decided to go forward with the program, despite the political and social turmoil in Russia of late: You can read it here.
Best of all (pun intended) DC Shorts realizes not everyone has time to see all 153 films. That's why they came up with Best of DC Shorts, two different shows (A&B) shown 10 different times (click here to see schedule.) These programs are comprised after the Award Winners are announced on Sunday, September 22nd; and provide a great snapshot of the festival's choice films.
I love to be surprised, but you might want to consider DC Shorts' invaluable sorter, which makes selecting and buying tickets a literal breeze. You can also download the Festival Catalog here; and follow DC Shorts on Twitter and Facebook.
Just for kicks, here's a peak at the Opening Titles of the very first DC Shorts back in 2004. 37 films! Congratulations Jon & DC Shorts: You've come a long way baby.
