Filmfest With Global Shorts Slate

March 11th, 2008 at 06:23pm Michael Conniff 2

SOURCE: Filmfest

March 10, 2008 (Aspen, Colo.) - Filmmakers around the world will join film audiences April 2-6 when Aspen Shortsfest 2008 arrives at the Wheeler Opera House and other venues in Aspen and Carbondale, Colorado.

Now in its 17th year, Aspen Shortsfest is considered one of the world's leading showcases for international short film and video. The centerpiece International Competition features fifty-three finalists from more than 24 countries; the live-action, animation, and documentary finalists were selected from 3,500 previewed submissions.  The International Competition finalists will be presented at public screenings where they compete for more than $20,000 in cash and other prizes. With more than a third of the films screened being U.S., North American, or world premieres, Shortsfest offers viewers an unparalleled chance to see exciting new work from up-and-coming talent from all corners of the globe.

This year's line-up includes a wide-ranging cast of appealing characters, from quirky road warriors and Icelandic folk wrestlers to an urban "chameleon" and some unusual canines. Audiences can expect an engaging, provocative journey that spans, among other places, the ancient forests of New Zealand, the Arctic tundra, rural North Carolina, African villages, and bygone canyon lands in Utah.

Several films hold special interest for Colorado audiences. Daniel Junge and Patti Bonnet's Come Back to Sudan, which traces the extraordinary journey of three "lost boys" of Sudan from their adopted Colorado home to their African birthplace, will have its world premiere. Emmy award-winning Aspen cinematographer Greg Poschman shot Kim A. Snyder's One Bridge to the Next, the stirring documentary of a dedicated doctor who practices "street medicine" in Pittsburgh. Alagados, the story of a Brazilian youth who beats some pretty high odds, comes courtesy of Carbondale-based director Sylvia Johnson. And for pure fun, there's The Last American Ski Bum - Bumps Jackson, a film about an Aspen local by Aspen local Charles Agar, and Cutlass, the directorial debut of part-time Aspenite Kate Hudson.

Aspen Film Program Director George Eldred notes: "Discovering new talent is one of the genuine pleasures of Aspen Shortsfest. Filmmakers who display imagination, originality and insight into human nature in the short form are the core of our International Competition. It's exciting to see how those gifted talents develop in such varied ways, like Jason Reitman, Fernando Meirelles or Sarah Polley, to name just a few whose shorts we've presented. Shortsfest exists to support and celebrate filmmakers who are in the emerging stage of their career."

This Academy Award-qualifying festival will host a jury of distinguished film professionals, including producer Daniel Dubiecki (Juno), screenwriter Michael LeSieur (You, Me and Dupree and currently filming The Lonely Maiden starring Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walken, and Marcia Gaye Harden), British Council Film Program Manager Simona Marchegiani, award-winning animator Bill Plympton and Emmy Award-winning writer-director Steven Schachter (Door to Door).

Complementing the nightly International Competition are several special presentations, including a Master Class with Bill Plympton, this year's Director's Spotlight guest. In addition to providing a behind-the-scenes look at his offbeat animation style, Plympton will give a sneak peak of his new feature and premiere a new short, Hot Dog. Lights, Camera, Kids introduces a selection of international shorts families can enjoy together. Film buffs won't want to miss the British Shorts Panorama, a varied sampling of UK fare hand-picked by the British Council's Simona Marchegiani, as well as the screening of two Academy Award-honored films, Freeheldand La Corona (The Crown). The perennially popular Local Filmmakers Showcase(March 30), which precedes the festival, highlights Aspen's homegrown talent.

A complete Aspen Shortsfest schedule and additional information will be posted atwww.aspenfilm.org, starting Friday, March 14. Tickets go on sale to the general public on March 21 at the Wheeler Box Office (970.920.5770 or www.aspenshowtickets.com) and at Sounds Easy in Carbondale (970.963.1303). Tickets will also be available at the door.

Entry Filed under: Movies, Aspen, Colorado, The West, United Post