Peace Center Holds SAF's 2nd Short Circuit Traveling Film Fest 5/9-10

The Peace Center, in collaboration with Artisphere, presents the Southern Arts Federation's 2nd Annual Short Circuit Traveling Film Festival in the Gunter Theatre on May 9th - 10th. Short Circuit is the only program that spotlights short films created by filmmakers living and working in the Southeastern United States. Tickets for Short Circuit are available for $10 through the Peace Center Box Office.

The Short Circuit Traveling Film Festival is comprised of 12 short films selected for their artistic merit by a panel of esteemed media arts professionals. These engaging selections range from fiction and animation to experimental and documentary. This year, the festival features work by filmmakers from Georgia, Louisiana, and Florida. Short Circuit will travel from November 2008-May 2009 as a self-contained, three-hour film festival that may be enjoyed in a single afternoon or evening. The films are:

Short Circuit Traveling Film Festival

Peace Center-Gunter Theatre

May 9th (2pm and 7pm) and May 10th (3pm)

Tickets: $10

Box Office: (864) 467-3000 or peacecenter.org

About the Films

"99 to 1: Ovarian Cancer and Me"

Documentary Short

Directed by Phoebe Brown

Atlanta, Georgia

In the summer of 2005, doctors said they were 99% sure that filmmaker Phoebe Brown did not have ovarian cancer. She turned out to be part of the 1%. "99 to 1" is a quirky, funny self-portrait of a cancer survivor.

"Carnival Picaresque"

Experimental/Animation

Directed by Dave Greber

New Orleans, Louisiana

When a nameless narrator embarks with his companion on an excursion from the Big Apple to the Big Easy, they are met by a small entourage of delusional revelers. Together they embark on a psychotropic tour of post-Katrina Mardi Gras celebrations wrought with danger, dizziness and decadent fun.

"Category 4"

Narrative Short

Directed by Verena Faden

Miami, Florida

This narrative short tells the story of a Cuban-American family in Miami as they weather their stormy relationships and a hurricane.

"Crossin' All the Boundaries"

Documentary Short

Directed by Rebecca Parrish and Brooke Bassin

Atlanta, Georgia

Through interviews with local residents, this short documentary explores race, class, gender and power in Clarksdale, a small Southern town in the Mississippi River Delta, during the 2008 Mississippi Presidential Primaries.

"February Stars"

Narrative Short

Directed by Sean Heyboer

Winter Park, Florida

A young deaf man is on his way home to take care of his severely ill grandmother when he has a chance encounter with a young woman who may change the course of his life.

"Going to the Beach"

Narrative Short

Directed by Elizabeth Strickler

Atlanta, Georgia

In a future memory, young parents desperate to find their lost son cross paths with a boy who is altogether different in this Ballardesque parable filled with cold tension and stark fear.

"I Always Do My Collars First: A Film About Ironing"

Documentary Short

Directed by Conni Castille and Allison Bohl

Breaux Bridge, Louisiana

This short documentary follows four dynamic Cajun women in Southwestern Louisiana as they go about their daily lives and their ironing routine. An emotional and cultural process, ironing is performed with an aesthetic sensibility that helps define these women and their families.

"Our World"

Animation

Produced and Created by Larry Lauria

Savannah, Georgia

"Our World" is an animation relay, a process where animators develop something they want to express through independent work around a central idea. The animation in "Our World" moves from art to sports, from solving a crisis to home shopping by television, from a post-nuclear holocaust to terrorism. The film intends to evoke a discussion about the state of humanity.

"Swimming to the Moon"

Narrative Short

Directed by Greg Thompson

Atlanta, Georgia

When burned-out rock star Orion Gold puts the moves on successful journalist Dana Long, neither of them knows how to brace for the impact. Could Orion's unique approach to life bring clarity to Dana's career-driven existence? Could she be his missing muse? Someone's going to fall... hard.

"The Mess"

Narrative Short

Directed by Art D'Alessandro

Maitland, Florida

A man comes home from a hard day at the office to find his house a mess, even worse than usual. He explodes into a violent rage, calms himself, cleans the house and then lies in wait for his wife to discuss their relationship and her inability to change her messy ways. But she didn't make this mess all by herself.

"Torn Asunder"

Experimental

Directed by Bob Barancik

St. Petersburg, Florida

This experimental film creatively explores America's increasingly frayed national psyche.

"Undocumented"

Narrative Short

Directed by Joel Rodriguez

Miami, Florida

Immigrant parents prepare for their daughter's Quinceañera, but their plans are abruptly interrupted by the question of the father's legal status which threatens to pull the family apart.

For a complete festival schedule visit the Short Circuit Traveling Film Festival at www.southarts.org/shortcircuit. The Short Circuit Traveling Film Festival is a program of the Southern Arts Federation (SAF), a non-profit regional arts organization. Founded in 1975, SAF creates partnerships and collaborations; assists in the development of artists, arts professional and arts organizations; present, promotes and produces Southern arts and cultural programming; and advocates for the arts and arts education. The organization works in partnership with the state arts agencies of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. For more information on the Southern Arts Federation and its programs visit www.southarts.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.