Sometimes a little can say a lot. Capturing the horrors of four
years of warfare doesn’t require a three-hour film; director
Paolo Ameli only needed ten minutes.
His short film, “Rosso Fango,” is one of the many
films to be featured in the “LA Shorts Fest Mini Movie
College Tour,” which will screen at Ackerman Grand Ballroom
today at 8 p.m. The screening is a 90-minute compilation of some of
the highlights from past years’ festivals, and is part of a
nationwide tour featuring a condensed version of the best films
from the annual LA Shorts Festival.
Robert Arentz, the festival’s founder and current
director, promises that the “Best of” screening is sure
to have something to offer every type of viewer.
“There’s action, there’s drama, and even if
you don’t like a film that’s up there, don’t
worry,” Arentz said. “There will be another one up in
ten minutes.”
Praised as the world’s largest international film
festival, the LA Shorts Fest has grown to screen roughly 450 films
this year, all of which run 40 minutes or less. A six-day event,
the festival takes place mostly in the Los Angeles-based ArcLight
cinema complex every mid-September.
And with this tour, set to visit six other schools this year,
Arentz says he’s looking to continue gaining popularity for
future festivals.
“It’s our goal to build up the tour,” Arentz
said. “We’re starting out with humble beginnings and
hopefully moving on and up to an international tour.”
In addition to “Rosso Fango,” other films featured
in the “Best of” screening will include acclaimed
action film director John Woo’s “Hostage,” and
last year’s Academy Award-winner for Best Animated Short,
“The ChubbChubbs.” With such a wide variety of short
films, the screening is a good experience for many student
filmmakers, said campus events coordinator Selina Zhong.
“UCLA is really a film-oriented school, so it’s a
really good chance to get your foot in the door if you’re at
all interested in the film industry,” Zhong said.
“There’s no better thing than to be able to see the
best short films the world has to offer.”
Arentz says he’s always looking to broaden the
festival’s audience, and is interested in featuring a block
of films from UCLA students in future festivals.
While no UCLA filmmakers were entered in this year’s
festival, campus events coordinator Jocelyn Chiu said she’s
predicting events like this will help encourage younger filmmakers
to enter their own work, and help promote other UCLA film
festivals.
“Showing this on campus is a good way to just introduce
people to different types of filmmaking,” Chiu said.
“Hopefully, it can raise awareness for other short-film
festivals and events, like our own (short-film festival)
“˜Shorttakes.'”
In addition, Arentz noted that he felt the “Best of”
screening would be fairly successful because of the demographics of
the UCLA campus.
“College students these days are force-fed entertainment,
so we’re bringing these short films that are truly
independent,” Arentz said. “These directors say what
they want to say, in its truest form, whether it’s good or
bad.”
In recent years, the festival has come under scrutiny among
claims that corporate-sponsored filmmakers were garnering all the
awards, reflecting an unfair advantage over less experienced
filmmakers. However, Arentz argues that the diversity in filmmakers
who enter the festival is what has made it such a success.
“Our festival strikes a balance,” Arentz said.
“Yes, we have huge stars and big budget shorts, and we also
have films that were shot with a budget of under $1,000. And I
think that’s a breath of fresh air in the film
industry.”
And for students with a busy schedule, the “Best of”
screening is more than enough to get a taste of what the LA Shorts
Festival has to offer, said Zhong.
“Bottom line, if you don’t have 6 days to spend at
the actual festival, spend 90 minutes watching the “˜Best
of,'” Zhong said. “Plus, it’s
free.”
Tickets are free with a student ID, and $2 for non-students.
Visit www.campusevents.ucla.edu for more information.