Productions Jonathan (Jason Wittig) and Lex (Rick Hammerly) get to know each other better in D.C.-based short ‘Signage.’ (Photo by Marc Antony/Idle Rich)
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KATHERINE VOLIN
Friday, September 07, 2007
Short films tend to get the, well, short end of the stick when it comes to film appreciation. Who can remember which film won best Live Action Short at last year’s Academy Awards? (It was “West Bank Story.”)
Jon Gann, a local gay filmmaker, noticed while traveling with his films at various film festivals that movies often take a backseat to the parties and schmoozing that mark so many festivals
Gann decided to address that issue when he started the D.C. Shorts Film Festival, now in its fourth year.
“I wanted something that was about film and filmmakers, so I wanted to do something about shorts because shorts are not really given — they’re kind of the afterthought,” Gann says.
Eighty-nine films were selected out of the 434 entries for the competition. The films will be shown Sept. 13-20 at E Street Cinema, 555 11th St., NW.
“[We saw] much fewer comedies — a lot of dramas this year,” Gann says about the selected films. “A lot of war-themed films, films about people being upset about the war in Iraq.”
Filmmakers who were lucky enough to be chosen will get a warm welcome from Gann and the rest of the festival’s organizers.
“We will find you housing in a private home. We have deals with nine different restaurants who provide you with meals. Anything we can do to make things easier for you to stay here,” Gann says. “As someone who has traveled the film circuit, it can get really expensive really fast.”
If all the focus on comfort and hospitality has the faint ring of a gay hand in the mix, that’s probably right, Gann admits.
“It’s probably very much a combination of my queer and Jewish sensibilities — are you OK? Do you have enough to eat?” he says.
Gann says he also tries to provide time for socializing among filmmakers so they can chat and work on ideas for future collaborations. One couple who met at a D.C. Shorts filmmaker event even got married, he says.
Despite the wide interest in the festival, Gann tries to maintain a D.C. flavor for the event.
“We try to make sure that we show local films,” Gann says. “Unfortunately, local filmmakers don’t have much opportunity to show their wares.”
Eighteen of the films are local, and four of those include gay and lesbian content or are by gay and lesbian filmmakers.
“We have many fewer gay and lesbian films than in the past,” Gann says. “That’s been kind of an issue this year. There’s fewer quality films to choose from. That’s diplomatic.”
“Hearts of Glass” by filmmaker Vincent Gaines is a documentary on the work of gay glass artist Tim Tate. Tate’s sexual orientation isn’t explored in the 20-minute piece; the film focuses on the slow process of creating a work of glass art.
“415 M Street” is a house that has served as a home for young Jewish men, older Jewish people, a synagogue, a Church of Jesus Christ and as a Metropolitan Community Church. Local Rev. Candace Shultis serves as one of the commentators on how MCC used the space.
“Signage” paints a devastating portrait of the youth-worshiping world of gay men. After dying his facial hair, meticulously shaving and applying eye cream, Lex discusses facelifts and middle age prior to going out to a gay bar with a shirtless-men-drink-for-free-before-11 p.m. policy. (Sounds a lot like the Green Lantern, no?) An encounter with a young man there gives him pause.
“Angst Barbie” takes the viewers on a ride through poor Barbie’s existential crisis as she tries to figure out why her arms don’t move, her vagina is numb and everyone she’s ever dated is named Ken. Sing it, sister.
“Girls Room,” the only non-D.C. based gay film of the group follows a girl’s traumatic journey to the school bathroom and what she finds there. If you guessed lesbian undertones, you just might be right.
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