Don’t have two hours to watch a film? Want an entertaining, fulfilling and original experience 40 minutes or under that packs the same emotional, transformative punch as a feature film? And not TV? Go short. As CFC’s Worldwide Short Film Festival tagline boasts “shorter is better” and there are 244 short films from 35 countries set to prove the point.
The 2012 WSFF, scheduled for June 5 – 10 in Toronto, is where filmmakers, stars and savvy cineastes will celebrate the festival’s 18th year and the fact that it remains the biggest short film festival in North America. This year, 207 premieres, including 38 world premieres, from every kind of genre – live-action, animation, experimental, documentary and music videos – have been chosen from 4,700-plus entries. Top winners are eligible for both Academy Award and Genie Award consideration.
No star is too big to make a short film. Trust us, they all do it. Michael Fassbender John Malkovich, Scott Thompson, Chad Michael Murray, Peter Mullan, Michael Cera, Pierre-Luc Brillant, Rainn Wilson, Emmanuelle Béart, Rita Wilson, Margaret Cho, Tom Hollander, Stellan Skarsgård, David Duchovny, Rachel Wilson, Aaron Poole, Charlotte Rampling, Helena Bonham Carter, John Hurt, Tom Wilkinson, Dave Franco, Dave Foley, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jake Gyllenhaal and Academy Award winners Judi Dench, Anna Paquin and Christopher Plummer will all appear on WSFF screens.
Festival venues literally cover the waterfront, from midtown to close to the actual lake. Screens include the newly revamped Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, the Isabel Bader Theatre with special programmes and screenings at the Garrison and the CN Tower. The TOWERING Shorts programme “Shorts for Shorties” pairs a screening with an animation workshop by the National Film Board of Canada, and “Date Night: Towering Shorts Edition” pairs a screening with dessert and coffee at the Tower’s Horizon restaurant and “Laughter Without Borders: Towering Shorts Edition” includes a post-screening cocktail and nibble overlooking the view from 533 metres above Toronto.
Nine special programmes include Celebrity Shorts, CFC Short Dramatic Films, Christmas In June, Date Night, Indie Comedy Showcase – For Shorts & Giggles, International Comedy – Laughter Without Borders, The Night Shift, Scene Not Herd, Sci-Fi: Out There, Shorts For Shorties: Flick-Nic, Shorts For Shorties: Mission To The Milky Way, Slap ‘N’ Tickle, Spotlight on Switzerland, Studio Film Bilder (Animation Spotlight), Super 16 Anarkino (Film School Spotlight) and the WSFF 2012 Festival Award Winners Screenings. Something for every mood.
SHORT FILMS: BIG IDEAS SYMPOSIUM 2012 is a four day art and industry conference that brings together filmmakers and producers to anyone with an interest in filmmaking, to illuminate the ways to funding and crowd sourcing, the festival selection process and translating a story from page to screen. Renowned filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée (C.R.A.Z.Y., Café de Flore) is scheduled to lead a master class and share his artistic and practical wisdom.
Leading up to the festival, WSFF’s mobile movie theatre the SHORTS BUS will tour downtown Toronto to offer short “appetizers” to anyone who cares to see them.
For more information and to purchase tickets to the 2012 WSFF, visit shorterisbetter.com.
Top image: A scene from the short Animal Beatbox. Courtesy WSFF.
