Editor

Fest aims high, celebrating the history and future of the short film format

The first annual Golden Star Shorts Fest announced their first festival line-up today in Hollywood. With a mixture of competitive programs, retrospectives and galas, the Festival aims to celebrate all aspects of the short film category. “We’re very pleased to have the opportunity to celebrate the past, present and future of the short film. The Golden Star Shorts Fest is the first step in really giving this medium the branding it deserves, “ says Founder Serge Polakoff.

The Festival will kick off with a special tribute to Charlie Chaplin at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. The gesture is appropriate, as Chaplin was one of the first great filmmakers, helping to establish the motion picture as a new form of entertainment, and doing so in the short film format. Opening Night titles will include THE ADVENTURER, THE CURE and EASY STREET, with live piano accompaniment for each movie.

The Festival has introduced a unique competition format, with filmmakers submitting projects on a quarterly basis, competing in categories (Drama, Comedy, Animation, Experimental, Documentary, and Music Video) with finalists invited to participate in the annual Golden Star Shorts Fest in Hollywood. Titles below were selected to compete for the Golden Star Awards:

Competitive Program
ALL-AMERICAN ALPHABET (Jonas Geinaert), ALONE (Slater Dixon), THE AMERICAN INFANT (Eric Kurland), ANNA AND THE SOLDIER (Christian Pretin/Sören Hüper), AROMA (Damon Silvester), AWAKEN (Joey Ingram/Josh Mahan), THE BET (Eric Swan), BETTY’S TREATS (Kaye Kittrell), BLUE HORIZON (Anthony Bennett), CAUGHT IN PAINT (Rita Blitt), CUCO GOMEZ-GOMEZ IS DEAD! (Francisco Lorite), CRISIS (Rhituparna Basu), DEAR SWEET EMMA (John Cernak), DOLLYROTS -NEW COLLEGE (Jesse Grce), DON’T F**K WITH LOVE (Jim Starace and Rachel McIntosh), THE ENDS OF THE ALPHABET (Eric Kurland), THE FAITH OF JOEY RAIL (Matt Robertson), FANCY (Lori Grossman), FLATLIFE (Jonas Geinaert), FOUND (Sherri Larsen), IN ABSENTIA (Darryl Knickrehm), JELLYBABY (Rob and Ronan Burke), LIGHTMAN (Jun- Heon Oh), LIKE THIS (Jeffrey Teitler), OÏO (Simon Goulet), PILLOW GIRL (Ronnie Cramer), SERIAL KILLER CEREAL (Eric Kurland), SMILE (Salomon Simhon), THAT GUY (Jonathan Wolf), THE SWITCH (Eric Kurland), TEA (OCHA) (Tracey Sagalow), TWITCH (Leah Meyerhoff), WINTER (Andy Collen), THE ZIT (Mike Blum), ZOOM SUIT (John and Donna Taddeo)

In addition, the Festival will present a Short Film Retrospective, which will include the following special programs:
Silent Shorts
THE IMMIGRANT(Chaplin); MUSIC BOX (Laurel and Hardy); POOL SHARKS (W.C. Fields); DON'T SHOVE (Lloyd); NEIGHBORS (Keaton)
Maverick Shorts
TRIP TO THE MOON (Melies); ROMANCE SENTIMENTALE (Eisenstein); UN CHIEN ANDALOU (Bunuel); HEARTS OF AGE (Welles); THE BIG SHAVE (Scorsese)

Cartoon Classics
FELIX GOES TO HOLLYWOOD; BETTY BOOP BETTY'S PENTHOUSE; MR. MAGOO TROUBLE INDEMNITY; GERALD MC BOING BOING; CUSTOMERS WANTED BUGS BUNNY; WABBIT WHO CAME TO SUPPER; DUCK AMUCK MICKEY MOUSE; STEAMBOAT WILLIE; MICE FOLLIES, LE NEZ.

The Festival will present its first prizes at the Golden Star Awards Gala, Saturday, February 25 at the Egyptian Theatre. Strategically inserted into the Awards season, the Golden Star looks to become the most prestigious Award in the world of short films. Awards will be distributed and all winners will be shown. In addition to the Competition Program winners, other prizes will include: Grand Jury Prize, New Frontiers and Audience awards.

The Golden Star Shorts Fest is presented by Very Short Movies, a new company dedicated to the exhibition and distribution of short film media. A unique series of quarterly competitions will lead to the annual short Festival, taking place during awards season. Finalists will compete for the coveted Golden Star Awards. The first annual Festival will take place Feb 23-26 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Official sponsors include: Continental Airlines, Holly Trolley, and the American Cinematheque.

For more information, please visit www.gsfest.com.