Short and Sweet

Aspen Shortsfest program director George Eldred is hesitant to pick a favorite from among the film festival’s offerings this year. “Winnowing down 3,000 to seventy — they’re all our children. Like any proud parent, you wouldn’t want to play favorites,” he says. “There are some really standout pieces from lots...

By Kyle Harris

April 3, 2014

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Aspen Shortsfest program director George Eldred is hesitant to pick a favorite from among the film festival’s offerings this year. “Winnowing down 3,000 to seventy — they’re all our children. Like any proud parent, you wouldn’t want to play favorites,” he says. “There are some really standout pieces from lots of genres. We have animation, doc, comedy, drama, and in every genre, there’s a fun selection of things — some more serious, some more whimsical.”

Instead of curating according to theme, Aspen Shortsfest assembles more intuitive programs designed to give audiences an emotional trip full of ups and downs. “Within ninety minutes, you can sample six or eight really amazingly different sensibilities, sets of subject matter and approaches to filmmaking. Each one is quite a buffet of the fun and meaningful aspects of the wide world of moviemaking,” Eldred says. And unlike full-length films, especially Hollywood releases, short films offer a few surprises, since audiences typically don’t know much, if anything, about a movie beforehand.

Aspen Shortsfest runs today through April 13 at the Wheeler Opera House, 320 East Hyman Avenue in Aspen. For more information, go to aspenfilm.org or call 970-925-6882. Tickets, $15, can be purchased at aspenshowtix.com or 970-920-5770.
April 8-13, 2014

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