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Show 4 Wednesday November 9, 2011 ARTS www.dailyutahchronicle.corn Shorts find screen to be seen Brendan Morrisey IF YOU GO: Where: Fort Douglas Post Theatre When: Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. Cost: $8 online and $10 at the door STAFF WRITER Who Likes Short Shorts, the festival for filmmakers by filmmakers, returns for its third season to celebrate Utah's independent filmmakers. Co-producer and actor Jack Diamond, frustrated over the lack of screenings his work was getting, helped start the festival. Who Likes Short Shorts also offered a venue for filmmakers whose work was getting screened but was suffering from a limited run. Since the festival's inaugural event last year, it grew to become an event held twice a year, taking place in both the spring and the fall. The festival aims to screen as many short films as possible and to feature local talent such as Matt Crane and Eric Fisher. "Short films is where most local independent filmmakers start and it's also where everything seems to be trending because you've got YouTube and Vimeo," Diamond said. "This really is for shorts because that's the best way we can get as many people as possible involved in showcasing their work." The films vary in style, genre and ratings, and are judged based on quality alone. There is no submission fee, and it is almost guaranteed that even filmmakers on a minuscule budget have a fair chance at seeing their work screened. It's a no-budget film, Crane said of his animated short film "Golden Years," a parody depicting what life would be like for James Bond if he were a real person and had reached his senior years. "I'm not getting money from anybody. I just made it on my Mac in my bedroom so it's as low budget as it gets." Fisher is the star and co-writer of the festival's shortest film "Jesus Doppelganger," a comedy in which a gunman must choose correctly between the real Jesus and his evil impersonator. "Even if it's well done, it can be easy to lose someone's attention span because you're not getting invested in that story like you would a feature film," Fisher said. "So it's about whittling it down to the bare essentials." Y PHOTO COURTESY OF THEATER DEPARTMENT Director James Cowley's short "Hooah:' along with dozens of other short films, will be part of the second annual Who Likes Short Shorts film festival. The festival isn't solely for local filmmakers. They've also seen a fair number of international submissions. This year's lineup includes films from the U.K., Italy and South Korea. "We're trying to bring filmmakers from all over the world to Utah," Diamond said. "Our focus is not to show films from outside of the country or the state to Utahns—we're trying to show what the local independent film community can do to a bigger audience." "Our very first event a year ago we had talked to the Utah Film Commission and said `this is who we are, this is our vision, this is what we want to do,' " Diamond said. "They liked the way that we promote and present ourselves, and they really liked how we're helping in actively encouraging the film community in Utah." When compared to other local film festivals such as Sundance, Diamond said his festival has just as much to offer and more. `Hair' links problems of the '60s with messages of modern protesters Alyssa Ferris Jewish festival offers first taste of holidays Billy Yang STAFF WRITER IF YOU GO: The U Jewish Community Center's mission Opening night is statement is to bring Saturday people of all faiths toTickets are $36 per gether. The annual Jewperson in advance; ish Arts Festival, which has been a cultural sta$46 at the door. ple for more than four Doors open at 7 decades, is just one way p.m. Comedy begins it fulfills this purpose. The center will kick at 8:30 p.m. off this year's festival Saturday at 7 p.m. with a performance by New York comic MODI. Mazza Middle Eastern Cuisine will B'rith Youth Organization will provide food for the opening- be in charge of the latkes, a Jewnight event. The festival contin- ish potato pancake. ues through Sunday. "The festival is where you "[The event is] here to give the get your first taste of a latke for community a taste of the Jewish the holiday season, and that's culture," said Michelle Oelsner, always good," said Daniel Shacommunity special events coor- piro, on the board of directors dinator for the center. "We have at the center. something for everyone." Shapiro was the president Musicians scheduled to per- of the center when the orgaform at the event range from nization acquired the land io acts that play traditional He- years ago to build its facilities brew folk songs to a jazz quar- on Medical Drive. The Shapiro tet showcasing pieces by Jewish family has a long history of volcomposers George Gershwin, unteering and serving the local Jerome Kern and Sammy Cahn. Jewish community. A handful of performers from "My grandfather was a big the Modern Dance Department volunteer, my mother and father will take the stage Sunday. Jen- were huge volunteers," Shapiro ny Larsen and Corinne Penko of said. "Growing up, I saw it as an JCo Dance Troupe, both alum- important thing. My brothers nae of the U, will join student and I sort of come from a family dancers on the program. Laja of consummate volunteers." Field, a modern dance major, is Born and raised in Salt Lake also pulling together a group of City, Shapiro has seen the Jewstudents for her piece that will ish Arts Festival—which has be performed at the festival. been around in different forms More than 2,000 guests pass for nearly 4o years—evolve from through the Jewish Community being a seasonal pre-Hanukkah Center every year during the celebration to the all-inclusive festival, Oelsner said. cultural event that it is today. "Different people come for "It's been many things over its different aspects of it," she said. time," Shapiro said. "It's been a "Some people come for the mu- Jewish community celebration sic, some people come for dance around Hanukkah to where now and some people just come for it's more of the Jewish comthe food." munity inviting the larger Salt When it comes to food, the Lake community to come to the Utah chapters of the National JCC." Council of Jewish Women and The Jewish Arts Festival will Hadassah will be at the cen- include more than 45 arts and ter with lox and bagels, brisket crafts vendors. sandwiches, matzo ball soup, b.yang@ kugel and desserts. The B'nai chronicle.utah.edu JEWISH Arts FESTIVAL STAFF WRITER Since it was written in 1968, "Hair: The American Tribal Love Rock Musical" has been performed around the world and has been translated into many languages, and will now open Friday at the Babcock Theatre. Former professor Andrew Gelman returned to direct the Department of Theatre's production of "Hair." Gelman, who usually works with classical pieces and opera, produced "Hair" eight years ago—this is his first time directing the show. "Hair" has been a long time in the making. Most shows are rehearsed for a few weeks prior to opening, but the cast has been rehearsing since the second week of Fall Semester. Austin Smith, a freshman in the musical theater program and a cast member in the production said the themes of the show mirror many of our nation's most pressing current events. He said the sentiment of the play's characters is similar to the sentiment of citizen protesters today, who all seem to be asking the same questions: "What about us? What about the people?" Protesters today, just like the characters in the play, are simply standing up for their rights, Smith said. The right to do so is a central theme of the show. "We have that freedom," Smith said. "Hopefully we can grab that freedom." Despite the similarities, there are differences between today's events and those of the play, Gelman said. Although there were war protests both then and now, the draft no longer exists. In this way, "Hair" is a look back at a tumultuous time in our history, he said. In 1968, both Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated and it was the year Richard Nixon was elected president. It can be difficult to understand such events without hindsight, which "Hair" gives for that time, but which we lack for today's events, Gelman said. "Now it feels like there's something in the air, maybe not as cata- "Just because you have a camera doesn't make you a filmmaker," he said. "See the short films that people are putting together and the production quality that they have at our film festival—you can see what the local filmmakers are actually doing and it's impressive." Utah film commissioner Marshall Moore will be presenting the awards this year. b.morrisey@ chronicle.utah.edu COURTESY OF THEATER DEPARTMENT "Hair" will be shown at Babcock Theatre from Friday through Sunday and Nov. 15 through Nov. 20. Tickets are free for students with a UCard and $20 for the public. clysmic, but we won't know that until it's over," he said. Although the play is political, the production does not have a political angle, Gelman said. The play is more about asking questions than it is about making political state- ments. "There's a difference between politicians and artists," he said. "Politicians are after policy changes, and we are scientists of the soul." aferris@ chronicle.utah.edu |