YOUR AD HERE »

Aspen Shortsfest lineup announced

Staff report
"Lambs," by German director Gottfried Mentor, will screen Saturday, April 11 at the Crystal Theatre and Sunday, April 12 at the Wheeler Opera House during Aspen Shortsfest.
Courtesy photo |

If You Go …

What: Shortsfest, presented by Aspen Film

Where: Wheeler Opera House, Aspen; Crystal Theatre, Carbondale

When: April 7-12

More info: Tickets go on sale Friday, March 20 at the Wheeler box office and http://www.aspenshowtix.com; Carbondale tickets on sale at Boomerang Coffee. The full program is online at http://www.aspenfilm.com

The 24th annual Aspen Shortsfest will host six days of short-film screenings along with special events with filmmaker Jason Reitman and the interactive, live film event “The And.” Aspen Film announced the festival lineup Monday.

The film festival will run from April 7 through April 12. The first five days include two nightly programs of short films at the Wheeler Opera House, including documentary, drama, comedy and animation from around the world. In all, the festival will showcase 70 shorts — culled from 3,100 submissions — representing 30 countries.

Free “Filmmaker Talk Back” panel discussions will be held April 8 through April 10 at the Red Onion.



Opening night will feature {The And}, an innovative and interactive documentary from filmmakers Topaz Adizes and Nathan Phillips, who will host the evening at the Wheeler.

On April 11 afternoon, the festival hosts two special events: “Genre Smash,” a screenwriting master class with Writers Guild Foundation’s Kevin Ott and a yet-to-be-announced special guest at noon; and a conversation with Reitman at 3:30 p.m. Reitman, a four-time Academy Award nominee, screened one of his first films at Shortsfest in 2000 and has screened all of his features with Aspen Film, most recently “Men, Women & Children,” which played at Filmfest in October. Reitman will share clips from his favorite films and discuss how they shaped his artistic process.




Sunday will feature the annual “Family Fun” program, with kid-friendly shorts.

Carbondale’s festivities at the Crystal Theatre run April 11 and 12, with three 90-minute film programs and a “Family Fun” screening.

Shortsfest is an Oscar-qualifying festival, and last year’s rendition featured two films that went on to Academy Award nominations, including Best Short Film – Live Action winner “The Phone Call.”

Tickets go on sale Friday.