Programming is an art. Unfortunately, when it comes to short films, especially at festivals geared more toward features, the programming of shorts can be slapdash at best. Thus, one of the great pleasures of this year's Aspen Shortsfest was the immediate realization that the films in the opening night program had not only been carefully selected, but arranged with attention to the details of making a program of seven or eight shorts work well together. This kind of attention continued through every single program in the five day festival as festival director Laura Thielen deftly drew her audiences through 48 films (culled from 700 entries) from all over the world.

Established seven years ago when Ellen Hunt, founder and director of the Aspen Filmfest, felt that shorts deserved their own venue, the Shortsfest has steadily grown; two years ago, Thielen, formerly of the San Francisco International Film Festival, took over programming for both the Filmfest and Shortsfest, and she has continued the international reputation of both festivals while adapting to both a new audience and changing expectations for shorts programming.

This year's festival included the North American premieres of several great shorts, including Vincent Bal's wacky noir comedy, The Bloody Olive, and Christophe Van Rompaey's grim portrait of identity loss in the near future, Grey. Both films are very accomplished, technically exact shorts which slide past their calling card status to become great films. Other treats included USC student David Birdsell's Blue City, a lovely black-and-white vignette that turns both stylistically and dramatically in circles; as the story comes around full circle, you realize that every significant element in the film has been circular and the film is actually a study in returns. Another student film, Australian Sandra Lepore's Acquiring a Taste for Raffaella, is similarly accomplished, neatly telling a poignant story of first love in a very quirky narrative that nevertheless stays grounded in believability.

While the festival is extremely significant in showcasing the work of younger filmmakers, it also includes the work of more established directors. Two highlights in this category were Jane C. Wagner and Tina DeFeliciantonio's Two or Three Things But Nothing for Sure, a very astute and moving portrait of writer Dorothy Allison, and Gus Van Sant's depiction of Allen Ginsberg reading his poem Ballad of the Skeletons. The screening of the second film was made especially significant when it was announced that Ginsberg had passed away earlier in the day.

The festival also featured some of the best animations I've seen in a long time. My favorite was Pedro Serrazina's Tale About the Cat and the Moon, a lovely black and white animation about impossible love achieved through absolute determination. The drawings of the cat as he follows the moon across oceans and rooftops are beautifully fluid; the voice-over nicely captures the absurdity--and familiarity--of the cat's desire. A more gothic vision of desire is captured in Craig Welch's How Wings Are Attached to the Backs of Angels, which uses cut-out animation to suggest how obsessive desire destroys its object. Another cut-out animation, Trey Parker and Matt Stone's The Spirit of Christmas, pits Jesus against Santa Clause in an irreverent satire of holiday dogma.

Nearly every film in the festival deserves mention, which is again a testament to the programming at this wonderful festival. The only thing that surpassed the programming was the festival staff's unfailing support of the filmmakers who enjoyed the attention often not offered at larger festivals. All screenings were followed with discussions with filmmakers in attendance, and almost every evening featured a dinner or party; perhaps the nicest dinners were two held at Ellen Hunt's home. The festival founder is an adamant supporter of shorts, a sophisticated viewer and a fabulous host who, along with Thielen and other festival staff members, helps make Aspen an amazingly congenial and supportive home for filmmakers. If you've made a short and want it to have an excellent screening, send it to the Aspen Shortsfest.

The Cannes Film Festival by Noah Cowan
The Los Angeles Independent Film Festival by Michael Jones
The New York Underground Film Festival by Pamela Grossman
SXSW Film Festival by Holly Willis
San Francisco International Film Festival by Isabel Sadurni
Aspen Shortsfest by Holly Willis
Gen Art Film Festival by Adam Pincus