Aspen Shortsfest
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Stream or Screen: Are Film Festivals Still Worth It for Short Films?
Before the advent of streaming platforms, the festival circuit was practically the only option for distributing short form content. You’d ship your finished film off to Sundance and pray for that acceptance letter — and maybe even a feature deal made at the festival. But while some of today’s filmmakers still hold tight to that romantic ideal, others are capitalizing on the visibility and fan cultivation teased by the online sphere. They argue against festival submission fees and pricey DCP shipments and for the simplicity of an online premiere on Vimeo, YouTube, NoBudge, Fandor or another platform where audiences are […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Apr 28, 2015 -
Animate Objects: The 24th Aspen Shortsfest
With its “bodegas” serving $35 seafood entrees and cobble stone streets lined with Prada, Burberry, and every other Madison Avenue ready boutique a yuppie mom could think up, Aspen may seem like an odd location for the country’s preeminent shorts festival. The grungiest thing about the stunningly well-preserved 19th century Wheeler Opera House — the festival’s screening and conversation locus — are the $4 yellow bullet tall boys tucked behind the bar amid top shelf malts. But despite the slightly stuffy portents, audiences seemed game for whatever co-directors Laura Thielen and George Eldred threw their way: dry comedies, 40-minute docs, atmospheric animations, and gutting dramas […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Apr 20, 2015 -
Of Sheep and Uggs: The 23rd Aspen Shortsfest
Just as the snow began to melt, the sun began to shine and the mercury began to rise after a brutal winter in New York City, I hopped aboard a plane to Colorado to attend the 23rd annual Aspen Shortsfest. The festival takes place April 8-13 in the aftermath of ski season, when the snow on Ajax Mountain turns to slush and Aspen’s high-end boutiques appear empty. The Wheeler Opera House gets packed full of seasonal citizens either at the tail end of their winter stay or just getting into town to prep for the summer rush. Though the festival […]
by Casey Cipriani on May 6, 2014
