WASHINGTON – Over the past 11 years, Jon Gann has built the D.C. Shorts Film Festival into the “Coolest Short Film Fest in the World,” according to Moviemaker Magazine.
But there’s no rest for the weary, and Gann is always thinking of the next step.
So this weekend, he’s bringing the third annual D.C. Shorts Laughs event to the U.S. Navy Memorial with a pair of showcases at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on both Friday, Jan. 9, and Saturday, Jan. 10.
Each 90-minute showcase features a block of seven or eight short films, highlights from the most recent D.C. Shorts, interspersed with live standup comedy acts from local comedians.
“It’s a way to expose them to … comic talent they might not have seen before,” Gann says of the cross promotion. “And for people who love comics, it’s maybe a way to expose them to a new film.”
This year’s comedians include Randolph Terrance, Reggie Melbrough, Franqi French, Sara Armour, Rahmein Mostafavi and David Miller. You can check out their routines in the video gallery to the right.
“Standup shows, to me, are some of the best entertainment for your dollar to go to,” says Terrance, who’s done standup for 15 years from Austin, Texas, to New York City, to Washington D.C.
You may recognize him from the DC Improv or the Arlington Cinema Drafthouse, where he runs a comedy show called “Three Guys On” every Friday night.
As for the films, one of this year’s standouts is “Down in Flames,” a 30-minute comedy about a daredevil who plans to shock the world by attempting the impossible: eating fire while skydiving.
“Two things that maybe shouldn’t go together,” laughs co-producer and co-writer R.J. Lewis. “Being a magician myself, I contacted people that I knew were world-record holders for light-bulb eating, cigarette eating and all kinds of weird things.”
They wound up finding real-life fire-eater Tony “Volcano” Valenci and attached several GoPro cameras to skydiving helmets to record the stunt.
Lewis says he’ll be attending the Friday-night show at 9:30 p.m.
“I’m very excited to see the other films, see the live people and of course to meet and greet with anyone who’d like to speak with me afterward,” he says.
The perfect place to catch up with the filmmakers is the Laughs Bar in the Heritage Center lobby of the U.S. Navy Memorial, where you can loosen up with a few drinks before and after the show.
One person who won’t be there, however, is Gann, who’s jetting to Sutherland, England, one of D.C.’s sister cities, to embark on his next film-fest venture.
“I’m helping them create a film festival there,” he says. “I’m bringing the Best of D.C. Shorts to test their audiences … and then hopefully their festival will be this summer, and we will take their ‘best-of’ and show it at D.C. Shorts in September.”
No rest for the weary indeed.
For information on D.C. Shorts Laughs, click here for directions and ticket information.
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