Get ready for a collection of the best short films from PBS member stations all across the country.
The PBS Short Film Festival kicks off on Monday and runs through July 26 on all digital platforms.
“We started back in 2012 as an effort to celebrate and highlight independent filmmakers and independent filmmaking,” PBS Director of Editorial and Brand Engagement Taryn Jackson told WTOP. “We at PBS have always done a great job of amplifying the voices of filmmakers, especially independent filmmakers, but we didn’t do it in a festival. … I think we were onto something because now we are in year 13.”
This year’s overarching theme is “Story Time” with 15 films divided into four categories.
“We wanted to take it back and just celebrate the art of short-form storytelling,” Jackson said. “It is very different than other types of storytelling to tell a complete and impactful story between eight and 12 minutes. There’s an art form to that, so we wanted to celebrate that this year.”
The “Environment” category features the standout film “Boca Chica” by Reel South.
“It’s talking about unrestricted access to beaches and how that’s a public right in Texas, but for the little-known, magical and untamed stretch of beach called Boca Chica that is curtailed when SpaceX takes flight,” Jackson said. “This film uncovers the mesmerizing beauty of this fragile coastline.”
The “Family” category includes “The Ballad of Mae Rose” by Louisiana Public Broadcasting.
“This is our first ever musical that is going to be presented in the PBS Short Film Festival,” Jackson said. “I’m so excited to see what viewers think about this film, because it’s a creative musical but it portrays a serious story in a new way. After Edwin Gray loses his first wife, he finds himself at the funeral of his child, Rose Mae, who despite suspicion, falls prey to a plague, so it’s a really interesting kind of whodunnit type of musical.”
The “Heroes” category includes “Saving Super Man” by Illinois Public Media.
“This is our first time presenting a ‘Heroes’ category, so I’m really excited,” Jackson said. “This is about a man living in Chicago, he’s 57 years old, he is on the Autism spectrum and his actual living quarters and his living situation is being threatened, so this story talks about how the town comes together as a community to help save where he lives. This story just really tugs at the heart strings and I think people are really going to enjoy it.”
Finally, the “Society” category includes “Underground” by the Independent Television Service.
“This film covers what happens a lot of times in the New York City subways,” Jackson said. “This is about a heavy topic of harassment and assault. There’s not a lot of space and everyone’s public space is invaded when you are on a subway system, so this is about how so many crimes can take place in broad daylight right in the eyes of so many people, but they don’t even notice it because everyone is so crammed into a subway train.”
Listen to our full conversation here.
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