Marlisa Harding

The Fourth Annual Calcasieu Parish Short Film Festival will return this Saturday at the Henning Cultural Center, 923 Ruth Street, Sulphur. Doors open at 10 a.m. with 25 short films to be screened throughout the day.  

Patrick Bennett, festival director, said the films range from three to thirty minutes and come from producers around the world. “There’s probably about nine or 10 Louisiana made films and out of those five of them are from Calcasieu Parish.”

This year’s festival also includes productions from a “48 Hour Film Sprint” whereby teams were tasked with creating a film in only two days. “Three things had to be in the films: a character, a prop and one line of dialogue…It’ll be cool to see how each team interpreted that.”

“We also have a lot of foreign film,” he added referencing films from Chile, Russia, Iran, New Zealand, Tunisia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Spain, Columbia, Kazakhstan and Kenya.

While the festival runs until 3:30 p.m., Bennett said viewers are welcome to stay the whole day or just enjoy a film or two. “It’s good for people who don’t have a lot of time. If you can’t stay for the whole day, pop in for an hour and watch four or five shorts…It’s also good for a short attention span. Ten minutes long, get up, stretch and come back for more.”

The festival is open to the public, but Bennett advised “strong parental caution.” “These are independent films that are not rated. So, they may have strong language or adult content.”

Shorts are an excellent way to film makers to grow their craft and festival attendance will provide opportunities to learn from others, he added.  “A lot of the film makers will be audience. So, there will be time for them to stand up and take questions.”

Admission is free. To view the full line up and schedule of screenings, visit www.calcashorts.com.

The Fourth Annual Calcasieu Parish Short Film Festival is open to the public. Admission is free.

Special to the American Press