Arts & Entertainment

Short and Sweet: Festival Showcases Films From Around the World

Looking for unusual, not at your local Cineplex kind of movies? Petaluma Film Fest brings you 23 short films in one day, from foreign to indy to documentary

Do you suffer from “I Have Too Many Interests, Not Enough Time” Syndrome? I know I do. That’s why I am looking forward to Petaluma Film Festival, which will be held Saturday, April 23 at the Mystic. This year, the film fest is all about shorts, as in short films that transport you to another world for, say 20 minutes, then hurl you back to reality.

In its third year, the festival will screen more than 20 shorts including animated films, dramas and documentaries by directors from all over the world. And according to organizer Mike Traina, a film instructor at Santa Rosa Junior College, it’s a chance to see movies that are not widely distributed.

“The festival focuses on not only on short form, but also undistributed work,” Traina says. “It’s the kind of stuff you have to go to festivals to see.”

Find out what's happening in Petalumawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A lot of the films look promising. These include “Cohen on the Bridge: Rescue at Entebbe,” an animated black and white documentary about the 1976 hostage crisis in which a plane with Jews onboard is hijacked in Uganda, “Pax,” a film about a dog that forges a bond between an Iraq veteran suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and a female inmate, and “Gayby,” a comedy about a single woman who asks her gay friend to help her “make” a baby, only to find that doing so is more difficult than either thought.

There will also be several shorts by local high school and Santa Rosa Junior College students.

Find out what's happening in Petalumawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The festival is split into three sections, a 2:30pm matinee, a 7:30pm feature and a midnight show. The price of the matinee is $10, the later features are $15 each and all day passes are just $25. Following the screenings, there will be a question and answer with filmmakers, and at night an after party at McNears.

For more information on the films and to purchase tickets, check out Petaluma Film Fest's website.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here