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Low Key Arts presents the 14th annual Arkansas Shorts: A Night of Short Film festival, taking place on Saturday, January 2, 2021. For the first time in the history of the festival, it will be an outdoor drive-in event, presented in partnership with Hot Springs Mall, Visit Hot Springs, KUHS 102.5 FM, and the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival.
The event will take place at 4501 Central Avenue in Hot Springs, in the parking lot facing the former Sears location. Gates will open at 5 pm and the shorts will begin at 6. Total running time is two hours. Cost per vehicle is $20. Tickets available at the gate or in advance from Prekindle.com
Drawing from a multicultural cross-section of submissions, the program this year represents the diverse population of our state and the peculiar political landscape of our nation, while not losing sight of the fun and creativity that have always been characteristic of this night of short film. Chris Wilks, a veteran of the festival and International Shorts Programmer, has overseen selections from a vast and encouraging number of Arkansas filmmakers, as well as hand-picking additional selections from among the best international shorts of the past year.
“As one might imagine, Arkansas Shorts will look a bit different this year, but after the overwhelmingly positive experience from the HSDFF drive-ins, we are confident that this event will be safe, fun and our strongest lineup to date”, said Festival Director Jen Gerber.
The biggest change organizers are making to the format is the elimination of the three separate screening blocks for International, North American and Arkansas short films. Instead, the program will be a highly curated mix from all 3 sections, with a special showcase granted to the filmmakers who participated in the virtual edition of the Inception to Projection Filmmaking Program.
“While 2020 has forced nearly every organization to pivot away from their traditional plans, this year Low Key Arts found tremendous success with Inception to Projection as we made the programs virtual, enabling us to reach students all across Arkansas. We are overwhelmingly proud of the strong filmmaking community in Arkansas that has weathered quite a storm this year and we can’t wait to celebrate all these accomplishments in January,” says Gerber.
At ACS, we believe that if we provide filmmakers an arena to exhibit their talents, and film enthusiasts a healthy diet of quality programming, we can inspire more Arkansans to make and watch more films. By supporting filmmakers, festivals, theaters and young people interested in filmmaking throughout the state, we hope to create statewide network, pool Arkansas’s resources and be an umbrella organization that feeds all things film. We believe a rising tide lifts all boats.
To be a filmmaker, we have to connect to create. A painter needs a brush, paint and a canvas. A director needs a writer, a cinematographer, a sound mixer, production designer, editor, actors, distributors, and an audience. We cannot do it alone. This art form forces one to collaborate and thus, creates jobs. Filmmaking is unique in the arts in this way. It takes an army.
