Local Short Film Showcase

Running time: N/A

Miles and Toni are two twenty-somethings made for each other. So why can't they stop arguing? Their turbulent love-hate relationship is the basis for She Smokes, Christa Collins's funny and smart film. Jonathan Wald's Just Out of Reach is a few fleeting moments in two people's lives. But these bits of time tell us volumes about their May-December relationship. A guy tells the bartender a story that couldnât possibly be true. Or could it? Forbidden Fruit, Geoff Badger's dark and stylish film will have you thinking twice about buying a drink for that woman across the bar.Brett Schwartz's Silicon Harvest looks at Olson's Cherries, the last operating fruit orchard in what was once one of California's most fertile regions. Schwartz's Beachcombers shows the compassion and dedication of the volunteers at the Marine Mammal Center. Post WWII San Francisco is the setting for Deserter, Alex Pearcy's atmospheric tale of a Navy sailor, a prostitute, and a corrupt policeman. As Raymond Chandler said, "The streets were dark with something more than night."The presentation of Robert Miller's Mail Bonding is an encore screening of this landmark all-digital narrative. The high-tech techniques are, however, overshadowed by Robert's visual storytelling as he follows the travails of a lonely mailman and an equally forlorn customer.Reviewed by Ken Karn