HOME Short Films and Their Festivals T HE launching of the Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival in May brought about the realization that there are a respectable number of showcases for Canadian short films, and some completely devoted to the national product. Most of these festivals are juried with filmmakers competing for awards of cash or services.
Many more festivals show short films of a more specialized nature.
The Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival, the newcomer on the block, arrived with a tiny fanfare, and not exactly a rush of publicity. The writer attended three sessions, including the opening international program on a Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. and there were a fair number of people in a small cinema. The program started 20 minutes late, and was introduced by a young man who announced that one film had not arrived from Australia. When a member of the audience enquired about a replacement, he was completely taken aback to think that someone who had paid an admission expected a substitute film. A couple of Canadian programs on Friday afternoon were fairly well attended, both started late again, but yielded some moderate successes.