Lineup For Petaluma Film Fest 10th Annual Shortfest Announced

From Santa Rosa Junior College: Thirty three films from six continents will offer film lovers a taste of global cinema at the tenth annual Film Fest Petaluma on Saturday, May 5, 2018 at the historic Mystic Theatre in downtown Petaluma.

The day-long festival will give visitors a sampling of award-winning shorts from prestigious international festivals including Sundance, Toronto, London, and Tribeca. The festival is also launching a new Virtual Reality Lounge at the Petaluma Masonic Center, located at 9 Western Avenue. The lounge, open from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., is free with any ticket and will provide festival goers with a variety of cutting-edge Virtual Reality experiences.

Four different collections of shorts will screen at the Mystic Theatre at 12:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. with the late show offering edgier fare. Films will be showcased from more than fifteen countries including France, Germany, Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Mexico, Canada, Jordan, Nepal, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, and Australia. Each of the four programs offers a variety of animation, live action, and documentary content as well as a discussion with some of the filmmakers. Directors from North and South America as well as Europe will be in attendance at the event.

Four Sonoma County student filmmakers, selected from the Sonoma County Student Film Festival held earlier this month, will sit alongside international guests on all four post-screening discussions. Santa Rosa High School students Andy Huey and Grant Anderson-Smith will be screening Crab Man and Davy Jones Can't Fly. SRJC student Annika Cafiero will screen Billy's Ribbit. Tanya Sierra, also a SRJC student, was selected as the festival's student screenplay winner and will produce (and exhibit) a 48-hour film project under the direction of this year's artist-in-residence, feature director and Sundance veteran Finn Taylor.

All-day passes may be purchased for $35.00. Tickets for individual shows range from $10.00 to $15.00 and are available at PetalumaFilmAlliance.org as well as at McNear’s Restaurant and Copperfield’s Books in Petaluma. Programs are recommended for ages 14 years old and over (17 for the late show).

A complete line-up of films is available at FilmFestPetaluma.com.

Image via Jag_cz_/Shutterstock