The sixth annual Short Short Story Film Festival returns to Concord on Nov. 16 and 17. Co-presented by the New Hampshire Technical Insititute Film Society with MergingArts Productions, and screening at NHTI’s Sweeney Auditorium, the festival will present two distinct programs, each screening both days. The event is open to the public, and seats are $5 or free with NHTI ID.
“We want to see how short a film can be and still successfully tell a story. In spite of their brevity, our films have narratives as meaningful as those in shorts running into the twenty-minute range,” Toni Pennacchia, creative director of MergingArts Productions, which programs the festival, said. “The films often contain classic story elements like buildup of conflict and resolution, but the length may leave certain details more implied than explicit. Their success as films is driven more by their depth than their length. Sometimes less really is more.”
The festival has traveled to communities throughout New England following its 2007 debut in Providence, R.I. This year marks the third time the festival has played the Concord area.
With three dozen films in two programs, the festival mixes live action and animated films from 20 countries on six continents (Antarctica has no movie theaters).
The Heartstrings program presents films of a more emotional nature, from inspiring documentaries to bittersweet romances to unexpected tragedies. The Headtrip program features visits to strange worlds, offbeat satires, and unhinged animations.
Pennacchia, also a long-time radio hostess, said, “Each program is about the length of a typical feature film. It’s a challenge to present 18 films with a wide variety of themes while maintaining the appropriate overall mood. I think of it like a well-mixed DJ set, where pacing and flow are paramount.”
The Heartstrings Program screens Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 7 p.m. The Headtrip screens Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 9 p.m. Pennacchia and festival co-organizer Paul Elsnau will be on hand to discuss the films.
Audiences at each screening are given ballots to select their favorite three films, which are then combined with votes from other festival screenings to determine overall winners. The festival also awards prizes from a jury panel of alumni of “Spoiler Alert Radio,” MergingArts’ nationally syndicated filmmaker interview show.
