Arkansas Shorts festival is set for Jan. 8-9

Low Key Arts’ 15th annual Arkansas Shorts Short Film Festival will take place Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 8-9, at the historic Malco Theatre.

The festival will expand — for the first time in its history — from one night to two full days of short films, workshops and parties, a news release said.

“While the program consists primarily of work from Arkansas filmmakers, the festival will also feature films from across the country and around the world,” it said.

This was the busiest year to date for Low Key Arts’ hands-on filmmaking program, producing three and a half hours of films over the past nine months.

“In partnership with the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival’s Documentary Boot Camp as well as our own Sketch Comedy workshop this summer, this year’s sessions resulted in some of the most powerful and moving work yet produced in the program, and are the foundation for what will be an unforgettable weekend,” Low Key Arts Executive Director Sonny Kay said in the release.

All films produced in Low Key Arts’ Inception to Projection Filmmaking Program will have their world premieres Jan. 8-9.

“Arkansas Shorts has been bursting at the seams the past few years as we have seen such growth and enthusiasm from our regional filmmakers,” Film Program Director Jen Gerber said in the release. “It seems the time spent in quarantine the past two years has resulted in a tremendous outpouring of creative energy, therefore we decided this was the year to expand from a one night event into a weekend of screenings.”

The schedule, tickets and passes were made available Monday at http:// www.lowkeyarts.org.