MINI MOVIES
Short film Festival back for 13th year in Sanford
Short film lovers and filmmakers will soon congregate in Sanford as an annual tradition of concise cinema makes its return.
The Love Your Shorts Film Festival will show 68 short films from 12 countries at the Ritz Theater, which turns 100 years old this year, during the event Feb. 9-12. Visitors can choose from nine blocks of films categorized by drama, animation, comedy, documentary and more.
The final block of the weekend on Sunday night will highlight the “Best of the Fest” by showing the top film from each block as chosen by audience members, which carries a $400 cash prize per category. The overall winner, which will be selected by a panel of industry professionals, receives a $1,500 cash prize.
Festival co-founder Gene Kruckemyer first hatched the idea for his Central Florida event when visiting Nevada. After a trip to the Hoover Dam, he and his wife stopped in Boulder City and stumbled upon a short film festival.
“We were watching the comedy block when my wife said, ‘We could do this in Sanford,’ ” he said. “None of my friends and I had any background in film or putting on events like this. We came up with the name ‘Love Your Shorts’ and all the films are under 30 minutes.”
This year, a film titled “Uprooted” comes from Ukraine and focuses on life amid the ongoing horrors of war but ends on a hopeful note.
“You can see people running and hiding and sheltering because they were under duress and bombing. As the short film progresses, they escape and go to Poland, and you see a dance troupe,” Kruckemyer said. “They made this as a message of hope to other people.”
Another film, “Crosses in the Dust,” comes from UCF students