WWSFF 2007 FILM FEST DIARY

Diary Entry #1—Hot weather, perfect for romantic shorts Diary Entry #2—Annoying fest goers, after only a day! Diary Entry #3—Advice: Frightening frappes and creepy Czechs Diary Entry #4—Great kiddie programs and sadly empty screenings Diary Entry #5—Final day wrap-up Diary Entry #6—A list of WWSFF '07 Award Winners

Ah, the Worldwide Short Film Festival!

Up until my hardcore Hot Doc-ing earlier this year, the WWSFF was my second-favourite film festival in Toronto. It’s in its 13th year now, and I’ve been queuing up to get into their shorts for ten of those 13 years. I’ve watched it grow from a barely attended event that unspooled whatever short films landed on the director’s desk (seriously, some were inconceivably horrible), to a showcase for some of the most astoundingly wonderful short films from around the planet.

This year, the fest will screen more than 250 films from 30 countries at a number of venues around town (though, not the Bader, which is a bummer) and – drumroll please – like HotDocs, this will be the first year that I attend as an officially accredited member of the media. Hooray! I last covered the WWSFF for the ‘Pie was back in 2005, when I offered a post-fest wrap-up of my fave flicks. This year, press pass strung around my neck on the world’s longest lanyard (my media pass hangs precisely at crotch-level), I’ll be blogging daily. I won’t, however, be reviewing every short I see – with an average of 20 a day, there’s no way I’d have time to discuss them all. So, instead, highlights, lowlights and random nonsense as it unfolds.

It’s go time!