No Festival Required Brings Short Films to Found:RE Hotel in Downtown Phoenix

Steve Weiss will present selections from Chicago filmmakers.

December 19, 2016

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Film buffs can add another downtown Phoenix film venue to their list come Tuesday, December 20, when No Festival Required screens Chicagoland Shorts Vol. 2, a collection of 10 experimental short films by Chicago filmmakers, at the art boutique hotel Found:RE, which opened in October.

Launched in 2002 at Modified Arts, No Festival Required presents primarily feature-length documentary and narrative films, as well as “experimental and subversive” offerings. Screening locations vary, and have ranged from Phoenix Art Museum to Superstition Farm. Recently, No Festival Required screened the film Eva Hesse by filmmaker Marcie Begleiter at Chartreuse gallery.

Tuesday’s Chicagoland Shorts Vol. 2 screening starts at 7:30 p.m. inside Found:RE event spaces Gallery 1 and Gallery 2, and the program lasts about an hour and 40 minutes. The films range from about two to 20 minutes in length, says Steve Weiss, executive director for No Festival Required.

Doors open at 7 p.m., giving viewers a chance to hit the cash bar and vie for their favorite seat. The screening is free, but Weiss is encouraging people who attend to bring a cash donation to support Phoenix Center for the Arts, a nearby arts venue that presents classes, performances, and exhibits.

“This is an opportunity to test the waters for screening more independent films at the Found:RE,” Weiss says.

Tuesday’s film lineup originated with Full Spectrum Features, a Chicago nonprofit focused on increasing diversity in media arts through “producing, exhibiting, and supporting the work of women, LGBTQ, and minority filmmakers,” as well as spotlighting social and cultural issues. Viewers will see films in genre that include noir, dance, horror, satire, sci-fi, and spoken word.

Here are the 10 films being screened:

Edison by Daniel Davison
Parietal Guidance by Lonnie Edwards
VIDEOWAVE_056 by Aren Zolninger
Violets by Jim Vendiola
Marquee by Brian Zahm
The Fever by Eunhye Hong Kim
Ayinde’s Video Game by Shiri Burson
Round by Monica Thomas
Run of Press by Mina Fitzpatrick
Girls Love Horses by Jennifer Reeder.

Dane Haiken, program director for Full Spectrum Features, will attend Tuesday’s event, and be part of a post-screening Q&A.

Despite the ease of watching films at home, Weiss says No Festival Required has something more to offer contemporary film-goers. Typically, it screens films that aren’t available online or in movie theaters, giving people a chance to encounter a broader range of work. But there’s also the community aspect. “There’s just something that happens when you watch a film with a group of people instead of home alone on your couch," Weiss says.

Chicagoland Shorts Vol. 2 starts at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 20. Find more information on the No Festival Required website.

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