Overall, this was a good little fest that deserves greater numbers in the audience. Every screening I attended had a good showing, but it should be a full house. Harris did a great job of opening feature films with perfect pairings of short films. Smoke Signals was preceded by a short about a girls’ road trip cut short, and When Your Hands Are Tied was preceded by two shorts related to finding an outlet through art. The Storytelling Fest allowed an opportunity to see the lost art of telling tales before the big screen came along, and the kids shorts program opened littler eyes to an often hidden culture.
This culturally-driven genre deserves a wider audience. Come ‘round next year and open up your fim lovin’ mind.