Since our June 1 edition will be devoted to the Current’s 25th anniversary and we won’t have our usual sections, I thought I’d give you a heads up on some local film activities taking place in early June:
The San Antonio Film Academy (SAFA) has teamed up with 13th Floor Studios and the Short Shorts Film Festival for a full day of activities on June 4 (13th Floor Studios, 5817 La Colonia Drive). The Open House, Acting, and Film Workshop is from noon to 4 p.m. ($40); the SAFA Showcase (a mix of monologues and group scene vignettes based on classical and contemporary work from local playwrights, screen writers, and poets, as well as the Academy’s own productions) runs from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.; and the Short Shorts 4 Film Festival, under the theme “Declaration of Independents,” will be from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Guest judges (Pablo Véliz, Veronica Hernández, Dora Peña, Dagoberto Patlan, Bryan Ortiz, and Nikki Young) will choose the “Critic’s Pick” from a pool of 10, and the audience will decide the “People’s Champion.” If you don’t attend the workshop, you can enjoy both the Showcase and Short Shorts fest for only $5, and half of the proceeds will benefit the Community Sustainability Partnership, which supports local obesity prevention and an anti-bullying program. Go to safilmacademy.com/showcase for more info.
The festival will be hosted by comedian James Ponce, who is also the star of Amounting to Nothing, a comedy directed by Johnny Luna from Place To Be Productions. The official trailer for the movie will premiere at the Short Shorts fest on June 4, and the movie’s actual premiere will be held July 29 at a location still to be determined. Go to placetobproductions.com for a sneak peek at the very rough unofficial teaser.
Do you have an iPhone? Do you make films? Go to the itunes.apple.com right now and download (free for a limited time) the new Super 8 application, which imitates a vintage Super 8 camera. The application, launched as a promotional tool for the movie Super 8 (opening June 10), even includes seven photorealistic lenses with infrared, chromatic, and x-ray effects in addition to a bunch of others. It’s definitely worth taking a look at, but you must have an iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod touch (4th generation), iPad 2 Wi-Fi, or iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G. Requires iOS 4.2 or later.
