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thearts •
much about posteriors as it is about poster
ity. And protrusions. And, as a certain for
mer Sissyboy puts it, shiny things.
Ihe brainchild o f the always affable Fan
nie Mae Darling (aka Jeffrey Darling) and
the iiber-talented Gula Delgatto (aka Eric
Sellers), the inaugural event, slated for No
vember 19 at QCenter, manages to shortlist
most everyone: amateur filmmakers, impa
tient viewers, last-minute joiners.
“Ihere are so many other things going
on,” said Darling. “Every single day you
have seven options, and we realize that
people sometimes are like, ‘.Look at that
shiny thing! Look at that shiny thing!’” He
and Sellers conjured up the fest a year ago,
aware they’d have to make
concessions to the deni
zens o f the fast-paced
queer arts world— even
now, they’re extending
submission deadlines to
accomodate the rapid-fire
realities o f the YouTube
Generation.
O f course there’s more
to Shorty Shorts than,
um, (lack of) length. The
event is a night o f works
from local filmmakers,
most o f whom are queer.
Ihe rules for submission
are simple: Keep the film
under 10 minutes, and no penetration. Other
than that, everything’s fair game.
“I love porn,” proclaimed Darling. “I prob
ably watch porn more than I watch anything
else. But there’s a time and a place for that. If
it was up to me and Gula, we probably would
have penetration. I wanna make people feel a
little squirmy, but I don’t wanna make people
feel flat-out uncomfortable.”
Q C enter will transform from community
hub to movie theater for this one-night-only
cinema circus, complete with popcorn ma
chine, a black tie-meets-cheetah print red
carpet, beer and wine, and performances by
Fannie and Gula. Darling says he’d like to
build on his arsenal o f annual benefits to
include Shorty Shorts as a yearly event,
much like the upcoming Queer Quistmas.
All proceeds from Shorty Shorts go to E s
ther’s Pantry.
“Eric and I kind o f have the Portland
heart where we know we’re gonna be here
for several years,” said Darling. “So we like
the whole ‘L e t’s get back together again,
guys!’ It’s so hokey, but at the same time
we want Shorty Shorts to do that every
year, too.”
Those who recall Fannie Mae’s infamous
wine-fueled video barrage in response to an
October 2010 Just Out cover featuring Chi-
Chi and Chonga— and a follow-up also
featuring Delgatto— have a pretty good idea
o f the essence o f the videos Darling is look
ing for. So far, he reports, the short films
have been primarily hilari
ous, with lots o f the trashy
drag element that Darling
helped reinvigorate in
town while a member o f
the legendary Sissyboy
troupe. The point isn’t to
create a flawless master-
work, but to give everyone
the opportunity to be that
wine-foeled video vixen.
Briefly. Shortly.
“People can overly edit
it, but I like them raw,”
said Darling. “I think
that’s the funniest. In
Portland it works because
Portland’s so flicking weird. We want all
genres, but this year it’s mainly people just
kind o f going for that funny moment. I
think people will expand more [in future
festivals].”
Darling and Sellers hope to expand, too,
with a foil day o f films for the next Shorty
Shorts.
“We have in our mind something a lot
bigger than it will be this year,” said Darling.
“But it’s baby steps.”
The Shorty Shorts Queer Short Film Festival is
Sat., Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Q Center (4115
N. Mississippi Ave.). Admission is S5, or S3
with a canned food donation. For more infor
mation, or fo r submission information, visit
shortyshortspdx. blogspot. com.