INTERNATIONAL SHORTS (Films under 60 min)

ANDHERI
Presented by the Palm Theatre

In Mumbai, the world's most densely populated city, lives collide and, in an instant, can change forever. This is the story of Anita, an oppressed live-in maid who finds the courage to run away in search of a better life. What happens next, while a perfectly typical occurrence in this harsh big city, shakes Anita's newfound courage. Shot on the streets of Mumbai with several non-actors this film offers a rare realistic glimpse of the city. In Competition. 18 min. India. andheri-themovie.com

Saturday, March 13, 4:00pm Palm Theatre, San Luis Obispo
Monday, March 15, 4:00pm, Palm Theatre, San Luis Obispo

World Premiere
DARK HORSE

When taxi driver Minh Tran picks up Isabella, the first thing he notices is her incredible beauty and thinks she couldn’t possibly have a worry in the world. Little does he know how wrong he is. One night with her will reveal her story, test his kind nature, and may in fact even change his life – and hers. Stunningly filmed and a moving drama. In Competition. 28 min. Australia.

Saturday, March 20, 3:00pm
Downtown Cinemas, San Luis Obispo

DIE FLUCHT (The End)

It's 1945. The war is almost lost. Two brothers meet in the attic of a house to prepare for an escape. They leave a last note in the diary about the war that destroyed everything. A war they never wanted. They make last toast to the homeland they have to leave. A land they never wanted to leave this way. 10 min. Switzerland.

Thursday, March 18, 7:00pm
Palm Theatre, San Luis Obispo

DREAM THE LIFE
Presented by AV Solutions

Meet Jason Paul, the bad-boy Aussie actor and hunk of phenomenon that has taken Hollywood by storm. In an attempt to renew the passion, Jason has returned home to do a low-budget feature with a former school-mate. Jason's world collides with Mel's, a small-town waitress, and their lives are thrust onto a new path. In our culture of rapid-fire pop media, this is a short comedy about a realist versus a dreamer and how they create their realities. In Competition. 27 min. Australia. www.fishyproductions.com

Friday, March 19, 4:00pm Palm Theatre, San Luis Obispo
Friday, March 19, 7:00pm Joe Momma's Café, Avila Beach

GREAT EXPECTATIONS
Presented by One Way Boardshop

A drying handkerchief is tempted by the graceful flight of cranes. From the captivity of a laundry line, it manages to escape and with great courage, it launches out on an exciting adventure of flight and freedom. The film's beautiful and creative animation makes you feel almost weightless while watching it. 3 min. Romania.

Thursday, March 18, 7:00pm Joe Momma's Café, Avila Beach
Saturday, March 20, 1:00pm Downtown Cinemas, SLO

HOMELAND
Presented by QuickFilmBudget.com

Where there´s a will, there´s a way. A fascinating little 'yarn' animated by Spanish student, Juande Marfil in Czech Republic. In Competition. 6 min. Czech Republic.

Wednesday, March 17, 4:00pm
Palm Theatre, San Luis Obispo

THE LAST ELEPHANTS IN THAILAND
Presented by the Inn at Avila Beach

At the turn of the 20th Century, there were 100,000 elephants in Thailand. Today, there are less than 5,000. The Asian elephant, the most sacred animal in Thailand, is also among the most abused. Thanks to the compassion of the hard-working managers of the Bangkok Elephant Hospital, these long-suffering soulful animals have somewhere to go. These threatened pachyderms charm with undeniable personality, including one with a prosthetic limb, the only one of its kind. Co-directed by Michelle Mizner and Donald Tayloe. Donald Tayloe will be in attendance at both screenings. In competition. 40 min. Thailand. www.thelastelephants.com

Friday, March 19, 1:00pm Palm Theatre, San Luis Obispo
Friday, March 19, 7:00pm Joe Momma's Café, Avila Beach

THE LAST OF THE REDHEADS
Presented by The Baywood Inn

Redheads beware! Are your carrot-top days numbered? Redhead Canadian filmmaker, Heather Slepchik, theorizes that the future of authentic redheads could be threatened, so she sets out to explore the lives and history of redheads. She hopes to at the very least preserve their legacy amidst scientific speculation that redheads will be extinct in one hundred years.15 min. Canada. www.lastoftheredheads.com

Saturday, March 13, 1:00pm Downtown Cinemas, SLO
Sunday, March 14, 1:00pm La Perla Del Mar, Shell Beach

LATTE AMERICA
Presented by Joe Momma's Café

If you ordered a "Latte America" at a café, you'd ask for “a single shot, short, backwards.” Three adventurous Canadian filmmakers decided this was the perfect order for a film and somehow pulled off this amazing feat – all the action, all the dialogue, all delivered backwards, in one take. It’s cinematic history! In Competition. 10 min. Canada. www.latteamericafilm.com

Wednesday, March 17, 7:00pm
Joe Momma's Café, Avila Beach

ON THE ROAD TO TEL AVIV
Presented by The Garden Street Inn

Under the tense reality of war and terror, enemies can sometimes find themselves in the same boat…or bus! This clever short film challenges the viewer to think past stereotypes and fear as tension rises on a crowded and potentially lethal city bus in downtown Tel Aviv. In competition. 15 min. Israel. www.roadtotelaviv.com

Friday, March 19, 1pm Downtown Cinemas, San Luis Obispo
Saturday, March 20 1:00pm Palm Theatre, San Luis Obispo

ONE OF THOSE DAYS
Presented by Colby Jack Café and Bakery

Howard and his wife Jean have lived a very ordinary life. They’ve never taken drugs or run naked through a graveyard. These law-abiding English suburbanites believed that one day, divine justice would reward them for their propriety. But when Judgment Day arrives, Howard finds that he has been mistaken for a genocidal maniac starting a downward spiral into a never-ending abyss of paper work and mindless officialdom. In competition. 14 min. UK.

Thursday, March 18, 9pm Downtown Cinemas, San Luis Obispo

THE MOON BIRD
Presented by Holiday Inn Express - Atascadero

The award winning, triple BAFTA nominated Brothers McLeod (Greg and Myles) have an admirable track record for creating excellent animation for TV, web, and film. This short film, inspired by the Brothers Grimm tells the melancholy story of Teardrop and the Moon Bird, with amazing illustrations, white on black, that come to life with a simple and luminescent yet haunting style. 14 min. UK. www.brothersmcleod.co.uk

Saturday, March 13, 4pm La Perla Del Mar, Shell Beach
Tuesday, March 16, 7pm Pavilion on the Lake, Atascadero

POTENTIAL
Presented by Mona and Gordon Jennings

Three Canadian teenage boys begin a half-century old ritual performed by millions of teenagers across North America – they start a garage band. But what happens when talent, dedication and dreams are out of sync? A must-see film for anyone who's been in a band, or for parents wondering what the teenagers in the basement are up to. In competition. 47 min. Canada. website

Saturday, March 13, 4pm
Palm Theatre, San Luis Obispo

THE SOLITARY LIFE OF CRANES
Presented by Sprecher Brewing Company

Part city symphony, part visual poem, this lyrical film explores the life of a city seen through the eyes of crane drivers. Observing the city as it awakens, through the lull of midday, the manic rush in the evening and the calm of the night, the drivers share their reflections on London and life in general. What emerges is a lyrical mediation about how our existence is shaped through the environment we inhabit. In competition. 27 min. UK. www.oddgirlout.co.uk

Friday, March 19, 1pm
Downtown Cinemas, San Luis Obispo

UN CAFÉ POUR L'AMERIQUE
(Butterflies Don't Drink Coffee)
Presented by Avila La Fonda

Pierre is retired. He is a very shy man in his sixties, with no family or friends. He can’t travel due to his poor health. The next door café, where he has drunk his evening coffee for thirty years, becomes his sole daily activity. And the owner’s wife has remained so attractive… In competition. 20 min. Luxembourg. www.twitter.com/rishonfilms

Sunday, March 14, 7pm
Joe Momma's Café, Avila Beach