Short Films: Then & Now

This Presidents’ Weekend, we invite you to join us for Short Films: Then and Now, three days of screenings and events at Matheson Performing Arts Center, Friday, February 17 through Sunday, February 19. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Mendocino High School Multimedia Arts Program. 

Screening on Saturday at 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm, the “Live Cinema” Silent Film Program includes seven short films produced between 1909 and 1925, which will be screened on a reel-to-reel projector and accompanied by original live music from Dave Mihaly and the Shimmering Leaves Ensemble. These rare silent films come from the collection of George Russell.

Jumping to the present day, two encore screenings of our 2016 Short Films Program: Only Human will showcase more recent short films, including two 2016 Academy Award winners. The Short Films Program: Only Human screens on Friday at 8:00 pm and Sunday at 1:00 pm and offers an entertaining look at the triumphs and travails of being human. A Q&A with filmmaker Paige Morrow Kimball of Play Date follows both screenings. Read more.

Our Members enjoy access to the full Mendocino Film Festival experience, including our Opening Night Celebration, our Wrap Party, and special Member events year-round — including an exclusive Members’ reception and screening of our hit Short Films Program: Only Human on Friday, February 17.

Members are invited to join us as we offer a taste of what’s to come at the 12th Annual Mendocino Film Festival. At this fun prelude to our June program, you will be the first to hear about the fantastic films and events that our 2017 Program Director, Claudia Puig (recently featured in Adweek and in Indiewire), will bring to Mendocino. Interested in attending the event but haven’t joined yet? Become a Member today.

(If you would prefer to sponsor an event or program, we’ve got lots of opportunities for you, too. Read more or contact us.)

Claudia Puig, the president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and a renowned film journalist, has joined the Mendocino Film Festival as program director for the 12th Annual Mendocino Film Festival, June 1-4, 2017.

Claudia began her journalistic career at the Los Angeles Times, where she was on the team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 1993 for their reporting on the L.A. riots. Later, she joined USA Today, where she became lead film critic. During her 18-year tenure at USA Today, she also hosted The Screening Room and conducted live interviews on the red carpet. Since 2005, she has been a film critic on NPR’s Film Week. Claudia has also appeared on NBC, CBS, and CNN.

She is a regular on the festival circuit, where she has served as a juror and has moderated Q&As with Richard Linklater, Mindy Kaling, Ethan Hawke, Dustin Hoffman, Tim Burton, Kathryn Stockett, Casey Affleck, Felicity Jones, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and many other notable filmmakers and actors. Read more.

Dispatches from the Field
Speaking of film festivals and red carpets, the Mendocino Film Festival has been well-represented this year. Last month, as president, Claudia oversaw LAFCA‘s annual Awards Dinner, which our Communications Director was lucky enough to attend. Then, the Mendocino Film Festival made its way to Utah, where Executive Director Michael Fox represented the festival at Art House Convergence and Claudia and another member of our programming team checked out the latest films and innovations at Sundance. Who knows? You might see a few of those films in Mendocino in June!

Ready, Set, Share!
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Can’t get enough of the Festival? Learn more about becoming a member, sponsor, advertiser, or volunteer at the 12th Annual Mendocino Film Festival.