An Inside Look at Love Your Shorts

We are very lucky in Sanford to have a plethora of amazing events (as you all know!), and the Love Your Shorts Film Festival is certainly one of the most highly anticipated every year. Love Your Shorts brings filmmakers and cinemaphiles from across the globe to Sanford’s historic Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center for a single weekend in February, and 2015 will mark the fifth anniversary of this amazing event.

To gain a little insight, I asked two of the founders of LYS (and good friends of mine) Christina Grace and Nelson Beverly to indulge me during this busy week of pre-festival preparation to answer some silly questions about their love of film. Lucky for me, they did!

What things make a short film enjoyable to you?

Christina: The story. A film (no matter what the length) can have great acting and can be shot so beautifully, but I crave a fantastic story. A story that evokes a reaction or emotion form the audience. A story that leaves you thinking and opens the door for discussion among friends.
Nelson: If I tear up and have to dab my eyes, if I am the only one laughing, and if it makes me want to do something (go on a trip, support a cause, or punch someone).

What’s the wackiest thing that you’ve seen at the past LYS festivals?

C:There have been a few “wacky things– zoo animals, monsters, power outages, crazy weather, etc. But I love calling attention to the more “awe-inspiring” things that happen. I am continually in awe that there are filmmakers and guests who are willing to travel from afar to attend the festival. I am in awe that we inspired a short film festival for students in Kingston, Jamaica. And I am always in awe when our filmmakers meet at our festival and then go on to work together and collaborate on amazing projects. It’s those things that make our hard work worth it.
N: Being in downtown Sanford during a festival with filmmakers and audience members walking around the city with festival shirts and lanyards on and every window plastered with a festival poster, and hearing that some people didn’t know there was a film festival taking place.

If you were a short film, what genre would you be?

N: Drama.
(Of course!)

If you could have any celebrity from the film world attend the festival, who would you choose?

C: We’ve had some local “celebrities” attend in previous years, but really our goal is to treat everyone like a celebrity, especially the filmmakers. I can’t say that I’d want an A-list name to come and overshadow the intimacy of what we have. Our festival is very relaxed, welcoming, and homey. I’d feel honored to catch the attention of a Hollywood star, but that would be a lot of pressure! If I had to choose a high-profile celebrity to attend, I think I’d go with Kevin Spacey. I think he’d get what we’re doing and fit right in.

It’s easy to see from their answers that these two really put their hearts into this festival. I’m so thrilled that Christina, Nelson, and all of the wonderful festival board members and contributors work so very hard to make Love Your Shorts a success each year. It’s fun, down to earth, and completely authentic. Just like Sanford!

See you this weekend 🙂

Experience Love Your Shorts this weekend in beautiful Downtown Sanford, February 14th-16th. Check the festival website for more details about the film blocks and to get your tickets. They also make a great Valentine’s Day gift…