The Lake Erie shoreline becomes the backdrop for Saturday's first-ever Overlook Park Short Film Festival. Under a starry sky, 20 short films -- by filmmakers from as far as Australia and Thailand -- will be shown on a big screen. It's the creation of the Overlook Park Drive Street Association, a bunch of local homeowners who are also film fanatics. "Film is an art form that many of us on the street feel rather passionately about," understates Frank Revy, one of the festival's organizers.
The films include a couple of comedies, a few horror flicks, and a social documentary. Once all the movies are shown, a five-judge panel will vote on the best of the lot. The winning filmmaker will take home the Bertha -- a bronze statue of a woman holding a cigarette and martini in her hands -- which is named after Bertha Berthiume, a colorful character who lived on the street for 80 years before recently retiring to North Carolina. The Overlook Park Short Film Festival starts at 7 p.m. Saturday at Overlook Park, at the end of Overlook Park Drive north of Lake Shore Boulevard. Admission is $10; call 216-692-1461. -- Cris Glaser
Sisters of the Pour
Roll out the beer -- a Catholic holy day is near.
8/14-8/17
It's not tough to spot Philip Racco at the Feast of the Assumption: He's the one with the beer in his hand, the cigar dangling from his mouth, and the priest's collar around his neck. The 51-year-old cleric is the man behind the 105th Little Italy bash, with cavatelli and pizza stands, music, and Sunday-night fireworks. But the main attractions are the beer and wine booths. "This isn't a Methodist feast," Racco proclaims. "We're Catholic, for God's sakes!" It's not all eat-drink-and-be-merry: The festival celebrates the Rapture -- a day when, according to the Bible, all God-fearing folk are raised from the dead. "It's a sneak preview of a coming attraction for us all," Racco says. It takes place 6 to 11 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m. to midnight Friday, noon to midnight Saturday, and noon to 11 p.m. Sunday on Mayfield Road, between East 120th and 126th streets. Admission is free; call 216-421-2995. -- Cris Glaser
Nude Awakening
An ARTcade exhibit gets dirty . . . and clean.
8/14-9/12
Alicia Ross uses headless nudes in her latest series of photographs because they represent the human condition in its purest form: naked and without identity. Eighteen of the photos appear in the recent college grad's first solo show, Division of Labor, which explores the age-old schism between "woman's work" and "man's work." Ross creates scenes that question the '50s-era mentality of her father, an economics professor who told her that a "division of labor" was necessary to run an efficient household. The exhibit is on display at the Four Corners Gallery (530 Euclid Avenue) through September 12. It's open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Admission is free; call 216-861-9088. -- Eleanor Lebeau
Free Willies
TUE 8/19
No one will force you to surrender your slacks at the Tool Shed's weekly No Pants Tuesday. But it's always nice to have options. You can check your pants with a bartender and receive a numbered tag that enables you to purchase drinks at half-price. When the night's over, hand in the tag, and get your pants back. The drawers start dropping at 7 p.m.; the Tool Shed -- a gay bar, by the way -- is at 2901 Detroit Avenue. Admission is free. For more information, call 216-771-7812. -- Cris Glaser
