This month's An Evening With the Arts, taking place at 7 p.m. Thursday, January 28, at the Rocky River Public Library (1600 Hampton Rd., 440.333.7610, rrpl.org), will feature a panel discussion with locally based independent film directors Jeff M. Breyer, David Greathouse and Kevin Kerwin, who will talk about their projects and participate in a question-and-answer session. Breyer is a local horror filmmaker who regularly posts new short films at his website, vizualcandi.com. He produces, writes, directs and stars in the shorts. Greathouse, a makeup special-effects guy who has worked on films like The Usual Suspects, The Dead Matter and Buried Alive, just premiered his Legion of Terror, a documentary about the Bloodview Haunted House acting troupe. Kerwin is a Columbia Film School grad who has been working in Northeast Ohio for the past several years. He recently directed Running America, a documentary about long-distance runner Charlie Engle and his quest to run from San Francisco to New York. The event is free.
At an event dubbed "Get Shorty," you can help pick the short films that make the cut for the 34th annual Cleveland International Film Festival. CIFF staff and board members host the screening program, where guests get to vote on which shorts they think should be shown at the annual film festival, coming to Tower City Cinemas March 18-28. "Get Shorty" starts at 7 p.m. Friday, January 29, at House of Blues (308 Euclid Ave., 216.523.2583, houseofblues.com). Tickets: $75.
The 7th annual Standing Rock International Short Film Festival returns to the Kent Stage (175 E. Main St., 330.677.5005, kentstage.org) at 8 p.m. Saturday, January 30. Producer Jeff Ingram has put together a truly international program that will commence with the showing of King Crab Attack, an entry from Paris that began as a fake trailer for a disaster movie and has blossomed into a seven-minute sci-fi spoof about a giant crustacean that walks through the city streets. In addition to featuring films from the states (including Kent), the program includes shorts from Canada, Israel and India. Additionally, last year's winner, Spanish filmmaker Lucas Figueroa, will screen his "death trilogy." The night will conclude with Mike Hovancsek and Cindy Penter's silent films, which will show as guitarist Brad Bolton plays accompanying music. Tickets are $10. Find more info at standingrock.net.
