Quick film festival to hail the Three

Gazette Reporters

Three is the magic number.

In honor of this Saturday’s date, 3/3, the Look Around art collective in Palouse is hosting its first ever Super-Short Film Festival, which will feature dozens of home-made movies, all clocking in at under three minutes.

“Even the most terribly shot movie in the world, you can sit through for three minutes,” said Mary Rothlisberger, a member of the Look Around and one of the orgnizers of the film festival.

Rothlisberger said the inspiration for a three-minute limit came from a three-minute egg timer.

“There’s a lot you can do in three minutes,” she said. “You can fast-boil an egg or write a pop song.”

As of press time, Rothlisberger said the Look Around has received more than an hour’s worth of short films ranging from 47 seconds to two-and-a-half minutes.

“It’s a lot of little tiny movies,” she said.

More movies were expected to come in before the entry deadline of midnight Wednesday.

The festival was given a tiny posting on Facebook to draw worldwide attention to the group’s Lilliputan flick-fest.

Many movies have come from snappy Spielbergs and laconic Lumets on the Palouse. Others have come from all over North America, including several from the east coast.

Entries have ranged from stop-motion to children’s and action genres. Rothlisberger said a short documentary film has been entered.

The Palouse Arts Council staged a series of film festivals, but has not held an event for a few years.

“It’s just a whole lot of fun,” said Rothlisberger. “And this gets a lot of people.”

Saturday’s event will feature lots of popcorn, and entrants and attendees both will get to walk a tiny red carpet into the screening room.

Screening begins in the Look Around room next to the Palouse Tavern on Main Street at 6 p.m.