Electric Shorts

Electric Shorts (part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival) is a short film festival, like no other. This week I spoke to local Melbourne filmmaker and festival director Jim Stamatakos about Electric Shorts 2014.

Tell us a bit about the festival and why you started it?
Electric Shorts is a relaxed night where we screen 12 short films that have been fully self funded by the filmmaker. With the first Electric Shorts, l wanted to create a night, where we could screen work, in an informal environment, and then hang out after the screenings, mingle, have a drink and discuss the films. I thought Melbourne Fringe would be a perfect umbrella for it. We are now in our 11th year I’d like to believe people are still interested in self funded films.

What can audience members expect from the selection of films screening at Electric Shorts 2014?
Variety, great stories, experimental cinema, animation, documentaries, music videos and this year it’s our most international program. We have films from Iran, Greece, Germany, New Zealand and of course Australia. 

I see that you are now in your 11th year.  Did you envisage that you would still be going, this far down the track?
No, I never thought at the end of the first Electric Shorts in 2002, that we would still be here in 2014. But here we are. Films were made differently then, with limited platforms to screen your work. Now with the digital era, it’s all different and you have tons of new platforms to view content. I’m happy that people still come out, sit with lots of other people and watch films in a big screen environment.

And what’s next for you as a filmmaker? Any new projects in the pipe line?
I’m just about to go into production on a new short, which we will be filming in October in Melbourne. It’s called ‘Annex’. I will also be completing another short film Collide where the first section was shot in 2007 and the last section to be shot in 2014. Both these films will screen in 2015.

Electric Shorts 2014 consists of twelve films, including Safe Space by Andrew Merlino (who is the filmmaker of much-talked-about silent film Imitating Charlie) and Zero O’Clock by local underground filmmaker Gregory Pakis.

The festival is free and goes for three hours duration but get there early otherwise you won’t get a seat.  I’ll see you there!

Electric Shorts
Loop Bar, 23 Meyers Place, Melbourne
Wednesday October 1st, 7:30pm-10:30pm
melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/electric-shorts/ or call (03) 9660 9666