In conjunction with A Digital Art Salon, SLOMA hosted the first-ever Digital Shorts Film Festival April 2–4, 2021. This weekend-long film festival featured 15 digital shorts created by contemporary California-based film makers.
Juror’s Statement
I would like to thank the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art for inviting me to jury the Digital Shorts Festival; it was such a pleasure to view the submissions. The brief was loosely defined for this festival; films could be from any genre, with the only stipulation that they are digital, and the shorts were therefore incredibly varied. I wanted to honor the broad diversity of creative output in the final slate of films, and so you will find examples of documentary, performance, experimental, and even comedic work in this group.
As I deliberated, I considered composition, editing, camerawork, narrative flow, and overall craftsmanship. I was interested in pieces that explored new possibilities within the digital medium itself, but I also wanted to highlight work that moved me; that told a story or created an emotional connection, even if it was in a non-linear, abstract way. There is a common thread of humanity present in the work; an often intimate look at what it means to be human in a world that can be isolating or challenging.
Congratulations to the filmmakers whose work is included in the festival, and a note of thanks and encouragement to every artist who submitted their work. I hope the audience will find something inspiring, entertaining, or thought-provoking in the films presented here.
— Michelle Robinson