News

I've got an interesting sci-fi short film for you watch today called "Dosing." It was directed by Matt MacDonald, and the story centers on lonely woman's relationship as it's being pushed to the limits by her use of downloadable drugs. Drugs that can be downloaded from online is a really interesting concept that makes for great plot point. There's so much you could explore with this, and I think it would make for a really cool feature-length movie.

Here's a very entertaining comedy short called The Invention of Video Games. It was directed by Matt MacDonald, and it takes us on an awesome retro journey into the birth of video games, and how one man saved the world with his invention. The story goes in one direction, then it takes a completely unexpected turn for the better. Enjoy it! ...

Why Watch? Most of what happens in this little look back at history might not have gone down exactly the way that director Matt MacDonald portrays here, but that doesn’t mean this short isn’t worth checking out. And, who knows, maybe “Space Invaders” really was born because one man wanted to train the world to have the hand-eye coordination to take on an alien menace. Can we ever really know for sure? Regardless of the factual looseness, this movie succeeds with a sleek look that blends camp, 8-bit icons and clean camera work. Plus, it wears its extra life heart on its sleeve with a whimsical sense of humor (that includes evil robots stomping across the Great Wall of China). It’s a great five minutes of fun. What will it cost you? Only 5 minutes. Skip work. Watch more short films.

San Diego’s Comic-Con International is the biggest event in the world devoted to genre pop culture. While the big Hollywood movies get the most mainstream press, there’s also a large, lesser known and promoted Independent Film Festival devoted to genre short films tucked away within the overall convention.

The Cci-iff, as it’s acronymed, runs completely concurrently with the convention with programming running from morning to night that includes films devoted to comic book-inspired movies, horror movies, sci-fi flicks, comedies and documentaries. There are also several panels on filmmaking sandwiched in between the on-screen entertainment.

The fest also gives out awards. This year’s juror panel includes filmmakers Steven-Charles Jaffee and Kyle Newman, plus entertainment journalist Borys Kit.

Programming blocks are broken up by genre and the full film lineup below gives the exact starting time of each short film. There’s also one feature film screening this year,...