A Short Night consists of a variety of short films. The majority are produced, directed, and acted by local film talent. These films range from drama, horror to films that deal with current “hot button” issues. This event is a chance for local film makers to get their creativity and talent, in front of lovers of film.

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Matthew Toffolo: What is your Film Festival succeeding at doing for filmmakers?

Daryl Bates : Our goal for film makers is to get their projects seen. That’s our number one priority. We know there’s a ton of talent literally floating around. We want the up and comers, the dreamers, the people who never give up. Hollywood is running out of ideas for films. We are seeing a lot of retreads. What better place to find uniqueness and originality than regular everyday people.

People who have a different perspective on things. For example, one of my favorite movies is the original Paranormal Activity. It wasn’t the brain child of a Hollywood executive or the hottest screen writer. It was a regular guy who had an idea and made something special.

2) What would you expect to experience if you attend your upcoming festival?

Attendees can expect a broad range of short films. Since each short is five minutes or less, festival goers will have a different experience every five minutes. One minute you could be looking at a tear jerker while five minutes later you could be fully enthralled in a horror film.

3) What are the qualifications for the selected films?

As far as qualifications, we are lax. Of course, the usual, it has to be your work, you have to have the necessary permissions, sound quality has to be sufficient. We also want to keep it as fan friendly as possible. No explicit nudity, over the top coarseness etc. But for our films, each film should be five minutes or less. We are looking for a quick dynamic story. Our goal, when the
five minute film is completed is to have our audience saying “Wow, I want to see more of that!”

4) Do you think that some films really don’t get a fair shake from film
festivals? And if so, why?

It’s like anything else, we can’t really expect fairness. The world isn’t a fair place, it’s not right, but it’s the way that it is. A lot of film festivals aren’t immune to this reality. Film festivals are usually looking for “something” in particular. That something, in their eyes, should cater to the
main stream. If they don’t see that “something” they will probably move on. With our festival, we are looking at concepts. Concepts that can be expanded and created into something more.

5) What motivates you and your team to do this festival?

I guess the biggest motivation is the You Tube Short that I saw a few years ago called “Lights Out” I was impressed with the simplicity of it and its originality. Obviously Lights Out went on to become a Hollywood movie, and a sequel is in the works. I’m convinced there are others out there just like it.

We know for certain, there are talented people out there. We understand that life happens, and making a living takes precedent. We want to awaken those individuals. Have those individuals keep dreaming keep pursuing. Dust off those old shorts, and let’s display them. The world needs their unique creativity. Our goal is to find that type of person.

6) How has your Film Freeway submission process been?

Film Freeway has been great so far, it has been a one stop shop for us. From tickets to submissions, to website integration. Exactly what we were looking for.

7) Where do you see the festival by 2023?

In the next five years we are planning to have more of the same. Getting exposure for more people. Like anything else we will probably have to tweak a few things, but we fully expect to have larger venues, more eyeballs on the shorts that our talented Film makers are producing, and hopefully at least a few of our shorts become major motion pictures.

8) What film have you seen the most times in your life?

Probably “The Shawshank Redemption” or “The Mist”.

9) In one sentence, what makes a great film?

Really hard to answer, lovers of film have different taste depending on mood. And different criteria based on genre. In other words, I liked the movie Avengers for different reasons than what made me like The Shawshank Redemption. But I thought they were both good films, which is why we created the five minutes or less criteria for our festival. It has the ability to cater to moods.

There is one thing that I like about films, and that’s the conflicts between characters, anything that makes the audience pick a side or makes you think. Like ‘12 Angry Men’

10) How is the film scene in your city?

Atlanta is a great film city. Quickly being regarded as the “New Hollywood.” The state has invested in creating an atmosphere to attract film makers. You’d be hard pressed to find a better place for this industry, then right here, right now.
 

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Daryl Bates is a writer and director of short films. An avid movie watcher, his favorite movie genres are horror and suspense. Daryl loves to use his imagination to create powerful entertaining films.