See these 7 Sundance short films at the Nickelodeon

Every January, film fans flock to Utah for the largest film festival in the country, the Sundance Film Festival.

But film fans in Columbia don’t have to travel to Park City for a taste of the famed festival. The Nickelodeon Theatre is showing a series of short films from the Sundance Festival, including actress Kristen Stewart’s “Come Swim.”

While the Sundance Film Festival is the United States’ leading independent film festival, it’s also a premiere showcase for short films. Featuring fiction, documentary and animated shorts from around the world, the 2017 shorts program includes laugh-out-loud comedies, creative innovations and contemplative reflections.

And they can be watched on Main Street.

“At the Nick, we strive to present diverse, experimental, thought-provoking, entertaining films, and the Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour embodies that ideal,” says Pauline Arroyo, marketing director for the Nickelodeon. “The Sundance Shorts are the voices at the forefront of independent film, and we value the opportunity to bring these perspectives and stories to Columbia.

“Plus, you can’t pass up the opportunity to attend one of the world’s greatest film festivals without leaving Main Street.”

The Short Film Program at the Sundance Film Festival shows between 70 and 80 short films. The festival accepts every type of filmmaking style, including animation, documentary, narrative, and experimental stories.

The Sundance Festival website states these short films “transcend traditional storytelling. They are a significant and popular way artists can connect with audiences. From documentary to animation, narrative to experimental, the abbreviated form is no longer just for the novice. Shorts have and will continue to be an important part of cinema, storytelling, and culture.”

Here are the 2017 Sundance Shorts being shown at the Nickelodeon:

‘5 Films about Technology’

Run time: 5 minutes.

Credits: Written and directed by Peter Huang; Canada.

Summary: A satirical look at the dumber side of technology.

‘And the Whole Sky Fit in the Dead Cow’s Eye’

Run time: 19 minutes.

Credits: Written and directed by Francisca Alegría; Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction; Chile, USA.

Language: Spanish with English subtitles.

Summary: Emeteria is visited by the ghost of her patrón, Teodoro. She believes he has come to take her to the afterlife – but he has more devastating news.

‘Come Swim’

Run time: 17 minutes.

Credits: Written and directed by Kristen Stewart; USA.

Summary: This is a diptych of one man’s day, half impressionist and half realist portraits.

‘Lucia, Before and After’

Run time: 14 minutes.

Credits: Written and directed by Anu Valia; Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction; USA.

Summary: After traveling 200 miles, a young woman waits out Texas’s state-mandated 24-hour waiting period before her abortion can proceed.

‘Night Shift’

Run time: 15 minutes.

Credits: Written and directed by Marshall Tyler; USA.

Summary: A glimpse into a day in the life of a bathroom attendant in a Los Angeles nightclub.

‘P----’

Run time: 9 minutes.

Credits: Written and directed by Renata Gasiorowska; Poland.

Summary: Alone at home one evening, a young girl decides to have a solo pleasure session – but not everything goes according to plan.

‘Ten Meter Tower’

Run time: 16 minutes.

Credits: Directed by Maximilien Van Aertryck and Axel Danielson; Sweden.

Language: Swedish with English subtitles.

Summary: People who have never been up a 10-meter diving tower must choose whether to jump or climb down in this entertaining study of people in a vulnerable position.

Lezlie Patterson, Special to Go Columbia