'Pretenders' wins best of Shorts Fest

By VANESSA TORRES

In keeping with the theme, the inaugural Los Angeles Intl. Short Film Festival (L.A. Shorts Fest) began and concluded its run Sunday, with awards handed out to several outstanding short films. Those in the winners circle include:

Best of fest, "Great Pretenders" (Korea), directed by Ki-hyung Park; best of L.A., "Patriot Son" (U.S.), directed by Cory Van Dyke; best animation, "Canhead" (U.S.), directed by Timothy Hittle; best comedy, "Esposados" (Spain), directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo; best documentary, "Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage" (U.S.), directed by Paul Seydor; best drama, "We Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy" (France), directed by Delphine Coulin and Murielle Coulin; and best experimental, "Visions of Thought (Deformity)" (U.S.), directed by Suporn Shoosongdej.

In addition to the entry screenings, fest included a presentation of "Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade," the short film that served as the inspiration for the feature-length "Sling Blade."

Professional attendance was impressive --- among those participating in various panel discussions were screenwriter Michael Kalesniko ("Howard Stern's Private Parts"), producer Bob Shapiro ("Empire of the Sun"), producer Carol Baum ("Fly Away Home"), executive producer Bob Kosberg ("Twelve Monkeys") and director Miguel Arteta ("Star Maps"). --- Vanessa Torres