Festival of award-winning short films coming to the Bay City State Theatre

While people from the Great Lakes Bay Region and beyond look forward to the Hell’s Half Mile Film & Music Festival each September, the organization’s 6-month-long film series that follows allows the non-profit to raise funds for the big event while keeping the community engaged with world-class short films and features.

This month is no different as Hell’s Half Mile prepares its popular short film festival, It’s Not Too Cold For Shorts, at the Bay City State Theatre.

“We want to bring these films to an audience, films that they wouldn’t get to see otherwise. Bay City doesn’t have a lot of places to see independent films but we have an audience that’s hungry for them,” says Don Hessell, film program manager for Hell’s Half Mile.

“And we get to give exposure to the filmmakers while raising funds for our non-profit, all-volunteer festival.”

Shorts are great, Hessell says, because there is likely something for everyone. And if you don’t like something, just wait. Each film ranges from 4 to 15 minutes long.

While there is no set theme for the festival, the films are linked by one common trait: Quality.

“We make sure to throw in a fair share of oddball films, unconventional stories, dark comedies, foreign language films,” Hessell says.

“The one common theme is that all of these films have done well at film festivals around the world, at places like Sundance and South by Southwest.

“They all have proven success. They just haven’t played in our area yet.”

The Hell’s Half Mile Film Series It’s Not Too Cold For Shorts is scheduled for Fri., Feb. 21, at 7 p.m. at the Bay City State Theatre, 913 Washington Ave. Tickets are $7 and available at the door.

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