What do an old decrepit fairy, the Michelin Man and a tattooed lady have in common?  All were stars in Saturday night's showing of the Brookfield Film Festival's "Shorts and to the Point" at the Brookfield Theatre For The Arts (TBTA).  

This, the second annual Brookfield Film Festival (BFF), was well attended, playing to a sold-out audience. Mary Daniel, the chairwoman of the Brookfield Arts Commission (BAC), said they had people calling in from as far as Manhattan for tickets. 

The evening started at 6:30 p.m. when guests arrived to receive their complimentary glass of wine, included with their ticket price.  Platters of cheese, crackers and fruit were served before the films were shown and during intermission. Wine was donated by Wines & Such and Shakespeare's Garden donated floral baskets for the raffle.  Two tickets to TBTA's Last of the Red Hot Lovers and t-shirts made by local artist Mark Ekstein were raffled off.

The first of the ten independent films shown, French Roast, was a short by French director Fabrice O. Joubert.  It was nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 2010 Academy Awards. The story takes place in a fancy Parisian café where a businessman about to pay the check realizes he lost his wallet. A humorous look at life, comparing the rich with the poor, this film was a wonderful start to the evening.

Next up took viewers to the Peruvian Andes in the film, Shikashika. This documentary showed what a Peruvian family in the business of making colorful shaved ice, or "shikashika," must go through to continue their livelihood.  With a couple of donkeys and a pick-axe, this family treks up the mountaintop on foot to hack away at the ice with their bare bands, collecting large chunks they then haul back down the mountain to sell in the village below.  Stephen J. Hyde produced and directed this 10-minute short, which won awards at the Telluride, Athens and Cambridge Film Festivals.   

Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty was written and performed by Kathleen O'Rourke, directed by Nicky Phelan and produced by Brown Bag Films. It has been nominated for best animated short film in the 2010 Academy Awards. The film is a humorous story of an old lady who scares her young granddaughter at bedtime with a dark adaptation of  Sleeping Beauty. With beautiful buxom fairies and a funny twist on the classic tale, the audience members at the BFF got a kick out of it, as heard by their hearty laughs.

Shifting gears to a Western, The Tonto Woman is based on a short story by Elmore Leonard.  A beautiful woman is kidnapped and held prisoner for 11 years by the Mojave Indians.  They tattoo her face, stealing her beauty but not her inner strength. While nominated for an Academy Award, this film had mixed reviews on The Internet Movie Database. 

The last of the films in the first half was a hilarious animated short called Logorama which shows just how trademark-happy our nation has become.  The film won an Academy Award.  Its producer, Nicolas Schmerkin, explained in his acceptance speech, "It's about the way we live and the way we react to these logos. The brain can register 14 logos in less than one second. Making the logos characters with sets and props is about what we're living. They're used for what they are."  Featuring Michelin Man cops, an evil Ronald McDonald who takes Bob's Big Boy hostage and a heaping helping of foul language, this film was well received by attendees of the BFF.

During intermission, local classical guitarist Andrew Ariaga performed while a lively crowd enjoyed more wine and cheese.  The raffle was held and Chairwoman Daniel thanked local merchants who donated, her team of devoted volunteers, and Patch.com for publicizing the event in its March 26^th article about the festival.

The first film of the second half of the evening was The New Tenants, a short film directed by Joachim Black.  It started off with a cynical roommate spewing forth his skewed views on life, became increasingly violent rather abruptly and ended in an odd artistic and unexpected manner only an independent film lover would appreciate.

Ron Shelton's film Home Run is based on a true life tale of sportsmanship that took place at a women's college softball game. It is an inspirational story showing that winning is not always about what the scoreboard says.

Wallace and Gromit's A Matter of Loaf and Death , directed by Nick Park, was a laugh-out-loud short film about a baker who is enthralled by a former beauty bread queen with a secret plot against him. This film is a 2010 Academy Award Nominee for Best Animated Short Film.

Gregg Helvey wrote and directed Kavi, about a young boy in India forced into slavery in the field of brick making.  All he wants is to go to school and play cricket with the rich kids.  This film exposes the brutality of modern-day slavery and has won numerous international awards in the industry.

The final film of the evening was a five-minute animated short entitled John and Karen, written and directed by Matthew Walker.  It was a winner of several international film awards and had the BFF audience amused at the relationship between a tiny penguin and a huge polar bear.

Clearly the audience loved the choice of films as was heard by their laughter and applause, especially in the last half of the evening. Sue Renz of Brookfield said "the atmosphere was terrific" and "it was a great community event".  Another theater-goer said it was "a great mix of genres" and "the best thing that ever happened to Brookfield."  An older gentleman snickered, "where else can you bring in a glass of wine into the theater while watching great films?" 

The audience ranged in age from 18 to around 80.  Charlene and Bill Weber from Newtown heard about the event through Adrienne and Matthew Conciatore of Danbury.  The Conciatores know volunteers with the BFF. Charlene said it was "entertaining and creative."  Adrienne compared it to Danbury's Film Festival stating that Danbury's was "too complicated" and she "felt overwhelmed" by the large amounts of choices over the three day event.

The films for the BFF were chosen by members of board.  They were previewed by Ann Amorossi and Mary Daniel in New York City and the committee voted on what to show.  The festival also featured sign-ups for an educational workshop on digital and video production. The workshop, led by Dr. J.C. Barone of Western Connecticut State University, will take place at a later date. For more information contact the BAC.