Local Screenings

On a snowy, TV dominated night (Patriots and Golden Globes) about l0 of us assembled over beer and pizza to watch some short films submitted for festivals I'm involved with. One was Newton rsised, Hollywood-basedAllan Piper's THE ROOMMATE FROM HELL. Piper, who made his first feature STARVING ARTISTS in Cambridge, retains his understated humor and absurd vision to good effect. The other was Joe Gotta's NUMBER 2 PENCIL, an abitious short that grew during the shooting. With a very good surrealis sensibility, it boasts a [rptagpost wjp gpes frp, geel tp hero for reasons that are out hof his control. The problem is that Savage, the actor and good screen presense, is too good looking to effectivey believe he's a geek. And, the film has an ulnweildey 37 minute length, which makes it difficult for festival programmers. Nevertheless, Gott's on to something. It's very well filmed and reasonaby well edited. If it's shortened, it could be quite effective.