Sometimes It Only Takes Three Minutes

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In this ADD-addled era, anything over a 90-minute film can safely qualify as "long." The Three-Minute Film Fest, however, wasn't conceived to indulge short attention spans or a taste for simple plots. Rather, it was created five years ago to prove that epic masterpieces need not drag on for hours, that you can encapsulate an entire world in a song's length, and that you don't have to quit your day job to do it. The festival is the brainchild of Chris Baty, who's also put his DIY-under-duress method to good use as the founder of National Novel Writing Month. Baty, who believes that everyone has a novel in them, apparently feels the same way about other media. Filmmakers, seasoned and amateur alike, have 30 days to write, produce, and edit a three-minute film — and audience members get the final say on who's the best at tonight's screening. The black-tie gala and film screening includes a retrospective of some of the magnum opera from the last five years of the event, a photo exhibition by last year's festival top dog Danny Nolan, and the atmospheric, multi-instrumental live soundtrack of Peloton.