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The 4th Annual Chlotrudis Short Film Festival returns to the big theatre upstairs at the Coolidge Corner Theatre! Join members of Chlotrudis Awards to screen the 13 nominees for the Best Short Film of 2003. Admission is $7.00 / $6.00 for Chlotrudis and Coolidge members.

From a boy in search of his beloved tomato, to a scientist who sends his hideous robot son to elementary school to learn to play with real kids, this year’s festival offers a varied program featuring drama, comedy, foreign-language, documentary, and animated films. A sub-committee of the Chlotrudis Awards Nominating Committee screened over 130 short films in seven different languages to present the 13 films ‘ the best two hours and forty-two minutes. Filmmakers in attendance will address the audience after the screenings, and answer questions in the lobby.

After viewing the films, vote for your choice of Best Short Film! Two awards, a Chlotrudis Award and an Audience Award will be presented at the 10th Annual Chlotrudis Awards Ceremony on March 28th at the Brattle Theatre.

The Short Films nominated this year:

Beat Box Philly by Liz Golderg & Warren Bass

Blue Snow by Zion Rubin

Bun-Bun by Katie Fleischert

Career Suicide by Dan Huber & Alex Kang

Dental Farmer by Ellen Brodsky and Dunya Alwan

in sight by Asitha Ameresekere

Robot Rumpus by Jason Dunn

The Show by Cruz Angeles

Target Audience by David Kittredge

The Show by Cruz Angeles

Tomato Love by Joey Kan

Two by Two by Emily Susanne Dodge

Unearthed by Christina Spangler

Wet Dreams and False Images by Jesse Epstein

Woman by Signe Buamane

Visit the Current Nominations page to find out more about the short films nominees, as well as all the other nominees for the 10th Annual Chlotrudis Awards!

Nominations for the 10th Annual Chlotrudis Awards were announced today. Check out the current awards page to see which films received Chlotrudis honors. The anxious chatter among Chlotrudis members is about the lack of just one outstanding film in 2003. Consequently nominations were spread among a wider selection of films.

Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation and Thomas McCarthy’s The Station Agent earned the most honors, with six nominations each. Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini’s innovative American Splendor appears in five categories.

Other multiple nominees are Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later’, David Gordon Green’s All the Real Girls, and Lukas Moodysson’s Lilja 4-Ever each with four nods. Lynne Ramsay’s Morvern Callar and Wiebke von Carolsfeld’s Marion Bridge each scored three nominations. Of the 43 films nominated, 18 different countries are represented in 10 different languages.

The 2004 Buried Treasure Award highlights a diverse selection of films. Last year the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film created the Buried Treasure award to spotlight on films overlooked even by independent film fans. Two Canadian films have been selected: Wiebke von Carolsfeld’s Marion Bridge which also appears in the Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Cast categories, and Guy Maddin’s Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary, a remarkable adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic tale danced by the Winnipeg Ballet Company.

Two U.S. films also nominated in the Buried Treasure category are Bob Odenkirk’s Melvin Goes to Dinner, and Jennifer Dworkin’s documentary, Love & Diane. Rounding out the Buried Treasure category is Ten, by Abbas Kiarostami, one of Iran’s most well-known directors. Buried Treasure films must have made less than $250,000 domestic box office, and are films that the Chlotrudis Society insists deserve another look. This category furthers Chlotrudis Awards’ mission to building audiences for independent film.

2003 was an outstanding year for women directors. Four of the seven nods acknowledge outstanding direction by women. While Sofia Coppola is winning raves from critics nationwide, Chlotrudis also recognizes the astounding work of Scotland’s Lynne Ramsay and her challenging Morvern Callar and past Chlotrudis nominee Claire Denis, whose Friday Night is a gorgeous ode to Paris. Also in the Best Director category is Shari Springer Berman, half of the team that combined documentary, animation and narrative to tell the story of Harvey Pekar in American Splendor.

Excitement is building as preparations are underway for the tenth anniversary Chlotrudis Awards ceremony, which promises to be bigger and better than ever. Chlotrudis Awards serves as a well-heeled tradition to area-indie film buffs in the know. This year’s Chlotrudis Awards ceremony will take place at the Brattle Theatre, Cambridge MA on Sunday, March 28, 5:00 p.m. Negotiations are currently underway for guest speakers, and tickets will soon be on sale through the website.

Coming in February: The electronic ballot, that allows members of the Society vote on line. Want to be part of the voting process, engage with a groups of individuals passionate about discussing film, and get discounts on special events? Find out how to Become a Member!

Are you an avid indie film buff? Maybe you’ve seen a couple of recent popular indie films like The Station Agent, or 21 Grams, and want to learn more about them. Do you want to learn more about watching films with a more critical eye? Maybe you love the glitz and glamour of Awards Ceremonies. Or perhaps you just like hanging out and partying with friendly people and arguing with them about movies? If any of the above phrases describes you, it’s time to join the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film. And joining just got even easier. If you have a PayPal account, visit our membership page, click on the button next to the membership level you’re interested in and you can use PayPal to pay your dues. Or you can mail the organization a check. Either way you’re supportnig a non-profit organization, so it’s tax deductible.

Experience the World through Independent Film.

As the end of the year draws near, Chlotrudis Society members start thinking about the independent films of the past year. By the end of January, the Chlotrudis Awards Nominating Committee will announce their nominees for the 10th Annual Awards Ceremony. Nominating Committee members can nominate from any of the eligible films listed on the 2003 Reviews page. If you’re wondering why a particular film is not included, there could be several reasons: 1 – it received production money from a Hollywood studio, 2 – it was not released in Boston during the 2003 calendar year, 3 – it doesn’t have a distribution deal yet. If you have any questions about why a film is not on the eligible list, please contact us and we’ll let you know. In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled to this site and the nominations grow nearer!

Thanks to all the filmmakers who submitted films to the Chlotrudis Short Film Festival! The Call for Entries is know officially closed. The selection process has begun, with the nominees for Best Short Film to be announced in January. Look for the Call for Entries for the 5th Annual Chlotrudis Short Film Festival to be announced in March, as the Festival will be moving to the fall beginning in 2004. The 4th Annual Chlotrudis Short Film Festival will take place Monday, February 16 at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. Keep your eyes on this page for more details!

Just in time for Halloween, the members of CHLOTRUDIS SOCIETY FOR INDEPENDENT FILM (CSIF) have created a list of the 50 BEST SCARY FILMS OF ALL TIME. This list ranges from classics like Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari to recent films such as Blair Witch Project and this year’s 28 Days Later. While the top 10 focuses on many standards of the genre, lesser-known films from around the world fill out much of the remainder of the list.

The horrific story of a young girl possessed by the devil has terrified film buffs for several decades in William Friedkin’s The Exorcist. Few were surprised by its prominent ranking on a list of scary films. More surprising was the inclusion at #9 of Italian filmmaker Dario Argento’s cult classic Suspiria. Two films made the list twice, in different versions. The Japanese horror flick Ringu makes an appearance at #17, while The Ring, its American remake from 2002, shows up at #43. The Thing from Another World from 1951 is ranked at #45, while John Carpenter’s remake from 1982 called The Thing shows up at #34. Three films on the list are currently screening as part of the Boston Fantastic Film Festival at the Brattle Theatre: Alien: the Director’s Cut at #4, the remastered print of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre at #10, and The Haunting at #14. The full list is available here.

CHLOTRUDIS SOCIETY FOR INDEPENDENT FILM (CSIF) offers a series of exciting events throughout the year, including the beloved annual Chlotrudis Awards black tie event, the short film festival held every year at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline and much more. An exciting line up of film premieres, special events and member discounts herald the celebration of its tenth year as an organization, including this release of the organization’s picks of the 50 best scary films of all time.

The horror genre has traditionally found its roots in the world of independent film since the time of midnight movies. ‘Although special effects can be costly, an independent minded filmmaker can create terror on a low budget by simply be able to tap into what truly scares people,’ explains Ivy Moylan co-director of the Brattle Film Foundation at the Brattle Theatre and Chlotrudis board member. ‘Plus, horror films are able to critique current societal issues without ruffling feathers because of the ‘otherworldly’ nature of the genre. And since independent filmmakers have tended to subvert popular culture and comment on current norms, horror ends up being a natural place for independent filmmakers to go.’ By creating lists of challenging and well-made films, Chlotrudis hopes to encourage film buffs to educate themselves about the history of film. ‘This is a great list to bring to the video store, or to help create your rental list from Netflix,’ says Chlotrudis President Michael Colford.

Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film began its tenth year on July 1, 2003. Chlotrudis members receive discounts on certain nights at the Coolidge Corner and Brattle Theatres. CSIF recently teamed with the Brattle Film Foundation to present The Sunday Eye-Opener, a special sneak preview series with an educational discussion component. Chlotrudis members receive early copies of its quarterly newsletter, Chlotrudis Mewsings, as well as opportunities to travel with other like-minded movie buffs to various Film Festivals. Members also enjoy discounts to all Chlotrudis events, such as the Short Film Festival held in February 2004 at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, and the annual Awards Ceremony at the Brattle Theatre. Chlotrudis is developing relationships with national organizations as well, extending member benefits to those who don’t live in the Boston area.

The best benefit of membership in CHLOTRUDIS SOCIETY FOR INDEPENDENT FILM is the privilege to vote in the annual Awards for your favorite indie films and stars. Your voice counts, after all, that’s how the organization got started in the first place.

On Saturday, September 27, the Chlotrudis Society’s founding Boston-chapter held a member-appreciation cocktail party in Cambridge. Board member Esm’reen (pictured left along with new member Robert Stanhope, and his friend David) hosted the party at her Harvard Square apartment. The fete was organized by Green, along with Chlotrudis Membership Committee Chair, Georgette Gagne, and Chlotrudis President, Michael Colford. A lively group of over 30 members and their friends enjoyed Cosmopolitans, Dark & Stormies, Manhattans, and Martinis while socializing, playing a terrific game of Chlotrudis bingo (created and run by the Coolidge Corner’s Clinton McClung) and doing a bit of fund-raising as well. Check out some terrific photos from the party here. The Chlotrudis Society would like to thank Chris Perry for his terrific bartending skills, Emily Neill’s Closet Smarts, The Charlesmark Hotel, the Brattle Theatre, the Coolidge Corner Theatre, the Landmark Theatre, Greenwood Wine & Spirits in Wakefield, MA, and the Chltorudis Board of Directors, for making this delightful event possible. We hope to do it again in the future. Hope you can join us!