Galactic Film Festival Pulls Into Los Feliz

Hollywood Blvd. ends - or begins - depending on which way the career flow is ebbing, at Hillhurst Ave. in Los Angeles' Los Feliz district. At this five-way intersection is also Virgil Ave., Sunset Blvd. and Sunset Dr., on the corner of which sits the historic Vista Theater.

At the nearby Los Feliz 3 cineplex complex this weekend, the Galatic Film Festival is taking place. The nascent two-day event, launched last year in Santa Ana, aims to be a best-of-the-best showcase for indie science-fiction and fantasy efforts.

We don't mean to rain on the parade of Irish filmmaker Tom Watson, whose micro-short Are You There? is among the featured entries, but it's not quite accurate from afar for him to tell his local Lugan newspaper that, "It’s particularly thrilling to know that my film will be shown on Hollywood Boulevard.” More like Vermont Ave., at Russell. Watson made his film for just 50 Euros.

There are several other noteworthy selections in the micro-shorts Galactic group. The Ballad of Thundercluck: Chicken of Thor is an MFA animated thesis project by Savannah School of Art student Paul Tillery, who sought a little additional Kickstarter help to get the project finished. And The Emotional Dimensions of the James River is an experimental film made by Virginia high school sophomore Michelle Marquez.

Hooray for Hollywood-adjacent!

[Are You There?]