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June 15, 2002

Around 10:00 a.m., filmmakers, volunteers and SSFF Staff gathered in front of the Laforet Museum to sweep the streets in the neighborhood. Dressed in their bright, red, white and blue sneakers donated by sponsor Adidas and their festival T-shirts, they grabbed brooms and dust bins and took to cleaning up the streets. The only problem: the streets were incredibly clean! Despite a raucous celebration the night before by Japanese soccer fans after Japan team defeated Tunisia, there was hardly a shred of garbage to be found. Nevertheless, the SSFF Sweepers persisted in their mission to clean up, removing cigarette butts and occasional leaves from the sidewalks.

Despite the ongoing World Cup events, Saturday’s screenings were packed. Obviously, there are some people who want to see a short film not matter what. Programs D, E, F and G, screened, and directors Dean Kapsalis, Phil Stoole, Leanna Creel, Lorenza Manrique, James Allen, Adam Rubin and Christina Hadjicharalambous were all there to attend their screenings and take questions from audience members. They also graciously gave interviews to the SSFF website.

The evening was capped off with a discussion panel that scrutinized one of this year’s festival’s themes, Sports Shorts. Leanna Creel and Adam Rubin screened their films, “Offside” and “The Cricket Player” and then discussed their interests in sports and how they approached their stories.