Producer Doug LeClaire from Westbury has brought back the Westbury Short Film Concert for its 12th year.
Asbury Shorts USA, New York City’s longest-running short film exhibition and travel show, returned to the Piazza last Friday with a variety of acclaimed short films.
The concert is a two-hour, fast-paced, and fun exhibition of the world’s best short films. The recent concert featured a mix of U.S. festival “Best of Show” winners and international hits, along with many audience favorites from over the years.
“Asbury Shorts and Westbury Arts once a year brings a dozen award-winning short films and people get to see them on the big screen,” LeClaire said.
The event was 90 minutes with no intermission and it took place in the Piazza. The short films at the concert were independently produced and featured a lineup of comedy, drama, animation and more.
“It’s incredibly eclectic,” LeClaire said. “It’s films from the past and the present, representing all genres. It’s fast-paced and fun.”
Two of the films that were shown were in the “local spotlight selection.”
One was by Alicia Evans, who is on the board of Westbury Arts. She was the subject of a six-minute documentary called “Threads of Nature: The Art & Advocacy of Alicia Evans” that filmmaker Kevin Lopez of Rockville Centre created.
“She does this incredible artwork through crocheting materials that is related to the environment and how it can help save the environment,” LeClaire said.
The other local spotlight film was called “Kyle versus Karen.”
This is a five-minute film created by director James Morrison. It’s a modern story about a young man who mistakenly takes a photograph of a woman without her permission.
LeClare, who grew up in Westbury, said bringing this show to his home is a treat. He said Westbury Arts and Westbury Mayor Peter Cavallaro have been “very supportive” of the concert.
In 1981, LeClaire and his partners founded Asbury Shorts USA. Asbury Short’s mission is to keep award-winning short films in theaters instead of YouTube, computers or on smartphones.
LeClaire said he and his partners found that there weren’t any public exhibitions for student films in the area, especially in Nassau County. They then created Asbury Short’s 43 years ago, which is named after Asbury Avenue where LeClaire grew up in Westbury.
“Then we put together what was called at the time the Asbury Film Festival and a whole bunch of people came,” LeClaire said.
For the first six years of Asbury Shorts, the group showed short films in Westbury with about 100 people in attendance each year. The shorts displayed were student films from Alephi University, Hofstra University and independent films.
“It was once a year because we were all working in the film business in New York,” LeClaire said. “I produced T.V. commercials for 38 years, but all the while the side gig was always the Asbury Film Festival once a year at our flagship show in Manhattan.”
When the group was invited to bring their show to London in 2000, Asbury Shorts became LeClaire’s full-time job. They got the idea to start touring around different countries, which transformed the film festival into the Asbury Shorts Film Concert.
“And what we mean by that name is that it’s not competitive,” LeClaire said.
LeClaire’s goal with his group is to provide entertainment with nearly a dozen short films. He said the group’s tagline is they would “rather have malaria than do a Q&A.”
“We do about 15 to 18 shows a year across the country,” LeClaire said.
Previously, Asbury Shorts presented their short film concerts in historic venues from Los Angeles to Berlin. The next Asbury Shorts Film Concert will be on Sept. 28 at The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, Conn.
For more information on Asbury Shorts USA and future film concerts, visit AsburyShortFilms.com.
