The second annual Shorts That Are Not Pants Film Festival opens this weekend with 47 short films from around the globe, with more than half by female directors.

For many of us who love all types of film, short films are a great way to discover up-and-coming filmmakers.

I, personally, enjoy short films because they require creativity in telling an interesting story in a limited amount of time. It is not an easy feat; especially in a world where many of us have a limited attention span.

Shorts That Are Not Pants Film Festival offers us a weekend filled with dramatic, funny, and creative films. Festival Director, James McNally, suggests the following 10 films at the festival.

Tabitha in Love
Dir. Christian Flashman
After a strange sexual awakening with her pool boy and his dislocated ankle, Tabitha has to come to terms with her new sense of sexuality while trying to stop a drug recall that can end her newly found love.

Border Crossing
Dir. Agnieszka Chmura
A thriller based in the summer of 1989, the final year of communism in Eastern Europe, inspired by a childhood memory of crossing the border – not only between countries, but between the instinctive world of nature and the incomprehensible world of the adults. The story follows paths dictated by the little girl’s attention.

Groundless
Dir. Soroor Mehdibeigi
On the day when the end is near, the earth is barren, the moon is buried in darkness, graves have brought bodies out of the ground, mothers flee from their children and there is no refuge, a childless woman adopts a dead child.

The Boogeywoman
Dir. Erica Scoggins
Late blooming Sam Rains finally gets her first period at the annual all-night skate. At first a triumph, her new condition brings strange side effects. An eerie electrical problem has the kids teasing about the Boogeywoman, a local legend, a sorceress who feeds on men’s souls and eats little girls. When a friend leaks about Sam’s period, the boys tell her she’s fair game for the Boogeywoman. With an expected tryst derailed, Sam leaves the skating rink in a fever only to meet the legend in the flesh.

Patision Avenue
Dir. Thanasis Neofotistos
Yanni’s mum is on her way to audition for a role as Shakespeare’s Viola, when she discovers that her young son has been left home alone. Through a series of phone calls, she fights to balance the most important roles of her life, whilst walking in the most controversial area of central Athens, Patision Avenue.

A Million Eyes
Dir. Richard Raymond
A gifted young photographer, grappling with his mother’s alcoholism, sets out to capture something he loves.

Pura Vida
Dir. Nata Metlukh
Four flawed friends travel to the Tropics where things go wrong.

Tandem
Dir. Vivian Altman
The film invites us to share the intimacy of Hugo and Magda, a longtime couple who are resigned to living out their fantasies independently of one another.

Burqa City
Dir. Fabrice Bracq
Souleymane and Leila just got married, for better or for worse. The better is that they love each other very much. The worse is that they live in an absurd and kafkaesque country.

Sh’hab
Dir: Amal Al-Muftah
Upon hearing a myth about falling stars, a young girl’s curiosity is sparked. When night falls on Al Wakrah village, she sets out on her father’s boat, with the assistance of her older brother, to chase the fabled comets.

Established in 2012 as a quarterly short film screening series, Shorts That Are Not Pants Film Festival presents its second annual festival this weekend, November 15-16, 2019 at The Bachir/Yerex Presentation Space at 401 Richmond West in downtown Toronto. For full festival program, schedule and tickets, please visit shortsnotpants.com.