(From DCist contributor Cyndi Spain)
DCist is heading to Artomatic to see DC Independent Film Festival’s 2004 shorts tonight. The screening begins with the chance to mingle with featured filmmakers and submit work for the 2005 showcase. Cocktails are available — presenting a great opportunity to combine Friday happy hour with artsy intellectualism.

At 7:30 p.m., the screening begins with “Made in DC,” a compilation of the D.C.-area films. Subsequent DCIFF shorts include the “The Cellar” (20 minutes) by Jose Saldana, “The Diner” (5 minutes) by John Roper, and “Marco Polo” by Matt Spangler (54 minutes). The subjects of the films and their technical aspects vary greatly. “The Cellar” follows the travails of a deaf person that finds a mysterious package in the cellar of his recently-purchased house (the filmmaker himself is deaf). The focus of Roper’s film is his experimental technique using 35mm still photography instead of full motion film. The longest piece – “Marco Polo” – is a documentary of Spangler’s journey from D.C. to France in search of Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie.

Viewers will have a chance to talk with the filmmakers again after the screening — which may help in finding conversation topics. Check out Artomatic’s website for more details about these and other happenings during the self-proclaimed extravaganza.

>> For a number of Top 10 Artomatic lists, be sure to check out DC Art News, which has posted a number of them. And if you really want to revisit the Blake Gopnik/Artomatic controversy that has rocked the local arts world, Lenny has all the links, reactions and analysis of the Post’s sometimes-despised arts reviewer.