Short films are sort of like the short articles found in the first few pages of many magazines (once you pass the barrage of advertisements)—informative and somehow packed with insight, but as easy to consume as a milkshake with a turkey baster. Short films can be artsy and thought provoking. You can agree or disagree. You can let it sink in and still not understand what you just saw. Was it the music? Or, maybe the lack of music that brought the unexpected tears? Either way it was great. Lucky for film fanatics, short film festivals screening a variety of film genres take place in many cities, from The 48 Hour Film Project—a multi-city festival—to SF Shorts in San Francisco. The world is a smorgasbord of cinema.