McMINNVILLE — The concept of “tentpole” events in the film industry dates back to the 1970s when Jaws and Star Wars lit a fire under Hollywood to chase one blockbuster to rule them all. So there’s interesting irony in the fact that Yamhill County’s largest tentpole cultural event is one showcasing films that, in nearly every way, represent the antithesis of a summer tentpole movie.
The McMinnville Short Film Festival, now in its 15th year, will screen nearly 100 films from 15 countries, starting Thursday and continuing through Sunday, Feb. 26 through March 1. All run less than half an hour; most clock in at around 15 minutes. They’re shot on tiny budgets with small crews, and they’re not stuffed with CGI spectacle.
These are films about the complicated business of being a human in the world, and perhaps no film in this year’s lineup checks those boxes more efficiently than The Singers, which is on Netflix, but which you should see on the big screen. Inspired by an Ivan Turgenev 1852 short story about an impromptu singing competition that breaks out in a lowly bar, director Sam Davis’ film is deeply humane, capturing something true and real about male vulnerability and the power of art…