That's right: This Sunday, the SIFF Film Center hosts a day-long, star-packed symposium on the making and marketing of short films. On the roster:

Noon - 1:00 p.m.
Short Film Programmers from the Sundance Film Festival will discuss how shorts fit into the film festival world. Learn how to navigate the festival circuit and hear behind-the-scenes stories about how films are picked, what to avoid, and how you can benefit from festivals as distribution.

1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Writer/Director Lynn Shelton and cinematographer Ben Kasulke present some of their work, discuss the craft of filmmaking and the fine art of telling a story, and advise on how to work with a cast and crew in a fruitful mode of collaboration.

2:45 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Todd Haynes talks about his impressive, varied career, from early short films to festival favorites and big releases. We discuss how to grow as a filmmaker and storyteller with various budgets and challenges while keeping the core inspiration and meaning intact in a film.

Possibly fun facts: the moderator of the Todd Haynes discussion will be me, and a little less than a third of the panel's 105-minute running time will be devoted to screening a classic early Todd Haynes short that will remain nameless.

Rainy days and Mondays always get me down. But this Sunday should be wonderful, and a rare opportunity for local filmmakers to avail themselves of the Sundance Institute without having to leave town. Full info on the Sundance ShortsLab here.