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Release The Funny (Friday, April 4 & Saturday, April 5)

Friday, April 4 & Saturday, April 5

Release the Funny

The title’s a fright, but everything else is a delight in Release the Funny, by local filmmakers Jerry and Beth MacKay. A few years ago the MacKays established a production company, Littleflick Pictures, to make short films with the hope of getting them shown in film festivals. (At least that’s what their official bio says, though I would suspect that they realized that short films have a new viability on the internet via YouTube: The day has come when you can not only make short films but actually get people to see them.) Release the Funny compiles 10 of their efforts, and I was hooked right from the start with “120,” which dares to wonder what 24’s Jack Bauer might do on his day off. Even better than funny, a lot of the MacKays’ films (made with the aid of an assortment of local actors and technicians, with a great eye for area locations) are genuinely witty, cleverly conceived and sharply executed. You’ll have two chances to see it this weekend, Friday night at the Market Arcade or Saturday at North Tonawanda’s glorious Riviera Theater. Make plans.

m. faust


Friday, April 4, 7:30pm, Market Arcade Film & Arts Centre, 639 Main Street (855-3022).

Saturday, April 5, 7:30pm. Riviera Theatre, 67 Webster Street, North Tonawanda (692-2113).