” It seems that technology is really liberating to a lot of filmmakers and people who might not even consider themselves filmmakers to begin with have been inspired just to go out and tell stories visually through digital technology.”

—Shorts programmer Kim Yutani

Like short stories, short films are an art form unto themselves and are treated as such by Sundance. One who especially appreciates that is Kim Yutani who came to the organization in 2007 as a “shorts” specialist. These days, as one of the Sundance Film Festival’s longtime programmers, Yutani in addition to helping to selects films the feature category, concentrates her efforts on compiling the slate of short films.

By definition, she says, a ‘short’ is any project with a screening time of less than a minute or up to 45 minutes. This year’s shortest project, “Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared,” has a run time of just over three minutes and the longest, “The Movement: One Man Joins an Uprising” lasts 40 minutes.

But don’t even think of brushing Sundance’s shorts off as trivial. Though brief, many will leave a lasting impression.

One of this year’s entries, “The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom” directed by Lucy Walker will leave audiences breathless. The 39-minute U.S.-made documentary transports viewers to a hilltop overlooking a village as it is consumed by last year’s post-earthquake tsunami in Japan. Without narration other than the survivors’ own words the filmmaker captures their desperation and perseverance with stunningly edited images.

“For me short films are interesting because you see such a range,” says Yutani adding, “There is something liberating about telling a story in a short amount of time.”

She also believes that those who make short films represent the true independent spirit that Sundance celebrates. “I don’t think short filmmakers have selling in mind and it shows,” she explained.

“One of unique things about shorts is that you have fewer limitations. Because of the technology and how affordable it is, people are really experimenting with the short form. It seems that technology is really liberating to a lot of filmmakers and people who might not even consider themselves filmmakers to begin with have been inspired just to go out and tell stories visually through digital technology,” she added.

That may explain why, this year, the festival received a record number of entries in the shorts category, 7,675. Staffers whittled the field down to 350 and then Yutani joined the effort to further narrow the field to 64 which will be screened in seven batches including a documentary and an animation spotlight.

Like their feature-length counterparts, the shorts are divided into categories – U.S. and World, Dramatic and Documentary. The Shorts Programs (I though V) each contain a mix of all four categories. However, Yutani notes, Shorts Program I contains more of the lighter fare, while Program V, she warns, veers toward darker subjects.

Some highlights according to Yutani include: “The Return” a rare entry from Kosovo, an extraordinary Polish film called “Frozen Stories” and “Killing the Chickens” which she refers to as “a stunning, artfully made epic from Sweden.”

Yutani is also excited about the films in the Animation Spotlight which, she says, provide a fascinating overview of different styles and techniques including two hand-drawn entries “Avocados” and “The Night Hunter.”

On another note, Yutani mentioned that this year’s Shorts Program is presented by Yahoo! and as part of the collaboration, many of the entries will be available on Yahoo!Screen, a video portal launched last October by Yahoo!. On that site viewers will be able to vote for their favorites and an audience award will be announced at the end of the festival.

Also, as befitting their ‘liberated’ spirit, Sundance will hold a separate and unique celebration for the shorts program award announcements. It will be held at Jupiter Bowl at NewPark on Jan. 24.

Finally, according to local buzz, one or two of this year’s shorts contenders may also be in the running for an Oscar. Sundance attendees will be among only a handful of film fans to have seen them when those nominations are announced Tuesday, Jan. 24.