The fine folks at Film Fort are presenting a whole new batch of shorts this Saturday, December 12th -- and this time it's a set of off-beat animation and music videos from all over Canada and the US.

Film Fort events -- though I've never witnessed this in person -- take place in a room full of draped bedsheets. Film Fort curator Winston Hacking explains: "I think bringing people into a giant fort that roams from venue to venue keeps it accessible and laid back."

The room, for those brave enough to wander out in the slush this weekend, is at the House of Everlasting Super Joy (225 Sterling, at Bloor and Ladsdowne-ish) and $5 will get you in the door.

A skim through some of the featured artists' websites, like Mike Weiss, Allison Schulnik, and Leslie Supnet looks promising.

Git Gob by Philip Eddols (pictured above) is pretty cute. These two creatures mumble back and forth to each other about a possible explanation for a hole in the grass. One is convinced that the hole is a hat. The minute and a half film comes from an apprenticeship series the NFB has been running since 2003 called Hothouse, in which "emerging" animators do a 3-month stint in the Montreal studio. Philip and his fellow participants were asked to work with the theme "The Time I Changed My Mind".

Hacking has assembled clips from at least 17 different animators for this edition of Film Fort. "I like to have screenings that are a 'mixed bag' of work from professionals, emerging artists and DIY/first time filmmakers," he says about the set, "much like how you dig through YouTube looking for gems not necessarily knowing what you will watch next."

The screening will also feature old-school psychedelic cartoons by Vince Collins and Sally Cruikshank, both of whom Hacking considers influences on "alternative" work being produced today. No argument here; Vince Collins is, after all, the guy who made those classic pinball number counting animations on Sesame Street.

Film Fort is on at 9:30pm at the House of Everlasting Super Joy, 225 Sterling, Saturday, Decemebr 12, 2009.

FILM FORT PROMO from explodingmotorcar on Vimeo.