It's practically impossible for me to sit here and list the top ten short films from 2006. Not only are there thousands of shorts to sift through, but the majority of them are not available online. So, how does Erik go about putting together a list of the best short films from 2006? Will he randomly spew out names and titles for films you'll never be able to see unless you just happen to show up at a specific festival on a specific day at a specific time?

Of course not. What I've actually done is comb through all the previous Eat My Shorts and chosen my ten favorite short films that I've written about this year. Most (if not all) of them are not from 2006, but they are available online and all of them are wonderful, fantastic and definitely deserve your attention. This has been an amazing year for short films, and I like to think (in my own bizarre fantasy world) that Eat My Shorts truly helped spread the word -- that it helped bring more attention to an art form that desperately needs to be back in front of a mass audience. Oh, and thanks to you for being a part of the revolution. Viva la Shorts!

The idea and feelings behind Christmas change drastically at a few key points throughout your life. Of course, there's the first realization that Santa does not actually exist, and instead your mom and dad are buying the presents -- at the same time, trying to convince you it is instead some big fat man from the North Pole who's sliding down the chimney with a bag full of stuff from the local mall. Some kids just connect the dots as they begin to get older, others find out from "smarter kids" and, well, people like me find out after they get up to go to the bathroom at midnight.

Once the cat is out of the bag, you go through a brief period of time where, instead of harassing Santa through poorly-written letters, you harass your poor parents. A lot of the magic is now gone, and it becomes simply about the gifts. However, once you're old enough to start working, a new kind of pressure emerges -- the kind that quietly whispers in your ear: "Hey kid, you should start getting presents for other people now." Once that happens, Christmas, as you know it, is officially over ...

Not long ago, we told you about a neat little contest that Delta Airlines was hosting as part of a collaboration with Gen Art. The concept: Gen Art would invite filmmakers to submit their short films and, along with Delta, the two would choose five finalists -- all of which would be available to watch on select Delta flights, as well as online. Whichever short collects the highest rating (both in the air and on the computer) will receive a sweeet prize package that includes $10,000 in cash, a trip for two to the Sundance Film Festival (where they'll be invited to attend a celebratory party and watch as their short film is screened at said party), a pair of two round-trip international tickets for any Delta flight and a $2500 Gen Art membership. (I'm not sure what in the world you get for $2500 over at Gen Art, but I'd expect a ton of invites to some really cool parties, on top of a slew of free liquor and lots of ass-kissing.)

Personally, I love the idea that short films will have a chance to find a new audience (one that's not so tapped in to the festival scene) at 35,000 feet. Sure, folks who read this site probably watch shorts regularly, but people like my parents (who fly Delta all the time because my sister-in-law is a flight attendant with them) don't go to festivals and they don't do a ton of surfing online, save for the occasional shopping spree and stupid email forwards. (I told you mom, I don't open those stupid things -- they're a waste of my time. Stop sending them to me.) Needless to say, this will be a fabulous way for a filmmaker to get their short film in front of a mass audience, the kind that looks to Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood when trying to decide which movie to watch over the weekend. That's not necessarily a bad thing but ... let's carry on, shall we?

The 71 short films screening at The Sundance Film Festival next month have been announced, and it looks like we'll be getting a little taste of everything -- including one film that stars real-life lovers Peter Sarsgaard and Maggie Gyllenhaal. (Hmm, I wonder if Sarsgaard seduced her with his creepy, quiet charm?) Directed by Andrew Zuckerman, High Falls features Sarsgaard and Gyllenhaal as a husband and wife whose relationship runs into trouble after the two confess something (that they both despise Grey's Anatomy and cannot, for the life of them, understand why anyone watches the damn show?) to their best friend.

The 71 shorts were chosen amongst a whopping 4,445 submissions, and in total there are 19 countries represented. The shorts were then separated into two categories, U.S. and international, and broken down into three sub-categories: dramatic, documentary and animated. Perhaps the greatest news to come from this announcement is that 50 of the 71 shorts will be available online at the Sundance website for free from January 18 through April 18. How cool is that? I mean, how fricking cool is that? Of course, this means I shall be dedicating a few Eat My Shorts columns to those shorts playing Sundance, picking out my favorites and discussing them with you. As always, Cinematical will have a team of writers at Sundance where we'll be bringing you everything from reviews to interviews to photoblogs to, well, that last one is a surprise (but I will not count out James suddenly taking off his shirt and serenading the camera with his rendition of You've Lost That Loving Feeling).

A full list of shorts playing this year's festival is waiting for you after the jump, courtesy of the official Sundance Film Fest website ...

It's not like my parents intended to screw me up religiously, that's just how it went down. Growing up, things were just confusing -- my father was Jewish and my mother converted, which meant her side of the family was Catholic. My father's previous wife was also Catholic, and so my two half-brothers and half-sister decided to live their life according to Jesus. Me? I went to my cousin's Bar Mitzvah when I was, like, six and was totally mesmerized by the fact that a kid could have this huge party dedicated only to him. Thus, I decided to be Jewish -- not knowing anything about the years of Hebrew School I'd have to take on -- strictly for the Bar Mitzvah party. Funnily enough, when I finally did have my Bar Mitzvah, I didn't even know enough people to have a party, so my parents took me on a trip to California -- a place I had always dreamed about traveling to (because, to a kid from New York City, California is on the other side of the world -- so exotic, sunny and full of big Hollywood stars).

Even while I was in training for my Bar Mitzvah, for some reason my parents still wanted me to believe in Santa and open up presents under the Christmas tree. Of course, while I was still in Hebrew School, they'd be gracious enough to hide a menorah in the corner so that I wouldn't forget what the Jews were doing in December. Following the Bar Mitzvah, the menorah was gone, we stopped going to Synagogue, the Christmas trees got bigger and my little sister -- who was three when I officially became a man in the eyes of the Jewish religion -- decided all of this was way too f**ked up for her, and so she became a Buddhist. Still with me? Though my family weren't traditional Jews (in the sense that we actually celebrated the Jewish holidays), our household was forever filled with Jewish humor. One of my earliest memories of my parents was watching them screen Annie Hall over and over again, as my father would shout at me, "Don't worry Erik, one day you'll get this movie." My father also insisted on taking me to see Jackie Mason on Broadway a few times, we traveled to the Catskills, Seinfeld was constantly quoted around the living room and, till this day, there isn't a table that exists in any restaurant where my mother won't feel a draft. (I promise, we're getting to the short films -- just keep reading ... )

Since my review of Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny will be arriving on Cinematical shortly, I decided to dedicate this edition of Eat My Shorts to Jack Black and Kyle Gass -- otherwise known as Tenacious D. I guess you can call it a tribute ... but more on that later. Most films are nothing without their music (score, soundtrack, whatever), and that goes triple for a flick like Pick of Destiny. Fans of The "D" will be happy to see the film overflowing with impromptu songs and jam sessions -- all of which are included on the pic's soundtrack, now available in stores and online.

But how important is music to a short film? Well the simple (and obvious) answer is that it's very important. Music sets the tone, exposes a mood and helps move the story along. Try this: Imagine some of your favorite films without music, and see if they still stand out. In my opinion, music is right up there with story, character and acting -- a crucial element in filmmaking. Then there are some flicks that are all about the music (Pick of Destiny, Rocky Horror Picture Show), some of which are adapted from actual musicals like Chicago, Grease and Rent. Others begin as films, at some point find their way to the stage and then arrive back in theaters -- The Producers and Hairspray are two of the more recent examples.

Today we'll be taking a look at a few short films I found online that use music (in different ways) to carry the story. As per usual, I'm always looking for content, so please feel free to send me all links, comments and suggestions to shorts AT cinematical DOT com. This shorts column will be picking up steam in the next few weeks, and I will definitely need your help ... for I am but one man. Let's go watch some shorts ...

Every Halloween, I always feel bad for the 14, 15 and 16 year-olds out there who are right in that in-between Halloween stage. You're too old to go trick-or-treating (unless you're a girl and have a younger sibling to parade around the neighborhood), and you're too young to start invading the Halloween party circuit. Ahh, the glorious Halloween party circuit -- where every costume has the word 'sexy' added to it. I asked my 19 year-old sister what she was wearing to her Halloween parties, and she told me she was dressing up as a pharmacist. I twisted my head a bit in confusion, until she revealed that she was going as a "sexy pharmacist." Unfortunately, guys really don't have the option of dressing up as a sexy garbage man, but I digress.

If you're under 14, then Halloween is the greatest holiday in the history of holidays (okay, not counting those free presents you get from Santa on Christmas). Not only do you get to dress up as your favorite character (with mom and dad's approval), but people actually give you free candy ... and lots of it. And all you have to say is "trick or treat." That's it. (And people wonder whether or not heaven really exists -- c'mon, when you're a kid, heaven is Halloween.) However, for us grown-ups who have to work today and are having a hard time getting into the spirit of things, I've assembled a few spooky shorts for you to watch during one of those many 15-minute breaks the boss doesn't know about.

As always, if you should stumble upon a cool short film you feel would be perfect for Eat My Shorts, please send all links, tips and suggestions (trust me, I love hearing from all of you) to shorts AT cinematical DOT com. Yes, it's that simple. Happy dress up and eat candy day folks! Let's go watch some shorts ...

Even though it's only been a couple of weeks, folks have been itching to know what, if anything, happened to Eat My Shorts. Did the column disappear? Did Cinematical stop caring about short films? Did Erik get hungry and somehow manage to literally eat all of the shorts? (While the last one seems ridiculous, trust me -- with my appetite, anything is possible.) No. No. And, um, no.

However, I have been hella busy covering the 44th Annual New York Film Festival for Cinematical. In doing so, there wasn't a lot of spare time for me to utilize to scour the internet in search of some fantastic material. I know, my time management skills kind of suck. (I still can't figure out why it takes me two hours to put on a pair of socks, but let's come back to that when the subject is appropriate.) While attending the fest, I was able to catch some really cool short films. As I sat in the darkened theater surrounded by my fellow critics, I couldn't help but hope and pray that some of those shorts were available online. And, to my surprise, they are!

New York magazine was cool enough to stream five of the short films featured at this year's New York Film Festival online for all to see. Thankfully, my favorite one is included. Before we check those out, I want you to keep your eyes open for any Halloween-related shorts online; next week, we're going to delve into that arena and before I start doing my own research, I'd like to hear from you, the audience. As always, feel free to send all links, tips and suggestions regarding Eat My Shorts to shorts AT cinematical DOT com. Okay, let's go check out some NYFF shorts ...

Argh, I totally dropped the ball last week and forgot to tell you about a really cool thing TCM (Turner Classic Movies) was throwing together. Throughout the month of September, TCM is partnering with Hermès and paying tribute to short films with a festival titled Behind the Camera: The Shorts Circuit. For those interested in checking out some of these shorts, TCM will mix them into their on-air schedule, throw a few online and host various premiere events around the country.

Okay, so if there's still some time left in September, then how exactly did I drop the ball? Well, this past friday TCM aired a slew of shorts (24 hours worth to be exact) ... and I forgot to tell you about it. Kill me now! Hopefully some of you managed to catch a few, it really was a special event. If it wasn't for a friend of mine (who, at the last second decided to use my DVR to record about five hours worth), I would have missed the entire thing. Instead, we were able to catch a bunch of shorts directed by folks like Martin Scorsese, Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick.

However, TCM did throw a few shorts online and we'll check those out in a second. But first, I want to thank all of you for tipping me off on some wonderful short films. I promise to include a few of them in the next edition of Eat My Shorts. As always, if you happen upon a sweeet looking short online and think it would be perfect Eat My Shorts content, then feel free to send all tips, links and suggestions to shorts AT cinematical DOT com. With that, let's go watch some shorts ...

Seeing as you'll be reading my review of Evil Aliens later this week, I figured why not stretch out the intergalactic theme and include it within this week's Eat My Shorts. I mean, who doesn't like to watch a film about aliens? They're weird, foreign and mysterious creatures that, depending upon who you ask, may or may not exist in real life. Personally, I am of the opinion that aliens are out there somewhere, waiting for just the right time to come down to earth and start their own professional ping-pong league. Heck, there's a lot of money to be made in ping-pong and I'm sure those little dudes are up there paying attention.

Life is more fun when you're a believer. If anything, one can use an alien's presence to explain missing homework, a clogged toilet or why next weekend will not be a good time for the in-laws to pay a visit. All kidding aside, we adore our aliens and love watching them up on the big screen accompanied by millions of dollars in special effects. However, aliens also play a big role in the world of short films as well. Be it animated or live-action, I'm consistently amazed by the quality of alien-related shorts online and available to watch right now ... for free.

This week, all of the following films have something do with aliens and were found rather quickly by typing in a few keywords and surfing the net. As always, if you'd like to see a particular short film featured on a future edition of Eat My Shorts, feel free to send all links, tips and suggestions to shorts AT cinematical DOT com. In the meantime, let's go watch some shorts ...