Though it draws entries from all over the U.S. and abroad, The National Film Festival for Talented Youth (aka NFFTY) is actually a local organization, co-founded in 2007 by Jesse Harris—then a 21-year-old filmmaker himself. Thanks to hustle and good connections, he’s since expanded it to a four-day affair featuring a companion Future of Film Expo (over at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall) beyond the 200-plus shorts being screened. (The age cutoff for directors is 22.) Whether owing to YouTube, affordable HD video cameras, or both, there seems to be an unlimited and ever-expanding supply of filmed content being produced in the world. Limited to boutique indies and Hollywood blockbuster, the traditional movie exhibition business can’t keep pace, so NFFTY serves a useful role for tyro directors—some as young as age seven! Among tonight’s titles, we like Shuffleboard Kings from Vancouver, BC college student Chris Aitken. The gentle, 16-minute comedy pays cute homage to the training montages of Rocky and The Karate Kid as a 73-year-old widower prepares for a critical game of tabletop shuffleboard. And a telling Canadian detail: Into his veggie shake, a teammate helpfully adds some extra protein in the form of—what else?—bacon. (Continues Fri.-Sun. at SIFF Cinema at the Uptown.) BRIAN MILLER

Thu., April 26, 7:30 p.m.; April 27-29, 2012