We like short shorts by MATTHEW HAYS Filmmakers who have avoided creating feature-length movies have long complained that their shorts have little way of actually being seen. Distribution, they validly complain, is heavily skewed to favour films 80 minutes in length or longer. In a pleasant shift in gears, however, this week affords Montreal audiences plenty of opportunities to take in the shorter stuff. This Saturday, June 2, three Concordia film production grads, David Uloth, Russell Bennett and Alexandra Myotte, will present recent short works of drama and animation at the J.A. de Seve Cinema in the Concordia library building (the screenings begin at 9 p.m. and repeat at 10:30 p.m.). Uloth's Sick of the View is an odd 23-minute comedy-drama, which concerns a man who finds himself in conflict with a strange roommate. Though he never actually sees her, they exchange vitriol via a series of notes. Sure enough, there's a bizarre twist ending, in which we learn who this roomie actually is. Uloth's Bondage will also screen, a funny short in which James Bond interacts with Uloth's cast via a series of clips lifted from Diamonds are Forever. Having seen these films, I'll give the director this: Uloth certainly could win some kind of award for an unusual perspective on life and the universe. Though he falls into the young filmmaker trap of perhaps lacking a certain focus, I did find myself laughing out loud at some of his characters' antics. Also in this series is Tender, Bennett's movie about one student's infatuation with a lass he sees often on the street (semi-autobiographical, perhaps?). It's an odd little fantasy, as when our hero finally gets up the courage to speak with this gal, his method of expressing his feelings for her is entirely unexpected. Bennett's film also suffers a wee bit of the lack-of-focus dilemma, but I never saw the final sequence coming--and surprises this odd are all but gone from the vast majority of what I see on the screen these days. In other short news, Main Film is once again presenting a cross-section of films in its Shorts on the Run series. This Friday and Saturday (June 1-2), several shorts--including Michel Lamothe's Face à la caméra, Lisa Sfriso's La Casa del Nonno and Jean-François Monette's Where Lies the Homo?--will screen at the Main Film offices, 4067 St-Laurent, #303, both nights starting at 7 p.m. Info: 845-7442. Finally, for those of us who do lament the state of the feature-length film these days, there was good news early this week about the box-office take for Pearl Harbor, surely one of the worst (and most expensive) movies of the year. Thankfully, the film did quite poor box office in its crucial opening weekend (about $40 million U.S., the studio was hoping for at least $75 million U.S.). Memo to Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay: Haw-haw! (Simpsons bully laugh). COMMENTS: mhays@mtl-mirror.com