Texas is many things... and it's also bigger than France. This Friday, September 2, Rooftop films in Williamsburg, Brooklyn presents "Bigger than France," a collection of Texas-based and/or themed short films. At 8:30 p.m. there will be live music by PG 6, and at 9 p.m. the screenings will begin. There will also be a BBQ in celebration of Labor Day. Make sure you dress warmly-- it gets chilly on the roof.

Amazon.com, the Tribeca Film Festival and its founding partner Amercian Express present the opening of the Tribeca Screening Room. Until September 23, Amazon.com customers will be able to view and rate short film submissions from novice and established filmmakers. Then, on October 3, the five top-rated films will begin to debut on the Amazon.com home page. The grand prize winner as selected by Amazon.com customers will be announced in November and will receive a $50,000 award from American Express towards his or her next film project.

The 2005 Aisle 5 Short Film Festival will be held on Saturday, August 27th, 2005 at the Regent Theatre, 7 Medford Street, Arlington, MA. A total of 10 short films will play at the festival. Tickets are only $3.50 per person.

New York's short film festival, the Manhattan Short Film Festival has joined forces with the Martha's Vineyard Film Society in bringing a selection of short films to Martha's Vineyard on September 17 and 18 at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, Spring Street, Vineyard Haven.

Inside Out Toronto Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival presents an evening of audience favorite shorts from the 2005 festival on August 24 at 8 p.m. The screenings will take place at the Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina, Toronto. Featured shorts include "Who's the Top?" by Jennie Livingston (director of "Paris Is Burning") and "Irene Williams: Queen of Lincoln Road," among others.

The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) will host the Brooklyn premiere of the short film, "Bullets in the Hood: A Bed-Stuy Story," an award-winning, teen-produced documentary on Tuesday, Sept. 6, at 7:30 p.m. Produced at New York City’s Downtown Community Television Center, the film focuses on the tragic consequences of gun violence in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant community. Sponsored by City Council Members David Yassky and Letitia James, the free screening will be followed by a panel discussion and spoken word performances, as well as a reception at BAMcafé. The film’s creators, Terrence Fisher and Daniel Howard will be in attendance along with friends, family and community leaders from Bed-Stuy. RSVP Required: dcbutler@yahoo.com (646) 335-5548

Very Short Movies (VSM) recently announced that they will be launching a company with plans to present a shorts festival in Hollywood, to be named the "Golden Star Shorts Fest." VSM plans to set itself apart from other festivals by focusing on movies in the under 10-minute category. The festival will take place in the winter of 2006.

The inaugural HollyShorts Short Film Festival came to a close on August 14 at the Space Theatre in Hollywood with top honors going to "Dick (The Short)," directed and written by Rufus Dorsey. Audience Choice Awards went to Kelly Rigg and Natashia McGough's "Bluff Point," and Aaron Caine's "The King of K-Town." The festival, which took place August 13-14, showcased 23 short films, which were 30 minutes and under.

Genius Products, Inc. announced yesterday that they've set an October 18, 2005 release date for Shorts International’s "Shortsplay" and "Shortsplay Extreme" on UMD. The two film collections include live action and animated shorts. Many of the films have screened at festivals around the world. "Shortsplay" will include the following films: "In the Bathroom," "Sixth Scent," "Covert," "Home Road Movies," "Sleight of Hand," "Perfect Gooseys" and "The Last Post." "Shortsplay Extreme" will include the shorts "Limbo-X-treme," "Chickendales," "One Small Leap," "Mercy," "Gone Underground," "Killing Time at Home," "Robots" and "F8." Both collections are approximately 60 minutes long.

Cop Festival and Cop Festival Reloaded--a pair of sets from Japan's wildly popular short film series--arrived in New York City this week, and Saturday marks the final opportunity for Gotham filmgoers to check the movies out at Lincoln Center's New York Video Festival.

Started by Japanese filmmaker Makoto Shinazaki, Cop Festival films are ten-minute genre pieces shot quick, cheap and dirty--in some cases, over the course of a few hours. The selection of films at Lincoln Center includes videos by internationally renowned directors such as Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Ryuichi Honda.

Shinazaki curated the rarely seen shorts in these "best-of" assortments especially for the NYVF. Cop Festival screens Sunday, July 31 at 9 p.m., while Cop Festival Reloaded screens Saturday, July 30 at 10:30 p.m.