Integral to Vancouver’s vibrant grassroots film movement is the short-film community, an enthusiastic bunch who are making their names on appetizers before they move on to the entrees.

Ken Hegan, as a key example, produced the award-winning short comedies William Shatner Lent Me His Hairpiece (’96) and Farley Mowat Ate My Brother (’95) en route to his recent commission from Vancouver Television to do Aardvark!, a one-hour mockumentary about two guys who mount a Fringe Festival play.

He’s convinced the success of his short films, which have been to 30 festivals each, opened the door to the Baton gig. ‘It’s difficult to convince people that you can walk in, pick up a megaphone, and pull together a feature,’ he says. ‘Short films are the mini tramps to Canadian feature films.’

Many local filmmakers with bigger dreams are following Hegan’s model by producing speculative, self-financed short films with volunteer help and scammed equipment.

Other short filmmakers in Vancouver include Nathan Garfinkle (This Way Up), Trent Carlson (Groomed, which went to Sundance), Gordon Curry (2 Extra Days), Robert Randall (The Love Charm), Luis Lam (starfishin), Elizabeth Murray (Bernice) and Blake Corbett (The Chain).

Paul Armstrong – who with Brett Isfeld produces the biweekly Indie Film Night screenings of b.c.-made animated and live shorts at the Vancouver Film School – says he’s shown the work of 50 b.c. filmmakers since he began 18 months ago. Vancouver has a richer short film community than other cities, he observes, because of the presence of the Hollywood film and television machine that has trained film technicians who are hungry to work on clever, homemade ideas. ‘Short films are affordable and with the business here the equipment is available,’ Armstrong says. ‘So infrastructure is here and the motivation as well.’

Kellie Benz called in favors to pull together her writing, producing and directing debut: the blasphemous, 13-minute comedy The Second Coming, which is about a woman who sleeps with Jesus Christ during his return engagement.

‘This was the easiest and most profound way to learn how to make a film,’ she says. ‘You learn more doing it this way than going to film school.’

And with her budget of $8,000, her tuition was cheaper.

Second Coming has screened at the Ohio Independent Film Festival, the Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival, the Austrian Festival der Nationen and the London Film Festival in the u.k., but interestingly was not accepted by viff. Benz has sold her short to Knowledge Network where it will air in the new year. Baton’s Comedy Network will also show the film.

While short films are an art form unto themselves, they are providing the stepping stones to more substantial above-the-line jobs in Vancouver, Benz says. In the meantime, her proven efforts mean Benz is enjoying keener interest from the lending agencies and fielding inquiries about directing commercials.