The U of T Film and Video Festival enters its home stretch at Hart House Theatre this week, having already offered up gala screenings of local indie auteur Don McKellar’s latest film Childstar and last year’s hit urban comedy Love, Sex, and Eating the Bones. This year’s fourth annual incarnation of the festival is bigger and better than ever, attracting not only U of T students for its programming, but also notable alumni and shorts that have debuted at some of the top film festivals.

Despite the new veneer, the festival’s heart still lies in its student contributions, and tonight’s selection offers up some surprisingly polished productions. The first program of student shorts (7 p.m.) includes A-Unit, a fun take on the Bollywood action genre. Kitchen Space (John Cowling) is an interesting personal rumination set in an actual McDonald’s kitchen.

This set of shorts also boasts the concise and impressive Crossover (written and directed by Julius Coma), which combines slick production values and a great soundtrack to a simple story. Most impressive of the bunch is Dominika Dittwald’s university submission tape, Final Critique, in which she dramatizes the question, “What are the limits of modern art?” through re-enactments of events in her life.

The second installment of short films (8:15 pm) suffers largely from the main problem that faces most shorts-their relative lack of, well, short-ness. Of these, Dave Read’s Outtakes is the best, as it poses the funny question, “Can you put five minutes of a student film at the end of a 10-minute blooper?” whereas Coming Attractions (Robin Sharp and Cooper Sanborn) is obviously a high school project slotted in to fill some time (it’s 35 minutes long). Actually, it’s kind of cute, but suffers from a common problem facing short films-it’s not long enough to be a feature, but too long to be a short.

The festival rounds out the week with “Super-8 Circus,” which features a Super-8 installation with live jazz accompaniment followed by 32 Super-8 films at 7 p.m. Finally, Thursday offers highlights, including a selection of Gala Shorts (or rather, shorts that have already shown at other higher-profile festivals) followed by the feature film Wooditis, where filmmakers Massimo Park and Steven Hoffner will be in attendance to present their submission.

The U of T Film and Video Festival is slowly emerging as an excellent forum for students to show their films to their peers. The profile of some of the films and the stars it now attracts raises the possibility of a genuine film culture at U of T, including the largely ignored production side. Like all amateur festivals, democracy dictates that there are some films that are not all that strong, but there are also some truly impressive little gems (mostly found in the student shorts) that make the festival a truly enjoyable and worthwhile experience.

The U of T Film and Video Festival continues at Hart House Theatre until March 24. Student tickets are $8 at (416) 978-8849 or the Hart House box office.