Guest blogger Danielle Marie Georgiou is a dance lecturer at the University of Texas Arlington. She also serves as assistant director of  UT Arlington’s Dance Ensemble. Her short film, “Strange People At Your Parties,” screens tonight at the Hub Shorts Film Festival.

Located in the heart of Deep Ellum, the Dallas Hub Theater is host to numerous theatrical and dance performances. But tonight, it will be transformed into a 1940s theater complete with popcorn, gourmet cupcakes and coffee, all for the first annual Hub Shorts Film Festival.

The festival contributes to the efforts to revitalize Deep Ellum as an arts and artists community. It features work written and directed by North Texas artists, showcasing everything from comedies to horror to music videos to a filmed interpretation of William Butler Yeats. There will be a reception, sponsored by It’s a Grind Coffee House and the Demeter Project, and a director Q&A to follow the screenings.

Hub Shorts curator Lauren Guyer is excited to work with local businesses like It’s A Grind, who she says is, “so supportive of community endeavors. In this economic situation,” she continued, “local businesses and the arts community need to lean on each other, which happens to be the case with Hub Shorts and the Demeter Project.”

I am honored and excited to be a part of this festival and to be one of the showcased filmmakers, albeit, a little nervous. As a new filmmaker, it is nerve-racking to submit your work for public viewing. But presenting it in a public forum is the best way for me to learn and mature in my work . The nerves grow exponentially each time (and I’m sure a few more gray hairs have sprouted on my head), but the thrill of being in such a vulnerable state and hearing just one person laugh at a joke you’ve written becomes addictive. It’s stimulating and terrifying and inspirational. It pushes me to keep creating. And as the sole female director in the bunch, I’m proud to represent for all the ladies out there!

My film, “Strange People At Your Parties,” was inspired by the music of Leonard Cohen and his and Bob Dylan’s musical and poetic political commentary during the 1960s, 1980s and today. It’s an interpretation of consumer culture, with a little bit of high fashion, dance and cake.

The nine other filmmakers are from across North Texas. They include University of Texas at Dallas students Matthew A. Cowling, Ciro Faienza, Luis Fernando Midence, Brad Sanders and Alex Wagner, as well as Jason Fitzmaurice, Andy Laviolette, Geoff McGee and John Osburn.

“The adult content is cleverly crafted outside the context of toilet humor, which is nice and very difficult to do,” Guyer says. “Each artist seems to grasp their message and continuously thread it through their films.”

Dress in your best shorts and come and check out the Hub Shorts Film Festival tonight at 8:15 p.m. at the Dallas Hub Theater! Tickets are $10, discount with advanced purchase at http://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showcode=HUB2

Note: Many of the films have mature content, so make this an evening out with the significant other, not the kiddos.