FOUND Magazine's Founder Curates Films about Love

We heart Davy Rothbart. His FOUND Magazine lets us peer into the secret lives of others to discover we're not alone in our tendency to write strange little love notes and to-do lists. Now, he's curated a film series that shows us we're not all that different from say sword swallowers or Captain Sulu when it comes to love.

Tonight is the opening reception for Davy Rothbart-curated film series called "Kick My Heart's Ass: Short Films About Love." The lovefest begins at 6 PM and is presented by Apexart (291 Church Street). The films will run through March 21.

Here's the low-down:

Featuring films by Akay, Kyle Alvarez, damali ayo, Rachel Dengiz, Shaina Feinberg, Chelsea Hodson, Marc Israel, Sarah Locke & Ghostshrimp, Brett Loudermilk, Chris K, David Meiklejohn, Carson Mell, Amber Morris, Kel O'Neill & Eline Jongsma, Scott Patterson, Jessica Sanders, Dan Tice, Nicky Verdoodt, AJ Wilhelm & Jason Orfanon, Lev Yilmaz, Jenny Owen Youngs

If the secrets to finding true love are often elusive, well, so are the secrets to making films about love. How do you inject humor into a film about heartbreak? How do you portray a happy romance without being too saccharine and oversentimental? Author and filmmaker Davy Rothbart, at work on a personal documentary called My Heart Is An Idiot, has asked a collection of talented and eclectic friends to explore these and other challenges by producing short, love-related films of their own.

Academy Award-nominated director Jessica Sanders profiles the relationship between actor George Takei (Star Trek's Captain Sulu) and his husband and lifelong partner by chatting with them in bed on a Sunday morning. Singer/songwriter Jenny Owen Youngs interviews fellow musicians about the practice of injecting stories of their own romances into their songs. Brett Loudermilk, sideshow phenom, discusses love with a pair of death-defying sword swallowers, while legendary photographer AJ Wilhelm investigates the cures for a broken heart. Carson Mell and Lev Yilmaz contribute striking animations, punk rock wanderer Chris K bumps into the newly-in-love at an American Idol audition, and documentary filmmaker David Meiklejohn hits the road in search of tales of love from strangers. These and a dozen other short films will be featured in a peepshow gallery as part of the show Kick My Heart’s Ass.

For more information visit www.apexart.org/exhibitions/rothbart.htm