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With rumors mounting over the previous 24 hours, a hurried press conference late Friday afternoon finally affirmed what was suspected: Savannah Metro Police Chief Willie Lovett would retire from the force, effective immediately.

The retirement comes in the wake of an ongoing investigation of allegations by a female officer that Lovett sexually harassed her.

The announcement from the City directly references the allegations: “The City of Savannah received a complaint concerning Chief Lovett, and continues to investigate that matter.” However, citing the ongoing investigation, no further comment was provided.

In a written and also somewhat telling statement, the outgoing Chief Lovett said “The City of Savannah, County of Chatham and law enforcement have been my focus for the past 40 years and I have enjoyed every moment…. I had previously decided to retire within the next 60 days, but had decided to do so immediately.”

Though the Savannah police department is a consolidated city/county force, the police chief reports directly to the City Manager’s office, and hence City Manager Stephanie Cutter was the main point person for the resignation.

“Today, I and County Manager Russ Abolt accepted the retirement notice effective immediately of Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Chief Willie Lovett following 40 years of service,” wrote Cutter in a statement.

“While Metro Police serves both the City of Savannah and the Unincorporated Chatham County, the Chief of Police is a City of Savannah employee. I will consult with Mr. Abolt, together with the rest of the Police Policy Committee — including the Mayor and Commission Chairman — to create a process on the selection of a new Police Chief."

Named as Acting Chief of Police is Major Juliette Tolbert, a Savannah State University graduate who joined the force in 1981 and was promoted to major in 1997.

In addition to the usual competition categories, the 2013 Savannah Film Festival is adding a couple of new sectors. Historical Shorts will acknowledge the unique challenges and extra expense involved in producing a short set in a particular historical period. SuperShorts! highlights films clocking in at under six minutes.

Here's the full lineup of competition films. Scheduling details will be unveiled when tickets go on sale Oct. 1 at savannahboxoffice.com or the ticket window at the Trustees Theatre.

Narrative Features

Hank and Asha (USA)

In this modern love story, an Indian woman studying in Prague and a lonely New Yorker begin an unconventional video correspondence—two strangers searching for human connection in a hyper-connected world.

Home:______ (USA)

“Home:______” is the story of a man, recovering from mental illness, who tries to rebuild his life and reconnect with his estranged son by moving out of a group home and into an apartment of his own.

Jack Irish: Bad Debts (Australia)

A phone message from ex-client Danny McKillop doesn’t ring any bells for Jack Irish (Guy Pierce). Life is hard enough without having to dredge up old problems: his beloved football team has moved interstate; the odds on his latest plunge at the track seem far too long; and he’s still cooking for one. But when Danny turns up dead, Jack has to take a walk back into a dark and dangerous past

The Pretty One (USA)

When a woman’s (Zoe Kazan) prettier identical twin sister dies, the woman assumes her sister’s identity, moves to the big city and into her apartment.

Documentary Films

Brothers Hypnotic (USA and the Netherlands)

For the eight young men in the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, brotherhood is literal: they’re all sons of anti-establishment Chicago jazz musician Phil Cohran. Raised together on Chicago’s South Side as subjects of their father’s utopian family experiment, they wore homemade clothes, followed a vegan diet and awoke at 5 a.m. for family band practice. Now grown, as they raise eight brass bells to the sky—while playing for quarters in Times Square, collaborating with Mos Def or wowing a jazz festival—they find the values their father bred into them constantly tested. They must decide whether their father’s principles really are their own. “Brothers Hypnotic” is a coming-of-age story, for eight brothers, and for an ideal.

Dear Mr. Watterson (USA)

“Dear Mr. Watterson” is not a quest to find Bill Watterson or to invade his privacy. It is an exploration to discover why his simple comic strip “Calvin and Hobbes” made such an impact on so many readers, and why it still means so much to us today.

Mayan Blue (USA)

“Mayan Blue” documents the recent discovery of an ancient Mayan site beneath the waters of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. Through the investigation of the 2,000-year-old city of Samabaj, the film explores the Mayan view of the cosmos and their ancient mythologies. The findings reveal a catastrophe the likes of which the Maya could never have imagined, reshaping everything they believed about the Earth and the origins of their underworld.

Money for Nothing: Inside the Federal Reserve (USA and Canada)

Nearly 100 years after its creation, the power of the U.S. Federal Reserve has never been greater. Markets and governments around the world hold their breath in anticipation of the Fed chairman’s every word. Yet the average person knows very little about the most powerful, and least understood, financial institution on Earth. Narrated by Liev Schreiber, “Money For Nothing” is the first film to take viewers inside the Fed and reveal the impact of Fed policies, past, present and future, on our lives. Join current and former Fed officials as they debate the critics, and each other, about the decisions that helped lead the global financial system to the brink of collapse in 2008, and why we might be headed there again.

Professional Shorts

AB- (USA)

Stuck and injured on a remote road in the dead of winter—who will come to save you?

Care (USA)

Drea, a 20-something woman living in Brooklyn, struggles to make progress in her own life while being the sole caregiver for her father, who has Alzheimer’s disease.

The Nightshift Belongs to the Stars (Il Turno di Notte lo Fanno le Stelle) (Italy)

This is a story about a man and a woman. He is alone. She is married. They are both mountaineers, both survivors of cardiac operations. He has in his chest the heart of a young woman. She has a surgically replaced mitral valve. A fate and a promise unite them. A short story where the rhythm of the heartbeat accelerates to find, at the end, a steady pace.

Palimpsest (USA)

“Palimpsest” is a short film about the subtle forces at play in relationships and the tangible remnants of memory. Peter, a successful house tuner in New York City, meets Ellen while consulting in her apartment. As a house tuner, Peter offers his clients a unique form of therapy that examines minute details in living spaces that sometimes reveal more about a person’s past than they intended.

Setup, Punch (USA)

Showing that there is always a reason to laugh, stand-up comic Reuben Stein (Elijah Wood) does the most daring set of his life.

Walking the Dogs (UK)

A Buckingham Palace guard attending to Queen Elizabeth’s (Emma Thompson) room takes her dogs for a walk. While he’s away, an intruder breaks in for a chat with the monarch.

Wild Horses (USA)

In this story, that spans one day, cruelty, courage, love and memory collide as two generations of women bear witness to the brutality common in wild horse roundups in the American West.

Who Shot Rock & Roll: The Film (USA)

This documentary short explores the groundbreaking collaborations between photographers and recording artists who came together to create some of the most enduring images in rock history. From the early 1950s through the present, “Who Shot Rock & Roll” tells the stories behind the photos and takes viewers on a visual journey through the many eras of rock and roll. Powerful imagery and insightful commentary give viewers a unique glimpse into photography’s impact on the ever-changing, but everlasting, culture of rock and roll.

Professional Animation Shorts

Fear of Flying (Ireland)

A small bird with a fear of flying tries to avoid heading south for the winter. When a harsh winter rolls around he must face his fears in order to survive.

Irish Folk Furniture (Ireland)

“Irish Folk Furniture” is an animated documentary about repair and recycling in rural Ireland. In Ireland, old, hand-painted furniture is often associated with hard times, with poverty, and with a time many would rather forget. Because of this association, much of the country’s furniture heritage lies rotting in barns and sheds. In the making of this film, 16 pieces of abandoned folk furniture were restored and returned back into daily use. This film was shot in a green and environmentally friendly way, using local craftspeople, local narrators and inexpensive secondhand equipment. Only natural light was used to shoot this film.

Love in the Time of Advertising (USA)

“Love in the Time of Advertising” is about a young man living inside a billboard, charged with updating the advertisements. When a tear in the sign reveals a beautiful young lady living across the highway, he falls instantly in love. Unable to leave his billboard home to tell her how he feels, he decides to use the only method he knows in order to get his message across—advertising.

The Missing Scarf (Ireland)

Albert the squirrel makes a startling discovery—an empty space that his favorite scarf once occupied. He heads off into the forest only to find everyone else is preoccupied with worries of their own. He helps who he can before moving on but never seems to get any closer to his goal. Ultimately, Albert’s problem is put in perspective by the friends he helped and the problems they faced and overcame together. Narrated by George Takei.

Mr. Hublot (France and Luxembourg)

Mr. Hublot is a withdrawn, idiosyncratic character with obsessive-compulsive disorder, scared of change and the outside world. Robot Pet’s arrival turns his life upside down when he is forced to share his home with this very invasive companion.

The Rose of Turaida (Australia)

Based on a true story and set in 17th-century Latvia, “The Rose of Turaida” tells of the tragedy of a beautiful young woman who makes the ultimate sacrifice for love and honor.

Sci-Fly (USA)

“Sci-Fly” is a journey through time and space and the fight for existence, with a dark premise contrasted with the divine imaginary, creating a hypnotic ride of tone and emotion. Only in-camera effects were used to capture “Sci-Fly.” The wonders of our own world were filmed in order to create another. Capturing visual effects in-camera is starting to become an afterthought. The main goal of “Sci-Fly” was to create a journey solely on experimenting with new techniques that we had never done before. Those new methods would shift the storytelling arch. “Sci-Fly” evolved organically, just like the effects created.

Student Narrative Shorts

Dirt (SCAD)

After a boy promises to whisk her away to paradise, “Dirt” tries to escape her dilapidated neighborhood and overcome her greatest adversary—her mother.

The Empty Room

Isolated and extremely uncomfortable at a dinner party, Allen escapes into a room where he has a life-changing conversation with a girl he’s never met before.

Justice Denied (SCAD)

On April 18, 2006, Howell Woltz and his wife are arrested outside their North Carolina home on charges of which they had never heard, for a crime that didn’t exist. Howell is left with no other option but to fight a corrupt system from behind bars while struggling to keep his family intact. Upon examining other inmates’ cases, he is shocked to find he is not the only one facing injustice.

Mo Chara (SCAD)

Regardless of history, religion or what their parents say, Sean and David become friends.

Pretty (Columbia University)

When the intrusive and controlling nature of small-town living promises a life of confinement, Mary sets an intricate plan in motion to escape with Will, her childhood sweetheart. She just needs to get through one last day.

Six Letter Word (American Film Institute)

Down on her luck, Zoe (Rumer Willis) turns tricks to support herself and her bright, odd son Jax, but wants a better life for him. Her estranged mother agrees to pay for Jax to go to a private school, where an unexpected encounter with one of her johns gradually helps Zoe realize Jax has autism and needs much more than she alone can give him.

Skin (Columbia University)
“Skin” is the story of a child taxidermist, an outsider in his small town. He is entranced by a girl who finds his work beautiful. But just as their relationship begins to progress, he does something that drastically changes everything.

Unorthodox (University of Southern California)

When Yankel’s older brother runs away from home after a bitter fight with his father, Yankel decides to strike back. He learns in school that fathers are punished for their children’s sins before their Bar Mitzvahs, so Yankel decides to test his faith for the first time in order to teach his father a lesson.

Valiant (SCAD)

After dropping into Normandy on D-Day, one young lieutenant learns the true meaning of leadership and discovers the importance of passing on a legacy of valiance for generations to come.

Student Animation Shorts

Balloon Cat (SCAD)

A cat floats helplessly through space, tethered to balloons, as his life flashes before his eyes.

Baxter (SCAD)

Baxter the raccoon makes his way into Granny’s Sweet Shop, but once inside, he becomes obsessed with the candy and he creates his own downfall.

Chicken or the Egg (Ringling College of Art and Design)

This is a story about a pig addicted to eating eggs, but when he falls in love with a chicken, he must decide what comes first, chicken or the egg.

The Collector’s Gift (University of Southern California)

“The Collector’s Gift” is a modern-day fairy tale about a young girl who discovers the key to creating a new world.

The Final Straw (Ringling College of Art and Design)

A scarecrow gets more than he bargains for when a stubborn crow invades his farmland.

The Observer (SCAD)

“The Observer” is a loose narrative that explores the continuum between inner doubt and self-acceptance.

Runaway (Ringling College of Art and Design)

“Runaway” is a charming story following the unfortunate misunderstanding between Stanley and his lovable and treasured 1950s refrigerator, Chillie. Set in the present day, a sad event sends Chillie into a whirlwind of emotional turmoil, and as a result, he runs away. Over the course of events, this story shows how a small assumption can cause big problems, yet the bond of friendship cannot be broken.

Historical Shorts

Until The Dust Settles (USA)

A father and his two sons reconnect while traveling through the heart of the American Dust Bowl in 1932.

Menschen (USA)

During the last week of WWII, an Austrian captain takes a developmentally disabled boy under his wing and brings the loyalty of his men to the test.

The Station Master (UK)

Set in 1950s England, a lonely, dysfunctional Station Master lives in the middle of nowhere. Unexpectedly, a woman exits one of the steam trains and during the night they spend together, she opens his eyes to a life he never believed he could have.

The Most Girl Part of You (USA)

Teens Kate and Big Guy are lifelong best friends. When tragedy causes charming oddball Big Guy to unravel, Kate finds herself both appalled by his behavior and driven by an attraction she never before realized.

Wolves from Another Kingdom (USA)

The two boys struggle to survive in a recently devastated world — an echo of natural disaster.

SuperShorts!

Korean Food (UK)

An English businessman tries to learn Korean in order to ask a Korean waitress out, but he may have misjudged the situation.

Darwin’s Theory (USA)

Three nugget creatures have to resort to their ability to change colors in order to avoid a large knuckle-dragging predator. The only problem is that one nugget is a little unique.

Thumb (USA)

After losing a playful thumb war to his date, our hero puts his losing digit through a grueling and hilarious ‘ROCKY’-esque training regimen in an obsessive quest to reclaim the title and his manhood.

The Girl With the Tuba (USA)

A young autistic woman details how playing a tuba in the streets of Atlanta helped her sharpen her voice as an activist.

Residuum (USA)

Her feet on the edge of a rooftop, his hand approaches slowly.

Halcyon 17 (USA)

A young physicist struggles to reach Mars by climbing to the top of a huge cherry tree.

Dji. Death Fails (Moldova)

Dji is an unlucky reaper. All he has to do is collect the soul of a dying man, but many obstacles prevent him from completing this simple process.

A Life With Asperger’s (USA)

An animated documentary exploring the challenges of growing up and living with Asperger's syndrome.

Animation Hotline (USA)

A series of micro-animations that use crowd-sourced voicemail messages for content.

Oasis (Singapore)

On his way home, a gorilla miner stumbles across a curious creature that's much more than meets the eye.

Danza De Los Muertos (USA)

A young boy's grandmother comes back from the world of the dead to visit, but he is too terrified of her skeletal form to dance with her.

La Hija (Spain and Argentina)

Fatima wants to play, but her father is too busy. She has imagination and special balloons.

Flamingo (Venezuela)

A surreal animated musical about depression and finding happiness again.

How to Be a Female Director (USA)

Follow Kay in her quest to become a feature film director. This film is a satirical, vintage look at a very modern day issue.

Leisure Services Bureau Chief Joe Shearouse called a special meeting of the Savannah Film Commission Wednesday afternoon, ostensibly to explain Monday’s surprising “suspension pending dismissal” of Jay Self, Film Service Director.

But commissioners left the meeting more baffled than they were before.

“It’s a personnel matter, and I’m not going to comment on that other than saying he is on paid leave,” Shearouse told the advisory board, “and we hope to have something resolved within the next few days.”

Everything the Chief said afterwards was virtually the same vague statement, re-worded a little each time.

He batted away one question after another, including many about Broughton Street business owners, several of whom have been loudly complaining that they’re not happy with the compensation package offered by Paramount Pictures, which is to begin shooting a Spongebob Squarepants movie here soon.

“I hate to avoid questions, but ….” Shearouse said. “The action I’ve taken, I feel very comfortable with. I can defend my action in front of the proper authority – my boss, the City Manager. At the time and place, I’ll do that.”

City Manager Stephanie Cutter has been out of town, he said, and was expected back Wednesday night.

Shearouse declined to say whether Paramount, and the ongoing negotiations with downtown businesses, played a role in his disciplinary action against Self.

“They (Spongebob producers) are aware of what’s going on here,” Shearouse said, “and are comfortable with it.”

He also denied a persistent rumor that the Savannah Film Office was going to be absorbed by the State of Georgia Film Office.

“Not to contradict Mr. Shearouse, but I have a feeling this has something to do with this Spongebob movie,” commissioner Murray Silver said after the meeting was adjourned.

“And it probably has something to do with the Chamber of Commerce, and this difficulty about reimbursement for the merchants.”

Self, meanwhile, has requested a meeting with City Manager Cutter, to appeal Shearouse’s action.

Specialty clothing brand Free People will open its 85th boutique in Savannah on October 4 in the old Clothing Warehouse space on West Broughton Street.

The 2,200 square foot space "was designed in the brand’s Black Smith’s Cottage concept, highlighting Free People’s rugged side and maintaining the site’s historical integrity by leaving the original storefront," says a company spokesperson.

The original brick walls will be painted white and the beam ceiling left exposed, and "new additions include reclaimed bead board and blackened steel accents throughout, as well as glitter plaster walls and twinkle lights that embrace a more feminine feel."

The store will also feature a popular Free People installations — a built-in work bench cash wrap with spools of yarn, and a mural on the adjacent brick wall.

John Bennett, executive director of the Savannah Bicycle Campaign and Connect Savannah's "The News Cycle" columnist, is among the just-announced 2013-2014 class of Leadership Savannah.

Here are the others:
Jamal Barrow, United States Air Force
Mark Bennett, Gulfstream
Kate Blair, Wells Fargo Insurance Services
Karen Bogans, International Paper
Tommy Branch, Callaway, Braun, Riddle & Hughes, P.C.
Toby Browne, The Savannah Bank
Eric Bull, Spine and Sport
Ricky Byrd, Elkins Constructors, Inc.
Todd Cellini, South University
Patrick Connell, Ellis, Painter, Ratterree and Adams
Carol Coppola, SunTrust Bank
Kerry Coursey, Savannah Chatham County Public Schools
Daniel Crook, HunterMaclean
Beth Desloges, Susan G. Komen Coastal Georgia
Emily Dickinson, Wet Willie's Management Corp.
Megan Duffy, City of Savannah, Georgia
Patton Dugas, The Coastal Bank
Catherine Edwards, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography
Troy Follak, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporaton
John Giordano, Thomas & Hutton Engineering
John Harper, US District Court for the Southern District of Georgia
Tom Hartridge, Willis
Amy Henderson, Bart Meyer & Company LLP
Brandt Herndon, SEDA
Tina Hinson, Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce
Robert Howard, Armstrong Atlantic State University
Dani Ibarra-Beckmann, Savannah College of Art and Design
Wanda Jackson, USG - Savannah State University
Benjamin Karpf, Bouhan Falligant, LLP
Gina Kreiss, North Point Hospitality Group
Ryan Martin, Sea Island Bank a division of Synovus Bank
Alfred McGuire, Savannah Chatham County Public Schools
Brian Mitchell, Georgia Power Company
Sheron Morgan, City of Savannah
Jessica Pedigo, Seacrest Partners, Inc.
Michael Poulios, H+K Engineering Group
Mark Revenew, City of Pooler
Nancy Reyes, Savannah Morning News/savannahnow.com
Lizann Roberts, Lizann Roberts Consulting
Andrew Smith, R.B. Baker Construction
Ernie Tafoya, US Army, Hunter Army Airfield
Cody Tharpe, Tharpe Structural Design Group
Jessica Thomas, Memorial Health Anderson Cancer Center
Tripp Turner, J.T. Turner Construction
Tony Uhrich, Hussey Gay Bell & DeYoung, Consulting Engineers
Randall Webb, Deemer Dana & Froehle LLP
Jenny Woodruff, Savannah Music Festival
Bea Wray, The Creative Coast
Paul Yarborough, Georgia Ports Authority

The program is a one-year commitment, which focuses on developing the leadership skills of the group to improve the community.

The advocacy group Oceana is hosting a public forum about the threats of seismic airgun testing off the East Coast in Savannah on September 26, 6-8 p.m. at the new SSU Student Union (next to Tiger Arena), Building 200, Event Room C, 3219 College St. The event is free and open to the public.

Seismic airguns, which shoot very loud blasts of sound that are each 100,000 times more intense than a jet engine, are being considered to look for oil and gas deposits deep below the ocean floor in an area twice the size of California, stretching all the way from Delaware to Florida.

See a video here.

"The government’s own estimates show that the seismic airgun activities planned for the Atlantic Ocean will injure and possibly kill 138,500 dolphins and whales, including nine critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, of which there are only approximately 500 left in the world," says a spokesperson for Oceana.

In April, Oceana released a new report outlining the threats of seismic airgun use to marine life and coastal economies along the East Coast, including the potential danger to commercial and recreational fisheries, as well as tourism and coastal recreation, putting more than 730,000 jobs at risk in the blast zone alone.

Speakers are Matt Huelsenbeck, a Marine Scientist with Oceana, and Dr. Sue Eubanks, Professor at Savannah State University. The event is moderated by Mike Vaquer of the Vaquer Firm.

The tenth annual Veterans Stand Down for Homelessness Resource and Job Fair will be held October 8 & 9 at the Savannah Civic Center from 8 am until 2 PM.

The Stand Down is a collaborative effort by area veteran’s organizations and local nonprofits to reach veterans and others in the Savannah area that are facing homelessness.

Representatives from more than 40 Social Service agencies will be available to provide information and outreach on a variety of services including housing options, job resources, resume writing tips, substance abuse treatment, income tax assistance, and accesses to Social Security and Veteran’s Administration services.

The Stand Down was adapted by two Vietnam era veterans in 1988 that recognized veterans were highly represented in the homeless population. Participants will be offered a hot meal, haircuts, showers and opportunities for a variety of health screenings. The Stand Down is intended to serve homeless veterans but is open to all individuals and families impacted by homelessness. There is no cost to attend.

In its third year, the Rock N Roll Marathon hits its stride in Savannah by booking a "headlining" band that people might have actually heard of.

Performing Nov. 9 in Forsyth Park, after the run wraps, will be the 1980s and '90s hard rock/metal band Jackyl.

Jackyl is best known for the song "The Lumberjack," which features a chainsaw solo. Onstage, the song generally ends with singer Jesse James Dupree dismantling a wooden stool with this "instrument."

For more info, see http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/savannah

The Savannah State University (SSU) Department of Political Science and Public Affairs will present a forum on Race and Class in 21st Century America at noon Friday, September 20, in room 115 of the Social Sciences Building.

Panelists will discuss structural issues in the U.S Constitution that support race inequality, the current status of race and class in America, the historic relationship between minority communities and the American power elite, an introduction to the Critical Race Theory and causes of racial inequality and the current paths to change.

Panelists include:

· Otis S. Johnson, Ph. D., SSU Scholar-in-Residence

· Kenneth Jordan, Ph. D., Professor, SSU Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences

· Gwendolyn Jordan, Lecturer, SSU Department of Political Science & Public Affairs

· Daniel Dodd-Ramirez, Executive Director, Step-Up Savannah

· Geoffery Bowden, Ph.D., Instructor, SSU Department of Political Science & Public Affairs

The forum is free and open to the public.

The Chatham Emergency Management Agency tells us, "At 8:06 PM tonight, the tide at Ft. Pulaski is expected to be at 9.4. At this level the Coastal Tide could result in water on Hwy. 80 to Tybee. Please be aware of road conditions and use caution."