GOINGS ON SANTA BARBARA : Screen Shorts : Two international festivals showcase films of under 20 minutes in length.

Maybe the MTV generation doesn’t have the attention span to sit through a single two-hour movie. Or perhaps television enthusiasts have grown fond of those quirky, short films used as fillers on cable. But whatever the explanation, shorts are gaining respect: More and more people are starting to view them not as mere little brothers of feature films, but as unique, artistic achievements in themselves.

Eighteen shorts are being shown as part of the Seventh Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which runs through Sunday. For even greater aficionados of the art form, the International Festival of Short Films arrives in Santa Barbara’s Victoria Street Theater for a four-day run, from Friday to Monday. The collection of nine live-action shorts, ranging from eight to 20 minutes in length, includes Cannes Golden Palm award-winner “Metamorphosis,” in which a bureaucrat makes imaginative and increasingly obsessive use of the time he spends in an elevator. Also showing is Academy Award nominee “The Childeater,” about an 8-year-old girl who hears that her mysterious uncle “eats little girls who don’t behave.”

Assembled, promoted and distributed by Andalusian Pictures in San Diego, the first Festival of Short Films is currently booked throughout the country and work is under way to put on a show next year.

Organizers say they select films that entertain and intrigue, regardless of subject or genre. This year’s selection is a mix of dark comedy, drama and documentary from the United States, Canada, Great Britain and New Zealand.

Show times are 7 and 9:30 each night, plus 4 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $6 in advance, $7 at the box office and $5 for matinees. Call 1--800--925-CINE.

The Flying Karamozov Brothers, best known for juggling strange objects provided by the audience--including pizzas--will perform Monday and Tuesday, 8 p.m., at the Lobero Theatre. Tickets are $17 and $19. Call 963-0761.

Author Gish Jen will read from her book, “Typical American,” today at 8 p.m. at UC Santa Barbara Chemistry Hall Room 1179. The story portrays Chinese immigrants and their experiences in America. Jen was a child of immigrants and remembers people calling her names and throwing things at her. “We thought it was abnormal--it was only much later that I realized it had been hard.” She says of her novel: “If there is one thing I hope readers come away with, it’s to see Asian Americans as ‘us’ rather than ‘other.’ ” Free. Call 893-3535.

The often hidden meanings behind decorative designs on Chinese porcelain will be explored in a slide lecture Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. “Artists on Porcelain: Chinese Enameled Wares of the late 17th and 18th Centuries” costs $3. Call 963-4364.

Robert Michael of Santa Barbara has climbed more than 1,300 named peaks in mountain ranges around the world, including the Sierra, Andes, Alps and Himalayas. During a slide presentation accompanied by stories and music, Michael will talk about his ascents of 54 peaks in the Rockies that are higher than 14,000 feet. “Climbing in the Rocky Mountains” will take place Wednesday at 8 p.m in UCSB Campbell Hall. Free. Call 893-3535.

Also at UCSB, Irish civil rights activist Bernadette Devlin-McAliskey will discuss “Nonviolence and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Northern Ireland” on Friday at 8 p.m. in Broida Hall, Room 1610. At age 21, Devlin-McAliskey helped found Ireland’s People’s Democracy, and soon after became the youngest person elected to the British Parliament since 1787. Her stand is that problems in Northern Ireland are economic rather than religious, and that capitalists are using the hostility between Catholics and Protestants as a weapon to oppress the working classes of both religions. Free. Call 893-3535.

Performance artist Luis Alfaro of Los Angeles, known for his biting humor about growing up gay in a Catholic, Chicano family, will present his new one-man show tonight at 8 p.m. at the Center Stage Theater in the Paseo Nuevo Shopping Plaza. Tickets for “Hard Words” are $10. Call 966-5373.

The James Newton Ensemble, featuring jazz flutist/composer James Newton and Santa Barbaran Kel Akagl on piano, will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Center Stage Theater. A “Meet the Composer” discussion/demonstration starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $18.50. Call 962-3575.