Cocktails served with dash of celluloid

Award-winning animation, selections from Cannes, world premieres ... with a two-drink minimum? Once a month, that’s the scene at M Bar.

Set in a Hollywood strip mall, the hangout attracts industry types and others who in between dinner, drinks and discussing their latest “projects” watch five to nine short films presented by the 4th Wall group. It was formed by local filmmakers earlier this year and selects films from about 10 submissions a month, spokeswoman Jeana Blackman says. Recently, 4th Wall has showcased three world premieres, a Cannes short and a crime drama by “CSI” cinematographer Jeffery G. Hunt.

On Wednesday, bar-hoppers can catch another Cannes film, Hanelle Culpepper’s “Single Rose,” about a woman who becomes a jazz singer unbeknown to her husband. Another film on the bill, “A Family Name,” gave director Patrick Sayers the chance to become a finalist in this year’s Project Greenlight competition.

The serendipitous partnership between 4th Wall and M Bar began in March after actor Matt Godecker made an informal pitch to bar owner Joe Reynolds. Producer Paige Litfin, another 4th Wall founder, says she considered M Bar “the perfect beginning location” because its red drapes, chandeliers and booths remind her of an old-style movie house.

Reynolds says he’d welcome two or three more screenings a month; in fact, he recently bought a new projector and had it mounted to the ceiling.

The July screening drew about 150 people. Even so, members of 4th Wall are working hard just to keep momentum, Litfin says.

“It’s a labor of love at this point,” she says. “It’s really an artistic endeavor -- we officially broke even for the first time last month.”

-- Judy Chia Hui Hsu

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4th Wall

What: Short-film screenings

Where: M Bar, 1253 Vine St., Hollywood

When: 8 p.m. Wednesday

Price: Free with dinner or drinks

Info: (323) 856-0036, www.4thwallscreenings.com