Talking Shorts
Welcome to ! We write about short films, produce long reads on short film programmes, and feature talks with filmmakers → all fully immersed in the European circuit of festivals, which is home to our workshops and discussions.
Talks Interviews

Digital Romanticism

Interview with Samira Elagoz, Z Walsh by Lina Heimann

In You can’t get what you want but you can get me, a slideshow of screenshots and photographs depicts how filmmakers Samira Elagoz and Z Walsh fall madly in love. In this interview, the artists discuss their teenage-esque love story, virtual foreplay, and the hypersexualisation of trans* people in media.

Reads Notes

Home is Where it Hurts

Essay by Savina Petkova

Through the symbol of home, Vienna Shorts’ programme “When Will They Ever Learn? Testimonies from Today’s War Zones” ruminated on the scars of war trauma.

Talks Interviews

Truth in Parts

Interview with Charlie Shackleton by Rafael Fonseca

Starting as a film critic, Charlie Shackleton began exploring film as a tool for criticism, and now investigates small stories in a wide variety of non-fiction film formats. In this interview, the British filmmaker discusses the accuracy and representation of truth throughout his work.
Reads Focus

Media Revisited

Essay by Eneos Çarka

Championing the legacy of filmmakers like Harun Farocki and Chris Marker, contemporary filmmakers reclaim the computer screen as a site of reflection and resistance in a time when algorithmic culture and censorship define our mediatised society.

Reads Focus

The 24-Hour Footage Machine

Essay by Sarah Fensom

The growing presence of surveillance practices has been a source for filmmakers for years. In this essay, Sarah Fensom examines how subverting the datafication of human life can be turned into political resistance.

This month

Lago Film Fest
Festivals

Lago Film Fest

18—26.07.2025
When a festival advertises itself as a unique and out-of-time experience that you can only understand once you have lived it in person, such a claim may be met with skepticism at first. But my visit to the small village of Revine Lago,...

Discussions

Working with partner festivals, we organise panel talks, keynotes, and other formats to foster discussions. Recordings are published here to continue the conversation online.

What’s the Point of Solidarity

with Benita Bailey, Vic So Hee, Rachel Pronger, Mateja Meded
We often use the word solidarity, but do we really understand what it means today? From its politically charged use in the former GDR to its revival during the COVID-19 pandemic, solidarity has taken on many shapes. This panel explores how...
Discussions

Don’t Break the Chain. From Production to Distribution of Short Films.

with Céline Roustan, Juliette Canon, Elena López Riera, Thomas Hakim, Savina Petkova
How best can film festivals, programmers, residencies, distributors, and sales support short films in their making? This panel talk proposes to take a closer look at the production-distribution cycle as a chain, that is as strong as the...
Leiden Shorts
Discussions

Rethinking the Short Film Format in a Shifting Media Landscape

with Julian Ross, Jade Wiseman, Niels Putman, Oana Ghera
Traditionally seen as stepping stones to features, short films now hold a more complex and valuable place in today’s screen culture. This panel challenges old paradigms and explores how shorts function as a creative and professional form...
Filmfest Dresden
Discussions

Bound by Limits

with Diego Armando Aparicio, Hoda Taheri, Sarah Dombrink, Ocean Hale Meißner, Vincent Förster
Film festivals bring together diverse voices and cinematic styles from across the globe, reflecting both local and international realities. But what happens when films addressing urgent social and political issues spark controversy instead...
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