Brevity – Format – Program. The Short Film and Its Exhibition

Laura Walde’s doctoral dissertation explores the short film as a distinct cinematic form through the conceptual triad of brevity, format, and programme. Rather than defining short film by duration alone, Walde argues for a nuanced understanding that considers its epistemological, aesthetic, political, and institutional dimensions. The study addresses the underexplored domain of short film within film studies by drawing on theories from media studies, film theory, and curatorial practice, positioning the short film as a site of resistance, experimentation, and knowledge production.

Rather than merely filling a gap in the historical and theoretical literature on film studies, the work critically examines the reasons behind the marginalisation of short films in both academic and industrial contexts, transforming this status into a productive lens for exploring processes of value creation and knowledge production. The work is grounded in both theoretical reflection and curatorial practice, including detailed analyses of short films and the programming strategies of Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, Switzerland’s largest short film festival. In her dissertation, Walde proposes a “poetics of the short film format”, emphasising how brevity and format shape not only the films themselves but also their circulation, visibility, and reception.

The three main conceptual terms—brevity, format, programme—are discussed in detail in their historical development and epistemological potential. The main line of argumentation follows that these concepts, when unified in the idea of the short film as a format, are fundamentally a negation of relations of power—be they social, cultural, economic, or political. Taken as a format—rather than film of short duration—the short film is not intended to be an audiovisual artefact that stands on its own, but rather an element within a specific relation of dependencies, which include a film’s own network of meaning-making as well as the other films within a programme and, on a higher level, the institutional context that determines these relationships.

The brevity of a short film is treated as more than a matter of short duration; it is a qualitative measure that encompasses compression, intensity, and omission. Drawing on classical rhetoric and modern media theory, Walde shows how brevity can function as a disruptive force, challenging dominant cinematic norms and enabling new modes of expression. Format, in her analysis, is a relational construct that includes technical specifications, institutional contexts, and the social and political conditions under which films are produced and exhibited. The concept of programme refers to curatorial and exhibition practices, emphasising the role of curators as epistemological agents who shape the visibility and meaning of short films through their selection and arrangement.

In an attempt to bring an element of practice-based research into contact with the conceptual framework, the final chapters of the dissertation present two curated programmes with a selection of short films: “For What It’s Worth,” which explores value, labour, and digital materiality, and “Foreign Images,” which addresses migration, borders, and representation.