European Workshop for New Curators #1

The European Network for Film Discourse (The END) and short film magazine Talking Shorts are organising the 1st edition of the European Workshop for New Curators: two week-long workshop sessions for aspiring film programmers and curators set during FILMFEST DRESDEN in Germany (April 2025) and Vienna Shorts in Austria (May/June 2025).

In its most essential terms, curating consists of a communicative process with an audience within a certain temporal and spatial framework. Short films, selected and put in a specific context, reflect the spirit of our time in a heavily globalised world, in which moving images are produced in abundance. At their best, short films challenge our perceptions while addressing contemporary and socially relevant issues. What, then, are the processes that go into the selection and compilation of short film programmes?

This workshop will cover a range of questions regarding the practical considerations of curating film (how to do research, how to clear screening rights, and address financial matters), but it will also open a debate on the epistemological dimensions of film curation: What does it mean to place an individual work in the dramaturgical setting of a programme and engage it in a direct dialogue with the films that precede and follow it?

The encounter between a singular film and its programmatic context, the confrontation of the audience with the curators’ proposed thesis, and the immediate reaction of this audience to both the individual films and the whole programme makes the festival a prime site for reflecting curatorial approaches for film exhibition.

Contents
The workshop, which will be held in English, will include theoretical sessions, group discussions, guest lectures, and hands-on curatorial work. In pairs and throughout the two workshop legs, the participants will be expected to curate one short film programme from scratch under an umbrella theme decided by the group.

Ultimately, the programmes will be showcased online on This Is Short and presented to industry professionals within the Talking Shorts community for further booking and distribution.

Tutor
The workshop participants will be tutored by Laura Walde, who holds a PhD in Film Studies and English Literature. She completed her PhD thesis “Brevity – Program – Format: The Short Film and Its Exhibition” in January 2022 as part of the research project “Exhibiting Film: Challenges of Format” supervised by Professor Fabienne Liptay at the University of Zurich. Since 2013, she has been working as a curator for Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur. She acted as co-director of Schweizer Jugendfilmtage from 2014 to 2017.

Application
The workshop is aimed at anyone over 18 who is interested in critical and discursive work about (short) films and can participate in both units of the tandem workshop:

06.04—13.04.2025
Workshop at FILMFEST DRESDEN (Germany)

26.05—01.06.2025
Workshop at Vienna Shorts (Austria)

The application is available for European residents who:

• are over the age of 18;
• have a strong interest and motivation to gain insight into film curatorial practices;
• are eager to learn/be mentored by industry professionals;
• are proficient in English (speaking and writing);
• can attend the programme entirely, i.e. participate in both units of the tandem workshop in Dresden and Vienna.

The call is now CLOSED.