The Future Of Shorts: Leave The Bubble, Unleash The Shorts!
Panel Talk

with Cynthia Felando,

published in Discussions

published on 10.11.2023

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Once we step outside the festival bubble, where else do we hear or read anything about short films? Forums that address the short format or individual shorts in depth are limited. Short films are not taught much at universities, and without a theatrical release and stars, the press has little interest in them.

How can festival organisers contribute to promoting the discourse on short films outside their own ranks? What conditions are needed, and what measures could be taken to promote thinking and writing, debate, and research about the art form?

To mark the first publication of student essays on Talking Shorts, written during a seminar at the University of Zurich, participants will explore these questions and invite filmmakers and festival representatives to brainstorm.

Moderated by film scholar and curator Laura Walde who is joined by Cynthia Felando (Short Film Studies), Anne Gaschütz (European Network for Film Discourse) and Savina Petkova (Talking Shorts).

Produced by Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, in collaboration with Talking Shorts

Mentioned Films

Footnotes

Participants

Cynthia Felando.

After graduating from UCLA, Cynthia Felando worked as an art house and film festival programmer. Primary teaching and research interests include American film history and culture, youth culture and media, contemporary trends in international cinema, and the history and criticism of short films. She is also the editor of the peer-reviewed journal Short Film Studies, and is a past recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award awarded by UCSB’s Academic Senate.

Anne Gaschütz.

Anne Gaschütz is a festival organiser and programmer. She joined Filmfest Dresden in 2013 as part of the selection committee and became the festival’s co-director in July 2020. In 2021, she joined the Pardi di Domani selection committee at the Locarno Film Festival. She is also one of the initiators of Talking Shorts, an online platform that focuses on short film criticism. Gaschütz is a member of the European Film Academy.

Savina Petkova.

Savina Petkova is a Bulgarian freelance film critic and programmer based in London. Most of all, she’s a co-editor at Talking Shorts.

Laura Walde.

Laura Walde completed her PhD thesis titled “Brevity –Format –Program: The Short Film and Its Exhibition” at the University of Zurich in 2022. Since 2013, she has been a curator/programmer for Internationale Kurzfilmtage , where she was also the programme coordinator for a few years.