Festivals

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...

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...

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...

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...

2020 has been a disruptive year for the short film festival ecosystem. The unexpected Covid-19 pandemic in March has forced most organisations to postpone, move online, or cancel long-time scheduled events. Many festival organisers...

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. At least in theory. The path to a green festival comes with a lot of requirements. Many of the existing certifications are granted in stages; others are already outdated or designed for businesses or...

The transition to a greener festival scene requires substantial investment and long-term planning. The short film industry, in particular, faces considerable challenges in regard to providing the needed capacities. But this investment will...

Submitting films to festivals can prove challenging. And in fact, each filmmaker would like to enter their film everywhere, were it not for the complicated issue with premieres. For filmmakers at the start of their career especially, this...

This panel discussion gives you the opportunity to listen to the point-of-view of filmmakers and those that represent them. How are they dealing with postponed festivals, canceled premieres, online screenings, and the lack of human...

In this online panel talk, Daniel Hadenius-Ebner (Vienna Shorts), Luce Grosjean (Miyu Distribution), Rich Warren (Encounters Film Festival) and Uli Wegenast (Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film) talk about the technical and...

In this online panel talk, Anne Gaschütz (Filmfest Dresden), Marie-Elaine Riou (Festival Regard), and Sven Schwarz (Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg) open up about dealing with unforeseen changes and responsibilities they have come to face trying...

Panelists discuss the steps that can be taken to ensure the short film industry can lead the way to a better gender balance.

Financial planning is one of the most challenging tasks festival organisers must tackle. Public resources and funding opportunities seem to shrink year by year, and, especially in the short film circuit, the absence of major private...

This conversation is a rare chance to hear from the front line how festivals and cinemas can open their doors to a broader range of artists and audiences. Matthew Hellett is the head programmer of Oska Bright Film Festival, the world’s...

On a lazy afternoon in Spring 2018, a Facebook post penned by Massimiliano Nardulli stormed the usually relatively peaceful social media timeline of many (short) film festival programmers. He wrote: “I’m very troubled by the role of...