Round-table: What Do Short Film Festivals Look for in Programming Right Now?

Moderator: Daniel Ribas (professor, researcher, and programmer)

Guests: Anna Henckel-Donnersmarck (videoartist, programmer and teacher | Berlinale Shorts), John Canciani (artistic director and programmer | Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur), Sigrid Hadenius (festival director | Uppsala Short Film Festival)

With the overwhelming production of short films worldwide, it is becoming increasingly urgent for filmmakers and artists to understand how the medium works and what interests short film festivals. Young directors fresh out of film school enter an environment they don’t know, wanting to make films that speak to their peers but often unaware of the films being made internationally by other colleagues of the same age. Entering the medium and attending film festivals is often incompatible with their academic activities and with the making of their own films, which leads to great anxiety about entering the professional world and, at the same time, beginning to be recognized in the medium.

Several short film programmers will talk about their experiences.

This talk is part of a joint European panel series on “Film Festivals and Their New Realities”. Hosted by ESFN and This is Short.