Traditionally seen as a safe haven of cinephilia, film festivals are strongly connected to the idea of cinematic experimentation and innovation, understood in a broader sense as re/inventing formal and discursive approaches. Today, just as ever, the format most prone to such experimentation is the short one. Seen for a long time as the playground of emerging filmmakers, the short film thrives outside the restrictions that monopolize the commercial circuit, safeguarding a space of creative freedom in an industry that pushes more and more for standardization.
Looking particularly at how different film festivals approach the short film format, this panel brings together film festival representatives – critics, curators etc. – for a multilayered conversation about the role of film festivals in creating new discourses about cinema through critical and curatorial approaches.
Participants: Andrea Rocco (festival organiser - Flight Genova), Aleksandra Lawska (freelance film curator, collaborator of festivals such as FNC Montreal, Short Waves, Lago Film Fest, Glasgow Short Film Festival), Christopher Small (film critic & editorial coordinator of Locarno Film Festival) Călin Boto (film critic - part of the selection comittee of Berlin Critics Week 2025 & associate curator of BIEFF).
🗓️ September 28th, 11AM
📍 Random House, Strada Vasile Lascăr, nr. 69
The panel discussion will be held in English.
