Talking Shorts

New text! 🛋️ Pacifique Naomi’s LOOKING SHE SAID I FORGET dwells in melancholy and unlocks a form of intimacy that is unlike anything else we’ve seen bodies share on screen.

The short film was part of Festival du nouveau cinéma - FNC’s international competition. Review by Savina Petkova.

[On The Circuit: Hundreds of short films are released on the festival circuit yearly. We review those that spoke most to us at talkingshorts.com/onthecircuit]

Bathroom Blues — Talking Shorts Naomi Pacifique’s new short film dwells in melancholy and unlocks a form of intimacy that is unlike anything else we’ve seen bodies share on screen.

New text! 🧼 Smart, elegant, and deeply human, Atsushi Hirai’s OYU is a carefully constructed cinematic tale and, in reminding us of what to keep and when to let go, proof of art’s rare power to console.

The short film received a Special Mention in the International Short Film Competition at this year’s Filmfest Dresden. Review by Anas Sareen.

[On The Circuit: Hundreds of short films are released on the festival circuit yearly. We review those that spoke most to us at talkingshorts.com/onthecircuit]

Last Rites — Talking Shorts Elegant and deeply human, Atsushi Hirai’s Oyu is a carefully constructed homecoming haunted by loss.

Throwback to September 🌀 Just about two months ago, Talking Shorts’ first Film Club unfolded at the 47th Drama International Short Film Festival - Φεστιβάλ Μικρού Μήκους Δράμας, as part of the Short Film Hub.

The Film Club’s one-hour short film programme showcased the multiplicity of the art form, ranging from anthropological collages over diverse animated films to political performances.

All spectators were invited to an informal discussion on the films, and curators Anne Gaschutz and Niels Putman, co-founders of Talking Shorts, elaborated on their curatorial choices during an open roundtable.

Moreover, some participants wrote a short review of one of the films in the programme and got the chance to receive feedback on their text in a one-to-one session with Talking Shorts’ chief editor, Niels Putman. Swipe to read some snippets from their texts.

Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur’s 28th edition has just kicked off! From November 5th to 10th, Switzerland’s major short film festival presents its main focus that brings paintings from the internationally renowned Oskar Reinhart Collection «Am Römerholz» into dialogue with contemporary issues and enduring discourses. Egypt, this year’s country in focus, is highlighted in three programs that explore both big city life as well as private moments. Lithuanian director and cinematographer Vytautas Katkus, this year’s person in focus, will also lead a Master Class and present two film programs.

Swipe to explore a collection of texts on the films selected for the 2024 edition.

Continue reading at talkingshorts.com/festivals! 📚

New text! Based on the real-life story of one of the filmmaker’s friends, Adilet Karzhoev’s BURUL sheds a light on the brutal practice of bride kidnapping and amplifies the voices of oppressed Kyrgyz women.

Review by თინათინ ყუფარაძე developed during the European Workshop for Film Criticism #5—a tandem workshop set during Lago Film Fest and FEKK Ljubljana Short Film Festival.

[On The Circuit: Hundreds of short films are released on the festival circuit yearly. We review those that spoke most to us at talkingshorts.com/onthecircuit]

Under Another’s Will — Talking Shorts Based on the real-life story of one of the filmmaker’s friends, Burul sheds a light on the brutal practice of bride kidnapping and amplifies the voices of oppressed Kyrgyz girls.

The 43rd edition of the Uppsala Short Film Festival is kicking off today! From October 21 to 27, the festival considered Sweden’s prime arena for short film screens around 300 short films in 7 days. This year’s programme includes a focus on Lithuanian shorts, punk shorts, and special programmes curated by the Gaza Film Unit and the Cambodian collective Anti-Archive

Discover a collection of texts on films selected for this 2024 edition at talkingshorts.com/festivals! 📚

New text! 🧶 Certain films call to action our entire sensory system: the moving image is not only seen but heard and felt too. In shorts by Neritan Zinxhiria, Slava Doytcheva, Norika Sefa and Ana Husman, layered textures of memory are tactically explored. Essay by Eneos Çarka.

[Notes: Short films are most likely screened as part of a curated programme that enables a dialogue between them. We continue that conversation in the form of essays at talkingshorts.com/notes]

Memory in Textures — Talking Shorts Certain films call to action our entire sensory sytem: the moving image is not only seen but heard and felt too. In shorts by Neritan Zinxhiria, Slava Doytcheva, Norika Sefa and Ana Hušman, layered textures of memory are tactically explored.

New text! 📹 Through a composite montage of images from surveillance footage and body-cams, Bill Morrison’s INCIDENT delivers a chilling political investigation in search of the truth after a Black man is killed by police on the street.

Review by Jan Tracz developed during the European Workshop for Film Criticism #3—a tandem workshop set during Kortfilmfestival Leuven and Vilnius Short Film Festival.

[On The Circuit: Hundreds of short films are released on the festival circuit yearly. We review those that spoke most to us at talkingshorts.com/onthecircuit]

In Cold Blood — Talking Shorts Through a composite montage of images from surveillance footage and body-cams, Bill Morrison delivers a chilling political investigation in search of the truth after a Black man is killed by police on the street.

New text! 🤳 In films by Stefano Dealessandri and Furio Ganz, Martyna Ratnik unlocks the eternal paradox of tourism, and wonders how film festivals can use their spaces more to rethink definitions of sustainability beyond reusable plastic cups.

Essay by Martyna Ratnik developed during the European Workshop for Film Criticism #5—a tandem workshop set during Lago Film Fest and FEKK Ljubljana Short Film Festival.

[Notes: Short films are most likely screened as part of a curated programme that enables a dialogue between them. We continue that conversation in the form of essays at talkingshorts.com/notes]

Enter With Caution — Talking Shorts In films by Stefano Dealessandri and Furio Ganz, Martyna Ratnik unlocks the eternal paradox of tourism, and wonders how film festivals can use their spaces more to rethink definitions of sustainability beyond reusable plastic cups.

Festival du nouveau cinéma - FNC’s 53rd edition has just kicked off! From October 9 to 20, one of the oldest film festivals in Canada will be screening 98 short films this year across six different sections.

Explore a small collection of texts on the films selected for the 2024 edition at talkingshorts.com/festival-du-nouveau-cinema-fnc! 📚

New text! 🤖 Ines Sieulle’s THE OASIS I DESERVE takes you on an intimate journey of the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence. The result is a chilling experience that pulls you deep into its subject matter yet leaves you apprehensive about other, darker truths that might still lie ahead.

Review by Yan Guan Rosanna Suter developed during the European Workshop for Film Criticism #5—a tandem workshop set during Lago Film Fest and FEKK Ljubljana Short Film Festival.

[On The Circuit: Hundreds of short films are released on the festival circuit yearly. We review those that spoke most to us at talkingshorts.com/onthecircuit]

Blurred Lines — Talking Shorts In exploring humankind’s intimate relationship with artificial intelligence, Inès Sieulle exposes our prejudices and tendencies as a species more than anything else.

New text! 🇮🇷 Maryam Tafakory’s MAST-DEL is a scream wrapped in a cinematic whisper. Gestures of love reach further than any demonstration of hate in an experimental poem about forbidden desires, both inside and outside post-revolution Iranian cinema. Review by Teresa Vieira.

On The Circuit: Hundreds of short films are released on the festival circuit yearly. We review those that spoke most to us at talkingshorts.com/onthecircuit.

Resistance Through Intimacy — Talking Shorts Gestures of love reach further than any demonstration of hate in Mast-del, an experimental poem about forbidden desires, both inside and outside post-revolution Iranian cinema.

🇳🇱 IDFA is joining Talking Shorts! We are eager to work closely together with the largest international documentary festival on the joint mission to create a wider discourse about short films.

Do you collaborate with a short film festival and want to learn more about Talking Shorts’ different partnerships? Reach out to us at [email protected]!

Check the festivals’ page at talkingshorts.com!

New interview! 🎠 From political satires to oddball video essays: the short film format is where Radu Jude feels most free.

The prolific Romanian filmmaker often mixes philosophical analysis with playful experimentation. Hot off the heels of his latest opus, DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD, FEKK Ljubljana Short Film Festival hosted an in-depth retrospective programme dedicated to Jude’s short films last month. Presented alongside each other, they offer fascinating insights into how the Romanian filmmaker has developed his generous cinematic sensibilities.

Interview by Hugo Emmerzael. Continue reading at talkingshorts.com!

Inside the Small Research Department — Talking Shorts The short film format is where prolific Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude feels most free. From political satires to oddball video essays, his shorts often mix philosophical analysis with playful experimentation.

New text! 🌈 While not a documentary on drag queens, strictly speaking, Simisolaoluwa Akande’s poetic short film THE ARCHIVE: Q***R NIGERIANS aims for a similar goal. Drawing from the history, language, and culture of the Yoruba, one of the largest ethnic groups in Nigeria, the film sets to challenge the notion that “queerness is un-African”, and instead sheds light on the ways one’s culture and gender can coexist. The film was awarded the Principi Award at Lago Film Fest this year.

Review by Adham Youssef developed during the European Workshop for Film Criticism #5—a tandem workshop set during Lago Film Fest and FEKK Ljubljana Short Film Festival.

Continue reading at talkingshorts.com!

Exiled Queerness — Talking Shorts Awarded the Principi Award at Lago Film Fest, Simisolaoluwa Akande’s film is an ode to queer people from the Global South.

The 5th edition of the European Workshop for Film Criticism came to an end last month at FEKK Ljubljana Short Film Festival, where the six participants gathered for the tandem workshop's second round: a week-long session on video essays in Ljubljana. These took place at the Slovenian Cinematheque (worth a visit on its own!), and the participants had the chance to attend some screenings during the festival.

Adham Youssef (🇪🇬🇩🇪), Emma Marinoni (🇮🇹), Martyna Ratnik (🇱🇹), Miriam Vogt (🇩🇪), Tinatin Kuparadze (🇬🇪) and Yan Guan Rosanna Suter (🇭🇰🇨🇭) came together for the first time in the first half of the workshop during Lago Film Fest in July, mentored by film critic, editor, and staff writer at MUBI Notebook Leonardo Goi.

The European Workshop for Film Criticism is a collaboration of The European Network for Film Discourse (The END) — aka Filmfest Dresden, Vienna Shorts, Kortfilmfestival Leuven, Vilniaus trumpųjų filmų festivalis / Vilnius Short Film Festival, Lago Film Fest & FeKK - Ljubljana Short Film Festival — and Talking Shorts, with the support of the Creative Europe MEDIA program.

As this edition is now over, applications for Workshop #6 are now open! Apply before September 30th at talkingshorts.com to join us in Leuven, Belgium (Leuven International Short Film Festival, December 2024) and Vilnius, Lithuania (Vilnius Short Film Festival, January 2025)!

📷 Asiana Jurca Avci

New text! 📺 An exploration of the emotional divide between fiction and reality in the American sitcom, Philip Thomson’s LIVING REALITY questions how we consume images at large.

Review by Emma Marinoni developed during the European Workshop for Film Criticism #5—a tandem workshop set during Lago Film Fest and FEKK Ljubljana Short Film Festival.

Continue reading at talkingshorts.com!

Live It or Leave It — Talking Shorts An exploration of the emotional divide between fiction and reality in the American sitcom, Philip Thomson’s Living Reality questions how we consume images at large.