Four European short film festivals, International Short Film Festival Oberhausen (DE), Go Short – International Short Film Festival Nijmegen (NL), Short Waves Festival (PL) and Vienna Shorts – International Short Film Festival (AT), respond to the changes brought by 2020 and set off in pursuit of a new direction in cinema: the possibility to reach a wider audience, with the help of online platforms.

Reaching the public is especially difficult in the case of short films, because they make it to the big screen only within their festival circuit, for the most part. After last year forced most festivals to cancel their activities or opt for something smaller, the aforementioned festivals decided to join forces in founding the European Short Film Network (ESFN), whose main goal is to create a bridge between the different parts of the fragmented film culture on the net.

THIS IS SHORT is the newly developed streaming portal by ESFN that brings together over 300 short films, each festival also coming with its own curated program. The online content will be available worldwide from April 1 to June 30; the films are presented under various thematic sections, accessible on just one platform.

“The ESFN does not want to replace the analog festival with a digital version, but to enrich and complement it,” the festivals say in a joint statement. “In doing so, THIS IS SHORT is a truly collaborative European vision, at a time when the need to think Europe and the European film and festival landscape together is more relevant and necessary than ever. As a network, we are convinced that we can only master the coming challenges jointly and that we should look forward to the future in solidarity and cooperation.” (source: kurzfilmtage.de)

The festival pass that allows access to the full range of services costs EUR 25, and the program will be divided as follows:

• April 8–25 – Go Short – International Short Film Festival Nijmegen
• May 1–10 – Oberhausen International Short Film Festival
• May 27–June 1 – Vienna Shorts – International Short Film Festival
• June 14–20 – Short Waves Festival

The program of THIS IS SHORT includes the following sections:

New Point of View – The European competition presents 23 short films (under 20 minutes) nominated by the participating festivals. The three prizes will be awarded on June 21.

Four Perspectives – Four perspectives on a topic that is more urgent than ever: solidarity. Presented in 4 different programs that will each run for four weeks during the festival.

Festival Windows – ESFN invites nine other renowned festivals to join THIS IS SHORT’s mission of exploring the diversity of the European short film and festival landscape.

Film of the Day – Brings to the fore more than 90 award-winning and well-known short films.

European Visions – Includes productions representative for the Dutch, German, Austrian and Polish cinema, as well as nominees for the European Film Awards.

Insiders’ Insights – Industry insiders bring up topics that address the need for diversity in the evolution of cinema.

The program of THIS IS SHORT will be available from April 1, 2021 until June 30, 2021. For more details, visit the official website.

Melissa Antonescu

Writer, photographer and videographer. For Films in Frame she writes news about the latest happenings in the film world and brings to the readers' attention the productions that can be seen at the cinema. When she's not writing articles, she's photographing people in a small studio or searching for new cake recipes.