36 Short Films From All Over the World Will Compete at the Art Film Fest

The international short film competition is an integral part of the oldest and largest Slovak film festival, Art Film Fest, which will take place in Košice from June 16th to June 23rd this year. The organizers continue the proven form of selecting 36 films presented in six blocks. For the final selection, the greatest possible variety of creators and represented countries was very important to the compiler of the section, Martin Kaňuch. This year, in addition to works from traditionally strong continents, short films from countries that have not been presented in our country (Somalia, Egypt) were included in the competition selection. Many future creators of European cinema start out in short films, it is always interesting to watch the seeds of their future film thinking and style.

“It’s always decided by an idea and its cinematic thinking, wit and insight, somewhere it’s decided by a captivating acting performance, elsewhere by a provocative theme, animation technique or an experiment with the crossing of different film procedures,” Martin Kaňuch explains the criteria for his choice and adds: “I’m fascinated by the power, the concentration of film statement where everything works on a small surface. This year’s program illustrates this nicely, for example, with the American film I’m on Fire, about a teenager who became hostage to his parents’ increasingly toxic relationship. He endures the breakup of their marriage by hiding in his headphones with brilliantly chosen music from the end of the last century, he also records it for others, and handling the technology finally inspires him with an idea how to get out of it.”

The different time frame which the creators of the short films worked with is also interesting. The shortest one in the competition is 97 seconds, the longest ones are already close to the thirty-minute limit set by the statutes. Slovakia will be represented by the films Liquid Bread (orig. title: Chlieb náš každodenný) by Alica Bednáriková and Strigov by Barbora Berezňáková. Among the selected films is the film Ice Merchants by Portuguese director João Gonzalez, which has also been nominated for an Oscar in the category of short animated films.

The jury that will decide on the results will be European. Slovakia is represented by Lea Pagáčová, who specializes in animated films at the Slovak Film Institute, the second judge is Radu Sticlea, originally from Romania, but living in Porto, Portugal, where he founded the Beast International Film Festival, focused on the cinematography of Central and Eastern Europe. The trio is completed by Elizaveta Maximová, a Czech actress of Russian origin. She starred in the short student film directed by Michal Blaško Atlantída, 2003 (2017) and also stars in his feature-length debut Obeť (2022), which recently won the Slnko v sieti award in the best film category.

Organisation: ART FILM FEST s.r.o.;
Co-organizers: City of Košice, K13 – Košice Cultural Centres, ART FILM FEST, n.o., LGM, s.r.o.;

The festival was financially supported by: Audiovisual Fund and SPP Foundation;
The festival is co-financed by the Košice self-governing region from the Terra Incognita program;

Main advertising partners: CODES Brand House, FORLIVE, Lucka spring water;

Official vehicles: Auto Gábriel;
Official hotel: Hotel Yasmin;

Advertising partners: construction company Adefex, Jadrová a vyraďovacia spoločnosť, a.s., Oxyworld, U.S. Steel Košice, ANTIK Telecom, BARZZUZ, Cinema Úsmev, Aupark Košice, Fors-stav, R-media, Okno mé lásky;

Official contractors: NOV, ZEBRA, Best Press, SLOVNAFT, Central European Foundation, Spoločnosť pre skladovanie, a.s., DKC Veritas, Slávia Café, Tabačka Kulturfabrik, Ohnisko – Fire Dining & Brew Bar, Pub u Kohúta, El Nacional, Café de Paris, Maiko Sushi, DOMOS Slovakia, Pilsner Urquell, Macarons; Official wine: Kubbo Select and Ostrožovič;

Main media partners: TV JOJ, zregionu.sk, Pravda, Eurotelevision;
Media partners: Rozhlas a televízia Slovenska, Kinosála, JOJ 24, Film Europe, TV spolok LOToS, Rádio KOŠICE, Korzár, Slovenka, Forbes, SITA, TASR, BigMedia, HomeMedia Production, Film.sk, Košice City Guide, aktuality.sk, csfd.cz, Visit Košice, Košice v Skratke;
Partners: JOJ Cinema, Millor – your partner in the energy sector, Košice Airport, Autocont, TelekomCLOUD, ECO Technologies, DELTA OnLine, MIHYRING, KAIFER law firm, Taper, Brother, GROTTO, CELIMED authorized OMRON representation, NR-holding, CPK Slovakia, Casa Trade – Casablanca cafe, easylog transport&logistic, Flowers Victor, Slovak Film Institute, Faculty of Philosophy, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics TUKE, Private Secondary Art School in Košice, Košice Transport Company, Tesco Stores SK, DEMI sport, CANON, SPI International, Arténa audiovisual workshop by RTVS, Creative Europe, KPK Reklama, HAIR FACTORY Košice

Festival restaurants and bars: JAZZ Club Café Restaurant, Hostinec Brewery, Papa Café, Camelot Restaurant, Veritas Café