Press release, 29 March 2022
From April 1, film fans can access more than 120 outstanding short films as well as the online editions of four film festivals via thisisshort.com for 20 euros. Advance sales are underway, the competition is finalized and includes three entries with Austrian participation.
The streaming platform This Is Short enters its second round: After a successful launch in 2021, when audiences from 55 countries accessed the exceptional content, an exciting mix of specially selected short films and curated film programs will now once again be made available by the European Short Film Network (ESFN) for three months—in the style of an online festival.
The ESFN consists of four renowned European film festivals with a focus on the short cinematic form: the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen (DE), Go Short from Nijmegen (NL), the Short Waves Festival in Poznan (PL) and Vienna Shorts. Together, the four festivals have put together a top-class program in recent weeks, which can be watched for the one-time purchase of an online pass for 20 euros.
The competition new point of view: the selection & the jury
The second edition of the European online competition New Point Of View presents 23 films from 18 countries, including three works with Austrian participation. Anna Vasof’s Amazon Woman, Hannahlisa Kunyik’s Paukhofstraße and Social Murder by the Averclub Collective are in the running for a total of 6,000 euros in prize money. Each of the films will be online for seven days, with entries released in order.
First up is The Eternal—an extraordinary work by Finnish duo Pink Twins. In it, electronic musicians and artists Juha and Vesa Vehviläinen distort views of a classical Chinese garden with the help of a crystal-like kaleidoscope, adding a psychedelic dimension to the ancient harmonic panorama.
This year’s jury consists of: Natalia Sielewicz, curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Warsaw (PL) focusing on video art, technology and performance; Việt Vũ, Vietnamese-born filmmaker and film critic known for audiovisual works on queer issues and memories of marginalized communities; and Robin Curtis, Canadian film theorist, media scholar and critic with a chair in media and cultural studies at Albert Ludwigs University in Freiburg (DE).
Four perspectives on the subject of movements: online & on site
The Four Perspectives series consists of four film programs with a common theme, offering four perspectives, one curated by each of the four festivals. 2022 is about Movements—metaphorically and literally. All four programs will be available online at This Is Short for three weeks each, but will also be shown at the cinema at all four festivals.
While the world stands still in the face of the ongoing pandemic, people are finding ways to keep their world spinning and to keep themselves and their reality from standing still. The programs range from changes and concrete movements from within the human body to heavy transports and tectonic plate shifts that make the screen shake, dance and swing. In the Vienna Shorts program, everything turns in circles—a thoroughly physical film experience.
One online pass for full access: kick-off with platform & festival
For full access to This Is Short from April 1 to June 30, two passes are available: the This Is Short Pass for film enthusiasts for 20 euros and the This Is Short Industry Pass for 25 euros. Both passes provide full access to the platform, whose offer is renewed weekly, and thus to the New Point Of View competition, the Four Perspectives series, more than 80 short films curated in pairs in the Festival Favorites section, and the Film Of The Day highlighted daily, among others.
The passes also provide access to the online content of the four festivals of the European Short Film Network: the first festival in the series is Go Short from Nijmegen, which will be online from April 1 to 20. The International Short Film Festival Oberhausen will follow from April 30 until May 3, then Vienna Shorts from May 25 to June 30, and the Short Waves Festival from June 14 to 19.
In addition, the This Is Short Industry Pass provides access to contact details for all selected films, to video libraries of the four festivals and to all events for professionals and accredited people on the respective festival platforms. Industry affiliation will be verified with purchase of each pass. All passes can be purchased throughout the streaming festival period.
This Is Short
The festival portal of the European Short Film Network
From April 1 to June 30, 2022
Website: thisisshort.com
Facebook: @thisisshortcom
Instagram: @this_is_short
