Discussion "Are Short Film Festivals Still a Counterculture?
Historically, short film festivals have been platforms rooted in experimentation and free expression, where emerging creators could dare to think and speak differently. However, as the festival landscape becomes increasingly uniform and globalized, the question arises – can short film festivals still act as a counterforce to the "big players" and preserve their countercultural spirit? In the discussion, European festival programmers and curators will share their thoughts on whether short film festivals can still embody the idea of independence and creative resistance, or whether they have become part of the institutional mainstream.
Discussion will be moderated by:
Vincent Langouche, Belgium
Vincent is the programme director and coordinator of Leuven International Short Film Festival in Belgium since 2016. Vincent has worked for the festival in all conceivable capacities since 2004, ranging from editor, director, operator and programmer to volunteer. Besides the short film festival, Vincent also works as a programmer for Docville, International Documentary Film Festival and freelances as editor, animator and director.
The speakers are:
Lisa Heuschober, Austria
Lisa Heuschober is a Vienna-based curator, cultural worker, and writer. Her interests focus on the creation of cinematic spaces that offer opportunities for transdisciplinary encounters and collaborations. Since 2024, she has been co-directing the International Animation Film Festival Tricky Women Tricky Realities, which curates, presents, and archives animated films from a feminist perspective. She is also a curator for various film festivals and a member of the selection committee of sixpackfilm. As a freelance writer, she writes about film and cinema as spaces for community, resistance, and critical fabulation.
Matevž Jerman, Slovenia
Matevž Jerman is a filmmaker and film curator, co-founder of the Kraken Association for the Promotion of Short Film, and Programme Director of FeKK – Ljubljana Short Film Festival. Since 2009, he has been working with the Slovenian Cinematheque where he is currently active as a custodian of the Slovenian avant-garde film collections.
Oisín Kealy, Ireland / United Kingdom
Oisín is a film curator, writer and researcher from Donegal, Ireland. He has worked with Glasgow Short Film Festival since 2018, currently leading the international selection committee as programme manager. He completed his doctorate with the University of Glasgow on the practices of activist film festivals in South America, and has worked with selection teams, panels and juries with numerous festivals including Document Human Rights Film Festival (Scotland), Go Short (The Netherlands), Beirut Shorts (Lebanon), IndieCork (Ireland), and Entretodos (São Paulo). His writing has appeared on Talking Shorts, and he is a resident DJ on internet station Radio Buena Vida hosting the monthly show Neighbouring Sounds.
Laima Graždanoviča, Latvia
Laima Graždanoviča divides her work between theory and practice. She is programme director at Riga International Short Film festival 2ANNAS and has been a short film curator since 2015. Laima has graduated from theater and film theory studies in Latvian Academy of Culture, and has an MA in Visual Communication at Latvian Academy of Arts. Lately she is working as a guest lecturer teaching about short film history and video art. Her own work focus is researching personal and collective histories through interconnectivity.
The discussion will be held in English on Tuesday, April 14 at 17:30 at Kaņepes Culture Centre.
Admission to the event is free of charge and open to all.
2ANNAS Forum is organized with the support of the National Film Centre, Riga City Council and the State Culture Capital Foundation.