Industry Days

INDUSTRY DAY 1

Venue: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, address: Gedimino pr. 51, Vilnius

10:00 – 11:15
Statehood room, 2nd floor

Festival Distribution 101
by Jing Haase (Sweden)

In this hands-on session we will go through the things you need to think about to optimise your festival distribution. When to start, what material to have ready and how to proceed.

With a vast experience in the short film industry, including seven years working with festival distribution at the Swedish Film Institute, Jing will share good practices and give tips to your festival journey.

This session is meant for producers and filmmakers venturing into the world of festival distribution.

About speaker JING HAASE
Jing Haase is a curator and short film expert who has been working in the industry for more than two decades. She has previously worked with Nordic shorts and docs as market manager at Nordisk Panorama and as festival manager for short films at the Swedish Film Institute with a primary focus on international distribution. She has also worked as a programmer and in film production. Jing is often used as moderator, panellist, facilitator, and jury member at international festivals and industry events.

This event is organized with support of Sweden-Lithuania Cooperation Fund.

11:15 – 11:30 Coffee break 

11:30 – 13:00
Statehood room, 2nd floor

Masterclass: Susanna Wallin
by Susanna Wallinn (Sweden/USA)

Susanna Wallin’s cinema cuts across and frustrates the differences between conventions of reality and fiction by exploring witnessing with memory and imagination and probing the edges of events and plot. In this masterclass, she will share her processes for making and thinking through an ever-evolving practice.

About speaker SUSANNA WALLINN
Susanna Wallin is a Swedish born artist and filmmaker based between London and Tampa, Florida. Her work spans moving image, sound, performance and text and engages questions about how time is perceived, lived and acted attentive to what emerges in hesitation, unpredictably and open ended while directing as well as letting occasions invent their own lure. Her award-winning films have appeared in venues such as MOCA LA, American Cinematheque, The Barbican, The BFI, Whitechapel Gallery and ICA, London.

13:00 – 14:00 Lunch break

14:00 – 15:30
Statehood room, 2nd floor

Why Criticism is Poetry
by Michaël Van Remoortere (Belgium)

Michaël Van Remoortere, film critic, writer and philosopher, will take us through his personal journey of criticism trying to make sense of why it is that we write (and read) criticism and what exactly we talk about when we talk about criticism. Through a disparate collection of writings, references and authors he will chart his intimate development of coming to understand what is at stake for him in the critical endeavour and why he believes it is an artform closely related to poetry in its dialectic between the objective and the subjective, the personal and the political.

Presented by the European Network for Film Discourse “The END” and the European Workshop for Film Criticism.

About speaker MICHAËL VAN REMOORTERE
Michaël Van Remoortere is a Belgian writer who has published stories, essays, poetry and criticism in many English-language, Dutch and Flemish magazines, both online and in print. He finished his first novel which will be published at the end of next year.

15:30 – 15:45 Coffee break

15:45 – 17:30
Conference room, 5th floor

Every Second Counts: Catching and Keeping Interest of Festival Programmers

Festival programmers watch hundreds and hundreds of shorts each year, most of them in a limited and intense period of time. In this great sea of shorts, the hook to draw the programmers in is crucial for a film’s potential selection to a festival.

How do you catch the attention of the programmer (and later the audience) from the first second? The first scene of your film is often the make-or-break moment for keeping the programmers’ full attention.

In this session, we will watch the first scenes of a selection of shorts and hear from the programmers what draws them in and how to strengthen an opening sequence.

Panel members:
Fransiska Prihadi, Bali International Short Film Festival – Minikino Film Week (Indonesia)
Émilie Poirier, Festival du Nouveau Cinéma de Montréal (Canada)
Riina Mikkonen, Tampere Film Festival (Finland)
Sebastian Apel, Nordic Film Days Lübeck (Germany) 

Moderated by Jing Haase, curator and short film expert (Sweden)

This session is dedicated exclusively to Lithuanian short films.

This event is organized with support of Sweden-Lithuania Cooperation Fund.

18:00 – 19:30
Conference room, 5th floor

Special Short Film Screening: European Stories
Presented by Austėja Milvydaitė, Head of Creative Europe Desk Lithuania MEDIA Office

This year’s special programme European Stories presents four fiction films by up-and-coming European filmmakers that boldly yet subtly reflect on themes of childhood, independence, family relationships, and inner freedom. Set in different corners of Europe, the stories reveal first encounters with the complex world of adults. While the films differ in style and narrative pace, they are all united by particular attention to the inner worlds of protagonists as well as distinctive auteur voice of the filmmakers and convincing acting even from the youngest of actors.

The productions were funded by the EU Creative Europe MEDIA programme. European Stories is presented by the Creative Europe Desk Lithuania MEDIA Office.

More about the films – soon.

INDUSTRY DAY 2

Film Festivals as Platforms for Democracy

Venue: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, address: Gedimino pr. 51, Vilnius
Conference room, 5th floor

10:00- 10:30

Keynote on Film Festivals as Platforms for Democracy
by Kate Ianiuk, Operational Director at Kyiv International Short Film Festival (Ukraine) 

In this keynote Kate Ianiuk will speak about film festivals as democratic spaces that engage not only with culture but also with human rights, language, collective memory, and the creation of independent narratives. Drawing on the experience of the Kyiv International Short Film Festival (KISFF), she will show how a festival can function as a hub for advocacy, professional expertise, volunteer solidarity, and rapid response through short film formats, particularly under conditions of war, political pressure, and the absence of censorship. She will also reflect on the festival’s role as a space for meeting, discussion, and resilience –- an alternative to state institutions when public trust in them is lost.

About speaker KATE IANIUK

COO of the Kyiv International Short Film Festival, Kino Susidiv. Producer of the International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival DOCUDAYS UA. Freelance producer. Head of the international relations department at the Left Bank Theater (Kyiv). Former expert of the audiovisual program at the Ukrainian cultural fund (2021-2023).

10:30 – 11:30

Role of Film Festivals in Today’s Socio-Political Landscape

How do film festivals navigate the social and political realities in their countries, and how do they address issues they consider important for their audiences? Are film festivals defenders of democracy – and should they be? What role do they play in today’s socio-political landscape?

This panel explores examples of how film festivals navigate the (political) reality in their countries and how they address obstacles and advocate for democracy, cooperation and understanding.

The panel will be followed by roundtables, where the audience will have the possibility to join in on the discussions started on stage.

Panel members:
Fransiska Prihadi, Bali International Short Film Festival – Minikino Film Week (Indonesia)
Diomedes Koufteros, International Short Film Festival of Cyprus ISFFC (Cyprus)
Laima Graždanoviča,  Riga International Short Film Festival 2ANNAS (Latvia)

Moderated by Jing Haase, curator and short film expert (Sweden)

11:30 – 11:45 Coffee break 

11:45 – 13:00

Roundtables: Role of Film Festivals in Today’s Socio-Political Landscape

Following the panel, four open roundtables will give the audience the chance to continue the discussion in smaller groups. Participants can share their perspectives, ask questions, and engage directly with festival representatives on how film festivals navigate social and political challenges.

The roundtables are open to all festival attendees, welcoming anyone interested in joining the conversation.

13:00 – 14:00 Lunch break

14:00 – 15:30

Framing Democracy: Power of Film

What role can cinema play in defending democracy in an age of polarization and disinformation? This panel brings together filmmakers to discuss how film can foster dialogue, strengthen freedom of expression, and contribute to democratic resilience. Participants will explore the balance between artistic vision and political agenda, and share their perspectives on how (if) films can raise awareness, provoke discussion, and inspire social change.

Participants:
Michael Kalb, film producer, film “Critical Condition” (Germany)*
Anna Mkrtumyan, film director, film “Armat” (Armenia)

Lina Lužytė, film director (Lithuania) 

Moderated by Ieva Šukytė, film journalist, member of FIPRESCI – International Film Critics Federation, Vilnius Short Film Festival programer (Lithuania)

*Films are presented in the International Competition of the 19th Vilnius Short Film Festival. More information: HERE.

15:30 – 15:45 Coffee break 

15:45 – 17:15 

Get to Know the Short Film Festivals and Their Programming Aspects

This session consists of presentations of international short film festivals and their key programming aspects, providing insights into curation, selection processes, and the distinctive vision of each festival.

Presented by:

Clementine Engler, Vienna Shorts (Austria)

Émilie Poirier, Festival du Nouveau Cinéma de Montréal (Canada)

Fransiska Prihadi, Bali International Short Film Festival – Minikino Film Week (Indonesia)

Joosep Ehasalu and Johannes Lõhmus, Valga Hot Shorts (Estonia)

Kate Ianiuk, Kyiv International Short Film Festival (Ukraine)

Laima Graždanoviča, Riga International Short Film Festival 2ANNAS (Latvia)

Leo Soesanto, Riga International Film Festival (Latvia)

Mari Liis Keevallik, International Short Film and Animation Festival PÖFF Shorts (Estonia)

Miguel Dias, Curtas Vila do Conde – International Film Festival (Portugal)

Nina Jeglič, International Film Festival Kino Otok – Isola Cinema (Slovenia)

Sebastian Apel, Nordic Film Days Lübeck/ Short Film Festival Hamburg (Germany)

Yevheniia Tsatsenko, Lviv International Short Film Festival Wiz-Art (Ukraine)

INDUSTRY DAY 3

Venue: Arts Printing House, address: Šiltadaržio g. 6, Vilnius
Studio no. 2, 2nd floor

10:15 – 12:30

Meet the Festivals

This special session offers filmmakers a unique opportunity to have in-person conversations with representatives of international film festivals, exploring selection processes, artistic vision, and everything they’ve wanted to know about each festival.

Attending film festivals:

Bali International Short Film Festival – Minikino Film Week (Indonesia)
Curtas Vila do Conde – International Film Festival (Portugal)
Festival du Nouveau Cinéma de Montréal (Canada)
International Short Film and Animation Festival PÖFF Shorts (Estonia)
Kyiv International Short Film Festival (Ukraine)
Lviv International Short Film Festival Wiz-Art (Ukraine)
Nordic Film Days Lübeck (Germany)
Riga International Film Festival (Latvia)
Riga International Short Film Festival 2ANNAS (Latvia)
Tampere Film Festival (Finland)
Valga Hot Shorts (Estonia)
Vienna Shorts (Austria)

{ Final list of attending festivals will be announced soon }

Prior registration is required. More information and registration: HERE