A new chapter: Talking Shorts launches the New Critics, New Audiences Award
In 2024, the online short film magazine Talking Shorts is celebrating its 4-year anniversary with a new brand identity, new website, new award, and many other promising changes in its quest to make short films more and more visible.
Four years after its initiation, the online magazine Talking Shorts launched a brand new visual identity on February 1st. Simultaneously, the mag is kicking off the very first edition of the New Critics & New Audiences Award, spearheaded by the European Network for Film Discourse (The END).
New Critics, New Audiences Award
As the official outlet of the European Network for Film Discourse (END), which consists of Filmfest Dresden (DE), Vienna Shorts (AT), Lago Film Fest (IT), FeKK Ljubljana Short Film Festival and Vilnius International Short Film Festival (LT), Talking Shorts is hosting the first edition of the New Critics and New Audiences Award from February 7th to the 21st.
Participants of the European Workshop for Film Criticism, a workshop promoted by Talking Shorts throughout the year, nominate one European short film per festival, their favourite out of either the international or national competition of Vienna Shorts (AT), FILMFEST DRESDEN (DE) Kortfilmfestival Leuven (BE), Vilnius ISFF (LT), FeKK in Ljubljana (SI) and Lago Film Fest (IT). All six nominated films will be publicly announced on February 7th during Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival and will be made available for two weeks on Talking Shorts website, until February 21st, when online audiences will be asked to watch the films and vote for their favourite. And there’s more: all voters will be able to win a prize, if creating an account on Talking Shorts website. The winning film will be announced during a panel co-hosted by Talking Shorts and Berlinale Talents in Berlinale, and will receive a cash prize of €1000.
Learn more about the award and this year’s nominated films at: talkingshorts.com
European Workshop for Film Criticism #4
The fourth edition of the European Workshop for Film Criticism will take place at FILMFEST DRESDEN and Vienna Shorts. It’s a two multi-day workshop sessions for aspiring film critics during the short film festivals in April and June, 2024. Applications are open to anyone over the age of 18 until February 29th at talkingshorts.com.
Since 2023, Talking Shorts is an official outlet of The END — European Network for Film Discourse, which is supported by the Creative Europe Programme — MEDIA of the European Union. The END was founded exactly 1 year ago as a multi-layered platform dedicated to the qualitative examination of European filmmaking and it’s built by the film festivals Vienna Shorts (AT), FILMFEST DRESDEN (DE) Kortfilmfestival Leuven (BE), Vilnius ISFF (LT), FeKK in Ljubljana (SI) and Lago Film Fest (IT). The goal is critical discourse by and about a younger generation. Besides the film criticism magazine Talking Shorts, activities also center on workshops and mentoring programs.
The results of the first three workshops, organised in tandem during Filmfest Dresden and Vienna Shorts (Spring Edition), Lago Film Fest and FeKK (Summer Edition), and Kortfilmfestival Leuven and Vilinus International Short Film Festival (Winter Edition), are available under the Workshops tab on Talking Shorts.