shorts | | atractivoquenobello

Today we learned that Simon’s TPB AFK will be premiering at next month’s Berlinale, but we liked just as much the idea of having 4 animated competing films fighting in the Festival’s shorts competition. With them, another 23 films will be competing for the Golden Bear and Silver Bear Jury Prize (both of which are presented at the Award Ceremony), the DAAD Short Film Award, and a short film nomination for the European Film Prize.

Poster from Merlin Flügel's Echo — Poster from Merlin Flügel’s Echo

4 great pieces which include German directors Merlin Flügel (with his short Echo) and Xenia Lesniewski (with Hypozentrum) as well as Korean director Joung Yu Mi (with Love Games) and Nordic Ewa Einhorn & Jeuno JE Kim (with Whale Women).

(Xenia’s Remisequenz from 2011)

To be fair selection amongst these 4 is pretty though already so imaging having to compete with another 23… the full list of short films this way.

TVE (the Spanish public TV equivalent to the BBC) and especially their sister channel La 2 has always been home to some of the best cultural programs (since it appeared back in 1996) on the Iberian tv panorama.

A bit like BBC2 but with a latin approach. A long history of quality programs that some of you may be aware of… Documentos TV, Dias de Cine, Miradas 2, La 2 Noticias…. and since last year “Somos Cortos” a 30min oasis that showcases the always vibrant Spanish short movie industry (yep, unfortunately the programs are all in Spanish… without subtitles).

The short industry in Spain has gained a lot of recognition lately, especially since the repeated Oscar nominations in recent years and “Somos Cortos” is very willing to give visibility to this world. These pieces are many times the needful step for many directors prior to a feature film but should also be considerate as an individual entity with proven creative richness capable of meriting programs like this one.

Each week “Somos cortos” shows 3 shorts (new & recognized directors with or without well-known actors…) with a good bunch of interviews and the most worth noticing news of the industry in Spain.

The really good thing is that all these programs are available on-line via the catch-up dedicated rtve web.