Future Shorts One, the global short film festival, has recently undergone a restructuring. Formerly a monthly event held in countries as diverse as Vietnam, Australia and Israel, Future Shorts is now known as ‘the world’s biggest pop-up film festival’ and will be held quarterly as of November 2011.
Beginning in 2003, Future Shorts has long been a favourite with both filmmakers and lovers of independent cinema. The events, which were held in 16 countries across the globe, were run by volunteers who covered their costs through ticket, and potentially food and beverage, sales.
The move to quarterly screenings has allowed the London-based film distribution company to feature films of a consistently high standard and the selection of shorts for this round of events features winners of such prestigious awards as the Golden Bear at the Berlinale, the International Short Filmmaking Award at Sundance and the Oscar for Live Action Short Film.
Rubin Östlund’s Incident by a Bank is a meticulous recreation of a real-life bank robbery that took place in Stockholm, Sweden in 2006 that interrogates the way in which robberies are typically represented in Hollywood films. According to director Juan Pablo Zaramella, Luminaris explores the ‘the idea of sunlight as a magnetic force’ and features pixilation and stop-motion techniques. God of Love, which stars writer and director, Luke Matheny, is a delightful comedy about love-inducing darts.
The changes to the festival setup have also allowed the inclusion of a wider range of venues than was previously possibly under the monthly format. This month alone there will be screenings in locations as disparate as Hong Kong, Russia, Cambodia, Afghanistan and the UK, ensuring that the event truly lives up to its claim to be ‘the global pop-up film festival’.
Some things, however, remain the same. Films may include documentaries, animation, music video clips or traditional live-action fiction films and may be submitted by anyone for a fee of $20. There continues to be a local as well as an international programme at the events, which allows up and coming filmmakers the opportunity to have their work seen by a wider audience and gives each occasion a distinctive homegrown feel. Future Shorts also continues to be a film distributor and shorts featured in their lineup may be ordered via their online catalogue.
For further information on Future Shorts, including the online catalogue as well as dates and venues for this quarter’s events, please visit the Future Shorts website.
Samantha Wasson - Samantha Wasson is an educator, researcher, writer, blogger, traveller and event planner who feels very awkward writing her own byline.
Join the Conversation