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New Short Film Selection & Awarding Procedure

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More Festivals in More Countries to Select Candidates for the EFA Short Film Category

 

For the 2019 and 2020 editions of the European Film Awards, the European Film Academy will welcome new festivals to participate in the EFA Short Film selection and awarding procedure. Joining the network of 15 already existing partner festivals, at each festival an independent jury will choose one short film from its competition as a candidate for the European Film Awards short film category.

 

When the annual cycle of participating festivals – running from October of the preceding year to September of the actual awards year – is complete, a committee of short film experts and of EFA Board Members will nominate five of the short film candidates for the award European Short Film. The members of the European Film Academy − more than 3,500 European film professionals – will continue to elect the overall winner.

 

For the 32nd European Film Awards Ceremony, taking place in Berlin on 7 December 2019, the festival cycle now begins. The following festivals are new in the network: Hamburg International Short Film Festival (Germany), Motovun Film Festival (Croatia), Go Short – International Short Film Festival Nijmegen (The Netherlands), Odense International Film Festival (Denmark) and VIS Vienna Shorts Festival (Austria).

 

They join the following 15 festivals, many of whom have been dedicated long-time partners of the European Film Academy: Berlin International Film Festival (Germany), Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (France), Cork Film Festival (Ireland), International Short Film Festival in Drama (Greece), Encounters Festival (UK), Krakow Film Festival (Poland), Leuven International Short Film Festival (Belgium), Locarno Festival (Switzerland), International Film Festival Rotterdam (the Netherlands), Sarajevo Film Festival (Bosnia & Herzegovina), Tampere Film Festival (Finland), Uppsala International Short Film Festival (Sweden), Valladolid International Film Festival (Spain), Venice Film Festival (Italy), Curtas Vila do Conde – International Film Festival (Portugal).

 

In addition, the 2020 edition will then also welcome the International Short Film Festival of Cyprus, Riga International Film Festival (Latvia), PÖFF Shorts (Tallinn, Estonia) and Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur (Switzerland).

 

The full cycle, always beginning in October, is:

 

★ October:

International Short Film Festival of Cyprus (Cyprus – from 2019 on)

Valladolid International Film Festival (Spain)

Uppsala International Short Film Festival (Sweden)

Riga International Film Festival (Latvia – from 2019 on)

 

★ November:

Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur (Switzerland – from 2019 on)

Cork Film Festival (Ireland)

PÖFF Shorts (Estonia – from 2019 on)

 

★ Dec. 2018:

Leuven International Short Film Festival (Belgium)

 

★ Jan. 2019:

International Film Festival Rotterdam (the Netherlands)

 

★ Feb. 2019:

Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (France)

Berlin International Film Festival (Germany)

 

★ Mar. 2019:

Tampere Film Festival (Finland)

 

★ Apr. 2019:

Go Short – International Short Film Festival Nijmegen (the Netherlands)

 

★ May 2019:

Krakow Film Festival (Poland)

VIS Vienna Shorts Festival (Austria)

 

★ Jun. 2019:

Hamburg International Short Film Festival (Germany)

 

★ Jul. 2019:

Curtas Vila do Conde – International Film Festival (Portugal)

Motovun Film Festival (Croatia)

 

★ Aug. 2019:

Locarno Festival (Switzerland)

Sarajevo Film Festival (Bosnia & Herzegovina)

Venice Film Festival (Italy)

Odense International Film Festival (Denmark)

 

★ Sep. 2019:

International Short Film Festival in Drama (Greece)

Encounters Festival (UK)

 

Berlin, 30 October 2018

Since its successful pan-European launch in November 2022 Europe’s own film and award season, the Month of European Film has been growing continuously: Starting with 35 partners from 35 countries in 2022, the Month of European Film collaborated in 2024 with 108 partners from 42 countries. The number of screenings of European films within the initiative rocketed from 1,553 in 2022 to 9,310 in 2023 to 16,140 screenings in the 2024 edition. Admissions increased from 61,199 in 2022 to 164,206 in 2023 to almost half a million admissions (467,697) in the last year. The participating partners reported that their activities during the Month of European Film increased audience interest in European films and it also makes them want to programme more European films in the future. This is the result of an evaluation with the participating partners of this unique initiative.

“The European Film Academy senses growing interest in Europe for an ‘award season’ celebrating the best European cinema has to offer,” says Mattthijs Wouter Knol, Academy CEO and Director. “With the Month of European Film we build a network and a window for the simultaneous celebration of European cinema and to bring the diversity of European film closer to home for many people: first of all to their local cinema. Only three years into the initiative we are proud and happy that the Month of European Film is becoming more and more visible across Europe and is attracting a significantly growing number of visitors from Norway to Malta, from Portugal to Georgia. In the upcoming years until the European Film Academy’s 40th anniversary in 2028, we will further build a European ‘award season’ with our partners. It is time to deepen the awareness of European film culture. It is time to bring us as Europeans closer together through the culture and values we share: cinema has that power.”

Feedback from the audience regarding the Month of European Film was also very positive: The partners reported that in an audience survey cinema visitors from across Europe saw the Month of European Film as an important celebration of European culture. They said the Month of European Film has raised their interest in European films significantly and that they would like to see more European films. It also made them feel more united with fellow Europeans.

This year, the Month of European Film will start with the nominations announcement on Tuesday 18 November 2025, with cinemas all over Europe offering a tailor-made programme for their local audience. The Month of European Film will have its grand finale on Saturday 17 January 2026 with the celebration of the European Film Awards in Berlin.

The Month of European Film is an initiative of the European Film Academy supported by the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme of the European Union, in co-operation with Europa Cinemas, CICAE, MUBI, DAFilms, Festival Scope, as well as numerous other European and local partners.

European Film Academy

Stralauer Allee 2A 10245 Berlin, Germany

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