“Festivals are the place where short films have the most life.” Tania Galán, programmer of the Skyline Benidorm Film Festival, thus opened a colloquium in Almagro (Ciudad Real) to discuss the situation of film festivals in Spain and short films.
In the city of La Mancha where the International Film Festival is held every summer, just at the end of the event with the classic theater that also bears the name of Almagro, a debate between those in charge of various festivals, distributors, directors or scriptwriters left some clues about what What happens in a sector, that of the ‘short’, which is still looking for its place in our country.
Víctor Palacios, director of the Maniatic Festival and member of the Spanish Short Film Coordinator, highlighted how “tremendously complicated” it is currently for this type of productions to have a place on large platforms such as Netflix or Amazon. “Not even for 20% of them.”
He also highlighted that “short films are the main suppliers of film festivals” and that, he stated, “should be paid for.” He recalled that “a short filmmaker spends up to 50,000 euros on production. “That is a lot of money and a lot of work by a lot of people.” That is why he launched the idea of a remuneration, almost symbolic, between 100 or 200 euros for passes at the festivals. “They could recover part of what they invested. It is essential.”
Afterwards, he put more emphasis on the idea. “In this world everyone makes money except the short filmmaker. It’s like a broken wheel. That’s why we’re committed to getting them paid, regardless of whether they win a prize or not. That will help provide feedback to the sector,” in his opinion.
And it was a comment that Marko Montana, director of the Almagro International Film Festival, host of the event, did not “completely” agree with. “We should talk about the director’s salary,” he joked, to put on the table the need to “debate the financing of festivals.” In this regard, he regretted that certain procedures had not been “standardized.”
“We have to think about what we can do to take care of this meeting point and what film festivals can contribute to short films,” argued Pedro Toro, artistic director of the Alcalá de Henares Festival.
In Almagro some ideas were dropped in this regard. The director of the local festival Marko Montana maintains that “the function of film festivals is to serve as a springboard and catalyst,” but he also spoke of the need to “territorially unite” the festivals and carry out “joint initiatives.” Of course, “I don’t have the formula,” he acknowledged.
We have to think about what we can do to take care of this meeting point and what film festivals can contribute to short films.
Pedro Toro
— Artistic director of the Alcalá de Henares Film Festival
Carlota Pereda, winner of a Goya for her short film ‘Pig’, which later became a feature film, participated in the colloquium to ensure that “short films allow you to know who you want to work with.” Contact at festivals, he added, is essential. “It is as important to make the film as it is to choose the partner.”
During his speech he claimed the prominence of individual screenings of short films at festivals. “There are too many sessions followed by short films when each one of them requires entering a world,” hence he thinks that “they are being done a disservice” with programming that includes multiple screenings in the same session.
In this he agreed with Pedro Toro, artistic director of the Alcalá de Henares Festival, who stressed that screenings of short films at festivals have turned out to be “the worst way to see them”, due to long sessions of 80 or 90 minutes at a time. “Projecting five or six in a row means that by the time you go through the fourth your brain is already fried and you have forgotten the first one.”
We should talk about being more competitive not about having more budget. It’s more creativity and originality. We should value it as programmers
Victor Palacios
— Maniac Festival Director
“On top of that, they are competing with each other,” lamented Toro. As a self-criticism, he pointed out that “none of the parties involved have been able to find a better format.”
The public present in the room joined that argument. Not only was it made clear that making short films is “increasingly more expensive,” but it is conceived as something “increasingly competitive” that “is leaving out many people.” Víctor Palacios is clear about this: “We should talk about how being more competitive does not mean having more budget. It’s more creativity and originality. We should value it as programmers.”
Later, Pedro Toro was skeptical about spaces other than festivals when it came to promoting short films. “It seemed that the natural place could be the internet or the platforms, but that has caused the offer to multiply so much that it is becoming more and more difficult and the main circuit continues to be the film festival.”
Festivals must be able to generate experiences, beyond the viewing of feature films or short films because we can do that at home or in a movie theater.
Beatriz Hernandez
— President of the Short Film Coordinator
“There must be a constant dialogue between festivals because we are not competition,” added Beatriz Hernández, president of the Short Film Coordinator and director of Skyline Benidorm Film Festival.
She advocated for the professionalization of the industry and for a new concept. “Festivals must be able to generate experiences, beyond viewing feature films or short films because we can do that at home or in a movie theater.”
Jesús Soria, from the MMS company dedicated to the distribution of short films, added in this sense that “we must continue watching films at festivals, but we must also give more despite the interaction with the public.” In addition, he joined the proposal for greater contact, “the networking” between festivals. “For me they are still absolutely necessary and I think it will continue to be that way,” he stated emphatically.
The debate was framed in the 2024 edition of The Shortest Day [ED + C]a European cultural initiative promoted in Spain by the Spanish Short Film Coordinator, which has totaled 350 screenings.
The event, which is held every year physically somewhere in the country, has chosen Almagro on this occasion. The Almagro International Film Festival (AIFF) is held in this municipality of Ciudad Real, focused on Spanish short films and the Castilla-La Mancha industry. The event will soon open registration for what will be its eighth edition.
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