​Slovenian Films at the Clermont Ferrand Festival and Market

08. February 2017
Between 3 and 11 February, the 39th International Short Film Festival is taking place in Clermont Ferrand, France. The animated film Nighthawk by the directress Špela Čadež will be presented in the competition programme.

The film, a Slovenian-Croatian co-production, depicts a drunken badger, discovered by a police patrol in the dark of the night. Since its premiere in September 2016, Nighthawk has qualified for 18 international festivals and won six awards. Recently it was also screened at the prestigious Sundance Festival in the United States.

Clermont Ferrand, the most important short film festival, consists of three competition programmes (international, national, and Lab). Each year the main festival is supplemented by a rich accompanying programme: this year the focus is on Columbian cinematography and the review of "black humour" film.

In the context of the festival, the Short Film Market, where this year the Slovenian shorts will be presented for the fourth time, will also take place between 4 and 10 February.

The Slovenian Film Centre will not be the only Slovenian institution to be presented at the largest festival short film market in Europe: it will also be joined by the International Animated Film Festival Animateka and the Kraken Film Society, which endeavours to affirm and promote short films as an independent film form.

The co-production short film forum Euroconnection, a part of the Film Market, consists of the programme of selected projects in the making as well as of the programme of presentations of the various European producers. These will be joined by the Slovenian producer Viva Videnovič from the Strup production house. Furthermore, the director Olmo Omerzu will present his new half-hour film that he intends to shoot in September. The film is entitled Room by the Lake, and it will once again be produced by the Czech production house Endorfilm.

The Slovenian Film Centre has just published a short film catalogue (entitled Shorts) as well, presenting more than 20 films finished in 2016 as well as announcing those that are to be finished in the spring. The films are divided into genres: live-action, documentary, animated and experimental.