James Drew of Picturenose gives us the low-down on the 11th Brussels Short Film Festival, where 41 little gems battle it out in the international contest.

The Brussels Short Film Festival comes back to Europe's capital for its 11th edition from 25th April to 4th May, with 25 short, sharp cinematic successes featuring in national competition, and 41 little gems battling it out in the international contest, with films from diverse countries of the world as India, Mexico, Canada and Venezuela standing four-square with their European counterparts.

As well as a short film sales outlet, professional meetings, didactic seminars, parties, fun and games, there are many cultural treasures. Following last year's their succesful reception at last year's festival, another selection of short films from Serbia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina has been chosen and a number of thematic sections, including Best of the Best and Very Short (less than 3 minutes) are all up for public approval.




To have gained entry into what is fast becoming one of the world's leading short-film junkets, each film must be fiction (and no animation), made on 35mm or 16mm film,  must not exceed 30 minutes in length, and must have been first shown to the public  after 1st January 2006.

As Festival Director Pascal Hologne explains: 'We have to be exacting with our criteria for entry, because this is an intelligent, eclectic audience that's demanding the very best from our now-established festival. And fear not – there'll be more than a few pleasant surprises this year!'

Films will be screened at Cinéma Vendôme, Petit Théâtre Mercelis
and Chapiteau.

So, enjoy the festival – if only it weren't so short!

James Drew

Brussels Short Film Festival 25 April – 4 May
www.courtmetrage.be
T. +32 (0)2 248 08 72

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(expatica 2008)