Program
2026 FILMER FORGE PROGRAM
22 – 25 JUNE
09:00 – 19:30, Hall 2 / Studium, Palace of Culture – Pernik
EAVE ON DEMAND Training*
*for previously selected participants
Tutors: Geoffroy Grison, Radu Stancu, Sofia Tocar
25 JUNE - THURSDAY
09:00 – 10:00, Hall 3 / Forum, Palace of Culture – Pernik
ITP MATCH BAKERY
Informal networking gathering
10:00 – 12:30, Marquee, Palace of Culture – Pernik
FILMER FORGE: NEXTDOOR NETWORKING Training*
*for previously selected participants
Tutors: Faisal Qureshi, Martin Kudláč, Ştefan Aneculăesei
10:00 – ∞, Atrium, Palace of Culture – Pernik
VIDEO ART EXHIBITION
New Experimental Shorts
10:30 – 11:00, Hall 4 / Library, Palace of Culture – Pernik
5th ITP CONFERENCE: Short Films, Big Questions: Festivals, Politics, and Public Engagement
Opening Remarks
Rita Capucho, Skadi Loist, María Paz Peirano, Rich Warren
11:00 – 12:30, Hall 4 / Library, Palace of Culture – Pernik
5th ITP CONFERENCE: Short Films, Big Questions: Festivals, Politics, and Public Engagement
Panel 1 Programming as Practice: Curatorial Decision-Making
Chair: Rich Warren
Franciszek Drąg
“What Is Appropriate? Short Film Programming for Youth as a Practice of Care and Cultural Negotiation”
Oluranti Babatunde
“Thematic Preoccupation and Curatorial Practices in Selected Nigerian Film Festivals”
Meral Ozcinar
“Curating Vulnerability: Short Film Festivals as Mediators of Public Discourse and Cultural Value”
13:00 – 14:30, Hall 2 / Studium, Palace of Culture – Pernik
SPECIAL SCREENING & Q&A *session in Bulgarian
ПИСМО ДО МОРЕТО /арт резиденцията на Посока СИЛНА/, реж. Хайоне Серато
Emprove Foundation
14:30 – 16:00, Hall 4 / Library, Palace of Culture – Pernik
5th ITP CONFERENCE: Short Films, Big Questions: Festivals, Politics, and Public Engagement
Panel 2 Festivals, Economics & Sustainability: What Keeps Festivals and Short Film Ecologies Going
Chair: María Paz Peirano
Xinyu Yu
“Festival without Industry? Managed Visibility, Casino Capital, and Short Film Festivals in Macao”
Federica Carbone
“Ecosystems of Sustainability in Italian Short Film Production”
Ezra Winton
“Solidarity Now: Documentary Film Festivals in the Age of Neoliberalism”
16:00, Hall 3 / Forum, Palace of Culture – Pernik
SHOWCASE PANEL
DIRTY TALKS
Code: Documentary
with Simon Panay, moderator Ştefan Aneculăesei
16:30 – 17:30, Hall 4 / Library, Palace of Culture – Pernik
5th ITP CONFERENCE: Short Films, Big Questions: Festivals, Politics, and Public Engagement
Special Presentation: The Political Economy of Cultural Production
Chair: Rich Warren
Junhan (Julian) Wang
“The Political Economy of Cultural Production: An Ethnographic Case Study of the VITA SHORTS Film Festival” (incl. a 40-min documentary screening)
16:00 – 18:00, Marquee, Palace of Culture – Pernik
FILMER FORGE: NEXTDOOR NETWORKING Training
*for previously selected participants
Tutors: Faisal Qureshi, Martin Kudláč, Ştefan Aneculăesei
22:00 – ∞, Hall 3 / Forum, Palace of Culture – Pernik
IN THE PALACE PARTY
Digging Great Sounds with The STEFAN
informal networking gathering and dance
26 JUNE - FRIDAY
09:00 – 10:00, Hall 3 / Forum, Palace of Culture – Pernik
ITP MATCH BAKERY
informal networking gathering
10:00 – 12:00, Hall 2 / Studium, Palace of Culture – Pernik
MASTERCLASS in cooperation with EAVE
Market-Ready: Building a Film Project That Travels
by Rodolphe Sanzé
10:00 – 12:30, Marquee, Palace of Culture – Pernik
FILMER FORGE: NEXTDOOR NETWORKING Training*
*for previously selected participants
Tutors: Faisal Qureshi, Martin Kudláč, Ştefan Aneculăesei
10:00 – ∞, Atrium, Palace of Culture – Pernik
VIDEO ART EXHIBITION
New Experimental Shorts
10:30 – 12:00, Hall 4 / Library, Palace of Culture – Pernik
5th ITP CONFERENCE: Short Films, Big Questions: Festivals, Politics, and Public Engagement
Keynote Lecture
Chair: Skadi Loist
Dorota Ostrowska
“Short, experimental and arts film festivals: which festive chronotope are they?”
13:00 – 16:00, Hall 2 / Studium, Palace of Culture – Pernik
MASTERCLASS in cooperation with EAVE
First Steps in International Co-Production
by Radu Stancu
14:00 – 16:00, Hall 4 / Library, Palace of Culture – Pernik
5th ITP CONFERENCE: Short Films, Big Questions: Festivals, Politics, and Public Engagement
Panel 3 Circulation, Visibility & Infrastructure: How Short Films Move (or Do Not Move) Beyond the Festival
Chair: María Paz Peirano
Carlos Navarro
“Awarded and Erased: The Structural Contradiction Between Festival Recognition and Algorithmic Suppression in Palestinian Women’s Short Cinema”
Mara M. Marxsen
“The Distributor's Gaze: Working Towards an Ethics of Short Film Distribution”
Lavinia Brydon
“The 2012 Cultural Olympiad and ‘State of the Nation’ Shorts”
Claudy Op den Kamp
“Beyond the Festival, Beyond the Market – Distributing Short Audiovisual Work through a Videographic Monograph”
16:00, Hall 3 / Forum, Palace of Culture – Pernik
SHOWCASE PANEL
DIRTY TALKS
Code: Fiction
with Lee Knight, moderator Ştefan Aneculăesei
16:00 – 18:00, Marquee, Palace of Culture – Pernik
BOOK PRESENTATION
„Анимационни мемоари“, Настимир Цачев – Насти
with Nastimir Tsatchev, moderator Emil Spahiyski
*session in Bulgarian
16:30 – 18:00, Hall 4 / Library, Palace of Culture – Pernik
5th ITP CONFERENCE: Short Films, Big Questions: Festivals, Politics, and Public Engagement
Panel 4 Festival Politics & Negotiated Space: Festivals Navigating Political Constraints in Different Contexts
Chair: Skadi Loist
Merve Nur Özçelik & İlker Özçelik
"2023 Antakya International Film Festival in the Rubble: Short Films as Vehicles for Community Healing and Disaster Recovery"
Antonio Peláez-Barceló
“Short Films as Political Practice: The Festival de Cine de Madrid–PNR and the Evolution of Spanish Short Cinema since the 1990s”
18:00 – 18:30, Hall 4 / Library, Palace of Culture – Pernik
5th ITP CONFERENCE: Short Films, Big Questions: Festivals, Politics, and Public Engagement
Closing Remarks
22:00 – ∞, Hall 3 / Forum, Palace of Culture – Pernik
IN THE PALACE PARTY
Digging Great Sounds with The STEFAN
informal networking gathering and dance
27 JUNE - SATURDAY
09:00 – 10:00, Hall 3 / Forum, Palace of Culture – Pernik
ITP MATCH BAKERY
informal networking gathering
10:00 – 11:30, Hall 2 / Studium, Palace of Culture – Pernik
5th ITP CONFERENCE: Short Films, Big Questions: Festivals, Politics, and Public Engagement
Round Table: Film Festivals, Public Engagement and Contemporary Challenges
moderator Stefan Prohorov, Bulgarian National Film Center
Anca Păunescu – DOK Leipzig, Germany
Jakov Poposki – DRIM International Short Film Festival, North Macedonia
Mark Brennan – Exit 6 Film Festival, UK
Matevž Jerman – FEKK International Short Film Festival Ljubljana, Slovenia
Rita Capucho - Porto Femme, Portugal
Tiziana Pelusi – Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, Switzerland
Tzanko Vasilev – IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival
Zurab Diasamidze – TOFUZI International Animated Film Festival, Georgia
10:00 – 17:00, Hall 4 / Library, Palace of Culture – Pernik
PITCHING TRAINING in cooperation with EAVE*
by Sarah Schlüssel
*for previously selected participants
10:00 – 11:00, Marquee, Palace of Culture – Pernik
FILMER FORGE: NEXTDOOR NETWORKING Pitch
Pitching Session 1
10:00 – ∞, Atrium, Palace of Culture – Pernik
VIDEO ART EXHIBITION
New Experimental Shorts
13:00 – 16:00, Hall 2 / Studium, Palace of Culture – Pernik
MASTERCLASS in cooperation with EAVE
Script development: How to Prepare for a Marathon
by Geoffroy Grison
11:30 – 12:30, Marquee, Palace of Culture – Pernik
FILMER FORGE: NEXTDOOR NETWORKING Pitch
Pitching Session 2
16:00 – 18:00, Marquee, Palace of Culture – Pernik
FILMER FORGE: NEXTDOOR NETWORKING Training*
*for previously selected participants
Tutors: Faisal Qureshi, Martin Kudláč, Ştefan Aneculăesei
16:00, Hall 3 / Forum, Palace of Culture – Pernik
SHOWCASE PANEL
DIRTY TALKS
Code: Animation
with João Gonzales, Konstantin Bronzit and Mónica Santos, moderator Ştefan Aneculăesei
17:00 – 18:00, Marquee, Palace of Culture – Pernik
FF: NEXTDOOR NETWORKING SHOWCASE PANEL
DIRTY TALKS Code: Co-Production
with Bogdan Mureșanu, moderator Kaloyan Vasilev
22:00 – ∞, Hall 3 / Forum, Palace of Culture – Pernik
IN THE PALACE PARTY
Digging Great Sounds with The STEFAN
informal networking gathering and dance
28 JUNE – SUNDAY
09:00 – 10:00, Hall 3 / Forum, Palace of Culture – Pernik
ITP MATCH BAKERY
informal networking gathering
10:00 – 11:30, Hall 3 / Forum, Palace of Culture – Pernik
FILMER FORGE Pitch
Session 1
moderator Sarah Schlüssel
10:00 – 18:00, Marquee, Palace of Culture – Pernik
FILMER FORGE: NEXTDOOR NETWORKING Training*
*for previously selected participants
Tutors: Faisal Qureshi, Martin Kudláč, Ştefan Aneculăesei
10:00 – ∞, Atrium, Palace of Culture – Pernik
VIDEO ART EXHIBITION
New Experimental Shorts
13:00 – 14:30, Hall 3 / Forum, Palace of Culture – Pernik
FILMER FORGE Pitch
Session 2
moderator Sarah Schlüssel
16:00, Hall 3 / Forum, Palace of Culture – Pernik
SHOWCASE PANEL
DIRTY TALKS
Code: Producer
with Marta Sousa Ribeiro, Nati Juncal, and Oliver Sertić, moderator MarBelle
22:00 – ∞, Hall 3 / Forum. Forum, Palace of Culture – Pernik
IN THE PALACE CLOSING & PARTY
Digging Great Sounds with The STEFAN
informal networking gathering and dance
