The European Short Film Festival of Brest may be a few decades old, but it is not showing its age

“The European Short Film Festival of Brest may be a few decades old, but it isn’t showing its age.” This is how the team of the Association Côte Ouest introduced the 29th edition of the short-film festival that starts today in Brittany.

The opening ceremony, “Vamos a la Playa”, which indeed takes place by the sea, kicks off the seven-day gathering. The audience will have the chance to enjoy a selection of 65 films divided into three competitive sections: the European and the French Competitions, and the Ovni (read: UFO!) section, which presents films that feature a less conventional use of images, language and themes.

Among the 40 films in the European competition, we find The Chicken by Bosnian director Una Gunjak (winner of the Heart of Sarajevo), En Aout by Jenna Hasse (Switzerland), Rabbit by French director, actress and producer Laure de Clermont-Tonnere, Screwed by Lorenza Indovina, Try to Die Jung by Morgan Simon (France), People Are Strange by Julien Hallard (France), Being Human by Paula Korva (Finland), Horse Power by Daniel Sandu (Romania) and the multi-award-winning Pride by Vesnakov Pavel (Bulgaria).

The official jury comprises Spanish director Chema García Ibarra, Romanian actress Ana Ularu, French producer Mathieu Bompoint, French actress Angélica Sarre and Italian writer Leonardo Valenti.

Besides the official competitions, the Association Côte Ouest is offering a special programme dedicated to genre cinema, Brest Off, which this year explores space and the supernatural. Panorama Animation presents 11 European animated films, while Made in Breizh shows six short films produced or shot in the region. L’Europe en Court presents the work of a European film school (the Centro Sperimentale della Cinematografia in Rome), a festival (the Polish Zubroffka Short Film Festival) and a country (Iceland). Meanwhile, the Young Audience Programme and Special Screenings round off Brest’s rich offering.

Industry professionals can attend the Film Market from 12-15 November, a very useful tool for buyers, distributors and selectors from French and European short-film festivals.

The full programme of the European Short Film Festival of Brest can be found here.