Cineuropa Top Five European Shorts of 2016 - Introduction

As part of our now annual tradition Cineuropa Shorts have polled some of the most important people working with short film to discover their picks for the best short film of 2016. Unsurprisingly there are a large number of festival representatives (from places such as Berlin, Venice, Oberhausen, Clermont-Ferrand, Encounters and many others) alongside journalists, filmmakers and sales agents. The resultant list is a diverse one (more than 100 individual films were selected by the participants) and is a representation of the very different forms that shorts can take: narrative films sit alongside fiercely experimental works.

The rules for selection are straightforward – each participant is given the opportunity to select five shorts from Europe. The shorts are presented in particular order. We also give everyone a chance to choose one short that does not originate in Europe. With release dates for short films being somewhat fluid, we also give no hard and fast rule about the date the film was made. Instead we ask participants to choose shorts that have ‘risen to prominence in 2016’. What that actually entails is within the purview of the respondent.

Whilst we always try and avoid this list becoming a competition to find out the ‘best’ – we’re really looking for a snapshot of the year in short film – it’s certainly telling to look at some of the films that received multiple selections. A Man Returned, Mahdi Fleifel amazingly powerful EFA nominated documentary, stunned many on the list while other films dealing with important issues of the past year – amongst them Import and 9 Days From My Window In Aleppo - all loomed large. But there was also an embrace of films that reminded us of the fragility and good in the world with Réka Bucsi’s Love and the resolutely human Ten Meter Tower also finding many fans.

Cineuropa Shorts would like to thank all the participants for their time.

Cineuropa Shorts would like to point out that each selection is that of the individuals named and does not necessarily reflect that of the organisation they work for

You can read Cineuropa Shorts Top 5 European Shorts 2016  Part 1: The Festivals HERE and Cineuropa Shorts Top 5 European Shorts 2016 Part 2: Press, Filmmakers and Industry HERE