Short Film Hub
46th Drama International Short Film Festival
To young creators and film professionals, Drama International Short Film Festival has always been a springboard for expression. Every September, since its inception, it has served as a meeting place for fermentation, first contacts, film talk, exchange of ideas and views, but also the beginning of future collaborations.
This year, we are inaugurating the Short Film Hub, aspiring to bring together all professionals gathered in Drama and turn discussions and panels into an opportunity for young creators to engage with acclaimed cinema professionals, to learn about the vast potential of their craft, how to promote a film, develop a script and set up a network of contacts.
The Short Film Hub actions extend throughout the Festival. Εvery day, at “Alexandros” open-air cinema, discussions with prominent personalities of the film industry will provide insight into how the most prestigious short film festivals such as Cannes Film Festival and its Marché du Film are approaching shorts, and also into funding tools in Greece and the development of the local film market in recent years. Representatives from some of the most significant cultural institutions of the country will come to Drama to present their actions. A discussion will open up on music clearance and rights, which are paramount to film production. Tools for young directors will also be explained, to enable the transition from script development to proper strategy for promoting a film to festivals. The new Crew United platform will be showcased as a significant tool in the hands of film professionals. With cinema always at the core of the DISFF, two talks will be organised: on DIY Cinema and the feasibility of making films with minimum resources, and a fascinating take on the cinema of Frida Liappa. Finally, we are delighted to be hosting a debate about LGBTIQA+ in Greece, and about the newly established Sunny Bunny Film Festival organised for the first time in Kiev, Ukraine amidst the war.
Another parallel workshop will run this year, titled DIRECTOR’S CUT: A Cinema of Stills led by Natasha Christia, curator, writer and educator in art photography. The workshop will endeavour to incorporate photography and its theory into filmic practice, and to create a useful and inspirational toolbox for the inception, making and promotion of a film project.
Now in its tenth year, the DISFF’s successful Pitching Lab is going strong, just as the Festival’s collaboration with the Torino Short Film Lab. Both actions will encompass productive meetings between participants and professionals.
Last, introduced this year are the “Meet the Experts” sessions, daily meetings with professionals visiting Drama in the context of the DISFF, available for one-to-one conversations with directors, screenwriters and producers participating with their films in the official programme.
Looking forward to creative meetings!
Yianna Sarri
Head programmer of Short Film Hub
Short Film Hub schedule 2023
Tuesday 5/9
11.00 – 13.00 Ask the Directors @Alexandros cine.
13.00 Hellenic Open University Press Conference about “Film Studies” undergraduate program @Alexandros cine (GR).
13.30 – 14.30 Mix & Match: meetings with Industry experts @aethrio.
13.30 – 14.30 Meet the Greek Film Centre @aethrio.
17.00 – 18.00 SFH Talks – From Script to Spotlight: Navigating the Development and Festival Circuit of Short Films with Jutta Wille, Sona Morgenthalova, Lina Manolopoulou @Alexandros cine (ENG).
Wednesday 6/9
11.00 – 13.00 Ask the Directors @Alexandros cine.
10.30 – 13.30 DIRECTOR’S CUT: A Cinema of Stills workshop with Natasha Christia @Eleftheria.
13.30 – 14.30 Mix & Match: meetings with Industry experts @aethrio.
13.30 – 14.30 Γνωρίστε τις δράσεις του Ελληνικού Κέντρου Κινηματογράφου @Αίθριο.
17.00 – 17.30 SFH Talks – Music Licensing & Sound Design by Musou Music Group: From the idea to the final result with Stefanos Ganos, Alkistis Tsiklou, Markos Fragkos @Alexandros cine (GR).
17.30 – 18.30 SHF Talks – The secrets of cinema, like the poetry of magic with Maria Komninou, Electra Venaki, Kiriakos Aggelakos @Alexandros cine (GR).
18.30 – 19.30 SFH Talks – Behind the lights: Empowering festivals with George Demertzis, Yannis Kaplanis, Anna Kasimati, Panayotis Koudoumakis, Margarita Alexomanolaki @Alexandros cine (GR).
Thursday 7/9
11.00 – 13.00 Ask the Directors @Alexandros cine.
10.30 – 13.30 DIRECTOR’S CUT: A Cinema of Stills workshop with Natasha Christia @Eleftheria.
13.30 – 14.30 Mix & Match: meetings with Industry experts @aethrio.
13.30 – 14.30 Γνωρίστε τις δράσεις του Ελληνικού Κέντρου Κινηματογράφου @Αίθριο.
16.00 – 17.00 SFH Talks – A Festival Guide: The Dos and Don’ts when submitting to a festival powered by Student Campus with Thanasis Neofotistos @Alexandros cine (ENG).
17.00 – 17.30 SFH Talks – Celebrating 10 years of DiSFFs Pitching Lab: Do I really need a pitch? with Barbara Dukas, Georgina Kakoudaki and John Stephens @Alexandros cine (ENG).
17.45 – 19.00 SFH Talks – Free Cinema! with Yannis Sakaridis & Yorgos Goussis @Alexandros cine (GR).
Friday 8/9
11.00 – 13.00 Ask the Directors @Alexandros cine.
13.30 – 14.30 Mix & Match: meetings with Industry experts @aethrio.
13.30 – 14.30 Γνωρίστε τις δράσεις του Ελληνικού Κέντρου Κινηματογράφου @Αίθριο.
16.45 – 17.30 SFH Talks – Queer Film Festivals – in time of peace and war With Bohdan Zhuk & Maria Katsikadakou (a.k.a. Maria Cyber) @Alexandros cine (ENG).
17.30 – 18.00 SFH Talks – Show me the Crew! – A presentation of Crew United Greece with Venia Vergou @Alexandros cine (GR).
Saturday 9/9
11.00 – 13.00 Ask the Directors @Alexandros cine.
10.00 – 11.00 Torino Pitching Presentation @Municipal Conservatory of Drama.
11.30 – 13.30 Pitching Lab Presentation @Municipal Conservatory of Drama.
15.30 – 18.30 Meetings @aethrio.
23.00 SFH Party @Guernica café bar. – powered by MuSou.
Sunday 10/9
11.00 – 13.00 Ask the Directors @Alexandros cine.
20.00 Closing Ceremony of the 46th Drama International Short Film Festival @Municipal Conservatory of Drama.