Vilnius International Short Film Festival is one of the biggest short film festivals in the Baltic countries, presenting the newest and best short films from all around the world.

Established in 2006, the festival has become a unique platform in Lithuania, not only screening European but also global professional short films made by the upcoming generation of talented filmmakers.

Each year Vilnius International Short Film Festival holds the International Competition, which involves about 35 most acknowledged short films from the last two years. There is also a National Competition, which presents a condensed selection of Lithuanian short films. Films are judged and awarded by the International Jury. The festival also features several special non-competition programmes – retrospectives, kids programme and special theme-based short film selections.

The 15th edition of Vilnius International Short Film Festival will take place from 13 to 16 January 2022 at the Photography Museum (Vilnius St. 140, Šiauliai).

PROGRAMME

 

 

13 January, Thursday

18:00
NATIONAL COMPETITION PROGRAMME I
Why is it so hard to love? Can an android become human? And why is it that you can stoically withstand almost anything, but not the holidays with your relatives? These are just a few questions posed by the films in this programme: sensitive, ironic and painfully realistic. MORE

 

14 January, Friday

18:00
NATIONAL COMPETITION PROGRAMME II
This programme is so diverse. You’re going to get it all – laughter through tears, nostalgic memories of youth, suspense and real drama. Everyone to their taste. The up-and-coming filmmakers are testing the possibilities of genre cinema: thriller, social drama and comedy. That’s pretty unusual for Lithuanian cinema, which makes it even more exciting. MORE

21:00
SHORT FILM NIGHT
The festival’s most popular and widely anticipated programme is back! Sticking to the tradition, Short Film Night invites viewers to test their stamina with a short film all-nighter! A 5-hour–programme consisting of 17 films from all over the world will be presented at three exclusive screenings in Vilnius, Klaipėda and Šiauliai. Don’t miss your chance to see this year’s top Lithuanian and international films. MORE

15 January, Saturday

14:00
ANIMATED ADVENTURES
The short animated films programme has stories told by all kinds of narrators – from a worried bird, adventure-loving little owl and a dog in love to a dictophone in need for a conversation, a stroller that dreams about speed, and a little monster that (never) misses his classes. The programme has been carefully cherry-picked in collaboration with La Guarimba Film Festival in Southern Italy and the films come from all over the world. MORE

17:00
WHAT’S SO FUNNY?
Everyone has their own idea of a good comedy. Some appreciate witty dialogues, others awkward situations that characters end up in. Some like to laugh out loud, others are fine with a smile every now and then. Some laugh at the words that a character says, others at the silence that follows. Some find comedy relaxing, others hard and taxing. The five films selected for this year’s programme use different comedy genres to speak differently about the differences between people. MORE

16 January, Sunday

14:00
SCENES FROM A FAMILY
Family and relationships are inevitable in our lives, some close, some distant, yet always irreplaceable. These documentary, narrative and experimental films take different angles to explore the choices children and parents make, past ties within a family, cultural differences and even take a light-hearted look at the daily rut of a family life. MORE

17:00
LONGING FOR LOVE
They say that the people who tend to get upset easily, are lacking love. Yet the lack of love, in one form or another, is what we’re experiencing all the time. These films portray love that requires patience, sacrifice, faith in the happy ending, or just better imagination on our part sometimes. The love of a close person, a best friend, and a wild she-wolf – those are just a few of the stories you will see in this programme. MORE

Information on the competition programmes and films can be found at https://filmshorts.lt/en/.

Vilnius International Short Film Festival is organised by Lithuanian Shorts, a Lithuanian short film agency.