The inaugural edition of Vienna Independent Shorts was organized by several Viennese institutions focusing on the promotion of short films. It lasted for a week and screened 125 short films in several venues across Vienna. What started as a student project has since grown to become one of the best short film festivals in Europe. For example, the 2015 edition featured 300 short films and attracted about 10,000 attendees.
Since 2005, Vienna Independent Shorts has been presented by the Independent Cinema Association which was founded by the team of the first festival. That same year the organizers introduced an international competition and several recurring events such as a Kino Kabaret and a retrospective of the University of Applied Arts Vienna. In 2006, the festival hosted screenings in other Austrian cities (Innsbruck, Graz and Dornbirn) for the first time.
The main goals of Vienna Independent Shorts are to promote short films among a wide audience of cinema goers and to support and encourage young filmmakers who create short films of different genres and formats (narrative films, documentaries, animated films, experimental films). The festival showcases short films from different countries with a maximum length of 30 minutes.
Vienna Independent Shorts hosts a film competition and presents awards in several categories: Fiction & Documentary, Animation Avantgarde, National Competition, and Screensessions (Music Video Competition). These four categories are juried. The fifth category, Très Chic, features Austrian and international shorts with peculiar and absurd humor. The best film in this category is chosen by the audience.
Alongside the official selection, the program of the festival features non-competitive sections and other events. They include Focus (a curated program focusing on a particular topic), Spotlights (tributes and retrospectives), special programs (lectures, discussions, special screenings), Expanded (screenings in unconventional venues), opening and closing ceremonies, educational and industry events.
In 2020, the event was held online due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Photo: Jannis Gonis
