To mark Cork Film Festival’s 50th Anniversary and to celebrate Cork’s tenure as European Capital of Culture, the festival is hosting a major international Symposium on the Short Film.

This prestigious Symposium which will take place in Cork from 6th until 8th October, 2005, will bring together short film specialists, curators, programmers, film makers and film critics from all over the world.

Since its inception in 1956, the Cork Film Festival has championed the short film and has an international reputation for its work in this area. In 1970 the International Short Film Conference was founded in Cork. It is therefore no coincidence that the international short film community is gathering in Cork to reflect on the greatness of the short film as an art form.

Mick Hannigan, Festival Director said

“The Cork Film Festival has long been at the forefront of the promotion of the short film and it is our hope that bringing together the international short film community will allow for the collective development of ideas which will have a bearing on the future of the short.”

The important significance of this unique event is reflected by the calibre of speakers attending the Symposium. The keynote address will be given by world-renowned Jonathan Rosenbaum, one of the most influential film writers in the English language and critic with the Chicago Reader in the United States.

Commenting on the art of Short Film, Rosenbaum said

“The importance of the short film is in some ways equivalent to the importance of the long film. In both cases, we’re talking about films that evade the relatively arbitrary industrial standard imposed by the so-called feature film. The wide-ranging art of cinema naturally expands beyond such a standard, and short films are among the most precious casualties of that bias.”

Other major contributors to the Symposium include Richard Raskin and Eileen Elsey, both of whom have written extensively on the history of the short film and festival organisers from across the world.

The aim of the Symposium is to evaluate and analyse the role of the short film as a specific art form within the broader context of cinema history and to provide members of the international Short Film Community with a platform to discuss a wide range of topics such as ‘Narrative Design of Short Films’, ‘Creating a Canon of Great Shorts’, ‘Cultural Diversity within Short Film Making’,‘The Short as a Political Tool’.

The commitment to Short Film is also a significant element in the Cork 2005 programme.

“This symposium is a landmark for film culture and for the Cork Film Festival, long-time champions of the short film. This event offers a valuable opportunity to explore a neglected chapter of cinematic history and is sure to have a lasting impact in the critical appreciation” said John Kennedy, Director of Cork 2005.
Cork Film Festival is currently compiling a list of one hundred ‘Great Shorts’, assembled from the opinions of international short film experts and critics.

According to Hannigan

“This is not a poll but a consultation with specialists on the short film and is intended to draw attention to what we consider to be superb examples of the art form.”

The results of this worldwide survey will be announced at the Symposium and will be available on the Cork Film Festival Website (www.corkfilmfest.org)