SLASH Filmfestival 2024: Shorts Program Profile

SLASH Filmfestival 2024 - short films in focus 

 

The programs 

 

Five carefully curated programs and a select number of shorts before features bring a total of 41 short films from all corners of the world to Vienna. With a total of 32 Austrian, European, International or World premieres the 15th edition of SLASH Filmfestival once more celebrates the short form in its own right.

 

Kicking things off with a matinee screening on the first Sunday of the festival, we are thrilled to continue guiding young viewers and families on their first steps into the diverse world of genre cinema with My First SLASH. On weekday evenings, the 2024 Fantastic Shorts Competition takes its spot in the limelight, bigger than ever before. This is the first time the main competition has been expanded with a third chapter to accommodate the high number of unique and exceptional short films. 

 

Last but not least, SLASH is tingling with anticipation as we bring back our sexiest program for an R-rated late night viewing. A sequel to 2022’s crowd-pleasing thrills of the erotic and kinky kind, Freakier Fantasies continues to probe carnal cravings but with a notable twist (and pinch!)—desire turns darker as some of the fetishes become riskier. This final short film program hosts the world premiere of SLAVE 4 LOVE (Michael Shlain) and HELP, I’M ALIEN PREGNANT (by directing duo THUNDERLIPS).

 

The competitions 

 

With three competitive sections, SLASH continues to reward short film excellence.

 

A total of 18 shorts make up all three chapters of the Fantastic Shorts competition with what we believe are the freshest and fiercest genre short films from the past year. As always, the winner will be chosen by our most diligent judges - the SLASH audience - and takes home 1,000 € in prize money. In addition to storytelling snails in LOVEBUGS (Teddy Alvarez-Nissen) and stop-motion vengeance in LES BÊTES (Michael Granberry), highlights include the international premiere of Vanessa Beletic’s EVIL, I in which a Haitian girl with unusual powers is torn between right and wrong, and a Wuxia epic starring a fierce white tiger who faces off against his greatest foe in Bo Zhang’s exhilarating RUTHLESS BLADE.

 

 

Playing across the aforementioned programs, a total of 12 shorts comprise the Fantastic Futures competition, which puts the spotlight on talented first-time and student filmmakers and offers a glimpse of how fantastic the future of genre cinema is. With 2D stunner CROW MAN (Yohann Abdelnour) and paint-on-glass marvel WEEDS (Pola Kazak) the lineup sees two Cannes-selected shorts enjoy their Austrian premieres. Also in the mix are surreal locker room flirtation BEACH LOGS KILL (Haley Z. Boston), Paraguayan-American cautionary tale SIESTA (Gustavo René Sanabria) and the international premiere of Sundance-selected ghost story DIDN’T THINK I’D SEE YOU HERE (Dylan Guerra).

 

 

Juried by last year’s Fantastic Futures laureate, filmmaker and animator Shengwei Zhou, the winning film will receive a trophy in addition to a subscription to European streaming platform THIS IS SHORT.

 

SLASH attendees will also discover six Méliès d’argent contenders scattered across all five programs. Ranging from a dream-like encounter with animatronic party animals (BYE BEAR) to an ecological emancipation fantasy that draws on witchcraft and was made with all natural materials (TO BE A SEED), the Méliès-nominated short films further underscore the diversity of this year’s short film lineup. 

 

Waltraud Grausgruber, festival directress of Tricky Women/Tricky Realities, and stop-motion master Michael Granberry will decide who wins the Méliès d’argent (best European fantastic short) at SLASH and thereby becomes eligible for the Méliès d’or at the Sitges Film Festival.

 

The trailer

 

Our killer short film trailer edited by Joana Gil-Rico should get you in the mood for films that find fresh ways of grappling with death, challenge how we see ourselves, arouse our darkest desires, and viscerally portray the power of storytelling.