The competition programmes feel the pulse of current global filmmaking, transforming the city into an international short film capital for six days. The best works from all competition categories will be honoured with prizes at the Award Ceremony on Sunday.
Here we present the latest national short films. Once again, the Swiss selection includes numerous premieres, offering plenty of room for discoveries. Join us on Sunday at the Award Ceremony to witness how the jury awards various prizes to the best films of this year’s festival edition.
With the Sparks programmes, we hope to spark a passion for the medium of short film. Featuring highlights from this year’s submissions, Sparks I & II are competition programmes that represent a broad range of current filmmaking. The selection is meant to appeal to multigenerational audiences and inspire discussion. Showcasing a diverse film culture beyond the mainstream and YouTube clips, the programmes offer an ideal introduction to the world of shorts. At the Award Ceremony on Sunday, the youth jury will award the prize for the best film from the Sparks section.
Kurzfilmtage’s annual Swiss Film School Day is a showcase of Switzerland’s five major undergraduate degree programmes. Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne (ECAL), the Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD), the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), and the Lucerne School of Design, Film and Art – Video/Animation present a selection of their recent short films. The jury of the Swiss competition conducts a Q&A with the students, offers insights from the industry, and awards the prize for the Best Swiss School Film. Admission to the Swiss Film School Day is free – a great opportunity to get a first glimpse of Kurzfilmtage!
Spanning over 100 years, Indian cinema extends far beyond mainstream film industries such as Bollywood. Six short film programmes trace the lineage of India’s cinematic heritage from Parallel Cinema and the Indian New Wave to today’s bold new voices. Our Focus: Cinema of India showcases the rich complexity of cinematic expression from this immensely diverse country. The selection reflects a country in motion, shaped by its ancient heritage. This is cinema that questions, listens, remembers, and opens a space for new imaginaries – intimate, political, and profoundly human. Engaging with these films means opening ourselves to other realities and listening to voices that are too often unheard.
Dance and movement have been a throughline of film history as a thematic and cinematic motif. They are also becoming increasingly important in current short films. Our Focus: Motion in Motion invites us to join the characters onscreen in breaking out of everyday life and to find ourselves in dance. It also explores the socio-political implications of dancing bodies taking up space. Tracing the interaction between motion and the moving image, the programmes take viewers on a journey through the various dance film genres of film history.
Isadora Neves Marques creates visions of the present and future, blending sci-fi, biopolitics, and intimacy. Her films explore reproduction, bodies, empathy, and power in a world shaped by technology. Moving between speculative fiction and artistic approaches to documentary, she examines queerness, relationships, and social utopias in ways that are radical, sensuous, and strikingly relevant.
This section showcases recent short films from Zurich, Switzerland, and around the world screened out of competition. For short film buffs who are unafraid of strange or profound works with cult potential – discover some rare finds from our treasure chest!
This section presents programmes on topics that our curators are passionate about or that are simply fun. From the many forms of disco to all-too-topical, AI-powered future scenarios, from historical films that have lost none of their relevance to a trilogy by last year’s winner of the Promotional Award, Samuel Suffren: our special programmes hold many discoveries.
Stories for children aged 6+ kindle curiosity, empathy, and creativity, eliciting a sense of wonder. And our selection of serious, amusing, and exciting movies for kids aged 9+ inspires discussion, offering families a great introduction to the universe of short films. In collaboration with the Magic Lantern, Kurzfilmtage offers a unique filmgoing experience for young viewers and their families.
Our gala events are festive occasions with moderators, guests, and screenings. Together with our filmmakers, audiences, and partners, we celebrate the art of short film, once again proving that shorts are made for the big screen.
From the cinema to the dance floor: Kurzfilmtage invites you to shake a leg to live bands and DJs. Concerts and parties – including our legendary closing party – round off the festival experience. Kraftfeld has once again compiled a delicious programme for night owls. Come, listen, dance!
Kurzfilmtage’s Industry Events consist of the Swiss Film School Day, the Industry Lab, and the Creators’ Room. They offer film professionals an opportunity for networking and for discussing current issues, creative methods, and aesthetic trends.
Isadora Neves Marques, born in 1984 in Lisbon, is a Portuguese artist, filmmaker, poet, and writer. Her work uniquely combines science, technology, ecology, gender, and queer identity. Until 2022, she worked under the name Pedro Neves Marques.
Isadora’s interdisciplinary practice moves between film, visual arts, and literature. In both poetic and analytical ways, she explores the effects of social, political, and biological systems on the human body and interpersonal relationships. In her artistic work, Neves Marques combines speculative fiction with documentary elements, drawing on strategies of science fiction to address contemporary questions around reproductive technologies, gender identity, biopolitics, or simply love and friendship. This is particularly evident in her films, which have been screened at numerous international festivals. In works such as «Exterminator Seed» or «The Bite», she addresses topics like genetic manipulation, virus outbreaks, and polyamorous relationships, continuously challenging normative ideas of gender, family, and intimacy. Her film «Becoming Male in the Middle Ages» explores reproductive desires in the context of queer identity, while «My Senses Are All I Have to Offer» tells of a biotechnology that allows people to experience the sensations of others – a fictional metaphor for empathy, transformation, and shared experience. Her films have been shown at the Semaine de la Critique in Cannes, Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR, where she was awarded the Ammodo Tiger Short Award for best short film in 2022), Festival du Nouveau Cinéma Montréal, New York Film Festival, Curtas Vila do Conde, and Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, among many others.
Neves Marques is also internationally recognized as a visual artist. She represented Portugal at the 59th Venice Biennale with her project «Vampires in Space», a speculative and political work that uses imaginaries of space sci-fi and vampires to reflect on transgender identity, mental health, and blockbuster cinema. Her works have been shown at major institutions such as Castello di Rivoli, Palais de Tokyo, Pérez Art Museum Miami, and Kyoto City University of the Arts Gallery, among others. She repeatedly succeeds in translating scientific and technological content into sensuous, narratively dense installations that are both intellectually challenging and emotionally accessible. In addition, Isadora Neves Marques has also established herself as a writer. Together with artist Alice dos Reis, she founded the poetry press Pântano Books in 2020, dedicated to promoting contemporary poetry. Her written works include collections of poetry and short stories. The films «Our Lady Who Burns» by Alice dos Reis and «Flores» by Jorge Jácome – both close companions of Isadora and key figures in contemporary Portuguese cinema and visual art – are also featured in the programme.
Isadora’s multimedia work, which constantly oscillates between reality and fiction, body and technology, science and poetry, has received multiple awards, including the Present Future Art Prize at Artissima and a special award from the Pinchuk Future Generation Art Prize. Together with other artists, she runs the production company Foi Bonita a Festa and, between 2015 and 2020, she operated the online platform inhabitants, which focused on socio-political issues through documentary and experimental video works.
Isadora Neves Marques is one of the most exciting voices in contemporary art and film. Her works not only question existing power structures and normative systems but also open alternative perspectives on possible, more just futures. Her art is both analysis and empathy – a rare balance that she maintains with extraordinary sensitivity and intellectual precision.
Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur is Switzerland’s major short film festival. For six days every November, we transform the city into a dynamic short film hub.
Kurzfilmtage offers discoveries for everyone: our thoughtfully compiled thematic programmes address current events or topics that our curators are passionate about. The competition programmes showcase the latest filmmaking from around the globe, while installations, performances, and other specials highlight the diversity of audiovisual forms. And a programme of special events including concerts, readings, and more enhance the festival experience.
A short film is not just a shorter film. Shorts are a distinct art form, which we showcase at our annual festival.
Short films come in all shapes and genres, and how long – or short – they are, varies quite a bit. Simpler production processes allow filmmakers to capture the zeitgeist and quickly respond to trends. Shorts can be entertaining or surprising, they can analyse society, take a political stance, or offer glimpses of worlds unknown to us.
We compile our short films into thematic programmes or specific sections, such as our competitions, paying close attention to the selection and sequence of films in each programme. All you need to enjoy short films is an open mind for new discoveries and surprises.
Competitions
Recent short films from around the world. The best shorts will be presented with awards on Sunday evening.
Hors Concours
Recent short films from Zurich, Switzerland, and around the world screened out of competition.
Focus
Films that explore a region, a social phenomenon, or an artistic trend.
Person in Focus
A spotlight on the work of a filmmaker.
Special Programmes
Short film programmes dedicated to topics that our curators are passionate about – or that are simply fun.
Family Programmes
Short film fun for young viewers aged 6+ and for the whole family.
Expanded Cinema
Installations, performances, and exhibitions present the medium of film in unfamiliar forms.
Special Events
Concerts, parties, readings, and many other events enhance the festival experience.
Talks & Panels
Moderated talks and panels after the screenings offer additional context and insight into films and themes.
Industry Events
A wide range of educational events and networking opportunities.
