Brussels Short Film Festival – now an Oscar qualifying Film Festival

The Brussels Short Film Festival is returning to the city. Begining on the 25th of April and going right until the 6th of May, the 11-day festival is showcasing 100s of the world’s best short films across various venues around Brussels.

The Brussels Short Film Festival is now an Oscar-qualifying film festival – joining prestigious international film festivals such as Cannes. Meaning that winners in the Great Prize of the International and the National competition are now eligible selection in the Animated Short Film/ LiveAction Short Film category of the Academy Awards without needing a standard theatrical run (providing the film otherwise complies with the Academy rules.)

This means there is all to play for, and the directors surely brought their best for the chance to receive such international recognition. With that said, here are the days where you could catch a glimpse at these potential contenders.

The opening ceremony will start with a worldwide reverence in terms of short films: a program set by the Clermont-Ferrand International Film Festival. This opener will showcase the best and most epic comedies of the Festival de Clermont Ferrand from the last 40 years. Then, its on to an after party.

Then on the 28th, you’ll have the chance to see a hand-picked selection of shorts by the film festival’s organisers. Then, the film house CANAL will share its Cinéma program! with Benoit Delépine and Sylvain Fusée coming to come present the films. Now, it’s down to you. A battle between two cinema programmers will commence and be judged on the audience’s applause on each film. And once a victor has been proclaimed, The Festival of the Very Shorts will conclude the Night with a special program of films that last less than 3 minutes.

These are just two events selected from the huge range of screenings the festival has on offer, and should the line-up excite you thus far, then the festival offer passes for the whole proceedings or tickets for single events.

So come and join Brussels’ very own film festival to rival Cannes, and see the very films that you may be applauding at the next academy awards.