| Location | Kyiv, Ukraine |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 |
| Festival date | April |
| Website | www |
Kyiv International Short Film Festival (KISFF) is an annual festival held in Kyiv and aimed at acquainting audiences with international short films. Latest movies, winners of international festivals, retrospectives of extraordinary figures and special attention to modern and classic Ukrainian movies all feature in the festival. KISFF also organizes projects and events to develop a diversity of short films in Ukraine.
History
The work on the Kyiv International Short Film Festival started in 2011 and it was held in spring 2012 for the first time. Since then, it takes place annually under any circumstances. The festival is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization, with its main aim being to promote short films.
Mission
The festival's mission is an attempt to discover new forms and methods of film production in Ukraine and abroad, by developing national and international platforms for short films. The program also includes other screenings, classes, and meetings.
Past winners
The 2020 winner was a film Huntsville Station. Throughout the film the audience is able to explore the concept of freedom and how it feels to be released after years of imprisonment. Shot from a distance, the viewer is able to observe a group of inmates waiting for a bus after being released from a penitentiary, and how they react to finally being free.
A special mention went to the film Stay awake, Be ready that takes the viewer on an exciting yet trivial night out in Vietnam.
The film How to Disappear also received a special mention, shot from the perspective of a first-person shooter game. The film explored the theme of deserting whilst in a video game and was described by the jury as "humorous, surprisingly poetic and intelligent ode to deserters".
The winner of the Ukrainian competition in 2020 went to The Carpet by Natasha Kyselova for her beautiful cinematography capturing a teenage boy's coming-of-age moments of burgeoning love and friendships tested, set against the increasingly tense back-drop of escalating war.
A special mention was awarded to Metawork, created by Vasyl Lyah, "for the director's artistic vision and highly promising independent voice" His film depicted a young man tending to his garden, his creativity and care becoming a political act of survival and resistance in modern-day Ukraine.
Jury
The festival jury is elected by administration of the festival. Usually there are several foreign guests and representatives of Ukrainian cinema. The jury members are prominent directors, producers and filmmakers that have received international awards.
Regulations
According to the regulations, films whose language is not Ukrainian, English or Russian must have English subtitles.
By submitting the film, the person is solely responsible for the film's observance of all necessary rights.
Competition program
The competition program consists of International and National programs.
Awards
The jury of the competition will present awards in three categories: Best Film, Best Director, Audience Award. In addition, the jury may award a ‘Jury Special Mention’.
International Competition Winner 2020
| Category | Film | Director | Country | IMDb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Prix | Huntsville Station | Chris Filippone
Jamie Meltzer |
 United States
|
7,6/10 |
| Special Mention | Stay Awake, Be Ready | Thien An Pham |  Vietnam
|
6,9/10 |
| Special Mention | How to Disappear | Robin Klengel
Leonhard Müllner Michael Stumpf |
 Austria
|
6,3/10 |
National Competition Winner 2020
| Category | Film | Director | IMDb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Prix | The Carpet | Natalia Kyselova | No ratng available |
| Special Mention | Metawork | Vasyl Lyah | No rating available |
| Audience award | Surrogate | Stas Santimov | No rating available |
Russia-Ukraine War
In the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, which escalated the Russo-Ukraine War, the Kyiv Short Film Festival requested that foreign cities screen Ukrainian short films to introduce European culture (especially Ukrainian culture) and raise funds for humanitarian assistance during the war. It also called on a cultural boycott of Russian films due to Russia's aggressive, imperialist activity.
References
- "Kyiv to host first offline film festival since pandemic started | KyivPost - Ukraine's Global Voice". KyivPost. 2020-08-04. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
- "Kyiv International Short Film Festival". FilmFreeway. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
- Українські учасники KISFF 2015
- The 4th Kyiv International Short Film Festival
- "History - KISFF". Archived from the original on 2014-05-21. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
- "Mission". KISFF | Kyiv International Short Film Festival (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2020-07-11. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
- ^ "Winners".
- "JURY". KISFF | Kyiv International Short Film Festival (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-02-24.
- "Regulations". KISFF | Kyiv International Short Film Festival (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2020-07-11. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
- Filippone, Chris; Meltzer, Jamie (2020-07-07), Huntsville Station (Documentary, Short), retrieved 2021-03-03
- Pham, Thien An (2019-05-23), Stay Awake, Be Ready (Short, Drama), Trung Dong Cao, Be Hieu, Vu Trong Tuyen, Le Quoc Bao Vi, retrieved 2021-03-03
- Klengel, Robin; Müllner, Leonhard; Stumpf, Michael (2020-02-24), How to Disappear - Deserting Battlefield (Short), Dmitry Gamolin, Kathy Tanner-Weidhofer, Franz-Josef Windisch-Graetz, retrieved 2021-03-03
- Kyselova, Natalia (2019-09-13), The Carpet (Short, Drama), Andriy Kostash, Dasha Tvoronovich, Nathaliya Valda, retrieved 2021-03-03
- Metawork (2019) - IMDb, retrieved 2021-03-03
- "Сурогат". Кінофестиваль Молодість (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
- "The Spirit of Freedom".