This week we met the 10 selected students for the new edition of Future Frames, who will be presented at the Karlovy Vary Festival in July. This is a project by European Film Promotion, aimed at promoting young emerging talent in European cinema, selected from among students and graduates of the most important film schools.
During the festival, they will be presented along with their graduation short films, with the opportunity to meet producers and sales agents. Both EFP and the festival are committed to giving visibility to these filmmakers who are just starting out and helping them expand their network of contacts.
These are the 10 selected, and we should not lose sight of them:
- Elsa María Jakobsdóttir (Iceland)
- Damián Vondrášek’ (Czech Republic)
- Kirsikka Saari (Finland)
- Giorgi Mukhadze (Georgia)
- Liene Linde (Latvia)
- Joren Molter (Netherlands)
- Matei Lucaci-Grunberg (Romania)
- Michal Blaško (Slovakia)
- Katarina Morano (Slovakia)
- Maria Eriksson (Sweden)
Major film festivals and events are not only so because they have the best films, their media impact, or their ability to generate business; they are also so because they identify and support new emerging talent. It is very clear that the great filmmakers of the future are currently studying at film schools and making their first short films.
There are other examples along these lines, such as the Cinefondation section of the Cannes Film Festival, the Talent Campus in Berlin, or even CPH:LAB at Copenhagen’s CPH:DOX festival, and to a lesser extent the Student Meeting in San Sebastián.
But it is not only festivals: institutions such as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences devote an exclusive competition to promoting new talent, such as the Academy Student Awards, which other academies have followed, such as the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, which yesterday also published the shortlist for its BAFTA International Student Film Awards, organised from Los Angeles. These awards come with new developments, as this is the first edition in which film schools from all over the world have been able to take part, across its three categories: animation, documentary and fiction.
Many of these competitions are based on the short film as the best calling card for these young promises; in this regard, and as the Cortosfera magazine recently pointed out, it seems that it is becoming increasingly difficult to identify these young talents in our country.
All these events are essential to guarantee the future of cinema and, of course, festivals are key to connecting the industry with the youngest filmmakers, and to being able to find and nurture talent.