26 films from 23 countries. International competition with Oscar candidates and films from Panama and Haiti

Of some 1,200 submitted films representing 23 countries, the programmers od 19th Pragueshorts Film Festival have chosen 26 live-action, animated, and documentary films for the International Competition. These films will be shown in a total of five blocks that offer audiences a unique opportunity to familiarize themselves with contemporary trends in short film production.

“This year’s International Competition is truly diverse. I am glad that we can present works from places such as Panama or Haiti whose cinematic creations are rarely seen by Czech audiences. Naturally, the line-up also includes greatly anticipated films that have already been shown at some of the world’s leading festivals, where they have collected numerous prestigious international awards,” says Pragueshorts organizer Radka Weiserová.

One such film is the Palm d’or-winning Oscar nominee The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent, which recalls a tragic event from the Yugoslav war. Vying for the Academy Award for Best Short Animated Film is the delicate puppet animation Beautiful Men. The suspenseful Spanish drama Masterpiece won at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, and coming to Pragueshorts after earning a Golden Bear at the Berlinale is the free-spirited Argentine film An Odd Turn.

The international jury will award one main prize, which comes with a financial reward of 3,000 euros; the jury will also name two Special Mentions.

The program of International Competition can be found here.

For the complete program of Pragueshorts and the ticket pre-sale, head here.