The 14th edition of Austria’s superb SLASH Filmfestival is underway! From September 21 through October 1, this renowned fest screens a selection of incredible short films from around the globe along with its fine feature films. From the terrifying to the hilarious, the SLASH Filmfestival shorts programs are a highlight of the fest. Following is the official press announcement. For more information including a full listing of films scheduled, visit https://slashfilmfestival.com/en/.
The programs
Five carefully curated programs and various shorts before features bring a total of 48 short films from all corners of the world to Vienna. With over 34 World, International, European or Austrian premieres, the 14th edition of SLASH Filmfestival has its largest short-film lineup ever and sees the festival take new initiatives to celebrate the short form in its own right.
In addition to program mainstays Fantastic Shorts Competition Chapters 1 and 2, SLASH is delighted to bring back “My First SLASH” to continue guiding young viewers and families on their first steps into the diverse world of genre cinema. Fantastic Futures has matured into its own program that celebrates promising film school students while SLASH is also excited to treat viewers to the first-ever Fantastic Flings, a sidebar which will become an annually recurring “hook up” that sees SLASH collaborating with an international film festival for a co-curated program that explores relationships through a genre lens. For its inaugural edition of Fantastic Flings, SLASH is proud to get into bed with Italy’s TOHorror Fantastic Film Fest (https://www.tohorrorfilmfest.it/en/welcome/).
The competitions
With three competitive sections, SLASH continues to reward short film excellence. A total of 10 shorts make up the Fantastic Shorts competition with what we believe are the freshest and fiercest genre short films from the past year. As always, the winner will be chosen by our most diligent judges — the SLASH audience — and takes home 1,000 € in prize money. Highlights include the Austrian premiere of Liam LoPinto’s THE OLD YOUNG CROW, a singular ghost story that embraces a hybrid form to celebrate multicultural identity, darkly satirical social comments in the guise of a children’s game gone horribly wrong in Joséphine Darcy Hopkins’ SWEET TOOTH, a run in with post-colonial Leatherface in Bangladesh-set FOREIGNERS ONLY (Nuhash Humayun), and the Austrian premiere of HOLE (Hyein Hwang), the runner up of Cannes’ Cinéfondation competition.
Perfect City: The Bravest Kid
A total of 8 shorts comprise the Fantastic Futures competition, which puts an exclusive spotlight on talented student filmmakers and collectively offers a mouth-watering taste of how fantastic the future of genre cinema is. The program sees the uniquely apocalyptic ON THE 8TH DAY taking its world premiere bow in addition to the European premiere of Nathan Ginter’s THE THIRD EAR, a surreal and probing look at self-image. Also in the mix are Austrian premieres of Shengwei Zhou’s nightmarish paper animation PERFECT CITY: THEBRAVEST KID and the Austrian premiere of homegrown THE HAND THAT FEEDS by Helen Hideko. Juried by SLASH (the) Industry experts Todd Brown (XYZ Films) and Tania Morissette (Fantasia International Film Festival/ Frontières), the winner will receive 500€ in prize money on top of being awarded a full certificate for Final Draft screenwriting software.
Playing across the aforementioned five programs, SLASH attendees will also discover six Méliès d’argent contenders, which include a colorful clash with inner demons that embody fear of commitment (AMOK), a narrow escape from food processing (REMOVE HIND LEGS BEFORE CONSUMPTION) and the international premiere of hyper-sensual giallo tribute LA VEDOVA NERA, which has the honor of being the opening night short of SLASH Filmfestival 2023. All six films are in the running for being crowned best European fantastic short under 25 minutes at SLASH 2023. Doris Bauer (Vienna Shorts) and guest of honor Brandon Cronenberg will decide who wins the Méliès d’argent and is then in the running for the main prize — the Méliès d’or — at Sitges.
The trailer
Our killer short film trailer edited by Joana Gil-Rico should get you in the mood for films that find unique ways of channeling the past, coping with the present and envisioning the future as they take viewers on a surreal, darkly comedic and horrifyingly visceral ride.
