The second edition of SIS runs from 14-15 November 2025 in Tallinn, Estonia.
The two-day event aims to support the careers of a new generation of filmmakers in the short film industry, while taking a look at current trends in (short) film and strengthening ties between the Baltic and wider international short film communities. The event will be filled with masterclasses, panel discussions, and lectures including award-winning directors.
Tara Karajica, Head of Shorts Industry Shortcut, described the sophomore edition of the event as a natural follow up to last year’s debut edition. “We are making the event friendlier to film students this year with masterclasses in both live action and animation branches, a short film distribution lecture as well as a fireside chat on short film etiquette and two panels on short film festivals and programming."
Estonia’s hitmaker Anna Hints will touch upon their transition from shorts to features in an eponymous session dedicated to this particularly delicate step for filmmakers as Hints embarks on their debut fiction feature. Estonian producers Kerdi Oengo of Nukufilm and Kristel Tõldsepp of A Film Estonia will cover the same topic in a session focusing on animation.
During the “Anatomy of a Film” masterclass organized in partnership with Tallinn University's Baltic Film, Media and Arts School (BFM), the director of PÖFF Shorts’ 2024 EFA candidate and New Talents winner We Beg to Differ, Ruairi Bradley, will talk of the journey of the film, as he and PÖFF Shorts’ Laurence Boyce explore his time at the Irish National Film School, his initial ideas, the production and negotiating the festival circuit.
Similarly, during the animation masterclass titled “The Clay Animation World of Izabela Plucińska”, the Polish director will speak of her journey through drawing, sculpture, painting to animation and will demonstrate the stages of her animation workflow and discuss the creative inspirations behind her films.
This year, PÖFF Shorts is hosting the Emile Awards and, for this special occasion, European animation luminaries Vassilis Karamitsanis (Animasyros, ASIFA), Kerdi Oengo (Nukufilm), Carolina López (Animac), Mariam Kandelaki (Saqanima), Holger Lang (Under the Radar) and Anna Zača will gather on a panel on the problems of distribution and production of animated shorts in contemporary Europe.
CEE Animation will take the floor to introduce the upcoming Co-development Animation Awards. The presentation, held by CEE Animation’s Matija Šturm and the CEO of the Estonian Film Institute Edith Sepp, will focus on the implementation of an international development awards mechanism designed to address the key challenges faced by animation projects in their early stages.
The busy programme kicks off with a panel on boutique short film festivals with Laima Graždanoviča of 2Annas, Adrian Barber of the Bolton Film Festival, Holger Lang of Under the Radar and Ben Vandendaele of Radiator IP and FilmConnector. In collaboration with the Short Film Conference, programmers of the likes of Berlinale Shorts’ Jana Riemann, Animac’s Carolina López and PÖFF Shorts’ own Laurence Boyce will proceed to demystify the programming processes at their respective festivals.
In a fireside chat on short film etiquette, Berlinale Shorts’ Jana Riemann and PÖFF Shorts’ Tara Karajica will delve into the short film festivals do’s and don’ts as they discuss how to submit to a film festival, how to approach film programmers or how to successfully prepare for a short film festival or a short film market among many other topics. After this session, experienced short film distributor Ben Vandendaele will touch upon the best practices in short film distribution and present his latest endeavour, FilmConnector, a next-generation planning and reporting platform designed for filmmakers, producers, sales agents, and festival strategists.
”Like last year, SIS will again host a speed-dating session between filmmakers and short film industry professionals. It is quite eclectic and there is something for everyone — maybe even a little more for animators. So, I hope everyone comes away with something useful,” Karajica says.
The second edition of SIS runs from 14-15 November 2025 in Tallinn, Estonia, during PÖFF Shorts (11-19 November 2025).
Read more about the available accreditations and day tickets here.