While film festivals are a vital birthplace for new work, offering an opportunity for filmmakers to connect with audiences and gain attention in the hopes of a wider reach of their films, one director is rethinking this model with a new initiative. Canadian filmmaker Sophy Romvari is launching Exquisite Shorts, which takes a unique approach to curation and distribution. Currently raising initial funds on Indiegogo, the platform will be run entirely by filmmakers, one of which will select a short film from a pool of submissions. The film will screen for free online for two weeks, then the director of the selected film will select another film to screen, and so forth.
“Exquisite Shorts seeks to provide an alternative kind of curation and distribution of short films with a model that celebrates filmmaker’s perspectives,” Romvari says. “There will be no singular vision or curator, but rather bi-weekly screenings selected entirely by filmmakers, each screening providing a new and distinct point of view. Every participating filmmaker will also be paid a screening fee, as well as a programming fee. Furthermore, the screenings will be accompanied by an introduction video which will provide insights into the filmmaker’s curation: this creates more transparency around how and why these choices are made. Most of all, Exquisite Shorts will be an exciting new way to discover short films, and platform voices from all over the world.”
With a submission fee of only $5, Exquisite Shorts seeks to make the standard festival process more accessible to a diverse range of voices. “This program will be made possible with the success of the Indiegogo campaign. Outside of providing fair compensation to all filmmakers, this initial funding will allow screenings to be free to the public, rather than existing behind a paywall,” Romvari says.
Support this project at Indiegogo and see a visual encapsulation below.
